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CO M ! f NEW YORK: m&tntxui 39rotestant H|)isfoi)al SunUag Scijool &ninn anil €:t)urc!) 38ooft Sccictj?, T62 BROADWAY. N(o7 Q Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1859, By the General Protestant Episcopal Sunday School Union AND Church Book Society, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York. William Dbnybe, •trrkottpbb and blkctrottfkb, 1D3 WiUiam »reet, N. Y PUDNBT k RUSSBLL, PRINTERS, 19 Mm Street, N. Y. TO THE REV. T. B. FULLER, D.D., 3IXectoi: ot STfiorolti, erhaps, there is hardly a single ecclesi astieal body that exercises a more distinct and positive influence over the general habits and mind of the people. Already many of its habits and customs have become nearly universal in communities where they encountered the sternest opposition. And the general convenience and taste has yielded to its example, and have sub- mitted to be governed by its In&VLenae.—Pfotesta/nt ChuroJvman» 1 IP CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAsa numer- ars and ink be- )m. It s at its which Jcdeal luence any of mi ties Dneral ) sub- Yislt to Quebec— Seeing the lions— The most interesting spot of all— Two monuments— Our readers counted as personal Mends —The man now to be introduced — Birth— Some important dif- ferences between republics and monarchies — Titles of nobility —Rights of birth— Origin of such distinctions— The different members of a noble family, and the privileges of rank — A memorable year— Probabilities— Baptism and Confirmation — Hope and prayers for our land 11 CHAPTER II. Home education— The most desirable kind of schools — Going to Oxford — First glimpse of Lhe city— High Street, and the Angel Inn— Memories of the past — ^List of great men — En- trance at Corpus Christi— Curious names — Cap and gown- A day in college— Morning prayers — And a student's breakfast —Lectures and recreation— Full time for dinner The Latin grace— A breathing spell, and then four hours* hard work .... 18 CHAPTER IIL College course ended — Elected to a Fellowship— Ordination — A high dignity— His first pastoral charge — A sense of duty tri- umphing over inclination— Determination to go as a mission- ary to Canada — Letter to his sister — Appointed to the missiou of St Armand -Condition of the field of labor— A noble coun- try neglected for half a century Favorable change in affairs —Wisdom taught by experience— Bishop Mountain, and the first appearance of his Diocese 26 t • • VI u CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. FAttB Leaving England— Wliat worldly wisdom would say— Heavenly conslduratlona- Arrival at Quebec— Settlemont at St. Armand —A mlgslonary who had given up in despair— Hiring the large room of un inn— First services- The balance slruelc between discouragements and better prospects— Report to the Society —Letter to his mother— Notices of the country and people — The missionary's views and Ibellngs— Kindred left, but not for- gotten 36 CHAPTER V. Opening a new church— Sixty confirmed- When a clergyman ought to be rich — Graphic picture, from an eye-witness — Mr. Ilenshaw — The chosen abode of a nobleman's sou— Deadnesa to worldly pomps and vanities — Treasures of wisdom sought after — Not handsome, but good— The missionary's story of what he had experienced in his labors — Going forth iu the strength of our Lord God — " What hath God wrought" 44 \i CHAPTER VI. A modest man's account of his labors— The half not told — The trusty agent in his one-horse sleigh— The idea of the ministry — Too noble a spirit to be Influenced by national prejudices- Labors in New England— Goodly gift to a poor widow — " That best of men, the minister of St. Armand" — Sitting on a block of wood and talking of heavenly glories — Praying for the king by mistake— Faithful funeral services - Sublime example of ministerial fidelity — Disputes and wars— 1812— Burning of Washington — Trying times — Horrors of war — Treaty of Peace — And a thanksgiving 08 CHAPTER Vn. A visit home, after years of absence — The mission not forgotten — A worthy schoolmaster raised to a new dignity — Interesting reminiscences — A garment of humility — Self-denials— Expend- - itures of surplus means — ^Dr. Chalmers' rule carried out — Fruits of faithfulness — Stated limits of fasting and prayers — Friday well spent— Carrying presents— Publishes a book of fiimily devotions— Education of the poor— Liberality 61 ®t.4 CONTENTS. rxau CHAPTER VIII. 86 44 rAoa Betum to Canada— How Mr. R«ld had been getting along— An> oilier eviiloncn of humility — R«'moval to Hatley— A visit from a friend, who reports what he saw— The garret and the ladder — "lie was so prompt" — Boots siiiniug too nicely — Desecration of Sunday — Paying a man for going to church— Styie of lodg- ing—Salt and potatoes— Little time wasted in sleep 68 CHAPTER IX. Peculiar advantages for missionary lab(»r~A wider field laid open — Loolcing on the map — Journey to Montreal, and to many other towns and villages — The Irish settlements — Ee- niains of the Six Nations — Duties discharged by our general missionary— Extreme western border of Canada — Retracing steps— General review of the whole tour One of the practical evils of dissent 76 CHAPTKR X. Another flying visit to England— A winter's missionary our — Hull, on the Ottawa- Factions united - A fortnight well spent — Pressing onward—Rapid increase of the Church in Canada — Another visit t4) the Moravian Indians -Too much whisky- Namesake of the great London—Severe illnes8--Trouble about the Clergy Reserves— Special embassy to England— Death of Bishop Mountain, and the appointment of his successor 84 [ia CHAPTER XL An important transaction on New Year's day, 1826— Lambeth Palace— The new Bishop of Quebec- Extract from the Conse- cration Sermon -Bishop Stewart's arrival at New York — Preaches in Trinity Church, New York— Departure for Que- bec — A description of his installation from an Engliah point of Tiew 90 CHAPTER XIL Honors and dignities, but no change in simplicity of heart — Testimony of Mrg. Hannah More--" A great advancement"— First Episcopal visitatioa — Large Confirmations — Primary CONTENTS. charge to the clergy ~A call to humility— Timely suggestiont Importance of catechising— Preparation for the Lord's Supper PAoa 98 CHAPTER Xm. A successor as travelling missionary— Importance of this office— Visitations of 1827 and 1828— Modes of travelling— Interesting scene—Tour to the bays of Gasp6 and Ghaleurs— Carriage breaks down— The Bishop sitting on a pine-log'— Always in the way of duty— The wretched hovel—" Of what religion are you ?"— Saying the Catechism -An overflowing heart 1 . \i il CHAPTER XIV. Six months in the field— Various churches consecrated— Not a robust body, but a stout heart—Hard field of labor— Improve- ment — Number of clergy in 1831— Visitation of the eastern townships— The Bishop's old home—Walking in the way of the Lord -Good efiects of a Temperance Society — Useful course of ministration— Visible decay — Providing for the fti- ture— A coadjutor appointed 117 CHAPTER XV. Farewell to Quebec—The great Temperance meeting at Saratov — A speech from the Bishop — Arrival at New York — Dr. Hen shaw's last recollections of him — Reaches England — ^Afilictinf intelligence — Visit to Brighton — A touching scene in church- Prayer for a sick child — Power of faith and love 122 CHAPTER XVI. Hopes of getting back to Scotland to die^Failure of strength- Goes to London— Thoughtful attentions of a relative— Two faithful servants— Last days— Falls asleep— Estimate of Bishop Stewart's character — Origin of the word Canada— The better riches— The saint's rest— Mural tablet at St. Armaad 180 )8^ per »8 ' e— in ire .. 1 -. LIFE OF BISHOP STEWART. €imUx iitit. VISIT TO QUBBEO — SEEIXa THE LIONS — ^THE MOST INTEB- ESTINa SPOT OF ALL — ^TWO MONUMENTS OUB EEADEES COUNTED AS PERSONAL FRIENDS THE MAN NOW TO BE INTRODUCED — BIBTH — SOME IMPORTANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN REPUBLICS AND MONARCHIES TITLES OF NO- BILITY — RIGHTS OF BIBTH — ORIGIN OF SUCH DISTINC- TIONS ^THE DIFFERENT MEMBERS OF A NOBLE FAMILY, AND THE PRIVILEGES OF RANK — A MEMORABLE YEAR — PROBABILITIES — BAPTISM AND CONFIRMATION — HOPES AND PRAYERS FOR OUR LAND. N the 24th of July, 1855, I entered the gates of Quebec, a city made fa- mous by so many historical associa- tions. Like all curious travellers, I went out to the Heights of Abraham, and saw the spot where the noble General Wolfe was killed, and visited the Citadel. As a Christian and a clergyman, '"■**, 12 LIFE OF BTSTIOl STEWART. i ti ii however, my feelings were most interested while standing before the monuments, in the English Cathedral, which have been erected to the memory of Bishops Stewart and Mountain, two holy and devoted men whose names will long be held in grateful remem- brance. It is my purpose, in this little volume, to furnish a sketch of the life of the first of these distinguished Prelates. I have intruded myself so often upon the notice of my readers, that I begin to regard them as my personal friends, and it shall be my endeavor to prove myself neither a prosy nor an unprofitable companion. It has been my privilege to record the lives of some whom the Almighty raised up from humble stations to do a great work for His Church ; and I am now to speak of one who forsook the pleasures of earth, and all that wealth and high rank can oflfer, in oider to devote himself to the noble purpose ol win- ning souls to Christ. I pray God that this bright example of self-sacrifice and devotion I" I'f*/ REPUBLICS AND MONARCHIES. 13 ^ested the Jcted and fiose lem- ittle the the ard be )S7 ee m IB t > may exert an influence for good upon him who writes, and those who shall read, this book. Charles James Stewart, the fifth son of the Earl of Galloway, was bom on the 13th of April, 1775. As my readers are living under a Eepubli- can form of government, where we have no titles of nobility, I must endeavor to explain, in few words, the state of society as it exi^s in countries where such distinctions prevail. With us, every one may have the shaping of his own fortune; and, by the blessing of God upon patient and painstaking effort, there is no position of eminence which we may not hope to reach. In a Monarchy, the case is different. A King governs the nation, and his son or daughter, or some other lawful de- scendant, succeeds to this authority upon his death — and thus the ruler is horn to be such, and not elected^ as among us. Next to the Sovereign are various ranks of nobility — Dukes, Marquises, Earls, Lords, etc. — who are generally supposed to be persons of wealth 14 LIFE OF BISHOP STEWART. ;[■:; ■-I and refinement. They claim the first civil honors and privileges above the other classes of society, by the right of birth. The oldest son of a Lord succeeds to the title of his father, while the younger heirs, although considered honorable, because they have sprung from this noble stock, must make their way in life by entering one of the learned pi'ofessions, or becoming soldiers, or seamen, or anything else which they choose. Now and then, a person who has made himself distinguished by his learning or achievements, is elevated to the rank of the nobility, as in the case of Mr. Macaulay, of our own day, and the great sea-captain, Nelson, in 1801. The hereditary nobility in England had its origin at the time of the Norman Conquest, in the tenth and eleventh centuries. The father of Bishop Stewart was the Earl of Galloway, as I stated before; but I think that my young readers will now have a more distinct idea of what is meant by this title. Stewart was the family name, which would -,«'■ PRIVILEGES OF RANK. 15 belong to all of the children, and the title would descend to the eldest son. All 9f them, however, would be looked up to, as the members of a great and noble family. Their father had a seat in the House of Lords — ^the upper branch of the English Parliament ; they lived in a fine house, and were allowed various privileges, because of the position which he occupied. I am the more particular to bring this dis- tinctly before you, in order that you may realize the sacrifices which Mr. Stewart made when he left the comforts of an English home, and the advantages to which his social position entitled him, that he might preach the Gospel in the desolate places of Canada. We know but little of Bishop Stewart's youth. The year of his birth was a memo- rable one in the history of our own country, for it was in 1775 that the great struggle began, which was to end in the separation of the thirteen American colonies from the mother country. The little English boy, as M 16 LIFE OF BISHOP STEWART. i\ he grew old enough to feel an interest in the conversation of his elders, must have often heard them speak of those disturbances on the other side of the broad Atlantic, which gave the King of England so much concern, and which were the occasion of so many ex- citing debates in Parliament. Perhaps these very events led him to think more frequently of the people of that great continent, which was afterwards to become the theatre of his labors, and to implant a desire to go thither. Be all this as it may, we have every reason to believe that Bishop Stewart was a good and dutiful boy ; for only such a child could have become so great and noble a man. By far the larger portion of the people of England are members of the Apostolic Church, which was planted there, as we hon- estly believe, by St. Paul himself. Into this body of Christ the son of the Earl of Gallo- way was engrafted by holy Baptism, in early infancy, and when fourteen or fifteen years PRATEKS FOR OUR LAND. 17 t in the ''e often Qces on 5 which oncem, any ex- )s these juently , which itre of to go ^Y^'- Uf of age, he renewed the vows thus made in his behalf, in the rite of Confirmation. We hope and pray that our own beloved Church, a branch of the same true vine, may so faithfully fulfil her high and noble destiny, that it may hereafter be said of the inhabitants of this land, that all her children are taught of the Lord! Then will God's abundant blessing rest upon it. 2* reason a good I could pie of ostolic e hon- fco this Gallo- i early years Cfeajtn ^KffnJr. HOME EDUCATION — THE MOST DESIRABLE KIND OF SCHOOLS GOING TO OXFORD — FIRST GLIMPSE OF THE CITY- HIGH STREET, AND THE ANGEL INN MEMORIES OF THE PAST — A LIST OF GREAT MEN — ENTRANCE AT 00RPF8 OHRISTI CURIOUS NAMES — CAP AND GOWN — A DAY IN COLLEGE MORNING PRAYERS, AND A STUDENT's BREAK- FAST — LECTURES AND RECREATION FULL TIME FOR DINNER — THE LATIN GRACE — A BREATHING SPELL, AND THEN FOUR HOUUS' HARD WORK, NSTEAD of exposing his son to the peculiar dangers to which he would be subjected in a large, overgrown board- ing-school, the Earl of Galloway kept Charles at home, where a private tutor was employed for his benefit. Of course, I do not mean to condemn all public schools ; for we could not possibly dis- pense with them. Neither is it desirable to keep boys in perfect ignorance of the world, because, sooner or later, they must go forth ^lael GOING TO OXFORD. 19 OF SCHOOLS IIE CITY-^ !IES OF THE AT CORPUS —A DAY IN t's break- time FOR 3PELL, AND 1 to the /-ould be a board- ^ay kept private Qefit. emn all ibly dis- *able to 5 world, :o forth from retirement, and mingle with the bnsy throng. At the same time, experience has shown, that small family schools are the very ^best nurseries for training up ripe scholars, and for preserving the young from many dangerous forms of temptation. At the usual age, the future Bishop of Que- bec was sent to Oxford, and entered Corpus Christi College. And here I must pause to explain, that England, instead of being dotted all over with a multitude of Collegiate Insti- tutions, struggling for existence, has expended her energies in building up two great Uni- versities, one at Oxford and the other at Cambridge. Each of these Universities contains many distinct Colleges, but all under the general superintendence of one controlling power. It must have been a proud day for the youth, who had hitherto been so closely con- fined to his books, at home, when he went, with his tutor, to seek admission to the classic halls of Oxford. This city of Colleges is 20 LIFE OF BISHOP BTEWART. delightfully situated, on a gentle eminence, in a valley at the confluence of the Isis and Cherwell, not far from the river Thames. We may fancy Charles Stewart looking down with admiration from the neighboring heights upon the imposing spectacle produced by such a number and variety of spires, and domes, and towers ; a spectacle of such strik- ing magnificence as to astonish all who behold it. And now the coach is entering High- Street, one of the most beautiful in the world, and, like most travellers, the young man and his companion are set down at the famous Angel Inn. What a multitude of reflections must have crowded upon his mind! He was now in that city where King Alfred had once lived, and where the English Parliament had met, in days of yore. Here, Wicklifl*e, and Wol- sey, and More, and Raleigh, and Chilling- worth, and Hampden, and Clarendon, and Locke, and Addison, and Blackstone, and Lowth, and Johnson, and hundreds more, 1 a I 1 4 -u ENTRANCE AT C'OEPUS CIIBI8TI. 21 ' 1 pence, lis and JS. >oking boring diiced es, and 1 strik- beliold High- world, an and famous 5t have low in lived, d met, 1 Wol- lilling- 1, and J, and more, among tlie great ones of the kingdom, had been educated, in times gone by. *' Every College has its history; every stone, and every tree, and every turf snggost en- nobling reflections, as memorials of departed worth ; but the hallowed memory of martyrs sheds over all a deep and sober glory, that awes while its inspires."* Some of the Colleges which form the Uni- versity of Oxford are large institutions, with accommodations for many students, while others are comparatively small. Young Stewart entered Corpus Christi; very likely his father, and grandfather before him, had been educated there. My young readers would be struck with the names of these Colleges. There is one called Oriel; another, All-Souls; a third, Magdalen ; and then there is Jesus College, and Brazen-Nose ; and fifteen others, besides five Halls. These Halls differ from Colleges o Coxe's Impressions of England, p. 56 — a most charm- ing book of travels. A ■^r ,ti 'i 22 LIFE OF lURTTOT- STEWART. in this respect, that tlicy are not endowed with fellowships. Corpus Christi (the words mean the Body of Christ) was founded in 1516, and has twenty fellowships, and the same number of scholarships. As College life in England differs, in many respects, from College life in our own country, it will not be time misspent if we look in upon the son of the Earl of Galloway, and watch his proceedings for a single day. You will observe, at the outset, that he had now put on the peculiar dress used by the students at the Universities. The long, flow- ing gown (very much like that worn by cler- gymen), and the Oxford cap, with its flat top and silk tassel, show, at a glance, that his preliminary examinations are over, and that his name is enrolled among the students of Corpus Christi. It is seven o'clock, in the morning, and the bell is slowly tolling the summons for prayers. The young Collegian hastens to the Chapel, I ^ ■'/, M Hi L. A DAY IN COLT.KOK. 23 I do wed J Body id has iber of I many nintrv. ook in y, and \ • he had • by the ^ flow- y cler- at toj) 1 at his i that t Its of -■$ id the ■ 1^,, lyers. 1 lapel, « and takes his place, Prayer-book in hand, ready to unite in tlie service. This occupies half an hour, 'md then he walks about for fifteen minutes, o/ more, in the beautiful grounds, while the? bod-nuiker gets his rooms in order. I say roomys, for the student is not confined to one small apartment, but has several at his command. In the case of those belonging to noble families, like Mr. Stewart, these are fitted up with no small taste and care. The weather is cool (for it is a bracing October morning), and at eight o'clock the young man is seated before a cheerlul blazing coal fire, eating his breakfast, which is spread on a small table by his side. He intends to do a good, hard day's work, and therefore his repast is simple, nothing but rolls and butter, and a cup of tea. An hour afterwards we find him in the Lecture-room, and he con- tinues to be most closely occupied until noon. From two to four he lays aside his cap and gown, and joins his companions in some manly sports, or takes a good walk through I 24 LIFE OF BISHOP STEWART. the pleasant country bordering on the city limits. It would be well for . their health if all students were equally attentive to such things. There would be fewer pale faces amongst us, and length of days, and greater efficiency and usefulness, would be the natural result. By four o'clock the students have all returned to their rooms, and are awaiting the summons to dinner. Arrayed once more in their flowing gowns, they flock to the hall, where the substantial meal is spread, and when grace has been said, they begin with keen appetites to discuss the wholesome repast. The English students allow them- selves full time to eat, and do not bolt their meals with that hot haste which is so common with us. About three quarters of an hour after sitting down, dinner is closed by the reading of an old Latin hymn.* ^ One of these Monkigh H3m3LnB, with a translation by I ^ ^ city f all ings. t lis, ency ult. all ? the re in hall, and with some hem- their mon FOUR HOTJES' HARD WORK. 25 After dinner, no active exercise is taken, and no abstruse studies are pursued. Tie students are leisurely strolling about the College grounds, or, if the weather is inclem- ent, they betake themselves to the reading- rooms, which are abundantly supplied with papers and periodicals of every sort. At six o'clock, the chapel bell rings again, for even- ing prayers. And then come three or four hours of close study, interrupted for a few minutes to take a cup of tea, and by eleven o'clock the lights are out and all have gone to rest. Bishop Home, will be found in the Churchman! 8 Magazine, Vol. 6, p 398 (1808). 3 ^m i-.JVil rj mi ¥ ;ting f an Q by * ^la^tu ipri. COLLEGE OOTTRSE ENDED — ELECTED TO A FELLOWSHIP— ORDINATION — A HIGH DIGNITY — HI8 FIRST PASTORAL CHARGE — A SENSE OF DUTY TRIUMPHING OVER INCLI- NATION — DETERMINATION TO GO AS A MISSIONARY TO CANADA — LETTER TO HIS SISTER — APPOINTED TO THE MISSION OF ST. ARMAND— CONDITION OF THE FIELD OF LABOR A NOBLE COUNTRY NEGLECTED FOR HALF A CENTURY — FAVORABLE CHANGE IN AFFAIRS — WISDOM TAUGHT BY EXPERIENCE- FIRST APPEARANCE OF HIS DIOCESE. -BISHOP MOUNTAIN, AND THE 1 ^ ■ t! (VO)^ HEJS" Mr. Stewart had passed ^ '' 1 ? through the regular course of study }^J^4^ at Corpus Christi, and taken his degree of A. B., he was elected to a Fellowship^ in the aristocratic Col- lege of All-Souls, lie had now entered upon his twentieth year. In 1799, after taking his degree of ^ The System of FeUowships is explained in the Life of Bishop Ileber, a former volume of this series, p. 37. A HIGH DIGNITY. 27 Master of Arts, Mr. Stewart was ordained to the holy ministry, for the duties of which he had been so long striving to prepare himself. We can well imagine the solemn emotions with which he listened to the Bishop's ad- monitions when, having finished his term of service in the lower office of Deacon, he was about to be admitted to the Priesthood: " And now again we exhort you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you have in remembrance into how high a dignity, and to how weighty an office and charge you are called; that is to say, to be a Messenger, Watchman, and Steward of the Lord ; to teach, and to premonish, to feed and provide for the Lord's family; to seek for Christ's sheep that are dispersed abroad, and for his children who are in the midst of this naughty world, that they may be saved through Christ for ever." As heartily as the candidate may have resolved, by God's grace, to devote himself to this great work, he could hardly realize J ''j n n n 28 LIFE OF BISHOP STEWART. how mucli of self-sacrifice and devotion this pledge would require of him. Mr. Stewart's first charge was that of Orton Longueville, and Botolph Bridge, not far from Peter- borough. Here he continued faithfuiIy to discharge his duties for eight years. All this while he was becoming more and more seriously impressed with the idea that it was his duty to leave his native land, and go off to some distant foreign station, for which it was difficult to secure a supply of active, devoted clergymen. It was somewhat re- markable that this should be the case, for there were many reasons why it would have been natural for Mr. Stewart to desire to re- main in his own country. Being a person of noble birth and connexions, and possessed of an independent property, brought up in the lap of luxury, and little accustomed to hard- ships of any sort, worldly policy would have suggested that the road to eminence was opened before him at home, and that he had better remain where he was. 1 *i^g. S>-1 i I i MISSIONARY TO CANADA. 29 But Mr. Stewart was a man who submitted himself, most implicitly, to the leadings of conscience. No matter what motives might be urged on one side, if the voice of this faithful monitor gave its decision on the other, he was always ready to obey. A hundred clergymen would be found willing to accept the charge of his English parish, where one would present himself as a missionary for the distant field in Canada. When we think of Mr. Stewart, in his quiet rectory in Hunting- don, nursing with prayers and meditation the strong resolution which led him to quit such a position, and to embrace the trials and crosses which awaited him, we cannot but regard him as being under the influence of that Spirit of God which judges not after the manner of men, but casts down human im- aginations and high things, and brings every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Eeferring to this period, in a letter written to his sister many years after his removal to 3* i { 1 ' I (i im 30 LIFE OF BT8TI0P STEWART. I Canada, he says, "Providence originally led me to this country, and has continued me in it, in a manner which has always satisfied me that I have been following my duty ; and I am persuaded that if I am faithful, Provi- dence will continue to be my guide. You will know that those who really trust in God, see His guiding and preserving hand without their being enthusiasts. Devotion to His ser- vice made me a missionary. Some persons will tell you that I could do much good in England and Ireland, and so forth. True. But I undertook to make exertions and sacri- fices, for the cause of the Gospel and of souls, which were not necessary except in a mission- ary, and which few ministers will or can make; which is plainly the case from the difficulty of getting missionaries, and for whom our Church is calling. I well know that it was worldly motives which deterred me from offering myself sooner than I did; but, thank God ! through His providence and grace signally calling me, a weak creature, 1 iii . CONDITION OF THE FIELD OF LABOR. ?>1 pious motives prevailed. At present I must persevere in them ; and it is probable if I do not relax in piety, I shall continue to persevere in a missionary way." No one can doubt that these words were written by one whose heart was devoted to the cause of Christ. Mr. Stewart had reached his thirty-second year when he offered his services to the Soci- ety for the Propagation of tlie Gospel, and was appointed to the Mission of St. Armand, in Canada. And now, while he is preparing for his voyage, we will endeavor, in few words, to give an idea of the condition of the field in which he proposed to labor. "Although Canada had been subject to tlie crown of England for nearly half a century, and although the splendid achievement of Wolfe had invested its name with a certain degree of popular notoriety, yet the country was neglected and disparaged to a degree which seems marvellous to a generation m 'M 32 LIFE OF BIB HOP STKWA.RT. whicli has witnessed the more recent develop- ment of its resources. The population of England had not then reached that excess whicli renders emigration a familiar thought ; the protracted war with France increased the danger of the passage of the Atlantic; and perhaps Englishmen in that age considered America as a continent which the declaration of independence rendered it impossible for them to contemplate with any feeling of sat- isfaction. The noble province of Canada, in which two millions of thriving inhabitants are now found to be a population too scanty to reclaim its fertile soil, or to search out its hidden mineral treasures, was left to be oc- cupied by a tithe of that number at the close of the last century. A little English legisla- tion, and a few English troops to garrison its two small towns, and its forts, were almost the only signs of attention it received from England. Tlie population of the province, when it became subject to England, consisted of French Koman Catholics, with a few per- BISHOP MOUNTAIN. 33 jlop- of cess Ight; the and ered tion for sat- a, in ants intj t its oc- lose sla- its ost Jill ee, ed 3r- isliing Indian tribes. Disbanded soldi ci's, and camp-followers, tlie very refuse of the army, were the first specimens of English settlers. Happily for Canada, the nextipddi- tion to her population was of a more honor- able description. Loyalists driven from the American Republic came in large numbers to Canada, and found a home for, their indus- try, their laws, and their religion. Taught, by well-merited adversity, to believe tliat religion is a real and strong bond of union among Christians, British statesmen gave, or rather suflered to be given, to the exiled Church, that boon of Episcopacy which for a hundred years she sought for and was denied. "The first Colonial Bishopric, Nova Scotia, was erected in 1787; and in 1793 Canada, or, as it was then called, the Province of Quebec, was created a separate see. ''The first Bishop of Quebec, Dr. Jacob Mountain, on arriving, found in his Episcopal city neither church, nor parsonage, nor Bish- u ^ :l ■f. CI •*l i ■ t >» 34 IJFK OF I^TSTIor STEWART. op's residence; four chaplains maintained by the government, and five missionaries sent by tlie Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, constituted the whole clerical staff of his Diocese — a Diocese in which his first vis- itation extended over a line of country reach- ing more than twelve hundred miles in length, from Gasp6 to Lake Srie."^ o The (English) CJmrchman'a Magazine. >. II \ i \dhy sent the iff of vis- ;ach- igth, KM. Cpjjttr iavixi\. LEAVING ENGLAND — WHAT WORLDLY WISDOM WOULD SAT HEAVENLY C0N81DERATI0NB — ARRIVAL AT QUEBEC — SETTLEMENT AT ST. ARMANI) A MISSIONARY WHO HAD GIVEN TIP IN DESPAIR — HIRING THE LARGE ROOM IN AN INN— FIRST SERVICES — THE BALANCE STRUCK BETWEEN DISCOURAGEMENTS AND BETTER PROSPECTS — REPORT TO THE SOCIETY — LETTER TO HIS MOTHER — NOTICES OF THE COUNTRY AND PEOPLE — THE MISSIONARY'S VIEWS AND FEELINGS — KINDRED LEFT, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN. N the seventh of August, 1807, Mr. Stewart sailed from England on his self-denying mission to the New World. No doubt those who had respect unto temporal dignities and personal comfort shook their heads, saying, "How foolish in the son of the Earl of Galloway thus to throw away his fair prospects for honorable promotion at home !" But the devoted clergyman himself, who had chosen the service of a Heavenly Master, ]1 *r.i 36 IJFE OP IllSirOr STKWA.RT. .1 f \ I H i I was clicorcd, even at the painful iiiuineiit of separation from all wlio were near and deaf to liim on earth, by the sanguine anticipation that he might prove the instrument, in God's hands, of accomplishing great good for his Church. Mr. Stewart arrived at Quebec on the 27th of September, and having spent a few days there and at Montreal, he set out for his mission at St. Armand, which he reached towards the close of October. This station was on the frontier between Canada and the United States, about seventy miles south-east of Montreal. Here, the Rev. C. C. Cotton, an English missionary, had resided for some years ; but his success had been so limited, that he re- ported to the Society at home, that the people had not even a room set apart for Divine ser- vice; that they refused to give anything towards the support of a clergyman; and that even on Christinas, when the whole strength of the congregation might be ex- ,.^ it of Ideaf Ltion rod's his nmiNG LAROK ROOM IN AN INN. 37 pectcd to assemble, there were only six per- sons present, to celebrate the Saviour's birth- day by receiving the Holy Communion. Mr. Stewart reached this unpromising station on Saturday, and as there was only one tavern in the village, he took up his lodgings there. He then asked the landlord if he would hire him a good-sized room, as tliere happened to be one in the house. The good-natured man, not knowing to what pur- pose his guest proposed to put it, readily agreed to do so. "Then," said Mr. Stewart, "you will please have chairs and benches placed in it, that we may have service there to-moiTow, and I will thank you to give a general notice to the people of the town, that a clergyman of the Church of England will preach the Gospel to them." The landlord was taken by surprise, and did all he possibly could to dissuade the mis- sionary from his purpose, telling him, among other things, that a minister had come there to settle, not long before, but had found every- 4 r 38 LIFE OF BISHOP STEWART. 'ii 'if tiling so unfavorable, that he had left in despair. "Then," replied Mr. Stewart, "this is the very place of duty for me. Here I am neh:ded, and, by God's grace, here I will remain, and trust to Him, in whose hand are the hearts of all people, for success." The various motives wliich lead people in other places to attend upon the ministrations of a new clergyman brought out the inhabit- ants of St. Armand on this occasion, and for several successive Sundays Mr. Stewart con- tinued to officiate in the inn. The contrast must have been very great, between the dis- comforts of his mission and the peaceful re- tirement of his rural parish in England ; but there would be no use in giving way to re- pining, even had he been disposed to do so. Besides, after summing up all the discour- agements, tokens of coming day soon began to appear in the midst of surrounding dark- ness. Tlie people seemed interested, and al- though a considerable proportion of the in- I LETfER TO HIS MOTHER. 39 habitants were Baptists and Methodists, they were not as hostile to the Church as they have sometimes showed themselves to be in other places. In the course of a month, the services were celebrated in a small school-house, and not long after, the people had undertaken to build a church, for which a suitable lot had been given. Mr. Stewart makes his first report to the Society in April, 1808, and having mentioned these evidences of success, he concludes, by saying, that " with faith in Christ, and grat- itude to God under the continuance of His blessing, the mission may be considered a flourishing one." The following extracts, from a letter writ- ten to his mother, the Countess of Galloway, will furnish some interesting notices of the country and people, as well as of his own viev/s and feelings : " St. Armand, May 20, 1808. " Of the country, however, I shall say, that \ f 1. i '^'\ 40 LIFE OF BISHOP STEWART. it scarcely furnishes the necessaries of life, and that anything out of it is not easily got, communication in it, and all around it, being YGYj difficult. The people are worse in ap- pearance, or rather manner, than in reality or principle. They are very free and rude, but less profligate than in our coimtry. They have all sorts of notions and sects in religion, rather tlian being less religious or more un- cliristian tlian our people : far from it, I find sincere Christians of all denominations ; and no wonder they are divided, where they have no teachers, except Methodists and Baptists, and they very ignorant. Many are walling to be instructed by me, and more have been out of the way of, and inattentive to, true relig- ion, than adverse to it. In short, they suit my object — of being useful to them and the Church of Christ — fully equal to my ex- pectations, and beyond those of almost every- body, fiir and near. But my success and happiness are summed up in the assurance tluit God has blessed me in all ray plans to a kA THE missionary's VIEWS AND FEELINGS. 41 / ^ life, goty ping ap- great and most evident degree. They have been devoted as well as subject to Ilim from the beginning, and therefore He has sup- ported and made me happy in them, so as ever to add to my love and gratitude to Him. I have sincerely sought His glory and my reward and happiness in His king- dom ; and in proportion as we are devoted to these inseparable objects, we shall be happy here and hereafter. In proportion as our heart, and of course our actions, are set upon the good of our own souls, and of those which we can influence, we shall be made happy by God, and we shall be com- forted by communion with all saints. For this is the spirit of Christ's religion, and is one and the same to all His members; and the spirit of religion, that is, of God, only profiteth, for all forms are merely auxiliaries to that. Thank God ! tlie opportunities and rewards I have had in these respects make it a duty and a comfort to you, as well as myselfj I trust, to mention them to < .',. 42 LIFE OF BISHOP STEWART. you. I never was so much engaged in the exercises of religion as I have been since I came to St. Armand, and I never was hap- pier Again, money is so very scarce here that I exercise charity to great advantage in some respects ; and it is a duty incumbent on all but the poorest, and very delightful to every religious person. How grateful ought we to be to God for granting us superfluities, and enabling us to exercise our love to Him in serving His poor crea- tures, and our fellow-creatures ! What an encouragement and future reward have we in Christ's promise, that any kindness done for His sake, to any of His disciples, will be accepted by Him as if done unto Himself! Such charity or mercy may justly hope for greater mercy in the day of judgment. I have persuaded the people here to build a church, and it will be fit for Divine service to be performed in it before next winter. I have assisted the subscription in several ways. So you see 1 am very busy, but it i ri the !e I tap- fery •eat ery KINDRED LEFT, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN. 43 is for the sake of God and of heaven ; and there, and with Him, are my chief treasure and happiness. And so does He bless me, that His Gospel (Mark x. 29, 30) is in a manner realized to me ; and I could some- times almost say with Jesus, that every faith- ful Christian ' is my brother, and sister, and mother.' Yet is my affection for you and my dearest relations increased." ' rlfl m a «u,«/in- Cljajtu iiU\. A OPENING A NEW CHURCH — SIXTY CONFIRMED — WHEN A CLERGYMAN OUGHT TO BE RICH — GRAPHIC PICTURE, FROM AN EYE-WITNESS — MR. HENSHAW — THE CHOSEN ABODE OF A NOBLEMAN's SON — DEADNESS TO WORLDLY POMPS AND VANITIES — TREASURES OF WISDOM SOUGHT AFTER — NOT HANDSOME, BUT GOOD — THE MISSIONARY STORY OF WHAT HE HAD EXPERIENCED IN HIS LABORS — GOING FORTH IN THE STRENGTH OF OUR LORD GOD *' WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT I" N January, 1 809, Mr. Stewart had the ^) pleasure of opening his church at ^^^ Frelighsburg, in the eastern part of the seigniory of St. Armand, and a thousand persons were present to share the satisfaction -^vith him. When the Bishop of Quebec visited the parish, during the summer of the same year, he confirmed sixty persons. Two years later (1811) another new church was opened for Divine service in the western part of Mr. Stewart's missionary field, which had been built at an expense of four thou- GKAPHIO PICTUBK. 45 ^ 'I sand dollars ; two fifths of the cost of the two churches was borne by the minister himself. It is a good thing for a clergyman to be possessed of wealth when he knows so well how to use it to advantage. The descrip- tions of an eye-witness are always to be preferred to those of one who obtains his impressions second-hand ; and I am most happy to be able to present a graphic pic- ture here, sketched by the late Bishop Hen- shaw, of Rhode Island. In his youth (as those will remember who are familiar with his history) he was doing good service for the Church as a lay-reader, in the northern parts of New England, before he had readied the canonical age for admission to the holy ministry. During this period he became ac- quainted with Mr. Stewart. I stop, with pleasure, to allow him to speak of this in his own peculiar way :* <* For further particulars concerning the intimacy be- tween these two good men, the reader is referred to the Life of Bishop Henshaw, in this series. I ^ii ?ii/^ 46 LIFE OF BISIIOI* STEWART. -t i •ii it! I •.i< ' "It was late in December, 1811, when I was a youth of nineteen, recently graduated at one of our Northern universities, that, in compliance with the urgent invitation of Mr. Stewart, I went to aid him, by perform- ing such missionary services on the frontier of Vermont, as a candidate for orders li- censed by the Bishop might lawfully be engaged in. On arriving at his residence, I found no splendid or showy mansion ; but a low, unpretending, one-story frame house was the chosen abode of this member of one of the noblest families of Great Britain. It was placed on the brow of a lofty hill, at the foot of which lay the village of St. Ar- mand, whose principal ornaments were the school-house, where the children of the vil- lagers and the farmers of the neighboring country might be instructed in the wisdom which would be useful to them on earth ; and the church whose simple spire pointed to the heavens, both monuments of the be- nevolent zeal of the missionary. The view I)KAT>NrS8 TO WOELDLT VANITIES. 47 I d P f I from the par:onage was extensive, tliongh bounded on every side by the wide-spread forests of a new country, and w^as well adapted to the taste of one who had a heart capable of being incited to devotion and communion with the Deity by the contem- plation of His works. The arrangements of the interior of this peaceful mansion were iu perfect keeping v/ith the plainness of its ex- terior. Everything indicated the presence of a mind dead to the pomps and vanities of the world ; the pervading influence of a spirit so filled with the love of Christ, that it could cheerfully sacrifice luxuries, and even be indifferent to comforts, if, by so doing, it might better enjoy tlie sweet luxury of doing good. 'Tlie outer door opened into an apart- ment which served the double purpose of parlor and dining-room. The only furniture was a plain deal table, and a few wooden or rush-bottom chairs, together with a large chest, which served as a depository of Bibles, Prayer-books, and tracts for distribution, and I iii^^ 48 LIFE OF BTSFIOP STEAVAUT. wliich, wlien the number of guests was great* er than that of the chairs, was drawn out and used as a bench on one side of the table. Tlie meals spread on this board were frugal but abundant, and were always rendered pleasant by the amiable cheerfulness of the host, who, having no inmates in his bachelor establishment but a sorvant-man and maid, was obliged to depend on his own unaided resources for entertainment of his guests. '' On the left of the room already de- scribed was the study, which, though of smaller size, was furnished with the same strict simplicity. Here, also, was a plain table and desk, with tw^o chairs, while around the sides of the room, on common shelves, were arranged the theological books, and the few volumes in general literature, which constituted the scanty library. In this small and retired room he searched for the treasures of Divine wisdom in the sacred Scriptures, perused the works of the wise and good, who had been burning and shining s .U' NOT HANDSOME, BUT GOOD. 49 lights in the Church of former days, and, above all, held high communion with the Great Teacher, and sought for that ' unction from the Holy One' which would qualify him for the successful prosecution of his ar- duous work. " From this sacred retreat he came forth to bid me welcome on my arrival. He was a man of about the age of forty, as I sup- pose, and yet apparently much farther ad- vanced in the vale of years ; his frame robust, but prone and slightly bent, with small but keen grey eyes, a Roman nose, more pointed and hooked than ordinary, a mouth partially opened, with irregular and projecting teeth, never fully covered by the lips ; hair of a bluish cast (of which I never saw the like, except in a lady in the same family, with whom I afterwards became ac- quainted), in thick, bushy locks, profusely covering the shoulders, and lightly sprinkled with powder, giving it the appearance of a large grey wig. His limbs were badly ■ '4 ^m W- 50 LIFE OF r>TSlK)r STEWART. formed, his earria^o extremely awkward, the expression of liis eountenance void of intelli- genee, and the tout enHemhle most ungainly and forbidding. Bnt the nnpleasant feelings (connected with the disappointment of a first view were soon removed by the benevolence of his manners, and tlie kindness and friend- liness of his commnnications. " l\\ answer to an inqniry with respect to the success of his labors, he replied, as nearly as I can recollect, in the following terms : ' When I came to this seigniory, six years ago, there was no place of worship, and no minister of religion, throughout this whole region of country. The entire population, with a few exceptions, was of the most worthless character. Freed from the re- straints of morality and religion, many of them gloried in their shame, and looked with suspidon and dread upon every at- tempt that was made to introduce among them the light and influences of the Gospel of Christ. On my first arrival here, so I TIIK MISSIONARY 8 PTORY. 51 I, the ^elli- Linly liiiiTS first [erice icnd- ct to 3arly •1118 ; ears 1 no ^liole tion, most re- ' of >ked at- oiig spel so Btroiig and general was the opposition to my settlement, that I was almost on the jioint of abandoning the field in despair, when I met with a Preshyterian lady, an emigrant from tlie United States, who re- joieed at seeing a messenger of salvation, and for the love of Christ hade me welcome to her habitation. On the first occasion of my ofiieiating as a missionary, in the only school-house then erected in the neighbor- hood, but a few were present, and they in consequence of earnest solicitation ; and of this small number, one of the oldest, a be- liever in the universal salvation, made a rude and violent assault upon my labors and the doctrine which I advanced. This begin- ning, trying as it was, not only to " flesh and blood," but to faith also, only served as a stimulus to more zealous exertions — exer- tions in dependence on the blessing of Ilim who hath promised, " My word shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplibh that which I please, and it shall prosper in f y ?1 ij %. n 62 LIFE OF BI>;iIOP STEW^VRT. the tiling whereto I have sent it." Isaiah Iv. 11. In the strength of the Lord God I went forth, and in His strength I conquered. By diligent visiting of the scattered families in the settlement, and by those acts of kindness and charity to the poor which my fortune enabled me to perform, I gradually found access to the hearts of the people, without weariness or suspicion, "in season and out of season ;" in the assemblies on tlie Sab- bath, and in social meetings during the week, from house to house, " I ceased not to preach repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ." The blessing of the Holy Spirit accompanied my humble labors. A general reformation took place in public morals, and now two churches — one here, and another at Missisquoi Bay — are filled with devoted worshipj^ers. When I look upon the change, my heart is filled with joy, and I exclaim, with admiration and grati- tude, " What hath God wrought !" ' "* o Christian Keepsake (1840), p, 47. ^v^ ih Iv. went By les in dness rtiine found tliout out Sab- week, ►reacli wards )f the ibors. mblic here, filled look ^rati- (S^\^UX ^ht\. A MODEST MAN'S ACCOUNT OF HIS LABORS — THE HALF NOT TOLD — THE TRUSTY AGENT IN HIS ONE-HORSE SLEIGH — TRUE IDEA OF THE MINISTRY — TOO NOBLEi A SPIRIT TO BE INFLUENCED BY NATIONAL PREJU- DICE — LABORS IN NEW ENGLAND GOODLY GIFT TO A POOR WIDOW- u THAT BEST OF MEN, THE MINISTER v'> OF ST. ARM AND" — SITTING ON A BLOCK OF WOOD, AND TALKING OF HEAVENLY GLORIES — PRAYING FOB THE KING, BY MISTAKE — FAITHFUL FUNERAL SERVICES — SUBLIME EXAMPLE OF MINISTERIAL FIDELITY — DIS- PUTES AND WARS — 1812 — BURNING OF WASHINGTON — TRYING TIMES — HORRORS OF WAR — TREATY OP PEACE — AND A THANKSGIVING. F we relied merely on Mr. Stewart's fP modest accoimt of his own labors, and had no information from other sources, we should have a very inad- equate conception of their extent or importance. Not only was he most faithful in preach- ing the Gospel in the district which consti- 6^ '-''^i *! ( 54 LIFE OF BISHOP STEWAKT. i^; tuted his peculiar missionary field, but often- times he braved the peltings of the storm, and the intense cold of a Canadian winter, that he might bear to some distant and deso- late hamlet the message of redeeming love. Wrapped in his bufi'alo robes, and mount- ed in his one-horse sleigh, one might imagine the earnest man to be the trusty agent of a great king, carrying despatches to a far-oflf station, and intent upon business involving life and death. And surely such an im- pression would have been most just and true. Is not every faithful minister of the Gos- pel an ambassador from the King of Heaven ? and is not his errand the most important with which man can be entrusted ? Mr. Stewart's spirit was far too noble to be hampered by such narrow prejudices as national distinctions are accustomed to pro- duce. He felt an anxious desire to bring home the wandering sheep of Christ, whether they were to be found in Canada or in the territories of the United States ; and he often I THE MINISTER OF ST. AEMAND. 55 )ften- Itorm, [inter, cleso- )ve. lount- lagine 'j of a ar-ofl' living n im- i true. 3 Gos- AVEN ? ortant ble to ces as o pro- bring liether in tlio J often L Visited tlie frontier towns of New England, discharging the duties of his holy office with a zeal and devotion not unworthy of apostolic days. "Throughout the extensive sphere of his missionary labors he was known and be- loved by the faithful followers of Christ of every name. Many a widow's heart would leap for joy, when, on pointing to the val- uable cow which furnished nourishment for her numerous family, she would say, * That was presented to me by good Mr. Stewart !' or, patting the head of her little flaxen- haired boy, she would exclaim, ' He is sent to school by that best of men, the minister at St. Armand !' " None could know him without being sat- isfied that he loved to do good ; that it was better to him than his meat or drink. Be- nevolence seemed to be the very element in which he lived and moved. In strict alli- ance with this, there was a guileless sim- plicity and unaffected humility, which at- 41 II:: m [:^ ^l . ..J£ '^^ 56 LIFE OF BISnOP STEW4KT. ■ / tracted the affection and confidence of the most casual acquaintance. He seemed to consider himself as the least of all, and the servant of all. He would freely condescend to be not only the instructor, but the famil- iar companion of the virtuous in the hum- blest stations of life. As an illustration to this, I well recollect hearing a very poor, but intelligent and pious woman express her grateful surprise that Mr. Stewart would sometimes call at her log hut, and, seated on a block of wood which poverty compelled her to use as a substitute for a chair, would converse with her upon the holy themes of religion as freely and kindly as though she had been the finest lady in the land. As an instance of his frankness and be- nignity, the following incident is worthy of notice : On one occasion of his officiating on this side of the line, he inadvertently used the prayer for the king and royal family, to the annoyance of the patriotic feelings of his republican auditors. But on the circum- FAITHFUL FUNERAL 8EKVICES. 57 stance being mentioned to him before the close of the service, he said to the congrega- tion, " My friends, I entirely forgot that I was out of his majesty's dominions. Come, let us pray for the President of the United States ;" and then offered up with great fer- vency the collect in our daily service for the chief magistrate and all others in authority. The simplicity and meekness of his char- acter, however, did not prevent him from exercising the most rigid faithfulness in the ministry of the word and the performance of his parochial duties. I remember that one of the most wealthy of his parishioners lost a son, who died at about the age of twenty, in the city of Montreal. The parents were not pious; but their son, during his absence from home, had become a follower of Jesus, and died in the hope of the Gospel. In preaching a sermon occasioned by this event, the man of God, with a holy boldness which perhaps it would not have been safe for a minister holding a different relation to .■4 'v' ipf! .) m 68 LIFE OF BISHOP STEWART. his people to assume, addressing himself di- rectly to the afflicted jDarents, said, 'You grieve for the death of your child ; it is right that human nature should feel a pang of sor- row at such a bereavement. But you should adore the good providence of God by which he was placed in a pious family, where he enjoyed the benefit of domestic worship and religious instruction, which were blessed to the conversion of his soul. Had he re- mained at home, he would have been denied those privileges, and most probably would have lived careless and unconcerned like yourselves, and have died without consola- tion and hope!' What a sublime example of ministerial fidelity was this !" The angry disputes and bloody wars in which nations are not unfrequently engaged, prove a sad hindrance to the labors of the ministers of Christ. In 1812, and for some time afterwards, a contest was going on be- tween England and the United States which aroused very bitter feelings in the breasts of i HOERORS OF WAR. 59 i many on both sides. Indeed, after that wan- ton act of petty malice — the burning of our national Capitol — these hostile feelings seem to have been more intense than at any period during the great struggle for Independence. We of this generation ought to remember, however, that the destruction of Washington was not approved of by the British govern- ment, and that nowhere has stronger lan- guage been employed in condemnation of it than by the English press. Mr. Stewart found liimself placed in most awkward and trying circumstances during the continuance of this unfortunate war. The frontier settlements of Canada were kept in a constant state of agitation and alarm. No one knew at what moment the American troops might cross the borders and make an assault upon them. Many families quitted the province. Mr. Stewart's parish- ioners, among the rest, were called out to take arms and join in the contest. the horrors of war ! May the blessed 'ii^f 'I ■I II 4 f i m .ft 51 60 LIFE OF UlSIIOr STEWART. reign of the Prince of Peace be extended throughout the earth, that the nations who have so often imbrued their hands in blood may learn war no more. Tlie faithful missionary continued to hold his ground during all this trying period, and many casualties occurred which he was en- abled to turn to good account. At last, in December, 1814, a treaty of peace was signed, and a day of general thanksgiving was observed throughout Can- ada, in which no one joined more heartily than the good clergyman of St. Armand, When, humbly on our knees, in the house of God, we pour forth the earnest supplication, " That it may please Thee to give to all na- tions unity, peace, and concord," what de- vout heart wdll not gladly respond, " We beseech Thee to hear us, Good Lord ?" €\^Ux ^tb«nt|. A VISIT HOME, AFTER YEARS OP ABSENCE — THE MISSION" NOT FORGOTTEN — A WORTFIY 801IOOLMAHTER RAISED TO A NEW DIGNITY — INTERESTING REMINISCENCES — A GARMENT OF HUMILITY — SELF-DENIALS — EXPENDITURE OF SURPLUS MEANS — DR. CHALMERS' RULE CARRIED OUT — FRUITS OF FAITHFULNESS — STATED TIMES OF FASTING AND PRAYER FRIDAY WELL SPENT — CARRYING PRES- ENTS — PUBLISHES A BOOK OF FAMILY DEVOTIONS EDUCATION OF_ THE POOR — LIBERALITY — ATTENTIONS AND HONORS — THE TRUE ESTIMATE OF GREATNESS. 1^ 1815, wlien peace and harmony be- ^ tween England and America were re- stored, Mr. Stewart left his mission for a while, in order to visit his venerable mother once more before her death. He also determined to avail himself of this favorable opportunity to make known the wants of Canada to his liberal Christian brethren in England, and to collect what money he could for the building of churches 6 ':il ^■"/i m 62 LIFE OF BTSIIOP STEWART. in the poorer settlements. Tliis object was one which so readily commended itself to the notice of all, that two thousand pounds (about ten thousand dollars of our currency) were easily secured, and aid was thus afforded towards the erection of twenty-four churches in different parts of the province. I ought to have mentioned that before Mr. Stewart sailed for liis native land, he took every care to leave the affairs of his mission in safe hands. A good and devout man, Mr. James Eeid, had, for a long while, been acting as a school- master under his direction; and it occuri'ed to Mr. Stewart that the usefulness of his humble friend might be much extended by his admission to the holy ministry. Accord- ingly, the schoolmaster was encouraged to devote his spare hours to the study of Theol- ogy, and he was finally ordained by the Bishop of Quebec. As Mr. Eeid was well acquainted with the people of St. Armand, and had been accus- a «v i SELF-DENTALS. 63 Iwas the ►out ere •ded Relies Mr. took issioii eid, ihool- uri'ed f his dby cord- ed to 'heol- the .1 the ecus- I tomed to Mr. Stewart's mode of conducting the mission, he was much better qualified than a stranger could possibly be to occupy the field during his absence. This arrange- ment was therefore most properly made. And now, while the devoted missionary is absent, we shall avail ourselves of this occa- sion to give the schoolmaster's interesting recollections of his distinguished predecessor. "He was," says Mr. Reid, "clothed with humility as with a garment." This humility was manifested not only in his intercourse with people of all classes, but also in his plain and self-denying mode of life. With an in- dependent fortune, which would have com- manded many of the luxuries and elegancies of the world, he lavished nothing on selfish indulgence ; and what remained of his income, after providing for his own very moderate wants, he devoted to the great purposes of education, religion, and the relief of the poor. He never hoarded money; but whenever a fiui^lus remained at the end of the year, he :i 64 LIFE OF BISIIOr STEWART. looked out for some deserving object on which it could he usefully expended. As a missionary, Tie considered himself a soldier of Cittitst, sworn to be ready at every call of duty. He did not, however, wait for special calls; but was ever on the alert, seek ing out cases of spiritual or bodily distress, and applying to them the suitable relief. It was a special rule with him, when he missed any of his congregation from church, to in- quire at their own homes into the cause of ab- sence, and thus to make an occasion for exer- cising some part of his functions by adminis- tering rebuke, counsel, or consolation. Acting consistently on the principle which has been pithily expressed by Dr. Chalmers, that "a house-going minister makes a church-going people," he never allowed distance, or the severity of the climate, or the state of the roads, always bad in the spring and autumn, to deter him from visiting the sick or suffering members of his widely scattered flock. He always kept a chest of medicines, but never, J' RID AY WKLL STENT. 65 on If a ery tfor eek ress, It lissed |o in- )fab- exer- tiinis- cting been .t ''b. :oing • tlie the linn, iring He ivei\ it is said, [)ros(u-il)e(l. The efFect of siicli a devoted and alleetionate ministry was to win many to the Clinrch; and Mr. Reid testitics that, in 1812, only live years after Mr. Stew- art went to reside at St. Arniand, crowds of persons were to be seen eacli Snnday making their way from every townsliip and clearing within a considerable circuit to the mission church. "Many," says Mr. Ileid, "attribute their first religious impressions to him; and many of the children whom he baptized were called by his name, in token of the love and veneration which were borne to him by tlieir parents. To many, indeed, he acted as a godfather; of these he kept a list, and made it his special duty to pray for them at stated times, especially on his days of solemn fasting and prayer." He wg,8 in the habit of devoting every Friday, when he was at home, or re- maining stationary for a week or fortnight in one place, to the religious exercises which are enjoined by the Church. When he went on his circuits from time to time, he carried 6* 1 •A i^i^,. 66 LIFE OF B7STI0P STEAVART. presents of religious and instructive books, adapted to the circumstances and capacity of his god-children and others, and accom- panied his gift witli advice suitable to each case. Many of the Bibles, Prayer-books, and devotional tracts so given are still treas- ured up as memorials of the good Bishop, who moreover compiled a volume of Family and Private Prayers, which was presented to every family of his two congregations at St. Armand. He was a zealous promoter of the education of the poor, and maintained one or two children at each of the schools within his mission. As a proof of his lil)erality in this matter, it may be mentioned that his ac- count for the board and education of poor children, during his absence in England, from 1815 to 1817, amounted to £100." During Mr. Stewart's visit to England, besides the satisfaction of visiting liis kindred, and makins: collections for Chiircli missions in Canada, it must have been gratifying to him to find that his zealous labors were duly :s, 'J LS- l7 to ISt. 1 TRUE p:stimate of greatness. 67 appreciated. Mueli attention was shown him, and he was honored with the degree of Doctor of Divinity. This degree is conferred with so little dis- crimination and judgment hy many of the Colleges in our own country, that with us it is scarcely regarded as an honor at all. In England, the case is quite different. There, no one receives the title of Doctor of Divinity whose ripe scholarship or high standing does not entitle him to such a distinction. Now, although no one who knew him ever pretended that Mr. Stewart's mind was either brilliant or profound, he was a good scholar, and was always remarkable for his strong common sense, which is worth much more than more showy gifts. The proof of our abil- ities is in what we actually accomplish. Mr. Stewart was noi distinguished as one wliose genius astonished, and wliose eloc|uence charmed the world; but few men have ever been more successful in their ministry than the missionary of St. Armand. .m m f E Ml ¥ 3 -#f,, 1'l ^ni^Ut €W\. EETUBN TO CANADA — HOW MR. REID HAD BEEN GETTING ALONG ANOTHER EVIDENCE OF HUMILITY — REMOVAL TO HATLEY — A VISIT FROM A FRIEND, WHO REPORTS WHAT HE SAW — THE GARRET AND THE LADDER — " HE WAS SO prompt" — BOOTS SHINING TOO NICELY — DESE- CRATION OF SUNDAY — PAYING A MAN FOR GOING TO CHURCH — STYLE OF LODGING SALT AND POTATOES LITTLE TIME WASTED IN SLEEP. E. STEWAET returned to Canada in November, 1817. During his ab- sence, Mr. Reid, whom he had left in charge of his stations in the dis- trict of St. Armand, had devoted himself most diligently to his duties, and the results showed that he was a work- man who needed not to be ashamed. Tlie people respected and loved him, and the con- gregations continued to increase. Dr. Stewart was highly gratified to find that no evil consequences had grown out of j A VISIT FROM A FRIEND. 69 his long absence, and insisted, with his ac- customed humility, that Mr. Reid should re- main at St. Armand, while he himself entered upon a new field. He accordingly transferred his services to a neglected district named Ilatley, where he continued for a year. The present Bishop of Quebec (at that time the Rev. George J. Mountain) gives the fol- lowing interesting account of a long visit which he made to Dr. Stewart at Ilatley : "My father (the Bishop of Quebec) was in England upon Church matters at the time, and I went into the eastern townships, at the desire of the late Duke of Richmond, then our governor-in-chief, who was new in the country, and wished to collect information about the state and prospects of the Church in the more receut settlements, and to for- ward her interests. Ilatley was then a place inhabited chiefly by xYuiericans from the other side of the lines, and there was scarcely an indiv^idiial in the entire tract of surround- ing country with whom tlie Hon. Mr. Stew- I: IE 70 LIFE OF BISHOP STEWART. art could associate as a congenial companion in habits, manners, or attainments. 1 found liim in occupation of a small garret in a wooden house, reached by a sort of ladder, or something between that and a staircase: here he had one room, in which were his little open bed, his books, and his writing-table; everything of the plainest kind. The farmer's family, who lived below, boarded him and his servant. Soon after my arrival, I was seized witli an attack of illness, and he im- mediately gave me up his room, and made shift for himself in some other part of the house; how, I know not. " And here, buried in the woods, and looking out upon the dreary landscape of snow, some thousands of miles away from all his connex- ions, many of whom were among the highest nobility of Britain, this simple and single- hearted man, very far from strong in bodily health, was laboring to build up the Cliurch of God and advance the cause of Christ among a population who were yet to be I i «' HE w\s SO rnoMrr.' 71 ^^ Mr. nnvtliin^ approaching to order, ".:;t^:i r ^^^^ed i. of .., w. .. :^: utter strange, to t.e CUurcW Man^, with, I believe, the excep-n « ^ !4 f.nUy, and not pavt..pav^- Jat majority of instances, of e^ther o \. nf the Christian religion, mey Sacraments of th«^ ^^^^ ,^,,t part ,vere, however, -^^ ^^^^., ^, .^tend- , other systems, and in h ^^^^ ^^^^ '^^" 1 rl-rtmightaswellhe in their way. J^i- <= . ^^^^t. -«"r'''''tt: n^: iiu, or „. „p„„ t!,e vor, 1^ » „,„,„ first iMl»« ""i """" ' , ' Km, lli«' tl^^ i' "ii IP' 72 LIFE OF BISHOP STEWART. r when he first came among them, they could not believe he was a clergyman, because, as they expressed it, he was so prompt. They referred in this to a certain quickness, ab- ruptness, and liveliness of manner which characterized him, and which singularly con- trasted with the slow, measured drawl and demure austerity of deportment which ad- hered, from puritanical ancestors, to the or- dinary teachers of religion who had been among them. " One man, who was a great religionist in his way, pronounced decisively that Mr. Stewart had no piety, because hits boots shone so nicely ; his English servant, with- out much solicitude on the part of his mas- ter, having probably brought out some good Day and Martin, with proper brushes, which produced an effect quite new in that locality. He won, however, rapidly upon all parties, and by slow degrees formed a church con- gregation at Hatley, and others in the neigh- borhood — the foundation of those which now 73 DEBECBATION OF StTNDAT. exist in the xnissions of Hatley, Con^pto., and elsewhere. . tice «th the people, yh" »» .„.„g tl.e,», to follow ttar mal W^" "» ^""MTi ::7fL ^-^)">- :::^:Jo„Ke»w..M..H.«- ta wort, «.a th. m.n "'""""f ,.t„, u ^+ oflFord to lose a aa} b he could not ^" ^^^,, „„ „l„t t *; "."twf h,Wf ..a „« oxen «» the day » 1*0' ol o , „,,„twhioli, worth; »ix>"'"»"8'°"'tt to, the moment :r:;r:ei.«™>.. * i. a^ded^^ - f Imir how omf»""ly ht. presevved » l:rf:L;^ow...dUyhe.ecommod.t»> 7 ■i;l .1 74 LTFK OF BISHOP STEWART. himself to the habits of the country, and how completelj he gave np his whole man to the work upon whicli he had entered ; for my illness, with the state in whicli it left me as a convalescent, detained me for five or six weeks under his roof." The style of his lodging is still more mi- nutely described by the Rev. C. Jackson, who afterwards succeeded to the mission of Hatley, and who has furnished the following particulars : " During Dr. Stewart's residence at Hat- ley he boarded with Mr. E. Bacon, who speaks of Dr. Stewart with great reverence as one of the best men he ever knew. The chamber which he occupied was an upper room of a house one and a half story high, and consequently the roof on one side com- ing down to within two feet of the floor ; it was twelve feet by fourteen, with his bed in it ; and during a part of the time he occu- pied it, the opposite chamber in the same house was used as a shoemaker's shop. Till r»t» I,ml.K TIMK WASTCP IN ST.y.EP. 75 *i '■i' i.nnt he preached twice every ft churcli was built, ne \n<. ^ • « i.rivate house occupied by Mi. Sunday m a puvate ,, ^ ^„ek he occa- E.mdleigh-,andd«nngth we^ sionally lectured to a few people ,,.,or three days in each -^,-^;- other three were spent rn v^ ««g ^-^^^^^'^rSd^:ast^otedtofast- Each returning Fnday w ing, meditation, and prayer; his d nne . Z day, was salt and potatoes , and he :i. iSt his room on such o.as.ns ^^ -^r^rL^xttir^"^^^^"^ prayers at night, he seiao * 1 i^,.v in the morning, and nevw till two o clock m tue ^^^^, allowed himself more than four oi sleep." li t : |l Clapttr iintt PKOULIAR ADVANTAGES FOR MISSIONARY LABOR — A WIDEB FIELD LAID OPEN — LOOKING ON THE MAP — JOURNEY TO MONTREAL, AND TO MANY OTHER TOWNS AND VIL- LAGES— TUE IRISH SETTLEMENTS — REMAINS OF THE SIX NATIONS — DUTIES DISCHARGED BY OUR GENERAL MIS- SIONARY — EXTREME WESTERN BORDER OF CANADA RETRACING STEPS — GENERAL REVIEW OF THE WHOLE TOUR ONE OF THE PRACTICAL EVILS OF DISSENT, UT however successful Dr. Stewart had been in his eifbrts to build up the Church at Ilatley, his soul was ^ burning with a holy ambition to do still more in tlie service of his Di- vine Master. With the ardor and self-devotion of the Saints of earlier days, he regarded no laboi* or sacrifice too great in such a cause. His position as an unmarried man, with no home associations to confine him to one spot, made it comparatively easy for him to enter I A WIDEK I'lKLD LAID Ol'KN. 77 'I DEB pEY TO VIL- fK 81X f' MIS- DA HOLK wart d up was do Di- and , lie iii no >ot, ter upon a wider field of missionary duty. Moreover, the possession of an ample for- tune gave him advantages which a poorer person could not possibly have enjoyed. It is beautiful to observe how carefully ho limited his personal expenses, in order that the larger share of his income might be de- voted to the Church. His letters written to English friends would give them little idea of the hardships which he endured. Indeed, he had become so accustomed to the shelter of a rude hut, and the coarse fare of brown bread and salt pork, that he almost ceased to think of such inconveniences himself. It was in the year 1819 that Dr. Stewart received the appointment as visiting mission- ary in the Diocese of Quebec, which then em- braced the whole province of Upper Canada. In order that my readers may follow the good man with more interest through his various wanderings, I would recommend that they should look out the places on the map, 7^ I: r (l hi'i m T8 LIFE OF BISnOr STEWART. )■ as the name of each town and village is men* tioncd. As soon as Dr. Stewart received the ap- pointment to which we have just referred, he began to make frequent excursions to differ- ent points about Hatley ; and early the next year (1820) he set out on a more extensive journey. lie went to Montreal, passing through Shefford, and Chambly, and, indeed, halting at every place, however small or insignifi- cant, where the services of a clergyman might be desired. From Montreal he turned his face westward, to St. Andrew's and the Ilawkesbury settlement, on the Ottawa river. Here he found many of the people anxious to have a church ; but, as is often the case, it was a hard question to decide where it should be built, each little cluster of cabins and cottages thinking its own claim to be preferred. Advancing still further towards the set- ting sun, the undaunted missionary found the JOURNEY TO VARIOUS TOWNS. 79 I'M. ten- ap- 1, he [ffer- lext lisivo nigli ilting nifi- man irned i the river, xions case, sre it abiiis ;o be set- ithe prospect briglitening ; and at Mille Eoches, the erection of a place of worship had ac- tually been begun, through the efforts and encouragement of the Rev. Salter Mountain. At Prescot, also, it was expected that a church would be completed by the close of the summer. Dr. Stewart next w^ent to Kingston (then the largest town in Upper Canada, with a population of four thousand), and passing by Hamilton and Port Hope, he paid a visit to the Irish settlements in the counties of Cavan and Monaghan. The people were anxious to secure the services of a clergyman and schoolmasters, and promised to do all they could for their support. A church had then lately been built at Queenston, near the Falls of Niagara, and good hopes wore entertained for the Church at Markhain and Newmarket. Passing around the borders of the lake, Dr. Stewart reached York, then the seat of government for Upper Canada. The name 4 3 li\ n 1 80 .LIFE OF BISHOP STEWART. has since been changed to Toronto. From there he made his way to the Indian settle- ment on the Grand Eiver, the remains of those famous tribes of the Six Nations, which took sides with the British during the war of Independence. King George III. had built a church for them, and here Dr. Stewart (assisted by the Rev. E. Leeming) performed Divine service, preached, and administered Baptism and the Lord's Supper. He was greatly pleased with the devout behavior of the congregation, and with the spirit with which they joined in the chants and psalms. Everywhere that he went, our missionary acted as a peace-maker, to heal divisions in distracted neighborhoods, and encouraged the building of churches, and the employment of ministers and teachers. He pursued his course, in spite of all ob- stacles, to the extreme western border of Can- ada, and was gratified to find substantial brick churches at Sandwich and Amherst- burg. rom :tle- of lich I war RETRACING STEPS. 81 The Rev. Mr. Pollard had been the agent for the accomplishment of this good work, as well as for the establishment of the Church at Chatham. On his way to this last-named place, Dr. Stewart passed through the " Long Woods," an uninhabited region of nearly thirty-five miles extent, when he found himself at Fair- field, the Moravian village of the Delaware Indians, on the southern bank of the Tliames. The good order and neatness which pre- vailed spoke well for the faithful labors of the German missionary, Denche, who had devoted so many years to their service. On his return Dr. Stewart rode through a thinly-settled country, and trac^ts almost im- passable, to the residence of Colonel Talbot, who was the first settler in that district* In his passage he met with several families be- longing to the Church of England, and afforded tlicm an opportunity of having their children baptized. Such is a brief abstract of the report presented by Dr. Stewart in per- ti f d •f' 1 •' 11 ^^.■■■^toiiaii-tr 82 LIFE OF BISIIOr STEWART. son (for he again came home in the autumn) to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, on the 20th of December. The tour had occupied very nearly six months ; and although, from the beginning to the end of the report, he makes no allusion to the labor he underwent, and the privations which he had to bear, it must be borne in mind that such a journey, through a country like Can- ada thirty years ago in the depth of winter — a country without inns and very thinly peo- pled — must have fully tried both his moral and physical powers of endurance. Many a missionary who has braved the dangers of a pestilential climate, and the treachery and fanaticism of a savage race, would have shrunk from the chill forest rides, the long, solitary evenings, and the wretched accom- modation, which this high-born but humble minister of the Gospel welcoiuud and gloried in for his Master's sake. One general remark which Dr. Stewart made, on a review of the country which he Lmn) the tour and id of labor ;h he that Can- iter — ^ peo- moral lany a 'S of a y and . have (3 long, accoin- luiablc gloried .T vvTTS OF DISSENT. PR ACTIO A.L 1ML« ^'^ 83 A was tlns-tliat the propagation of traversed, was this ^ ^^^^ ^^^^ xi, p .^qt^pI was mainly impeatju j the Cjospei av^o i^.ec;ml^ A variety of unity in religiouB 1-^ ^^^^^^^^^^^ ,.,, ,, sects existed eve.y w - , - ^^^^ ^^^^._ n: laX eo:::;.nce .a. t.at in suasion, and t ^^^^.^ce of public ""'"' !f I: practical eviis of division, this is one of the pi ^^^^^. .vliicli lias not commonly receive tion it deserves * i%„ <;W' . \n Stewart iiicli he (^]mUx %tnt\. ANOTHER FLTINa VISIT TO ENGLAND A WINTER 8 MIS- SIONARY TOUR HULL, ON THE OTTAWA — FACTIONS UNITED A FORTNIGHT WELL SPENT PRK.SSING ON- WARD — RAPID INCREASE OF THE CHURCH IN CANADA ANOTHER VISIT TO THE MORAVIAN INDIANS — TOO MUCH WHISKY NAMESAKE OF THE GREAT LONDON — SEVERE ILLNESS — TROUBLE ABOUT THE CLERGY RE- SERVES SPECIAL EMBASSY TO ENGLAND — DEATH OF BISHOP MOUNTAIN, AND THE APPOINTxMENT OF HIS SUCCESSOR. N 1821, Dr. Stewart made another short ) visit to England, partly to see his rel- ^ atives and friends, but principally to further the interests of the Church in Canada. Tlie winter of the same year finds him agahi at his work, pushing his way through the snow, to look after the scattered sheep in that vast moral wilderness. This tour was limited to the boundaries of what MI8- noNS ON- SATlA. —TOO ION — r nB- H OF F HIS sliort 8 rel- lly to rch in finds 1 way ittered This f what A FOKTNKfflT WELL SPKNT. ■ J ^ l.i« home circuit, viz., Siicr- he considered his ^':^' ^ .^d ::r:nt::c..oree.ensu..i^^^^^ of his stopping-places ^-^ M, o Ottawa river. The P™-l-\;;";^^. g,,,. ^eve of Preshyterian descent, but Di • b It soon persnaded all factions to unite their and other persons ottai^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ T^rT tll^t stopped a fortnigh '^ rmr W itse, in the township of Yonge, with mi. win , ^^g rendei- the breakhig np of the ^^"'^^ ^^„. • tv^vellini: almost ni:possihle. -li^ ing tiaveums, ,. tr. the best ad van- B„c..me, K.,..»... ;;ft« r*'^' ronto. Tlie members of the m^ t -k. 41 Hir: 8P> TJFE OF BISHOP STEWART. in Canada were then a small body, compared with the multitudes who called themselves by various names ; but so faithful were the labors of the early missionaries, and so abun- dant was God's blessing, that as far back as 1849 the number of Churchmen had increased until it embraced one third of the population. Dr. Stewart continued his journey to Chat- ham, on the extreme western border, where his former visitation had ended. lie then ])rocGeded twenty-one miles higher up the Thames, to the Moravian village of tlie Del- aware Indians. It grieved him to find how hopeless a task it was to attempt to improve the condition of these poor people, so long as unprincipled white men furnished tliein with spirituous licpiors, and set before them the examr)le of depraved manners and unlicensed passions. The condition of London (a namesake of the great metropolis of the world) was found to be highly prosperous ; and here our mis- sionary officiated on Sunday, July 28th, bap- red ves the ain- c as aeed bion. Jhat- liere then ) the Del- Bi task (lition cipled •ituous Die of ions, ake of i fuuud ur mis- [h, bap- ^ niVRGV RESERVES. 87 ^ knnV'T THE CLl^^l^^ ^ TROUBLE ABOLT \ ,,„, a.ee ad.U. a.d -c^^ ^^X^ ., urge family, -^^^J^^\ .^a wallced ten father, sons and daugh^^^^^^^^ miles to enjoy the priv „ eervices. ^ clergyman was twice attacKea ^_^^^^ ^^^^^^^ of liovemboi, no w" three weeks. ^ AssemWy, ^"^^ tlr -da: address to tUo i- Lower Canada ^^^..^^^^^ ,^, 1-"^' ^^^-^^^/l in the revenue wluch inations nnglit sliare ^^^^^^^ ^^^. the benetit ot the M 1 ^^^^ ^^.^^^,,s, ,,.uUin regar 0^^^^^^^^^ npon the r.ght» ot tUo ^^ ^^^^,^^^^^ „^ avt-scouu>us.on-^^^^^^^^.^ the Bununer ot 1^-^'; ^^^^^,,i,.* 4-r. tlie propyl auiii*^^ ^ ,^onJo_tl.elJ__ ^^--^^ Clergy Beserve., .eo C/m«/. it HH m '1'l!i 88 LIFE OF TiTFlIOl' STIOWAKT. But while engaged in this perplexing busi- ness, the Canadian delegate took occasion to renew his personal applications to his friends and acquaintances for funds towards the building of churches in that vast region of spiritual destitution to which his life was de- voted. Dr. Stewart returned to America as soon as he had attended to his important errand, and landed at New York in Novem- ber, 1824. Another extensive missionary journey was entered upon, and many encouraging signs were discovered for the future prosperity of Zion. Long before the period of which we are speaking, the health of good Bishop Mount- ain had become so impaired that he was most anxious that his Diocese might be divided and his labors lightened by the appointment of another Bishop. All eyes were turned upon Dr. Stewart as the person who should be called to this high and most arduous office ; but it was not until ^■4tn ►U81- )n to [ends the [1 of Is de- ica as rtant ^vem- DEATII OF BISHOr MOUNTAIN". 89 after the death of Bishop Mountain, in 1825, that the devoted missionary was summoned home, to be crowned with the mitre, and to receive that pastoral staif which is the token of heavier responsibilities and sacrifices man- ifold. 1 I was signs tyof e are ount- most aded ment 1 il If rt as high until Cljnjjtcr (^Ubcnt^, I. AN IMPORTANT TI?ANS ACTION ON NEW YEATl's DAY, 1828 LAMBETH PALACE — THE NEW lUSHOP OF QrEBEO — EXTRACT Fi:oM THE CO.VHEOllATION 8EHMON BISHOP BTEWAUt\s AliiaVAL IN NEW YORK — PliEACHEJ^ IN TRINITY CHURCH, NEW YORK — DEPARTURE FOR yl'E- liEC — A DESCRIPTION OF HIS INSTALLATION FROM AN ENCLISH POINT OF VIEW. X tlie Feast of the Circumcision, Jan. 1st, 1826, an important transaction JaHJ/I took place in the Chapel of Lam- beth Palace. The Eev. Charles J. Stewart, D. D., whose career we have thus far traced, was then consecrated Bishop of Quebec. Archbishop Sutton presided on the occa- sion, being assisted in the laying on of hands by Dr. Howley, Bishop of London, Dr. Van Mildert, Bishop of Llandaff, and Dr, Bloom- field, Bishop of Chester. r-c V happy results will ^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^^, causes unfovcBeen ^^-Jj^ ^^^^^^^.^ ,f nearly so), without a v cw ^ ^.^^.^^^ p.ol-cssU>ual adv..a,^ ^^t ^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^.^^,^,, ^^^"^'"^^ri on lus anao.-tl.e whole armor ot God , ..^.tplate of rigbt- eousn.SB,lus ^^^^^^^^ _^^^,, ,u, taking «^^^"^rf.1l/l Vet of salvation, tbe shield of t.uth t^e b ^^ .^^ .^ ^^^^ andtbeswordo^^ - ;^^^ aangers and d^com^^^^^^^^^^^ immense ocean, the se ^^^^^^ state of temporary e«le, be we and began bis piouB work. i 4'i l*kl ';:*! i;!' m IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 l^|2£ |25 ■^ lii 12.2 u K4 2.0 M u 114 % % -*' V ^' v: 7 /A Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14S80 (716)872-4503 '^'V^ '<^ 6^ 92 LIFE OF BISHOP STEWART. "We cannot trace him through his va- rious labors ; we cannot enumerate his disin- terested sacrifices ; we cannot duly estimate the extent or mamitude of his services ! The annual reports of our venerable Society may give an outline of the liberal system on which he has been acting for many years past : that of establishing the fear and the worship of God ; that of promoting the erection of churches, and of houses for their ministers ; and, in short, hj donations, by collections, by the most active exertions, whether in Canada or in England, straining every nerve to assist the well-being, the mental improvement, the spiritual edifica- tion of those friendly and valuable provinces so happily connected with this country. " Ever ready to dispense the blessings of Christianity, the special missionary went forth, and traversed many thousand miles to animate, to encourage, to instruct and com- fort the Christian families around him, where- soever they might be scattered. In journey- PREACHES IN TRINITY CHURCH. 93 ings often, in perils of water, in weariness and painfulness, in hunger and thirst, wan- dering across the trackless desert, or pene- trating the gloomy forest, that he might communicate to them who were walking in darkness the means of salvation, the light of life. He literally might be said to have upon him the care of all the churches, and (as in the instance of his great prototype) he strove abundantly to render the Gentiles fellow- heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ, by the Gospel. Bright and glorious is the prospect now be- fore him, in the ripening harvest to which he is called." As soon as Bishop Stewart could complete his- arrangements, he sailed once more for America, and landed at New York on the 20th of May. On the Sunday morning following he preached in Trinity Church, at the invitation of Bishop Hobart, who was then the rector ; and in the afternoon attended All-Saints' I'M ■JW i'l;' '.'1 V^ m ■ :* .- 1 94 LIFE OF BISHOP STEWART. Chapel, when the Bishop of New York ad- ministered Confirmation. Bishop Stewart left New York on Wednes- day, accompanied by his chaplain, the Eev. Mr. Morgell, and by the Eev. Mr. Hudson, of Kingston. As we have no such ceremonial in the American Church as the Installation of a Bishop, w^e quote the very interesting account which appeared in the Quebec Gazette^ of the 5th of June, 1826 : " Yesterday the Lord Bishop of the Diocese was installed in the Cathedral Church, with the usual formalities, adapted in some points to local necessity. As this ceremony, which is partly legal and partly ecclesiastical, is a novelty to many persons in this country, it may not be uninteresting to describe it. "The Christian religion is ordained to pass through different stages, and subject, by the appointment of Providence, to great varieties of outward circumstance. The Church of Christ, as well as her ministers individually, DESORirXION OF III8 INSTALLATION. 95 ought to * know both how to be abased and how to abound.' In such a condition as is enjoined by that branch of the Church which is in connexion with the British empire, it is suitable in itself, and subservient to a general reverence for religion, that particular occa- sions should be marked by a certain degree of form and state ; and it is believed that the distinctions with which the new Bishop was received in the Cathedral were regarded with interest and satisfaction by the whole of a crowded congregation ; an interest, however, and a satisfaction which derived their highest zest from the feeling universally entertained, that the subject of these distinctions is an approved and laborious servant of the Gospel. " His lordship having arrived at the prin- cipal entrance of the church, and having de- scended from his carriage with his attend- ants, his chaplain knocked for admission at the door. The clergy and inferior church officers being assembled within, it was de- manded, W/to was there ? In answer to which, I;:' m ::i,l ■\tii- 96 LIFE OF BISHOP STEWART. The Bishop of Quebec was announced. The doors were then opened, and while a volun- tary was played by the organist, the proces- sion moved up the centre alley in the following order (the clergy attached to the Cathedral establishment wearing their surplices, with the distinctions of their respective clerical rank or academical degree, and those who attended upon the Bishop being in their robes ; the choir and inferior church officials also wearing their respective habits) : " The sexton ; the boys of the choir, two and two ; the men of the choir, two and two ; the church clerk ; the assistant minister of Que- bec and the minister of the chapel of ease (being a dependency of the Cathedral) abreast; the evening lecturer of the Cathedral ; the archdeacon ; the Bishop's domestic chaplain, and acting chaplain for the occasion, abreast ; the verger, with his staff ; the Bishop. " As soon as the procession reached the rails of the Communion-table, at the upper end of the church, the sexton, choristers, ver- 'K- DESCRIPTION OF HIS INSTALLATION. 97 ger, and church clerk filed off in the rear of the pulpit, and proceeded to their respective places in the church. Tlie Bishop and clergy passed within the rails, where the chair of ceremony was placed at the north side of the altar. The royal mandate under the great seal, directing the Archbishop of Canterbury to consecrate the Hon. and Rev. Charles James Stewart to the bishopric of Quebec, was read by his Lordship's chaplain, the seal being supported by the Eev. J. J. Mountain, from Upper Canada, acting for the occasion. An oath was then administered to his Lord- ship by the archdeacon, relating to his faith- ful government and guardianship of the establishment of the Cathedral Church (the ordinary powers of a dean and chapter being in this instance vested in a great measure in the Bishop). The archdeacon then conducted his Lordship to the throne, or episcopal seat. The Bishop afterwards read the Communion service, and discharged the principal part in the solemn administration of the Sacrament." 9 :.. 'i^^^l I'Xl i!!. ^i^:' €\i\iiUx f toelft^. HONORS AND DIGNITIES, BUT NO CHANGE IN SIMPLICITY OF HEART — TESTIMONY OF MRS. HANNAH MORE — "a GREAT advancement"— FIRST EPISCOPAL VISITATION LARGE CONFIRMATIONS PRIMARY CHARGE TO THE CLERGY — A CALL TO HUMILITY — TIMELY SUGGESTIONS IMPORTANCE OF CATECHISING — PREPARATION FOR THE lord's SUPPER. ^ET it not for a moment be supposed that the title of "my Lord," which was bestowed upon Bishop Stewart, or the pomp and pageantry attending his installation, had produced the slightest change in the simplicity and godly sincerity of the laborious missionary, whose weary steps we have so long been fol- lowing about. Mrs. Hannah More remarked, in a letter to Dr. Wilson (the late lamented Bishop of Calcutta), dated May, 1821, " I have had a FIRST EPISCOPAL TISITATION. 99 5IMPLT0ITT lORK — " A '^ISITATION E TO THE GGK8TI0NS TION FOR apposed " which Stewart, ;tending ted the sity and sionary, een fol- i letter ihop of ) had a visit from my valued friend, Dr. Stewart, from Canada. It was pleasant to hear a man of his birth speak of it as a great admrnce- ment that he was now appointed a travelling missionary, instead of a local one. I find him mucli improved in spirituality. He had l)een the honored instrument, since we last met, of causing twenty-four churches to be built." ^ If Dr. Stewart's heai*t thus became more wedded to his work when he was appointed a travelling missionary, in a far higher de- gree did he realize his awful responsibility when the office and authority of a Bishop in the Church of God were conferred upon him. As soon as he reached his Diocese, he began a tour for the purpose of administering Con- firmation. Six years had passed since this h - rite had been performed in any Canadian town except Quebec, and considerable numbers were waiting to receive it. • Hannah More's Life and Letters, Vol. IL, p. 342. f^j 1 100 LIFE OF BISHOP STEWART. Two hundred and five candidates present- ed themselves in Quebec, two hundred and eighty-six in Montreal, thirty-seven at Niag- ara, one hundred and eight at York, one hundred and fifteen at Kingston, and seventy- eight at Perth. Many of these persons were advanced in years. In the month of August, Bishop Stewart delivered his primary charge at Monti-eal and York. It was the earnest and affectionate address of a chief pastor to his brethren, breathing throughout a most profound sense of his own vast responsibility and an ardent desire for the prosperity of the Diocese over which he had been called to preside. As this charge is a valuable document, and one which it is not easy to obtain, I shall gratify my readers by giving a few extracts from it. The Bishop thus began : " My Reverend Brethren — On this new and solemn occasion of our meeting, many topics of great interest present themselves to our consideration. I shall select those which / A CALL TO HUMILITY. 101 )re8ent^ •ed and t Niag- rk, one eventj- ns were Stewart eal and ^tionato ■ethren, a sense ardent se over e. As ^d one gratify rom it. 18 new many- yes to which demand our chief attention ; even to them, I fear that I cannot do that full justice which their importance deserves. " The subject which first presses itself on your feelings and mine is that of mutual con- dolence on the loss we have sustained in the death of our dear and excellent friend and counsellor, the late Bishop of this Diocese. " We all recollect with lively rememl^rance the virtues and piety of his character, and the learning and abilities which distinguished him ; and with sorrow and sympathy we reflect on our being deprived of his example and guidance. This aifectionate remembrance and these just reflections will always stimu- late us, I trust, to greater watchfulness, dil- igence, and exertions in the performance of our respective duties ; but they add to my concern on your account, and to anxiety on my own. They make me more sensible of my inferiority in many respects, and my comparative unfitness for so great a charge and so responsible an office. The plainness 9* jl: l*lr f r c .i!lf m 102 LIFE OF lUSTIOP STKWART. of this call to linmility on my part, and my improvement of it, may be of advantage to me, bnt it cannot be beneficial to you except in the occasion it affords, and which I beg you will use, of exercising greater charity and candor towards me. This, however, I have encouragement to expect from a review of my long and intimate acquaintance with many of you, the kind reception I have lately experienced, and the very favorable senti- ments of regard for me which you have so warmly expressed. It has not pleased the Giver of every good and perfect gift to dis- pense his talents equally to all. Such as have been mercifully granted to me I shall endeavor to use to the best of my power in furtherance of the great cause we have at heart ; and confiding with humility and rev- erence in God's blessing on your prayers and mine, and on our joint exertions, I trust we shall be mutually profitable to each other and to the people committed to our charge." After some important and timely sugges- .'.i: i- I IMPORT A ^'U7': OF CATKCniSING. 103 knd my |tage to except I beff eliaritj ever, I review e with > lafely senti- lave so ed the to dis- uch as [ shall wer in tve at d I'ev- •ajers . trust other 'ge." gges- tions 111 regard to puhlic worship and tlie proper appreciiation of Baptism, Bishop Stew- art speaks of the duty of catechising. "For the benefit of the yomiger part of yonr flock, you are fnniislied with a Cate- chism, or summary of faitli and practice, to be learned by all ])ef()re they come to be con- firmed by the Bishop ; and the rubrics and canons of the Church prescribe great and constant attention to the office of catechising. In this compendium of doctrinal and practi- cal Christianity the duties of repentance and renouncing the world, of faith and obedience, of prayer, and performing the Sacraments, are laid down in a perspicuous manner ; but explanation and a further representation of our Christian profession and vow in Baptism are required, in order that they may be prof- itably learned. This instruction you are par- ticularly called upon to give previously to the celebration of the rite of Confirmation in your several cur6s ; which circumstance of itself tends to show the importance of the duty and 104 LIFE OF BISHOP STEWART. if' ■ 1 : s t I 'H )i the advantage of the rite. Confirmation is a special provision in our Church, and in most of the Churches of Christ, for the accomplish- ment of the object I have been pressing upon you, namely, the confirming young persons in the knowledge and practice of their Bap- tismal Covenant. " You must exhort them to prepare for the ofiice by diligent study on the subject, accom- panied with hearty prayer to God for increase in the manifold gifts of grace. Its usefulness in these respects must recommend it to our particular attention ; and the high estimation in which it was held by the Apostles is man- ifest from several passages of Scripture. St. Paul classes it with the elements of our re- ligion, among the rudiments we must learn preparatory to our striving to go on to per- fection. He connects it with the first prin- ciples of Christianity in these words : ' Leav- ing the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection ; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, PREPARATION FOR THE LORd's SUPPER. 105 Lon IS a :n most rplisli- g upon persons ir Bap- for the accom- icrease fulness to our mation s man- e. St. )ur re- learn o per- prin- ' Leav- lirist, again ^orks, ■^ and of faith towards God, of the doctrine of Baptism, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judg- ment.' " [Ileb. vi. 1, 2.] We have only room for one more extract, and tliis relates to the Lord's Supper. May some of those who have been baptized and confirmed, but who are keeping back from the Holy Commimion, be aroused to a sense of their duty in this respect! It is to be feared that many are thus lialting and hesi- tating, instead of going forwards to do all that has been commanded. " After Confirmation, follows the duty of preparing for the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. No office of our ministry is more important, as none ofters so frequent and great opportunity of giving godly instruc- tion and serious advice. The plainness of the duty acknowledged by all, and the ben* efits of it so striking and extensive, make every man who has any degree of reflection uneasy under the neglect of them, or in some I1 m 106 LIFE OF BISHOP STEWAET. ii- 1 I ( •: i\ degree desirous of partaking. Of this well- grounded cause of anxiety a clergyman should avail himself, by representing the undutiful and unsatisfactory state of every one who is not a communicant, by explaining the nature of repentance and faith, and the offer and promise of the gifts of the Spirit to all who heartily seek for tiiem ; by exhorting his hearers to imj^rove the means of grace, and of growing in virtue and faitli, especially that of remembering our Lord in the way posi- tively commanded, and particularly blessed by Him to those who worthily receive this holy Sacrament. The subject includes all other Christian duties, besides many peculiar to itself, and is very affecting to every one who has ears to hear or a heart to feel. "The terrors of the Lord are not to be dis- guised ; they arouse many a careless sinner ; but the love of Christ in living such a life on earth as He endured, and dying such a death as He suffered for us, must constrain to sor- row for sin, and hatred, of it, every heart EXTRACT CONCLUDED. 107 3 well- should iutiful ^vho is nature sr and 11 who 12: his »e, and ly that f posi- 3lessed re this les all eculiar' ly one he dis- sinner ; life on I death to sor- ' heart whifh is not excessively hardened hy its deadening and worst effects ; must move to love of God, and comfort and hope in Him, every one who contemplates His Son dying on the cross for our sins, and rising again for our justification ; and this is the love t>f God, that we keep his commandments." I*?! n- ^^»jttr I|itttent|. i' ' : % JL successor as TKA yelling missionary — IMPORTANCE OF THIS OFFICE — VISITATIONS OF 1827 AND 1828 — MODES OF TRAVELLING INTERESTING SCENE — TOUR TO THE BAYS OF GA8PE AND CHALEURS — CARRIAGE BREAKS DOWN — THE BISHOP SITTING ON A PINE-LOG — ALWAYS IN THE WAY OF DUTY — THE WRETCHED HOVEL — *' OF WHAT RELIGION ARE YOU ?" — SAYING THE CATECHISM — AN OVERFLOWING HEART. NE of the first measures of Bisliop Stewart was to recommend the Rev. George Archbold as his successor in the office of travelling missionary, which recommendation was at once adopted by the Society. The Bishop, from his own experience, had learned the great importance of such an agent, and he therefore lost no time in directing attention to the subject. In 1827 and 1828 his Episcopal visitations compassed the whole circuit of his /immense BAYS OF GASPE AND CTIALEUR8. 109 f >KTANOE 1828— TOUR TO 1 BREAKS ALWAYS CL — *' OP TEOHISM Bishop e Rev. ssor in ionarj, it once 3ishop, 3d the md he ten lion tations inieiisc Diocese, and while we have no space to give the minute details, we can say, in brief, the labors of no Bishop have ever been more ar- duous or important. We may picture to ourselves this venerable man pursuing his weary way over the rough country which was everywhere spread before him, sometimes in a wagon or sleigh, some- times on horseback, and sometimes on foot, and making his temporary home under the roof of the lumberer or in the wigwam of the Indian. And here a most interesting scene is brought before us, by the Rev. Job Deacon, of Adolphustown, one of the oldest mission- aries in Canada. "The Bishop of Quebec, finding that my health was greatly impaired, kindly invited me in the summer — I think it was of 1829 — to accompany him, in the hope that I might derive benefit from the voyage, on a Con- firmation tour to the Bays of Gaspe and Chaleurs, and subsequently on a visit to Lady 10 I ' iii ^i 110 LIFE OF BISHOP STEWART. •?)■ i ' < '!?>; 'i r'P Sarah and Sir Peregrine Maitland, who was then Lieutenant-Governor of Halifax, as well as to the Lord Bishop of that Diocese, whose visitation was to be held at a certain day. The Confirmation tour made — the visit paid — and the visitation, which afforded to us the highest gratification, over — the vessel at his Lordship's disposal was dispatched to Pic- tou, there to await our arrival, whilst we proceeded by land in one of the best convey- ances which could be procured at that time in Halifax, to join Lady Sarah and Sir Pere- grine Maitland at the former place, they having left for it the day previous in their own carriage. There were five of us in the hired vehicle — the Bishop, myself, the Bish- op's man, a servant of Sir Peregrine Mait- land, and the driver. We had not proceeded more than about fifteen miles from Halifax, on the way to Truro, when our carriage broke down, in the midst of the forest, and some two or three miles distant from any kijiown habitation. His Lordship's man and the dri- iiii ALWAYS IN TICK WAY OF DUTY. Ill rio was IS well whose n day. St paid to us issel at to Pic- ilst we jonvey- it time r Pere- e, they n their in tlie e Bish- ) Mait- >ceeded [alifax, J broke 1 S0me kijLown he dri- ver were despatched in quest of another con- veyance, and whilst waiting their return, the Bishop sat down on a pine-log, under the shade of some spreading branches, to shelter himself from the rays of the sun. I followed his example, and, in doing so, expressed a wish "that we were safely out of this solitary place, and at Quebec," being weary and weak from illness. His Lordship mildly re- plied, ''Why, we may be as much in the way of our duty here, under the direction of God's providence, as if at Quebec, and our Divine Master may find some work for us to do before we reach it. But men of families, like you, are generally anxious to return to the domestic circle ; I have no such ties, and am therefore free from such anxieties." But shortly after uttering these words, the Bishop exclaimed, " Why, I perceive a smoke yonder! Come, let us see from whence it issues." Accompanying his Lordship, we in a short time arrived at a miserable-looking ehanty, a sort of hut formed of unliewn logs. ' 112 LIFE OF BISHOP STEWART. >'.' j : i h !i' At the door of this wretched-looking hovel the Bishop ask^d, "Are there any inmates here?" on which a female presented herself; and the squalid misery, the forlorn wretched- ness, depicted in her person and countenance, I never saw surj^assed — perhaps never equalled. Nevertheless the Bishop did not hesitate to enter, and I of course followed. Here were, also, two young girls of a like squalid appearance with that of the woman. His Lordship inquired if these two girls were her daughters, and what their respective ages were? "They are, sir, mine," she replied, " and the one is about fifteen, the other twelve years of age." "Have you," his Lordship asked, " a husband, and if so, where is he ?" "I have, sir," was her reply, "and he is in Halifax." He next asked, "Of what country are you, and how long have you been here?" "I am a native of L^eland, sir, and have been here these three years." " Of what religion are you?" again asked the Bishop. "I and a member of the Church of England, sir," she fiAYINQ TIIK CATECHISM. 113 hovel imates erself; jtched- nance, never id not owed, a like Oman. 3 were e ages jplied, welve 'dship he?" is in untrj ere?" been igi^i anl a " she replied. *^Can your daughters read?" was the reply. the Yes, ext question. ** i es, sir," was "Have you any books?" "Yes, sir; we have our Bible, Prayer-book, and some tracts, brought with us from Ireland." His Lord- ship then heard both daughters read in the New Testament, who acquitted themselves creditably, especially the elder. After this the Bishop asked, " if they could repeat the Catechism?" They replied, "Yes," and they did repeat it, and answered some questions other than those contained in the Catechism — ^which the Bishop put to them to ascertain how far they understood what they repeated — much to his satisfaction. Then, after a pause, the Bishop observed, "I am rejoiced to find your daughters so well instructed in the principles of the Church, and that they continue to read their Bible, and to retain the Catechism in their memories — under- standing it, as they appear to do — here in this lonely wilderness! Why, one must have been but nine, the other twelve years of age, 10* i i\ ti;> li 114 LIFE OF BISHOP STEWART. f 'I I. (. \ i ^ when tliey left Ireland I How, then, and by whom, were they instructed?" "They learned, sir," said she, "to read at the parish school, were instructed in the Catechism and in the Scriptures by our clergyman — the blessing of God rest upon him day and night! They received from him those books and tracts which you see here [pointing to those which had been just used], and which were, I believe, supplied to him by a Society in England; and they have thus far been preserved from evil in the Church of their forefathers, and will, I trust and pray, con- tinue to be ' Christ's faithful soldiers and ser- vants,' in His Church, until their lives' end. And oh! blessings, blessings, temporal and eternal, descend on those who have supplied those books. They have, indeed, been our comfort and solace here, in this dreary wil- derness, under many severe trials ; and the absence of our beloved church — if we had but decent clothing to appear in it/— is not one of the least." "But," said the Bishop, AN OVERFLOWING IIKAKT. 115 Jn, and "They ! parish echism iman — ay and ! books ling to which Society been their ^ con- id ser- 3' end. il and pplied 1 our Y wil- d tlie 3 had s not shop, "these young persons must not be permitted to remain here in this wild solitude — you must send them to Plalifax." "Ah! sir," the poor woman said, as she took a hasty and painful glance at them, "they are not, as they once were, in a lit state to be sent there. Besides, even if they were, their father could not, I fear, do anything for them; and, with- out any other acquaintance or friends there, how could they obtain situations?" "Leave that to me, my good woman," said the ever kind-hearted and charitable Bishop; "I will see to it. I am the Bishop of Quebec, and am now on my way to Pictou, to join Lady Sarah and Sir Peregrine Maitland; I may, perhaps, overtake them at Truro. Here, take this," presenting the woman with, I think, five pounds, " and as soon as you can prepare your daughters, send them to Gov- ernment House, at Halifax, with the compli- ments of the Bishop of Quebec. I will speak to Lady Sarah Maitland to take one of them, and to send the other to my niece at I IIG LTKK OF BISHOP 8TKWART. Quebec, who will take charge of her." The poor creature threw herself on her knees to thank his Lordship, but her heart was too full, she could not utter a syllable. Her eyes, however, and her manner, spoke more ffeelingly and eloquently that which her tongue refused to express. The Bishop hastily quitted the hut in deep emotion; and as for myself, the scene has been so indelibly stamped on my memory as to be scarcely ever effaced ; and sure I am that those girls must have become useful and respectable members of society, although I never subsequently heard of them." ; Ji! The ees to 18 too Her more her deep e has mory I am 1 and ^^h I Chapter ifl»tltcntfe* SIX MONTHS IN THE FIFJ.T) — VAIilOUS OHUROnKS 0ON81- ORATED — NOT A ROBUST /)ODY, BUT A 8TOUT HEART HARD FIELD OF LABOR — IMPKOVEMfilNT — NUMBER OF CLERGY IN 1831— -VISITATION OF TIIK i] A STERN TOWN SHIPS — THE BISnOP'8 OLD HOME — WALKING IN THE WAY OF THE LORD — GOOD EFFECTS OF A TEMPERANCE SOCIETY — USEFUL COURSE OF MINISTRATION — VISIBLE EECAY — PROVIDING FOB THE FUTURE — A COADJUTOR APPOINTED. LMOST half of the year 1830 was spent by Bishop Stewart in travers- ing the different parts of his Dio- cese. During this visitation he con- secrated the churches of Sherbrooke ; of St. Peter, in the northern, and St. Paul in the southern division of Eaton, and also those of Lennoxville, Three Eivers, and Christ Church, Montreal, besides holding Confirmation in many places. It should be borne in mind, while we arc 111!., ^ '^'^ ;.|, i 1 f - t M \ 118 LIFE OF BISHOP STEWART. thus recounting these incessant labors, that the Bishop was far from being a robust man, and although his stout heart oftentimes kept him up when his strength was ready to fail, premature old age was creeping fast upon him. Few men would have been willing to en- dure all that he did, and no one who knew him could doubt that his whole heart was set upon his work. His field of labor was indeed a most trying one, but he w^as cheered by many tokens of God's favor. Churches were built, and schools established, and mul- titudes of those who had been sadly disobe- dient to God's laws were turned to the wis- dom of the just. The number of clergy in 1831 amounted to thirty-six. In the summer of 1833 the Bishop made a visitation of the eastern townships, con- firming at Nicolet, Shipton, Hatley, Lennox- ville, and Drummondsville. / He thus refers to his old place of residence, USEFUL COURSE OF MINISTRATION. 119 Charleston, while he was missionary of Hat- ley: "I had great satisfaction in visiting my old friends in this place and its vicinity, many of whom, parents and children, I had baptized, and whom I now found walking in the ways of the Lord faithfully. I had also the satisfaction of consecrating the new church, St. James', a better and more com- modious one than the first, which was more than a mile from the village. In the new church I confirmed twenty persons." The good effects of a Temperance Society were very apparent in this part of the coun- try, and I can bear testimony to similar good results in several other missions in the Dio- cese, where formerly the habits of the people were far from temperate, while now the use, and even sale of spirituous liquor is almost exploded. The Rev. S. Lockhart accompa- nied liim as his chaplain on this visitation, and it may bo as well to insert in this place an explanation which the Bishop gives of his 120 LIFE OF BISHOP STEWART. :•*! usual course of ministration in every place where he was engaged in the discharge of his Episcopal functions. "Here I shall observe," he says, "in a general way, that sermons were delivered by myself or my chaplain, wherever a Confirm- ation was held or a church consecrated. On Sundays we both preached; and on other days, when not pursuing our journey, one of us; and where we stopped for the night it was usually our practice to assemble the family, and sometimes a few of their neigh- bors, and assist them in joining together in prayer, and hearing the Word of God." Although Bishop Stewart was thus actively engaged, his strength was quite unequal to the labor, and many unfavorable symptoms were giving him wari\ing that the night was fast coming when he could no longer work. He felt it, therefore, to be his first duty to make some arrangement by which more effi- cient Episcopal oversight could be ,^iven to his extensive charge. With this 'view he A COADJUTOR APPOINTED. 121 place of his ^'in a ed by afirm- . On other ne of ^ht it 3 the eigh- er in confided to his friend Archdeacon Moimtaio the task of negotiating with the proper an thorities in England such measures as might he deemed necessary. The result was the appointment of this worthy clergyman as coadjutor, with the title of Bishop of Mon- treal.* tt After Bishop Stewart's death, Bishop Mountain suc- ceeded him in the Diocese of Quebec. In 1850, the Church in Canada had so increased, that Dr. Fulford was consecrated Bishop of Montreal ; and, in 1857, Dr. Cro- nyn became Bishop of Huron, C. W. 11 ively lal to ►toms t was iTork. ty to I effi- 3n to V he €^^Ux |iflttnt|j. I, 1"! I ( '<• PABEWELL TO QUEBEC — THE OREAT TEMPEBANOB MEET* ING AT SARATOGA — A SPEECH FROM THE BISHOP — ARRIVAL AT NEW YORK — DR. HENSHAW's LAST RECOL- LECTIONS OF HIM REACHES ENGLAND — AFFLICTING INTELLIGENCE — VISIT TO BRIGHTON — A TOUCHING SCENE IN OHUBOH — PRATER FOR A SICK CHILD — POWER OP FAITH AND LOVE. N the summer of 1836 Bishop Stew- art left Quebec for the last time, with the forlorn hope that a voyage to England might add somewhat to his life, and enable him to be still fur- ther useful. Passing down through the State of New York, in order to take ship, he stopped at Saratoga, where he attended the great Tem- perance meeting which was then in jBession.* * Those of my readers, whose rememWance extends back so far, wiU associate with this meeting the appear- ance of '* Protestant Jesuitism," one of the Rev. Calviu ■'1! ARRIVAL AT NEW YORK. 123 ■x- ' After attending the debates for three days, the Bishop asked permission to say something. His request being readily granted, he deliv- ered an interesting speech, in which he de- picted in lively colors the alarming effects of intoxicating drinks, as he, no doubt, had witnessed them, and concluded in these words: "I did not come to this meeting with an expectation of becoming a teetotaler or a total abstinence man ; but the arguments have been so very weighty and important, that I am determined to use no more intoxi- cating drinks, except medicinally and in the ordinance of the Lord's Supper." This pledge he ever afterwards most faith- fully kept. From Saratoga, Bishop Stewart pursued his journey to New York city, from whi(jh port he was to sail for England. It was here that Dr. Henshaw met him for the last time. Colton's first books, which made a great excitement at the time. 124 T.TFE OF BISHOP 8TEWAET. :P I'* * i*'' lii f. ■'■ (Our readers cannot have forgotten the in- teresting account which he gave of the faith- ful Canadian missionary, contained in our fifth chapter.) He represents him now as but the shadow of his former self — ^his cheeks sunken, and his whole frame emaciated and frail. Bishop Stewart reached England in the autumn of 1836, but with no improvement of his health. When he landed at Liverpool he received the afflicting intelligence of the death of his brother, the Hon. James Stewart. The shock which this gave him was very great, and with a sad heart he went to Brighton, to meet another brother, Edward, who was then staying there. The Rev. James S. M. Anderson thus touchingly describes Bishop Stewart's ap- pearance at St. George's Church: " One Sunday, whilst I was engaged in the administration of the Holy Communion/ in my church (St. George's), at Brighton, I ob- served a venerable man, with pallid face and r A TOUCHINa SCENE IN CHURCH. 125 le hair white as silver upon his brow, draw near to the Lord's Table. He was very feeble; apparently deprived, in some degree, of the use of his limbs ; and leaning for help upon the arm of a gentleman who was with him. This gentleman I recognized to be the Hon. Edward Stewart, at that time Deputy Chair- man of the Board of Customs, with whom I had the pleasure of being acquainted. And seeing the aged man, as he drew nearer, wear the dress usually assumed by none but cler- gymen of a superior rank, I immediately conjectured that it must be Mr. Stewart's brother, the good Bishop of Quebec, whom I saw. I had long watched from a distance the course of his unwearied and faithful min- istrations. I had heard that he had been compelled by infirm health to relinquish the duties of his diocese, and had returned to end his days in his native land. "It was with feelings therefore of no ordi- nary interest that I administered to him the consecrated elements; and that interest was 11^ 126 LIFE OF BISHOP STEWART. yet further increased when, at the conclusion of Divine Service, Mr. Stewart came to me in the vestry, and told me that my conjecture was right, and that the Bishop wished me to come the next day and visit him. I need scarcely say that I readily obeyed the sum- mons; and never shall I forget the spectacle of simple and earnest piety which I witnessed in the p'^^ison of that good man. He was lying upon his bed, and unable from bodily weakness to do more than lift up his head from the pillow and stretch out his hand to press mine with affectionate and hearty greet- ing. The only other person present in the room was an English servant, who, he said, had been his faithful and kind companion for many years, and whose friendly services he acknowledged with deepest gratitude. He asked me to read to him the Order for the Visitation of the Sick. I did so; the Bishop still lying upon his bed, and his servant kneeling by its side. In all those 4)arts of that solemn service in which the sick man is PRATER FOR A SICK CHILD. 127 required to speak, he uttered in the most touching tones the words of truth and sober- ness. And when we came to repeat the ap- pointed portion of the seventy-first Psalm, although he had no book spread out before him, he repeated each alternate verse with an accuracy which quite astonished me when I considered the great weakness which op- pressed him. At the conclusion of the ser- vice he said, 'Do not leave me yet, my dear sir. There is a prayer for a sick child, which I have often read ; pray read it, sir, now in my behalf. You will, of course, make the necessary alterations in some of the words as you pass on, but read it all, and weak and aged as I am, I desire to draw near, with the guileless spirit of a child, unto my God and Saviour.' " When we rose from our knees, he begged me yet to prolong my visit, for he wished to speak to me of his dear Canada, and of some of the scenes which his friend and servant had witnessed with him. I listened with 128 LIFE OF BISHOP STEWART. the most earnest attention to him as he spoke. It was evident that his end was not far off. 'The silver cord' was even then loosening, and 'the golden bowl' nigh unto breaking. But it was marvellous to see the power with which faith, and hope, and love sustained him. And though his memory was beginning to fail him with respect to the things of to- day or yesterday, yet when he looked back to the field of his labors in Canada, and to the work which the great Lord of the seed- time and the harvest had enabled him there to achieve, his perceptions were as vivid as ever, and his grateful acknowledgment of the reality of the Divine promises distinct and clear. " I gazed upon him, and listened to him with a reverence and gratitude which I must seek in vain for language to express. And when the time for our separation came, I turned away with a heart full of thankfulness that I had been privileged to witness such an evidence of faith having its perfect work, i ■I M POWER OF FAITH AND LOVE. 129 and that the Church of which I was an or- dained minister had been permitted for so many years to call such a man her missionary in the Western "World." (^\^Ux ^nUtntli, iN hopes op getting back to scotland to die — failubk op strength — goes to london — thoughtful at- tentions of a kelative — two faithful servants last days — falls asleep — estimate of bishop Stewart's character— origin of the word oanada — THE BETTER RICHES — THE SAINT's BEST — MURAL TABLET AT ST. ARMAND, HE wholesome air at Brighton, and the agreeable society of friends, wrought so favorable a change in him, that Bishop Stewart began to hope that he might be able to return once more to Galloway-house, the home of his fathers, in Wigtonshire. He actually set out on the way to Scotland, and had got as far as Boraston, wherejiis nephew, the Eev. Alexander Stewart, officiated, when his strength gave out, and, by the advice of his physician, he went to London. LAST DAYS. 131 IhVTtE L AT- IV ANTS BISHOP ANA DA MUKAL t, and lends, ^e in m to eturn , the He , and hew, N^hen leof Here he took up his lodgings at a hotel ; but as soon as his nephew, the Earl of Gallo- way, heard of the state of his liealth, he sent word from Scotland that a suite of apartments in his house in Grosvenor Square should be prepared for the Bishop. Here the venerable servant of God passed his last days, free from all intrusion, and ten- derly nursed by those who loved him. Two faithful servants had accompanied him frotn Canada, and one of them used daily to read to him from tlie Bible, and such devotional works as he desired. Old friends came in to cheer him by their presence and conversation, and thus, grad- ually, he was borne onward to the tomb. At last extreme debility seemed to affect his hitherto unclouded faculties, but he man- ifested no impatience nor fretfulness, and never gave way to despondency. Lady Galloway hardly ever left him with- out his invoking on herself and her children the richest mercies of God. 'ii -I ■1 it!- 'I- i I 132 LIFE OF BISHOP STEWART. Bishop Stewart entered into his rest on the 13th of July, 1837, and was buried in the family vault at Kensal Green, by the side of his brother and sister. Bishop Mountain, who now presides over the Diocese of Quebec, thus speaks of his distinguished predecessor : " The decease of the Bishop of Quebec de- prives the Church in Canada of one who wai* her boast and her blessing, and the clergy of a father and a friend. I have myself lost a personal friend, who had long honored me with his most intimate confidence ; and I suc- ceed, for the present, to his charge, with much fear and trembling, having no hope of ever doing what he has done, and being destitute of many advantages which he enjoyed, but at the same time with a determination, by the help of God, to follow up whatever he had put in train, to the utmost of my power." Dr. Stewart was such a Bishop as St. Paul himself would have approved. The language which Isaac Walton once used concerning ORIGIN OF THE WORD CANADA. 133 the the leof over If his c de- 7 of ost a 1 me [suc- Quch ever itute iit at the had 'aul lage ling K another worthy, long since gone to rest, might well be applied to him : " A saint unspotted of the world, full of alms-deeds, full of hu- manity, and all the examples of a virtuous life." Bishop Stewart died possessed of no prop- erty. The whole of his private fortune had been expended for the benefit of the Church. He laid up his treasure in a better world, and he has certainly found it there. The origin of the word Canada, where the good Bishop spent his life, is curious enough. The Spaniards visited that country before the French, and made partial searches for gold and silver. Finding none, they often said, among themselves, acd nada (there is nothing here).^ The Indians, who watched closely, learned this sentence and its meaning. After the departure of the Spaniards the French arrived, and the Indians, who wanted none * This derivation, though popular, is fanciful and erroneous. The old Indian name, Conedicuc, is still pre- served in the northern part of this State. 12 134 LIFE OF BISHOP STEWART, !fn I of their company, and supposed they also were Spaniards come on the same errand, were anxious to inform them that their labor was lost by tarrying in that country, and in- cessantly repeated to them the Spanish sen- tence, acd nada. The French, who knew as little of Spanish as the Indians, supposed this incessantly re- curring sound was the name of the country, and gave it the name of Canada, which it has borne ever since. We have referred to this incident for the sake of the lesson which it teaches. Our little book contains the life of one whose days were passed in this region, where gold and silver were not to be found, that he might teach people to search for the riches which can never fail ; and verily he has his reward. The English Church may boast of prelates more learned, more eloquent, more ;world- renowned than Bishop Stewart, but sjie can- not exhibit one who better deserves the title of "good." THE saint's best. 135 Best, Christian warrior I rest, the war iB past ; Best, for the fight is fought. The battle bravely won ; Death is disarm'd-the enemy-the last- Yields to the strength supplied By God's victorious Son I No more thy cheering voice May marshal for the field ; That practised arm no more The Spirit's sword shall wield ; Our honor' d chief no more shall -need Faith's all-protecting shield ; Best, Christian warrior I rest. Best, pilgrim Bishop ! rest ; thy toils are o'er ; Best, for the great High-priest, The Bishop of thy soul, Stayeth thy pilgrimage for evermore ; Bun is the rugged race, And gam'dKi glory's goal I Thou guileless man of God I Thou venerable priest I Unnumber'd works of love Thy righteousness attest. v Apostle of the Western wilds. Thy ministry was blest. Best, pilgrim Bishop I rest. 1 t . . ii 136 LIFE OF BISHOP STEWART. Rest— on the Saviour rest thy rev* rend head ; Rest, thou who ne'er desired Labor or loss to shun ; Old at threescore, and gathered to the dead I The glass of *' rolling years" How prematurely run ! Thus God to us appoints A clouded, darksome day ; Thus God from ills to come The righteous takes away ; Yet to her Father's will resign' d, The Church, bereav'd, doth say : Rest, soldier, shepherd, pilgrim, priest, Friend, father, worn-out watcher, rest — Sleep thou in Jesus, on thy Saviour's breast ! We close the volume with the inscription copied from the tablet in Trinity Church, St. Armand East, where the good man officiated in his earlier days : I Fl MUBAL TABLET AT 8T. AKMAOT>. 137 Eid ; idl St! ription •ch, St. iciated IN MEMORY OF THE HON. AND EIGHT EEV. CHARLES JAME8 STEWART. D.D.. FOUNDER 05 THIS CHURCH, AND LATE LORD BISHOP OF QUEBEC. AS MINISTER OF THIS CHURCH FROM THE YEAR 1807 TO 1815, HE WAS EMINENTLY PIOUS, CHARITABLE, AND ZEALOUS IN EVERY GOOD WORK THAT CAN ADORN THE CHARACTER OF A CHRISTIAN MINISTER ; AND AS BISHOP OF THE DIOCESE FROM THE YEAR 1826, TILL HIS DEATH IN 1837, HB EVER CONTINUED THE INDEFATIGABLE PROMOTER OF RELIGION, EDUCATION, CHARITY, AND PEACE. DJ LIFE HE MANIFFESTED THE HOLY INFLUENCE OF THE GOSPEL BY FERVENT LOVE TO HIS LORD AND SAVIOUR, HIS CHARITY TO THE POOR, AND UNWEARIED ZEAL TO BUILD UP THE CHURCH OF GOD IN THE WILDERNEBS. " MEMORIA JUSTI F^T BENBDICTA.' 12* ft