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JAl^ 
 
MEMOEIES 
 
 OF 
 
 JAMES BAIN MORROW 
 
 BY THE 
 
 REV. A. W. NICOLSON 
 
 Editor of The Wesleyan, 1873-1879 
 
 ' ' The bird tliat to the evening sings, 
 
 Leaves music when its song is ended ; 
 A sweetness left, which takes not wings. 
 
 But with each pulse of eve is blended : 
 Thus life involves a double light, 
 
 Our acts and words have many brothers ; 
 The heart that makes its own delight, 
 
 Makes also u delight for others." 
 
 -Charles Swain 
 
 TORONTO: 
 
 MKTHODisT Book and Tuhlishino House. 
 
 HALIFAX: 
 
 Methodist Book-Room. 
 
 1881. 
 
-// fi 
 
 
 < 
 
 
 5272 
 
 4 
 
TO 
 JOHN S. McLEAN, Es(^, 
 
 FOR SEVERAL YEARS THE INTIMATE COMPANION OK 
 
 JAMES B. MORROW 
 
 IN THE RESPONSIBILITIES AND WORK 
 OF THE 
 
 YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION ; 
 
 ^ AND TO 
 
 THE YOUNG MEN OV THE MARITIME PROVINCES, 
 
 WHOSE SALVATION 
 
 MR. MORROW COVETED ABOVE ALL THINGS ' 
 
 TO WHOSE WELFARE HE 
 
 CONTRIBUTED BY PRAYER, COUNSEL, AND LOVING GUARDIANSHIP 
 
 ^\^\b itiolume 
 
 IS 
 
 t(jRDIALLY DEDICATED. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Why ivas this Book written ? It is hoped that a 
 
 ist 
 
 ^f its pages will be sufficient answer to that 
 (juestion. 
 
 V/hy teas it not entrusted to some better handf 
 I can only reply that, while all who were consulted 
 felt the necessity for a published biography, no one 
 else was willing to prepare it. There was left to me 
 the alternative of standing by while a noble chai ■ 
 acter and life vanished with the pahsing months, or 
 attempting to transfer to paper the moral lineaments 
 of one who had impressed his acquaintances of this 
 generation to an extraordinar}^ degree. In an age 
 which required some intense reflection of the divine 
 in man, God challenged Satan to consider His servant 
 Job. The scepticism of even our advanced age can 
 best be met by furnishing a portrait of what religion 
 can make out of such fragments of humanity as the 
 Fall has left to us. 
 
VI 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 Why hits it been delayed ho long / In conse<juence 
 of an uncommon series of interrupti(ms, the locality 
 in which the work was being prepared, passed through 
 successive seasons of excitement, originating with 
 crimes of an unnatural character, which became sub- 
 jects of repeated and prolonged trials at law. These 
 distracted the attention of every one in the community • 
 A severe accident to the writer also prevented any 
 progress with the manuscript during several weeks. 
 
 To all who responded to the request for letters, 
 incidents, and othev material, I must express my 
 indebtedness. The quantity of paper thus sent in 
 to my addn^ss was somewhat abundant, making it 
 difficult, ver}^ often, to select the most suitable con- 
 tribution for iny purpose. Another book might be 
 written v "thout exhaustini>' all that I have been 
 privileged to examine of letters, kc, from almost 
 every region of Her Majesty's Dominions. 
 
 One aim 1 have kept before me uniformly in pre- 
 paring the book, — that of perpetuating Mr. Morrow's 
 pov/erful influence among young men. 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 Annatolls, N.S., 
 January 30th, ISSl. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 -«5- 
 
 Chap. ' 
 
 I. INTUODUC'TORY 
 
 Paok 
 
 9 
 
 II. PARENTAGE AND BOYHOOD 16 
 
 III. THE SECRET OF HIS STRENGTH 30 
 
 IV. ATHOME... 42 
 
 V. IN THE CHURCH 50 
 
 VI. BUSINESS 70 
 
 VII. THE BIBLE 79 
 
 VIII. THE Y. M. C. A 96 
 
 IX. OUTSIDE WORK ... . 115 
 
 X. OVERWORK AND RECREATION 132 
 
 XI. THE END 152 
 
 .\ITENDIX, HESOLUTIONS, LETTERS, kv 167 
 
LIFE OF JAMES B. MORROW. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 V 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 iaoiLi souls are serfs amonrj the free, 
 
 While otliers nobly thrive ; 
 They stand just where their fathers stood ; 
 
 Dead, even while they live. 
 Others, all spirit, heart, and sense, 
 
 Theirs the mysterious power 
 
 To live in thrills of joy or woe, 
 
 A twelvemonth in an hour ! 
 
 — Bryan IV. Procter. 
 
 STRANGER entering the city of Halifax on 
 the afternoon of Monday, the 13th of Septem- 
 ber, 1880, mnst have looked about him with 
 some degree of astonishment. The flags of the ship- 
 ping in port were at half mast. Passing in by Water 
 Street, he would have seen shutters on the shop win- 
 dows, blinds drawn down in the dwellings, work sus- 
 pended on the wharves, and the streets either wholly 
 deserted, or only here and there resounding to a solemn 
 footstep. Approaching by Brunswick Street, his sur- 
 prise w^ould have been even greater. There were two 
 
10 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. MORilOW. 
 
 M' 
 
 li' 
 
 thousand persons in and around the large Methodist 
 Church at the unusual hour of three o'clock. Ministers 
 were addressing an immense assembly. The organ, in 
 muffled strains, gives forth the Dead March in Saul. 
 A coffin is borne out by tender hands, amid the tears 
 of strong men and the sol)s of women and children. 
 Then a procession is formed — not in the orderly, pre- 
 arranged manner of common funerals ; 1 )ut, as openings 
 are presented, individuals hasten to show the respect 
 due to the occasion. His Excellency the General in 
 command of Her Majesty's forces, with his suite, in 
 full uniform, took their places in the moving concourse. 
 The Governor and his staff w^ere among the mourners. 
 Officers of steamships, with their well-dresse<l crews, 
 fell into line. Representatives from abroad, clergymen 
 of all denominations in the city, without exception, 
 labourers from the warehouses and shops, soldiers from 
 the barracks, coloured people, and inmates of the Poor's 
 Asylum, very old men and very young children, were 
 either closing in with the procession or looking on with 
 tearful interest. When the hea<l of this procession had 
 readied Sackville Sti-eet, distant nearly a thou.sand 
 yards from the starting-point, many M'cre still waiting 
 to find a place in the ranks which were not fully 
 formed. After a lengthened and impressive service 
 had been read at the grave, and the mourners liad 
 begun to disperse, the rear ranks were still pressing on- 
 ward through the gates of the cemetery, anxious for a 
 parting glance at the sacred place of sepultui'e. 
 
 Halifax is not unaccustomed to pageants. Gn seve- 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 11 
 
 ral occasions, Brunswick Street has resounded to the 
 tread of grand processions. More than once members 
 of the Royal family have been escorted over part of 
 this very route by immense throngs of people. Flags 
 have been displayed on every mast at times when dis- 
 tinguished personages passed through this magnificent 
 harbour, which forms such an important link in inter- 
 national transit. 
 
 But there was no extraordinary social or political 
 distinction in this instance. The city was not in holi- 
 day dress, 1)ut in sackcloth. It followed the dead ; and 
 even then there was no great worldly honour attached 
 to the name of him who was l^eing carried to his last 
 resting-place. He held no title from any institution, 
 literary, scientific or philosophical. There had been no 
 call by local fraternities to assend)lL' and do honour to 
 an illustrious associate. His busy life admitted of but 
 the one general duty in that I'espect — he linked his 
 sympathies with the broad brotherhood of man. Ti'ue, 
 he was connected bv blood and marria<;e with the best 
 of the population : but that ahme did not entitle him 
 to the universal, pi'ofound and absorbing grief which 
 was felt everywhei-e. Hundreds of the merely respect- 
 able have come and i^one without leaving; so wide a 
 blank, without arresting the business of the city for a 
 day, without sha<ling the faces of (government othcials 
 and day labourers alike, as did this uuvu. 
 
 " Kiiiil licnrts n\v iiioiv tlinii coronets, 
 Ami simple fnith thitii Noniiiui Mood." 
 
 For three days there was not an issue of any city 
 
ij 
 
 12 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. MORROW. 
 
 I : 
 
 ! I 
 
 1; 
 
 
 paper which did not in some way alhido to the sad 
 event. More than tliirty columns, much of it in small 
 type, 1 have at this moment undci- my i^ye, cut from 
 Halifax nt'wsj)apery alone, tieatiiijj^ on this suhject, 
 durin<,^ the lOth to the LSth of Se})teml)ei-. If all that 
 has been wi'itten of James B. Morrow, then and since, 
 were compiled for publication, it would form a volume 
 of considerable dimensions. Nor were the ex[)ressions 
 of the ordinaiy kind, eithei-; many of them would 
 have led a stranger to ask — " Ts not nuich of this hy- 
 perbolicaW T make a few extracts : — "It is doubt- 
 ful if any other similar ainioinicement could ci'eate 
 sucli a painful sensation in this city " — " Citizens of all 
 classes were Intterly pained and shocked wiien the in- 
 telligence came" — "The loss of this community cannot 
 be estimated " — " Such a funeral was never known 
 before in Halifax " — " It is a shock and a calamity " — 
 "There is no man liviiig in oui- conniuniity whose death 
 could create such a blank ' — " A lif(^ of unswerving rec- 
 titude " — " Position, wealth, talents, disposition, all that 
 he had by natui-e oi- fortuitous circumstances, was held 
 by him in trust^ to be used for the honour and glory of 
 the Master " — " The noble-hearted citizen, laid in his 
 grave amid the mourning of a whole connnunity " — 
 "No man can pohit a finger at his life " — " He was a 
 mighty worker " — " He seemed to have an o\'ersiglit of 
 all the younjr men in the city ' — and so on. These are 
 surely exti-aordinary tributes to the memory of a 
 fellow-citizen. 
 
 Conversing with persons who were present before 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 13 
 
 and at the funeral, you may learn quite as much that 
 is beautiful an<l impressive. On the day, ever memor- 
 able to loved ones who were there, when the body was 
 bi'ouufht home from Londonderry, eyes that were look- 
 ing foi- the first dread mo\ement from the crowd, saw 
 a scene well calculated to bedew them afresh wdth tears. 
 I trive the words as they are cfiven to me — too sacred, 
 too inartificial to be changed \\\ a single particular: — 
 " One incident which occurred at the Railway Station, 
 when we brought home all that was left to us of father, 
 touched me. When the temporary coffin was carried by 
 some of our own labouring men, sent up from the wharf, 
 the railway poi'ter pushed up his baggage-truck and 
 sai<l — ' Put it on here.' One of the men called out on 
 the instant, as if it came from the bottom of his heart, 
 ' No, we won't; we'll carry him.' And carry him they 
 did out to the hearse, which was in waiting away at 
 the other end of the station." Standing by the bier, 
 during the period between this and the burial, a 
 coloured woman was heard to say through suppressed 
 sob.s — " God took him because He loved him so well ! " 
 Another woman, with not much of this world's goods 
 represented in her appearance, m(jurned because " Only 
 last week he visited my dear lame boy, and cheered 
 him sol" Workmen on the wharves, whom no one 
 suspected of having ever met him, save as an employer, 
 turned away to hide their teai's. At more than one 
 Board of Directors, the mend^ers, looking acro.ss tlie 
 table, saw only sad looks, and prefei-red ijuietly to dis- 
 perse without attempting business. 
 
14 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. MORROW. 
 
 .i ■ ■■'•> 
 
 I? 
 
 i! 
 
 ■ i 
 
 
 In St. John, N.B., as stated by a representative of 
 the Y. M. C. A., the news of Mr. Morrow's death caused 
 " a paralytic thrill to his many friends, and the gloom 
 in the city was as deep as that which spread over 
 Halifax." " It came on St. John," writes Hon. John 
 Boyd, " so suddenly ! It was a shock to us all on the 
 streets, and on every face there was the sa.me expres- 
 sion, and every tongue gave voice to the sadness which 
 was in every heart." From Prince Edward Island, 
 Newfoundland, and Saint Pierre ; from Ontario and 
 Quebec ; from ditlerent points in the United States, and 
 from England, came letters by scores, written by 
 persons of all classes and professions, ottering sympathy, 
 while mourning in common with dear friends at home. 
 
 A collection of these letters has been made, which 
 is one of the most unicjue and expressive tributes ever 
 ottered to tlie memory of a private citizen, and will be 
 cherished for generations as an invaluable memento by 
 his loving kindred. Surely all this is suflicient reason 
 why a Memorial volume of James Bain Morrow should 
 be given to the public. 
 
 But a life of this kin<l is not always easy to trace to 
 the best athantage for biographical purposes. Its 
 springs are hidden to a great extent. Numberless little 
 streams of sympathy, originating with Mr. Morrow's 
 love and benevolence, which one tinds here and there, 
 cannot be followed to their source. Not one of every 
 fifty young men whom he influenced for good will 
 speak in these pages, simply because they caimot ex- 
 plain the subtle power by which he led them on, or 
 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 15 
 
 restrained them. Men who endow Colleges or build 
 Orphanages very naturally and deservedly attract 
 public attention by these splendid monuments ; but the 
 charity which is scattered over a life-time — the dollars 
 which go out with daily prayers and letters among sick 
 ana suti'ering — while they may equal those larger bene- 
 factions, elude the sight of questioners. There are 
 fugitive checks occasionally, torn from their connec- 
 tions in the imndjered books issued \)y the Banks, that 
 no one shall be able to trace them afterward, which iro 
 their round of mercy, warming cold hearts and feeding 
 hungry mouths, then return to die. I have seen and 
 handled them — knowing well their origin, from differ- 
 ent quarters — but their record is only with God ! 
 
 And yet, meagre comparatively as may be the 
 material for the purpose, and effectually as he may 
 have covered up all traces of his benevolence in many 
 instances, the story of James B. Morrow's life richly 
 deserves to be sent out into the world. 
 
 -^ 
 
I ill I 
 
 i» ' 
 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 :^ I 
 
 PARENTAGE AND BOYHOOD. 
 
 "In the lexicon of youth, which fate reserves 
 For a bright manhood, there is no such word 
 Ap— fail ! " 
 
 — Lytton. 
 
 pROM a fragment of family history, placed at 
 my disposal by one of the immediate relatives, 
 I learn that Mr. Morrow's ancestors, by the 
 father's side, may be clearly traced back to the period 
 when William and Mary ascended the British throne. 
 In 1689, Isaac Jackson was born at Alston Moor, and 
 died in 1812, at High Felling, County Durham, Eng- 
 land. This patriarchal founder of a family wliose 
 branches have extended to different (quarters of the 
 globe, during the 123 years of his remarkable life, saw 
 five successive monarchical periods, and retained to the 
 last " a singular brilliancy of complexion " which made 
 him the wonder and admiration of strangers. His 
 funeral procession extended over three miles — a fact 
 which would seem to correspond with the great respect 
 
PARENTAGE AND BOYHOOD. 
 
 17 
 
 which has since been paid, in a similar way, to at 
 least two of his descendants. If physical and moral 
 qualities in a progenitor may be considered of any sig- 
 nificance, it will interest readers to learn that Isaac 
 Jackson, though blind during twenty years of his life, 
 " continued to shave himself every day," and wended 
 his way faithfully every Sabbath to the village church, 
 unassisted, though in doing so he was obliged " to cross 
 a bridge made of a single plank." He was a man of 
 sterling character, beloved by all who knew him. A 
 grand-daughter of Isaac Jackson, Mary Atkinson, 
 married, in 1793, Robert Morrow, grandfather of the 
 subject of this memoir. Their family consisted of 
 three sons and one daughter. John Morrow, second 
 son of Robert, and father of James B. Morrow, was, 
 during early life, subject to severe vicissitudes of 
 fortune. His father failed in business, in England, 
 losing everything but reputation. There was a noble- 
 hearted son, however, older than John, who acted a 
 part in this emergency which reveals something of that 
 sturdy integrity w^hich seems to have characterized the 
 Morrow family throughout. Isaac Morrow went to 
 London, succeeded in business, and in a few years paid 
 off every one of his father's creditors. The effort may 
 have cost him his life; for I find that he died very 
 shortly after thus satisfying justice. 
 
 The cause of this business failure is traced to the 
 very connnon one of an abrupt transition from manual 
 labour to commercial pursuits, without previous train- 
 ing or experience. The Morrows suffered a penalty 
 
i' 
 
 18 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. MORROW. 
 
 ii 
 
 I; 
 
 which has been inflicted upon too many innocent fami- 
 lies, in our own and other countries, for the violation 
 of a very obvious law. Young men cannot be too 
 faithfully warned against hazarding the comfort of 
 others with their own, by engaging in business for 
 whi' h they have neither aptitude nor capital. Provi- 
 dence promises no shelter even to its most favoured 
 children who lay aside their connnon sense and pru- 
 dence. The male members of the Morrow family, up 
 to this time, were minei's. The attempt to reach some 
 better sphere of life may have been caused by a ca- 
 lamity which left the family in deep sorrow. Thomas, 
 an uncle of John Morrow, was one of two hundred 
 souls that were swept into eternity by a single ex- 
 plosion. Another remarkable funeral " attended by 
 80,000 men " is alluded to in the imperfect narrative 
 from whicli I have l)een (juoting. The voices of these 
 80,000 miners and others tilled the air with Isaac 
 Watts' mournful Init triumphant song : — 
 
 " Thee we adore, Eternal name, 
 And humbly own to Thee, 
 How feeble is our mortal frame, 
 What dying worms we be ! " 
 
 ! I 
 
 ' !l 
 
 ii 
 
 John Morrow resolved to find a new home. His de- 
 cision was perhaps hastened by witnessing an extra- 
 ordinary scene on Alston Moor. The miners assembled 
 in a monster meeting to discuss certain grievances of 
 their work and waoes. The distinguished advocate 
 who subsequently became Lord Brougham, Chan- 
 
PARENTAGE AND BOYHOOD. 
 
 19 
 
 cellor of the Exchequer, was one of the interested 
 listeners. John Morrow ha<l just overlieard one of the 
 gentlemen who surrounded Mr. Brougham, making a 
 favourable connuent on the native elocjuence of one of 
 the chief speakers, when suddenly the very ground 
 seemed to trend^le beneath their feet. A thousand 
 Scots Greys galloped on to the Moor, dispersing the 
 miners in all directions. The workmen retired dis- 
 comfited to their homes, and John Morrow made his 
 way to Newcastle. Here he served as clerk in a 
 newspaper establishment, till in an unlucky moment 
 he gained a prize for some piece of literary composi- 
 tion, throwing tlie brilliant son of his employer into 
 the shade. In three months he was dismissed, and at 
 nineteen years of age took passage for Halifax. 
 
 It is now seen that his coming to America was part 
 of a Providential purpose. He entered (immediately it 
 would seem) the service of Mr. Bain, then doing busi- 
 ness in Halifax as a merchant. In this office he 
 remained as clerk for five years. The rei^ard which he 
 cherished for Mr. Bain is seen in the loving use he 
 made of his name, by conferring it upon one of his 
 children six or seven years after leaving that mercan- 
 tile establishment. John Morrow was married, Janu- 
 ary 2nd, 1820, to Mary Ann Dufi'us, when they were 
 l)oth within a few months of twenty-four years of age. 
 From a note which I find in the family records, it 
 seems that the Duffus family held some relation to 
 Alexander Cruden, who, with his many eccentricities, 
 combined a most devout regard for the Bible, with 
 

 I 1 
 
 ! 1 
 
 ' Hi 
 
 i i 
 
 20 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. MORROW. 
 
 such industry and assiduity as were necessary to con- 
 struct a book which lays divines especially under deep 
 obligations to hiui as an author. How far Cruden's 
 Concordance may have helped to perfect James B. 
 Morrow in the mastery of the Scriptures, is a very in- 
 teresting question, looked at from a family standpoint. 
 
 Linked with the Duti'us name is another which Hali- 
 fax will not willingly allow to die. One sister of Mrs. 
 John Morrow became the wife of Samuel, afterwards 
 Sir Samuel, Cunard. Another married Henry Cunard, 
 who was, it is thought, indirectly connected with the 
 great trade of Mirainichi, which in past days was a 
 matter of Provincial pride. To my own ears, while a 
 boy in Scotland, the name of Cunard became familiar, 
 from the fact that mv father was interested in the 
 prosperity of the tirm, as a trader, and was present 
 when Miramichi passed through a period of intense 
 excitement. A third sister of Mrs. John Morrow 
 married Mr. Wm. Sutherland, Q.C., of Halifax, still 
 living. 
 
 To John and Mary Morrow were born nine children, 
 of whom James Bain, born the 8th of November, 1831, 
 was the sixth. Of this family only two brothers and 
 two sisters are now living ; these are residents of Hali- 
 fax, with the exception of Isaac Morrow, in South 
 America. 
 
 James, as a child, gave no special promise of future 
 brilliance or greatness. He was not precocious in any 
 particular. It is recorded of him by one who 
 thoroughly understood his disposition and observed his 
 
PARENTAGE AND BOYHOOD. 
 
 SI 
 
 early life, that, evpn when very young, " his sense of 
 duty was particularly sti'ong, and he was never known 
 to neglect a lesson." Truthful, loving, gentle ; showing 
 no violence of temper ; he was chiefly remarkable for 
 those (|ualities which render parents contented, and 
 home a scene of abiding happiness. But even these 
 conditions were to be interi'upted. James was early 
 subjected to a kind of discipline which, overruled and 
 sanctified of God, assists in fashioning the best instru- 
 ments for His service and glory. 
 
 There is no more frightful poem in our language 
 than Byron's Dream of Darkness. All that imagina- 
 tion at its best — or worst — can heap together of con- 
 ditions horrible and death-like, he employs to describe 
 the effect, as 
 
 "The bright sun was extinguished, and the stars 
 Did wander darkling in eternal space, 
 Eayless and pathless." 
 
 Everything declines — everybody dies, or goes mad. I 
 have seen this powei-ful poem used to illustrate the 
 probable consequences of a reversal in the confidence 
 of the Christian believer. And it may be a portraiture 
 more or less truthful of what would follow if it could 
 be proved that Christ never emerged alive from the 
 sepulchre. Jean Paul Richter, in his " Flower, Fruit, 
 and Thorn Pieces," draws a thrilling picture from his 
 imagination of the cry tliat would ascend from the 
 living and the dead if the sun of the Christian 3 faith 
 were blotted out — if Christ were proved to be only a 
 superlative myth of ages long gone by. But some- 
 
• 'II 
 
 1 
 
 r 
 
 I: f 
 
 r 
 
 
 22 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. MORROW. 
 
 thin^ akin to the picture of ])otli tho Enpflisli Poet and 
 tlie Oernian Pliilo.sopli(ir happens in every tnie home 
 fioni which tlie mother is carried to the ^rave. I can 
 assert from p<'rsonal experience that "raylessand patli- 
 less " indeed is this world to a motherless hoy of sen- 
 sitive and chn^inj^f dispositi(m. .lames lost liis motlier 
 wliile yet at tlie ten<ler a^e of five years. Happily foi" 
 him — and for us — he found an excellent ^nmnlian just 
 at liand. 
 
 Susannah, now Mrs. William Stairs, eldest of tho 
 family, very naturally assume<l the control of the houM^ 
 thus early bereaved. James retained throu^di all the 
 years of his subsecjuent life a grateful remembrance of 
 th(^ wisdom and love which came to him through this 
 guardianship. He was sent to a private school, con- 
 ducted by a lady in the neigh bouihood. Afterward 
 he l)ecame a pupil of the late Mr. Crosskill. To this 
 excellent tutor, V)y whom he was thoroughly instructed 
 in the elements of an English eihication, he ever felt a 
 special indebtedness. 
 
 The connection of the Morrow family with tlie 
 (yunard business liegan while James w^as yet a l>oy. 
 J ndirectly, indeed, these names had been connnercially 
 associated some time before ; for Robert Morrow^ an 
 uncle of James B., came to this country early in life, 
 was engaged for many years in the Cunard establish- 
 ment at Miramichi, made money, failed in business, and 
 returned to England, wliere, after having repeatedly 
 made and lost much of this world's w^ealth. "he died a 
 comparatively poor man." James' father entered the 
 
PARENTAGE AND BOYHOOD. 
 
 23 
 
 Halifax office of this growing entorprist' soon after 
 leaving the employment of Mr. Bain, and continued 
 there for a number of years. Hi' was afterwards made 
 American Consul, which office he continued to hold 
 for about five years, when it was decided that Ameri- 
 cans only should be appointed to that position. In 
 1844 he went to Edinburgh, to take charge of Mr. 
 John Stephenson's office work. This l^rought him into 
 contact with the great projects of the Stephenson 
 family, whose i '<es were then beginning to occupy 
 public attention in all parts of the wc)rld. John 
 Stephenson, nearly related to the veteran George, of 
 railway fame, was constantly employed as contractor 
 in the immense projects which were at that time revo- 
 lutionizing the conniierce of England. (Jeorge Ste- 
 phenson remendjered John Stephenson in his will, 
 though, as far as is known to the Morrow family, the 
 tM'^o men were not related. Mr. Moriow while in 
 Edinburgh sent for James, who joined him there. He 
 was then about fourteen years of age. His residence 
 in that old classic city gave him the advantage of 
 a training during two years in its High School, besides 
 contributing doul)tIess to his tastes ami habits for good 
 in other directions. 
 
 Upon the scholastic foundation which young Mor- 
 row thus laid in early life, he must have built assidu- 
 ously, by private study, in after years. Througliout 
 coming cliapters of this book, it will be seen that he 
 filled social positions, arrived at certain bil)lical con- 
 clusions, and solved scores of interesting problems, 
 
r*^ 
 
 'III j 
 
 I- 
 
 ill 
 
 In 
 
 
 24 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. MORROW. 
 
 which required more educational knowledge than is 
 embraced in a High School curriculum. He did not 
 rest satisfied with the lessons of Halifax or Edinburgh 
 tutors. He read, reflected, compared, and systema- 
 tized, until every position he was called to occupy was 
 adorned by his attainments. That he gave much time 
 to several languages — sufficient at least to make him 
 proficient in such studies as lay directly in his path to 
 influence and honour ; that he acquainted himself with 
 the intricacies of mathematical science, all must have 
 known who observed his readiness and intelligence in 
 the aflairs of his very responsible and busy life. There 
 were few great public questions upon which he had 
 not formed some independent judgment, tlirough care- 
 ful reading and meditation. This was ;:;.t the least 
 marked of his many excellencies. 
 
 To the knowledge of the French language, which he 
 obtained in boyhood, he added by patient and con- 
 tinual application for several years. Even after his 
 marriage he employed a French master in the evenings 
 for one or two winters. Frenchmen always gave him 
 credit for a remarkably pure accent. Spanish ships, 
 during the days of his clerkship, came into the harbour, 
 and he found it necessary to ac(|[uaint himself with the 
 language of old Castile, so soft and rich in cadence and 
 majestic in expression. He soon became so proficient 
 as to converse with Spaniards with considerable ease. 
 His French and Spanish Bibles, as we shall see here- 
 after, were among his familiar books. 
 
 It is interesting, too, to look in upon the life of the 
 
PARENTAGE AND BOYHOOD. 
 
 26 
 
 lad at this period. He began a clerksliip in the office 
 of the Cun-:d Company, of which his uncle Samuel 
 was the head. The story of that concern has yet to 
 be written. It will prove a most entertaining chapter 
 in the history of British connnerce. Its foundations 
 were laid in hard work. Young Morrow thus writes 
 to a dear friend in a letter not dated, but known to 
 belong to this early period of his life : — 
 
 " This has been a very busy day. Indeed the last of 
 the week is always our busiest time, with steamers, 
 and getting the mails ready for England. Now I look 
 forward to the Sabbath as a day of rest. You, I dare 
 say, know something of the loss of a night's rest, but 
 when for two days and nights in succession, the mind 
 as well as the body is kept unceasingly at work, you 
 can fancy what it means to anticipate a day of rest. 
 What a blessing is the Sabbath ! " To his son Matthew 
 he wrote, in 1876, this word of comparative comfort, 
 showing that industry follows closely on the heels of 
 success : — " Your work puts me in mind of old times, 
 when I had to be at the office at six o'clock every 
 morning, and had often to be up till twelve and one 
 o'clock in the night. One night always, and sometimes 
 two, of each fortnight, was spent entirely at hard 
 office work." Those were days of discipline to Halifax 
 young men who chose to submit and prosper. A co- 
 temporary of Mr. Morrow's — one of the merchant 
 princes of this day — assures me his own experience 
 was very similar to that just described. His mother 
 lived but forty miles away, yet he was not permitted 
 
 u 
 
it 
 
 t 
 
 I 
 
 
 '. m 
 
 11 
 
 ti 
 
 26 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. MORROW. 
 
 to look upon her dear face for eighteen months after 
 he began his apprenticeship. Twenty-one years ago I 
 returned from Newfoundland for ordination, and took 
 passage on the embryo railway-train from Halifax to 
 Truro. One man did the multifarious work of con- 
 ductor, baggage-master, brakeman, and sometimes 
 ticket-agent. While reminding him of this a few days 
 ago, he exclaimed, — " Aye, often do I think of it ! If 
 I had been idle then, I might have been before this in 
 the poorhouse. If I had been dishonest then — for I 
 had a bag of money to bring back every night — I 
 might now be in the penitentiary ! But hard w^ork and 
 honesty have left me a good coat and a clear con- 
 science." These are the inen who laid the foimdations 
 of a prosperity on which most of us are building to- 
 day, so frequently with degenerate eflbrt and purpose. 
 In that period of stern industry James B. Morrow 
 was true to himself as well as to his employer. He 
 studied books and men, and kej^t his heart right w^lth 
 God. 
 
 There is such a thing as a symmetrical manhood. 
 Young men in busy life are in danger of building their 
 character only in one direction. Thus a man who may 
 have attained to civic or political honours, may be but 
 a sad deformity to the eye of a Christian or a philoso- 
 pher. Like some abnormal growth seen occasionally 
 in the forest, one or two ottshoots of the tree may out- 
 grow the tree itself, leaving it diseased at heart and 
 withered at the extremities. We shudder at a mis- 
 shapen human creature, malformed by accident, and 
 
PARENTAGE AND BOYHOOP. 
 
 27 
 
 :hs after 
 irs ago I 
 md took 
 alifax to 
 ot* con- 
 •metimes 
 Pew (lays 
 P it ! If 
 e this in 
 [1 — for I 
 [light — I 
 v^ork and 
 ear con- 
 ndations 
 ding to- 
 piirpose. 
 Morrow 
 er. He 
 rht with 
 
 anhood. 
 ng their 
 ho may 
 ' be but 
 phHoso- 
 sionally 
 ay out- 
 art and 
 a mis- 
 nt, and 
 
 doomed to misery or neglect : — have we no sympathy 
 for moral and intellectual deformities ? 
 
 Let us not be uncharitable. There were sufficient 
 reasons for the ignorance of our forefathers. Circum- 
 stances in this new country were all against them. 
 They concpiered cii'cumstances, believing with Napoleon 
 that " Impossible is the adjective of fools." What a 
 strong ai'm, an inflexible purpose, sturdy conunon sense, 
 could do, they did. Withered be the finger that points 
 at them with scorn ! Uneducated many of them, they 
 left a legacy of education to their descendants. Bent 
 and broken by hardship, these fields and churches and 
 free schools and colleges are the results of their toil. 
 They polished the colonial gems which shine in the 
 coronet of Britain to-day. Wherever there remains 
 man or woman of the generation which laid the corner- 
 stone of our fair fabric, let them be ranked with 
 heroes I 
 
 But now, reader, what have we ? A free school in 
 every section, an academy in every county, a college 
 for each metropolis. Consequently, in point of educa- 
 tional privilege, all men nearly are free and e([ual. 
 Ignorance has no longer a title to honour. A young 
 merchant whose name may stand well " on Change," 
 with a liberal credit at the bank, adding certain thou- 
 sands per annum to stock account, yet having no know- 
 ledge beyond the reading of his bills-book and ledger, 
 is surely a sorry result for the early struggles which 
 made homes for lads in this country. Fourteen hours 
 for grinding and scheming and sighing ; seven hours* 
 
 '•^i: 
 
 .1 
 
 
 I 
 
I 
 
 28 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. MORROW. 
 
 HI 
 
 ? I 
 
 
 i 
 
 - 1 
 
 i : 
 
 » ^ 
 
 ;■ 
 
 ! 
 
 : 
 
 i 
 
 » 
 
 a, 
 
 for sleep ; three hours for eating and drinking, with 
 Imrricd journeys to and fro, do not seem a fair division 
 of precious time. Not an hour for intellectual or 
 spiritual improvement ; no opportunity for following 
 the world's great movements, save what may be 
 snatched by a feverish glance at some morning news- 
 papej". Surely this is not building up a symmetrical 
 manhood. 
 
 Halifax is an important stage in a great interna- 
 tional higliway. People of various languages and 
 pursuits pass through its streets every week. Why 
 should a young man here debar himself of the privi- 
 lege of open communication between his own mind 
 and those of ti-avellers fi'om continental Europe ^ Why 
 limit himself to a single language, while a half-hour of 
 each working day would soon elevate him to the ac- 
 quaintance of scholars and thinkers — would qualify 
 him to serve his countrv and his own interests to better 
 advantage !* And what is true of life in Halifax may 
 be said of life almost anywhere in th.ese Piovinces, now 
 made attractive by the genius of Artists, and the pens 
 of Poets and Historians. 
 
 On the other hand, there is danger from false con- 
 clusions in regard to the dignity of education. James 
 B. Morrow is an example of patient purpose in the very 
 common and even menial duties which apprenticeship 
 in every sphere devolves upon young men. It in a 
 reproach for which young men themselves are respon- 
 sible, that clowns and rustics make money where 
 scholars starve. We are in a world where living actu- 
 
PARENTAGE AND BOYHOOD. 
 
 29 
 
 iterna- 
 38 and 
 
 Wliy 
 
 privi- 
 
 . inind 
 
 Why 
 
 alists must be met and borne with patiently, even when 
 they are begrimed with smoke, or clothed in fustian. 
 There is no room here for any pe<lantie philosophy. 
 The region of plausible hypothesis is fully occupied. 
 God created but one man ; in him he made a scientist, 
 a linguist, a philosopher, a perfect gentleman and a 
 common day-laboui-er, all in one. Ignorance is a 
 lamentable result of the Fall ; education is an element 
 in hinnan restoration. That is all that can be said of 
 it. Young men who spring full-Hedged from the 
 Universities would do well to remember these aphor- 
 isms of Hon. Schuyler Colfax : — 
 
 " It is not what you eat, but what you digest, that 
 makes you m-ow." 
 
 " It is not what you study, but what you renunnber 
 and reflect upon, that makes you learned." 
 
 " Knowledge is not what you learn in your boyhood, 
 but what you obtain and remember in a life-time." 
 
 : ;ll 
 
 'i^ 
 
 i ,: 
 
 pens 
 
 
^T^ 
 
 CHAPTER TTI. 
 
 I 
 
 THE SECRET OF HIS STRENGTH. 
 
 " The end of life is to Im; like vnito (lod ; and the soul following Ood 
 will be like unto Him, He being the beginning, middle and end of all 
 things." — Socrates. 
 
 " The bread of life is love ; the salt of lov(.' is work ; the sweetness 
 of life, poesy ; the water of life, faith." — Mrs. Jameson. 
 
 HREE mighty influences were brought to bear 
 upon tlie character of James B. Morrow from 
 the age of sixteen to eighteen : — He received 
 a change of heart ; imbibed a lofty purpose from the 
 study of the Bible ; and came under the eye and 
 counsels of a very extraordinary Christian man. 
 
 JA must have been soon after his return to Halifax, 
 h ->■-. ""diaburgh, that lie began an active religious life. 
 ii • ..jtieulars of that interesting epoch are fresh in 
 ti ' f. <'<^>ryof persons now living. It was an event 
 of some importance in the old Argyle Street Methodist 
 Church, was a subject of no little comment at the time, 
 
THE SECRET OF HIS STRENGTH. 
 
 31 
 
 and around it clustered many bright hopes and fervent 
 prayers. 
 
 The Morrows, it is thought, must have been Metho- 
 dists from the earliest days of that great religious 
 awakening. James' grandfather was a Methodist, 
 as was his father, all through life. Of the other 
 ]»ranclies of the family, some were Episcopalians and 
 others Presbyterians. His mother was brought up a 
 Presl)yterian, and was a consistent member of that 
 connnunion till her death. It may thus be seen, that, 
 apart from the catholic spirit of the man, there were 
 strong reasons why James B. Morrow^ should be tender 
 and charitable toward all evangelical Churches. 
 
 While attending the Sabbath School in Argyle 
 Street, his mind became deeply impressed with the 
 lessons so faithfully imparted in that nursery of Meth- 
 odism. A i-evival w^hich began among the teachers and 
 scholars, extended to the congregation. Rev. Mr. 
 Bennett, the pastor — a man of a singularly devoted 
 ministry — followed up the opportunity thus offered for 
 good, by much personal and direct pulpit and pastoral 
 work. 
 
 It is related that, while the revival was in progress, 
 James found stronjif attractions in other directions. A 
 town meeting was summoned, for a purpose not now 
 known, which he attended on an evening while service 
 was being conducted in the Church, and before his 
 final step as to a religious life and purpose had been 
 fully taken. Whether the town meeting had any 
 political colouring or not, it is easy to imagine that 
 
 
 
 l! 
 
 
m ! 
 
 32 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. MORKOW. 
 
 there must have been no little political electricity in 
 the air at the time. Nova Scotia held, at that day, a 
 galaxy of public men, such as few coloni<.'s of the same 
 population have ever produced. There is not a school- 
 boy amongst us whose heart does not swell with pride 
 as he turns over the pages of that period in the history 
 of his native province. " These were the men !" said 
 Joseph Howe, in his last hours, with his hands on his 
 breast, and suffering from oppressive breathing. The 
 veteran might well rest delightedly on the memory of 
 his associates. One of the iirst sounds tliat greeted 
 my own ears, as I landed a boy from Scotland, was the 
 tread of those giants, as they marched to the storming 
 of what was foi* years a key-fortress in eveiy political 
 campaign — the county of Cumberland. 
 
 Wordsworth, writing; of the Fi'ench Rev^olution " as 
 it appeared to enthusiasts at its commencement," and 
 imagining himself a Frenchman of that epoch, dwells 
 upon the 
 
 And adds 
 
 "Mighty auxiliars, which then stood 
 Upon our side." 
 
 " Bliss was it then to be alive 
 
 But to be young was very heaven." 
 
 The " mighty auxiliars " of Nova Scotia accomplished 
 bloodless revolutions, and have left a legacy of respon- 
 sible government, with its kindred benefits, to their 
 sons. Our poets may sing of the past days as did 
 Wordsworth of France, and without any qualification. 
 
 it 
 
THE SECRKT OF HIS STRENGTH. 
 
 33 
 
 How far younj.^ Morrow s luiswcrvini,^ and ardent 
 loyalty, his re^^^ard for purity in puldic men, and his 
 ahidinjr hope for the land of ])is nnfivitv. may have 
 heen engendered by sueh elcKjiience as Halifax listene<l 
 to in those days, we can only conjecture. 
 
 The reli<i^ious conviction which had entered the heart 
 of the youth, however, led him hack from the town 
 meeting to old Argyle Street. His father, noticing his 
 pur|)Ose, permitted him to retire, following him with a 
 benediction. That iiight was the turning-i)oint in his 
 life. He sought and found mercy, through the merits 
 of Jesus Christ. To omit from a biogra]ihy of James 
 B. Morrow a special reference to the I'eligion which he 
 then embraced and received into a loving heart, would 
 be to paint our world without that influence which fell 
 upon it when God said " Let thei-e be light." It 
 beautified, illumined and gladdened his whole manhood 
 for thirty-three years. 
 
 For twelve months the profiting i)f the youth ap- 
 peared unto all men. There is some difference of 
 (jpinion as to the year that followed. Some say there 
 was a visible decline in his piety, that his best friends 
 cherished grave fears for his usefulness. Others as.sert 
 the contrary. It is certain there wei-e causes, very 
 natural ones, for the change, if it did occur. He was 
 "a fine, handsome young man," says a cotemporary, 
 " open to all temptations and allurements." Halifax 
 society was quite as varied, — as gay and frivolous, 
 where it was not sensible and wholesome — then as now. 
 At all events, there is but one testimony as to the sub- 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 li 
 
 f: 
 
34 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES IJ. MOKROW, 
 
 i I 
 
 « i 
 
 sequent period of liis youthful manhood — he served 
 (iod and liis ;^a'nei7ition unswervingly. The chief in- 
 struments in hrinj^ing this a'oout deserve to be noticed 
 at lenjj^th. His Bil)le and its influence upon his haMts, 
 1 will take u[) in a future chaptei*. i nmst now 
 attempt to deserihe a man whose name will meet the 
 eyes of my readers more frequently than they might 
 imagine otherwise it rlesei-ved. 
 
 Francis Johnson was by birth an Ii'ishman, by edu- 
 cation a Roman Catholic. 1 speak of education in the 
 domestic sense, foi* as to knowledge of the schofjls, he 
 seems to have been uttei'ly deficient up to nearly middle 
 life. He ari'ived in Halifax, a soldier, in the .*i4th Regi- 
 ment, al)out the year bS-SO. His life previous to this 
 peri(j(l has not been noticed in any account I have met 
 of liis career ; but a hint is given that he found his way 
 by some means to a Methodist Siniday School, obtained 
 a New Testament, and thence became greatly disti'essed 
 about his sins. His convictions, indeed, were of the 
 very pungent kind which so often precede a life of 
 great religious fervency and usefulness, as for instance 
 in the cases of Bunyan and Colonel Gardner. On the 
 12th of January, bS82, he " received a gracious per- 
 suasion that he was accepted in Christ." One of the 
 first visible fruits of tliis change was a persevering 
 industry in self-improvement. He learned to read and 
 write, and soon turned his new powers to great ad- 
 vantage among his conu'ades. But persecutions met 
 him from the outset. Among twelve companions in 
 the same sleeping apartment, he was the only one who 
 
THE SECRET OF HIS STRENGTH. 
 
 35 
 
 prayed before retiring to rest. Jests und jibes were 
 followed by active pei'secution. His comrades would 
 use him as a target for shoes and belts, or attempt to 
 raise him on his feet by seizing his hair and whiskers. 
 Fi'om this fierce school of discipline, Francis Johnson 
 passed at length, by discharge from the army, into the 
 fellowshi]) of citizens and saints. In 1(S40 he returned 
 to tlie Customs' service, having an ofhce on Cunard's 
 Wharf. Officials in the Methodist Church, with whicli 
 he was by this time connected, noticing his zeal, gave 
 him a class-book. From two or three mendjers, his 
 class grew till it was of necessity divided. Again and 
 again this was repeated, notwitlistanding many of his 
 members I'emoved to other parts, and some fell back 
 into indifference. When he was compelled to discon- 
 tinue this charge, he had three classes on his hands, 
 numbering in the aggregate sixty-one persons ! If 
 anything in the nian's marvellous life exceeded his 
 success as a class-leader, it was his success in the Sab- 
 bath School. From being a teacher, he attained to the 
 Superintendency of Brunswick Street Sabbath School, 
 in 1847, which office he occupied, with a short interval, 
 for nineteen years. He began with ninety scholars, 
 and when he resigned theie were four hundred and 
 sixty on the roll ! In one year thii'ty of the scholars 
 joined the Church. In another year seventy-two were 
 reported as meeting in class. On three different oc- 
 casions, the trustees found it necessary to enlarge the 
 school-room. From this school went forth scores of 
 
11 
 
 36 
 
 LIFE OF JAMKS B. MORROW. 
 
 I 
 
 excellent and influential men and women. At least two 
 of its scholars entered the ministry. 
 
 Amon(( ^^r. Johnson's writin<.(s wcr*' found papers 
 which he had prepared \'nm\ time to time on Christian 
 work and methods, which w<M*e the admiration of 
 many foi- theMi* Ixiautiful, succinct and orijjfinal mode,s 
 of thou;4;]»t and diction. A pi'ivate memorandum-hook 
 which he uscil dui'ini^ a voyag(^ to the West Indies 
 and hack for his liealth, has been handed to me by his 
 wife, whose name, with many othc^-s that he carried to 
 the iMercy-seat, occurs fre([uently in its pages. It is, 
 from hci^nnning to end, a mirror of the man — simple- 
 hearted, ^odly and sweet-tempered in ev^ery expression. 
 He records thc^ names of scores foi* whom he continue ^<1 
 to pray — brethren in the Cvhurch and teachers in the 
 Sabbath-school. He remembers the hours of meeting 
 in " dear ohl Halifax." and joins the fellowship 
 of believers in spirit. A Sabbath-school which he 
 visited is carefully noticed, with a view "to leai-ning 
 from them if possiltle." The Supei'intendent " seemed 
 to take things very easy ;" be found ' '>nly three of 
 the teachers whose hearts seemed to be in their work." 
 A quaint expression occurs at intervjds, showing that 
 his native wit had not quite forsaken him. " I have just 
 been oftei-e<l some of what they call here Old Tom ; I 
 should call it Old Nick ! But it gave me a chance to 
 talk temperance." Again — "The Alpha is dashing ahead 
 to Halifax. May Francis Johnson make as good head- 
 way to heaven ! " Even his medicine is taken with a 
 
THE SECRET OF HIS STRENGTH. 
 
 37 
 
 :< 
 
 blessing asked. More than one young man much in 
 these prayers of fifteen years ago, is still in the 
 shadows of sin. It is amon^* the mysteries of godli- 
 ness that persons like Francis Johnson are peiinitted 
 to pray in vain for any good ohject. This may help 
 to preserve some reader from the presumption of 
 trusting too nmch to the intercessions of good men, 
 even though they be " princes, having power with 
 God." There is a houndarv line which each sinner 
 must cross foi* himself, or perish. He must submit. 
 " Yield yourselves unto God," said Paul to the Romans. 
 A you til of James B. Morrow's temperament could 
 not well spend years on the same premises with 
 Francis Johnson without feeling the force of his in- 
 tiuence. Persons of far rougher libre yielded to his 
 powerful example and advice. From one who well 
 remembers the period which we are considering, 1 
 learn that the mere presence of the man was itself 
 l)oth an enc(juraf(ement and a rebuke. His manner, 
 though meek and unassuming, " conniumded more re- 
 spect than he could have gained from titles at the hands 
 of Queen Victoria." One does not need to go farther 
 than the evidence of those stately warehouses, to ascer- 
 tain that many clerks, porters, carpenters, coopers, 
 engineers and day labourers, were on the Cunard 
 premises late and early, in times gone by. And 
 the usual human and dialjolical evil was there, 
 mingling with the human and divine good. " The 
 men were very profane," says our informant, " till Mr. 
 Johnson came. Then all was changed. We rarely 
 
 I. 
 
 If 
 
 ill 
 
I 
 
 ii^ 
 
 !» 
 
 ill 
 
 ill 
 
 
 38 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. MORROW. 
 
 heard an oath after his influence was once thoroughly- 
 established. When we did, it was from some stranger, 
 come to work for a day or two, hut he would soon find 
 that he was alone, and so cease. During the doubt- 
 ful twelve months of w^hieli James's steadfastness in 
 religion is so nmch a matter of dispute among friends 
 who knew him, Mr. Johnson gave him but little peace. 
 The lad's walk and conversation did not come up to his 
 standard, at all events. " I missed you last night, 
 James, at the prayer-meeting." "Are you living as 
 near to God as six months ago, my lad ? " " I could not 
 withstand Mr. Johnson," said James afterward ; " he 
 was a lighthouse, never failing to show the dangers 
 ahead." Many, many stars will shine in the crown of 
 rejoicing of that heroic old soldier ; but it may be 
 questioned if a brighter one will stud his diadem 
 than James Bain Morrow. They are together now — 
 victors fi'om equally heroic scenes and deeds of holy 
 conflict — sharers in the happy spoils. Was it from 
 Mr. Johnson's example that Mr. Morrow^ adopted his pa- 
 tient, persevering, buoyant manner of usefulness ? The 
 .notive, ev^e^v one knows, came from Christ ; the 
 methods ma;^ have been partly those of him who tra- 
 versed, through mingled tribulation and joy, that 
 marvellous journey from the barracks to mansions of 
 glory. 
 
 Mr. Morrow became a member of Mr. Johnson's 
 class in January, 1853, to wdiich he gave regular 
 weekly attendance till he was himself appointed 
 a class-leader at some later date. 
 
 i i 
 
THE SECRET OF HIS SiRENOTH. 
 
 39 
 
 Diaries of Christian experience are of little value 
 to general readers. Human emotions, in different indi- 
 viduals, under ordinary cii cum stances, seldom vary to 
 any considerable extent. It is doubtful, besides, if any 
 person, with the anticipation of what the world may 
 think of the narrative, can write a perfectly honest 
 record of one's own mind and its exercises. But a 
 perfectly transparent relation of soul-<^a'()wth, amid its 
 connnon associati^ms of conflict, self-depreciation, up- 
 ward and)ition, and abnegation, is alwnys valual)le in 
 teaching young converts the possibilities of the reli- 
 gious life. Fortunately, there are limited expressions 
 of this kind in Mr. Morrow's writings during his 
 earlier discipleship. They were never intended for 
 any eyes beyond those of the one loved friend to 
 whom they were a<ldressed ; and are, for that reascm, 
 to be regarded as the heart's sincere confession at the 
 time. The i-eader mav iudi>e l)y a few extracts as to 
 where this young Christian stood in relation to his 
 Lord, the world about him, and himself : — 
 
 
 ; { 
 
 ("i 
 
 l;;i 
 
 "June 9fh, 1S51. — The baiul-iiiccting, on Saturday evening, is 
 alwaj'S to nie a gootl time, ami so particularly was the last one. I 
 feol tl'at my besetting sin is lightness— trilling with the world in 
 couv^ersation. Hut on Saturday evening He who gave m'.; the rei)ent- 
 ing heart also gave the witness ol' His pardon and aeeeptanee. 
 
 ' O for a thousand tongues to sing 
 .My great Redeemer's praise ' " 
 
 "Jane loth. — I find the service of Christ to he perfect freedoni, and 
 I have to rejoice in what I experience of the love of (!od. Not in 
 boasting do I say this ; I know I have been the chief of sinners ; long 
 did I sin against light ere I yielded to the Spirit's call. Not unto 
 
 : ' i 'li 
 
 i 
 
40 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. MORROW. 
 
 11 
 
 M 
 
 ¥ 
 
 myself, Lord, but unto Thee, do I ascribe the glory, lor Thou hast 
 made me what by grace I am." 
 
 '^August 23rd. — On Saturday evening 1 went to the band-meeting. 
 Mr. Morton, who usually meets it, was away from honif. I thought 
 Mr. Johnson wouM lead, but he asked me to do so. I objected. He 
 insisted. 1 gave out a hymn, but as I proceeded I nearly fell down. 
 (Jod, huv,'cver, assisted ; He did bless me. I cannot tell you how 1 
 feel on such occasions. My natural diflidence would lead me to hide 
 behind a pillar, or in a corner. Yesterday was to me both pleasant 
 and profitable. I heard Mr. McLeod in the morning. Mr. Kice 
 preached in the evening from Romans viii. 33: "The love of God 
 which is in Jesus Christ our Lord." what joy to hear of this love ! 
 A subject so grand, that finite minds cannot comprehend it — so full, 
 that all nuiy obtain blessings from it — so free that all may bathe in it, 
 as in the ocean." 
 
 We liave, probably, in the entry of xVugust 23rd, 
 1851, an allusion to the first service which James B. 
 Morrow ever conducted. Little did his friend, evi- 
 dently solicitous to bind him to Christ by the mingled 
 joys and obligations of active service, foresee the end 
 to which this trembling effort was to lead. It may be 
 assumed that Mr. Moi'i'ow's voice, during subse([uent 
 years, was heard by tens of thousands in difi'erent 
 parts of this continent. As he ascertained that a path of 
 great pu))lic usefulness was opening before him, he 
 began a system of preparation which involved such 
 diligence and labour as few men with his secular 
 responsibilities have compassed, and of which our 
 readers may soon have an opportunity lo judge. 
 Though never remarkable for great readiness of 
 speech, he attained to a methodical and instructive 
 style of address that was often the admiration of hit* 
 
 i! 
 
THE SECRET OF HIS STHKNCiTH. 
 
 41 
 
 hearers. And all proceeding from the insignificant 
 fountain-head of a Saturda3^ evening Band meeting ! 
 It has been a copious source of sanctified eloquence to 
 the world, however, the Methodist Band Meeting. 
 The number of God's ambassadors who hav(^ found 
 there the first stimulus and aptitude for expounding 
 the unsearchable riches of Christ, will never be 
 reckoned. 
 
 Very soon the comnmnity about him began to feel 
 the force of his ceaseless and energetic labours. In 
 the Sabbath-school and the week -night sei'vices of the 
 Church, his earnestness and power in prayer were 
 often the subject of remark. Within a year or 
 two of his conversion, he had established regular reli- 
 gious meetings at the North West Arm. Here " he 
 taught l)oth children and grown people to read, and 
 addressed as many as would gather together on sub- 
 jects of eteiiial importance. "From that day to the day 
 of his death," writes the same friend, in reply to my 
 enquiries regarding this subject, " he was always 
 enjzajTfed in some kind of mission work." Throucfh 
 storm and sunshine the company of scholars and 
 hearers at the Arm continued to assendjle, regulated 
 by the confidence that " y(nmg Master," would be 
 with them for certain. A word of en(|uiiy even at 
 this day will call up willing, precious testimonies, in 
 that vicinity, to the praise of James B. Morrow's devo- 
 tion to (*hrist and tlie intei'ests of Mis kiiii-dom. 
 
 
 Uf. 
 
r 
 
 li 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 AT HOME. 
 
 li 
 
 "Whenever wc .'tep out of domestic life in search of felicity, we 
 come bcack ngcain disapi)ointed, tired, and chagrined. One day passed 
 under our own roof, with our friends and our family, is v/orth a 
 thousand in another place." — Earl of Orrery. 
 
 " Domestic Happiness, thou only bliss 
 Of Paradise that hast survived the Fall." 
 
 -Cowpcr. 
 
 IN March 20th, 1855, Mr. Morrow was united in 
 marriage to Matilda, second daughter of Rev. 
 Matthew Richey, D.D. Personal respect and 
 admiration for this distinguished divine, as well as the 
 reputation which he so long sustained for the highest 
 order of eloquence, render it reasonable that his name 
 should have a more extended reference than might seem 
 to be called for in a memoir of his son-in-law. 
 
 Matthew Richey was born in Ramelton, North of 
 Ireland. His parents were Presbyterians, of the old 
 Cameronian School. At an early age he gave indica- 
 
AT HOME. 
 
 43 
 
 ■i 
 
 tions of a remarkable aptitude for learning, especially 
 in the department of Greek and Latin classics. At 
 fourteen he had already made the acquaintance of 
 authors in those lanfjuatjes, wliich are usually reserved 
 for the lecture drill of ach'anced students. With the 
 same precocity he decided, while yet a l>oy, as to the 
 precise system of theology he would adopt. The 
 choice of an Arminian faith resulted, as a first sad con- 
 sequence, in his estrangement from the parental affec- 
 tions at home. By the permission of father and 
 mother, however, he left his native country and took 
 passage for St. John, New Brunswick. Here he 
 obtained a position in a lawyer's ofRce. He soon found 
 what was doubtless more congenial employment in 
 imparting to others a knowledge of his beloved classics, 
 by becoming assistant teacher in the principal academy 
 of that city. In 1821 he offered for the Methodist 
 ministry and was accepted. Thenceforward his career 
 was one of increasing popularity. " The boy preacher," 
 at the age of seventeen, was followed by admiring 
 crowds. With the exception of a winter in Charleston, 
 S. C, where the same eagerness to hear him became a 
 feature of his ministry from the l)eginning, his effective 
 life has been spent in Canada, and exclusively in the 
 interests of Methodism and genei*al philanthropy. 
 In Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Kingston, Charlotte- 
 town, St. John, and other cities — as Principal of an 
 Academy, Chairman of District, Superintendent of 
 Missions, and President of Conference — he has given 
 the most distinguished service. As author and editor 
 
 H 
 
 1 1 , 
 
 
 11 
 
 i: 
 
is 
 
 44 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. MORROW. 
 
 i i 
 
 
 his pen was employed to rare advantage. There are 
 evidences, though known to but few, and never once 
 used, so far as I am aware, by way of boast, or as a 
 reasonable claim f(^r sympathy, that Dr. Richey has 
 withstood ])rilliant inducements in moie than one 
 direction, to swerve from the profession and the Cliurch 
 of which he was so long an oinament. 
 
 In 18G2 he was stationed at St. John, N. B., with 
 Rev. J. R. Narraway. A.M., and myself as his associates. 
 Though then in the vie" nit j vi sixty years of age, "his 
 eye was not dim nor ]\\^ natural force abated." As a 
 Biblical exegete and txpcv Itoi lie always excelled, 
 though his chief excellency was a style of eloquence 
 which it would be very difficult to define. To say that 
 its language was extraordinary for beauty, that its 
 sentences were polished by the very highest art of re- 
 fined criticism, that its elocution was faultless, would 
 not do justice to the type of eloquence which Dr. 
 Richey held in his own exclusive right. There were 
 stores of learning and experience, subtle powers of 
 analysis, very keen perceptions of the subject in all 
 its details, and a mastery of arrangement, Avhich con- 
 stituted the great charm of liis address to educated 
 hearers. Of all this combination of special qualities, his 
 marvellous potency of language was perhaps the grand- 
 est and most conspicuous. When Lord Palmerston 
 spoke of Cobdeii's as " Demosthenic eloquence," cj'itics 
 objectetl tliat the great Athenian orator was majestic, 
 overbearmg; whereas Cobden's style w^as qui^t, conver- 
 sational an<l simple. It was true, howevci-, that in 
 
i > 
 
 AT HOME. 
 
 45 
 
 essential practical coniuion sense — " the present and 
 determinate purpose " — there was a very marked simi- 
 larity. When Di". DeWolf, himself mellifluous and 
 grand at times, characterized at a Conference session 
 the address of Dr. Richey as " Ciceronian eloquence," 
 a universal burst of applause met his ears, which told 
 how appropriate and happy in one way was the sim- 
 ilitude. 
 
 Mr. Morrow greatly admired and loved Dr. Richey. 
 There were manlv attitudes, stronof, but ever Christian 
 words, which the princely divine found it necessary to 
 assume and utter at certain periods of his life ; these 
 were often repeated by his son-in-law. There were 
 times, if I mistake not, when the remembrance of them 
 helped to give dignity and force to his own character. 
 My readers will see more clearly the influence of such 
 a man upon his intimate companions when I give 
 them the words of an authority before whom multi- 
 tudes stood with reverence thirty years ago. Dr. 
 James Dixon, returning from an American tour, as 
 delegate from the British Conference, in 1848, inserted 
 tliis paragraph in a personal narrative wliich was 
 published at the time : " At Halifax I lost my dear 
 friend. Dr. Richey, and was truly desolate. He had 
 been my companion at Pittsburg, at the Canada Con- 
 ference at Belleville, and travelled with me through 
 Canada, and forward to this place. Truth and justice 
 demand that I should say, that Dr. Richey is one of 
 the most perfect Christian gentlemen I ever came in 
 contact with. Politeness, founded on gentle, warm and 
 
 
 j> 
 
 ■n 
 
 -iti 
 
 rM 
 
 t. 
 
46 
 
 T.TFE OF JAMES B. MORROW. 
 
 genuine attbction, is the very element of his nature. 
 I never heard from liim a rash, rude or unkiinl word, 
 much less ever saw him perpetrate an unchristian or 
 unbecoming action. I looked after my dear friend as 
 far as tliQ dim lamps would allow me to see him, and 
 in my heart bade him a sad, a long, a last adieu." 
 
 When 1 add my own un(|ualified assent to this esti- 
 mate of Di'. Ridley's character, and ask my readers to 
 infer that he must always be permitted to hold an 
 honoured place among che agencies which gave us so 
 well-rounded a life as that of James B. Morrow, my 
 seeming digression will readily be pardoned. 
 
 Tlie domestic life which I am about to trace is not 
 the easiest part of my task. It will be difficult to con- 
 vince readers wliose acquaintance wiui the man was 
 not intimate, that liis memoir in some particulars is not 
 overdrawn, and in no respect is this more likely to be 
 the case than in the description of his home as he stood 
 related to it. 
 
 " From the time of his marriage, when his salary 
 was $1,200 per annum, his rule was to give away 
 a tenth of his income." This is our first glimpse of 
 Mr. Morrow's benc^volence and the purposes by which 
 it was regulated. There are features of this subject 
 whicli cannot be delineated, simply because a motive 
 which souji^ht concealment durin<][ life must not be 
 rudely disturbed now that death has closed its exercise. 
 It is enough to say that the tenth, as accountant, and 
 as partner, was always the least of his income which 
 went to meet the claims of mercy ; that at certain 
 
AT HOME. 
 
 47 
 
 seasons the proportion was very far beyond this 
 standard ; that the modes of distributing his money 
 were sometimes laborious, thougli delightful, for they 
 necessitated a systematic visitation and perpetual en- 
 quiry, to make sure that nothing was done unwisely ; 
 that the circle of his benevolence was so wide, the 
 objects of it so numerous, as to excite the wonder of 
 one having access to correspondence revealing some of 
 the secret habits of his life. 
 
 As far back as July 14th, 1852, I find him com- 
 municatini;- an experimental fact or two having relation 
 to this, and which throws some light on the kind of 
 training to which he was subjecting himself : 
 
 " I have been reading Mr. Wesley's serinou on Self-Denial. How 
 far short I come of tlie mark in reference to this grace ! AVith Mr. 
 Croscombo, I must pray for self-abandonment, that each thought, 
 word, and action may be to God's glory." 
 
 Here was a good foundation for a business life I 
 Again : 
 
 "iVbr. 6th, 1853.— My thoughts this morning were occupied with — 
 My duty to my neighbour. How remiss I have been in this ! Truly 
 I am an unprofitable servant." 
 
 Many a widow and orphan and young man was to 
 participate in the fruits of these convictions and 
 purposes. 
 
 As the influence of Christianity extends, private 
 benevolence nrust necessarily increase. There are signs 
 of great cheer in this respect ; but while institutions 
 sustained by public liberality are multiplying, are there 
 
 ■■a 
 
 v 
 
 "h 
 
48 
 
 LTKK or JAMKS |{. MoliROW. 
 
 < ' 
 
 ■j,M 
 
 not evidences in otlier directions that entirely too much 
 money is being lioarded under tlie very sliadows of all 
 our churches ? The natural unwillinijcness to surrender 
 our trust in, and love of, earthly possessions, is one of 
 our principal modern danf^ers. " A rich man shall 
 hardly enter the kinixdom of heaven." " Men who 
 only relinquish their hold upon money when 
 they are called upon to die," says Fuller, "would 
 not relinquish it then if they could help it." 
 Young men will find it perhaps irksome at first to 
 estimate carefully their real duty and ability to 
 give, on the principle of setting apart — " sanctifying " 
 — a proportion of their income. They may find 
 it a positive self-denial to make what may appear 
 to be inroads on a small capital being prepared for in- 
 dependent business life. But there are other considera- 
 tions which cannot be left out of this controversy with 
 self. The balance sheet is demanded by other parties, 
 and the proportion of profits as well. God, and un- 
 fortunate human sufferers, are partners — ought to be, 
 at least — in our business affairs. If you begin as a 
 Christian, resolve to be true in this respect. It will 
 save much distress to your indigent and struggling 
 neighbours ; possibly it may prevent more serious 
 trouble to your own conscience. Besides, it is due to 
 the religion you profess. Prayers are very well, and 
 good wishes, but popular, cheap and useless, without 
 such action as our ability allows to convert the wish 
 into a fact. Henry IV. wished there was a fowl 
 stewing in every poor man's pot throughout France ; 
 
AT MoMK 
 
 49 
 
 yet, thoup^h (lesic^nmtod " The Groat " and " The Good," 
 one of the Htii,niias on bis iiieniory is, that he did no- 
 thing to fulfil his own wishes for the poor. " Pray that 
 you may bo benevolent," said a preacher once ; " then 
 go and answer your own prayers." Persons who 
 acquire the habit of giving, find it an unending .source 
 of .satisfaction. 
 
 I quote again : — " To his father, who lived with his 
 family for several years, Mr. Morrow was the most 
 devoted and attentive son I ever .saw. Onlv a few 
 days before his death, when, inider the influence of one 
 of his premonitions, he .said .something as to the possi- 
 bility that his life might be cut short. I .said in reply, 
 ' You will live long ; ' he a.sked why ? I repeated the 
 promise, ' Honour thy father and thy mother, that thy 
 days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God 
 giveth thee;' and added, 'I never saw such a good son 
 as you were, so the promise is yours,' " 
 
 The writer of this extract submissively construes 
 Christ's other promise, " Who.soever liveth and be- 
 lieveth in Me .shall never die," into a verification of 
 that in the Fifth Commandment. True, James B. 
 Morrow was not permitted to see, scarcely to taste, 
 death. Of the scores of letters which came streaming 
 in by every mail in the succeeding days of mourning, 
 there is a very frequent reference to that most com- 
 prehensive and significant of all human epitaphs — 
 " He was not, for God took him/' By common con- 
 sent, his was a translation. But there is another sense in 
 which the filial commandment has an application to the 
 
 I'll 
 
 I 
 
 I., 
 
 <! . I 
 
''I 
 
 50 
 
 F.IKK OK JAMKS U. MORROW 
 
 ' ", 
 
 !!i 
 
 i i 
 
 l» 
 
 honoured <l(,"ad, ({uite as true to the principles of diviije 
 equity and goodness. Mr. Morrow's years, measured 
 by Mdiat be said, and did, and aeeoni[)lislied, were ten 
 connnon lives in one. In the memory, too, of what he 
 was, his " days shall he long in the land." " Keep my 
 memory green," said Charles Dickens. It is the 
 natural ambition this of every noble spirit, and to the 
 pure and good its gratification is never denied. 
 
 It ouglit to be a pleasant duty, that of comforting 
 father or mother in their downward progress to the 
 grave. God never gave to son or daughter a more 
 precious privilege. Certainly he has enjoined no re- 
 sponsibility that is more remunerative, hi the great 
 Decalogue it has a distinct connnandment and promise, 
 all to itself. Fortunes and con([uests and honours are 
 left out oL' that epitome of duties and privileges which 
 God wrote witli His finger on two tables of stone ; but 
 father and mother are in — stamped in so deeply that 
 they survive the attritions of the ages. 
 
 A clergyman, writing from Newfoundland, says : 
 " Mr. Morrow's family was the most pleasant, the most 
 perfect in all respects, 1 have ever known." Another 
 minister says : " Personally I have lost a real friend — 
 one with whom I have taken sweet counsel — a brother 
 born for adversity. I can never think of his beautiful 
 Christian home, with all the more than kindness I 
 received there during my illness, without repeating 
 Paul's prayer, changing the name — ' The Lord give 
 mercy to the house of Onesiphorous.' " These are ex- 
 pressions which I find repeated in other forms through- 
 
 ! r 
 
 [ \ (I 
 
AT FIOME. 
 
 51 
 
 out at least forty or fifty letters from difTcrent indi- 
 viduals and localities. They arc sntlicicntly sii!j^L,^estive. 
 I must now refer to incidents in my own memory. 
 
 I'l the forenoon of a Sabbath in the summer of 18G1, 
 I was pre{)arin<^ to enter the pulpit of Exmouth Street 
 CJhurch, St. John, N. B., when my attention was 
 directed to two strangers who sought seats as they 
 joined the congregation. They were both young men; 
 one of medium size, the other taller. P'roui their in- 
 tellitient attention to the exercises of the service, it 
 became a[)|)arent that they were sincere Christians. 
 Our singing was strengthened by their voices — a kind 
 of assistance very readily appreciated by a pe( ])le who 
 ere but beginning to mould themselves into sanctuary 
 
 jits of order and good taste. That is my only 
 recollection of the circumstances. Next day, during a 
 visit to the Rev. Dr. Richey, then stationed at Germain 
 St. Church, and my Superintendent, I learned that his 
 two sons-in-law had been with us in our morning 
 service. Thus I came to my lirst casual acquaintance 
 with James Bain Morrow\ His companion of tliat 
 morning I knew in after years as one of the pro- 
 foundest thinkers of my acciuaintance, possessing a 
 mind singularly original, especially in the study of 
 mathematical science. 
 
 Of Mr. Morrow I was to know more, during associa- 
 tions more or less intimate, covering a period of nineteen 
 years. His name even then was a household word 
 among Methodist ministers. As responsible and con- 
 fidential clerk in the Cunard business, he was a very 
 
 i« 
 
 !, 
 
 f \ 
 
 
 \'i- 
 
 ! J 
 
 ^; 
 
m 
 
 
 
 I 1 
 
 !| 
 
 52 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. MORROW. 
 
 important element in the itinerant economy of the 
 Methodist Church, having connections with England, 
 Newfoundland and Bermuda. His counsel, sympathy 
 and co-operation, in furthering the interests of clergy- 
 men and their families, of our Church and others, 
 having occasion to make passages by the steamboat lines, 
 must have been very far-reaching. My acquaintance 
 with Mr. Morrow was renewed during my ministry in 
 Windsor, in whose classic and picturesque suburbs Dr. 
 Richey had selected a rural home. Hither the presence 
 of that entertaining divine attracted his son-in-law 
 from time to time. 
 
 Several very interesting features of that home life, 
 whose atmosphere I always breathed with no little ex- 
 hilaration when visiting Halifax, struck me at once. 
 Of course the husband and father contributed much 
 to make the domestic circle what it was. A very 
 slight change in his manner, so natural, buoyant and 
 spontaneous, would have changed everything. He had 
 a keen relish for humour, which often animated his con- 
 versation, and led the company — of whom the children, 
 dow^n to the youngest, were considered always a part — 
 into free interchange opinions. One instance of 
 this kind often comes j my memory when I listen at 
 any time to a running commentary on preachers and 
 preaching. Mr. Morrow had either heard or read of a 
 coloured brother — perhaps met with the incident 
 among the coloured people to whom he sometimes offici- 
 ated on the Sabbath — who silenced his companions, as 
 they were applying a discourse they had heard to 
 
AT HOME. 
 
 53 
 
 certain black sheep of the pastor's flock, with the 
 shrewd rejoinder : " Too liberal, bredren ; altogether too 
 liberal. You gibben de good man's bread all away to 
 3^0' neighbours, and keepin' nuffin for yourselves ! " 
 " Who gave away the good man's bread, pa ? " asks 
 little black eyes in the high chair ; ' And did the good 
 man starve ? " Here follows, amid general laughter, an 
 attempt to explain the very unchildish philosophy of 
 charity to one's neighbour, and an unwillingness to 
 submit to the truth. 
 
 It was a home to which no one who had enjoyed it 
 once was likely to require a pressing invitation there- 
 after. To ministers particularly there was all the 
 charm that intelligence, piety, and most devoted atten- 
 tion to a stranger's wants, would be sure to create. 
 Ministers were sick there ; at least one minister was 
 married there. During Conference and other ecclesi- 
 astical occasions it was a popular resort. Among the 
 forty or fifty letters of condolence sent in by clergy- 
 men after Mr. Morrow's death, or to myself personally 
 in compiling for this memoir,! find allusions to such acts 
 and words, during the enjoyment of his hospitality, as 
 could never be obliterated from the memory, 
 
 Tliere is a letter, dated July 6th, 1880, addressed to 
 a ministerial friend, in which occurs the following 
 paragraph : " It is an abiding source of thankfulness 
 to know you pray for me. I dare say I have told 
 you, Father Pope often used to say to me, he prayed 
 for me every day. Now that God has taken IdTui, it 
 is a comfort to know that 1 have still an intercessor 
 
 i [■. A 
 
 Ui 
 
 i 
 
 
 t;, 
 

 V -! 
 
 54 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. MORROW. 
 
 M 
 
 I i 
 
 daily remembering me. Is this why it happens I 
 so often experience miracles of mercy? To God 
 be glory!" The allusion to Father Pope (a lovely 
 sample of mature religious character, and for many 
 years the simple-hearted, undisguised ideal of goodness, 
 whose name was known to all denominations in F-^H- 
 fax) is very touching. The blessed old man woul go 
 his weekly rounds cheering us all in our business and 
 ministerial responsibilities, with a word which left 
 warmth and sunshine behind him — " I pray for you 
 every day, brother." There were certain persons, 
 much pressed by anxiety, whose welfare Father Pope 
 carried into his devotions. 
 
 " I always admired him as the pious head of a family," 
 writes Rev. Elias Brettle. " He was so genial and 
 playful, with his interesting children, more like an 
 elder brother ; though he never compromised his pa- 
 rental authority." One of the most difficult problems 
 to parents is, how they may retain the confidence of 
 their sons and daughters, even in little things, without 
 abating their own proper and natural supremacy- 
 It is a sad day for any father when his child selects a 
 confessional outside of his own home. This difficult 
 problem seems to have been satisfactorily solved by 
 Mr. Morrow. It is often a subject of remark that he 
 found so much time for philanthropic objects ; the 
 wonder to me is, that he could keep up such a minute 
 and perpetual correspondence with members of his 
 household as they began to find temporary homes 
 elsewhere. At periods when the business of the 
 
AT HOME. 
 
 m 
 
 firm was very perplexing, and on occasions when 
 official duties to the Church, or the Companies he 
 served or represented, were making large demands 
 upon his strength, he would preface a letter to one of 
 his children with an apology, and then fill up several 
 pages with the most interesting details of family his- 
 tory. The baby's cunning ways and speeches ; the 
 habits of the favourite dog ; some little startling 
 accident ; in short, a portrait of homo life. To Mat- 
 thew he sends stamps — rare privilege for a boy in those 
 days to have a thoughtful fathor, who was receiving 
 letters with " hard " or " queer " stamps, from places 
 seldom mentioned in the Geography ! And all this at 
 a date, as he writes to another, when " I have to push 
 to keep up with the daily papers, and eight or 
 nine hours' steady drive at the pen daily makes one 
 apt to lay things aside to a convenient time." The 
 father misses his absent boy from the weekly class 
 which he conducted ; replies to a request for a few 
 weeks' detention of one of his daughters at Montreal, 
 that he " cannot really spare her — she has taken away 
 some of the sunshine ; " and so on, never ending with- 
 out pointing an index finger to Christ and heaven, and 
 breathing a parental prayer for the child's happiness 
 and preservation. 
 
 An extract or two will best illustrate this part of 
 my subject. To one of hi ^ sons from home he writes : 
 
 "There is no such thing in this world as independence. We are 
 continually made to feel that we are but part of a great whole, and 
 have to be governed by the wishes and sometimes the whims of others. 
 
 ■4 
 •I 
 
 "j I 
 
 i i 
 
 ill 
 
) ■ ■■■ 
 
 I 1 
 
 56 
 
 MFK OF JAMKS H. MOKKOW. 
 
 H 
 
 1 
 
 * * * I think a good deal about you. You have trials and temp- 
 tations, but 'it is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth.' 
 Much can be done by a little niana^^enient. Arrangements are apt to 
 be broken in upon, but, at the; same time, you must have system. 
 Even Sunday you should try and have a method— lor service, school 
 if you attend one, or lUble-class at tlie Y. M. C. A. 1 would go to 
 bed early on Sunday night, and have strength to begin well on JSIonday. 
 In the week, you want ojie night for class, one for prayer-meeting, one 
 for visiting, one foi reading at home and writing to us. AVithout 
 system your time will be frittered away. Fix your night for exercise, 
 gymnasium, etc. Time will never hang heavy on your hands if you 
 are occu[)ied. Whatever you do, dear boy, don't forget the Lord Jesus 
 Christ. It is, after all, the great point of life to serve Cod. With all 
 the money in the world, what would it avail us without the love of God 
 in the heart ? With this, what have we to fear ? So, never give up 
 your religion. Never be ashamed of Christ ; and the older you become 
 and the more you see of the world, the more precious will Jesus be to 
 you. We are all well. Count Mareschelschi, a nephew of Marshal 
 MacMahon, President of France, takes tea with us to-night." 
 
 If 
 
 i. I 
 
 It must have been early in our acquaintance that, 
 sitting quietly in conversation one evening after the 
 family had retired, he spoke of his eldest son and 
 daughter with a natural happiness l)ecoming the cir- 
 cumstances of his remarks. Tliey had, without any 
 special urging from their parents, decided to spend 
 their evenings at home, instead oi at parties or public 
 entertainments. (.)f c(jurse there was a limit to this 
 decision ; but it gave him great satisfaction to see 
 what he regarded as an etiort on their part at early 
 self-denial. Others would have found in it rather a 
 compliment to the father himself. It would be diffi- 
 cult to reach a more pleasurable circle than that in 
 which they lived. Human nature is, the world over, 
 
AT HOME. 
 
 67 
 
 »!■■ 
 
 i temr- 
 youtb.' 
 3 apt to 
 system. 
 ', school 
 Id go to 
 tlonday. 
 iiig, one 
 Without 
 exercise, 
 is if you 
 ird Jesus 
 With all 
 e of God 
 give up 
 I become 
 nis be to 
 Marshal 
 
 that, 
 
 er the 
 
 Dn and 
 
 le cir- 
 
 ut any 
 
 spend 
 
 public 
 
 to this 
 
 to see 
 t early 
 ither a 
 )e diffi- 
 
 hat in 
 d over, 
 
 disposed to fellowship; but it is passing sad to think 
 that many homes do not provide it. Dwelling under 
 the same roof, boarding at the same table, parents and 
 children meet between whom there is scarcely a point 
 of contact — whose souls are as separate as if they were 
 elements in a crucible repelled by some chemist's 
 powerful solvent. " Heaven is a glorious place," said 
 a pastor to one of the children of his parish, " and 
 your father will be there." " O, then," replied the 
 child, " I dinna want to gang ! " There were bitter 
 memories behind that naughty expression. The father 
 may have been all that was good, except just goodness ; 
 and a heaven would be intolerable with the presence 
 of one who, perhaps, left money behind him, which, in 
 the fell struggle to heap it together, had lost him his 
 child. 
 
 M 
 
 m 
 
 I ;';l 
 
 1: 
 
 tj 
 
 i 1 
 
 P ■••« 
 
1 
 
 *\^ 
 
 M 
 
 \i 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 IN THE CHURCH. 
 
 The true and grand idea of a Church is — a society for making men 
 like Christ, earth litce heaven, the kingdoms of the world the king- 
 dom of God. 
 
 — Dr. J mold. 
 
 I'ROM ineiiioranda left by Mr. Johnson, it was 
 inferred tliat Mr. Morrow became a Class- 
 Leader in 1857. There are, however, very 
 definite I'easons for concluding that he was thus actively 
 engaged a,t a much earlier period. In a letter without 
 date, but certainly written previous to 1854, there is a 
 paragraph which sets this question at rest, while it 
 reveals the spirit in which the young Leader — obcut 
 22 years of age — entered upon his serious responsi- 
 bility. I quote: 
 
 " Mr. Johnson tells me I shall likely have to take charge of a little 
 boys' class. I scarcely know what to do in this matter, believing as 
 I do that this is one of the most important classes we have. Here are 
 six or ten boys, with their hearts under the influence of the Holy 
 
IK THE CHURCH. 
 
 59 
 
 Spirit. The ideas now being formed of Class-Meeting will perhaps 
 never be effaced from their memory. Tlieir minds unformed, their 
 ideas of religion probably undefined, and I but a bal)e in religion 
 myself, to be placed in charge of these precious souls. I feel it is a 
 charge of vast responsibility, and were my feelings consulted would 
 gladly be released from it. But if it be my Father's will, I will im- 
 plore His grace to enable me to fulfil the trust. I have been so un- 
 faithful as a Sabbath-school teacher, that I nuiy well be humbled 
 before God." 
 
 There are occasional references to tliis boys' class in 
 subsequent letters — his sense of inability and un- 
 worthiness, but, withal, his comfort in the use of the 
 privilege thus assigned to him. It would be interest- 
 ing to know what became of these youthful subjects 
 of so much prayerful solicitude. Not that we need 
 fear for the results altogether : 
 
 h: 
 
 J 
 
 " The little drift of common dust 
 
 By the March winds disturbed uud toss'd, 
 Though driven by the fitful gust, 
 
 Is changed, but never lost. 
 It yet may bear some sturdy stem. 
 
 Some proud oak battling with the blast, 
 Or crown with verdurous diadem 
 
 Some ruin of the i>ast " — 
 
 which is quite as true in morals as in vegetation. 
 About this period we find him writing: 
 
 " Last evening I was reading the Life of liev. J. Smith, and was 
 struck with this thought, ' Many people talk of the expediency of this 
 thing ; the need of performing the other thing ; but while thus talk- 
 ing the moment for action slips by, and the opportunity for doing 
 is lost.' Act — act- now, is the word that should be constantly im- 
 pressed upon the mind, and put into practice." 
 
 ■ m 
 
60 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. MORROW. 
 
 M 
 
 ( 
 
 ! 1 
 
 Agcain: 
 
 *' J have been very busy with steamers, but am now through my day's 
 work. How i)leasantly the past few days have passed. Though 
 there have been tlie cares and trials incident to life, yet by grace I 
 have been saved through faith, and that the gift of God. My path is 
 strewn with blessings, all undeserved; and though clouds of temptation 
 have arisen, yet the Sun of llighteousness has broken and dispelled 
 the gloom." 
 
 Plainly, the influence of Francis Johnson was follow- 
 ing his disciple. A custom of this true soldier for his 
 Master was, often, to leave the little office on the wharf 
 at dinner hour and spend it with the sick and sorrow- 
 ing, instead of at his own home. Young Morrow had 
 this example before him, doubtless, when he wrote : 
 
 "I had fondly hoped to have been able often to visit the sick and 
 others, but I am so tied to the office it is impossible to do much in 
 that way.'' 
 
 Only twenty-two, and sighing for opportunities to 
 share an hour with cripples and the diseased, who 
 were living above ricketty stairs and in shaded garrets ! 
 Yet this young man was "fair to look upon," and open 
 to the sunlight as a flower in its gay young morning ; 
 not morbid by any means, but following Christ, who, 
 at his age, pursued precisely such employment. What 
 must have been the eflect of such a Leader among 
 boys, calling upon them to " Act — act noiv" and point- 
 ing to the woes and miseries of mankind, beckoning 
 all who would help to follow him ? 
 
 From that date until death, Mr. Morrow was a re- 
 cognized Leader in the Methodist Church. The boys 
 
IN THE CHURCH. 
 
 61 
 
 grew to manhood, and required a more distinct recog- 
 nition as themselves members and co-workers. The 
 efficiency to which he attained in this department of 
 usefulness is said to have been very marked. In the 
 village where I now write he met once or twice a class 
 of adult members, some of whom remember his words 
 at those times as being the most impressive they had 
 ever heard from his lips. " He lived near to God," they 
 .say, " and seemed to carry a heavenly influence with 
 him. His talk was all Bible." 
 
 He must have assumed the relation of Local 
 Preacher about the same early period. A meeting was 
 begun in a room near Freshwater, which was kept up 
 by regular supply from city workers for some time. 
 In regard to this appointment he says : 
 
 " Mr. Johnson Las shown me the jtlan for the meeting down South. 
 I am not to go till the 1-ith of January. I would willingly not go at 
 all — would rather be ' little and unknown.' Yet I trust God may bless 
 this means to the good of many souls. And may those who go thither 
 as speakers, go armed with the Spirit's sword." 
 
 He was thus fairly in harness, having already three 
 separate offices in the Church, while but a youth, 
 'u,nd at a period in which most young men, at best, 
 are only in religious leading-strings. 
 
 Mr. Morrow's services vv^ere classed, by persons who 
 did not understand Methodistic economy, with those of 
 professional evangelists. Nothing was farther from 
 his thoughts than to assume independent responsibili- 
 ties, even in the high calling of an expounder of the 
 Word. He was a Methodist Local Preacher, and 
 
 -J 
 
 
 J : 
 
 \P 
 
! 
 
 62 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. MORROW. 
 
 I I* 
 
 'I t 
 
 I ' 
 
 spurned the imputation of attempting work which 
 belonged, by divine appointment, to ministers of the 
 Gospel. The sacred office was ahvays sacred in his 
 estimation. He would have, in the high places of re- 
 ligion, men unhampered by worldly exigencies, and .so 
 independent of the smiles or frowns of mankind that 
 they might fc^arlessly proclaim the truth. Sufiicient 
 is said in these pages to show how willing he was to 
 sit at the feet of " the dear ministers," as he called 
 them, of any and every evangelical (Jhurch. At the 
 same time, he unhesitatingly accepted the doctrine of 
 individual responsibility as held by the Church of 
 which he was a member, and so sought no other 
 authority for proclaiming the will of God to perishing 
 men. 
 
 The spirit in which he met the calls for Sabbath 
 service, which pressed upon him so frequently, was 
 not the least admirable trait of his disposition. To 
 many preachers there is a degree of humiliation in 
 being obliged to "fill a gap." Human nature resents 
 any undue interference with one's privileges and pre- 
 rogatives. Few care to occupy the place announced 
 for another speaker ; and if the vacancy be caused for 
 the convenience of that other, it may well be pardoned 
 of the substitute if he demur and hesitate. Besides, 
 there is an unreasonable — I fear a growing — prejudice 
 against Local Preachers, which may be a sort of sacer- 
 dotal sentimentalism. He knew all this. I have 
 seen him tried in this way by almost every form of 
 temptation. Perhaps late on Saturday, or early on 
 
 >«^ 
 
IN THE CHURCH. 
 
 63 
 
 Sabbath, he would be told that soiiio minister was 
 sick, or absent, and his place must be filled. His man- 
 ner at such times wa'> always touchini,^ for its humility 
 and promptitude. Now that he has left us, that the 
 record of his services is so gratefully expressed, that 
 thousands look back with pleasure at what he did, 
 and how he did it, the question will not occur to any 
 of us — we are sure it does not concern him at this 
 moment — What were the exigencies that called him 
 out ? Did he go because he was sought, or because 
 there was none other ? It may be doubted if he ever 
 interfered with a programme on which his own name 
 stood as a speaker. He never questioned as to 
 motives or objects in assigning to him certain work. 
 " Try and avoid calling me out on boat days," he would 
 say ; and perhaps add, " here is the lun of our Eng- 
 lish steamers in and out. At any other time I am at 
 your disposal." But even this reasonable limit was 
 sometimes transgressed. We who knew his cares, 
 would sometimes, in mercy to the man, go the round 
 of other possible supply. Rarely we succeeded, for 
 preachers in the city are secured usually in advance ; 
 or it might be that others would decline on the mate- 
 rial ground of insufficient warning. Then we would 
 return to Brunswick street, and explain the circum- 
 stances. That was sufficient. T cannot recall an in- 
 stance in which there was a refusal. 
 
 This may be the proper place to mention another 
 duty which he filled in his own honest way. 
 
 Mr. Morrow's manner in the prayer-meeting seemed 
 
 
 
 i I 
 
< < 
 
 .1 
 
 04 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. MnRROW. 
 
 to me specially significant. It was a subject of re- 
 mark at times, when under the influence of strong 
 feeling, that he would aV)ase himself at piayer in a 
 way not usual among modern worshippers. With his 
 hands closely clasped, resting on the scat, he would 
 bend his head low between his arms, his body, in a 
 kneeling posture, almost touching the floor. I have 
 no doubt that this posture, perhaps unconscious and 
 unstudied on his part, was much the result of his 
 favourite reading:?. Linwrinf:: over those awful scenes 
 of Old Testament history, which describe the inter- 
 course of Jehovah with mortals of the first Dispensa- 
 tion, he imbibed their spirit and imitated their man- 
 ners. The place was to him holy ground. He would 
 probably have "put ofl'tho shoes from oft* his feet," if 
 the occasion had admitted of, or recpiired it. 
 
 It matters little, it may be thought, what the atti- 
 tude in worship, provided the heart be sincerely en- 
 gaged. But there must be to every observer, more or 
 less of the mind reflected in every natural gesture of 
 the man. The posture is more or less an index of the 
 soul in worship, an unconscious portrayal of what the 
 man is, and thinks, and believes. Judge Wilmot, I am 
 told, usually knelt at prayer with his body perfectly 
 erect. It will be remembered that the Judge was 
 man of very opposite temperament from Mr. Morro^^ . 
 Naturally military in his bearing, he had lofty concep- 
 tions of the dignity of worship ; and loved, above all 
 things, to exalt the honour conferred upon mankind 
 by " the redemption which is by Christ Jesus." Cer- 
 
IN THE CHITRCH. 
 
 fin 
 
 tainly this ago needs such examples. There is a list- 
 lessness nianifestefl hy the ordinary postures of our 
 prayer-meetinf^ worsliippers, not calculated to impress 
 strangers from other countries too favorably- 
 
 No one understood better than Mr. Morrow, the 
 obligations of church meml)ers to sustain the week 
 night and other means of grace. Johnson, in his Life 
 of Milton, expresses a sentiment wliich ho would 
 have adopted in full: — "Religion, of which the re- 
 wards are distant, and which is animated only by 
 Faith and Hope, will glide l)y degrees out of the mind, 
 unless it be invigorated and re-impressed by external 
 ordinances, by stated calls to worship, and the salutary 
 influence of example." In one of Mr. Morrow's Bibles 
 a passage is emphasized, which gives Dr. Johnson's 
 idea. Paul wrote to the Hebrews — " Let us hold fast 
 the profession of our faith without wavering ; and let 
 us consider one another, to provoke unto love and 
 good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves 
 together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one 
 another ; and so much the more as ye see the day ap- 
 proaching." It was the conception, then, of the 
 Apostle to the Gentiles, rather than of the great Eng- 
 lish sage ; expressed, too, in language less sonorous and 
 antithetic, but more concise and positive. In the Bible 
 from which I quote, " the day " is specially under- 
 lined, a peculiarity by which the student indicates all 
 throU' h his markings of the sacred oracles, how ^ro- 
 foundl}- was impressed on his own mind that eternity 
 is the end we are to have in view. 
 
1^, 
 
 ttmsssi 
 
 mmmmmmm 
 
 H 
 
 , 
 
 M 
 
 ill 
 
 i 
 
 66 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. MORROW. 
 
 Of the prayers which we heard from Mr. Morrow at 
 these services, it would be difficult to convey a cor- 
 rect impression. They were a breathing after God, 
 more than anything else. It seemed never to enter 
 his mind that there was any Atheism, or Unitarian- 
 ism, or Rationalism on the earth. God, and Christ, and 
 the Bible were to him abiding and comforting facts. 
 The sacred Word especially was magnified. Nine of 
 every ten sentences, sometimes, would be texts of 
 Scripture, so emphasized that one heard for instruc- 
 tion as well as profit. He was heart and soul in his 
 own petitions, while to the prayers of others he gave 
 audible assent. To have Mr. Morrow and Mr. Morton 
 both at a prayer-meeting was a great treat. No meet- 
 ing could well flag in that case. Ready at exhorta- 
 tion, quick to turn a passing thought to the best 
 advantage, rich in melody, they were heard with res- 
 pect and gladness, whetlier they prayed, or sang, or 
 spoke. About both there was a .spontaneity, too, which 
 was often followed by the happiest results. Once, 
 when a short report was given of services attended 
 elsewhere by a speaker, at which great good seemed 
 to be accomplishcid, Mi'. Morton rose to his feet, began 
 the Doxology, and soon carried the assembly away 
 with him in adoring gratitude. Mr. Morrow would be 
 seen reaching for a Bible, when we all knew wliat to 
 expect. The blessed volume became an endless reper- 
 tory of suggestion and consolation to liim and us. 
 
 Every office of responsibility, leader, local-preacher, 
 trustee, recording-steward, he filled for many years. 
 
IN THE CHURCH. 
 
 67 
 
 The latter position — that corresponding with lay- 
 president, is the chief position in a Methodist official 
 meeting ; and to this he was appointed on three 
 different occasions, with intervals between. The lay- 
 men of Halifax District elected him to the General 
 Conference of 1878. He was a chosen representative 
 of the Nova Scotia Conference to the General Board of 
 Missions, having jurisdiction over all the Missions, 
 Domestic and Foreign, under the control of the 
 Methodism of Canada. 
 
 There are letters from the General Conference to 
 private friends, in which are manifested the conscien- 
 tious care with which he prepared himself to meet the 
 responsibilities of his appointment. It would have 
 been excusable had he simply observed ; this being his 
 first opportunity to look in upon a body of representa- 
 tives from a territory stretching from Labrador to 
 Vancouver's Island ; and he did observe. That so 
 much eloquence daily ran to waste ; that speculation 
 spread its wings and soared so widely, while practical 
 truth was lowly and seldom seen, gave an amusing 
 turn to his thoughts, and enabled him to conjecture 
 that human gatherings are much alike the world over. 
 His heart warmed when Zion's advancement was in any 
 way indicated. Missionaries who had journeyed from 
 extreme points of the North-West for three months to 
 reach the Conference, were a wonder and a delight to 
 his eyes. But he did more than observe. His name 
 stood on committees of great importance, for which he 
 must qualify himself. He read up on each subject ; 
 
 it 
 
 if 
 
 PJ! 
 
 "!ii:i,l 
 
68 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. MORROW. 
 
 I i. 
 
 wrote to experienced men and women on a theme 
 then vexing the Assembly — the Class-Meeting as a 
 test of Membership ; and went into tlie Conmiittees 
 thoroughly instructed and decided. Having a seat be- 
 side him, I could see that, upon his little table, provided 
 for special convenience, there was always correspond- 
 ence in progress. There were lines of conmiunication 
 kept open with home, business men, and even foreign 
 Companies. This is now more apparent from letters 
 which left his hand during those days. One allusion 
 there is, among others, in the correspondence, which 
 will elicit a sigh from my readers. September 5th, 
 he writes : " I went to Great St. James St. to-night 
 to hear Mr. Coley, author of ' Thomas Collins.' He 
 gave the introductory address to the Communion — 
 very sweet, loving, tender and simple." Then imme- 
 diately following, " At the close I had to leave at once, 
 the air was so close that I felt compelled to get away. 
 The 'choky ' feeling only left me when I reached the 
 open air." That "choky" feeling, it is now known, was a 
 w^arning from the centre of his vital energies, that the 
 end was approaching. But who could foresee that Mr. 
 Coley and his admiring hearer were so soon to pass 
 away from earth to the " Marriage Supper of the 
 Lamb," within a few weeks of each other, and by the 
 same subtle disease ? 
 
 As the moral of this chapter there are two or three 
 thoughts which ought not to be concealed. This one 
 life is a pledge of what many might be. In the church 
 — all the churches — there is an immense force lying dor- 
 
IN THE CHURCH. 
 
 69 
 
 mant. If every member of the body of Christ were as 
 early consecrated, as diligent in good words and works, 
 as instant in season and out of season, what a trans- 
 formation would ensue ! It is painful to reiiect that 
 the majority of even Christian lives are of the merely 
 negative type. They avoid harm, but accomplish no 
 great good. The recesses of human woe and dark- 
 ness are not illumined by the lij^ht of their influ- 
 ence or example. In the church they may fill up 
 the measure of their privilege — are seldom absent, 
 perhaps perfectly quiescent ; outside of the Church 
 they have no sphere, except t^ watch the currents of 
 the world's affairs, and take the advantage of its com- 
 mercial ebb and flow. The city set on a hill is obscured 
 by clouds of indifference ; the light is not in the 
 candlestick but under the bushel. With a Master who 
 leads the way, and disciples who show what long jour- 
 neys may be performed, even by life's brief noon, 
 surely more might be expected. 
 
 
 r 
 
 jS. 
 
 u 
 
 I 
 
I f 
 
 III 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 m 
 
 BUSINESS. 
 
 To the diligent, labour bringeth blessing ; 
 The thouf^'ht of dut}' sweeteneth toil, and travail is a pleasure ; 
 And time spent in doing hath a comfort that is not for the idle ; 
 The hardship is transmuted into joy, by the dear alchemy of mercy. 
 
 —J/. F. Tupper. 
 
 T the age of sixteen, James B. Morrow entered 
 the office of S. Cunard & Co. The excessive 
 I lllBf work, in which he never spared himself, seems 
 to have occasioned, after five or six years' application, 
 his retirement for a few months, during which a voy- 
 age to England averted what physicians had reason 
 to apprehend — prostration by brain fever. That had 
 been a period of intense application. Mr. Joseph S. 
 Belcher, his associate in the same employ, has favoured 
 us wdth an insight of what was a methodical, cease- 
 lessly-active establishment. Like all others, however, 
 who have taken pen to illustrate the business of the 
 office he has very naturally diverged, more speedily 
 
l; 
 
 BUSINESS. 
 
 71 
 
 than might have been desired, to memories of young 
 Morrow, as he appeared to an ardent fi'iend and 
 admirer. To those glimpses of office-life with which 
 we have been favoured by extracts from his own 
 letters, we must add the observations of Mr, Belcher : 
 — That "he was always the same, obliging and 
 thoughtful ; a christian who carried his Christianity 
 into daily life, influencing his companions by example 
 and personal persuasion of righteousness ; tender to 
 comfort in sorrow, faithful to expostulate in danger; 
 a Bible-reading, Bible-expounding youth, not for con- 
 troversy, but for editication ; " a man whose uniform 
 consistency has so impressed his cotemporaries, that 
 they can think or write of nothing else in comparison. 
 Mr. Belcher affords, as a last, best evidence of his 
 friend's devotion, the conclusive testimony — " For I 
 always regarded him as the means of bringing me to 
 the Saviour." 
 
 On his return from England, after the vacation in 
 18.54, Mr. Morrow, fearing the night work at Cunard's, 
 took an office for himself, resolving to begin business. 
 Such a man, however, once fairly introduced into an 
 establishment, could not well be dispensed with. In- 
 ducements were held out to return, and the shutters 
 were closed upon the only windows through which he 
 ever, as a distinct venture, looked out upon the busi- 
 ness world. His form was thenceforth, for ten years^ 
 to be seen at his old desk, from which he arose only to 
 take a higher position as a responsible member in the 
 concern. In 18G4< he accepted a partnership in the 
 
 1 i 
 
 H' 
 
I : 
 
 ., ^ 
 
 ■■> I 
 
 ' i i 
 
 lit| 
 
 1 
 
 ! ^ ! 
 
 i 1 
 
 1 
 
 ; 1 
 
 72 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. MORROW. 
 
 firm of S. Cunard & Co. With the exception of whatever 
 secular advantages it may have brought to him, we 
 can see but little change this promotion could super- 
 induce. He was the man of the place at all times. 
 When the nominal head was absent, Mr. Morrow was 
 nominal head, contriving, guiding and systematizing 
 everything. " He was a man to lean upon," in com- 
 merce as w^ell as religion. Long before the newspapers 
 announced his accession to the partnershiji, he had 
 been a partner in every sense of burden-bearing and 
 self-sacrifice. 
 
 There is much misapprehension as to the precise 
 standing and relation of the firm to which Mr. Morrow 
 at this time became directly attached. It never was 
 the Cunard Company, in the sense generally under- 
 stood by that term. The Steamboat Line which has 
 carried the name of Cunard all over the globe, was not 
 at any time, in any way, the property of the house 
 known as S. Cunard & Co. 
 
 Samuel Cunard (now known as Sir Samuel) was 
 born in Halifax, and began business life as a clerk in a 
 lumber yard in that city. After the war of 1812, he 
 established an independent business, engaged in the 
 West India trade, (which has left, one time and another, 
 an immense accumulation of money in Halifax) ; be- 
 came a general importer, ship-builder and lumber- 
 merchant. With but limited education, he possessed 
 great tact and shrewdness. Two brothers were asso- 
 ciated with Samuel, who branched off in ventures of 
 lumbering at Miramichi and toward the East Indies. 
 
BUSINESS. 
 
 78 
 
 The immense warehouses on Water Street were erected 
 to accommodate a great trade in teas and other com- 
 modities; nndsuitahle wharves were erected on a iarge 
 scale. 
 
 During a visit to England, Mr. Cunard's quick in- 
 tuition detected a new order of things coming into 
 existence. Steam was calling loudly for the privileges 
 of a youn^x monarch. It must needs have a double 
 crown. Already it was revolutionizing commerce on 
 the land ; it must now rule on the ocean. Mr. Cuiiard 
 formed a company, consisting of English and Scottish 
 capitalists, with himself, to own and run a Line of 
 Steamers from England to America. The history of 
 that venture is before the world — one of the proudest 
 chapters in the annals of the ocean. A retire was 
 selected from Liverpool to Halifax and Boston ; a sub- 
 sidy was secured for carrying the mails; the steamers 
 continued their trips to the satisfaction of their em- 
 ployers and the admiration of the world. After a 
 period of almost uninterrupted success, Halifax ceased 
 to be a link in the connection of the Cunai'd l)oats. 
 But the name remained, to a certain extent, with the 
 present Halifax company. 
 
 This was a distinct company, originated for purposes 
 altogether separate from those involverl in the enter- 
 prize just (lescribLMl. It has had, beside the agency of 
 the Cunard Steamers, a general mercantile trade, and a 
 large coaling Imsiness in supplying steamers calling at 
 Halifax for the purpose. There have also l)een several 
 agencies held from time to time, notably that of the 
 5 
 
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 VA 
 
 (iv 
 
 it 
 
I 
 
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 1 i: 
 
 1 
 
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 74 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. MORROW. 
 
 inch capital 
 
 General Mining Association, having 
 vested in Nova Scotia ; " and much iK'sides," adds my 
 informant " wliich cannot be placed upon paper. At 
 any rate, it was always a busy office."' 
 
 Mr. William Cunard, liead of the Halifax firm, re- 
 moved to England in 18()S, and from that date Mr. 
 Morrow was sole manager until IcST-S, when Messrs. 
 Francklyn and Peters were admitted to partnership. 
 This gave some relief, by sharing the responsil»ility of 
 office. Thenceforward the church, the family and the 
 surrounding world, were to receive more of his time 
 and thought ; " though it was ever his hal)it to spend 
 the greater part of the day at lousiness, and sometimes, 
 though seldom as compareil with former periods, to 
 continue writing business letters late into the night." 
 It was foreign to his nature to be idle, however, so 
 that relaxation to him merely meant change of em- 
 ployment ; from the strain of correspondence, to the 
 loved occupation of Biblical study — from directing a 
 great business, to addressing an assembl}^ of worship- 
 pers. 
 
 To understand the questions of wondering encpiiry 
 which came so often to the lips of his ac(iuaintances. 
 as to the work he accomplished as a christian, a citizen, 
 and a philanthropist, it will be necessary to state, what 
 was well known in his own immediate circle, that his 
 responsibilities of office were numerous and exceed- 
 ingly important. They may be thus enumerated : — 
 
 Responsibilities of the Firm : — Agents for the Allan 
 Line of Steamers, calling at Halifax fortnightly in 
 
BUSINESS. 
 
 75 
 
 IJJ^ 
 
 summer, and weekly in winter ; emi)luying at intervals 
 hundreds of men, apart from the regular staff of em- 
 ployees constantly on the premises. 
 
 Agents for the Cunard Steamers to Bermuda and 
 the West Indies. 
 
 Agents for the General Mining A.ssociation of Lon- 
 don, (already noticed). 
 
 Agents for the General Mining Association ; and the 
 Halifax Mining Company. 
 
 Agents for Lloyd's; and representatives for one or 
 two foreign Insurance Associations. 
 
 In the Church, Mr. Morrow held, as will be remem- 
 bered by readers, .several offices of consecjuence. 
 
 He was Chairman of the Executive Committee of 
 the Y. M. C. A., and 
 
 A member of the Executive Conniiittee of the Book 
 and Tract Society. 
 
 He was French Vice-Consul. 
 
 His name stood on the directoi-ate of several In- 
 surance Companies. 
 
 In the Appendix of this book will be found a 
 touching counting-house declaration — a tribute to the 
 memory of their sainted Master, such as (mly em- 
 ployees sensibly bereft of a friend, could have placed 
 on paper. Here was the starting-point of Mr. 
 Morrow's )»enevo1ence and love. Like the sun's 
 warmth, it must first fill its own immediate sphere, 
 before radiating to lemoter portions of the univer.se. 
 '' No man," said Madame Cornuel, " is a hero to his 
 valet." Montaigne has simplified the aphorism, by 
 
 I, 
 
 'ij, 
 
 M': 
 
76 
 
 r.IFE OF JAMFS R. MORROW. 
 
 ili 
 
 saying : " Few men are adiiiirc<l by tlicir servants." 
 It is a prying, carping wt)rl(l at Ijest ; and he is 
 favoured wlio well escapes without absolute contempt 
 from his familiar companions : while to be praised, 
 and so immeasurably, by those who look daily on one's 
 life, falls to the lot of very few. Tt may safely be re- 
 garded as a genuine specimen of humanity which stands 
 the close scrutiny of three hundi'ed days in every year. 
 
 Can such a life be ])roduce(l by the mere policy 
 of ambition ? No I Will good advice of itself 
 originate such a character '. Ncvei" I There must first 
 be certain elements of nature ; tliese, stiuiulatcMl by 
 counsel, and sustained by grace, can alone In-ing about 
 an admirable manhood. The stream cannot rise higher 
 than its sourc(\ Hence, to yt»ung men, 1 can only say, 
 — To affect your associates as did .lauK.'s B. Morrow, 
 you must seek James B. Morrow's Saviour. 
 
 And yet, much may l»e done, on th(^ very lowest 
 ])lane of ambition, by considei'ing well the claims of 
 oui- fellow-servants. They an; human, — have nerves, 
 and cloudy days, and, perliaps, bitter memories. Many 
 a master and mistress who sinflis for some lietter 
 s]ihere of inliuence, might fin<l it by beginning at home. 
 Indeed, it is doul)tful whether anv one is iustitied in 
 attempting a mission to the woild whose strength has 
 not first been well exerted rouiul the desk and the 
 firesidr. We might hesitate* just here — T to write the 
 book, and you to read it — did we fall on the discovery 
 that Mr. Mon-ow was the subject of public eulogies to 
 which his office subordinates refused to subscribe. 
 
Rr^iNES?;. 
 
 77 
 
 ''I 
 
 Paul directed the clmrches to pray for deliverance 
 h'om " unrea,s(jiial)le men." He classed them witli the 
 wicked. Peter exhorts servants "to he suhject to 
 their masters witli all t'(>ar : not oidy to the cjooci and 
 gentle, hnt to the t'roward " — tlie crooked, gnarly 
 masters, who cause suhordinates to " entlure grief, 
 sufl'ering wrongfully." 'I'here is a petulance and 
 waspisliness winch takes shcOtei- helund the nnserahle 
 apology of cares of oiHce. A man who turns all 
 domestic and social amenity into gall and hitterness, 
 is excused on the ground of " so much to perplex om\" 
 rt is a cowardly spirit, without any fair subterfuge of 
 defence. If one life can l)e sweet annd perpetual re- 
 sponsihilities, why not a thousand :" 
 
 Had this man set up a plea of business cares, it might 
 have served a selfish purpose also in the direction of 
 the Sabbath. (Jf ccmrse, he had a fair claim to the 
 seventh day, who gave six to an excessive round of 
 duty. And the world would have excused him in a 
 measure, had Ik; loitered at home, or strolled to take 
 what is called "innocent recreation " in the fields and 
 forest, wdiich means, in too many instances, the com- 
 panionship of a flask and a fishing-rod. But he seldom 
 went beyond the sound " of the church-going bell." 
 And he brought more jo}' with him from Ins fellowship 
 with Christ and chi-istians, than the majority of 
 pleasure-seekers from their communion with Nature. 
 Rest meant to him change of employment. There is 
 more in that conclusion, to serve for the purposes of 
 self-government, than many imagine. It is routine 
 
 \ ^. 
 
 U- 
 
hi 
 
 an 
 
 7s 
 
 LIFE OF JAMEK B. MORHOW. 
 
 tliat kills. The treadmill has been abolished, because 
 it was t'oiind to do more than the law reijuired ot* it; 
 it was intended to liold the prisoner to liard labour, 
 while it went further, and gradually destroyed l)is 
 constitution. 
 
 i" 
 
 5^W^ 
 
ii 
 
 (CHAPTER VI 1, 
 
 THE BOOK. 
 
 A good book is the precious lift'-blood of a master-spirit, eiiibrtlinril 
 Mild treasured up on purpose to a life heyoud life.- Miltov. 
 
 Yes, 'tis a mine of precious jewelry 
 
 The Hook of God ; a well of streams divine ! 
 
 But who would wish the riches of that mine 
 
 To make his own ; his thirst to satisfy 
 
 Krom that pure well, must ear, eye, soul ajiply ; 
 
 On precept, prcce}»t scan, and line on line ; 
 
 Search, ponder, sift, compare, divide, combine, . 
 
 For truths that oft l)eneath the surface lie. 
 
 — Bp. Mant. 
 
 ^MONG the most precious relics left by Mr. 
 Morrow are two Bibles. They are suggestive. 
 They have a history. 
 I am aware that Biblicists abound in our day. But 
 as there are both religion and religionism, so there are 
 Biblical students and Biblical aesthetics. Where, or 
 with whom the present system of Bible-marking 
 originated, perhaps no one can testify. Like other 
 methods of learning it has had, probably, a growth, 
 
I • 
 
 80 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. MORROW. 
 
 
 more than a creation. It does not need, however, that 
 one shall possess any remarkable discrimination, to 
 judge of the general effect produced by a monomania 
 of this or anj' kind. Tliere are treatises on Bible-mark- 
 infj, as there are text-books on chemistry and mathe- 
 matics. One lays down a general rule to the etlect 
 that the st\ident may go through tlie Bible, using the 
 modern system, in twelve months, or tw(^ years at 
 farthest. Rules are established for signs, references 
 and comments. Here is a well-meanim; teacher, 
 doubtless; but we fear there are the elements of no 
 little mischief in his book. The world has heard 
 enou^'h of the Bible-readinix boast — of the scores of 
 times tliose sixty-six books in the Old and New Testa- 
 ments have }»een skimmed over l)y extraordinary in- 
 dividuals. The school alkided to would beget a class 
 outstripping by far the other ; for could they not add 
 that, in a lifetime of say thirty reading years, they 
 had I'uled, scril)bled and impi-oved gc^nerally, thirty 
 volumes of the Book of God ! iVIr. Mori'ow I have 
 heard express serious censure on the flippancy with 
 which the Bible is treated l)y some thoughtless persons, 
 and the new form of worship — a sort of Bibliolatry — 
 whicli has found too many devotees. It made him 
 very cautious in revealing his own habits as a Bible 
 student. The Bible to him was an awful book — 
 
 I 
 
 "The Autlior, God himself ; 
 The subjeot, God and r.-.an ; salvation, life 
 And death — eternal life, eternal death — 
 Dread words ! whose meaning has no end, no boujid." 
 
THE BOOK. 
 
 81 
 
 •i| 
 
 It pained hiiii to see so many aping the evangelist — 
 a class for wliom, wlien genuine sei'vants of Clirist, he 
 liad a liigli regard. An Oxford or Bagster's BihU\ well 
 l)0iind and costly, under the arm of a jaunty, ill- 
 furnished, half-reverent peripatetic teacher or preacher, 
 was a sight he could not endure. Was he ever per- 
 mitted to see the insi<]e of a l)Ook thus ])araded ^ — its 
 inane expletives, its linear defacements, the general 
 evidences of a vounic man's dilip-ence in the attempt 
 to dispose of the J^il)le in twelve months^ On the 
 very threshold of this awakening — this Bihle-readiug 
 revival foi* which we are so thankful — let us warn our 
 generation against extravagancies that may degenerate 
 into blasphemy. 
 
 Til ere would seem to have been an licn-ditary cause 
 for Mr. Mori'ow's fondness for the B>il)le. " His father 
 l)efore liim," it is written for my guidance, " showed a 
 wondeiful ac(iuaintaiice with the -acred Book, and 
 seemed to know, from Ge-nesis to Kevelation, just 
 where to turn for a passage." His object and method 
 are deiined in words as concise as any I could seh'ct. 
 " He se<nned determine<l to Lfct at the root of the 
 mattei", and uudei'stand every word as fai- as possi)>le. 
 He would spend weeks at one verse," (Not much 
 confidence in the twelve-months' svstem, niy Masters!) 
 Then follows a list of his books — aids in l>iblical stndv 
 — on which a word of c(jmment n\ay be appro])riate. 
 
 For ascertain iu (If the structure of the Book, lie studie<l 
 carefully works on Biblical genealogy, histoiy, geogra- 
 phy and chronology. On the language of the Bible he 
 
 HI 
 
 
 ! 1 . 
 
 I : 
 
: 
 
 82 
 
 f^TFE or .JAUT.fi K MORROW. 
 
 spent mucli time. With Rufus Choate, he wouhl have 
 it read, "not only for its authoritative revelations and 
 its commands and exactions, ohlii^^atoiy yesterday, to- 
 day and foi-ever, l)ut for its Englisli, for its literature, 
 for its patlios, foi- its imagery, its words of consolation 
 and wisdom, for its universal truth." He used the 
 Knulish man's Hehrew Bible and a Greek (Concordance. 
 There is good authority for believing that an excellent, 
 if not the best way to study a language, is " to take a 
 book and a dictionary, and proceed." It is certain 
 that, though not a FTebrew or (Ireek scholar, Mr. 
 Morrow attained to a critical appreciation of many 
 words and sentences in the Bible, whose delicate shades 
 of meaning can only 1h' ascertained by an intelligent 
 ac(]uaintance with their force in the languages in 
 which the ( )ld and New Testaments were originallv 
 N\ ritten. It is well known that the name of (iod, as 
 expressed by the most venerated Hebrew appellation, 
 passes through a great variety of meanings, according 
 to its prefixes and affixes. 1 find these followed every- 
 where thi-ougli the two BiV)les, and distinctly traced, 
 by wa}' of e])itome, at the beginning and close of 
 several l)ooivs, as the student went on. This is but 
 one instance. Of commentaries ho kept several at 
 hand. The " Commentary Wholly Biblical," first 
 brought to his notice in my own presence by John 
 McDonald, Esq., of Toronto, — a work that must have 
 helped both in the indulgence and strengtiiening of 
 Mr. Morrow's tastes for comparing scripture with 
 scripture. There is not an uninspired word in this 
 
THE BOOK. 
 
 83 
 
 commentary. J fc is simply an ar ran clement of passages, 
 given in full, which throws light upon, oi* adds force 
 to a given text. He had also, besides Lange, the most 
 ('omprehensi\(' connHentary.. perhaps, the most valuable, 
 in existence, Louth and Arnold's, Adam Clarke's, 
 Benson's, Cooke's, Kyle's, with Watson's Exposition, 
 and Wesley's Notes. A full Bihlical Encyclo{)tedia 
 made up this excellent e(]uipment. 
 
 A Bagster's Bible, fac-simile large edition, narrow 
 maigin, which Mr. Morrow used for many years, is, in 
 several places, crow<led with signs, which he hiuiself 
 readily understood, and annotations. On the Hy-leaf 
 are pasted th<' celeltrated golden verses of Pytlia- 
 goras : — 
 
 Nor let soft slumbor close your eyes 
 Before you've recollected thrioe 
 The train of actions through the day. 
 Where have my feet chose out the way f 
 What have 1 learnt where'er I've been, 
 From all I've heard, from all I've seen '■. 
 \N'hat know 1 more that's worth the knowing ' 
 What have I done that's worth the doing .' 
 What have 1 sought that I should shun ? 
 What duty have I left undone 1 
 Or into what new follies run ? 
 These self-imiuirit^s are the road 
 That leads to viitue and to (lod. 
 
 liti 
 
 Results of extensive study are manifest in thi.s vol- 
 unie. It would be useless to hazard a conjecture as to 
 the number of entries it contains from the reader's 
 diligent pen ; but they are certainly to the extent of 
 thousands. He was not satisfied with glossaries by 
 
 u 
 
 <? ! 
 
 
 li 
 
 
 ^-■^^jii 
 
 
M 
 
 84 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. MORROW 
 
 ' ' 
 
 ll: 
 
 li 
 
 other men, which can he ohtainerl for a few cents any- 
 where in our time ; he made <lictionaries for liimself. 
 The Itlank leaves and margins are all occupied witli 
 names and their meanings, coincidences, paradel texts, 
 references, wdiicli he had collated fi'om time to time. 
 During the last few years of his life, the most im- 
 portant gleanings of the old Bihle were transferred to 
 one of a lai-ger editi(jn, with broad margins, and other 
 facilities for retaining valual»le records. It was lov- 
 ingly begun, with exceeding care and neatness of 
 rulings and penmanship. And here the student's work 
 shows to some advantage. In the book of (lenesis 
 alone, there are 1,7()() aimotations and written refer- 
 ences of different kinds. Many of the notes are ([uite 
 oritjinal, as for instance on Gen. viii. .S, " The waters 
 returned from off the eai'th continually." In the 
 margin he has written, " Qy. the tides ( '" 1 can find no 
 suggestion in the conunentaries to which this query 
 may be traced. If the result of liis own reflections, it 
 shows some ingenuity as well as scientiiic research. 
 It is certain there were no tides durinix the Hood : 
 e(pially certain they resumed their motion some time 
 afterward. Was this God's way of saying — the tides 
 tnen began to ebb and How i Again, in Gen. xlv. 24, 
 Josephs advice to his brethren (h^parting from Egypt 
 — " See that ye fall not out by the way," — a marginal 
 wilting says, " Tremble not, wdiether from fear, grief 
 or anofer." The Commentators aijree in <dving the 
 old explanation — " do not quarrel by the way." 
 Michaelis, Gesenius, and others, make it an admonition 
 
 t 
 
 i: 
 
THE BOOK. 
 
 85 
 
 — " fear not."' Tlierc is, however, a very minnto foot- 
 note of Prof. Taylor Lewis, in Lan<^e's Commentary, 
 wliich niav liavc inclined Mr. Morrow to ]ii-i>fer the 
 meaning of either or all the tlu'ee passions comhined. 
 I cite the facts tliat readers may judge of the pains- 
 taking habits by which these annotations were reached. 
 Then, after tlie manner (^f some text-l)ooks, and Acts of 
 Parhament, tlu^re are index-words in each margin, in- 
 dicating tlie precise sul)jects, and wliere tliey terminate. 
 This makes the l)Ook all the more ready for i-eference. 
 By underlining words, and neatly coiniecting them 
 with a stroke of the pen an<l ruler, the train of tliought 
 in a particular chapter is readily sn})plied. Express 
 duties are particularly entpliasized, showing that the 
 Word was read for the reader's own direction, more 
 than as a precious heir-loom, which it will long con- 
 tinue to be. I give two instances: — Numbers ix. bS, 
 "But tlie man that is clean, and is not on a journey, and 
 forbeareth to keep the passover, even the same sonl 
 shall be cut otl* fi-om among his people." And Joshua 
 i. cS, 9, "This book of the law shall not depart out of 
 thy mouth ; bnt thou shalt meditate therein day and 
 and night, that thou mayst ol»serve to do according to 
 all that is wi'itten therein ; foi' then thou .shalt make 
 thy way ])rosperous, and tlu-n tliou shalt have good 
 snccess. Unve 1 not co!nmande(l thee :* Be strong 
 and of a good couraixe : be not afi'aid, neither bu thou 
 dismayed ; for the L(jrd thy Ood is with thee whither- 
 soever thou goest." It is not difhcr.it to conjectuiv, 
 with such^passages as these magnified before one's eyes 
 
 P 
 
 m 
 
\'-\ 
 
 I 
 
 86 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. MORROW. 
 
 t i 
 
 m 
 
 where he obtained his strenoth. There are treasures 
 of admonition and inspiration in these two quotations 
 alone. 
 
 Tliese notes and references terminate in the Old 
 Testament, at the Second book of Kin,L^s, and in the 
 New, though the intervening space is not all supplied, 
 at Re\\ vi. It woidd have rec^uired tlie remainder of 
 a long life, assiduously applied, to finish the Bible ac- 
 cording to Mr. Morrow's method. The verse on which 
 his last touch was made, is the ninth of the sixtli 
 chapter in Revelation : " An<l when he had opened the 
 fifth seal, I saw \nidei' Uie altai' the souls of them that 
 were slain for the word of Clod, and for the testimony 
 which they held." Another step and he would have 
 reached the white robes of the martyrs, which he has 
 since been gazing upon with holy rapture and adora- 
 tion ! 
 
 I must add that a memorandum book, which has 
 fallen accidentally into my hands, carried by Mr. 
 Morrow (Un-ing some lengthened journey, evidently, 
 has entries of passages of Scripture to the nuud)er of 
 two hundred and thiity, either written out in ]»art, oi' 
 in full, and mau}^ with pages of connuents attached. 
 The Bible was his eomi)anion and friend every day and 
 everywliere. Yet if any one imaiiines that Mr. Morrow 
 read only the Bible. I must undeeii\ c him. Wherever 
 modern I'esearch, by travel, science, excavation or 
 scliolarslii]), afforded new light, or conlirmati(^n of the 
 Bible narrative, he saw it, and ap])ropriated the infor- 
 mation. 
 
THE ROOK. 
 
 87 
 
 Two or three somewhat curious letters arc in my 
 possession, iUustratini,^ his hahits of tliouglit as n;- 
 spects tlie sacred volume. One, datccl '27t]\ of March, 
 J<S72, addrcsse<l to his son James, at Mount Allison 
 (yollege, Sackville, N.B., is a remarkal»l«' epistle, to 
 proceed from a great connncrcial warehouse. Not tluit 
 it is unnatural or unhusiness-like ; hut there is a 
 transition from one to the other of suhjects which are 
 supposed to helong to altogether ditt'erent regirjus of 
 thought, and a rapid transformation of relation.'^liips, 
 seldom, I imagine, equalled among tlie pursuits of 
 Water Street : — One of the steamers was aground in 
 the Chesapeake ; her detention till Good Friday woidd 
 break in upon tlie privilege of lioliday to the clerks, 
 for which some compensation must be made. Snow 
 had fallen to such a (h'pth that tlie railways were 
 blocked ; lience a threatened famine of beef, which 
 must be ordered from Baltimore ; though the old coach- 
 road was once more resorted to for conveyance of 
 bullocks from Cornwallis. Coal, too, had gone up fifty 
 per cent. — and here follows a minute detail of busi- 
 ness complications and disappointments in looking 
 after this article of connnerce. So far the business 
 man. There had been a break on some great wheel in 
 England, slowing down thf machinery of s])eeulation, 
 which would have recjuii'ed his immediate departure 
 for the Pacific; but a despatch might come at any 
 moment, in which case a route; is mapjx'd out. 'i1ir 
 business man becomes a prospective traveller, feasting 
 his imaj^ination on Mormondom and the El l)(jrado, 
 
 (1I 
 
 ^ 
 
; t 
 I \ 
 
 88 
 
 \AYK OF JAMES R MORROW. 
 
 California. " Owv Bible-class is quite large now," — 
 so runs the letter — "the dininii'-rooni where we meet 
 is (piitc! i'ull all ivjimd the sides — from HJ to 20. And 
 my class on \Ve(lnesday is also very full, 10 last ni,ii;ht 
 and sometimes 20." From a continental toui* to the 
 beloved Class-room — a third chann;e. What follows 
 must be li'iven verbatim : — 
 
 " I often laugh over your remark, that I am always studying The- 
 ology. My own feeling is that I don't get time to study at all. The 
 Bilde is a wonderful T'ook, and well rejiays study. Imleed, it is a 
 mine. To get at its ridios we nnist dig ; hut no gold or silver mine 
 ever paid its owner anything like the return in value whieli the Bible 
 gives to those who study it. You should have a Bible (a reference 
 Bible) whicli you should make your particular companion. l)egin at 
 the beginning, and read it through consecutively. Always have a 
 pencil at hand to mark, by i)re-arranged sign, any i)assages that par- 
 ticularly strike you. After you have read a chai»ier, go l)ack to your 
 marked passages and study them well. 'J'he effect of such reading is 
 to leave in the mind a pnunise, a precept, a warning, a rebuke, an ex- 
 ample, or some other form of truth, to be a subject of reflection when 
 the mind is otherwise occupied. Among passages that have thus 
 caught my own mind are, " He causeth it to come, whether for cor- 
 rection, or for liis land, or for mercy," — a gracious assurance of divine 
 )>rovidence even in aflliction. " (.'ursed be he that iloeth the work of 
 the Lord negligently," — a warning to all to do Clod's work with the 
 whole heart. " For all })eople will walk every one in the name of his 
 Cod, and we will walk in the name of our (rod for ever and ever," — 
 showing tlnit, whatever a man's profession may be, in Iwart he will 
 walk according to his true character; if Satan be his master, or the 
 world, or pleasure, the supreme object of his afli'ections, he will follow 
 them. But ifi'. should walk in the name of our (Jod. And so I might 
 nudtiply passages, IVom both Ohl and Xew Testaments, that ever abide 
 witli me, autl are us gems that, even in the l)rightness of divine truth, 
 shine out from the surrounding brilliancy — that as diamonds cut with 
 many facets, llasli light and glory at every turn. The advantage of 
 
THK BOOK. 
 
 89 
 
 |lll|l 
 
 Ivill 
 tllp 
 
 I low 
 
 hiile 
 
 lull, 
 
 itli 
 
 of 
 
 kco}»iiig to Olio Hililo i;s. you ht'como acrustomod to '\U ])a,i,'cs, and ran 
 turn ininiiidiatL'ly to t'iiniiliar ]tassjif,'cs. Mt'siiU's, it is luttcr to mark 
 one book tlian many. " 
 
 From divinity lie turns, bi't'orr closing his letter, to 
 matters personal, domestic and pateinal. The wonted 
 pressing' advice as to ])iety, encouragement to pi-oceed 
 in his studies, an<l so to a prayer an«l a lienedietion. 
 
 It' tliere be any better way to build up a household 
 tor h(mour and usefulness — for the worhl, the church, 
 and eternity, who has ever heard of it i* "That was 
 the kind of Father he always was," writes another 
 son, "so kind, thoughtful, and taking so much intei-est 
 in all I did. I respected him, admired and loved him, 
 with what intense, idolizing love, God only knows." 
 Dear boy, would there were more such idols and idol- 
 atry in this poor world of ours ! 
 
 My readers will indulge me in the perusal of one 
 more letter. From Quebec, Septembei* 14th, 1H67, 
 where he had l)een attending the Y. M. C. A. Con- 
 vention, he writes Mrs. Morrow in a mood which was 
 a mingling of playful banter and sympathy — 
 
 " Yours is not tlie first brain that i.a: been exercised and worried by 
 studying the Prophecies. They are " a deep, where all our thoughts 
 are drowned." One thing I have learned is, that for the study of such 
 topics, immense patience is needed, and we must learn "to make haste 
 .slowly." We are naturally impatient to get at the results; are 
 sometimes discourage<l to liml how tlui work of search opens out 
 almost indefinitely, and how littlr progress we make even in hours 
 of study. But we should anticipate this, at the beginning, and 
 get a little every day, taking care not to overdo it, and not to be over 
 anxious to get through, if it takes a long time. There is no hurry, for 
 it is not at all likely we shall get below the surface by doing our best, 
 
 6 
 
 'if 
 
 III 
 
 I 
 
 «■ 
 
 it ; 
 
 111! 
 
do 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. MORROW. 
 
 and eternity is all before us, where, with unclouded intellects, we shal 
 see things as they fire. So, do not let my dear one be perplexed. CJod 
 never gave us His word to l)e a source of weariness and anxiety. It is 
 full of mysteries so dccj) that the angels desire to look into them, i'ut, 
 it is said, "ilis word giveth lil'e." Do not perplex yourself with i)ro- 
 fundities. Take the life of Jesus and the Psalmist's exjieiiences fur 
 study. Wiser heads than yours or nune have attempted tlu'se subje(,'ts 
 with little profit. You cannot take up a treatise these days (on Pro- 
 phecy), but you find that others were wrong, and the wiiter alone 
 knows whereof he treats." 
 
 One instinctively looks at the close of a letter like 
 this for the signature of some Professor in Divinity, 
 and is surprised to find the initials rather of a man 
 supposed to be only deep in the mysteries of ocean 
 steamboats'. 
 
 A few months ao'o the following communication 
 appeared in the Presbyterian Witness. It was a 
 matter of wonder at the time as to who the author 
 could be. No one thoujxht of a business man ; far less 
 would they have suspected a very busy business man 
 of perplexing himself and others concerning subjects 
 dating back 3,000 years in human history. The con- 
 tributor was James B. Morrow ; this was the contri- 
 bution. It was not surprising that clergymen hesi- 
 tated to pronounce an opinion, or differed in their 
 views, as to the question raised. There is not one of 
 fifty in the sacred profession who gives the time and 
 thought to purely Biblical subjects that were given 
 by this man : — 
 
*'"' 
 
 iTl 
 
 
 ;| 
 
 
 4' 1 
 
 ,! 
 
 1 
 
 THE BOOK. 
 
 fH 
 
 ess 
 nan 
 ects 
 ;on- 
 tri- 
 csi- 
 leir 
 of 
 and 
 ven 
 
 THE TAnERNACLE: THE LAVEH : THE ALTAH. 
 
 Mu. Edithr, — l{ea<liii^' ret.'ciitly in the Book of Exodus, my attoii- 
 lioii was flriiwn to an apparent diseropaney betwitn wliat is written in 
 "the Hook " anil a piitiuc upon my study wall, piiipnitin^' to Ik- an 
 illustration of the Tdbpniach'. In this pieture tin' Lavrr is phncd 
 l)etween the altar and the talx-rnacle, while, so far as I ran understand 
 the saeicd reeord, the Eaver was jtlaeed a1 the entrance of tln^ rourt of 
 the tabernarlc, and the altar lietweeu the Eaver and the tahernacli". 
 Having exhausted the resources at my command, the i-csult nniy lie 
 tlius briedy stated. Five distinct illustrations all a^^ree with my 
 jticture, as do most of the commentators ; one of the latter a;^'recd in 
 the view 1 have been led to form. One ndnistcrial friend, having 
 lookciljnto the ma(ti>r, has no doubt that 1 am li^id ; live other 
 friends, lay and clerical, simply say 1 am wrong, but give no reasons 
 for their comdusions. I mention this to slunv how debateable the 
 ground is. The reasons for my eonclusions an; : 
 
 Exod 30 : 18. Thou shalt put it (the laver) between the tabernaide 
 (okel) of the congregation and the altar. 
 
 Exod. 40 : 0. And thou set the altar . . . before the door of 
 tln^ tabernacde (mis'diar) of the tent (okel) of the congregation. 
 
 Exod. 40 : 30. And he .set the laver between the tent (okel) of the 
 congregation and tlie altar. 
 
 Exod. 40 : 29. And he put the altar of burnt-oifering by tin; door of 
 the tabernacle (mischar) of the tent (okel) of the congregation. 
 
 ijcvit. !:;■). . . . the altar that is by the door of the taber- 
 nacle (okel) of the congregation (note the tabernacle is now erected 
 and everything in its place more particular direction is not now neces- 
 sary.) 
 
 Take the order of mention. Exod. 37, ver 1. The ark. 6. The 
 mercy seat. 7. The cherubim. ]0. The table. It). Vessels. 17. 
 Candlestick. 25. Incense altar. Chap. 38 : 1. The altar. 8. 'I'hc 
 iaver. 
 
 Exod. 40 : 2, 17. -Set up the tabernacle. 
 ** 3, 20, 21. Put therein the ark. 
 " 4, 22, 23. Bring in the table. 
 ♦♦ 4, 24, 25. Bring in the candlestick. 
 " 5, 26, 27. Set the altar for the incense. 
 
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 92 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. MORROW. 
 
 
 Exod. 40 : 5, 28. Hnng iij) tho Imiigiiig. 
 
 r>, 29. Set up tlie altar tVtr l)nrnt •offering. 
 
 7, 30. Set th« l.ivpr. 
 
 8, 33. Set up the court. 
 
 9, Anoint the tahcrntclo. 
 •' 1(». Anoint tlie altar. 
 
 '• 11. Anoint the lavcr. 
 
 " 12. Bring Aaron to the door ol" the talMiiiaele. 
 
 Is it reasonahle — is it po.srjihle that if the Kaver was plaeeil next tti 
 the tabernacle and hetweeit it and tlie altar, it would havi- heen three 
 times mentioned in the onier mc \\u*\ it to he in Kxoil. .'<7, :>8, and 40 i 
 
 2 Chron. 4 : 1(1. And he set tin* sea on the right side of the east 
 and over against the south. 
 
 2 Kings It) : 14. An»l he brought also the bra/en altar which was 
 before the Lord from the forepart nf the house from between the Jiltar 
 (ver. 11) and the house of the Lord and put it (Hi the north side of 
 the altar. 
 
 Matt. 23 : 35. . . . betwe( n the tem|)lc and the altar. I'efer 
 to 2 Uhron. 15 : 8.— Kzek. 8 : 10.— Joel 2 : 17. 
 
 Many comments suggt-st them.selves, but your .space is precious. 
 (!an any of your readers throw light on this subject, .ind if they find 
 me wrong, tell me the where and the why ? 
 
 .\n Om> SrnsciuBKR. 
 
 This subject of the tahernack' was under his earnest 
 consideration down to the Uitest moments of life. 
 While his body was being borne homeward from 
 Londonderry, letters w^ere written in more than one 
 ministerial study, intended to convey to him the 
 results of much research upon tlie precise position of 
 the Laver and the Altar. And what was the object 
 of all this woriy and investigation ? Was it a mere 
 pedantic display of Biblical knowledge !* — the finical 
 agitation of a mind narrowed dow^n to Biblical tech- 
 nicalities ? 
 
THE BOOK. it 
 
 It will be seen in the arrangement which he presents 
 from Exodus, that there must have been special design 
 in the precise? positions allotted to ditterent objects in 
 the tabernacle. God intended certainly that the order 
 should teach certain principles. Hence, Mr. Morrow 
 saw in the "picture on his study wall" — designed 
 originally l)y a devout and ingenious shipmaster — 
 that the divine intention was not properly represented. 
 CleanaiiKjy he maintains (with very sufficient reasons), 
 was the first necessity of tabernacle service ; and this 
 as clearly sj'mbolized the order of approach to Gotl's 
 service under the ( 'hristian l)ispensati( )n. Regeneration 
 is aV)solutely necessary — it is the first con<liti()n in the 
 economy of grace. There was a baptismal significance, 
 too, in placing the Laxer at the entrance of the taber- 
 nacle, though that was doubtless only a subordinate 
 consiileration in the diligent, sustained, and decisive 
 reseai'ch which this subject originated. 
 
 Side by side with Mr. Morrow's love for the Bible, we 
 everywhere meet evidences of his cravinj^^ for rest and 
 seclusion. "(\)me a})art into a desert plact'," said 
 Chi-ist to His disci])les. He who was generally sur- 
 r()un«led by crowds, moviuo' about in tlie excitement of 
 miracles and other wonders felt the giating eflect of 
 noise an<l human fiiction. It is only now becoming 
 cleai- to the medical profession, that the nervous 
 system sometimes becomes diseased through the per- 
 petual jar and discord of sounds. As much to exces- 
 sive sound, as to the oveistrain of the physical and 
 mental powers, are to V)e traced many nervous diseases 
 
 
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 94 
 
 F.IFE OF JAMES B. MORROW 
 
 It is silenco, quite as much as ozone, whicli makes a 
 seasi<le, or mountainous retreat, contribute to the res- 
 toration of business men. In commercial centres, the 
 ear is seldom at rest. 
 
 "Tlio Inun 
 or iiii)viti/r wlu.'ds, iiiiil iiuiltitudos astir, 
 And all that in a city's mnrniur swells," 
 
 breaks perpetually upon the most sensitive organs. 
 The normal con<lition of things is silence, and amid 
 silence the auditory nerves regain composure and 
 health. 
 
 It is even ottcrrd j^s a strange explanation of the 
 fact that some sounds arc more injurious than others, 
 that Nature has no voices which injuni the brain : 
 whiles all sounds into which human or animal will 
 enters as anecessaiy element, are in the highest degree 
 destructive of nervous life. The moaninjx of the 
 winds, the rustling of leaves, the murmur of the river, 
 the soujjfhinjj: of the wa\es, are to the brain as a 
 mother's lullaby: whih^ thought is distracted and 
 disease luigendered by the clatter of human enter- 
 prise. 
 
 " When Mr. Morrow c<»uld get an hour or two," so 
 I read, "' he retired to his (piiet room and his Bible." 
 'J'he quiet room alone wouhl have been a sanitary 
 blessing; with the Bible it became a spiritual invigo- 
 ration. Its atmosi)here followed him everywhere ; he 
 breathed the air of Mount Hermon. That peculiar 
 hesitancy in public address was simply a momentary 
 
THE BOOK. 
 
 95 
 
 mental reflection — What does God say ? His " flashes 
 of silence," as Sydney Smith called such reticence, 
 was, one could see, from a conscientious regard to the 
 truth. " O how I love thy law ! It is my meditation 
 all the day," said David ; an experience reflected in 
 this modern instance. 
 
 There is a fascination in business, a charm, an in- 
 toxication even, which increases with the prosperity 
 of these times. Nine of every ten groups in the 
 streets are talking dollars and cents. Does it not 
 become the Christian young men of the day to show 
 this feverish age an example of self-control, of eman- 
 cipation from the cruel bondage of the Ledger ? Is 
 there to be no mental Sabbath ? — no higher inspira- 
 tion than that which comes — 
 
 .^' i 
 
 (( 'V, 
 
 To tlie dry drudgery at the desk's dead wood I" 
 
 Isaac, heir and manager of great estates, a young man 
 waiting for his young bride, made time to meditate in 
 the fields at even. Has there ever been statesman, 
 scholar, artist, poet, scientist, philosopher, to whom 
 re})utati()n and honor came independently of .solitude ? 
 Has any nation ever advanced that gave itself up to 
 idolatry ? Is not the idolatry of stocks and bales 
 and hogsheads as degrading as the worship of 
 metal and wooden images ? Moloch was not more 
 cruel than is Mammon. His victims were the fairest 
 of the youth, as are ours ; the l)ane of that day was 
 pagan priestcraft — of ours, retined. relentless compe- 
 tition. 
 
 II 
 

 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 " i 
 
 i 
 
 THE Y. M. C. A. 
 
 So others sliall 
 Take patioiico, lal»our to tlu^ir hi-art and hand, 
 From tliy liaiid and tliy Iicart, and thy hrave cheer, 
 And CJixl's ^'race fructify through thee to all. 
 
 — }frs. Browning. 
 
 Yes ; we do differ when wo most agree ; 
 Foi' words are not the same to you and me. 
 And it may Itc our several spiritual needs, 
 Are liest supjtlied by seeming dift'erent creeds. 
 
 And ditfering, we agiee in one 
 
 Insepeiahle communion, 
 If the true life ho in our hearts. 
 
 ~~H. Coleridge. 
 
 SSOCIATIONS of individuals, for the accom- 
 pllshiiit'iit of some particular ohject, have been 
 connnon in all ay:es and anionj*' all ranks and 
 conditions of mankind. In scientific and literary 
 circles, foi the promotion of art, knowledge, morality ; 
 to provide juodes of intercourse among persons of the 
 same profession or trade and the cultivation of special 
 
ig. 
 
 If- 
 DUl- 
 
 •cen 
 and 
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 ty; 
 
 the 
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 THE T. M. C. A. 
 
 m 
 
 genial tastes. In the Christian religion there are forces 
 which cannot be pent up ; and one direction wiiicli 
 they take is toward co-operation for the world's re- 
 covery from sin. Brotherhoods have been a dis- 
 tinguishing feature of Christianity from the beginning. 
 MfiC generally in established organizations, called 
 churches ; but at intervals in the form of societies, 
 more or less numerous and influential. During the 
 earlior ages of our religion, this became a marked fea- 
 ture of the new economy. As far as history can 
 illuminate the so-called dark ages, theie are fraternities 
 springing into existence, now and again, which usually 
 come, sooner or later, under the moulding power of the 
 Papacy, and are employed by it as engines to work out 
 its propogandist purposes. Modern ages have given 
 birth to numberless associations, committees, frater- 
 nities, with a religious profession, but with a zeal and 
 morality not always in harmony with each other. 
 Some of these have crystallized, in time, into graceful 
 and godly fellowship of believers, taking a name and 
 place among the brotherhood of religious sects. ( )thers 
 have maintained an existence outside of the churches ; 
 yet, affiliated with one or all by sympathy or co-opera- 
 tion. Others still have shunned tlie light, or declined 
 and died. Belonging to the second class is the Young 
 Men's Christian Association. I^ike other similar 
 organizations, it took its rise from a yearning for com- 
 nmnion among kindred religious spirits, and a care for 
 other's necessities. Unlike others, it confined its aims 
 to a sex, to that portion of the male sex which has 
 
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 98 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. MOUROW. 
 
 principal stronj^'fch, Imt has special temptations, and so 
 needs extraordinai-y fidelity and i)r<)tection. From a 
 merely social, it became in time a sort of domestic, in- 
 stitution. It ^^ave the wor<I " brother " a meaning in 
 practical ways, which had only been understood, pre- 
 viously, in theory. It became, in the best sense, "all 
 things to all men." By meeting young men at the 
 cross-roads of life, and leading them into "ways of 
 pleasantness and paths of peace;" by exercising a 
 tender, paternal care over them at home, and following 
 them with warning, counsel and assistance abroad ; by 
 ajzain meeting; them amonuf strantifers, providing: for 
 them lodLjinj^s ard situations, wooln*!' them away from 
 sinful to righteous companionship, bearing them up 
 when they stumbled, ministerini^ to them in sickness, 
 <lisposing of them, as rei[uired, respeetaV)ly and reviT- 
 ently in death — the Association became a great enter- 
 prize, having its ramitications in all (Christian countries, 
 and its influence supplied from all evangelical churches, 
 without excepti(>n. 
 
 The Young Mens Christian Association bears on its 
 front the mark of direct Providential oritjin. It is a 
 (juestion whether anything so juirely unselfish ever 
 sprang from mere human ambition. Its story is .so 
 well known that we need not here repeat it. Ik'st Jind 
 surest evi<lence of its adaptation to modern and reli- 
 gious wants, is the door it opens to such men as James 
 B. Morrow. They make the Y. M. C. A. in a .sense ; 
 in a sense, also, the Y. M. C. A. makes them. It fosters 
 the talent of young men, that otherwise would be lost 
 
 I 
 
THE T. M. C. A. 
 
 to the world ; it quickens into life much instrumental 
 power wliich otherwise would remain dormant. And 
 there is always a special influence j^a-anted l»y God to 
 the honest, self-denying lay-labourer, which clergy- 
 men cannot command, covet it as they may. In minds 
 not positively religif)us, there is often nioi'e or less 
 prejudice against services which seem to have a sti- 
 pendiary end or support. " He is paid for it," is a 
 ready suggestion of the enemy. Indetvl, one principal 
 obstacle in the way of evangelical work, both at home 
 and abroad, is tliis sinister suspicion of selfish aims. 
 The forcible fact is forgotten that Christian men and 
 women who devote themselves to a <listinct reli«rious 
 calling, often make sacrifices in the worldly sense, by 
 leaving foi'tuue-seeking to others, and hence accept an 
 agreement with the (Hiurch to labour for a bare sup- 
 port. Tlie irreligious listener seldom stays to reason, 
 however ; his shield is ready for defence ; he parries 
 very powei-ful blows with very unsubstantial armour. 
 Here is the chief advantage of a man who leaves behind 
 him a thriving business, even for an hour, for the pur- 
 pose of serving persons whom he had, perhaps, never 
 seen before, and mav never see as]^ain ; whose claims 
 up(m him may be no stronger than those of a common 
 human relation. Yes, there is a mission to-day for 
 business young men. They wear no professional gar- 
 ments — draw no professional salaries. They are not 
 chargeable with selfish motives, and are readily ac- 
 quitted of discharging merely perfunctory duties. 
 There are objections, too, against the Y. M. C. A. 
 
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 100 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. MORROW. 
 
 itself, ))oUi without and within the churclies. There 
 is much in it to ])rovoke criticism from ungo<lly per- 
 sons, inasmuch as it directly bears against their fondest 
 sins and audjitions. More injurious, perhaps, is that 
 form of opposition which comes from jealous}', or 
 envy, or possibly lack of information, among the Chris- 
 tian bodies. " The Y. M. C. A. usurps prerogatives 
 which behjug only to the Church of Christ," we are 
 told. " It affords an improper gratification to office- 
 seekers." " It ])ecomes an advertisement for inviting 
 business." " It is even strained a little in the direction 
 of politics." These are serious charges ; have they any 
 weight ? Wolves there may be — always have been — 
 in sheep's clothing. Our Lord went so far as to warn 
 his disciples against ravening wolves — men who de- 
 ceive, that they may devour, the flock. But these, as 
 we all kn(/W, are exceptions. The deadly ergot grows 
 side jy side with the wheat — the poison with the 
 sustenance of man — defying detection, assuming a false 
 semblance, the more ruinous liecause seductive. What 
 has been Cod's law from the l)e(>innini'' ^ " Let hot/i 
 grow u^itU the hdrtrfit" These objections would bear 
 with ecpial strengtli against the Churches themselves. 
 To Mr. Morrow any lurkins*' mischief in this oreat 
 modern movement would soon have revealed itself. 
 He was a keen ol)server of men and morals ; and with 
 him, to become convinced was to act. Had he dis- 
 covered a fraud of any dimensions, he would have 
 exposed it, or abandoned the cause which gave it 
 shelter. That he remained in the Y. M. C. A. for many 
 
THE Y. M. C. A. 
 
 101 
 
 or 
 
 yt'iirs — tlwit bo <^avo to it imich time and strenn^th and 
 money — is suHicicnt <(uarantee tliat it is a sound, 
 scriptural, ])liiIantli!'oi)ie aj^ency. He sustained it ; it 
 honoured and trusted liim. 
 
 A thousand witnesses mi^lit he sunnmmed to prove 
 tliat tlie Association has heen a ureat hlessin*; in the 
 Maritime Provinces of (.'anada. From personal know- 
 led<^fe, I could furnish at least a cliapter on tliis head ; 
 l>ut while some of the piineipal perstms who were in- 
 terested in the circumstances are alive, and may pro- 
 bably read tliis book, it would l»e indelicate to write 
 on the subject at len«;tli. Katlirrs and motliers, how- 
 (^ver, bear tlie record on tlieir memories and hearts, 
 of responses to their tearful, prayeii'ul solicitude for 
 their sons, throuj^di this institution. In some cases, all 
 was not accomplished that was (lesire<l ; in others, far 
 more resulted than any one had hoped. C/ypresses 
 have been planted over some graves, that otherwise 
 would have remained unadorned and unnoticed. Situa- 
 tions of honour and trust are filled by young men 
 whose career mijjbt have led them to ruin, but for the 
 Association. Before introducing the testimony of 
 others, let one or two incidents l)e accepted from the 
 author's memory. 
 
 A young man appeared in the Wesleyan office on a 
 stormy morning in mid-winter, scantily cla<l, but with 
 an li(inest expression of countenance, which gave 
 weight to his story. He professed to be a printer, and 
 claimed that he knew something of the literary as well 
 as mechanical work necessary to the production of a 
 
 11 
 
; 
 
 
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 102 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. MORROW. 
 
 newspaper. Of course, we set the usual machinery in 
 motion for his relief — corresponded with relatives, 
 introduced him to employers, recommended him to the 
 intelligent and active secretary of the Association. 
 (Contrary t<j the usual result in such cases, we found 
 the promising youth coming hack on our hands. At a 
 loss to understand the cause, when all seemed fair 
 (»nougli on the surface, the wiiter did what he was 
 encoura<jed to do at other times — walked away for 
 counsel to a commercial estahlishment I Ft was ten 
 in the morning, the tmie when business, at rest foi- 
 sixteen hours, was hauLTry to Ix; fed. Pollers were 
 luirrying with burdens, truckmen were halting for 
 orders, possibly ships were awaiting the signal to pro- 
 ceed to sea, as we enteretl. Through a tile of busy 
 clerks, we found our way to the counting-house. At 
 least a half-score of letters were on the manager's desk, 
 waiting to be opened and answered. A great com- 
 mercial engine was in full blast, (juietly Init confidently 
 coining the money to support a hundred families, and 
 to accumulate, besides, a fortune or two for business 
 heirs. The belts of this machine stretched to the 
 European shores on the one side, to the seaboard, 
 Central, and Pacific States of America on the other. 
 Strangely out of place did we feel at that moment, 
 with our en(|uiry as to what should be the fate of a 
 single leaf which had fallen in the myriad-peopled 
 forest of humanity. But a moment's notice revealed 
 something even more interesting. The eyes wdiich we 
 looked into for advice were full of tears. The first 
 
THE Y. M. C. A. 
 
 lO.S 
 
 li'tter oponofl on the desk of that l)Usinos.s manager 
 was a woman's pi-tition. or at least a wailiiii,' cry on 
 paper, for a youni^ hiisltand's wamlei'm^s and follies. 
 Some hapless wife, wlio had no otluT claim upon liim 
 than that he was an otlicer (d' the Association, ])ours 
 her sorrows into his heart, and heixs for his svmvjdhv 
 and protection to ln-i' wa.ywnrd hnshand. An answer 
 was half written already, hut it had l»een interrupted, 
 we may verily helieve, hy prayer from tlial desk, even 
 at that early hour. 
 
 Oh, y riamantine mcreliants, y(sliri\<!h ) mummies 
 of the countin^f-house, ye " incarnati(;hs of fat divi- 
 dends" at the ]>ank, look upon this man ! Here is a 
 fountain sprinj^int,' \\\) in the arid, parched san<ls of 
 the conunercial desert ! You who have not wept since 
 the day that Sympathy walked out and left a shred 
 of black crape lianging on the doors of your hearts ; 
 you whohave huried your own livinir wivesand children 
 under heaps of bonds and mortgages — come and see 
 in your neig]d)Our what you have lost in your pursuit 
 of gain. If Christ had been at the liead of a com- 
 mercial house in Halifax, instead of at a carpenter's 
 bench in Bethleliem, this is much the attitude and 
 the occupation in which we would expect to find 
 Him. 
 
 What became of either the young man or tlie young 
 husband, it is impossible now to say, nor does it con- 
 cern so nmcli our narrative. It is suilicient that a 
 bond of brotherhood has been proved. From rural 
 districts to populous centres, the tide of social move- 
 
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104 
 
 I.IFK OF JAMES B. MORROW, 
 
 nieiit is always so strong that multitudes of young 
 men annuaily reach such places at Halifax. From the 
 maelstrom of depravity what is to save them f The 
 Churches ( True, they are there ; but do young men 
 generally incline toward places of worship from choice ? 
 ])o the C/hurches usually sustain a vigilant outlook for 
 strangei-s ^ Do the pastors of country and city 
 (Jhurclies keep well open the channels of commmiica- 
 tion, by which intelligence is sure to be transmitted 
 in advance of a young man's arrival at his destina- 
 tion ? The Young Men's Christian Association has 
 dom; more to organize means of shelter, guardianship, 
 and advancement for young men, than any of the 
 Churches, perhaps than all combined. And in doing 
 this, it may as safely be asserted that the Churches 
 have done it through them. The ornaments of the 
 Association are the jewels of the Churches. The man 
 whose soul yearns toward the wanderers of any Church 
 is sure to feel kindly toward his own. Herein is love 
 — it is both concrete and abstract — filling a home and 
 a church, and overflowing for the world. 
 
 A few years ago a clergyman sought advice of two 
 or three friends of the Association, respecting a brother 
 who ha'l been reported as fallen into iniquity at a dis- 
 tant place. There were evidences merely that the 
 young man had been traced to evil haunts, in an Ame- 
 rican city, wliither he had been decoyed by bad 
 companions. The President of the Y.M.C.A. at the 
 place alluded to, was informed by telegraph of the 
 bald facts. In a few hours came back the reply — " He 
 

 THE Y. M. C. A. 
 
 lOo 
 
 is found, and will be sent home." Next steamer 
 brought him to the wharf in Halifax, 
 
 Daring my visit to the same city a few weeks pre- 
 vious to this writing, a gentleman, almost distracted 
 by his fears, set on foot the same agency for ascertain- 
 inq; the whereabouts of his son. The nearest iiuess 
 that could be made of his locality was Denver, Colo- 
 rado. A letter was despatche<l to the President of the 
 Y.M.C.A. in Denver. Within a few days arrived a 
 telegram — " He is here in hospital . will write." 
 
 These are facts that may easily be verified by the 
 reader. And they are but occurrences of which, per- 
 haps, every week might furnish the counterpart. 
 Surely, here is a merciful and a mighty agency ! Alfred 
 Tennyson, in his superb prophetic dream of the 
 Millenium, alludes to the " federation of the world " 
 as an ultimate possibility. Napoleon, while ruminating 
 in St. Helena, discovered that the federation already 
 existed. The empires of Alexander and Charlemagne, 
 the crude elements of an ideal, universal empire, for 
 which he had himself spent millions of treasure and 
 shed seas of blood, had all vanished ; the empire of 
 Christ, established eighteen hundred years ago, is 
 still in existence, and daily spreading itself over the 
 world. Its law is love ; its aim is human good ; its 
 ambition, to subordinate all hearts to the world's 
 Redeemer. 
 
 Making too much of the young men subject ? 
 There are secret depths to be explored before that 
 question can be answered. Who can forget the reve- 
 
 
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 II 
 
 106 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. MORROW. 
 
 lations of Comstock ? Before one C-onvention of the 
 Y.M.C.A., he displaj^ed to startled beholders some of 
 the papers and prints which Avere being disseminated 
 by certain concealed publishers and mailed broadcast 
 to young men. Persons of strong brain and nerve de- 
 clare to this day their wish that thoy had never seen 
 those devices of unclean spirits ! John Angell James 
 asserted towai'd the close of his useful life, that a book 
 which he read when but a boy was so subtle in its in- 
 destructible iniquity that he would liave given 
 worlds not to have seen it. C'olcridge has wiitten a 
 powerful essay to i)rove that nothing is ever forgotten. 
 Oliver Wendell Holmes goes so faj* as to say that 
 nothing that ever happens fails to photograpli itself in 
 every conceivable aspect and in all its dimensions. 
 That as, in removing a book-case, you find its image 
 exactly outlined on the wall, and the form of, say, a 
 map, which hung there before the book-case was built, 
 as faithfully stamped upon the same spot, so, evil 
 things with which w^e may become familiar, may be 
 reproduced Ic ig after they are forgotten and forced 
 upon the memory, " when this lower universe is pulled 
 away from before the wall of infinity." Who, then, 
 shall assert that a class of so much importance — one- 
 fifth of our population, and the hope of the future — 
 our young men — do not require all the care that is 
 bestowed upon them, the pi'otection afforded them, 
 from these moral pests of the day ? 
 
 The first Convention of the Y.M.C.A. held in the 
 Maritime Provinces, was at Halifax, in October, 1867. 
 
THE T. M. C. A. 
 
 107 
 
 The Association, first orii^.anizod in London, had been 
 followed hy one, on the same model, in Montreal in 
 18.")!. A kindred Association was oro^anizod in Boston 
 twenty days later thnn that at Montreal. During the 
 foUowini,^ year, 1(S.'>2, ten similar societies were formed 
 throuo;hont the cities of the United States. In lS(if)-7 
 there were 21 .") Associations reported nn this ( 'ontinent. 
 In 1M(I7-<S that numher was more than douhled. At 
 present there are not less than 1 ,000 Associations on 
 this side of the At antic, with a memhership of 
 100,000, havino- an anmial expenditure of So7G,000, 
 and owning property to the value of Si ,024,770. 
 
 Throughout the report of the Halifax Convention, 
 in isr)7, there is manifest a very <lecided enthusiasm 
 in three or four ditlerent directions. The meetin'Ts 
 " were pervaded hy love, jov and harmony, and evi- 
 dence of th<^ presence nnd power of (Jod s Holy Spirit." 
 The discussions turned mainly on young men — how 
 the}' might l>e readied, lescued, saved I Young men 
 were there whose exp<Mience, fresh from ( 'oii\(>ntions 
 elsewhere, gave hearers the conviction that a poweiful 
 agency had app(>are<l in the land. Without removing 
 okl lau<lmarks, it hccame evident that the Association 
 was more clearly traci'!':r the lines of distinction he- 
 tween nominal and \itnl gotUiness, without regard to 
 denominational or social harriers. The word earnrfit 
 was hrought into fashion many years ngo, by a mnu 
 who could only tiiul tvniis sufficiently intense to ex- 
 press his own burning thoughts, by coining tlieni— 
 Thomas Carlyle. We find the word adopted in this 
 
 
108 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. MORROW. 
 
 Convention, because none other could so fittingly ex- 
 press the spirit of the new organization. It was a re- 
 flection of 8t. Pauls uieaning in one of his yearning 
 moods for souls, — " My heait's desire and prayer to 
 (lod foj- Israel is, that they might be saved." 
 
 A society of this kind was sure to awaken Mr. 
 Morrow's wainiest sympathies. We have seen him 
 surrounded by young men as a teacher ; he was now 
 to increase his audiences of young men, and widen his 
 intlu<'nce an hundred fuld. A clearly Pi-ovidential 
 preparation for work in this <lirection had preceded 
 this grand opening. He was then himself a young 
 man ; down to the hist such Conventi(jn that ne at- 
 tended, though verging on fifty, he had not reached 
 the pei'iod when the impassal)le gulf separates youth 
 from ohl age. He was always a young man in his 
 own estimation ; the young men of his acquaintance 
 thouirht of him as one of themselves. Much of that 
 subtle power, the magnetism of (,'hristian friend- 
 ship, which he possessed in so ennnent a degree, was 
 brought to maturity by his intercourse with young 
 men. He never saw the dav so sacred to business 
 that a voung man's cry for assistance could not hriufx 
 him instantly from his desk, smooth away the wrinkles 
 of care from his forehead, an<l replace them with a 
 look of sympathy and cheer. (Jharles Sprague has 
 nailed above the door of every selfish, bloated crea- 
 ture of the counting-house, his sarcastic designation — 
 "An incarnation of fat dividends." God's sunshine comes 
 sweetly into some desolate rooms, where all manner of 
 
 ^i'l 
 
\l 
 
 THE Y. M. C. A. 
 
 109 
 
 noisome insects hasten to feed upon it and turn it 
 into loathsome (hist and (hirkness ; so does (lod ijjive 
 prosperity to men wliose s<dtishness converts it into 
 a curse. If riclies are only to he <>l)tained h^' drivintj 
 oat the ani^el and admittinLf the demon, hetter that 
 society should relapse into its ])rimitive oecu])ation 
 of herdinfj or root-ijatheriuLr. 
 
 " What boots it at one ^'atc to iiiako (Icfcnn' 
 Ami at aiiotlior to let in tlic foe ■ " 
 
 « '' 
 
 
 ikles 
 ith a 
 has 
 crea- 
 on — 
 omes 
 er of 
 
 On a resolution relatiui^^ to tract distrihution, the 
 Tteport contains a notice to which Christian philan- 
 thropists of Halifax attach importance. It is said to 
 have opened a new era in the circulation of relig'ious 
 literature. Din-ino- the lattei- years of his life, Mr. 
 Morrow very ardently espoused the interest of ti'act 
 and hook circulation, on a cheap and henevolent scale. 
 It will he seen by this speech that there were valid. ])er- 
 sonal reasons for his action. Says the Report: — 
 
 " Mr. .f. I). Morrow of Halifax, said lie Inul a few ])ra("ti('al roniarks 
 to make upon tin; subjcet : At a very farly a^^^' lie was leil to ^nve his 
 h<;art to Christ, ami for some time walked in tht; li;.(lit of (lod's eoiin- 
 tenanoe. As lie advanced in years, the time came for him to enter 
 upon the more active duties of life ; l)efore loiii,' he f<dl into temittation, 
 wandered from Christ, and forsook the ordiiianccs of (iod's house. At 
 this crisis in his history a younic niau now in the ( 'onvcntion very 
 kindly put ijito his hand a tract entitled ' He Xever took Stock.' 
 Nothiiifj; could have been more approitriate to his circumstances, and 
 by the blessing' of (Jod ujion the ])erusal of that tract he was led to con- 
 .sider his ways and return to Christ. It alforded him very great plea- 
 sure to have put into his hands at the great Exposition, in Paris, two 
 tracts, and also to have .seen on ditferent occasions in London, young 
 
 
 I 
 
 ii 
 
110 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. MORROW. 
 
 •I 
 
 J ; 
 
 men engaged iii tlie work of disKcniinating religious truth, and he 
 hoped tliiit, as one result of this Convt;ntion, some might be moved to 
 engage in this dejiartmeiit of the work of <Iu(l." 
 
 For tlie last ten or twelve years, two names have 
 stood at the head of the Y.MXIA. in Nova Scotia — 
 John 8. McLean and James B. Morrow. There was 
 very little, and yet very nnicli, that was similar in 
 their dispositions. Our Lor<l linked his disciples, two 
 and two; not always, not ever, indeed, with strict re- 
 gard to harmony ol* temperament. John and Peter 
 were as o2)posite in this respect as the poles, yet they 
 'Worked harmoniously, and to purpose. When James B. 
 Morrow died, next to the 1)eloved wife, now the be- 
 reaved widow, and her children, public sympathy 
 turned to Mr. McLean. The number of condoling 
 letters which reached him, was only exceeded by those 
 to the sori'owinj;' family. What joy and blessing these 
 two men foiuid together in common pursuits for the 
 world's good, no one can (iver understand. It is locked 
 in the mind of one upon whose living confidence none 
 will intrude, and has gone with the spirit of the other, 
 to be repi'oduced some day in a friendship that shall 
 be abiding. 1 could not omit this paragraph without 
 injustice to my subject, seeing what I have seen, and 
 reading what I have read. 
 
 Among the most potent forces whicli came into ex- 
 istence with the Y.M.C.A., were the now familiar 
 liymns and melodies. So far back as memorj^ serves 
 our provincialists, there were fugitive strains of re- 
 liffious sonof floatinij about in the settlemsnts, distinct 
 
 f^ O O 
 
THE Y. M. C. A. 
 
 Ill 
 
 altogether from the common order of poetry and music 
 used in church worship. Fifteen years a<^o, evangelists 
 brought to our towns an occasional song, usually with 
 some touching refrain, which struck the popular ear 
 and heart directly. One of these I remember as far 
 back as l(S(jO. During a Sacramental Service in Char- 
 lottetown, P.E.I., a stranger sang a few verses, having 
 as their subject Christ in the (jarden, and ending with 
 an exceedingly plaintive chorus, in less than a week 
 the air was full of the new nuisic. In parlours, 
 kitchens, workshops, and counting-houses, it took pos- 
 session. Masons sang it to their movements when lay- 
 ing a foundation ; painters whistled it at the height of 
 church-steeples. By-and-by other songs followed. 
 Prayer-meetings and Sunday-schools adopted them. 
 Books of song multiplied. There were grave looks on 
 many theological faces, lest a seeming, subtle heresy 
 here and there might penetrate, like frost, to the but- 
 tresses of the church, and so overthrow its stately 
 walls. But no really meritorious hymn that once 
 took the hearts of the people, has ever been ruled out 
 because of a questionable couplet. Who shall repair 
 Cowper's imagery ? 
 
 '• 
 
 '!i 
 
 I t 
 
 r 
 
 " The bud may have a bitter tasto 
 But sweet will bo the flower !" 
 
 I : 
 
 Modern critics, who begin by shaking their heads at 
 Cowper's outrage on all rules of literary propriety, 
 usually end by swallowing both his bud and blossom. 
 So in our melodies. An instance of this kind is fresh 
 
 n 
 
 ) I 
 
^ 1 
 
 ., 
 
 » F ) 
 .1 i 
 
 i i ■ i 
 
 
 112 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES R. MORROW. 
 
 in my own recollection. When Sarah F. Adams threw 
 out on the air that winged herald of supplication and 
 submission — " Nearer iviy God to Thoe " — much ex- 
 ception was taken to the line, " E'en though it be a 
 TOSS that raiseth me." It was Popish ; it substituted 
 suffering or some other alternative for Christ. A 
 majority of distinguished Methodists clearly condemned 
 it, in my hearing, on the grounds referred to. Yet 
 readei's of the New JVIetliodist Hymn Book, just pub- 
 lished within a few months, will find that sweet 
 composition in its pages, and doul)tless thank the 
 compilers for the privilege. 
 
 " Mu<ic, when soft voices die, 
 Vibi'att's in the memory" — 
 
 wrote the gifted, misguided Shelley. This fact is the 
 only reason I can offer for alluding to j\Ir. Mori-ow's 
 fondness for sacred song, and his rare gift in recom- 
 mending Christ his Master by the strains of a voice 
 that was considered melodious. Some human harps 
 come into the world ready to the touch — tempered and 
 attuned. Mine lacks the strings. There is left to me 
 only the comfort of anticipation, — " When He shall 
 appear we shall be like Him." Christ sang on the 
 Mount of Olives, and the day is coming when all the 
 best human qualities that He possessed shall be given 
 to His people. We shall all sing then. But crude as 
 might be the musical knowledge of any hearer, there 
 was in Mr. Morrow's voice a potent charm, when he 
 sang, at his best, the melodies he loved so well. 
 
THE Y. M. C. A. 
 
 U:^ 
 
 • 
 
 me 
 
 lall 
 
 Ithe 
 
 th 
 
 e 
 
 as 
 
 lere 
 
 he 
 
 Witli the exception of 1800, at wliicli Convention I 
 cainiot 1in<l that lie was present, he took an active part 
 (hirin<; eacli ;innual meetiiiLC of tlie Associations for 
 Nova Scotia. Twice — in 1(S71 and hs77 — he was 
 elected to the PresicU'ncy of the ( V)nventi()n. The last 
 public utterances of his life were given in the in- 
 terest of the Association, and young men, in the city 
 of Halifax. 
 
 At Maritime and International Conventions, his 
 form and voice became familiar to the brethren, as 
 representing a genuine, unswerving devotion to the 
 common cause. His journeys to and from these enthu- 
 siastic gatherings, generally in company with Mr. 
 McLean, were im])roved to the benefit of localities 
 througli Avhich they passed. Tlie pictures([ue Meta- 
 pedia became a favourite resort for the two friends in 
 this way. Some of the most satisfactory evidences of 
 Mr. IMorrow's personal success in winning souls are in 
 that locality. Where others exhausted their strength 
 in sporting — not to be despised in its way — or indulged 
 only in the luxury of observing a superb landscape, 
 which has been but recently added to Canadian won- 
 ders, he was awakening new aspirations in souls im- 
 mortal and blood-boufdit. 
 
 It may have been on one of these excursions that 
 an incident occurred which I find thus narrated l)y a 
 brother minister : (The circumstance of the gift men- 
 tioned was not known, even to Mr. McLean ; as there 
 are scores of similar acts of l)enevolence brought out 
 by correspondence, which, but for the preparation of 
 
 n 
 
 n 
 
 '. 1 
 
•r- 
 
 114 
 
 LIFE or JA>rES B. MORROW. 
 
 ! !.' 
 
 this memoir, would never have met the eye of a third 
 party). 
 
 K. illy ill tln' evening of a soinowliat wet ami unpleasant day in the 
 summer of 1877, I was crossing the yard to attend my horse, when, 
 liearing my name called out and looking round, I saw two gentlemen 
 leaning over the gate on the main road. Hro. Morrow was the speaker, 
 and his companion, ^Ir. J. .S. McLean, of Halifax. Though suri)rised 
 beyond mea.sure t(» sec such visitors come thus uni-.xpectcdly upon us 
 (for in our little village it was almost impossible for a stranger to pa.S8 
 through unol)served), 1 gladly hail them come into the parsonage to 
 spend, as I thought, the entire evening with us. The few minutes 
 spent in our parlour were of the most agreeable kind ; the .spirit and 
 geniality of the conver.sation were inspiring to both my wife and 
 myself in a higii degree. We felt we had the presence of two Chris- 
 tian gcntUnicn ; not the ordinary average chun.'h-niember, V)Ut those 
 to whom il was alike their business and joy to think, and speak, and 
 work for the Master wherever they went If I remember correctly, 
 Mr. Morrow was not long under my roof when he inquired if we could 
 not have a meeting somewhere. It was not regular meeting night ; 
 the time in which to announce for any gathering was very limited ; 
 but we resolved to do our best, and after sundown, perhaps upwards of 
 a score were gatliered together in our little church. For the very best 
 of reasons, I gladly devolved the conduct of the service upon our two 
 esteemed visitors ; and what a blessed time ! The exercises were of 
 the siui])lest and most improm[)tu type ; but they were signalized by 
 rich and holy inlluences, the memory of which will remain with some 
 of us as a green and hallowed spot in our life history. 
 
 1 very well recollect, also, that Mr. Morrow privately conversed with 
 me regarding the financial condition of the circuit, and learning that 
 we were endeavouring to pay olf a debt on the recently-acquired par- 
 sonage, without any solicitation, or even the thought of such a thing 
 entering my mind, he immediately and quietly handed me a sum of 
 money toward the object. 
 
 He and his companion in travel took their leave by coach next 
 morning, only, as I afterwards learned, to scatter their blessings and 
 counsels in other retired spots in the Province, and uphold the 
 banner of their Lord. 
 

 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 OUTSIDE WORK. 
 
 Oir.-r thy life on tlie altiir, 
 
 la till' liigli purpose l)t' strung ; 
 And if till- tir.'d spirit slioiiM laltr-r, 
 
 Tht-n .sweeten the labour witli son" 
 What, il" the poor heart i.-oniphiineth, 
 
 Soon shall its wailings he o'er ; 
 For there, in tlie rest that reniaineth, 
 
 It shall grieve anil be weary no more. 
 
 — jy. Morley Piinshon. 
 
 ||HERE is iiu iiiutliciiiatical scale by wliich to 
 '^ measure the labours wliieli i\ pliilantlu'opist 
 gives to tlie world. ]\lotives can only be 
 estimated by Him " tliat seetli in secret." Happy 
 are we in possessing a religion whose iirst docti-ine is 
 that of an Onniiscient, Onniipresent God, holding "a 
 book of remembrance." He notes 
 
 
 ; >l 
 
 " That best portion of a good man's life, 
 His little, nameless, unremembered acts ' 
 Of kindness, and of love. " 
 
 3i|j 
 
116 
 
 r.IFE OF JAMES B. MORROW. 
 
 But I find a record in Mr. Mori-ow's Bililc which the 
 reader may thank nie fur roproducin^r. It is a meth- 
 odical entiy, on one of tlic fiy leaves, of his preaching 
 services from Fehrnary, 1<S7!), to An«^nst l.'ith, LSSO. 
 The ])eriod, it will Ik; seen, covers seventy-eight Sab- 
 V)aths. The recoi'd contains the t«.'xts of eighty-six 
 discourses, or an avei-age of more than one sermon for 
 every Sunday. With the exception of two instances, 
 the texts are not repeate*!. He evidently spares not 
 himself, as so many preachei-s can do to excellent ad- 
 vantage, by turning over the same sul)ject to ditterent 
 con<n'eoations. To show the extent of his ministra- 
 tions in this way during later years, I note that nearly 
 (me-third of these discourses were delivered outside of 
 Halifax, in towns and villages througliout Nova Scotia' 
 and the adjoining Provinces. On referring to the 
 texts it is e(|ually clear that, while his style was 
 generally expository, his teachings must have covered 
 most of the principal doctrines in our holy religion. 
 Next to that abstracting power which I have already 
 alluded to, as enabling him to proceed directly from 
 the complications of the counting-house to the abstru- 
 sities of Biblical prophecy, I have marvelled at his 
 habits of sermonic preparation. Pope describes a versa- 
 tile man, in the moods which range 
 
 " From f^ravo to gay, from lively to severe ; " 
 
 wdiile as to the mind's mysterious processes of assim- 
 ilating and appropriating knowledge, we have such 
 testimonies as that of Walter Scott : — "I do not observe 
 
OUTSIDE WORK. 
 
 117 
 
 liis 
 rsa- 
 
 irve 
 
 methods particularly in my reading just now ; I just 
 pour in the information as it comes. The mind does 
 the nece.ssarv ass()i-tin<^ — i)uttin<' awav each item on 
 its own particular shelf — and all that J haxf to do is, 
 to reacli out, when the time comes, and take the arti- 
 cle tliat suits me.' Both in mood and matter this 
 facility of ehaniic is seen in Mr. Morrow's letters, as it 
 was fre(r'<'ntlv noticed in his eonveisation. One letter 
 to an intiuiate ministerial friend will illustrate what 1 
 mean. It is a recital of varied experiences through 
 which he had passed — 
 
 " liits ol'glfulnos.s ami of sorrow 
 Straii^'ely crossfcl and interlakl," — 
 
 with allusions to business as it pressed heavily on his 
 mind at the moment, and endinjj^ with " a passage " 
 which had been much j)resent with him of late, .sliow- 
 ing how he intended to treat it — J'eally a tine sermonic 
 skeleton, only needing tlesh and hlood and breath to 
 make it comely and welcome to an audience. 
 
 There were two places in Halifax to which Mr. 
 Morrow gave any preference he was permitted to 
 show, in Sabbath sei-vices. One of these was the Poor's 
 A.sylum. Of the eighty-six services alluded to, thirty- 
 two were held in this refuge, 
 
 " Wliero hopeless Anguish pounMl his ff:o-ixi, 
 ■ Ami lonely Want retired to die." 
 
 With what justice or injustice the poor laws are ad- 
 ministered in this particular city, I am unable to say ; 
 
 * 
 
 
 M 
 
118 
 
 LIFE OF J.\A1ES B. MORROW. 
 
 I^'t 
 
 I -: 
 
 f ' 
 
 but it is clearly understood that, as a Province, we 
 have here the most uri«;ent demand for philanthropic 
 agency. In the annals of Christian civilization there 
 are no more painful disclosures than those which i-ecent 
 public events in this Province have revealed as respects 
 the management of the poor. We need some powerful 
 ballad-sarcasm such as awakened ]>ity for the ]iauper in 
 England, when Hood's Song of the Shirt, and Bridge 
 of Sighs were published ; some Dickens, to flagelate 
 the system that offers a premium to selfish men for re- 
 ducing the comforts of helpless o-)jects of misfortune. 
 Mr. Morrow was punctual in his visitation. Wear}* 
 as he often was, and wasting, as we now see, under a 
 vital maladv, he would find his wav th"ou<di storm 
 and simshine across the comujon to those subjects of 
 his sym|)athy. His preparation for this service was 
 always methodical, witli a view of simplifying <loctrinal 
 truth. And he carried more tlum his Bibl(> thither. 
 His large winter coat had amph> pockets for the pooi'. 
 Tt is said to have been a ju-etty sight when the ]iros- 
 perous merchant took a seat beside some ignorant and 
 complaining old man oi- woman, talking or singing 
 thevji into a better faith and tempei'. They lost nuich 
 sunshine when he died, those 
 
 " Homeless, iinir ii tluiiisMinl lioiiies," 
 
 Another favourite place of service was tlie coloured 
 peoples place of worship. Ther*^ wei-e two of these in 
 the city, in whose pulpits he oft(ui preached. His 
 heart warmed with their enthusiasm in sung. Their 
 
^ we 
 ropic 
 thore 
 ocent 
 
 let in 
 
 ^•elate 
 or rc- 
 rtune. 
 yeavv 
 J (lev a 
 storm 
 ects of 
 -" was 
 rinal 
 tlier. 
 poor. 
 
 ])VOS- 
 
 t and 
 no-ing 
 much 
 
 I 
 
 11 
 
 loiu'i'd 
 K'so in 
 His 
 Their 
 
 OUTSIDE WORK. 
 
 119 
 
 simplicity in receiving the Word gave him much satis- 
 faction. Once I accompanied him to the Zion Episco- 
 pal Church — adherents of the British Metliodist Epis- 
 copal body, found chiefly in Ontario. In fact my own 
 feelings were cnlir^ted in the same work from that 
 evening. I think I ow^e to that visit one of the most 
 interestinjjf occasions of mv life. In companv with the 
 delegates from our General Conf(M«.'nc(^ to that of the 
 M. E. C/hurch, in Baltimore, L attended sci'vice in the 
 old Bethel, the spiritual hirth-place, if I mistake not. 
 of some Halifax coloured peo])le, and thetiist religious 
 home of their Bishop, Mr. Dizney. In a commodioiis 
 place of worship there were present 800 or 1,000 
 persons, rJl coloured, except ourselves. The singing 
 was led by a large organ and a choir of perhaps thirty 
 voices. We declined to preach ; giving us an oppor- 
 tunity of hearing a geiuiine plantation sermon. A 
 Sacramental Service followed, in which we o-lndlv took 
 part. For an hour and a-half the congregation joined 
 in plantation singing, prompted by an old man who 
 walked in front of the altar, with great ani, nation. 
 There was no break l)etw('(>n verses or melodies ; but 
 by a peculiar linking on of spare notes from th(^ cho- 
 rister, the music proceeded, hands locked, bodies sway- 
 ing, teai'S falling, on every hand. This while the 
 eml)lems were beinu" disti'ibuted to hundreds of com- 
 numicants. Then came an exhortation, during which 
 an extraordinarv scene ensued. The Pastor had an- 
 nounced that the straiiirers were from Canada. This 
 awakened great interest. Baltimore, my reader wdll 
 
 "f 
 
 ii 
 
,p 
 
 120 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES R. MORROW. 
 
 1 
 I' ! 
 
 i I 
 
 I ' * 
 
 know, w^as in the heart of Maryland, an old slave state. 
 The stumps of two or three wliippins]^-posts were still 
 in existence, not far from the (Jliurcli. Canada had 
 Ijeen the Canaan of the slave — his refuge, his first 
 hope, next to Heaven. There were i)ersons present 
 who had heard much — perhaps themselves tasted — of 
 Canadian hospitality, during the dark days before 
 Lincoln's Proclamation. And the thought of Can- 
 a<lians being amongst them was an inspiration which 
 soon had its etlect. It must have been the memory of 
 some such occasion which elicited the remarkable pas- 
 sage in Paubb epistle to the Galatians, "For I bear 
 you record, that, if it had been possil)le, ye would have 
 plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to 
 me." The worship of freedmen has meant much to 
 me ever since that day. 
 
 Among many tributes to the broad catholicity of 
 Mr. Morrow, the following, by a minister of Halifax, 
 is not the least discriminating and expressive : — 
 
 One bright Sabbath morning, as I walked up Plea- 
 sant street, Mr. Moitow met me aoinof south. The 
 familiar Bible was under his arm, the old thoujxhtful 
 look on his face. 
 
 " What is your destination this morning, Mr. Mor- 
 row ? 
 
 " I am g^ing to St. Matthew's." 
 " To St. Matthew's ? " 
 
 " Yes ; Mr. Gi'ant is away, and he requested me to 
 take charge of his Bible class." 
 
 The circumstance struck me as very characteristic of 
 
 !:■: 
 
mi 
 
 ( ■ 
 
 f 
 
 OUTSIDE WORK. 
 
 121 
 
 'lea- 
 The 
 itful 
 
 Lor- 
 
 |c 
 
 to 
 
 lie 
 
 of 
 
 both men. Mr. Grant (now Doctor, and Principal of 
 Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario), was at that 
 time a leading spirit in all tlie public life of Halifax. 
 His church was a centre of great attraction. Young 
 people, many of them from country districts, and at 
 service or in shops^ Hocked to his galleries, his Sabbath 
 school, and his domestic receptions, in great numbers. 
 His Bible class w^as lai'ge and flourishing. There were 
 Presbyterian Professors who might have Ijeen called 
 in during his absence, and doubtless were so fre- 
 quently. But Mr. Grant did not greatly trouble him- 
 self as to sectarian preferences when any important 
 work was on hand. That he loved his Church, that 
 his Church loved him, was too apparent to need proof. 
 He was honoured with every privilege and promotion 
 in the gift of his l)rethren ; yet his presence and 
 address produced, perhaps, more enthusiasm among 
 other denominations than his own. This was chiefly 
 owing to the man's benevolent and catholic nature. 
 He had a warm appreciation of what was good in all 
 the Churches, and did not indulge in any spirit of 
 criticism over their defects. He had been known to 
 give letters of church-standing to his members leaving 
 the city, with the advice that they should join an 
 Arminian brotherhood, rather than attempt a solitary 
 religious life where no Presbyterian Church existed. 
 Such men are doing much for Christianity ; they are 
 shaming its prejudices and rebuking its narrow bigotry. 
 It is altoirether a mistake that one's own denomination 
 must sufter by the charity we cherish for others. In 
 8 
 
:•' I 
 
 122 
 
 IJFE OF .lA.MFS P.. MijKKOW. 
 
 fact, the lesults must he taken in the invorse order ; a 
 denomination that is hampered by iUiberal sectaries 
 cannot make make mucli progress in this day of large- 
 hearted, reliffions union. 
 
 Mr. Morrow, again, was equally loyal to his own 
 denomination. Its claims he always considered first ; 
 he would not leave a prayer or class-meeting at home 
 to patronize the veiy best occasion among strangers. 
 But in his heart, his ]>rayerH, his speeches, other 
 Churches found a warm place. He could be faithful 
 to Methodism, without suffering it to bind fetters upon 
 him that might limit his influence and charity. He 
 did not 
 
 " To the fescination of a name 
 Surremlcr jiulgineut hoodwinkod." 
 
 All the ins and outs of Methodist doctrine and economy 
 he made himself acquainted with. This, indeed, was 
 absolutely necessary in the official positions he was 
 called to fill. He was a Methodist from intelligent 
 conviction ; and yet we find from cultured adherents 
 of other denominations such testimonies as this : — 
 " Mr. Morrow was a Methodist," says Rev. Robert Mur- 
 ray, editor of the Presbytenan Witness, "a very 
 sincere and a very enlightened Methodist. We have 
 often ht-ard him speak in public, we have often met 
 with him in private ; but we have never heard him 
 express any views with regard to the gospel of the 
 grace of God, with which the most thorough-going 
 Presbyterian could not fully agree." We have no 
 
OUTSIDE WORK. 
 
 12S 
 
 der ; a 
 ctarics 
 ' 1 argo- 
 ts own 
 1 first ; 
 b home 
 angers, 
 other 
 aithful 
 rs upon 
 y. He 
 
 ionomy 
 id, was 
 le "vvas 
 elligent 
 herents 
 this :~ 
 rt Mur- 
 very 
 In have 
 ,en met 
 ird him 
 of the 
 h-going 
 lave no 
 
 t 
 
 doubt that a similar testimony would be given by 
 others of the different Churches ; and it is a fine 
 tribute to his motives in religious work. It is more 
 than that — a positive argument for union. If a man 
 can thus stand perpetually before an enliglitencd Chris- 
 tian public for thirty years, giving the results oi liis 
 rich Biblical studies, and pouring out the bui-den of 
 his soul for sinners, without creating a single prejudice 
 in any hearer's mind, surely there is enough of broad, 
 general, and important truth which the Churches may 
 inherit as common property, and so be united and 
 thankful ! 
 
 And so it happened that Messrs. Grant and Morrow, 
 a Calvinist and an Arminian, met on common ground, 
 when the Lord's work required them. With a world 
 sinking into ruins, they could bare their arms together, 
 like twin giants, and help to lift it up. With a moral 
 battle raging about them, they would have spurned 
 any intermeddling, captious sectary with Tom Moore's 
 indignant couplet — 
 
 " Shall I ask the brave soldier who fights by my side, 
 In the cause of mankind, if our creeds agree / " 
 
 This may be the right place to insert a characteristic 
 letter from Dr. Grant, bearing on our subject. It 
 breathes somewhat the atmosphere of the Great North- 
 West, such as a man meets travelling " from ocean to 
 ocean." It also gives evidence that, however indebted 
 he may be to Thomas Carlyle — we all remember the 
 " stoor " that proud admission created in Mr. Grant's 
 
 'i 
 
 
r- fl 
 
 ■A 
 
 if 
 
 ^'1 
 
 
 8 
 
 i 
 I 
 
 124 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. MORROW. 
 
 earlier days — he does not accept the conclusion of the 
 
 rare old [)hilosopher, that " Biograpliy is the most 
 
 universally pleasant, universally profitable, of all 
 
 reading." 
 
 Ql'EKn'.s L'NI\'i;k.sitv, Kingston Ont., 
 2nd Novcmlier, 1880. 
 [ ;ini glad to liear that a memoir of Mr. Morrow is to lie pnldisheil, 
 tliougli as a rule nienioirs are not tlu' most interesting reading. * 
 * * I always felt tliat Morrow was a grand man, t)ie right 
 kind of man to have with yon anywliere, or at any time; luit I did 
 not know liim in private, or Imsiness, or [lolitieal life ; never trav- 
 elled or camped with him ; never ([uairelled ami maile it np again ; 
 and therefore luul not opportunities (jf seeing him in tlu)se eiieum- 
 stances in which a man is most a^it to reveal iiimself. In religious 
 meetings, usually only tliose features of character are seen in which all 
 Christians are pretty much alike ; and we learn nothing ilistinctive of 
 the man from these. lirif'My, however, I may say that from the be- 
 ginning of my acquaintance, he imi)ressed me as a man to be loved and 
 rested on ; one of tlie rare men we meet in this worUl of oddly-com- 
 pounded people ; a ('hristian gentleman, combining in himself strangth 
 and tenderness. Christian fervour and purity with the wise and broad 
 tolerance that is the fruit of a sympathetic nature, and from having 
 had experience of all sorts of men, and seen the good that there is in 
 the worst and the bad that abounds in the best. It always did me 
 good to look at him. I always read any remarks made by him, whether 
 in religious meetings, or Cham))er of Comnu.'nie, or elsewhere, that the 
 papers got hold of. He was a witness for (.'hrist ; and such are the 
 witnesses that the world needs in Imsiness circles, and in [)ulpits and 
 lirayer meetings, and the only witnetses that it will believe. 
 
 Yours sincerely, 
 
 Gf.o. M. Grant. 
 
 " /hile this letter was being penned in Ontario, an- 
 otiier testimony was speeding hither from the opposite 
 side of the globe, written by a former ministerial 
 associate of Dr. Grant, and supplying an estimate of 
 
 
I of the 
 e most 
 
 of all 
 
 Jut., 
 
 iu])lisheil, 
 ing. * 
 the ri^ht 
 lilt I did 
 •ver trav- 
 P again ; 
 L' ciiciiin- 
 leligious 
 wliicli all 
 iiu'tive of 
 
 II the be- 
 loved and 
 Idly-eoni- 
 fstraugth 
 
 nd broad 
 
 III having 
 lere is in 
 s did me 
 , -whether 
 , that the 
 1 are the 
 limits and 
 
 G KANT. 
 
 rio, an- 
 )pposite 
 listeria! 
 iiate of 
 
 OUTSIDE WORK. 
 
 125 
 
 Mr. Morrow's character, furnished hy opportunities of 
 companionship in travel, of which tlie doctor re<2;;rets 
 lie had heen dci)i'ive(l. Rev. Fraser Camphell, Pres- 
 l)yterian Missionary, writes from Crntral India, 25th 
 
 Nov., LScSO:— 
 
 "Mv Df.ak Mils. MoKKow-- ♦ • « I j"^.(.| tliat I must 
 send you a few lines from this f;u-ntV land, to express .something of 
 the love I bore your dear Inisbiuid. * * « Qjj^, meets so 
 very few like him, that his removal is the mure distressing, and the 
 more j)erple.\ing, too, in the sight of the ehurch'sand the world's great 
 need. There were combined in him so many exeelleiicies, whieh too 
 often have their beauty marreil by being found alone, or associated 
 with faults so closely resembling them, as to suggest the doubt as to 
 how far they are prints of the spirit, and how far natural traits. He 
 was so eariKist, yet so good-tempered ; so fearless in confessing Chiist 
 b}' word and act, and yet so unostentatious and natural in his profes- 
 sion ; so active in Christian work, and yet so attentive to his jtrivate 
 Imsiness ; so diligent in the world's ail'airs, and yet universally acknow- 
 ledg(;d to be so spotless in his integrity ; so gentle, swei-t, ami yielding 
 in what concerne(l only himself, and yet so decided and uncomjiro- 
 niising in what he saw to be his duty. 
 
 You may, ])erha]>s, remember that I onvc or twice had the pleasure of 
 travelling along with him, and then I got to know him more inti- 
 mately than in any other w;iy. He wns a delightful comiianiou — now 
 singing a hymn, with his musical and cultivated voice; now telling 
 some incident in his cxpeiicinc, and again ronversingon some s])iritual 
 or otlur theme. ( >ne pleasure in hearing him speak in puldic was from 
 the feeling that his words carricil siwh added force to those wlio knew his 
 life ; and it was such a comfort to liiid that one was able to hurl his 
 name at any person scotlingat the inconsistencies of [)rotessiiigr"luistians, 
 fearless of tlu.' least attemi>t to cast it liack cvi-n with an insinuation. 
 
 Allow me to say, that great as is your loss and that of your children, 
 it ineasures your matter for thankfulness. " * ♦ » » 
 
 One of his favourite texts was John iv, 14, " That 
 water that I shall give him .shall be in him," &c. He 
 
 4 ! 
 
 i^l 
 
■■l I 
 
 12fi 
 
 LFFE <>F .JAMES B. MORROW. 
 
 had its elements of doctrine well defined, under three 
 propositions. The gift offered by Josus, its plentitude, 
 its perpetuity. To show the circuit which this sermon 
 made, I will insert here the places and dates of its 
 delivery, as supplied by memoranda prefacing the 
 text :— Barracks, May, 1869 ; Sydney, July, 1869 ; Zion 
 Chapel, July, 1869 ; Dartmouth, August 29, 1869; Kay 
 Street, October 7,1869; Point Levi, October, 1877; 
 Metapcdia, 1877; Windsor, 1877. Whitfield himself, 
 whose ministry swept a continent in its course, and 
 who declared that a sermon only became thoroughly 
 enjoyable to the preacher when he had delivered it 
 a score of times, would not have been ashamed of the 
 above entry. In later years, as he obtained more 
 time for study, his thoughts as well as his services 
 took a wider range seldom repeating themselves. 
 Mr. McLean and he have held services in every town 
 and village in Nova Scotia, excepting one or two 
 counties; and the other provinces received not a little of 
 his attention. Methodist preachers are proud of their 
 itinerancy ; but there is not one of every ten in our 
 ranks who had covered as much ground in his minis- 
 try as did James B. Morrow. We shall find him 
 preaching on the slopes of the Pacific, and whispering 
 gospel consolation in the latitude of the Dardenelles. 
 Mr. Morrow's admirers will expect to find in these 
 pages some preservation of his style in public address. 
 Unfortunately the power of faithfully transmitting a 
 sermon to posterity is among the lost arts, if indeed it 
 ever had an existence. Words are easily written ; ges- 
 
OUTSIDK WORK. 
 
 127 
 
 ges- 
 
 tures are easily described. But who shall enter the 
 regions of the spirit-world so as to detect and describe 
 the subtle influences by which a mother's eye and 
 voice bring solace to the distressed babe ; or, more mys- 
 terious still, the processes by which the Holy Spirit 
 takes merely human words and applies them to the 
 divinest purposes ? We have Chalmers' sermons, in 
 some instances word for word ; but have they lost 
 anything ? Read tliem, or let them be read ; do they 
 pierce and penetrate, do they call multitudes to their 
 feet, or fill the heart with comfort or sorrow, as when 
 he delivered them ? Whitfield in print is a very differ- 
 ent thing from Whitfield in the pulpit. Thus, though 
 Mr. Morrow was neither a man of overwhelming pul- 
 pit power, nor an evangelist speeding over islands and 
 continents with the Word of Life, he had his own 
 measure of usefulness, and no man can define it. He 
 w^as not eloquent, if we are to take the word in its 
 popular signification. But he wielded an influence in 
 public addi'ess which is not always given to even 
 popular men. A very intimate friend declares that, 
 while prevented from reacliing Halifax to attend his 
 funeral, his sympathies w^ere quickened, instead of 
 being: subdued, bv tindiuL; himself at a distance of 
 a hundred miles or more from the scene of mourn- 
 ing. He met a sorrow for the dead even to him 
 unexpected. The station-master of a remote village 
 assured him that a young man had just been in, com- 
 pletely smitten by tlie telegrams respecting Mr. 
 Morrow^'s sad decease. On enquiry it was found 
 
 I 
 
 U 
 
r 
 
 1 
 
 r 
 
 1* 
 
 j 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 ' i 
 
 1 
 
 i ■, 
 
 i, 
 
 
 !• i 
 
 i 
 
 128 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES H MORROW. 
 
 that lie had hecn reclaimed from a sinful life through 
 an address which he had heard Mr. Morrow deliver on 
 one of his flyinf^ visits to the country. ^Vhether a 
 "style" which })roduces s\ich results he termed plain, 
 or commonplace ; glowing, or ehxiucnt, matters little. 
 It does good, and is ahiding ])ulpit work. A l)iographer 
 of Sir Astlcy Cooper descrilu'S a curious interview be- 
 tween that great surgeon and the surgeon en chef of the 
 French empire. A certain wonderful fept of surgery 
 was the topic of conversation. 
 
 "How often have you performed it?" asked the 
 Frenchman. 
 
 "Thirteen times," replied Sir Astley. 
 
 " Ah, but, Monsieui", 1 have done him one hundred 
 and sixty times. How many times did you save his 
 life?" continued the curious Frenchman, after he had 
 looked into the blank amazement of Sir Astley 's face. 
 
 "I," said tlie Englislnnan, "saved eleven out of t1ie 
 thirteen. How many did you save out of one hundred 
 and sixty ? " 
 
 "Ah, monsieur, I lose them all: hut de operation ivas 
 very hrillid/tit." 
 
 There is another than the surgical profession that 
 operates for human life. In that too it is quite possi- 
 ble to measui'e success by the l)rilliancy of the opera- 
 tion rather than the lunnber saved from death. 
 
 As the last address delivered by Mr. Moirow, how- 
 ever, and illustrating, in some mea.sure, his method in 
 using the Bible as its own expositor, I insert a brief 
 report taken from the papers, whose ever-vigilant 
 
OUTRIDE WORK. 
 
 129 
 
 the 
 
 t 
 
 enterprise Roui,'lit to furnish tlie Halifax pnhh'c with 
 every possible endearinf^Mncniento of a man they loved 
 so well. My reader will not rctjuire any further 
 assurance tliat the sketch is hut an imperfect outline 
 of that order of discourses which lie delivered im- 
 promptu when necessity demanded them. The extract 
 is from a newsimper of Septendjer 17th, 1680 : — 
 
 The last Y.M.C.A. Sorvice attondcd by the Into Mr. J. H. Morrow, 
 was at AssociiitioTi Hall, yostcnlay week. Tlir iiudiciicc was a siuall 
 l)Ut apprci'iativt' one. Mr. Morrow jtrcsidcd, and after K'^''"K out a 
 hyiim and olloring jtray<?r, road and o.\{daiiio(l in a most iinprossivc 
 manner, the one liundrod an<l sixteenth I'salni : "A good many years 
 ago," he said, "I reinondx-r there was a iianoramie sliow in Halifax, 
 and views on the Missis.sipiii were seen. "^'ou eould start from New 
 Orleans and go to St. Louis, or from St. Louis to New Orleans. As 
 the canvas rolled Itefore us, the s(!enes on ea(di side of the riviT wer** 
 shown — the steamers passing and re-jiassing eaeh other. 1 have 
 thought that this chapter is David's life, like the river r(dling liefore 
 us, and here and there through it we sec the stopping-jdaees. He lie- 
 gins : "I love the Lord because He hath heard my vniee and my sup- 
 plications. Ikcauso He hath inclined His ear unto me, thercloi'c will 
 I call upon Him as long as I live." H' we couM read the original, we 
 would tind that it meant something more than simply, "1 Inve the 
 Lord." The idea is the .same as in i'salm xlv. " My heait is inditing a 
 good matter," or, as the margin has it, " Uoileth, or V>ubl)leth up." 
 
 HIS IIKAKT WAS Fl'LI, OF KllATmHK 
 
 to God, so that it seemed to run over. Li the third vei.se, lie tidls us 
 some of his past experiences : "The sorrows of death eompasscd me, 
 and the pains of hell gat hold upon me; I found troulile and sorrow " 
 Who of us have not experienced this ? Trouble and sorrow takes hold 
 upon us all. What did David do ? "Then 1 called uj^on the name of 
 the Lord ;" and he gives us his prayer "oh Lord, I beseech Thee, 
 deliver my soul." He does not tell us in what way the Lord answered 
 him, but we know from the .succeeding verses tliat he was answered, 
 for he says, "Gracious is the Lord and merciful. The Lord preservetb 
 
130 
 
 LIFE OF JAMKS H. MORROW. 
 
 tt; 
 
 ' { 
 
 
 the Hiiiiple ; " or tlio littlt; ones. " I was brought low nnd He liclped 
 me." "Return unto thy rest, my soul ;" rest tliysolf in Oo»! as a 
 babe lies trustingly in its mother's arms. "For the Lord liatli dealt 
 bountifully with thee." " I believed, thendore have I sitoken, I was 
 greatly afllicted, I said in my hastt^ all men aie liars." Then the 
 I'salmist bursts forth again into thanksgiving. " ^Vhat shall I render 
 unto the Lord for all His benefits ! " This may be taken in two ways. 
 
 TKOUHLKS MAY HE CALLED ItENKFlTS. 
 
 Affliction is for our good. l)avid says, " liefore I was alllieted 1 went 
 astr.ay, but now I have ke]»t Thy word ; " and we know "Whom the 
 Lord loves he ehastens. " Alany can thank CJod for aiflietion. I think 
 I can say this in my own case. In fact I am sure that had it not been 
 for trouble at a certain stage of my life it might have been very dilfer- 
 ent with me now. I should not probably have been here. David 
 thanked tln^ Lord for his alllictions— they worked for his good. I re- 
 member some time ago 1 was in Saekville, and was talking to an 
 infidel, or rather he was talking to me, for he did the principal j»art of 
 the talking. Ho was s])eaking of the great Saxby storm and the 
 amount of dam.ge it did, and lie could not see liow it worked for 
 good. Hut although it certainly did much liarm, it carried away a great 
 deal of debris and other matter, and did the land much good, so that 
 the following year there was a wonderful cic)]i. 'J'liercfor<', it all worked 
 lor good. So with (iod's dealings ; and Daviil could say, " What shall 
 I render unto the Lord tor all His benelits to me ?" And 1 wish you 
 to notice that 
 
 IT LS A I'KUSOXAL >:A\Ti«;( 
 
 "to me " not to somebody else. If Christ n;\d died for everybody else 
 in the world l)ut me, then I might have no reason for thankfulness, or it 
 would be a peculiar kind of thankfulness. But He did die for vir, and 
 " What shall I render unto the Lord for all His goodness to me ? " In 
 connection with this Mr. M. read a I'salm and a verse in James: — 
 " Every good anil perfect gift cometh from above." Then what have 
 we that we can give (Jod since He has given us all we have. David 
 says, " I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of 
 the Lord." The reference here is to a custom in the East. Wheu 
 families met together a cup of wine was hamlcd round and drank by 
 each in turn, in token of thauk.sgiving. We must render thanks to 
 
OUTSIDE WORK. 
 
 131 
 
 God. We must give Him ourselves, saving, "Lord I give Thee my- 
 self." 
 
 Just a.i I am, without one pica 
 
 Rut that Thy blood was shed for me, 
 And that Thou hids't me come to Thee, 
 
 O Lamb of (lod, I come. 
 
 Mr. Morrow's address was delivered with great earnestness, and pro- 
 duced a marked impression on the audience, not one of whom for 
 moment entertained the idea that that was the last atldrcss he was to 
 deliver in that building— the Association— to the b\ii!dingup of which 
 he had devoted such a large portion of his time and thought. 
 
 fi 
 
 1 
 
 If 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 OVERWORK AND RECREATION. 
 
 ':'■ Jl; 
 
 i: 
 
 I am sure, care is an enemy to life. —Shah'spmre. 
 
 And tlie cares tliat infest the clay 
 Shall fold their tents like tlie Arabs, 
 And as silently steal away. 
 
 — Lnwifcllow. 
 
 NCIDENTAL to tlic maiuu'einent of the Cnnard 
 establishment, at Halifax, were occasional de- 
 mands for great exertion, and the severest 
 strain upon human sympathy, through the misfortunes 
 of the sea. Two incidents of this kind, which have 
 become familiar and most att'ccting e})isodes in our 
 provincial hi^ t jry, were closely interwoven with Mr. 
 Morrow's life, inasmuch as they gave a sombre colour- 
 inof to his subse(|nent vears, heh)i]ii>* as thev did to lav 
 the foundation of a deadly' and subtle malady. By 
 comparing dates, the reader will see the clo.scst con- 
 nection between those periods of mental and physical 
 prostration which (U^manded that he should seek abso- 
 lute rest and change of scene to avoid fatal conse- 
 
 ill 
 
OVERWORK AM) RECRKATION. 
 
 13n 
 
 quences, and the exciting circumstances of this kind 
 which I will atte.npt to narrate. It will be noticed, 
 too, that they both happened in the same month, April, 
 and at junctures in his very complicated relations to 
 business when he was ill prepared to meet the exces- 
 sive demand they were sure to make on his very 
 sensitive nature. 
 
 On a morning- in A])ril, l.S()6, rumours w^ere floating 
 al)out the streets of Halifax that cholera had made its 
 appearance among the .shipping in the harbour. It 
 soon proved that one of the International Steamships 
 — the E)i(jland — from Liverpool, bound to New York, 
 with twelve hundred passengers, had come to anclior 
 outside of McNab's Island, reporting one hundred and 
 sixty cases (jf cholera on board. It was impossible to 
 prevent excitement and alarm in the city ; every at- 
 tempt at secrecy only helped to magnify the fears that 
 were abroad. Mr. Morrow was early in the agitation. 
 As Agent, in such cases, nothing could be decided 
 without consulting him. He went down to the ship. 
 A boat laden with dead bodies was at the stern, wait- 
 ing for interment. Thirty patients were under treat- 
 ment. Without attempting to l)oard, he returned, and 
 set about the sad task of fighting death at arm's length. 
 The health oflicer of the port, Dr. John H. Slayter, 
 met the dread responsibilites of the moment, and shut 
 himself out in (juarantine with the sick and dying. 
 Mr. Morrow drove with him all that morning before 
 entering on his secluded task, purchasing necessary 
 articles, advising, and encouraging the doctor. ** It 
 
 i 
 
 •!.t 
 
 \' W 
 
 K 
 
f' 
 
 4 I: 
 
 
 ■A 
 
 « I 
 
 i 
 
 ■ s 
 
 I 
 
 ■iir 
 
 ^1 
 
 
 13 f 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES 15 MORROW. 
 
 was a sad drive," he would say afterward, " for who 
 could tell whether poor Slayter would ever return to 
 us ? " " God only knows whether I shall ever come 
 back," the doctor had said to his companion. The 
 presentiment was verified. Mr. Morrow frequently 
 went toward the ship and conversed with the captain 
 at a distance. On one of those gloomy days ho saw 
 Dr. Slayter. There was snow falling as the brave 
 physician presented himself at the ship's side, his 
 sleeves rolled up to the elbow. After giving directions 
 as to things required, he said — " I must not stay ; it is 
 work, work, work ! " In a few hours after this inter- 
 view, he was seized with cholera and soon died. When 
 all was over, and the devotion of sanitary and medical 
 science had added a dearly-bought victory to its 
 achievements, it was admitted that a most malignant 
 type of disease had, for some time, been baffling the 
 genius of doctors on board and the agents ashore. On 
 the morning of the eleventh day — not till then — the 
 dead bodies were removed from the ship's stern to a 
 place of burial. Other doctors had volunteered mean- 
 time ; heroes they were, all of th(^m. But the tension 
 on Mr. Morrow's nerves through all that dreadful 
 period, had the effect of seriously disturbing a physical 
 organization never very robust. 
 
 During the closing months of this year there are 
 traces of the cholera disaster apparent in his corres- 
 pondence. An occasional run to the country for a day 
 or two brought no permanent benefit. Nature had 
 been clearly beaten down to a point so low that, with 
 
 I a 
 
OVKinVORK AND Ul-XUr. VllON 
 
 135 
 
 work foicvor piessiiio-, uiily a change- jt scene for 
 weeks or months v.'ould persuade its reco\'ery. Hence 
 orijjinatcd his first ii-enuhie vacation since enterinj^^ the 
 
 or? o 
 
 second period nt Canard's. 
 
 A pocket nieniorandum-hook, sufficiently attractive 
 to give promise of brilliant entries, and with Itinding 
 to I'etain them as an heirloom f(^r ao'es^ v.as opened 
 with the following- heading" : 
 
 " Narrative of a rieasiiro Tour, from Halifax, X. S, to Europe, iu 
 1867, by J. I). Morrou', accompanied by his bclovoil wife, and their 
 daughter Mary. 
 
 " Having been for thirtern years constantly employed iu duties more 
 or less onerous, meeting oflice demands a good deal by night as well as 
 by day, aud during this period having no relaxation beyond an oc- 
 casional week's holiday in the summer season, my medical adviser 
 suggested the propriety of my taking a trip to Europe. The kind 
 Piovidence of God opening the way, by giving health to my family, 
 and removing various other difficulties, I am now about to carry out 
 this proposal. In f^ommencing to note down the incidents of my 
 travels, I first render devout thanks to Almighty CJod for His goodness 
 and mercy to me and mine. \ formally commend them aud myself to 
 His Divine protection and guidance, that He may iiave us all in His 
 holy keeping, bless and preserve those we have left behind, and restore 
 us to them iu good time. And finally, as a family, may we all be 
 joined together iu Heaven, never to part again. Amen." 
 
 This was a promising commencement. The Diary, 
 opened on July 18, lcS67, proceeds to August 8th, and 
 there abruptly terminates. What v.^as manifestly in- 
 tended for fauuly reading during subseciuent happy 
 hours around the hearth at home, soon assumes a more 
 philosophic tone, and finally enters into a somewhat 
 minute digest of certain sermons to which the party 
 
 n \' 
 
 ,1 > 
 
 I: -I 
 
w 
 
 :ii 
 
 136 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. MORROW. 
 
 I' I 
 
 
 im 
 
 i 
 
 had listened, or a comparative estimate of the appear- 
 ance and situation of provincial preachers who had re- 
 turned to England. The l)Ook soon found a congenial 
 aptitude. Its after pages are literally crowded with 
 passages of scripture, many of them indexed for pur- 
 poses that cannot now well be understood. Indeed 
 this was no uncommon fate with his memo, books. 
 He has left others evidently intended for records con- 
 nected with his classes and other duties, which in time 
 had to submit to the common fate of textual entries 
 and comments. So sacred to him was the work of 
 preaching the gospel that every spare moment was 
 given to reading, and all that reading turned at length 
 to one point of the intellectual and moral compass. 
 He was — 
 
 " No Sabbath -drawler of old saws, 
 Distillt'd from some worm-caukered homily ; 
 But spurred at heart with fiercest energy 
 To embattail and to wall about his cause 
 With iron-worded proof, hating to hark 
 The humming of the drowsy pulpit drone 
 Half God's good Sabbath." 
 
 The only question admitting of doubt, which I meet 
 among many opinions sent in by my correspondents, is 
 as to his pulpit abilities. Most of his intellectual 
 hearers, how^ever, gave him credit for excellent talent; 
 though few even of that class were aware of the extent 
 to which diligent, conscientious, laborious preparation, 
 had qualified him for his public addresses. It would 
 have been altogether remarkable if such habits had 
 
^WTi 
 
 OVERWORK AND UfXREATlON. 
 
 137 
 
 not produced special results. One discourse on 
 "Judah's Captivity," occupying forty-four closely 
 written pages of a large memorandum book, is itself 
 sufficient to rank him with the foremost Biblical 
 thinkers in the Provinces. It is throughout a masterly 
 piece of research and reasoning. 
 
 On the 15th of August, he writes home that he has 
 fallen on wonderful lore ; at Bristol, Mr. Joseph Foy's 
 collection of old Bibles, some of very rare editions, a 
 few, the only copies in existence of the kind, had 
 touched a dormant antiquarian passion. 
 
 Fortunately, there w^ere other diligent hands in the 
 company, to which we are indeljted for a literary pano- 
 rama of the journey. European travel has, now-a- 
 days, no great marvels to divulge to American readers ; 
 the essence of all that was historically and artistically 
 precious, however, seems to have come under the ob- 
 servation of these travellers. The Crystal Palace, 
 Goldsmith's Hall, St. Paul's, Westminster, and kintlred 
 places in London ; celebrated preachers and peculiar 
 services, high and low, at St. Albans', and Spurgeon's 
 Tabernacle, by contrast; then to Calais and Paris, 
 where the usual varied experience of hotel life l)reaks 
 the monotony of conunon-place atlairs. At the latter 
 city " the little Methodist Chapel " and " the Grand 
 Exposition " are equally appreciated. In the former, 
 " at the close of a good sermon, partook of the com- 
 munion, and much enjoyed it ; " at the latter, for three 
 days, there were the usual l)ewildering and exciting 
 
I' 
 
 
 I- 
 
 ¥11 
 
 I ' 
 
 188 
 
 IJFE OF JAMES 1{. MORROW, 
 
 observations, to be treasured up in the storehouse of 
 memory, as an unending fan)ily gratilication. 
 
 This trip covered a period ox two months, wlien the 
 family were reunited in the old home, Mr. Morrow 
 having taken, to all appearance, a new lease of life. It 
 was soon to be more seriously interrupted. One other 
 such shock was to undermine the tenement, and hasten 
 its aV)rupt and lamentable fall. 
 
 Before recordinj, the event by which his nervous 
 enei'gies were noain taxe<l to a degree that predisposed 
 him to a sul)tle foi n o^. iaterual disease, we nmst fill 
 up a very interesting period. 
 
 In a letter already referred to, we have seen that a 
 message was expected by him from England, ordering 
 his departure for Nevada. This territory, now one of 
 the United States, had attracted the attention of cap- 
 italists, on both Continents, as a silver-producing 
 region. From 1859 to 18G9 the value of its silver 
 products was set down at .^187/382,000. Mr. Morrow, 
 as confidential agent, consented to proceed thither in 
 the interests of certain shareholders in England. He 
 left Halifax on the 4th of May, 1872, accompanied by 
 Mr. William ]). Sutherland. On May 81st, they report 
 themselves at Salt Lake City. On the 21st of June, 
 Mr. Morrow writes from San Francisco. He arrived 
 home about the end of July. Much of the journey 
 was through a country of absorbing interest. Though 
 guide-books are numerous and cheap, thus rendering 
 inexcusable, to-day, any prolix details of natural 
 wonders anywhere, yet there is fore^'er a charm in the 
 
'Ma 
 
 W 
 
 OVERWORK AND RECREATION, 
 
 1:^9 
 
 
 Juno, 
 wived 
 )urney 
 liougb 
 lei'ing 
 atural 
 ill the 
 
 original, indepciKlunt narrative of a traveller who 
 keeps his eyes and wits ahout him. There are pas- 
 sages of singular l)eauty in a few letters of that time 
 which we find among our fragmentary papers. Take 
 the following — a scene approaching Wyoming terri- 
 tory :— 
 
 "As we rapidly advanced into this territory, brush 
 and harreiis take the place of farms and prairies. Tlie 
 mountain tops are looming in the distance, snow-cap- 
 ped and majestic, glistening in the sun, or relieved by 
 the shadows. A glimpse here and there of Chinese 
 railway labourers, reminds us that we are approach- 
 ing ' the land of the setting sun.' 8u<ldenly our 
 passengers, weary from the journey, wake as from a 
 dream, as a view, like some ancient fable, l)ursts upon 
 our vision. It defies all powers of language. Change 
 upon change greets the astonished observers, and elicits 
 repeated exclamations of wonder. Ranges of hills 
 succeed each other, lying almost at right angles with 
 the track, their points jutting out as if they would 
 hem us in. Chasms, valleys, rocks worn into gio- 
 tesque figures, which fancy shapes into eagles, lions, 
 giraffes, and the gods of fable. One is well defined to 
 represent a woman sitting with a cat in her lap. 
 Helmeted soldiers, serried battlements, are passed by 
 in rapid succession, until one wearies of the panoi'ama 
 and wonders whether it is all reality or a very vivid 
 dream." 
 
 A letter, dated " South Camp, Star J3isti'ict, June 
 Oth, 1872," gives the writer's views of Mormonism. 
 
 4ffiiKl I 
 
140 
 
 TJFE OF JAMES ]?. MORROW. 
 
 I (i 
 
 ;;ii' i 
 
 I i 
 
 
 : 1. 
 ' 1 
 
 
 !:i 
 
 
 i '• t- 
 
 
 -•f 
 
 i! 
 
 He was in cainp, " in the centre of a canon, or 
 gulch aw^ay in the distance the snow-capped range of 
 tlie Wasatcli " — a glorious scene in which to spend a 
 Sabbath, though the company around was anything 
 but reverent, far away as they were from the restraints 
 of civilization : — 
 
 " I iun a good deal disappointed witli Mornionism," runs tlie letter. 
 " Though I had foimed no exalted conception of it, j^et I expected 
 some show of religion, and supposed that, notwithstanding peculiarities 
 and possible extravagancies, tliere would be much to admire, lint the 
 more I see of it, the more I am disgusted. The Capital — Salt Lake 
 City consists of small houses, and scattered, except in one or two prin- 
 cipal streets. There are few buildings having any pretension to res- 
 pectability in size or appearance, F'-m the adjoining hills, the city 
 looked like a large area of cani})s, widely apart, scarcely picturescpie. 
 Our hotel was promising in ap])earance, but alfording only miserable 
 fare." 
 
 He made the acquaintance of a family originally 
 from England, and learned that, " though once Mor- 
 mons, they had ' apostasized,' " and, like many of 
 similar position, gone into Infidelity, or something 
 w^orse than Paganism. Stories of Mormon cruelty 
 were still told, but " with bated breath." Polygamy 
 was a bane and a curse. 
 
 " Leaving out, altogether, the question of morality, on which, 
 however, a great deal might be said, Polygamy is a withering institu- 
 tion. One man cannot support several wives and families, so that the 
 result in many cases is misery and starvation, the women toiling like 
 slaves for bread. There are Gentiles in the streets ; but if you see an 
 ugly, half-witted woman, you may set her down without hesitation aa 
 a Mormon. Generally, among a Mormon's wives, the old lady looks 
 like a Tartar." 
 
 Wi. .i,l 
 
OVERWORK AND RECREATION. 
 
 141 
 
 hing 
 
 A namesake, " General Morrow, sent in command of 
 troops, practically to watcli the Mormons," a genuine 
 American, though of Irish oi'igin, is introduced, and 
 affords an exceedingly pleasant season of converse : — 
 
 " I wt'iit to the Tiibernat'lt' on Suiulay morning. Hisliop Taylor pro- 
 fessed to speak on his reasons for being a Mormon, but the address con- 
 victed him of being a self-righteous Pharisee. He had not been a bad 
 man ; never killed any one, &c. There was no allusion to repentance, or 
 justification by faith, or peace with God. He spoke of everything but 
 religion. I want no stronger proof of the hollowneiis and instability 
 of Monnonism. He preached professedly to the Gentiles, but it was a 
 mixture of pre- umption, blasphemy, aiul ignorance, and I think btiue- 
 fitted neither Clentile nor ]\Iormon. The Tabernacle, built to hold 
 13,000 peo[)le, had not more in its audience than 2,000." 
 
 We have glimpses, too, of camp life at the Silver 
 Mines of Nevada : — 
 
 ** In the camp we live 'in clover.' Our cook dresses beefsteak suit- 
 able for an epicure, places omelets on the ta])le that wouhl do no 
 discredit to the best restaurants of Paris. Our biscuits are superb, our 
 coftee clear as amber, and the English breakfast tea riniUy a ndish. 
 Our days are spent visiting the hills ; our party have killed two adders 
 and a rattlesnake, of which species there are plenty. Lizards are 
 everywhere, though harmless, and I got quite to like them. They are 
 active little creatures, and their motions ([uiti; interesting. Doors 
 and windows are left wiile o[)cu at night. Lift; is something after the 
 military style — prompt, regular ha1)its throughout. Delightful 
 days, peaceful nights — truly, an oasis in the desert of a commercial 
 man ! " 
 
 And what of the character, the habits of thought, 
 the vows and purposes, of the true religious life which 
 formed so marked a part in Mr. Morrow's existence ? 
 Did he leave these at home ? Was the Christian 
 
142 
 
 LIFE OF .lAMES 15. MnRRoW. 
 
 '1 
 
 t 
 
 yu 
 
 mcrii^ed in the wondering travoller, in the exliilarjited 
 admirer, (hu'ini^ that kind of life which is said to send 
 the l)lood coursini'' witli new (MK.'ru-y thromi'li the veins ? 
 I have said notliin^^ of the l>i1)le ; Imt it is always in 
 his narrative. And so fai- from disLjnisinLf his true 
 relation to Christ and His cause, we come upon this 
 entry to confirm our coniidence : — 
 
 " It was my liajiitiiicss to ('Oiiduct a serinoii with tlie miners on 
 Siimla}'. All sccmcil vciy miicli amused wlieii I ^^iV(^ tlie iioticM^ ; Imt 
 the serious countenanees ami eaniesl looks of iii}- aiKlieiiee gavc! me 
 reason to lio^x- that it was not without good results." 
 
 It needed only tliat this word should he ad<led to 
 show how consistent was the Local Preacher in his 
 work, and how vast the rano-e of his voice and intlu- 
 cnce. 
 
 I remember Mr. Morrow as he entered on this 
 journey, havini^' joined him on the railway as far as 
 Sliul)enacadia ; and the change which was so apparent 
 on his return, from wanness and weariness to his old 
 sprightly self, is among my pleasant recollections. 
 
 During tlie winter of 1S72-.S, perplexities in the 
 business of which he was manager, gave Mr. Morrow 
 much anxiety and toil. Days and nights of laborious 
 application reduced his health to a degree which ren- 
 dered it inevitable that change and rest must be con- 
 templafccd. Instead of this, there came such a shock 
 — a repetition of troubles, indeed — as reduced him to 
 the very lowest extremitj''. 
 
 On the 1st of April, there were rumours in the 
 streets of Halifax that a steamer had been wrecked 
 
OV^ERWOKK AM) UKCREATIOX. 
 
 I l^.S 
 
 soiiicwliure on the coast, and one or two lives lost. The 
 report was rei^arded as an "All Fool's-day " story by 
 most pers(jns. The evenin^,^ papers, liowever, were 
 more definite and empliatie ; they announced that a 
 steamer had I )een wrecked, and several had perished. 
 Mr. Morrow was called up, after retirini^ for tiie night, 
 to liear a story whicli, even at this late day, fills the 
 listener with awe and horror. The third otHcer of the 
 steamer Atlantic, White Star Line, had arrived in 
 town, bruised, worn out, abnost speechless, re(|uesting 
 assistance for his comjjanions in dire extremity. The 
 steamer left Liverpool, Enu^land, on the 20th of March, 
 bound for New York. Her passengers and crew^ num- 
 bered in the aggregate one tliousand souls. (Japt. 
 Williams, othcei' in cliarge, lieaded tlie sliipfor Halifax 
 to obtain coal — this was on the 81st of March ; and on 
 the following: morning at two o'clock, she struck Marr's 
 Rock, on the bleak coast, 22 miles west of Halifax. 
 The only boat attempted to be launche<l was full of 
 people, when a sudden lurch of the steamer crushed 
 her and her precious burden beyond recovery. That 
 fatal lurch was the begirniing of renewed sorrows. 
 Gradually the wreck was all but subm ^^od ; her 
 bow and masts alone remained above water. Numbers 
 of passengers never left their state-rooms ; those who 
 did reach the deck were swept off, till of one thousand 
 persons only two hundred and lifty remained. Cries 
 of anguish mingled with the wild winds and soughing 
 waves. There was much true courage shown in res- 
 cuing the survivors. Some of the details, indeed, are 
 
 fl 
 
144 
 
 LIFE OF .lAMKS 15. MORlUnV. 
 
 wh 
 
 preserved on I'ecord, as among the proudest instances 
 of true darin<' wliich luunanity can l)oast. But even 
 on land, recovered from deatli in one of its most ter- 
 ri])le forms, tliere was still sutKcie.nt miseiy in prospect 
 for the small proportion of passengers who remained. 
 The shore everywhere was covered witli fragments of 
 the wreck, dea<l bodies, clothing, pieces of wood — 
 dreadful in their confusion, and even more so when 
 aftei'wards the corpses were arranged for purposes of 
 identification and burial. Turning from this sad scene, 
 the survivors found only a poor, though hospitable 
 district before them. Life still depended (m immediate 
 help. 
 
 This was all that could be told; and it was enough! 
 The night was stormy, winds high, with heavy rain, 
 making the roads leading to the scene of disaster very 
 bad. Mr. Morrow at once d''^ssed and went out to 
 make arrangements for a steamboat to proceed to 
 Prospect with despatch, carrying provisions, wine, 
 clothing and other necessaries. He drove in a cab to 
 the place of woe and death. His descriptions afterward 
 told how harrowing to his own feelings were all the 
 circumstances. The shore was strewn with dead 
 bodies ; these had been robbed of any valuables they 
 possessed. Drunkenness and profanity made the night 
 more hideous. " It seemed," said Mr. Morrow, " like 
 hell upon earth, so fearful the language, so fiendish 
 the acts of wicked men, all surrounded as they were 
 by the suffering and the dead." Of course, there were 
 redeeming features with all this — tender hands, 
 
 ii 
 
OVERWORK AND RECREATION. 
 
 14.3 
 
 prayei'ful hearts, «loini(, saying, what was possihle, to 
 bring cuint'ort and rcstor*' life. 
 
 An incident wliicli came luider my own notice may 
 assist in ait'ording some idea of tlie excitement wliicli 
 tliis appalling sliipwreck occasioned in Halifax. T was 
 stationed at Dartmouth at the time. Crossing the 
 ferry-l)oat one day, a man who lm<l just returned 
 from the scene of <lisaster was relating to an eager 
 group the details of what he had heard and seen ; — 
 the voyage, the crash, the superhuman att(Mnpts to 
 reach land, the devouring sea and its dreadful work, 
 and finally the shore, with Its awful display of 
 v/reckage and dead liodies. At this point he leaped to 
 his feet, as if to escape some horrible vision, exclaiming, 
 " My God, the children ! " Ranged in line on the beach, 
 their dear little hearts still in death, their hands 
 crossed on their breasts, a sweet smile or a twinge of 
 anguish, having photographed itself on each face, 
 according: to the condition in which death had seized 
 them ; the sight of these innocents had followed the 
 man, as it did many, many ]>esides, turning gaiety 
 into melancholy, dreams into horril)le nightmare. 
 Several persons walked for some days of that week on 
 the verge of insanity ; indeed it was known that one or 
 two really crossed the boundary. The reader may 
 imagine the effect of all this on the sensitive, over- 
 WTought system of a man who was obliged, from his 
 responsible relation to the circumstances, to stay and 
 think and contrive amid a thousand heart-rending asso- 
 ciations. 
 
 •lii 
 
p 
 
 i 
 
 ] 
 till 
 
 
 n 
 
 146 
 
 LIFE OF JAMFS I?. MORROW. 
 
 " For many djiyK Mr. Arorrow was fully occupicfl, f,'oiiit,' liaokwanls 
 and forwards, rect'iviiit,^ and answcriii^^ k-ltcrs rt'lativc to the dead. 
 Often he could give no inforniatiun. He would aci'(iiu|iaiiy fiiend.s who 
 were searching for lost ones; suiierintcnd the burial (jf bodies un- 
 claimed ; and so on, until he was eom[)letely worn out, seemed to 
 have lost the power to sleep, and was never well again. Indeed, he 
 kept getting worse and worse, until he detennineil to have home for 
 change of scene. 
 
 "All th(! cireumstaiK.'es of this jteriod agi'ee in rei)resentiiig his ease 
 as having been exceedingly critit'al. 'Health gave way completely,' is 
 !Mr.s. j\Iorrow's recollci^tion of that trying time. ' Fears were ent<'r- 
 tained that he would never physically be fit for much again. Withal, 
 his faith grew weak ami for some time he seeme(l to rest under a cloud. 
 lie became for a season irregular in his attendance ujion the religious 
 services and was often mmdi cast down in sjiirit. This was the only 
 period in our marrietl life when I ever knew him to yield t()dis(;ouiagt!- 
 ment.' ' The night before we started for New York, cii ruutr to 
 England,' writes his son James, ' father was more i'om]iIet(dy broken 
 down, iihysically ami mentally, than 1 ever saw him. it seemed as if 
 the strain had been so great that his mind must give way. We sat 
 writing, he dictating, and I acting as his amanuensis, till \) o'<doi'k in 
 the morning. At times he could scarcely collfct his thoughts ; it a[)- 
 peared as if his mind ahnost refused to work.' " 
 
 
 
 This gave but a sad outlook. After a few liours re- 
 freshing sleep, however, father and son were otf for 
 England, on the 15th of January, ls74. Business 
 cares were thrown aside, ehan of scene and companion- 
 ship brought a degree of iV /Urable reaction ; so that 
 by the time they had fairly endjarked for Britain, sun- 
 shine began to steal gradually back upon the deepening 
 gloom. The hills of Old Ireland were verdant, its air 
 invigorating, and this added to the promise of recovery. 
 Thence to London, taking Glasgow and Liverpool on 
 the way. After spending two weeks at the greatest of 
 
 LI:, is 
 
OVERWORK AND RECREATION. 
 
 147 
 
 mo'lern Enolisli cities, they proceeded to the Mediter- 
 ranean, whose climate, Itoui Gibraltar to the Dardanelles, 
 was surely Elysiiun to a weary, worn invalid, but re- 
 cently passed out from under the shadows of winter 
 cIoud« in North America. 
 
 Ever watchful to gather favourable omens of his 
 father's health, James writes home in encouraging 
 mood. There weresignsof the old self returning. Father 
 was sure to bo on the bridge, when making a harbour, 
 l\'je})ing a good look-out for landmarks; the captain 
 pleased to find an extra man on the look-out beside 
 him. The passengers recognized " the American gen- 
 tleman " as a superior oreler of passenger — looked up 
 to and respected him — placing all arrangenuints in his 
 hands when some special treat was under contempla- 
 tion. Best evidence of returning health was the fact 
 that the strong religious instinct was asserting its 
 supremacy. He found among the deck passengers 
 certain Aral>s — " dirty, unkempt fellows " — whose ab- 
 lutions Tom Hood would li.ive described as performed 
 
 " With invisible soaj) 
 In iiiipei'ccptiblo wiiter,'' 
 
 only one of whom could interpret between themselves 
 and the American, and that in mongi'el French. One 
 of these unclean companions was suliering painfully 
 from infiamniation, produced by a gold ring which had 
 tightened cruelly about a swollen finger, Mr. Morrow 
 went to his state-room for water an<l soap, cleansed the 
 parts, and cut the ring, very dexterously going through 
 
 iliM 
 
'' ' 
 
 8 fir 
 
 p. 
 
 rfri 
 
 IH 
 
 M> 
 
 m 
 
 148 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. MORROW. 
 
 the difficult operation. Next morning the interpreter 
 was at liis door ; one of the Arabs was sick. In vain 
 Mr. Morrow protested he was no doctor ; the inter- 
 pieter laughed, looked incredulous, and refused to 
 leave. The good Samaritan yielded, produced some 
 homa^pathic globules, and returned to his state-roon 
 The Arab quickly recovered. This was all that was 
 necessary to establish the doctor's fame ! His sym- 
 pathy of heart often made for him rather troublesome 
 friends. 
 
 Another passenger — " a tough, smoke-dried speci- 
 men of humanity " — kept aloof from every one, cynical 
 and morose. Mr. Morrow found use for his Spanish, 
 though somewhat rusty. They were soon on familiar 
 terms ; and we may be sure that the Gospel of the 
 grace of God was for once tenderly dispensed to this 
 self-estranged child of a once proud people. They 
 never thence missed their morninoj chat throufT^hout the 
 voyage, till the Spaniard landed at Gibraltar. 
 
 There were fdeams of lifjlit in the " dark aG:es." 
 While the Bible was sealed, and superstition, forever 
 distorting the truth, introduced saints of doubtful 
 repute to take the place of Christ, there was still left 
 faith in the angels, as observers and friends of 
 humanity, while enduring trial, or struggling for 
 virtue. 
 
 " One, the Teacher and Reprover, 
 
 Marks each heaven-deserving deed ; 
 
 Graves it with the lightning's vigour, 
 
 Seals it with the lightning's speed ; 
 
OVERWORK AND RECREATION. 149 
 
 For the good that man achieveth — 
 
 Good beyond an angel's doubt — 
 Such remains for aye and ever, 
 
 And cannot be blotted out." 
 
 It is quite probable that these very Arabs believed 
 in the Al Sigil of the Koran, keeping a complete 
 record of every man's life, embracing thoughts and 
 deeds, good and bad. They would look forward to the 
 rolling up of the scroll at a man's death, to be repro- 
 duced at the resurrection. 
 
 But it w^as the Lord himself who saw that trem- 
 bling, l)ewildered, smitten Saul, in a lone room at 
 Damascus, and broke in upon the dreams of Annanias, 
 directing him to seek out the penitent — " For behold 
 he prayeth ! " Ah ! there is a better than recording 
 angel still watching over those eastern lands, who will 
 ensure that words from a western messenLCer to " as 
 many as trade by the sea," shall not be lost ! 
 
 For several weeks there w^as now an active corres- 
 pondence, conveying information of places, objects, 
 and persons of distinction, so thoroughly Oriental that 
 western readers would find the letters more than in- 
 teresting. Malta, with its famous traditions, its relics 
 of the knitjhts of chivalrous ajjfes, and its barbarous 
 religious customs. One of these customs in Monastic 
 life was " rather hideous. Preserving the remains of 
 the brethren, they pu'.; them in the ground for a 
 year, then simply cook them. The complete skeleton, 
 nails, muscles, and skin, are there ; and though the 
 effect could hardly be classed witli the beautiful, the 
 

 i 
 
 'fi 
 
 
 IH 
 
 ^ 
 
 ■1*1: 
 
 tit 
 
 ■i 1 
 
 150 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES 1?. MORROW. 
 
 general outline of the huniaii t'onu was well retained. 
 One had died as recently as ISOl." Marvellous tastes 
 have those old Capaehins ; though this particular 
 usage extends to the laity in some eastern cities, as for 
 instance Palermo. Here are to l)e seen, in select vaults, 
 the mortal remains of men, women, and chihh-en, fully 
 attired, even down to kid gloves ; some recumbent, 
 some erect, all labelled witli names and dates. Every 
 year or two, affectionate relatives go to thi;m on feast 
 days, and renew the clothing and gloves, enjoying 
 much consolation and amusement, too, in an occupation 
 which would fill western peo])le with awe and lamen- 
 tation. 
 
 Constan anople comes next, far-famed for "dogs 
 and women." One of these "infidels" siii'lis that the 
 
 CD 
 
 faithful a.-e " so incomprehensibly narrow " as to 
 prohibit other than a near relative from behohling a 
 woman's face ! It is tliought a dreadful doom that 
 " a man may live and die in the midst of a throngino- 
 population, without having gazed upon more than half 
 a dozen of the opposite sex." But the writer has his 
 revenge, and pronounces them " no doubt anything 
 but handsome ! " Passino- through the Dardanelles, 
 they have a snowstorm, reminding them of home. 
 There is a grand Sultanic show on the Bosphorous. 
 "A gun, signalling the departure of the Sultan, came 
 booming over the water. As if by magic, the Turkish 
 ships of war manned yards and displayed an uninter- 
 rupted array of Hags from stem to stern. The Sultan's 
 caicpie rounds the point, followed l»y six boats, pulling 
 
 i\i 
 
OVERWORK xVND RECREATION. 
 
 151 
 
 the 
 to 
 
 a fine stroke. The rf)\vfrs in the Sultan's bar^e would 
 rise simultaneously, bow profoundly toward his Sul- 
 tanic Majesty, then recovering themselves, throw all 
 their energy into the stroke, keeping perfect time. 
 The caique was magnificent, having a gilded canopy 
 over the stern." On the 24th, tliey sped by special 
 train, " throuiih a land of almond and olive trees ;" 
 then took horses, to see theiuinsof Ephesus, filling up, 
 en route, a liberal journey of sight-seeing. A sojourn 
 at Smyrna, enjoying to the utmost its Greek h<\s- 
 pitality, and riding its incomparable donkeys, seems to 
 have well-nigh com})leted the invalid's recovery. 
 
 After returninrr to Malta, the travellers diverged to 
 Barcelona, Avhere they spent ten days; thence to 
 Valencia, and so back to Liverpool, having been a few 
 days untler ten Ave(iks out of that port, most of which 
 time was spent on board the steand»oat. They were 
 soon at the old, familiar threshhold, testifying, as so 
 many th(.)usands have had good reason to do, — 
 
 '' Viuic.'ty's tlu' very spice of lilt; 
 TliJit gives it all its lliivoiii." 
 
 
h t i t _ni i\mmmmimi'Mmm 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 
 1 1,1 
 
 jSl.l 
 
 
 
 THE END. 
 
 Leaves have their time to fall, 
 
 And flowers to wither at the north wind's breath, 
 And stars to set ; but all 
 
 Thou hast, all seasons for thine own, Death ! 
 
 — Felicia Hcmans. 
 
 And he was not ; for God took him. — Gon. v. 24. 
 
 pRS. Morrow's narrative of the closing period 
 of her husband's life will naturally occupy 
 a part of this chapter. My readers will feel 
 fjrateful to have it in its affecting directness and art- 
 lessness. It will reveal to those who were not privi- 
 leged to observe their actual relations, a picture oi 
 domestic happiness which, happily for the world, is 
 one of the few blessings which survive the Fall. I 
 quote : — 
 
 " After his return home, in the summer of 1874, he continued to 
 improve in bodily health. His spirits, too, seemed to revive. On the 
 4th of November of that year, he entered into fresh covenant with God. 
 From that time to the day of his death, his profiting appeared unto all 
 
 h M 
 
il 
 
 THE END. 
 
 1 5.S 
 
 01 
 
 is 
 
 }od. 
 all 
 
 men, and es})ei'ially to the members of his own family. He steadily 
 grew in grace, as well ns in knowledge, for he was a constant and un- 
 tiring Bible .student, taking ailvantage of every spare moment for that 
 ]»nr})ose. 
 
 " All that knew him iiitimately are aware that he was a tender and 
 loving husband and father. It was often cause of remark that he eouM 
 devote himself so much to his family and yet lind so nuich time for 
 business, for religious services, and to aid those wlio needled hel[» in vari- 
 ous ways. ]>ut in every relation itnd position of life he seemed to excel, 
 and especially so in the last few years, during which time he grew in 
 spirituality of nund, and in an increasing desire to be pre[iaretl for all 
 God's will, whether by life or tleath, <loing or sutl'ering. It was inii)os- 
 siblc to live with him and not see that he was maturing spiritually. 
 His simple, childlike faith was always reiuarka])le. It was enough for 
 him to know that (luD lived. He had no sympathy with those ehris- 
 tians who spend much time, thought, and words, in trying to make 
 clear what God has semi (it to conceal. ' Shall not tlu; Judge of all 
 the earth do right?' He considered it a waste of time, trying to dis- 
 cover the why and wherefore of God's dealings with His children. 
 
 " Since his illness of 1.S7-1, he seemed to grow stronger and brighter, 
 and as his business responsibilities became icss pressing, he had more 
 command of his time than formerly. We were looking forward to Ji 
 long, useful, and happy life for him. As we look liack now on the past 
 few months, we can remember at ditferent times, when weary, how 
 a strange whiteness would overspread his face, and how, at such times, 
 he would complain of a momentary faintness ; Imt after a few nunutes 
 rest, the Hush would return, auil he would seem all right. These 
 changes did not then make much imp»ression on our minds, though 
 now we know they were all symptoms of that disease which so sucUlenly 
 
 ook him from us." 
 
 Early in 1880, liu spout tlireu weeks in a trip to 
 Jamaica. From his letters 1 find reference to a hur- 
 ried call on Methodist ministers, at B(;ruiuda, return- 
 ing, which had excited his syuipathy in re^-ard to tlieir 
 estranuement f rom home and kindred, notwitlistandinof 
 
 their delightful associations among the people of their 
 10 
 
 I 
 
m 
 
 ■ -ii' 
 
 mm 
 
 liii 
 
 ! :; ' 
 
 tl'i i' 
 
 (.) 
 
 1.54 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. .AIORROW. 
 
 charge 
 
 Rev. E. B. Moore, of Hamilton, supplies a 
 vivid sketch of the call thus made on him : — 
 
 " I noticed in your last budpjet of payors llic smlden death of J. B. 
 Morrow, Esq. I was unfortunate onou^di not to make liis acquaintance 
 until lately, when, passing through these distant Islands, he kindly 
 sought us out ; and as the manner of the interview was characteristic 
 of him whom we mourn, I will give it to you. Happening to answer, 
 one day, the door of our parsonage, I met there a stranger, who, with 
 outstretched hand and beaming face said, ' This is Brother Moore, I 
 suppose ; my name is Morrow.' Bringing him into the house, he told 
 us in rapid words that he was just passing through Hamilton, and had 
 only half-andiour for business, but as he always souglit out Methodist 
 preachers, wherever he went, he called to see us. Knowing .something 
 of the toils of the itinerancy, it was always in his heart to aid them. 
 For a moment he sat thus enquiring into our work and its jirospects ; 
 then giving us some items of his own experience — as a good Methodist 
 is always able to do — he spoke some glowing words of comfort and cheer 
 which seemed to come from his whole animated countenance rather 
 than from his lips. Then it was, 'Good-bye, God bless you,' and he 
 was gone. Turning back to the house I noticed tli.at the countenance 
 of my wife was more radiant and her eyes more sparkling than usual. 
 Asking why, she said — ' Was it not like the visit of an angel ? ' Really, 
 the day did seem brighter and the burden of work lighter than usual. 
 The dear brother left a benediction with us, that lingered long after he 
 was gone, and the remembrance of which has cheered many an hour of 
 lonely toil. It was oxir tirst interview and last — hail and larewell, but 
 it has left a bright i)age in our memory forever. One can easily judge 
 from this how such a one will be missed. Is it not in such small 
 ministries that we can best imitate t'hrist, and secure the reward which 
 follows the words, — ' Forasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the 
 least of these, ye have done it unto Me ? '" 
 
 There is something touching and beautiful in this 
 interview — the brotherly salutation — the questioninf^ 
 as to other's cares and joys — the comfort and cheer of 
 voice and countenance — and the benediction I 
 
 ii 
 
THE END. 
 
 -t t0 m 
 
 ^' Like the visit of an angel ! " It might have been 
 " like the visit of an artist." Mr. Morrow had .-esthetic 
 tastes. Beriniida must have awakened his enthusi- 
 astic love of Nature, and he woidd have found in Mr. 
 and Mrs. Moore, appreciative companions, to afford 
 ample interchange of thought on such a theme. The 
 ..s^^hject would touch the poetic sentiment in any re- 
 fined man or woman. All around them were semi- 
 tropical sunshine and flowers. Mrs. Brownino-'s 
 Dream Island was only a little nearer approach "to 
 Paradise. 
 
 " Tlio placo is all awave with trees, 
 Limes, myrtles, purple-beaded ; 
 Acacias, having drunk the lees 
 
 Of the night-dew, faint-headed, 
 And \van, gray olive woods, whicli seem 
 The fittest foliage of a dream. " 
 
 And the gifted poetess might have taken her picture 
 of coral caves, opening into a region of fragrance, from 
 these same Bermudas, — 
 
 " Long winding caverns, glittering far 
 Into a crystal distance ; 
 Through clefts of which shall many a star 
 
 Shine clear without resistance ; 
 And carry down its rays the smell • 
 Of flowers above, invisible ! " 
 
 It might have been, " like the visit of a scientist or 
 a philosopher." Half an hour spent in conversation on 
 " specimens " would have been natural enough. Odd 
 shells, and insects, and plants, odder habitst and cus- 
 
 
lof) 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES K MORROW. 
 
 
 '^ 
 
 "1. 
 
 toms, and (jiiestions of social vexation, wore all ready 
 to their notice. Mr. Morrow might have left his audi- 
 tors a step farther advanced in the study of conchology, 
 botany, entomology, or what else, in which case they 
 would have, perhaps, admired his taste and penetration. 
 Or he might have indulged in some sharp criticism of 
 men and things about him, which always helps 
 to deepen any morbid gloom that Satan sends to 
 ardent ministers who may magnify surrounding 
 effects, and dishearten them in their sphere. He did — 
 said — nothing of all this ; but saw the want of the 
 moment, cheered and l)lessed, and went on his way, 
 leavinfj two singing souls behind him, who now come 
 to throw a loving garland on his grave. Byron was 
 surely riglit when he said 
 
 " He who happiness wouUl win 
 Must sliare it, — Happiness was born a twin !" 
 
 A little farther on, we shall find that the traveller, 
 while leaving with others influences as from " the visit 
 of an angel," was himself really in need of consolation. 
 He had gone from home under a dense cloud of fore- 
 boding, which, as he said afterward, was not (juite dis- 
 pelled till he had left Bermuda. But he did not permit 
 even a shadow from the cloud to fall upon the hearts of 
 others. They saw not beyond " the silver lining." 
 
 *' On the lOth of June," writes Mrs. Morrow, " the iirst break oc- 
 curred in the family, by tlie marriage of our ehlest tlaugliter. Though 
 she was to reside near the liomestead, tlie father keenly felt her sepa- 
 ration from the liome circle. On the 26tli of July my mother died at 
 
 i r 
 
THE KND. 
 
 157 
 
 our house. Slio was ill for iiliout tcu days, and Mr. Morrow was most 
 attentive during her illiie.ss, always assisting to lift lier when that was 
 needed." 
 
 On the 12tli of Auoust, lie was witli tlie Convention 
 of the Y.M.C.A. for the Lower Provinces, whieli met 
 in Cliarlottetown. Two achbesses of Ijis are pnhlislied 
 in tlie report of proceeding's, one on a subject whicli 
 caHed out his heartiest sympathy and co-operation, tliat 
 of obtaining a traveUing secretary to stimulate and 
 systematize the work of Associations. I find a letter 
 to Mr. McLean, from New Yoi-k, dated Septend)er 
 Uith, signed Robert Werdensall, whicli piobably 
 alludes to the results of that agitation. I make an 
 extract : 
 
 " My DkauBro. McLean.— * * * I tliank you for se- 
 curing an interview witli our dear liro. Morrow through your tele]thone. 
 How well ho then looked ! How j)leasantly he greeted inc ! With 
 what a Godspeed and hearty hand-shake he sent nie oil' ! J low cheer- 
 fully he gave me time, in the busiest part of the day, to talk of the 
 great work of saving the young men of the Lower Provinces ! How he 
 listened to any report of the work I had done under your and his direc- 
 tion ! How fitting it was that ho should meet in convention with 
 young men, that by his stirring words and manly acts he shouM im- 
 press them with his noble examjde ! " 
 
 The session of Saturday morning was devoted to 
 the topic, 'The Duty and Joyfulness of Winning 
 Souls." As Mr. Morrow's last woi-ds in the Convention, 
 and as illustrative of the passion wdiich was at once 
 animating and consuming him, I supply, entire, his 
 speech as reported : 
 
 m 
 
158 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. MORROW. 
 
 r 
 
 " In the toal country sf)ni(' of tin; pits hi*' known as such ami such 
 a 'winning,' an<l when I heard this topic announcftl, my mind went 
 down into tlie dcj)ths of the earth. To 'win' the coal is to get it. 
 Then I thought of Him who came to seek and to save that which is 
 lost. We do not think enough of lids ; every soul that is not 
 changed is lost. The; souls which we wish to win are lost. 
 In miidng a good deal of money must he spent. In winidng 
 souls the ohject is to get the soul up out of its lost condition. 'lie 
 that converteth a sinnci' from the ciror of his ways shall save a soul 
 from death, and shall hide; a mrdtitn(U,' of sins.' I like to hear these 
 liearty addresses, hut I feel more lik(! wci[)ing than anytliing else when 
 I think of th(! young men who are perishing. The thought 1 would 
 try to impress is, that W(; should lahour for young men every day, just 
 where we meet them." 
 
 lili 
 
 n m 
 
 it:; ' 
 
 Ho addressed the iniinonse farewell meeting on 
 Saturday night. On Sabbath evening he preached. 
 There were both human and divine influences at work 
 in this service. The preacher was thoroughly dis- 
 heartened Ijy his effort. In vain did Mr. McLean 
 assure him that he had heard him with great satisfac- 
 tion. He would not be comforted, and came away 
 from Charlottetown under a sense of mortification from 
 the remembrance of that discourse. He had scarcely 
 reached home when intelligence met him that the ser 
 mon so much lamented, had been the means of ]"> * • 
 good. At least one had publicly professed his j ^>ose 
 to begin a reliuious life, havino- been brought lu de- 
 cision by Mr. Morrow's discourse on Sunday evening. 
 It is related of the celebrated author of the " Medita- 
 tions," that, while fleeing by the back door of his 
 church one night, to avoid meeting any one, in his 
 shame for the surmon he had just delivered, he 
 
 : li: 
 
I ! 
 
 THE KM). 
 
 159 
 
 stiinibled over a man in the graveyard, who was groan- 
 ing in tleep penitence of soul through tlie eti'ects of 
 tliat seeming faihn-e ! So God rehukes very often our 
 unbeHef, which after all may spring, more than we can 
 see at the moment, from that very natural pride which 
 preachei's chei'ish toward satisfying their own critical 
 demands. 
 
 In answer to a letter which he nuist have written 
 alxnit this date, I iind a beautiful reply, probably one 
 of the last such missives that passed through his 
 hands. It is from a Roman Catholic gentleman into 
 whose deep sorrow, on the loss of his wife by sudden 
 death, Mr. Morrow had entered by correspondence. It 
 could have been no common, trite expressions which he 
 employed, to call back such an answer, so full of 
 genuine, and I may add, evangelical prayer and trust- 
 fulness. Of the numerous evidences which meet the 
 eye, in turning over his letters, paying silent but elo- 
 quent tributes to his unbounded charity and love, 
 instances of this sort are not the least affecting and in- 
 structive. We resume Mrs. Morrow's narrative : 
 
 "On tlie 15th of August I wont to Bedford for a fortnight, and he 
 came up every evening, excepting his class night, returning to town in 
 the morning. He seemed to enjoy the chan<^e very much, and I 
 thought him so well. Anxious us always to give pleasure, he came up 
 one evening while it was raining very heavily, laden with a ]>asket and 
 parcels of fruit. I saw he looked worn an<l tired, and I begged he would 
 not come again on such an evening, lie turned, a il looking at me, 
 said — ' Do you like to have me come ? ' I assured him I did. * Then,' 
 he replied, ' it will be a big storm that will keep me away.' This 
 was so characteristic of him — always unmindful of himself, if he could 
 contribute to the happiness of others. 
 
 J 
 
 lili 
 
i :> 
 
 1 r 
 
 :r 
 
 \'> 
 
 1 '1 
 
 llr^ 
 
 KJU 
 
 r.lFK nl' JAMES Ji. MOKROW. 
 
 " Th(! last Sunday of hi.s life, Sej)teml)er 5th, he attciuled inoriiiiig 
 service. I aceomitanicMl liim fur tlie first time in ciglit months. AVe 
 took communion togetlier. As we left the table he commenced 
 singing : 
 
 * Take my ])oor heart, and let it be 
 Forever closed to all but Thee,' 
 
 (a very common custom with him on sacramental occasions. ) 
 
 "After dinner on that day, which was an excessively warm one, he 
 walked out to the I'oor House, where he held service, then back to the 
 Association rooms, where he delivered the address published in the 
 papers, and then home. He conqtlained of being specially tired and 
 overcome with the heat. Conseipiently he remained at home in the 
 evening, but was as usual, bright and cheerfuh 
 
 "On Monday morning he rose, I'estcd and refreshed ; was specially 
 engaged in business all day, as he ex]_»ected to leave the next week for 
 Englanil, and so had much preparation to make. On ^londay evening 
 lie attended an oflicial meeting at the church, also on Tuesday evening. 
 On Wednesday evening he was at the weekly prayer-meeting, where he 
 sjjoke with unusual jtower, as was remai'keil before and after his death. 
 On Thursday morning I remenilter him as very bright, making many 
 pleasant remarks. At dinner, in the middle of the day, he was un- 
 usually meriy, so much so that the children said—* How full of fun 
 father is to-day I ' Finding that he had to go to Londonderry, he 
 came home in the afternoon in time to have a (piiet half-hour and a 
 cup of tea before taking the train. He talked of his expected trip to 
 England, expressing the pleasure he anticipated on some accounts, at 
 the .same time sju-aking of the ])ain a long absence from home always 
 gave him, saying that home was to him the liai»piest spot in all the 
 world, and he would like always to have wife and children all with 
 him. After bidding me good-bye, I heard his bright, buoyant step 
 along the hall and over the stairs. A strange feeling came over me, 
 and I rushed to a I'ront window to take a last look ; but he was gone. 
 I never heard his voiie or step again, and only saw him as he was 
 brought home to me the next night, cold and motionless in tleatli." 
 
 Sir S. L. Tilley, Minister of Customs, was on a tour 
 of visitation to cortain nicclianical and industrial in- 
 
THE EXP. 
 
 161 
 
 stitutioiis at this time. In company witli Mr. Tliomas 
 Kenn}^ Mr. Morrow went with liim to Londonderry, 
 for the purpose of inspecting works in whicli he was 
 interested. Mr. Kenny's statement is to the effect 
 that he and Mr. Morrow arose early on the following 
 morning, and took breakfast at half-past seven. They 
 had walked about the Rolling Mills of the Steel Com- 
 pany fifteen oi- twenty minutes, when Mr. Mottow com- 
 plained of feeling sick. His pale and ill appearance 
 at once alaiined Mr. Kenny, who immediately retired 
 M'ith him to the Company's office. Here he laid him- 
 self on the floor, distressed greatly with pain in the 
 lower part of the chest, when a doctor was summoned 
 in all haste. In brief conversation, he alluded to 
 symptoms which had awakened his suspicions as to 
 the conditicm of his heart; though he attributed the 
 iimnediate trouble at this time to the milk of which he 
 partook freely at breakfast. A couch was procured, 
 and the sufferer madeas comfortaltle as possible ; when 
 the doctor madci his appearance. His first (piestiou 
 was — " Doctor, what is Angina Pectoris ? " In answer 
 to the doctor's enquiry, he again inclined to the opinion 
 that indigestion was the cause of the pain. An emetic 
 was accor<lingly administered, which soon gave relief. 
 The stethoscope was used over his heart, only to allay 
 the doctor's fears as to any danger from that (juarter. 
 Alas, for the penetration of science I " I feel as if my 
 chest were in a vice," said the suflerer. His boots he 
 removed by his own exertions, put on slippers, chatted 
 with his associates, and spoke hopefully of returning 
 
i:; 
 
 ;ii 
 
 I', i : 
 
 "if 
 
 \ 'A 
 
 r I! 
 
 ■jti 
 
 ir;2 
 
 IJKK OV JAMES |{. MOUROW 
 
 homo by the afternoon train. He sent a pleasant 
 good-bye to friends who were leaving at the i-ailway 
 station. Mr. Kenny, bearing this message of love, was 
 on his way to its fulfilment, when a messenger over- 
 took him, saying Mr. Morrow was much worse. He 
 hastened back to the ofiice ; but death, with swifter 
 strides, was there before him ! 
 
 A letter from the physician in attendance to Mrs. 
 Morrow, will throw an additional ray of melancholy 
 light on the scene which had transpired in tliat brief 
 interval, — light to us, at least, who linger on the human 
 side of the river. Meantime, the closing part of Mrs. 
 Morrow's narrative will serve as an intermediate link 
 in this sad connection : — 
 
 " I may add, that last winter, before leaving for Jamaica, he seemed 
 to have a strong ])reseutiment that he was not coming back to us. He 
 did not then say so, in so many words ; but we saw from wliat he did 
 say what were his feelings. One day, as he was sitting alone with me, 
 he said — ' I have a verse which I want you to take as my verse to 
 you, and remember it —As thy day so shall thy strength be.' A few 
 days after, he asked me if I remembered his verse, and told me not to 
 forget it. I felt that he was desirous to prepare me for something, but 
 did not speak. When he was leaving for Jamaica, after bidding us 
 good-bye, he leaned down and said, * Do not forget my verse — As thy 
 day so shall thy strength be.' I knew what he felt, but believed it 
 arose from sonu! nervous feeling, an^l looked forward hopefully to his 
 return. I afterwards found he had sjmken to others, in an<l outside of 
 the family, as to the possibilities of his not returning home, and had 
 made some arrangements in reference to such an event. This made me 
 anxious. After his safe arrival, 1 spoke to him on the subject, and 
 asked him if he had not had some forebodings that he would never 
 return. He said he had, and .so strongly he could not account for it. 
 ' Until I left Bermuda,' he said, ' I could not get ri I of the thought 
 that I should never see you.' Now it is a comfort to know that he 
 
THE E\n. 
 
 1()3 
 
 liad takfii fully into consiileiatioii what it would mean to be taken 
 from us ; and we know that his life to the last hour was all that we 
 could wish it to have been. 
 
 " His veise will, I think, be always in my mind ; for on the morninr,' 
 of his death, when my s(m rame to break the news to me, he leaned 
 down and said, ' Mother, remendoer, as thy day, so shall thy streiii^'th 
 be.' It has been so, and I trust will ])e so with eaeh of our children, 
 till we are all j^'athered tof,'ether, reunited in our home above." 
 
 "It was good, it was kind, in the Wise One above 
 
 To fling Destiny's veil o'er tlie face of our years, 
 That we dread not the blow that shall strike at our love. 
 
 And expect not the beams that shall dry ui> our tears. 
 Oh ! did we but know of the shadows so nigh. 
 
 The world would indeed be a prison of gloom ; 
 All light would be (pienehed in yon eloijuent eye, 
 
 And the prayer-lisping infant would ask for the toml)." 
 
 There are bounds to all human skill. "Thus far 
 shalt thou come," is written over the ultimate limit of 
 both ambition and loving ministration. Few men feel 
 this more than physicians ; and few have gentler 
 voices in calling to mourners standing within a circle 
 they themselves cannot 'lenetrate. We subjoin the 
 doctor's letter : — 
 
 !: 
 
 "Acadia Mfnes, Londonderry, 
 
 •'September ir>th, 1880, 
 
 "Dear Madam, — Although a stranger, I feel sure you will nllow me 
 to tender to you and your family my heartfelt sympathy in your sad 
 and sudden Ijereavement. lieing the only person present during the 
 last brief moments of your dear husband, it was my sad duty to do 
 what little I eould — alas ! how litth' — to soothe his sulferiuirs. 
 
 " Knowing the nndaneholy interest you take in anything whieh took 
 place at the time, I .shall brielly state the eireumstanees. After Mr. 
 Kenny and Mr. Jainme left tin; room I sat beside Mr. Morrow's 
 couch. The pain had greatly abated ; but at times it returned for a 
 

 i'.' 
 
 hi 
 
 Hi. 
 
 164 
 
 LIKK OF .lAMES R MoHROW. 
 
 few sci'oikIk ; ynt lit' li'tiv it so jtatieiitly that I was .aware of it more by 
 obs(!rvin<^ tlic ap[»('araiioe of liis face tlian liy any complaint from him- 
 self. In abont ten minutes he se(!me(l almost entirely free from |>ain, 
 and taking advantage of this, I again examined him for symptoms of 
 heart disease, but could detetjt nothing positive. About this time he 
 said, ' I feel much better now ; but I suppose an attack like this 
 always makes a ])erson weak.' After sitting uj* a few uiiiiutes in 
 silence, during which he ajipcarctl ipiite compose(l, he saiil, ' I think 
 I'll put on my collar and necktie in case I catch cold about my neck.' 
 I bi'ought them to him, and was about to put them on for him when he 
 sat u[i on the couch, thankeil me, and said he couhl put them on him- 
 s(df, (juite well. IFe then lay down ami I tucked the clothes comfortably 
 about him, and smoothed his [»illows. lie closnl his eyes as if int.'lined 
 to resr, and I walked across the room to lower the window which had 
 been raised about an inch from the bottom. Before reaching it I heard 
 him say, (piite calmly, 'I believe I'm going to faint.' I rushed to 
 him, his i)ulse had stopped, uiid on putting my ear to his chest I fouiul 
 his heart had ceased to lie.it. One \-ery slight convulsive twitching of 
 the mouth, a f(iW sighs, and all was over. There was nothing to indi- 
 cate sullering at the last, and so calm and peacid'ul were the features, 
 that it was ditllcult to believe that he was dead. I ueed not say, dear 
 iMadam, how keenly I felt mv inaliility to do more than I did ; even 
 to give warning of the approaching end — but that was beyond human 
 power. iM[iy the (lood .Master, whom your dear husband has served so 
 faithrully, rondbrt ami console you all in your bereavement. 
 
 " I remain, dear Madam, 
 
 "Ycmrs faithfully, 
 
 "J. W. MAcDoXAi.n, M.D." 
 
 » 
 
 Mr. Morrow was in his forty-ninth year at his death. 
 A post-mortem examination disclosed what no one 
 ahout liini seems to liave suspected — that the vessels 
 ahout Ids licart had heen affected for some time, and 
 the disease had reached a stage whicli only required 
 some slight exciting cause to produce rupture, with its 
 attendant startling conse((uences. 
 
v.\ 
 
 THE END. 
 
 165 
 
 More than one has hinted in correspondence that he 
 may have anticipated an ahrupt, or at least not remote, 
 departure from this life. Now that so many symp- 
 toms comljined to warn his immediate relatives, it 
 may seem snrprisino- that more apprehension was not 
 excited in rei^ai'd to his health ; I tut it must l>e re- 
 membered that the disease was one of the very few 
 which defies even the closest scrutiny of the medical 
 art. Every intelligent mind, howevci", nuist acc('i)t 
 the inference drawn hy Mrs. Morrow : — he himself 
 was not left in iujnorance of what God intende*!. " The 
 secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him." His 
 allusion to a " choky " sensaticm, when at the General 
 Conference, in September, 1S7<S; his premonitions 
 during the months preceding the end ; finally his 
 question as to " Angina Pectoris " — heart-stroke, when 
 the doctor made his appearance, all show that he had 
 traversed nmch ground of anticipation ; a journey 
 rendered dark by the mystery which his God did not 
 choose altogether to reveal; rendered lonely by a pur- 
 pose not to disclose to his loved ones what might 
 greatly disquiet them; luit at every step of the way 
 illuminated by a presence which is a [)inar of cloud by 
 day, a pillar of tire by night. Did he pray unich cm 
 this subject :* Who, that knew^ the man, can doubt it^ 
 And surely prayer was answered, — 
 
 ! 
 
 j 
 
 il 
 
 "Time laid its IihikI 
 Upon his lioart, j^fiitly, not smiting it, 
 But as a liar])or gently lays his open palm 
 Upon his harp, to th'adcn its vil)rations." 
 
 11 
 
160 
 
 LIFE OF JAMES B. MORROW. 
 
 It was not an accident. It did not happen. It was 
 " appointed," doubtless. The event was under com- 
 plete regulation — came at the best moment, accom- 
 plished its full purpose, did not overstep its mission by 
 a single hair-breadth. To abandon the issues of such 
 a man, in life or death, to mere chance, would be to 
 dislocate the entire system of christian faith. 
 
 Do you believe this reader ? If so, have you found 
 shelter from the inevitable, universal, otherwise over- 
 whelming, stroke of death ? 
 
 We have followed a good man to the verge of the 
 river. You and I must now separate. May we meet 
 — (ill meet — in the land where there are neither 
 shadows nor sin, disease nor death. Amen ! 
 
ft was 
 • com- 
 Lccom- 
 ion by 
 t' such 
 be to 
 
 found 
 over- 
 
 3f the 
 
 meet 
 
 either 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 I 
 
 JSIT iias l)een thouglit desirable that this Memorial 
 ^'^' Volume should contain the more important 
 expressions made by several religious and 
 commercial organizations, in alln.siv^n to Mr. 
 Morrow's death. Several letters, written with the 
 object of recording his moral and social qualities, 
 have been interwoven with the general narrative. 
 A large number of the same kind must necessarily 
 be denied publication, because the object of the book 
 has already been provided for. They are treasured 
 none the less gratefully. 
 
 There is one communication, however, which must 
 find a leading place in these supplementary pages. It 
 might be furnished as a sample of that unique elo- 
 quence which accomplished Frenchmen sometimes so 
 naturally employ in epistolary correspondence ; but 
 we present it rather as the tribute of a Naval officer 
 — ranking similarly with our Post Captain — reflecting 
 the sentiments of a class with whom Mr. Morrow was 
 
 iSiiJ 
 
l()(S 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 fs 
 
 i^ 
 
 
 ht 
 
 f 
 
 1.1 ;■ 
 
 Mi 
 
 ever a great favorite. It was addressed to a near 
 relative : — 
 
 Saint IMkurk, 10th Sept , 1880. 
 
 Jc n'ossjiicifii pas de vdiis (k'peiiulre le jn'ofond cliaf^rin 41U' j'ai 
 eprouvo ("11 ])iviiaiit coiiiiaisaiu'u di; la tri.sto nouvt'llc inu- vous in'aii- 
 iKiuccr. -Il' crois revcr. .Je lis et rclis votrc lettri', [)(>ui' iiic iiersuadcr 
 que jo no sais pas cii pioct; a uiie lialliicination. Mallu'iircusi'iueut, Ic 
 fait est vrai et ee pauvrc Moiis. Morrow est eiileve h iiotre atleetioii, ;'i 
 iiotre Jiinitie. 
 
 Dans ma carriere, J'ai roncoiitre naturelleineiit Itieii des lioimiies 
 do merite, iiiais je Heme iap[)elle i»as en avoir coiiiiu que me fait plus 
 symi)atlie(jue. Sa loyauto sans indulgenee ])our les dofauts inhorents 
 a I'humanito, sa j^rande boiitc pour les [)auvre et los infortunes, 
 I'aminite do son caractdro, tout en lui seduisait, attirait irresistiblo- 
 mont. La franidiiso et la droituro so lisaient dans son regard limjude. 
 C'otait I'e ([ue nous ai)pel()ns un Iteau earactere. 
 
 Aussi raniionee do sa mort {a-telle [)roduit une immense sensation ii 
 bord do la "Cloriude." Tous mes ottieiers out oteeonsternes, lorscjue je 
 lour ai fait part do 00 cruel cvonomont. Cost un douleur pour nous tous, 
 inais plus partioulioromout ])our nioi ai voeu avoc lui, ilans los termes 
 do la jilus vivo ot do la plus ehaloureuse amitio. Vous avez pense 
 juste, niou chcr ami, en pensant (|ue ma douleur serait dt-s jtlus 
 grandes. II no pourrait en otre autroment, a[)res los relations que j'ai 
 ones avec cot homme do bion. 
 
 Los diicrots do la Providence sont insondables. Monsieur Mori'ow 
 arrivait a rcjioque do sa vie, oil il allait recueiller les fruits do son 
 travail assidu, de ses labours. II titait ainio do tous, lionore }»ar les 
 concitoyons, rosi)ecte par toutes les classes de la population do Halifax, 
 ot quol(|ues secondes out sutti pour enlover co mari, co jjore tondre et 
 devoue a I'alfection d'une famillo ([ui concentrait sur lui los sentiments. 
 Cost all'reux de songer a cola, mais comme vous lo dites fort 1)ien, mil 
 plus que lui n'etait mioux [iiopare a com[)araitro devant son Souverain 
 Jugo. II viendra dovant son trilnmal escortti de toutes les puros actions 
 de sa vie, de ses charits envers les pauvres, et surtout des sentiments 
 reufermos dans son coeur. Je n'ai pas rintention d'apporter des con- 
 solations ii la famille si criielloment frappeo. 11 n'ou est aucuue qui 
 puisse adouicr les regrets d'uuo femmo aimaiite ot d'onfants ch^ris. Le 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 16!) 
 
 l('nij)s soul pcMit, noil pus ciilcvur li' souvenir ilc eelui (jui n'ust plus, 
 inais tout au uioius uttt^'nuur Ics oU'cts produits par cetto ineurt si inat- 
 tendue. Soulenitiut, je vous priorai do vouloir bion titro nion inter- 
 prete anpr(is do Madanio Morrow ot dr tons los niumbrcs do la famille, 
 pour leur dere conibien je suis atHige, conibion Je ni'unis a oux par la 
 pcnseo ot par la ooeur, dans cetto tristo circonstance. Jo ne puis 
 ni'eni])o('lior <lo songor <[Uo nous dovions nous rooontror a Paris, ot je me 
 faisait uuo joie do rintroduiro aujMvs dos ujions, auxtjuols j'avais an- 
 nonce sa visito, ]»o\ir lo oas ou il sorait arrivo avant moi llelas I nou- 
 no lo voiions ]»lus lei lias, ot lasso lo oiol i|Uo nous puissions lui rosseni- 
 bler, de nianiero a lo retrouvoi'jdus tard. Vous oduijirondroz, nion olioro 
 Franklyn, lo dosoidro tjui ii<,Mio dans mos idiios ; jo voutlras jiouvoii' 
 <xprinior tout to (|Uo jo ressons ot no puis lo fairo ooniino jo lo voudrais. 
 Mais (.'royoz (juo }»ersonne no sent inioux que nioi rotonduo do la perto 
 que vous vonoz dv iairo. Kt doic (|u'on rocovant votro lottro, ayant 
 roconnu votro o'orituro, jo mo sontais tout joyoux do sii\oir dos nou- 
 vollos ilo mos amis do Halifax. Lc coup a oto rudo, ot jo no mo con- 
 solera do longt(UMps. Adiou, mon vhi'iv Ki'anklyn. I'rt^'sontoz je vous 
 pric, mos liomma<;'os u Madame Franklyn. .io n'ai pas oublio h- 
 •,'racieux accuoil qu'olle m'a fail. i^>uaiit a voUs rocevez I'assuranoe dc 
 uies sentiments airoctuoux. 
 
 U. S. Dkvauknnk. 
 
 Tons los oHiciers (Puooli) iiarticulioromoiit, mo chargont d'oxi)riino- 
 hmrs vivos sympathies pour la fiimille iW^ Mr. Morrow. 
 
 I'l'.ANSI.ATION. 
 
 Saint riKiiUi;, Sept. Ifttli, 1880. 
 
 I shall not attempt to depict to you tho deep grief which I have felt 
 since learning the sad news which you announced to mo. I fancy I am 
 dreaming : I road and re-read your letter, to persuade my.self that I am 
 not a jiroy to hallucination. Tnliappily, it is too true, and Mr. Morrow 
 is taken from our affection and friomlship. 
 
 In my career, I have naturally encounteroil many men of merit ; but 
 1 cannot recall one who was more congenial to me. 
 
 His fidelity, his indulgence toward the inherent faults of other.s, his 
 great goodness to the poor and unfortunate, the amenity of his chai- 
 ncter — all in him were irresistibly attractive and captivating. Frank- 
 
 11 
 
i 
 
 
 ,11 
 
 I! 
 
 170 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 iicss and iiitc^'iity could be ivad in Ids open countenance ; liis was 
 wliat we would call a beautiful cliarac-tcr. 
 
 Also, the announcement of Ids death luis produced an immense sen- 
 sation on board the "Clorinde. " All my ollicers were astounded when 
 I told them of this (leploralile (circumstance. 
 
 It is sorrow for us all, but partiiularly so for mc, who have lived 
 with him in terms of the most intimate and warmest friendship. You 
 have thou^dit ri^dit, my dear friend, in thinking' that my grief would 
 be the greatest ; it could not be otherwise, after the relations which I 
 have had with that man of goodness. 
 
 The decrees of Providence are inscrutable. Mr. Morrow had arrivcid 
 at that ejioch in his life when he was just gathering the fruits of his 
 assiduous labours. He was loved by evciy one, honoured by his fellow- 
 citizens. Inspected Ity all the po[»idation of Halil'a.K ; and a few seconds 
 have sulUced to take away this husband — this tender and devoted 
 father — from the atfection of a family who concentrated upon him all 
 the sweetest sentiments. 
 
 It is frighti'ul to think ol' that ; but, as you very well said to me, no 
 one was better [)rcparcd to ap[)ear l)efore the Sovereign Judge. He 
 will come before his tribunal, surrounded by all the i)Ure actions of his 
 life, his chaiity towards the poor, and, above all, the sentiments cn- 
 rjosed in his heart. 
 
 I do not intend to convey consolation to the laiiiily so cruelly snnt- 
 tcn ; only time can assuage the grief of a loving wife and (dierished 
 children ; it will not tak(; away the remembrance of him who is not, 
 but more or less soften the etfects jtroduced by that death so unex- 
 pected. l)Ut I beseech you willingly to become my interiiretcr to 
 Madame Morrow and all the mend)crs of her family, to tell them liow 
 much I am alllicted, and how much I unite with them in thought and 
 lieart in this sad event. I cannot help thinking that I shall meet him 
 at Paris, and it would have given me so much i)leasure to introduce 
 him to my famil\', to whom I had announced his visit, in case he ar- 
 rived before me. Alas ! we shall see him on earth no more ; but may 
 heaven help us to resemble him, that we may see him again later. You 
 understand, dear F., the confusion which reigns in my ideas. I want 
 to express to you all that I feel, but cannot manage to do so as I should 
 like ; but believe me that no one knows better than I, the extent of 
 the loss which you experience. 
 
 : ij '■> 
 
 it ' 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 171 
 
 no 
 
 Oil loceiviiig your It'ttcr iiiiil m()<,Mii/iii<; your writing', I felt ivjoico-l 
 to havo news of my HalilUx tVii-inls. The l.low lias Wvn harsh, ami 1 
 .shall not recover from it for a long limo. 
 
 U. S. I). 
 
 All the officers (Pueeh) particularly charge mc to express their fer- 
 vent symi)athy for Mr. Morrow's family. 
 
 [Letter written hy Captain Devarenne, of the "Clorin(lt>," to Mr. 
 Franklyn.] 
 
 INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE, Y. M. C. A. HESOLl'TloNS. 
 
 At a regular meeting of the International Committee, held in New 
 York, September ir>th, the following Resolution was adopted:— 
 
 "The Committee liave learned with profound grief of the sudd. ti 
 death of their friend ami associate in work for Christ among young 
 men, Mr. J. V>. Morrow, of Halifax, and desire to record their alfection- 
 ate appreciation of his patient and practical sympathy, and Ids gen- 
 orous and self-denying co-oix'ration in the work of Young Men's 
 Christian Associations, not only in his own city and country, but 
 throughout the continent. For many years he has made his inlluence 
 widely felt in promoting this work by a beneticence which has reached 
 far beyond the held of his efforts in Halifax an<l Nova Scotia. 
 
 "The Committee desire to place on record the expression of their 
 atfectionate and brotherly regard for this faithful witness for Christ, 
 and their sincere and tender .sympathy with his wife and fannly, and 
 with the multitude to whom his beautiful life and ( •lirist-like character 
 endeared liim, and who are now mourning his los^. 
 
 " In behalf of the Connnittcc, 
 
 "RicHAUdC. .MoitsF, AVoYtory." 
 
 Y. M. C. A. RESOLUTIONS, HALIFAX, N. S. 
 
 " Whereas, in the in.scrutablc Providence of God, He has taken .sud- 
 denly from our midst, in the meridian of life, our beloved friend and 
 broth(;r, James l>. Morrow, 
 
 ** We, the Young Men's Chri.stian Association of Halifax, on whost; 
 roll his name has stood for twenty-seven years as a subscriber, twelve 
 
172 
 
 AIM^ENDIX. 
 
 
 
 ilffi 
 
 yonrs as an active nionibcr ami ollifr-lifaror, and in wliosc ranks \\v has 
 raitlifully sfivfd fis a j^'oo'l Soldit-r of tlif Cross, would pjatr on iccord 
 this expression of onr rfM'lin;;s, wcfik though it Ix', as a testimony of our 
 sincere sorrow for our own loss, of our tenderest sympathy with the 
 afflicted widow and family in tluiir hour of sore hereavement, and of 
 our sense of the loss sustained hy the Chunh and denomination ft> 
 which lu; was faithfully attached, and l>y the community at huge, of 
 which he was an honoured mcmher. 
 
 "While others can speak truthfully and feelini^dy of his intense 
 patriotism, of his laif^'edieartcd lilierality, of his Christian charity and 
 loving sympathy, of his woik among the ]»oor and needy, and his 
 fdieering visits to the siik iiml tlying; while many can recall his kindly 
 disposition, and his iicts of suhstantial aid done (juietly anil unostenta- 
 tiously, just when most needed ; while his fellow-merchants hear testi- 
 mony to his commercial integrity and Imsiness i)rol)ity, in all of which 
 we see reve,ile(l the ti'ue typ<' of tin; Christian gentleman, we would 
 recur to his s]>ecial work in anil lor the Young Men's Christi;iii Assori- 
 ation in its varied iMiterprises foi' tln^ good of young men, and through 
 them the advaniH'inent of the Kcilccniei's kingdom. 
 
 " In all his relations to us as a supporter, as a member, as an olfice- 
 hearer, as a co-worker in the several departments of our ojienitions and 
 enterprises, wc lovingly hear testimony to )iis manly Christianity, in 
 our a<lversity as in i>ros|)erity ; in days of gloom and darkness, as in 
 days of light ; amid the elih tide of spiritual lethargy, as in tlie Hood 
 tide of religious ;ulvanccnient, our l)rother was ever loyal to our Associ- 
 ation, and devoted to its interests —;nid not only in Halifax were his 
 good works ahundant, hut also through the towns and viiliigcs of Nova 
 Scotia, and our sister [irovinccs ; aiding and assisting struggling associa- 
 tions, cheering weary workers, encouraging the faint-hearteil, giving 
 material support cheerfully and spontaneously, evi'r ahoumling in those 
 graces and activities that adorn the life of the true follower of Christ. 
 " The best and truest tribute of love andallection we can oiler to the 
 memory of our departed brother, is to take up the work where he Liid 
 it down, to i)ress on in our labours for our common Lord and Master, 
 doing our duty honestly and uprightly to our fellow-men ; and under 
 the incentive of knowing the blessed end of a life well spent, and a day 
 and generation faithfuly served, we wouM go forward working and 
 labouring in that special field of Christian activity to whiidi we have 
 
AFfENDlX. 
 
 17:i 
 
 I'Pcn called, looking forward to that day, when like our beloved l.rothei 
 Jii8t departed, we eaii lay life's Ixirden down and mter into the rest 
 j»repared for the people of (iod, 
 
 ".I. S. Maci.kan, I'lrtiu/nif. 
 
 " HknKY TirivMilSToN, .Senrf' I )•)/." 
 
 FROM TlIK V. M. C. A., ST. .lOJIX, \. 1!. 
 "Mh.s. ,[. iJ. Mmi:i:uu-,— 
 
 ' * Afij drar M(Kf i()n. —ThcA )l]\i-v\s and niendM-rs of this Associiition 
 <lesire to express their most sinrrrr si/mpaf/ii/ iuu\ hrarf/r// sorroir at the 
 loss of your devoted and nuu'h h.ved Imsliand whom we /uuy n/imy.s 
 rstficmcd as one of our Wsf and vulnnl friends. •' W'v soirow not, even 
 as others who liave no hope, for W(; lielirvc that Jesus died and rose 
 again, even so them also, wldrli sh'ep iu Jesus, will Cod l>iin" with 
 Him.' 
 
 *' With prayerful sym[iathy and christian regards, 
 
 " I remain, yours most respectfully, 
 
 "JVMI-.S A. (ioll.lt, ,S'/,y,/,//y. " 
 
 Wo.MKX'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION. 
 
 "Dkai: .Mrs. Mduuow.— We have heen rciiue.sted hy the \Vonu.fn's 
 Cliristian Association to expi'ess to you their, ami our, heartfelt svm- 
 pathy with you in your deep atfiiction. 
 
 "We feel, in addition to our [tersonal grid' at the death of Mr. 
 Morrow, and to our |iain at the almost ineparal.le loss to the Church, 
 the Young Men's Christian Association, and the city, that, as regards 
 our own Association, we have lost oiu; of our most valued friends ; for, 
 on several occasions, indeed, whenever we rcfpiested it, we found Mr. 
 Morrow ready to help us, when, without his aid, we would not have 
 known where to turn, and when his rendering us the services we asked, 
 must have been very inconvenient to one whose time was so valuable. 
 
 " But we were desired Ity the / ssociation to write this, more [)artic- 
 ularly, to convey to you, as being one of our mend)ers, our [uofound 
 sympathy with you. We know that you <lo not grieve as tho.se with- 
 out hope, and that you have a fiiend, Jesus Christ, the Comforter, who 
 will sustain you, and on whom you can east your burden of sorrow ; 
 
i * 
 
 174 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 but still we wish to assnif you that you have not only our warmest 
 sympathy, I'Ut our earnest juayi^rs, tliat you may he supitorteil in this 
 extremity by our Ileavt-nly Father. 
 
 " Vonrs, very aineereiy, 
 
 "Chaui/)TTK Srini.iNc, President. 
 " K. Mackintosh, Cor.- Secretary. " 
 Moij.lay, 27t]i Sei)t., 1880. 
 
 RKSOLIITIONS— MISSTONARY COM.AI ITTEE. 
 
 The late J. 13. jMoriuow, Es(j. 
 
 ''oved by the Rov. U. Duncan, sccondetl l»y Dr. Norris and Com- 
 mittee unanimously. 
 
 " Whereas, it has ](l(>ased our Heavenly Father, in 11 is wise Provi- 
 ilenec, to take unto Himself, since the last session of the Hoard, our 
 beloved bi'other, James B. INforrow, Ks(|., of Halifax, for souu; years 
 and at the time of his death a member of the lioard. Therefore : 
 
 liesolution 1st. — "That the Hoard cannot pernrit the present meet- 
 ing to close without recording its admiration of our departed brother's 
 cliarai.'ter, and its grateful recollections of the faithful and important 
 services which, during a series of years, he rendered to the Board, and 
 to the MissionaiT and general interests of our Church. During all their 
 asstjciations with their lieloved and now glorified friend, the uniform 
 im]iression made ujion the meinltei's of this Board was that James B. 
 Aloi'row was a hiunbie and devoted servant of Christ, living in al)iding 
 communion with Cod, enjoying the ])ower and peace, and bringing 
 furth lichly the fruits jf the Spirit ; that he was loyal and earnest in his 
 attacliment to his own liramdi of the Church, and generous in liis.sym- 
 jtathy with all ; that he was ready at all times, and to tlie utmost of 
 his ability, t*) serve the intere^;ts of this Society antl aid its im]»ortant 
 work ; a!id in their sorrow at the loss sustained by this Board, and by 
 the (/hurch at lai-ge, their one cond'oi't is the solemn and grateful 
 c(»nviction that may be said of him that he ' walked with God 
 .and was not, for (iod took him.' 
 
 • t 
 
 1 
 
 
ATM'ENDIX. 
 
 17: 
 
 1 
 
 2n(l. — "That wo (loi>i>ly .sympathize witli the wi(h)\v and cliiltlicn in 
 the siuhU'ii and severe atlliction whicli lias conic upon tlieiii, that we 
 bear them in mir hearts before (!o(l, prayinf^ that tlie peace of God, 
 which passeth all understanding, may keep their hearts and minds in 
 ("hrist Jesus. 
 
 3rd. — "That a co}iy of the lure<^oiiii;- resolutions be sent to Mrs. 
 Morrow, with the assurance of our symj>alhy and }irayers. 
 
 (Signed) 
 
 " \V. .). lirNTKU, Seen tar ij." 
 
 i 
 
 RESOLUTION OF HI.'UXSWICK ST. CHUIJCII. 
 
 Whereas, Almighty (!oiI, in His evrr-wise Providence, has ])een 
 pleased to remove from our midst by death, our esteemed friend and 
 brother, James H. Morrow, Heeording Steward of this ('ii'uit, who.se 
 deeply pious and consistent life was so Iiright .111 exaui[>h' for us all. 
 Therefore be it 
 
 Resolved — " That this meeting desires to record its dee]> seii.se of the 
 great loss the Church has sustained in the (leatli of one, whose high 
 Christian character, zeal and usefulness in the cause of religion weic so 
 con.spicuous ; and who as local preacher, classdeach-r and hohler of 
 other otliees, in connection with this Church, rendered most etHcient 
 service, and eiideareil himself to all by his urbanity, simpleness of piu- 
 pose, liberality and ( (instant efforts to promoti' the cause of (iod. Aini 
 thus this Hoanl ti'udci' Mrs. Moirow and family its lU'Cpcst synipaths 
 in their bereavement." 
 
 Copy of a Resolution p<issed at a Meeting of t!ie Trustees of Bruns- 
 wick Street Church, hehl (Ui Thursday evemng, Xo\einl>ei' 18th, 1880, 
 
 " Resolved, — That the Trustees desire to express their «Iecp sense of 
 the loss they have sustained in the removal, by death, of their late re- 
 spected co-trustee, James )>. Morrow, Ksi|., who, lor nearly ten years, 
 had taken so active a part in all their work. I 'uring this ])eriod, not 
 only (lid he give much valuable time to the tiust aflairs, and contribute 
 liberally of his means, whenever occasion rciiuireil, ])ut his judicion-- 
 counsels were often a guide to his fellow-workers, and were ever to 
 them a source of strength ; while the genial intluence of his truly 
 
ill 
 
 176 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Cliristian spirit was always present witli liini, and is cherished in the 
 iin'niories of tlioso wlio knew liini. 
 
 ^' Ilrsolvcd, also: That a ('oj)y of this Resolution lie forwarded to 
 Mrs. Moirow, with the ex})i'ession of the deep sympathy of the Trus 
 Icf's witli her and lifr family in their <;reat bereavement. 
 
 " K. (J. Smith, .SV'c//. of TnisU'Ps." 
 
 FROM THK crNAR!) OFFICK, HALIFAX. 
 
 " H.MJKAX, N. S., Ski'Tk.mi;!:!!, IStli, 1880. 
 
 "Dkar Mi;s. M(»i!it(tw. — We, the \indersignc(l employees in the 
 ollicc of which your late beloved husljaiid was the most honoured head, 
 beg, at this time of your great sorrow, to ajii)roach you with a feeling 
 of the deepest I'espect, and to oiler our heartfelt sympathy with you 
 and your dear cdiildi'en, for the irre[»arablc loss which the Lord has 
 been ]ileased to call Upon you to sustain. 
 
 " Our late beloved employer endeared himself to each of oui' hearts 
 Inyond the power of language to expre.ss. His preseiu-e among us 
 always commanded the deej)est respect and esteem ; while on the other 
 liand Ins gentle, considerate regard for the wcdfare of each of ns, called 
 forth our d epest affection. It is not often that a similai' removal of 
 any one at the head of an establishment like this wouhl create so ])ro- 
 found a sensation, and it is not often that emi»loyees similarly situated 
 • •ould «ay, in the integrity of their hearts, that it was ever a pleasure 
 to serve him in any way. We shall ever hold his memory .sacred and 
 «lear to oui' hearts. 
 
 " We remain, dear Mrs. Morrow, 
 
 " Very I'espectfully your obedient servants, 
 
 " Jam is Fknnincton, 
 
 " RolM'.HT HlMI'IIKEV, 
 •MJl'.nllOK r. RiiUNE, 
 
 " GEOiKiF.F'. Vanbuskiuk, 
 •' Ci,At i)E Wanewrioht, 
 " F. 0. H(.WF,, 
 "(Jkouck TUAlV." 
 
islied in tho 
 
 brwarded to 
 if the This- 
 
 7'nistrcs." 
 
 3tli, 1880. 
 
 )yeos in tlu'; 
 tionred head, 
 vith a feeling 
 hy witli you 
 he Lord has 
 
 (if i)ur hearts 
 
 I'e among us 
 
 1 on the other 
 
 of us, called 
 
 removal of 
 
 cate so i)ro- 
 
 arly situated 
 
 r a pleasure 
 
 saeretl and 
 
 IHKY, 
 slU'SKIUK, 
 
 vviii<;nT, 
 
 APPKNBIX. 
 
 177 
 
 fJENKRAL MIN1N(; ASSOCIATION. 
 
 6 Nkw IjUoai) Strkkt, 
 " London, E. V., Oetoher 7th, 1880. 
 
 " Dkaii Mrs. MoiiPwOW.— I am desired hy my Direetors to convey to 
 yon their deep regret on receiving the sad intidligeiiee of Mr. Morrow's 
 sudden death, and I extract from our Minutes of tho last IJoard Meet- 
 ing the following Resolntions, viz : — 
 
 "'That the Board, having received with extreme regret the an- 
 'nonncement of the sudden death, on the 11th ult., of Mr. J. I*. 
 ' Morrow, of Halifax, long their respected and valued Agent, de;dre to 
 leeord their sense of the high esteeni and nfgard in which he was in- 
 ' variahly held hy the Directors, their full appreciation of the long and 
 * valuahle .services he has rendereil as their Agent in Nova Scotia, and 
 ' the great loss the deprivation of his judicious assistance and zealous 
 ' co-operation will entail upon the Association.' 
 
 " I am rcfjuested hy my Directors, in tran.'-niitting to you the ahove 
 
 Kesolution, to convey to you the a.s.surance of their sincere condolence 
 
 and sympathy, hoth with you and your family, in your .sad and sudden 
 
 hereavement. 
 
 "I am, faithfully yours, 
 
 "C. G. SWANN, Srcrrtnry." 
 
 SPEECH OF CHAIRMAN AND RESOLUTION- (lENEHAL 
 MINING ASSOCIATION. 
 
 " I think that is all I should have said to you on this occasion, hut 
 for one other very painful suhje(;t, to vlii<h I s^hculd not do ju.stice to 
 my own feelings, nor to those of my colh agues, if 1 did noi refer. I 
 allude to the death — not hy an accident, hut ecjUally .sudden and 
 lamentable — of our excellent correspondent in Nova Scotia, Mr. 
 Morrow. On the 0th of Sejitimher, he lelt Haliliix in jcrfcct heallh 
 to visit the Londonderry Steel Company, s(.me fifty miles from Halifax, 
 and next morning he died suddenly in the (Jliceof theCom})any. Mr. 
 Morrow, who was a memher of the fiim of ( iiiiaiil k Morrow, our 
 agents, ha.s Ic.ng hcen connected wilh this A.sjd iatii n, having hcen U r 
 more than twenty years the mtnihcr of the tiim in whoo hands the 
 management of our alfairs has hccu placed. He was a gentleman in 
 
( 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 t 
 
 * J 
 
 ll 
 
 ! ]'-i: 
 
 If ' I 
 
 it 
 
 11 
 
 178 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 whom the Hoard had tlie greatest confidence, and we are greatly in- 
 debted to liim for the zealons and judicions manner iii which he, fcr .s(» 
 many years, attended to the afiairs of the Association. We never had a 
 lase of difiicnlty or dispnte bnt what Mr. Morrow settled it for ns, and we 
 were snre that in his hands justice wouhl he tk)ne to us, whiU; avoiding 
 any h^gal or unph^asant contention with our customers. This is hardly 
 tlie ]»lace, even if I wei-e cai)ahle of doing justice to the suhjeiit, to ex- 
 patiate on the merits of Mr. Morrow's character ; but I could read to 
 yon the newspa])er extracts, showing the universal )-esi)ect in which he 
 was held, and sorrow felt at his death. His funeral, which was almost 
 a j)ubli(' one, was attended by all classes of the community, from His 
 Kxccllency the Commander of the Forces, to the very labourer who 
 wheels our (;oals. The people attended in thousands to show their 
 respect for so well-known and deeply-lamented a member of the com- 
 munity. I think tliis universal testimony to his worth justifies the 
 confidence wliiidi this lioard always reposed in his integrity and as- 
 sistance. This Hoard have, by their resolution jdaced upon their 
 minutes, recorded their lit^ep sense of the loss sustained, their ajipre- 
 ciation of the very valuable services that he had so long rendered to 
 us, and I fed satisfied that the shareholders generally will join in that 
 expression of regret and sympathy which we have conveyed through 
 his remaining j)artner to his bereaved widow and family. Gentlemen, 
 I think I have no further information to give you, but 1 shall, as 
 usual, be happy to reply to any questions you may wish to put to me. 
 
 ' ' Mr. Reeding : Probably the shareholders would like to join in the 
 expression of sympathy to the relatives of the late Mr. Morrow, which, 
 1 gatlier from the Chairman, the Hoard h.as already made ; and I beg, 
 therefore, to move the following resolution : — 
 
 " 'That this meeting desire, on the part of the shareholders of the 
 ' Association, cordially to unite with the directors in their expression 
 • of deep regret at the lamentable and sudden death of the late Mr. J, 
 ' 15. Morrow, their agent in Nova Scotia, in acknowleilging the valu- 
 ' able services rendered to the Association (luring so many years, and 
 ' in symjuithy with his widow and family in the great lo.ss they have 
 ' sustained.' " 
 
 " Mr. Hridge : I shall be most hapjty to second that. 
 
 " The motion was unanimously aclopted." 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 179 
 
 SPRINilFIELD MIXING COMPANY. 
 Tlie Directors of tho Springfield Mining Company, having heard with 
 •'xtrcnie sorrow of tlie (h;ath of their co-director, James B. Morrow, 
 K.s.|uire, wish to convey to you and your family, their fullest sym- 
 patiiy and regret ; feeling as they most sincerely do, that they have 
 lost a pers(»nal frieml, and th(; Company an invaluable adviser. 
 Dated at St John, N. 15., I.Sth Sept., 18S(i. 
 •Mas. .Iamks I). .M(ii!i!<»w, 
 
 Jialirax, X. S, Al.KX. M.VcF.VRI.ANE, 
 
 i'n'aident. 
 S. S. Ha 1.1,, 
 John Ma(;kk, 
 W. ^'K^•Is■r(^N SiAKi:, 
 
 Jas. L. DiiKlNY, 
 
 I) li'crtors.