i f f w ' 
 
 BX 8495 .F57 H64 1842 
 Holdich, Joseph, 1804-1893. 
 The life of Willbur Fisk 
 
THE LIFE 
 
 • or 
 
 WILLBUR FISK, D.D., 
 
 FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE WE S L E YA N UNIVERSITY. 
 
 BY 
 
 ■J 
 
 JOSEPH HOLDICH. 
 
 " Here and there is found one who admits the religion of Heaven in its own 
 manner, and imbibes its sublimity and beauty without detriment, and glorifies 
 God, the giver of all, by displaying the triple nobility of Nature, Culture, and 
 Faith." — Taylor's Saturday Evening. 
 
 " whose faith follow."— Heb., xiii., 7. 
 
 NEW-YORK: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY HARPER & BROTHERS, 
 
 NO. 82 CLIFF-STREET. 
 
 1 84 2. 
 
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1842, by 
 Mrs. R. Fisk, 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Connecticut 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The biographer of Dr. Fisk submits the result of his labour 
 to the judgment of the Christian public with unfeigned diffi- 
 dence. This feeling is occasioned partly by a natural dis- 
 trust of his own abilities, and partly by his experience of the 
 difficulties of the undertaking. ^ 
 
 Those who are at all skilled in authorship well know that 
 historical and biographical composition is peculiarly perplex- 
 ing and laborious ; and it will be obvious to all, on very 
 slight reflection, that the labour of writing a biography de- 
 pends very much on the diversity in the character and rela- 
 tions of the subject, for in proportion to these will be the 
 demand on the author's resources, judgment, and skill. Had 
 Dr. Fisk's life been devoted entirely, or even chiefly, to one 
 pursuit, had his character possessed interest in only a single 
 aspect, or were his biography to have been adapted to any 
 selected class of refers, the writer's task would have been 
 comparatively easy. But the life of any man should be in 
 accordance wirfi his entire character and pursuits. In this 
 lay the difficulty of our present undertaking. To depict 
 correctly the diversified character of our subject ; to trace 
 his connexion with the many important enterprises in which 
 he was concerned ; to give to each of these its relative prom- 
 inence and just proportion; to adapt the work to the various 
 classes in the community who may be supposed to take an 
 interest in our subject; to present a just account of his share 
 in the controversies in which he was engaged, without giving 
 needless offence to those who differed from him, were some 
 
iv 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 of the duties which rendered the author's task one of more 
 than ordinary delicacy, and required no little thought and 
 labour. 
 
 One topic suggested above deserves, perhaps, to be made 
 a little more prominent. Dr. Fisk was a man of erudition 
 and literature, and, as such, was connected with the republic 
 of letters. On the other hand, he was not less the man of 
 the people. To have written his book exclusively for the 
 former would not have been satisfactory to the latter, and to 
 have written it entirely for the latter would have displeased 
 the former, while in neither case would he have been true to 
 his subject's memory. Whether the writer have succeeded 
 in harmonizing these conflicting claims must be left for the 
 reader to deteimine ; but he wishes that this view of the 
 subject may be kept in mind in deciding on the nature and 
 merits of the woik. 
 
 A word or two may be proper on another topic. It was 
 impossible to do justice to the character of Dr. Fisk without 
 entering somewhat upon the history of the controversies 
 which occupied much of his attention. In doing this, his 
 biographer has endeavoured to maintain a suitable liberality 
 towards the parties concerned. Although it has been his 
 aim to exhibit his subject's views rather than his own, yet 
 in some cases he has given his own in presenting those of his 
 subject; but in doing this, it has been his aim to write of 
 opinions and systems rather than of persons. Like his sub- 
 ject, the biographer has many valuable friends on both sides 
 of the various questions treated on in his work, none of whom 
 he would willingly offend. He trusts that he will not have 
 done so. Nevertheless, if he should have been so unfortu- 
 nate, the only apology he can make is, truth first, and friend- 
 ship afterward. The author is aware, however, that he has 
 been led to present a few names to the reader in a rather un- 
 favourable light. The principle he has gone on in this was, 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 V 
 
 never to do so except where it was necessary to vindicate his 
 subject, or only where the person had given his own name to 
 the public in a manner calculated to injure Dr. Fisk. This 
 is perfectly fair, and the persons concerned can have no 
 right to complain. He that ventures an assault upon an- 
 other, should expect the natural consequences of his own 
 action. 
 
 To some it may appear, as, indeed, it has often been re- 
 marked, that Dr. Fisk's life was destitute of incident. If 
 by incident be meant merely physical action, such incident, 
 that is, as constitutes the burden of a romance, consisting 
 of thrilling adventure, 
 
 "Of hair-breadth escapes in the imminent deadly breach," 
 
 or 
 
 ■ Of moving accidents by flood and field," 
 it may, to a certain extent, prove true ; but even of this his 
 life was far from being destitute, especially in the days of his 
 itinerancy. But if by incident be included those transac- 
 tions which show the mental and moral character, and espe- 
 cially such as are connected with the welfare of human be- 
 ings and the honour of our common Saviour, we think his 
 life will not be found deficient in incident ; how, indeed, 
 could it be, connected as he was with so many important 
 transactions ? Most of the leading enterprises of the day 
 shared in his labours, and in several of them, as education, 
 temperance, missions, and religion in general, he was looked 
 up to as a controlling mind. He was eminently a practical 
 man, and, as such, his whole life was full of incident relating 
 either to the intellect or to the heart. It has been the aim 
 of the biographer to present a correct view of his subject's 
 labours in these several departments, and especially as he 
 was satisfied that upon these, next to a delineation of his 
 personal piety and individual character, most of the interest 
 
 and instruction of this volume must depend. How far he 
 1* 
 
Vi 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 has succeeded in doing justice to this portion of his work, 
 the public must determine ; but, at any rate, he has the grati- 
 fication of feeling that he has spared no pains to render it 
 as satisfactory as the materials within his reach would allow. 
 
 Does the reader demand from me any explanation of my 
 assuming the responsible task of preparing Dr. Fisk's biog- 
 raphy ? Possibly he may ; and, if so, he may please to ac- 
 cept the following : 
 
 When Dr. Fisk's illness assumed an alarming appearance, 
 some of his friends suggested to him the propriety of naming 
 a biographer. At first he declined, saying that nothing could 
 be said of him ; but, on being urged, he saw fit to designate 
 me, a nomination in which they concurred. I was at this 
 time away from home, it being our long vacation. As soon 
 as I heard of his danger, I hastened back without delay, and, 
 on receiving information of the selection which had been 
 made, I lost no time in conversing with him on the subject. 
 He was then so far gone that he spoke with great difficulty. 
 All his communications to me were made with his usual 
 modesty. He said he had kept no journal, had very few 
 papers relating to himself, and his letters were so much of a 
 business character that but few of them would be of service 
 in a memoir, and that he did not know that I should find 
 enough to make anything more than an article for a periodi- 
 cal. He concluded with committing the whole to my judg- 
 ment and determination. I also inquired if he had any man- 
 uscripts that could be printed. He replied, in substance, 
 none ready for the public eye, nor anything sufficiently ad- 
 vanced to be completed by another. At the same time, he 
 expressed a desire that it might be thought advisable to 
 compile a small volume from his published works that might 
 sell for the benefit of his family, as he left them very inade- 
 quately provided for. 
 
 I was also assured by Mrs. Fisk that she approved the se- 
 lection of a biographer. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 vii 
 
 To me this was a very onerous trust ; and, in addition, it 
 seriously interfered with my own plans and arrangements. 
 Nevertheless, under the circumstances, I did not feel at lib- 
 erty to decline. A regard for the memory of a great and 
 good man, and for those he left behind him, whom I hoped 
 to benefit, and who, consequently, receive an interest in this 
 work ; a sense of duty to the Church and to the public, and 
 the hope of promoting the glory of God, and the interests of 
 religion and philanthropy, were the motives, if I know my 
 own heart, which induced me to engage in the undertaking. 
 
 Complaints have reached us from different parts of the 
 country about the delay of this work, which render some 
 explanation on our part necessary. 
 
 The reader is already aware that at Dr. Fisk's death there 
 were scarcely any materials out of which to construct a biog- 
 raphy. He ought to know, also, that what there were did 
 not come into my hands until six months after Dr. Fisk's 
 death. On examination, I found that I had not even then 
 what would justify the undertaking. I used every exertion, 
 by public advertisements and private applications, to supply 
 the deficiency, tut did not satisfactorily succeed. Hence I 
 was obliged to undertake a journey to Vermont, and to Dr. 
 * Fisk's early fields of labour, in quest of information ; but this 
 I could not do until the summer vacation of 1840. Hence 
 I was not prepared to commence writing the work until Au- 
 gust or September of that year, and then a great portion of 
 what is now incorporated in it had not been received. It 
 should be remembered that the materials had to be procured 
 from every part of the country. Thus a great deal came to 
 hand after I had got past the place to which it belonged. 
 The discerning reader will easily see how all this increased 
 the perplexity and labour of the biographer. Very consid- 
 erable portions of the work had to be rewritten and remod- 
 elled. 
 
viii 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 Considering these things, and that the whole has been 
 prepared for the press, and the proof-sheets corrected in 
 about nineteen months, amid the indispensable duties of a 
 laborious station, the candid reader will judge whether there 
 has been any culpable tardiness in the execution of the 
 work. The author is more apprehensive of blame on the 
 opposite score. 
 
 One other point, perhaps, demands a passing word. It 
 was sometimes said in Dr. Fisk's lifetime, that, by his friends, 
 he was spoken of in terms of extravagant eulogy. To avoid 
 this charge, his biographer has endeavoured to keep his mind 
 and feelings in a subdued, impartial frame ; instead of de- 
 scribing his subject, he has endeavoured, as far as possible, 
 to present him to the reader in his own words and actions, 
 confident that the highest eulogy is to show him as he really 
 was ; and, having thus taken all the care he could to draw 
 out and fairly illustrate each distinctive feature, he has de- 
 clined the task of formally summing up his character at the 
 close of the volume. Such descriptions as he thought really 
 necessary to give completeness to his sketch, he has prefer- 
 red interspersing through the work. He trusts that this 
 method will not prove unsatisfactory to his readers. 
 
 I cannot close this preface without returning my grateful 
 acknowledgments to the numerous friends to whom I am 
 indebted for papers, information, and counsel in the prep- 
 aration of this work. Their assistance was indispensable. 
 The work could not have been prepared without it. I 
 would gladly render them my acknowledgments by name, 
 but the number is too great to allow of mentioning all, and 
 to name a few only might seem invidious. I must, there- 
 fore, .content myself with this general expression of my 
 gratitude. 
 
 The author's task is now done, how successfully is not for 
 him to decide. Considering the character of the work, it 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 IX 
 
 would, perhaps, be too much to expect that it should prove 
 satisfactory to all ; but he may be allowed to observe, that 
 any strictures that may be made upon it in the spirit of a 
 liberal friendship, shall in a like spirit be received : and for 
 the rest, he can only say that he has written in view of his 
 responsibility to his Church, his conscience, and his God. 
 As he has deeply felt his need, so he has earnestly sought 
 the Divine guidance in the progress of his labours ; and, 
 now that the work is closed, to the Divine blessing he com- 
 mends it, in earnest hope and fervent prayers that it may be 
 serviceable to the cause of truth and of spiritual Christianity. 
 Wesleyan University, April, 1842. 
 
 B 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Introductory Remarks . .17 
 
 Parentage ......... 18 
 
 Birth and Early Education 19 
 
 Youthful Piety 22 
 
 Academy at Peacham 26 
 
 Religious Declension 27 
 
 Collegiate Career 28-37 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Studies Law ......... 38 
 
 Mental Conflict 39 
 
 Views of the Ministry . . . . . . . 41 
 
 Residence in Maryland ....... 42 
 
 Sickness .......... 44 
 
 Returns Home ......... ib. 
 
 Reclaimed .45 
 
 Called to Preach 46 
 
 Ministerial Qualifications 51 
 
 Exercises on Preaching 57 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Craftsbury Circuit 59 
 
 Incidents 60 
 
 Letters .......... 63 
 
 Charlestown 66 
 
 Pious Resolutions 68 
 
 Christian Perfection 69 
 
 Correspondence . . . . . . . 76 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Charlestown continued ....... 86 
 
 Calumny 88 
 
Xii CONTENTS. 
 
 ' Page 
 
 Sickness 89 
 
 State of Mind 90 
 
 Returns to Vermont 92 
 
 Letters 91-93 
 
 Sketch of Character 94-96 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Indisposition . 
 Letters 
 
 Prosperity of Religion 
 Resumes Preaching 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Education 113 
 
 Incident at Brattleborough 116 
 
 Dedication Sermon at Danville . . . . .117 
 
 Origin of Zion's Herald 118 
 
 Letters 118-128 
 
 Marriage 129 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Dialogue 131 
 
 Universalism ......... ib. 
 
 Presiding Elder 133 
 
 Conduct in his Office 135 
 
 Letters 136 
 
 Incidents .......... 142 
 
 Traits of Character 143 
 
 General Conference of 1S24 145-152 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Presiding Elder continued ...... 151 
 
 Incident .......... ib. 
 
 Letters of Condolence 153 
 
 Mysticism .......... 156 
 
 General Lafayette 157 
 
 Perilous Incident ........ 158 
 
 Aid to Young Ministers . . . . . . .161 
 
 Traits of Character 162 
 
 Noble Conduct 163 
 
 97 
 
 98-102 
 109 
 . 110 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Xiii 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Wesleyan Academy at Wilbraham 164 
 
 Removal to Wilbraham . 165 
 
 Government of the School 167 
 
 Revival 169 
 
 Election Sermon at Montpelier, Vt 170 
 
 Embarrassments of the Institution 173 
 
 Era of Good Feeling 174 
 
 Theological Class 179 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Journey to Pittsburgh — Niagara Falls ..... 184 
 
 General Conference of 1828 186 
 
 Joshua Randell's Appeal . . . . ' . . . ib. 
 
 On the Death of Bishop George 190 
 
 Amusing Anecdote . . . . . . . .191 
 
 Election Sermon in Boston, Mass 192 
 
 Honours Conferred ib. 
 
 X Elected Bishop of Canada, and Declines .... 193 
 
 Made Doctor of Divinity 197 
 
 Letters .......... ib. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Controversy 202 
 
 Freemasonry ......... ib. 
 
 Universalism 204 
 
 J The Temperance Reformation ...... ib. 
 
 Sermon on the Law and the Gospel ..... 213 
 
 Letter of Rebuke 214 
 
 Official Conduct 216 
 
 Conversation . . 217 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 I Wesleyan University 218 
 
 Elected President 221 
 
 Letters . . 222 
 
 Sermon on Predestination and Election ...» 228 
 
 Valedictory at Wilbraham 229 
 
 Inaugural Address at Middletown 233 
 
 Occupations ......... 237 
 
 Letters m 239 
 
 v Address on Temperance ....... 242 
 
xiv 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Page 
 
 Predestination and Election 245 
 
 General Conference of 1832 24.7 
 
 Pew Question 248 
 
 Incident .......... ib. 
 
 Literary Convention — Study of the Bible in Colleges . . 250 
 
 Letter from Rev. Richard Watson 254 
 
 Honours Conferred 256 
 
 Correspondence 257 
 
 Ecclesiastical Union ........ 271 
 
 Address on Temperance 272 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Mission to Liberia 274 
 
 Translation of the New Testament into the Mohawk Lan- 
 guage .......... ib. 
 
 Oregon Mission 275 
 
 Calvinistic Controversy 285 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Official Conduct 294 
 
 Disinterestedness ........ 295 
 
 State of Religion in the University 296 
 
 Effect of his Exertions on his Health .... 299 
 
 Death of Judge Deming ....... 300 
 
 Efforts in behalf of Education 301 
 
 Theological Education ....... 305 
 
 Education Society 310 
 
 Eternal Punishment believed by the Jews . . . .317 
 
 Writings and Literature 319 
 
 Mode of Instruction 321 
 
 Intercourse with the Students 322 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Abolition Controversy 324 
 
 Unauthorized Transformation 325 
 
 Speech before the American Union 329 
 
 African Colonization 331 
 
 Ability as a Speaker 332 
 
 Address before the Bible Society in 1835 . . . 333 
 Dr. Fisk as a Preacher 335 
 
CONTENTS. XV 
 
 Prepares for his European Tour 338 
 
 Correspondence ......... 339 
 
 Honour Conferred 343 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Voyage to Europe ........ 344 
 
 Arrival at Liverpool and Dover ..... 347 
 
 Occupations in Paris 348 
 
 Letter from Pisa 349 
 
 Rev. Pierce Connelly , . . 353 
 
 Unity of the Church 354 
 
 Letter from Florence to a Lady . . . . . .361 
 
 Letter from Milan to Professor Johnston .... 363 
 
 Remarks on the Tour in Italy 367 
 
 Returns to England 370 
 
 Painful Incidents 371 
 
 British Wesleyan Conference 373 
 
 Visits Ireland and Scotland ....... 374 
 
 Separation of Christian Friends 375 
 
 Remarks on his Travels in England 376 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Voyage to New- York 383 
 
 The " Roscoe Herald" 385 
 
 Arrival at New-York . . . . . . . 386 
 
 Return to Middletown 387 
 
 Declines Consecration to the Episcopal Office . . . 388 
 
 Resumes his Duties .391 
 
 Christian Union 392 
 
 Revival in Middletown 393 
 
 Colleges and Academies • 394 
 
 Theological Education 396 
 
 Correspondence 397 
 
 Mr. Aaron C. Bangs 398 
 
 Unpleasant Occurrence — Hon. J. G. Birney . . . 400 
 Dr. Fisk writes and publishes his Travels .... 403 
 His Views of the Abolition Controversy .... ib. 
 Writings on the Subject ....... 405 
 
 New-England Conference of 1838 406 
 
 State of Health 407 
 
 End of the Controversy 
 
 An Advocate of Temperate Measures 408 
 
xvi 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Correspondence 408 
 
 Fourth of July Oration 414 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Commencement-day of 1838 416 
 
 Faithful Admonition . • 419 
 
 Traits of Character 421 
 
 Decline of Health 425 
 
 Visits New- York 426 
 
 Continues his Labours 427 
 
 Centenary of Methodism ib. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Rapid Decline of Health 436 
 
 Last Sickness ......... ib. 
 
 Scenes in his Chamber 437-453 
 
 Death 454 
 
 Conclusion 455 
 
LIFE 
 
 OF THE 
 
 REV. WILLBUR F I S K, D. D. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Parentage. — Birth and Early Education. — Youthful Piety. — Academy at 
 Peacham. — Religious Declension. 
 
 In a country where " nature, culture, and grace" issue the 
 only patents of nobility, the subject of pedigree can never 
 be one of great social importance. Nevertheless, such is the 
 power of association, that, when an individual rises to dis- 
 tinction, we find ourselves spontaneously inquiring, What 
 was his origin ? Who were his progenitors ? Nor is the 
 inquiry, in a moral and philosophical point of view, entirely 
 destitute of reason. Upon these things depend, in a good 
 degree, the first elements of character, and the earliest in- 
 centives to excellence. Human virtue, it is true, is not ne- 
 cessarily traditive ; yet we instinctively look for some cor- 
 respondence between the race and the individual, between 
 the sire and the son. We naturally expect a fair scion from 
 an excellent stock. In no other point of view is the ques- 
 tion of genealogy of any weight : for no earthly distinctions 
 can ennoble the morally vile ; while he that inherits quali- 
 ties that dignify any name, may look down with indifference 
 upon those adventitious distinctions that may belong alike to 
 the worthy and the unworthy, to the good and the bad. 
 
 These remarks apply to the subject of this memoir. His 
 ancestors were illustrious only for their virtues. He enjoyed 
 few advantages that are not within reach of the great bulk 
 of the middle class of people in the United States. He was, 
 properly speaking, a self-made man. Yet his talents, his 
 
 C 
 
18 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 virtues, his energy, and, above all, his deep and fervent 
 piety, which purified his affections, sweetened his disposi- 
 tion, and harmonized all his faculties, raised him to an 
 eminence, and secured him an influence, which very few 
 attain. We trust that his example, by the blessing of God, 
 will awaken in many hearts aspirations after similar excel- 
 lence. 
 
 When the interest of a life consists, in any considerable 
 degree, in its moral and intellectual aspects, parentage and 
 early education are not unworthy our attention. These ex- 
 ert an important influence over the future man. The child 
 is the man in embryo, morally and intellectually as well as 
 physically ; and whatever helps to mould the child is fraught 
 with interest to the student of human character and destiny. 
 This must be our excuse, if we need any, for entering with 
 some particularity into the parentage and early education of 
 our subject. 
 
 Willbur Fisk was born at Brattleborough, in the State of 
 Vermont, on the 31st day of August, 1792. His parents 
 were Isaiah and Hannah Fisk. He was descended in both 
 lines from that noble class of men who sought on the " wild 
 New-England shore" " freedom to worship God." The 
 first settlers in the paternal line were two brothers, named 
 Benjamin and Samuel, who established themselves in Rhode 
 Island. Family tradition says that, the former was governor 
 of the Colony of Connecticut ; the latter, from whom our 
 subject descended, was a practising physician. In that 
 quaint but learned, and, in many respects, interesting work, 
 Mather's Magnalia, mention is made of a Rev. John Fisk, 
 who, in company with a younger brother, emigrated to the 
 New World in 1637. He was followed by two other broth- 
 ers. There is some ground for supposing that these were 
 the above-named Benjamin and Samuel Fisk, and, if so, it 
 identifies our subject with a very virtuous and worthy race. 
 A strong family likeness, at any rate, exists between them. 
 The father of Mr. Isaiah Fisk in his earlier life owned and 
 commanded a coasting vessel, until the breaking out of the 
 war of the Revolution rendered his occupation too precari- 
 ous. He then sold his vessel, and bought lands in Guild- 
 
PARENTAGE. 
 
 19 
 
 ford, Vermont, the town* adjoining Brattleborough, where 
 he ultimately settled his family. 
 
 Mrs. Hannah Fisk's maiden name was Bacon. Her 
 grandfather Bacon came from England with his brother, 
 the Rev. Jacob Bacon, who was pastor of the church at 
 Plymouth, Massachusetts. Her mother's name was Will- 
 bur.f She was a lineal descendant of the Rev. Samuel 
 Mann, first minister of the town of Wrentham, in connexion 
 with which he is mentioned in Barber's Historical Collec- 
 tions of Massachusetts. She was married to Mr. Isaiah 
 Fisk on the second of March, 1786. 
 
 Willbur, named after his maternal grandmother, was the 
 second of three children, of whom the youngest, a boy, died 
 in his fourth year, and the eldest, Mary, is married, and re- 
 sides near her parents. From his birth he was a child of af- 
 fliction, being troubled with a scrofulous complaint, which at 
 three months old dried up, and left behind it that peculiar 
 cough which continued with him ever after. 
 
 He exhibited great precocity of mind and aptitude at 
 learning. A relative, who had the charge of his early edu- 
 cation, informs me that " she always found him a very amia- 
 ble, dutiful, vigilant scholar, always early to school and in 
 his place. He never failed to get his lesson correctly and 
 cheerfully, and was always kind and peaceable among his 
 school-fellows." She never " knew him speak a disrespect- 
 ful word to superiors, inferiors, or equals." It was also re- 
 marked that he was not like a child in his behaviour. His 
 understanding, his turn of thought, and his conversation, 
 were dignified beyond his years. 
 
 It was a blessing to be the son of such parents as Dr. 
 Willbur Fisk's. We might feel some delicacy in saying 
 much of them during their lifetime, but they have now at- 
 tained an age when they can be but little affected by the 
 voice of praise or censure. They have long accustomed 
 themselves to consult the approbation of One whose favour 
 is of infinitely greater moment than the approbation of a 
 
 * A town in New-England corresponds with what in some of the states is de- 
 nominated a township, 
 t This is the proper mode of spelling the name. 
 
20 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 fellow-mortal. They stand with their lamp trimmed and 
 burning, ready, whenever called, to enter, without fear, into 
 " the land of darkness and shadow of death." 
 
 By an unfortunate connexion in business in early life, 
 Judge Fisk was stripped of his patrimony ; but by industry 
 and frugality he accumulated sufficient for the purchase of 
 new land farther in the interior. He accordingly settled in 
 Lyndon, Caledonia county, within about forty miles of the 
 Canada line. In this county he has resided ever since, re- 
 spected and beloved by all who know him. He has receiv- 
 ed repeated proofs of the confidence of his fellow-citizens. 
 He has filled various important civil offices. For many 
 years he was chief-justice of the County Court, when the 
 office was more important than it is now under the revised 
 Constitution. He was not less than seventeen years, at in- 
 tervals, a member of the Legislature, and twice he was 
 elected a member of the Council of Censors.* Besides 
 these, he has filled various local offices, involving more care 
 and responsibility than emolument. Yet he has remained 
 comparatively poor, where many would have amassed a for- 
 tune* It was his maxim that no man ought to enrich him- 
 self on the spoils of the public : a maxim which, through life, 
 he has carried to a romantic extreme. 
 
 Judge Fisk and his excellent wife are, like Zechariah and 
 Elizabeth of old, " both righteous before God, walking in 
 all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blame- 
 less." They became early members of the Church of Christ, 
 and carried the influence of their piety with them, like their 
 worthy ancestors, into the wilderness. Springing from the 
 
 * This feature in civil polity is, I believe, peculiar to the State of Vermont. 
 The Council of Censors is composed of thirteen members, chosen once in seven 
 years by a general vote. Its province is to revise all the official acts of the le- 
 gislative, executive, and judiciary departments during the past seven years, with 
 power to send for persons, papers, and records. It can pass censures, order im- 
 peachments, and recommend the Legislature to repeal unconstitutional laws. It 
 investigates, also, the mode of imposing and collecting the taxes. Its power 
 lasts one year ; but it can call a Convention, if deemed advisable, within two 
 years after its session. Such a tribunal must be in the last degree important, 
 and ought to be composed of men combining Grecian intelligence with no less 
 than Roman integrity. — See Natural and Civil History of Vermont, by Samuel 
 Williams, LL.D. ; Walpole, New- Hampshire, 1794 ; p. 348, 349. 
 
't 
 
 EARLY TRAINING. 
 
 21 
 
 stock of the ancient Puritans, they inherited all their hardy 
 and useful qualities. To these virtuous sons of New-Eng- 
 land — the Scotland of America — we may apply Words- 
 worth's description of his hero's ancestors in the Excursion: 
 " Pare livers were they all, austere and grave, 
 And fearing God ; the very children taught 
 Stern self-respect, a reverence for God's word, 
 And an habitual piety, maintained 
 With strictness scarcely known on other ground." 
 
 Such were the forefathers of Dr. Fisk. The reader may 
 perhaps be reminded of the Duke of Sully's remarks, in his 
 Memoirs, on his own ancestry. " Whoever has such do- 
 mestic examples as these, cannot recall them too often to his 
 memory to animate himself to follow them. Happy if, du- 
 ring the course of my life, my conduct may be such that 
 # # # # tkey disdain not to acknowledge me, nor I have 
 occasion to blush that I am descended from them." 
 
 Mrs. Fisk was very assiduous in impressing upon the 
 minds of her children the great principles of Christianity. 
 She took them early and constantly to church ; made it a 
 particular business to read to them the Word of God ; re- 
 quired them to learn their catechism, and commit texts, 
 hymns, and prayers to memory. She had the happy art, 
 too, of rendering these things more a pleasure than a bur- 
 den. According to their capacity, she was almost constantly 
 stimulating them to thought and inquiry by her conversation 
 with them. Both parents were exemplary in the observance 
 of the Sabbath. They regarded it as a day strictly set apart 
 for religious uses, and hence the time not spent in public 
 worship was occupied in family instruction. They neither 
 paid nor received calls or visits on the Sabbath day. Yet 
 their piety was so mild and cheerful, and their household 
 governed with such uniform consistency, that the Sabbath 
 was far from being a dull or gloomy day. 
 
 From such a training the young Willbur naturally learned 
 to respect religion. He was thoughtful and conscientious J 
 yet he gave ample evidence of the natural corruption of our 
 moral powers. He was hasty, passionate, and self-willed. 
 He was naturally of an ardent temperament, and, though 
 generally mild and placable, yet at times he gave way to 
 
22 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 strong temper. Some proofs of this are still reserved in 
 memory by the family. Yet he was easily made sensible 
 of his errors, and deeply repented them. " Often," he says, 
 in a very brief sketch of his early life, " I have watered my 
 pillow with my tears for the sins I had committed, and fre- 
 quently have I feared to sleep lest I should awake in mis- 
 ery." This was when he was not more than four or five 
 years of age. 
 
 But it was not until his eleventh year that there seemed 
 to rest upon him any abiding religious influence. His mind 
 was then very deeply impressed by the death of his little 
 brother, to whom he was very tenderly attached. Standing 
 by the side of the corpse, he said to his sister Mary, " How 
 good God is to us ! He has taken our little brother away, 
 who needed no conversion ; but he has given us time to re- 
 pent." 
 
 His father, who recollects the circumstances perfectly 
 well, informed me that his convictions of sin now became 
 very deep, his faith in Christ was clear, and the change in 
 his feelings great and obvious. He was soon after received 
 on probation in the Methodist Episcopal Church, to which 
 his mother had belonged for some time. His father, though 
 a professor of religion, did not join this church for several 
 years after. 
 
 The tendency of mind towards a common level is evident 
 in piety. The individual is apt to catch the spirit of those 
 around him, and rise or sink to the prevailing standard. 
 Let the churches ponder this. It was favourable to Will- 
 bur's piety that the church he joined was composed of very 
 deeply-devoted and active Christians. The standard of per- 
 sonal religion was high, and well adapted to sustain the ele- 
 vated purposes of a young disciple. He became a striking 
 example of youthful piety. 
 
 It was not very long after this period before our young 
 friend gave indication of his future usefulness. His preco- 
 cious talents were early brought into requisition, in a way for 
 which no church affords such opportunity as our own. But 
 there is some danger with us of carrying it to an injurious 
 excess. He began early to pray in public, and to speak in 
 
MENTAL CHARACTER. 
 
 23 
 
 class-meetings and at love-feasts, and even to exhort after 
 preaching, which was then generally in a schoolhouse or 
 private dwelling. On these occasions the relation of his 
 Christian feelings was often peculiarly affecting. His zeal, 
 talents, and aptitude in speaking were such as deeply to im T 
 press the minds of all with an expectation of subsequent 
 eminence. 
 
 But it is time to pay attention to the formation of our sub- 
 ject's mental habits. Piety has more influence than many 
 are aware of on the development of the mental powers. 
 After the period of which we have spoken, his mind ap- 
 peared to expand very rapidly, and he manifested great 
 eagerness in the acquisition of knowledge. He would fre- 
 quently rise at three or four o'clock in the morning, that he 
 might have time to pursue his studies before the family were 
 up. When he went into the fields to work, it was his gen- 
 eral practice to carry a book in his pocket wherewith to 
 improve his leisure moments. It was often his lot to attend 
 to the fire of a lime-kiln ; and more than once he was so ab- 
 sorbed in his book as to let the fire go out. As it was some 
 distance from the house, to save the time of going to dinner, 
 he would sometimes open a potato-hill, and, washing the 
 contents in a brook, roast them in the kiln for his meal. 
 Thus he satisfied at once his physical and his intellectual 
 appetite. Such little things would not be worth notice, only 
 that in them we see the man in miniature.* 
 
 Young Fisk's early advantages, so far as schooling was 
 concerned, were very limited. From the age of seven to 
 sixteen he scarcely attended school altogether more than 
 two or three years. This was with him afterward a subject 
 of deep regret. In the little sketch of his early life already 
 alluded to, he says, " Thus the best part of my time for lit- 
 erary instruction was lost : a loss which I shall always regret, 
 as it can never be made up. I always consider these years 
 of my life as little better than thrown away. It is true, du- 
 
 * Of the character of his reading at this time, some glimpse was incidentally 
 afforded at a subsequent period. When it was proposed to introduce Smellie's 
 Philosophy of Natural History into the University course of studies, Dr. Fisk re- 
 marked, " I first read that book while attending a lime-kiln on my father's farm." 
 
24 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBDR FISK. 
 
 ring these years I read a number of authors, which served 
 to enlarge my ideas of men and things. But, as I had none 
 to direct my studies, and as, from the scarcity of good books, 
 I had but little opportunity of exercising even my own judg- 
 ment in a choice, my reading was very desultory, and in 
 many instances very unprofitable. Besides, during those 
 years in which the mind is hastening to its maturity, and in 
 which its movements and operations in future life are almost 
 irresistibly influenced, my employments and course of read- 
 ing were such as to scatter my thoughts, and induce a wan- 
 dering habit of mind that I never have conquered, and prob- 
 ably never shall. This habit of mind is a lamentable evil. 
 It greatly retards a man in his course of usefulness, and is 
 almost an unconquerable obstruction to devotion itself. 
 How little do parents and guardians realize the great injury 
 the young committed to their care are sustaining while their 
 minds are regulated by no fixed salutary rules, and their 
 studies are directed to no salutary end ! There are some 
 geniuses, it is true, which shine with an almost supernatural 
 light, unaided by regular culture ; and their flights might 
 have been retarded by a regular course of cultivation. But 
 even these would probably, on the whole, have lost nothing. 
 They would at times have coruscated less brilliantly, but 
 they would have erred less frequently. They would have 
 dazzled less occasionally, but they would have pleased and 
 instructed more uniformly. And it is certain most minds 
 need much regulating, restraining, arid directing to render 
 them as useful to themselves and others a.s they might be." 
 
 Yet it may be doubted if this be not too severe a judg- 
 ment. We must not confine our notions of education en- 
 tirely to the schoolroom. Much of the mental training, or, 
 at least, development, takes place by the fireside, at the 
 family table, in the field, and on the road. In short, mind 
 is formed by its daily contact with the minds around it. In- 
 telligence is infectious. You cannot live in the midst of it 
 without catching a portion. Young Fisk enjoyed advanta- 
 ges at home. The ideas, views of things, and principles 
 which he learned from his well-informed and thoughtful, 
 though not highly-educated parents, were such as to awaken 
 
LOVE OF NATURAL SCENERY. 
 
 25 
 
 thought and create a thirst for information. This made him 
 set a higher value on his subsequent advantages, and, con- 
 sequently, stimulated him to application. 
 
 Another particular had no little influence in shaping his 
 mental character. I allude to natural scenery. His pater- 
 nal dwelling is surrounded by objects which find a ready 
 response in the reflective mind, especially when accompanied 
 by great sensibility. The house is situated on a considera- 
 ble eminence, overlooking a wide extent of country. Around 
 it the tops of the hills are seen peering one above another, 
 like the caps of the ocean billows in a gale; while at the 
 distance of forty miles are discerned the summits of the 
 White Mountains of New-Hampshire, soaring majestically 
 till their heads are lost in the clouds. There is ample evi- 
 dence that young Willbur was deeply sensible of the beauty 
 and sublimity of the Creator's works. He would wander 
 off by himself for hours, traversing the woods, climbing the 
 hills, or tracing the windings of the rivulet. There is one 
 spot on the farm which was a favourite resort. It is the 
 summit of a sloping hill, perhaps two hundred feet high, 
 terminating on one side precipitously, and crested with a 
 lovely grove. Here he has sometimes been seen, unknown 
 to himself, lost in thought, or engaged deeply in soliloquy. 
 
 " In such communion not from terror free, 
 While yet a child, and long before his time, 
 He had perceived the presence and the power 
 Of greatness ; and deep feelings had impressed 
 Great objects on his mind, with portraiture 
 And colour so distinct, thai on his mind 
 They lay like substances, and seemed 
 To haunt the bodily sense." — The Excursion. 
 
 In the manner we have indicated, our subject passed along 
 "life's low vale" until he reached his seventeenth year. It 
 was now apparent, from the weakness of his constitution, 
 that he was ill adapted to the business of a farmer, in a state 
 of society where the farmer must depend chiefly on his own 
 hands for the tillage of his grounds. Besides, his eager 
 thirst for knowledge was such as very much to disqualify 
 him for laborious employments, and rendered him dissatis- 
 fied with his situation. Hence, in the winter of 1808, '9, 
 3 D 
 
26 
 
 LIFE OF W1LLBUR FISK. 
 
 his father sent him for three months to the county gram- 
 mar-school at Peacham, about twenty miles from Lyndon. 
 During this period, he observes, in the manuscript before 
 referred to, " I gained a tolerable knowledge of English 
 grammar and vulgar arithmetic, with which I was before but 
 little acquainted. I then returned to my former employ- 
 ment of cultivating the soil, and had no more opportunities 
 to attend to my studies, save what I enjoyed in my intervals 
 of labour, till the autumn of 1810, when I again visited the 
 grammar-school, where I remained about six weeks, and 
 then took charge of a district school to instruct for the win- 
 ter." 
 
 He had now tasted the sweets of knowledge, and he pined 
 for a deeper draught. He thus proceeds : " Ever since I 
 was at the grammar-school the first time, I was more dissat- 
 isfied and uneasy than before. I had got a keener relish 
 for study, had seen many fitting for the University, and had 
 learned at least some of the names of the sciences ; and I 
 had an ardent desire to give up all for this pursuit. But my 
 father's circumstances were such as would not authorize him 
 to undertake my support through a course of study. How- 
 ever, I found that many young men without property made 
 shift to support themselves mostly by their own exertions ; 
 and having, by much entreaty, gained my father's consent 
 to make the attempt, I began my Latin grammar in May, 
 1811." If I am correctly informed, though it is not men- 
 tioned in his hasty sketch, he returned now to the grammar- 
 school, and completed his preparation for college. 
 
 When young Fisk first went to Peacham, he excited no 
 little remark by the gravity and dignity of his carriage, so 
 uncommon in a youth of seventeen. He then struck every 
 one as unusually conscientious and devoted. But, unhappily 
 for himself, this feature of his character did not long con- 
 tinue. Under any circumstances, a course of education, by 
 developing faculties before unknown to their possessor, and 
 opening up views to which the mind was before a stranger, 
 presents peculiar temptations to the humility and simplicity 
 of a spiritual Christian. And this temptation must necessa- 
 rily be greater when the dominant influence of a school is 
 
ACADEMY AT PEACIIAM. 
 
 27 
 
 unfavourable to an evangelical temper. This was the case 
 at Peacham. Unfortunately, the state of religion in the town 
 was extremely low, and religious influence in the school was 
 unknown. The feelings appealed to were all worldly. Am- 
 bition, rivalry, and love of applause were the governing im- 
 pulses ; and by degrees young Fisk caught the contagion, 
 relaxed from his Christian spirit, and became as worldly 
 and ambitious as his associates. 
 
 There was at this time a good share of talent in the school, 
 and the spirit of rivalry ran high. As usual, the school was 
 divided into two parties, scholastic and political. By one 
 of these young Fisk was looked up to as leader, while Thad- 
 deus Stevens, since so well known in the political circles in 
 Pennsylvania, stood in the same relation to the other. These 
 two were, consequently, often pitted against each other, and 
 some stories are still told in the neighbourhood illustrative 
 of their respective talents and character. They both realized 
 the anticipations of their friends, only that young Fisk show- 
 ed at that period a warmth of temper and a desire of dis- 
 tinction which made his subsequent coolness and self-renun- 
 ciation more observable. 
 
 Though liable at times to strong excitement, he was gen- 
 erally remarkable for calm dignity and self-possession. Pru- 
 dence was another striking feature in his character at this 
 time ; and with this was combined a readiness and tact, that, 
 with a feebler sense of rectitude, would have degenerated 
 into cunning and intrigue. He was, likewise, very prompt 
 and ready in rejoinder. No emergency seemed to surprise 
 him, or find him off his guard ; and, withal, he had a deter- 
 mined self-will, bordering upon obstinacy. Once or twice 
 he came into contact with the trustees ; and it was amusing 
 to a spectator to see how he would keep his ground and 
 hold them at bay, until, unable to gain an advantage over 
 him, they would intrench themselves behind their official 
 dignity, and silence him when they could not convince. 
 
 He entered a good deal into society while at Peacham. 
 Among the young people he was much sought after, was 
 considered an excellent companion, entered with zest into 
 their various amusements, and was always characterized by 
 a vein of sly humour and fun. 
 
28 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 During this whole period his piety declined more and 
 more, until he lost all claim to spirituality. But he never 
 fell into gross sin, nor even lost the fear of God. He even 
 maintained some of his forms of devotion, and never gave 
 up secret prayer and reading the Holy Scriptures. Yet he 
 was painfully conscious of a heart alienated from God, and 
 dead to true religious feelings. Hence, when he was subse- 
 quently restored to his former enjoyment in piety, and even 
 after he had entered the ministry, he could not visit Peacham 
 without the most poignant sensations of grief and shame. 
 He remained a stranger to spiritual religion until some time 
 after he completed his collegiate career. 
 
 In the month of August, 1812, young Fisk entered the 
 sophomore class in the University of Vermont. Of his resi- 
 dence there we have but little knowledge, except what is 
 gained from his college exercises and a few private letters. 
 One of the latter, to his sister Mary, we insert, to show his 
 turn of mind and the warmth of his affections. 
 
 Burlington, May 16th, 1813. 
 
 "Dear Sister, 
 
 " This is one of those pleasant mornings so often described 
 by poets and writers of romances, in which nature seems to 
 have united all her beauties. The grove has, in part, assu- 
 med its green summer dress ; the grass of the pasture already 
 invites the grazing herds ; and the germinating fruit-trees 
 unfold their promising blossoms. The sun, 'with his golden 
 beams,' < looks o'er the dew of yon high eastern hill ;' 
 while the feathered songsters of the grove, warmed by his 
 influence, are already ' whistling their wild notes to the 
 wind.' The tented field below is covered with patriots, the 
 avengers of our country's wrongs ; the placid lake beyond 
 them exhibits a pleasing and majestic scene, while scarcely 
 a zephyr ruffles its surface. On the farther shore is seen the 
 cultivated farm and retired dwelling of the York cottagers ; 
 beyond the whole, the sensible horizon closes down upon a 
 long range of mountains, and terminates the delightful pros- 
 pect. Such an enchanting scene strikes me, I know not 
 how, with a feeling at once agreeable and gloomy. ' It is 
 
LETTER TO HIS SISTER. 
 
 29 
 
 like the memory of joys that are past, pleasing and mournful 
 to the soul.' It calls to my mind the happy hours which 
 you and I, my dear sister, have enjoyed together ; when, in 
 our innocent and childish pastimes, we have spent ' the 
 livelong day' in wandering, unrestrained, over the meadows 
 and through the groves, gathering at our leisure the wild 
 flowers which sprung up around us in spontaneous profusion. 
 With such mingled emotions, I look to find one with whom 
 I may converse, whose feelings are similar to my own. I 
 look in vain. I then am ready to curse my fates which have 
 separated me from you : for, knowing your natural disposi- 
 tion, your love of rural scenes, I am sensible that our feel- 
 ings would join in unison. But, since we are at a distance 
 from each other, when to meet again is uncertain, I improve 
 this only method which we have of conversing with each 
 other. Separation of friends and relatives has the good 
 effect of uniting them more closely together. Did we 
 always enjoy each other's company, we should not know 
 how to appreciate its worth. After an absence of several 
 months or years, how pleasing is the first interview with our 
 friends ! All our former affection is increased. This pleas- 
 ure I anticipate when I shall return once more to ( Lyn- 
 don's hills.' The time, however, looks at a considerable 
 distance. Perhaps it will not be until the foliage which 
 now begins to deck the grove shall have fallen to the 
 ground, nipped by chill November's frost. However this 
 may be, you shall frequently hear from me. It is entirely 
 owing to hurry of study that I have not written to you be- 
 fore. Besides our usual studies, I have written a funeral 
 oration since I came here, on the death of our classmate, 
 Mr. Gilbert. This for a number of weeks occupied my 
 spare hours. And, since I am writing to a sister, suffer me 
 to observe, that it was said, before the day on which that 
 oration was pronounced, an audience in Burlington was 
 never known to weep ; but on that day many a fair lady's 
 cheek was wet with tears. Think not I am an egotist, for 
 I should not have written thus to any other person. Our 
 appointments for Commencement are given out.* The part 
 
 * There was an exhibition of the junior class on the evening before Com- 
 mencement, in which he had a part, 
 
 3* 
 
30 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 I have is a poem ! ! No doubt you will be surprised at this, 
 but I presume not more than I was. What could induce 
 the authorities to think me a poet, I know not. You know 
 I sometimes dabble in rhyme, but you very well know also 
 that I am not enough of a poet to exhibit my productions on 
 the stage. For my own part, I feel very much embarrassed 
 with my appointment. But there is no reprieve. I must do 
 as well as I can. If I am hissed at, it will be no more than 
 I expect, or at least fear. I should be very happy if you 
 could loan me your poetical genius until Commencement. 
 However, as I shall not have a return from you soon enough, 
 I must use my own — if I have any. 
 
 " You will not, I suppose, expect me to write much con- 
 cerning politics to you. What are called politics at present 
 are so much handled by every one, that I think it hardly 
 worth while to fill up a letter with them. We have only to 
 take up a newspaper, and we shall see enough of them on 
 every page. Therefore, suffice it to say, I am still a friend 
 to my country, to 1 free trade and no impressment.' 
 
 " You have doubtless heard of the capture of Little York. 
 That, to be sure, is agreeable news ; but the loss of General 
 Pike in a great measure allays the joy of victory. It is 
 thought here that he was one of the best officers in the ser- 
 vice. He was born and educated in the army. He was 
 enthusiastically brave, but his bravery was governed by his 
 prudence and military skill." 
 
 Of his turn of mind and prevalent tastes at this time, some 
 idea may be formed from a list of the nine muses and the 
 annexed note found in his handwriting : 
 
 " THE NINE MUSES. 
 
 Melpomene . . The Tragic. 
 
 Thalia . . . The Comic. 
 
 Erato . . . The Lyric. 
 
 Terpsichore . . Presided over Dancing. 
 
 Clio . . • Presided ovpt History. 
 
 Euterpe . . . Presided over Music. 
 
 Calliope . • • Eloquence and Heroic Poetry. 
 
 Polyhymnia • . Singing and Rhetoric. 
 
 Urania . • • Philosophy and Astronomy. 
 
REMARKS ON THE LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 
 
 31 
 
 " If any of the within-named ladies will condescend to 
 initiate me into any one branch of the arts, or any of the 
 sciences which they patronise and preside over, I pledge 
 myself, as far as my duty to my God and my fellow-beings 
 will permit, to be her humble admirer and devotee all my 
 life. W. Fisk." 
 
 And, accordingly, he devoted himself to them all with 
 great assiduity, except Terpsichore and Thalia, though 
 Clio, Calliope, Polyhymnia, and Urania were most auspi- 
 cious to his vows. 
 
 The following paper also shows that he was forming lofty 
 aims for future attainments. It is dated 1813 : 
 
 " REMARKS ON THE LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 
 
 " Practices and Principles worthy of Imitation. 
 
 u First. His unremitting diligence in everything he under- 
 took. What more strongly augurs a great man than to see 
 a person, while young, devoting almost every moment of his 
 spare hours to study, and, when employed in his calling, pur- 
 suing his occupation faithfully and industriously ? 
 
 " Secondly. His care to improve his style. This ought 
 to be one of the first objects of a young man who is hoping 
 to rise to any degree of eminence and usefulness in life. 
 
 " Thirdly. His strict regard to his regimen. This, as he 
 himself relates, contributed much, not only to the preserva- 
 tion of his health, but also to the clearness of his ideas. 
 
 " Fourthly. His frugality and economy in managing his 
 pecuniary affairs. 
 
 " Fifthly. His benevolence to his friends. This, how- 
 ever, seems not worthy of imitation to the extent he prac- 
 tised it. We ought, indeed, to be always benevolent to our 
 friends, but we ought carefully to determine that they are 
 worthy of our beneficence. In this respect Franklin seems 
 not to have been sufficiently cautious, as he frequently be- 
 stowed his favours upon the ungrateful and the undeserving ; 
 but, as it arose from a good heart, it ought to be classed 
 among his virtues. 
 
 " Sixthly. His benevolence to all mankind. This is a 
 
 ♦ 
 
32 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 noble principle. "Whenever he saw a person in want, his 
 purse was always open for their assistance ; and not only 
 his purse, but his talents, were at their service. His various 
 publications, if attended to by the poor, would really place 
 them in the high ' way to wealth.' Under this head should 
 be mentioned his wish to assist young tradesmen just com- 
 mencing business, for which purpose he left by his testa- 
 ment two thousand dollars, to be loaned to young trades- 
 men at five per centum. 
 
 " Seventhly. His detestation of arbitrary power. This 
 excellent principle of Franklin's was admirably calculated 
 to recommend him to his countrymen, and led the way for 
 him to manifest one of his most noble and praiseworthy 
 principles, which was, 
 
 " Eighthly. His patriotism. Franklin's was a heart too 
 much the seat of every virtue not to be warmed by a love 
 of country. This appeared in every public act of his life. 
 To serve his country, he quitted the private walks of life, 
 and those literary pursuits by which he immortalized his 
 name. His influence and talents, which were very great, 
 were for a series of years wholly devoted to the interest of 
 his country. And so successful were his exertions, that, so 
 long as the love of liberty and independence animates the 
 bosoms of Americans, the name of Franklin will be revered." 
 
 The instruction at the University of Vermont was sus- 
 pended in 1813 by the clangour of war. A division of the 
 northern army, on going into winter-quarters, found it con- 
 venient to use the buildings of the University for barracks, 
 making " the peaceful votaries of Minerva give way to the 
 noisy sons of Mars." Compelled to seek another asylum, 
 our subject would have entered Middlebury College ; but, 
 on applying to Dr. Davis, president of this institution, he 
 was told that he could not expect to enter in the same stand- 
 ing at Middlebury that he had held in Burlington. Indig- 
 nant at this summary judgment without examination, and 
 not relishing the reflection upon a sister college, he left 
 Middlebury, and entered Brown University, at Providence, 
 Rhode Island. This, however, was not until the summer 
 of 1814. 
 
SKETCH OF HIS CHARACTER. 
 
 33 
 
 For the following sketch of young Fisk's character at this 
 period, I am indebted to the Rev. George Taft, rector of the 
 Protestant Episcopal Church at North Providence, R. I. : 
 
 " North Providence, August 10, 1840. 
 "Professor Holdich — Rev. and dear Sir, 
 
 " You request of me my recollections of the late Dr. Fisk, 
 president of the Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn., 
 to be used in a Memoir of his Life. Your request imposes 
 upon me a pleasant and a painful duty : pleasant, because 
 it leads me to review the happy days I have spent with him ; 
 painful, because those days are gone, never to return. I will 
 attempt its performance. 
 
 " Fisk was my classmate in Brown University. He came 
 among us during our junior year, and I think it was in the 
 spring term. He had previously been a member of the 
 University of Vermont, which was broken up in consequence 
 of its being in or near the seat of the late war between this 
 country and Great Britain. 
 
 " I was the first with whom he became acquainted in the 
 University. Our acquaintance soon ripened into a cordial 
 friendship, which grew stronger and stronger, until we sep- 
 arated on the day we graduated. Our intercourse was most 
 confiding. Removing every disguise, we disclosed our 
 minds to each other. Since our Commencement we have 
 had but few personal interviews. 
 
 " I take no credit to myself for becoming attached to him. 
 It would augur a strange obliquity in a man's moral nature 
 to know and not to be attached to him. The lover of virtue 
 must have been an admirer of him. 
 
 " My remarks must be confined to his college life. But 
 here a difficulty presents itself. It is difficult to point out 
 one section of the nocturnal sideral firmament more resplen- 
 dent than another. So it is difficult to point out the more 
 brilliant parts of his collegiate life, where all was brilliant. 
 He appeared advantageously in every branch of learning 
 taught in the University. There might, perhaps, have been 
 one who excelled him in the mathematics, and another in 
 the learned languages ; but there was no one so distinguish- 
 
 E 
 
34 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 ed in every department of literature and science. He was 
 a universal, and yet not a superficial scholar. I am persua- 
 ded that, if he had directed all the energies of his mind to 
 any one art or science, he would have rivalled the mighty 
 masters of any age. 
 
 " If he was more distinguished in one department of study 
 than another, it was the belles-lettres. He revelled and luxu- 
 riatedin Kaimes's Elements of Criticism. I remember, how- 
 ever, that he objected to this work the paucity of Scriptural 
 illustrations. The objection is a valid one. 
 
 " He possessed a nicely-balanced mind. All its faculties 
 were called forth and cultivated. No one was nurtured to 
 the neglect or injury of another. His imagination, luxuri- 
 ant, and naturally, perhaps, having the ascendency over the 
 other attributes of his mind, was subjected to a sound and 
 discriminating judgment, and an elegant and cultivated taste. 
 
 " He distinguished accurately between useful and useless 
 knowledge. His mind was not lumbered up with monkish 
 learning. .All his scientific and literary acquisitions were 
 practical, and designed to bless mankind. 
 
 " His was one of those rare minds that would powerfully 
 and lastingly impress those it carne in contact with ; and I 
 doubt not but that, in his high office of President of the Wes- 
 leyan University, he has fixed his image and superscription 
 upon many of the young gentlemen who have resorted thither 
 for education. It has been well remarked by some one, that 
 the teacher who does not leave his mark upon his pupils is 
 not worthy of his office. 
 
 " As a debater or extemporaneous speaker, he had no 
 equal in the class. He possessed the i copia fandi 1 in an 
 eminent degree. He poured forth a stream of rich and va- 
 ried thought, clothed in appropriate and beautiful language. 
 
 " His talent for description was extraordinary. In con- 
 versation and in composition, he has described an object so 
 true to the original, that I have had an idea of it as vividly 
 distinct as though it had been delineated on canvass before 
 me by the pencil of some mighty master of the graphic art. 
 Can language do more than this ? 
 
 il He had a fine taste for poetry. He repeated passages 
 
SKETCH OF HIS CHARACTER. 
 
 35 
 
 to good effect. His recitations were generally of the pa- 
 thetic character. Sure, never till my latest breath shall I 
 forget his repeating Montgomery's Grave. It was on one of 
 New-England's most beautiful autumnal days. The yellow 
 leaf was falling. A mild southwest wind was sighing among 
 the trees. His pathetic tones seem almost to be now ring- 
 ing in my ears. We mingled our tears as we spoke of the 
 grave. His mind appeared slightly tinged with melancholy. 
 
 " He sometimes tried his hand at original poetry. I re- 
 member that, for a college exercise in composition, he turned 
 into metre Mrs. Barbauld's prose hymn, beginning with, 
 ' Child of mortality, whence comest thou ?' and when he 
 read it before the class, we listened to it with pleasure. 
 This was high praise, for we knew the original. That ripe 
 scholar, the late Rev. Mr. Buckminster, of Boston, said he 
 would rather be the author of Mrs. Barbauld's Hymns than 
 of Newton's Principia. 
 
 " During our senior year, six of our class associated our- 
 selves together, and agreed to write and publish weekly in 
 the Rhode Island American (the most ably conducted paper 
 in the state) pieces after the manner of the British essayists. 
 We were all panting to be Spectators, and Ramblers, and 
 Adventurers, but had not the courage to adopt the style. 
 We met in grave debate about a name for our lucubrations, 
 and finally agreed upon that of Trifler. Our title was un- 
 pretending, and we meant, if we fell below Addison and 
 Johnson, it should be our protection. Fisk wrote a piece 
 on Quid Nuncs. It was much admired at the time, and, if 
 I remember right, it was copied into other papers. 
 
 " It was the practice in the college in our time, if a death 
 occurred in either the freshman or sophomore class, for the 
 classmates of the deceased to select one from the senior class 
 to pronounce a funeral eulogy on the occasion. During our 
 senior year a death took place in the sophomore class, and 
 Fisk was unanimously chosen to notice the event in a fu- 
 neral oration. This is evidence of the estimation in which 
 he was held by the lower classes. 
 
 " These are some of my reminiscences of Fisk's college 
 life. They are reminiscences at the end of many long years. 
 
36 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 To some they may not be spirit-stirring enough. Such must 
 be informed that the life of the secluded student does not 
 afford an opportunity for thrilling incident. That must be 
 sought in the life of the soldier and mariner. 
 
 " I have not attempted a delineation of his character. 
 That would require his own graphic pen ; and who is there 
 that wields such a pen ? All that I have endeavoured to do 
 is to state a few isolated facts, which may be of service to his 
 biographer in writing the history of his mind. 
 
 " Take him for all in all, Fisk was undoubtedly the bright- 
 est light in my class. It is painful to reflect that that light 
 is gone out in the fulness of its meridian splendour. I thank 
 God it shone so long, and that so many enjoyed and walked 
 in it. 
 
 " I had fondly cherished the hope of meeting him, on some 
 future day, in his academic halls and learned shades, and of 
 placing under his care a beloved son, to be trained up in 
 good morals and sound learning. This hope is disappoint- 
 ed. It remains for me to be prepared to meet him in heaven, 
 and to hold up his example before my boy for his imitation. 
 I know of no one I would sooner have him imitate than Dr. 
 Fisk. If God would give me such a son, I would bless him, 
 and ask no more." 
 
 In addition to his collegiate studies, Mr. Fisk availed him- 
 self of whatever other means of improvement were within 
 his reach. He read a good deal, and with judgment. He 
 was particularly fond of Burke, Addison, and Shakspeare. 
 He also acknowledged himself under no small obligation to 
 Johnson, though he never imitated his cumbrous and un- 
 wieldy style. He turned his attention also to natural and 
 international law, and read Vattel and Burlamaqui. He 
 made himself familiar with our chief masters of the lyre, 
 especially Milton, Young, Beattie, and Scott. He was 
 charmed with Moore, but called him a " golden bait;" and 
 of Byron's powers he was deeply sensible, but dreaded the 
 pernicious tendency of his writings. He also, as far as pos- 
 sible, availed himself of living aids, particularly in elocution. 
 The bar of Rhode Island sustained at that time a high repu- 
 
CLOSE OF HIS COLLEGIATE LIFE. 
 
 37 
 
 tation for oratorical talent. The Hon. James Burrill, with 
 David Howell, A. Robbins, B. Hazzard, Esqrs., and the late 
 Hon. Tristram Burgess, were the stars of chief magnitude. 
 He omitted no opportunity of hearing these gentlemen, and 
 for this purpose not unfrequently sat up most of the night to 
 get his lessons. 
 
 During this period he kept up no profession of religion, 
 and identified himself with no church. He was fond of so- 
 ciety, with which he mingled as much as his duties would 
 allow, occasionally attending places of fashionable amuse- 
 ment. He sometimes went where they profess to " hold the 
 mirror up to nature," and discovered, from observation more 
 than experience, that they rather hold out a pleasing bait 
 " to allure the young and unwary into vicious practices." 
 
 Having completed his course, he received from his in- 
 structed a sufficient token of their regard in having a dis- 
 tinguished part assigned him for the Commencement exer- 
 cises. This was the more grateful to his feelings after the 
 repulse he had met with at Middlebury. He was graduated 
 in August, 1815. 
 4 
 
3S 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Studies Law. — Mental Conflict, and Views of the Ministry. — Residence in Mary- 
 land. — Sickness. — Returns Home. — Reclaimed. — Called to Preach. — Ministe- 
 rial Qualifications. 
 
 The time had now arrived when it was necessary for Mr. 
 Fisk to determine in what manner he would employ his 
 talents and education. Next to marriage, the choice of a 
 profession is the most important incident in the secular his- 
 tory of a human being, and exercises the greatest influence 
 over his subsequent character and destiny. The decision of 
 this question cost him no little thought and anxiety. When 
 he commenced his course of study, his parents entertained 
 a hope that he would devote himself to the sacred office. 
 His own views were similar. Yet he was not educated for 
 this specific object. He had not a sufficient assurance that 
 he was " inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost to take upon 
 him the office of the ministry in the Church of Jesus Christ." 
 In pursuing his education, therefore, he followed what he 
 and his parents believed to be present duty, trusting that he 
 should be ready to obey the call of God, whatever it might 
 be. But we have already seen how much he declined in 
 religious feeling during this period, and, in consequence, his 
 convictions of duty to preach the Gospel very much abated. 
 Indeed, he had for some time entertained serious thoughts 
 of qualifying himself for a statesman. His turn of mind and 
 objects of study while in college, as we have seen, were 
 governed by this intention. Yet, as the period approached 
 when he must make his selection, he had many misgivings 
 and painfully conflicting impulsions. The necessity of com- 
 ing to a decision brought his thoughts into contact with a 
 subject which had long been painful to him. The thought 
 of what he had been, compared with what he now was, 
 racked him with agony ; and while his conscience pointed 
 out the path of duty, he was deeply conscious of a want of 
 spiritual qualification ; and, what was worse, religion had 
 
STUDIES LAW. 
 
 39 
 
 been so long alien to his feelings, that he felt no disposition 
 to take the proper steps for the improvement of his condi- 
 tion. In this painful state he knew not what to do. He 
 felt a great repugnance to the professions both of law and 
 medicine, so that at one time he entertained serious thoughts 
 of entering into mercantile business, and wrote to a friend 
 for his advice upon the subject. Finally, however, having 
 received a favourable offer from the Hon. Isaac Fletcher, 
 who had already attained considerable distinction in his pro- 
 fession, he entered into his office in Lyndon, and commenced 
 the study of the law. He applied himself to his legal stud- 
 ies with great assiduity, and immediately commenced laying 
 a foundation, deep and broad, for future usefulness. His 
 industry was indefatigable, and his perseverance unrelaxing. 
 With such force of character acting with his talents and ac- 
 quirements, he would no doubt have attained singular emi- 
 nence in his profession ; for it was his uniform practice, 
 when he entered upon any course, to throw his whole heart 
 into it. 
 
 Meantime, his excellent parents felt great solicitude for 
 him. His father's views may be seen from a passage in a 
 letter in answer to his son's inquiries of him, while in col- 
 lege, concerning the choice of his profession. He tells him 
 that he had had a secret hope that his religious emotions 
 would be enkindled anew, and that he " would feel that wo 
 that St. Paul speaks of if he preached not the Gospel." — (1 
 Cor., ix., 16.) And his pious mother observed to me while 
 speaking on this subject, " While Willbur was aiming at 
 becoming a distinguished statesman, I was all the time pray- 
 ing that he might be made a minister." Thus, through con- 
 flicting influences, he pursued for a time his thorny way. 
 
 But, though he was now pleasantly situated, and had flat- 
 tering prospects before him, his mind was ill at ease. In 
 hope of finding relief, he wrote to his friend and recent 
 classmate, Mr. Taft, stating his repugnance to the law, and 
 relating his exercises respecting the ministry. Thus he 
 writes : 
 
 " I still look to the ministry as the best situation for use- 
 fulness to myself and others. Usefulness to myself, not in a 
 
 * 
 
40 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 pecuniary point of view, for divines in this country have no 
 rich glebes and fat livings to support them ; but I consider 
 it as the most probable means of securing my present and 
 future happiness. Naturally proud, fond of the amusements, 
 follies, and honours of the world, it is almost impossible for 
 me to mingle with the multitude in any worldly employ- 
 ment without drinking into their spirit and joining in their 
 forbidden pleasures. I know that I am unqualified for the 
 important and sacred duties of a minister of the Gospel. 
 But there is a Being who can qualify me for the situation ; 
 and if it is a station I ought to stand in, I am confident He 
 will qualify me for it. If I conclude to study Divinity, the 
 next question will be, which of the numerous denominations 
 professing the Christian religion shall I take license under ? 
 The Episcopal Church is uppermost in my mind ; and as I 
 learn you have entered that order, I know of no one to 
 whom I could apply for information concerning that church 
 with a better prospect of receiving a candid and judicious an- 
 swer than to yourself. I wish, therefore, you would give me 
 what information you can respecting the Episcopal Church, 
 in some or all of the following points : How long must a 
 person study before he can commence preaching ? What 
 would be the cost to fit a person for the pulpit ? Where 
 and how could one in low pecuniary circumstances best 
 pursue his preparatory studies ? What openings are there 
 in the Church for novices in the profession ? What encour- 
 agement do ministers of that order meet with ? This last 
 question may perhaps induce you to think that I wish to ob- 
 tain the priest's office to secure my bread ; but it is not so ; 
 for this might be secured with much greater certainty, and 
 in greater abundance, by the profession of Law than Divinity. 
 I wish for a living in the Avorld with the rest of my fellows. 
 It is all that I expect." From a letter he wrote about the 
 same time to his favourite aunt, Mrs. Palmer, of Brattlebor- 
 ough, we gain a farther insight into his feelings. She had 
 expressed a hope that the ministry would be his choice. He 
 gives his reasons for deciding otherwise. They are want of 
 religions qualification, and the insufficiency of the remunera- 
 tion to enable him to aid his parents and sister as he wished. 
 
THOUGHTS ON THE MINISTRY. 
 
 41 
 
 The reader will see by the above extract the power which 
 conscience retained over him, and will sympathize with him 
 in the distressing strait into which he was brought. At the 
 same time, he will not fail to observe that his views were 
 far from being correct. His was not the spirit that cried, 
 " Necessity is laid upon me ; yea, wo is me if I preach not 
 the Gospel." It was a prudential matter. The choice was 
 to be first, and the qualifications were to come afterward ; 
 which is always a dangerous experiment, since it is unscrip- 
 tural, and unauthorized of Heaven. Nor, though he desired 
 to enter the ministry, did he base his inquiries on the single 
 ground appropriate to such a purpose. The question was 
 not, Which church possesses most of the " mind that was in 
 Christ," and comes nearest to the scriptural standard in 
 doctrine and discipline ? In which church can I do most 
 to honour God and save immortal souls ? But there were 
 many considerations having but a remote connexion with 
 ministerial obligation. Though conscience preponderated, 
 yet his views and aims were mixed. But pure, simple, un- 
 mixed motives are indispensable to the integrity of the 
 Christian minister. It needs a " single eye" in order to have 
 " the whole body full of light." There is fearful weight in 
 the words of a powerful writer of the age, " How little do 
 we consider the infinite mischief we occasion when we in- 
 dulge small motives in matters of religion."* The words 
 ought to be stamped in letters of living light on every Chris- 
 tian heart. It is utterly a fault to make the selection of a 
 church, and especially the choice of the ministry, turn upon 
 any considerations other than those strictly appropriate to 
 holy purposes. Especially in the ministry does this consul- 
 tation of minor interests tend to degrade it from its legiti- 
 mate elevation, and render it essentially secular and time- 
 serving. The primary object is then subjected to secondary 
 or tertiary. The claims of immortality must wait the bid- 
 ding of mundane interests and convenience ; whereas it is 
 one of the first lessons of the New Testament to subordinate 
 every claim, however endearing or imperious, to the claims 
 of Heaven ; for " he that loveth father or mother more than 
 * Saturday Evening : " The Church and the World." 
 4* F 
 
42 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 me is not worthy of me," and no earthly claims are greater 
 than those of consanguinity. These views are abundantly 
 sustained by the history of our subject. As soon as his own 
 soul was restored to a healthful religious condition, the point 
 was settled. His mind vacillated, and was dissatisfied so 
 long as it was under the power of conflicting motives. When 
 once he had learned to make all motives subordinate to the 
 grand aim, his solicitude was at an end ; he had no far- 
 ther anxieties upon that subject. 
 
 Though he still pursued the study of the law with interest 
 and satisfaction, he could not reconcile himself to the prac- 
 tice. Blackstone and Vattel were far pleasanter than Chitty 
 or Espinasse ; but it did not accord with his circumstances 
 to make reading law a mere luxury. Moreover, his college 
 course had involved him and his father in expenses, which 
 made it advisable to turn his education to immediate profit. 
 Hence, on receiving about this time, through President Mes- 
 ser, of Brown University, what he considered an advanta- 
 geous offer, he determined to relinquish his present situation, 
 though he did not yet fully decide on abandoning his in- 
 tended profession ; indeed, he continued to read law for 
 some time afterward. 
 
 We next find him in the family of Colonel Ridgely, near 
 Baltimore, employed as a private tutor. Many would have 
 thought his situation here very eligible ; but he was not 
 happy. Though treated with great politeness and attention, 
 in a wealthy, elegant, and hospitable family, everything re- 
 minded him that he was a stranger. His disposition was 
 naturally so affectionate, that he could hardly exist but in an 
 atmosphere of love and friendship. Without these, mere 
 courtesy and empty compliment were to him as the snows 
 of Spitzbergen to a tropical plant. Writing to his intimate 
 friend and townsman, the late Hon. Benjamin F. Deming, 
 he says, " My mind and disposition are such that I must 
 have some attachments, or, like the unsupported vine, I sink 
 to the earth; and, to continue the figure, if there is nothing 
 near to which my affections can attach themselves, like the 
 tendrils of the vine, they stretch forth to a distance, and 
 twine around the first object that will support them." Few 
 
MENTAL DISQUIETUDE. 
 
 43 
 
 states of the mind are more painful than that of conscious 
 sensibility without appropriate objects. This pain was no 
 doubt increased by the fact that he had lost the enjoyments 
 of true piety. That contraction of the sensibilities which 
 takes place under the withdrawal of religious influence oc- 
 casions a fearful stagnation of interest, unfavourable to even 
 amiability. Few states are more distressing. 
 
 " The keenest pangs the wretched find, 
 Are pleasures to the dreary void, 
 The leafless desert of the mind, 
 The waste of feelings unemployed." — Byron. — The Giaour. 
 
 Much of his leisure time at Oaklands (the name of Colonel 
 Ridgely's seat) was spent alone, and in the colonel's well- 
 stored library. One effect of his seclusion was that he was 
 led to commune much with his own heart. By this means 
 the impressions of his early life were renewed, though with- 
 out entirely regaining their ascendency. His feelings are 
 laid open, at this period, in his letters to his friends. While 
 at Brown University he had formed an acquaintance with 
 Miss Peck, whose image followed him in his banishment, 
 and for whom friendship ripened into a tenderer affection. 
 She is now his desolate and mourning widow. His corre- 
 spondence with her tended greatly to re-awaken and confirm 
 his religious feelings, and by her suggestions the subject of 
 the ministry was brought strongly before him. His mind, 
 however, was not settled, either as to his personal piety or 
 what church he should select. His correspondent recom- 
 mended to him Faber on the Spirit for the former, and 
 Hooker's Ecclesiastical Polity and the Christian Observer 
 for the other. She was a member of the Protestant Epis- 
 copal Church. 
 
 During all this period Mr. Fisk was in a very precarious 
 state of health. The reader will not have forgotten the 
 cough which had troubled him from infancy. Since the 
 commencement of his collegiate course he had had two se- 
 rious attacks of illness, one at Burlington, and another at 
 Providence. And now, in the month of March, a violent 
 cold developed alarming pulmonary symptoms, and ulti- 
 mately produced a copious hemorrhage from the lungs. 
 
 ■ 
 
44 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUIt FISK. 
 
 But a merciful Providence restored him from, apparently, 
 the brink of the grave. By the advice of his physicians, he 
 now gave up his situation as a teacher, and returned to his 
 native climate. What was more trying to him, was the 
 opinion of his medical advisers, that he would not be able 
 to pursue any profession that would require much exercise 
 of the vocal organs. Thus his cherished hopes and ambitious 
 projects appeared annihilated, and his education almost 
 thrown away ; but Providence had other ends in view. 
 
 He left Maryland on the 18th May, 1817, returning home 
 by way of New- York, Albany, and the lakes to Burling- 
 ton. Here he had farther trials awaiting him. God, who 
 " correcteth man for his iniquities," had yet again to use the 
 rod to prepare him for his proper destination. At Burling- 
 ton he had a renewed hemorrhage. He lay at the hotel, 
 where he was carefully nursed by his friends, and especially 
 by his townsman, George Cahoon, Esq., then a student in 
 the University, who left his studies and devoted himself al- 
 most exclusively to the invalid. His case was very alarm- 
 ing, insomuch that for a time little hope was entertained of 
 his recovery. The benevolent inn-keeper was distressed at 
 the thought of a young gentleman dying at his house, far 
 from his friends, and without any one to ascertain his pros- 
 pects on entering the world of spirits. He undertook the 
 office of his spiritual adviser, and, on inquiring into his state 
 of mind, received from his guest an assurance that he was 
 willing to die. But the question touched him to the quick. 
 He felt that his willingness to die arose, not from any assu- 
 rance of his interest in the Saviour, but only from disap- 
 pointment and dissatisfaction in life. The question was felt 
 more deeply, because the questioner should rather have 
 been his pupil than his instructer. He was not a professor 
 of religion, though a well-informed son of an officer in the 
 Congregational Church. This incident produced in our 
 subject " great searchings of heart," and wrung from him 
 the deep groans of an agonized spirit. As soon as he was 
 able to travel, his father, having been informed of his situa- 
 tion, came and conveyed him home, where he arrived on the 
 18th June, just one month after leaving Baltimore. 
 
RESTORED TO THE ENJOYMENT OF PIETY. 
 
 45 
 
 On returning to Lyndon a new scene of things awaited 
 him. The place was at that period favoured, under the 
 ministry of the Rev. Phinehas Peck, of the Methodist Church, 
 with a remarkable outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Young 
 and old, rich and poor, learned and unlearned, were sub- 
 jects of the work. Several of Mr. Fisk's personal friends 
 were among the number ; among others, the late Hon. Ben- 
 jamin F. Deming, and Mr., now the Rev. C. D. Cahoon. 
 The influence that pervaded the community was exceedingly 
 powerful, so that, as was supposed, one fifth of the inhabi- 
 tants professed justifying faith in Christ. Mr. Fisk had not 
 been long at home before his mind was deeply affected, and 
 all the associations of his early days returned with greatly 
 augmented power. His distress of mind at first was very 
 deep. " Never," says the Rev. Mr. Cahoon, " shall I forget 
 his sorrowful countenance, and the tears he shed while seek- 
 ing restoration to the favour of Him whose Spirit he had so 
 long grieved. No, never ; for the impression is as vivid in 
 my mind almost as it was when I saw the tears flowing 
 down his emaciated cheeks." 
 
 In this state of mind, though unknown to many, he con- 
 tinued several days. One Sabbath evening he remained, 
 after public service, at a conference-meeting. It was a time 
 of great interest. After many had risen to speak, to the 
 surprise of all arose young Mr. Fisk. He commenced in a 
 tremulous voice. He confessed his dereliction from early 
 principles and purposes, and avowed his determination to 
 return to Him "from whom he had deeply revolted," and 
 finally announced his belief that God for Christ's sake had 
 blotted out his sins, and again received him into favour. The 
 effect was electric. All felt an interest in him ; and to see 
 him, a young gentleman of interesting appearance, engaging 
 manners, finished education, blighted hopes, in delicate health, 
 now professing anew the feelings to which he had long been 
 a stranger, was highly exciting. He spoke himself with in- 
 tense emotion. Tears and sobs choked his utterance ; but 
 every broken sentence vibrated upon the chords of some 
 sympathizing bosom. A sensation pervaded the assembly 
 that scarcely left a dry eye in the house. Tears, sobs, and 
 
46 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBTJR FISK. 
 
 exclamations of thankful joy were heard in every direction. 
 He was now filled anew " with peace and joy in believing ;" 
 for he had heard the voice that had cried to him in various 
 painful dispensations, " Return, ye backsliding children, and 
 I will heal your backslidings ;" and he had said, " Behold, 
 we come unto thee, for thou art the Lord our God." And 
 now the Lord healed his backslidings, and loved him freely. 
 
 As soon as Mr. Fisk had entered into the u liberty of the 
 sons of God," he began to exert himself for the good of 
 others. He spent as much of his time as his strength 
 would permit in attending religious meetings and visiting 
 the awakened, and on every side the inquiry was heard, 
 " What shall I do to be saved ?" It is in this way that 
 Methodist ministers have ever been trained for active use- 
 fulness in their vocation. By corning into close contact with 
 the minds of the people, conversing much with them in their 
 ordinary language, and ascertaining their thoughts, wants, 
 and feelings, they were furnished with an abundant stock of 
 ideas upon the most important topics, and topics, too, the 
 most interesting to those who look upon the minister as an 
 agent of their salvation. And be it remembered, however 
 important academic or theological training may be to make 
 an " able minister of the New Testament," yet he will be 
 of little practical utility in the great business of Christianity 
 without an adequate training in this school of experience. 
 How, otherwise, can he learn to preach to the understand- 
 ings and feelings of the populace ? He may study books 
 and preach learned dissertations, but he will produce in his 
 hearers but little of the fruits of holiness. 
 
 It was now that he felt a renewed conviction of duty to 
 preach the Gospel. But the elements of this feeling were 
 different from what he had felt before he went to Maryland. 
 Now it sprang from a simple and intense love for souls. 
 " The love of Christ constrained" him. This was his ani- 
 mating impulse, the spring of his duties. Yet he was far 
 from making up his mind instantaneously or rashly. He 
 consulted his health ; he inquired with much prayer what 
 was the will of Heaven ; but his mind ultimately settled 
 down into the conviction that it was his duty to enter the 
 
EXERCISES ON THE MINISTRY. 
 
 47 
 
 ministry in the church in whose bosom he had been reared, 
 and by whose agency he had been reclaimed. But to come 
 to this determination twenty years ago required rather more 
 decision of character than it would at present, and a great 
 deal more in a person of Mr. Fisk's education and advanta- 
 ges than in many others. The same external action, though 
 designated by one name, does not always involve the same 
 internal elements. It depends on the nature and force of 
 conflicting motives, and you can estimate these only when 
 you fully understand the mind of the actor. For Peter the 
 fisherman, and the learned, elegant, and accomplished pupil 
 of Gamaliel, to become apostles of the humble Nazarene, 
 involved very different considerations. In all such cases, in 
 estimating the moral force exhibited, it ought not to be for- 
 gotten that the compass of motives is in the ratio of the 
 amount of mind.* 
 
 Moreover, the step he contemplated came into collision 
 with some of the tenderest and strongest feelings of the 
 heart. Miss Peck, to whom he was betrothed, was a mem- 
 ber of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and knew but little 
 of the economy of Methodism. She was of a slender con- 
 stitution, and had been very delicately brought up. He 
 was too honourable to involve her in difficulty and embar- 
 rassment without her knowledge, and therefore candidly 
 stated to her his convictions and circumstances. " When 
 you gave me," he writes to her, September 13, 1817, "when 
 you gave me an undivided heart, you knew not to whom you 
 gave it. If my health is restored, I expect I shall try, by the 
 assistance of Heaven, to preach the Gospel. I know not 
 what denomination I shall commence preaching among, but 
 think most probably among the Methodists. I shall make 
 this a subject of prayer, and entreat God to show me my 
 duty. If I am convinced that among this people I shall be 
 most in the way of my duty, with them I shall continue ; for, 
 though I could have a much better living with almost any 
 other denomination, yet I am determined to do my duty at 
 the loss of all things." In another letter (October 27), allu- 
 ding to some of Miss Peck's denominational scruples about 
 * Saturday Evening. 
 
48 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 their union, he says, " I should love you less if you felt 
 differently. You must certainly act conscientiously. Those 
 who come together from interest or passion make out to 
 get along, I know not how, without being united in prin- 
 ciple. Bat we must act differently. My friend may dif- 
 fer from me in principle and in form ; yet, if his heart is 
 right, I can still love him. I can give the right hand of fel- 
 lowship to my Christian neighbour, though we belong to 
 different churches ; but I wish the partner of my bosom not 
 only to worship the same God with me, but to kneel at the 
 same altar." On three points, especially, Miss Peck felt 
 dubious about the doctrines of Methodism, viz., final perse- 
 verance, Christian perfection, and human depravity. On the 
 last two her difficulties had been augmented by a discourse 
 recently preached in Providence, which was either very un- 
 guarded, or, which is at least quite as probable, had been 
 misconstrued. Thus he speaks of them : u I must frankly 
 tell you, that, with my present views, if I am a minister of the 
 Gospel, I must preanh the doctrines of holiness of heart and 
 the danger of falling from grace properly explained and un- 
 derstood. You must have misunderstood Mr. O., or he must 
 have misunderstood himself when he said he was perfectly 
 holy, and denied total depravity. Perfect holiness belongs 
 only to God. The Methodists hold to no such perfection 
 for men in this world ; nor do they believe that the perfec- 
 tion of glorified saints or angels, or that the purity of our 
 first parents in Paradise, can be attained here. But they 
 believe that ' Christ's blood cleanseth from all sin !' and that 
 this cleansing is effected in this world, or never.* They do 
 not deny that men are naturally totally depraved, but main- 
 tain the doctrine strongly ; and that, without the influences 
 of God's Spirit, man can no more think a good thought or 
 do a good act than he can create a world. So that I think 
 your previously-received impression must, inadvertently, 
 have misinterpreted Mr. O.'s expressions, which perhaps 
 were not clearly communicated. I could say something 
 upon the danger of falling from grace, but this may not be 
 
 * " The term sinless perfection the Methodists who understand themselves do 
 not use. It conveys to many a meaning which they by no means intend to in- 
 culcate." 
 
A STRANGE FRIEND. 
 
 49 
 
 interesting at the present time. Another opportunity may- 
 present itself. If you could obtain the fifth and sixth vol- 
 umes of Fletcher's Checks, or a little volume called Doc- 
 trinal Tracts, or some of the older editions of the Methodist 
 Discipline, and Wesley on Original Sin, you might get a 
 correct idea of the Methodists' belief respecting the above 
 doctrines, and perhaps get some ideas upon the subjects that 
 have not occurred to you." 
 
 But he had other obstacles to his purpose. His old col- 
 lege friends, when they heard of it, were astonished beyond 
 measure, and raised a violent outcry. One of these under- 
 took to write him a letter of expostulation, from which, it 
 seems, he was wonderfully at a loss to account for his friend's 
 determination, until the idea of ambition came to his relief. 
 " Fisk," he writes, "I know your ambition too well; it is 
 exorbitant. And here I can solve the enigma. I fear, like 
 the patron saint of your order, John Wesley, you have given 
 yourself up to a disposition to 1 rule in hell' rather than ' serve 
 in heaven !' " Alas for logic and common sense ! What 
 was there in the prospects of Mr. Wesley or Mr. Fisk at the 
 making of their choice to tempt ambition ? Both had be- 
 fore them the prospect of the highest eminence in a much 
 more elevated walk of life, and the former even the offer of 
 patronage and preferment in the National Church. Could 
 mortal foresight have divined that they would rise to their 
 subsequeat eminence and notoriety ? This mode of reason- 
 ing would equally convict the Jewish lawgiver and the great 
 apostle of the Gentiles ; for both renounced brilliant pros- 
 pects, and attained a much brighter fame in a department 
 where entire purity of motive and deadness to the voice of 
 fame were essential to success. His friend seems to have 
 had in view Caesar's willingness to be the first man in a vil- 
 lage rather than the second man at Rome ; but he forgot 
 that Caesar's ambition would not stoop so low while he had a 
 hope of being the first man at Rome. Mr. Fisk replied to 
 this singular billet of seven pages with dignity and good feel- 
 ing ; but, unfortunately, the letter is lost. But at the close 
 of it he told him that, as it was probable he would outlive 
 him (Mr. F.), if at any time he should chance to find in some 
 5 " G 
 
50 
 
 LIFE OF W1LLBUR FISK. 
 
 obscure place the " Itinerant's Grave," he might inscribe 
 upon it, if he saw fit, " There lies one who, like John Wes- 
 ley, the patron saint of his order, chose rather to reign in 
 hell than serve in heaven," but he must be sure to add that 
 this epitaph was written by his friend. This letter seems to 
 have moderated his feelings, as he replied in a softened tone, 
 and invited him to the village in which he resided, to be- 
 come reader in the Episcopal Church which he attended, 
 then destitute of a clergyman, where he might have a good 
 support until he should be ready to take orders. But he did 
 not yet understand the principles and motives of his corre- 
 spondent ; nor is it likely that he ever learned them, for he 
 lived but a few years, and they never met again. It is not 
 very strange, though worthy of observation, that this gen- 
 tleman, who predicted that Mr. Fisk would obtain neither 
 honour, profit, nor enjoyment in the course he had chosen, 
 should himself have lived in obscurity, and died unknown to 
 fame.* 
 
 * As Mr. Fisk's friend is not the only one who has alleged the sin of ambition 
 against Mr. Wesley, I insert in this note the testimony of one — a Christian, a 
 scholar, and a gentleman — who knew him well, and was well qualified to appre- 
 ciate him. I allude to Alexander Knox, Esq., the private secretary of Lord Castle- 
 reagh, and the bosom friend of Bishop Jebb. In his " Thirty Years' Correspond- 
 ence" with his friend, he says, " Now I speak of the Quarterly, how am I provo- 
 ked, in reading the first article, at those tasteless allegations of ambition and 
 vanity, on which the reviewer, leaving S. (Southey) behind, rings the changes 
 (nay, I might say, what ringers call a bob-major) on those supposed vices of my 
 old friend's character. "Why will they not see that the virtues which they ascribe 
 to him are incompatible with the vices which they seem to take pleasure in im- 
 puting 1 ' No man can serve two masters.' To suppose, as they 'do, that John 
 Wesley acted at one and the same time, in one and the same exertion, from love 
 to God and man, and a love which is just as opposite to these as a love of money 
 or of sensuality, is to imagine a monster in the moral world less credible than 
 the centaur in the natural. I wish I knew how best to stamp on this evidence 
 of reason my peculiar evidence of the fact, before I follow my venerable old friend 
 into that country where only as yet his worth and moment can be adequately 
 appreciated." — Letter 162. 
 
 Again: "My whole soul rises against these vile allegations of ambition and 
 vanity, above both of which my precious old friend soared as much as the eagle 
 above the glow-worm. Great minds are not vain ; and his was a great mind, if 
 any mind can be made great by disinterested benevolence, spotless purity, and 
 simple devotedness to that one Supreme Good in whom, with the united aiadrjci^ 
 of the philosopher and the saint, he saw, and loved, and adored all that was in- 
 finitely amiable, true, sublime, and beatific. How little do they know of the 
 human mind who could imagine such a spirit liable to the petty gravitations of 
 animal man."— Ibid., Letter 163. 
 
LICENSED TO PREACH. 
 
 51 
 
 Mr. Fisk now devoted himself to a course of study suited 
 to his sacred purposes. He re-examined his theological 
 system, and adopted no views without sufficient evidence of 
 their correctness. As an evidence of his solicitude and im- 
 partiality, we have the following fact : He had a friend, Mr. 
 David Gould, who had succeeded him in Mr. Fletcher's 
 office, was a member of the Congregational Church, and a 
 decided Calvinist. With this gentleman he opened a corre- 
 spondence on the points in debate between Calvinists and 
 Arminians, and carried it to a considerable extent. It was 
 intended purely as a trial of the merits of the case ; for he 
 distinctly avowed that, should his friendly opponent succeed 
 in maintaining his doctrines, he would adopt and preach 
 them. "Although," says Mr. Gould, "he failed to convince 
 me, he left on my mind no doubt that he was firmly and 
 conscientiously attached to his own opinions, and that he 
 would prove an able supporter of them." 
 
 During this period Mr. Fisk's health was gradually im- 
 proving, insomuch that in a few months he began to officiate 
 as an exhorter. Having, by suitable probation in this office, 
 given satisfactory evidence of his " gifts, grace, and useful- 
 ness," he was, on the 14th of March, 1818, duly licensed by 
 the Quarterly-meeting Conference of the Lyndon Circuit to 
 preach the Gospel. To a certain class of readers it may 
 appear that this indicates but a superficial qualification for 
 the work he was undertaking, and too much indifference to 
 theological knowledge. But there are few common topics 
 on which more or greater mistakes are made than on the 
 views of ministerial education held by the Methodist Church. 
 We do not mean to deny that the standard is too low, nor 
 need Ave explain how this arose. A conviction of the fact 
 the Church is exhibiting by her efforts to elevate it. Never- 
 theless, there are some things pertaining to this subject of 
 which the world in general is not aware, and which are 
 certainly deserving of consideration. In their method, as 
 given above, of " making proof of their ministry," since a 
 person's natural talents, energy, and piety are practically 
 tested, there is a strong guard against the intrusion of mere 
 drones into the sacred office. In the next place, the Rules 
 
52 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 of the Church are very strict and express in requiring mental 
 improvement in its ministers. The directions given to them 
 are contained in the Book of Discipline, at the 16th section 
 of the first chapter, and are as follows : 
 
 " SECTION XVI. 
 
 " Of employing our Time profitably, when we are not Travelling, or engaged in 
 Public Exercises. 
 
 " Quest. L What general method of employing our time 
 shall we advise ? 
 
 u Ans. We advise you, 1. As often as possible to rise at 
 four. 2. From four to five in the morning, and from five to 
 six in the evening, to meditate, pray, and read the Scriptures 
 with notes, and the closely practical parts of what Mr. Wes- 
 ley has published. 3. From six in the morning till twelve 
 (allowing an hour for breakfast), read, with much prayer, 
 some of our best religious tracts (works). 
 
 " Quest. 2. Why is it that the people under our care are 
 not better ? 
 
 " Ans. Other reasons may concur, but the chief is, because 
 we are not more knowing and more holy. 
 
 " Quest. 3. But why are we not more knowing ? 
 
 " Ans. Because we are idle. We forget our first rule, 
 1 Be diligent. Never be unemployed. Never be triflingly 
 employed. Neither spend any more time at any place than 
 is strictly necessary.' We fear there is altogether a fault in 
 this matter, and that few of us are clear. Which of us spend 
 as many hours a day in God's work as we did formerly in 
 man's work ? We talk, talk, or read what comes next to 
 hand. We must, absolutely must, cure this evil, or betray 
 the cause of God. But how ? 1. Read the most useful 
 books, and that regularly and constantly. 2. Steadily spend 
 all the morning in this employment, or at least five hours in 
 the four-and-twenty. 1 But I have no taste for reading.' 
 Contract a taste for it by use, or return to your former em- 
 ployment" 
 
 Does the reader inquire what is the range of studies con- 
 templated in these directions ? He may form some idea 
 
THEOLOGICAL TRAINING. 
 
 53 
 
 from the fact that Mr. Wesley himself wrote not less than 
 sixteen fair-sized 8vo volumes, including a Compendium of 
 Logic, and grammars of five different languages, besides run- 
 ning annotations on the entire Bible, and an extensive Com- 
 pilation on Natural Philosophy. In addition to these, he 
 published "A Christian Library," in fifty volumes 12mo, 
 consisting of selections from the best works, ancient and 
 modern, on practical theology. And if he will consider 
 that even these would be exhausted in a few years by the 
 above course, he will interpret the phrase " best religious 
 tracts" to include every kind of information needful to ren- 
 der the mind " thoroughly furnished unto all good works." 
 In fact, so it ever has been understood by our most eminent 
 and successful ministers. 
 
 It is a farther advantage in this plan that it is to end only 
 with life. The Methodist minister should never consider 
 his education completed, and then sit down in idleness. He 
 is to keep up a vigorous mental action by constant habits of 
 renovating study. And, lastly, which is not the slightest 
 consideration, his knowledge is to be gained for immediate 
 practical uses. This, in many points of view, is of great 
 importance. It contributes greatly to mental development. 
 The mind, to be vigorous, must be kept in a state of tension 
 by lively interest, and no interest is so lively as that which 
 springs from fully awakened religious sensibilities. It tends 
 not less to render the knowledge acquired efficient in the 
 improvement of the heart, since it is thus kept in close con- 
 tact with the affections. Where theology is not studied with 
 this view, where it is pursued only professionally or scientifi- 
 cally, the tendency must be deadening ; and that must be a 
 very defective theological training which develops the in- 
 tellectual faculties at the expense of the religious sensibili- 
 ties, since so much of the minister's usefulness depends on 
 the condition of his heart. Hence the truth and excellence 
 of the observations of Mr. Orme : ' 4 It is a matter of regret 
 that theology is often studied more with a view to the benefit 
 of others than of the student himself. It is pursued as a 
 profession rather than as belonging to personal character 
 and enjoyment. Hence it frequently produces a pernicious 
 5* 
 
54 
 
 LIFE OF "WILL-BUR FISK. 
 
 instead of a salutary effect on the mind, and debases rather 
 than elevates the character. Familiarity with Divine things, 
 which does not arise from personal interest in them, is to be 
 dreaded more than most evils to which man is liable."* 
 
 Nor ought we to omit the influence of the itinerant sys- 
 tem on the mental character. The limited resources of his 
 preachers led Mr. Wesley to adopt it, and the expedient 
 has proved a wise one. For economizing and distributing 
 the talent of the ministry, for giving constant impulse to 
 the mind, and for improvement in sermonizing, it has deci- 
 ded advantages. It can be easily seen, also, that an itinera- 
 ting minister has greater opportunities for enlarging his 
 mental stores than one who, being settled, has two or three 
 new sermons a week to prepare. To be sure, a man in 
 either case may become a drone ; but then a travelling 
 drone is, after all, preferable to a drone stationary. 
 
 The success of this experiment in the Methodist ministry 
 can scarcely be denied ; for, whatever opinion may be en- 
 tertained of their improvement in learning, no one will deny 
 that they have been eminently successful in enlarging the 
 boundaries of Messiah's kingdom. And, considering their 
 recent origin, and the nature of the work they have been 
 engaged in, they have probably contributed their full share 
 to the stores of human knowledge. We do not deny that 
 improvements may be made, nay, are imperiously demand- 
 ed, in our system ; but then it must be by addition, and not 
 by substitution. 
 
 As these observations seemed requisite to set our subject's 
 course and character in a proper light, we trust the reader 
 will excuse them. Such were, in fact, the views with which 
 he began his labours. Having an ample foundation of class- 
 ical, scientific, and general literature, he now devoted him- 
 self assiduously to the acquisition of theological knowledge. 
 Hi.? mind soon became impregnated with the sentiments 
 and spirit of our early ministers. His first sermon was de- 
 livered in the schoolhousef at Lyndon Corner, in the begin- 
 
 * Life and Times of Richard Baxter, vol. i., p. 8 ; London, 1830. 
 t The building, when I visited it, was in ruins, having been destroyed by fire 
 in the spring of 1840. 
 
CHARACTER AS A PREACHER. 
 
 ning of February, 1818. It was on the text, " Who is suf- 
 ficient for these things ?" — 2 Corinthians, ii., 16. The scope 
 of the sermon was to show the obligations, duties, trials, and 
 supports of the Christian minister, and greatly were the con- 
 gregation surprised at the deep, clear, and mature views 
 which he presented. To the Rev. Mr. Peck especially, un- 
 der whose labours he had entered anew upon the Christian 
 profession, it was a high gratification. He listened to him 
 with manifest surprise and delight. 
 
 Having thus commenced his work, he soon attracted great 
 attention. This might have been expected. His physical 
 advantages were decidedly superior. His person was good, 
 his manner agreeable, his countenance deeply expressive 
 both of intellect and devotion, and the effect was heightened 
 by his emaciated and sepulchral appearance. He also pos- 
 sessed a remarkably fine voice. Its compass and power 
 were not very great, but its pathetic tones extremely touch- 
 ing. " There was," says a gentleman, now a clergyman in 
 another church, who frequently heard him at that time, " a 
 zeal, a pathos in his eloquence which always touched the 
 youthful heart. He had certain tones of voice which all felt 
 accorded well with the story of Christ's dying love." His 
 sermons, even at this early period, were distinguished by 
 good sense, concatenated thought, clear exhibitions of evan- 
 gelical truth and duty, and were delivered in a style of great 
 pungency and power. All his discourses evinced a vehe- 
 ment desire for the salvation of souls ; and of his sincerity 
 there could be no doubt, for he was one of them 
 
 " Whose doctrine and whose life, 
 Coincident, exhibit lucid proof 
 That they are honest in the sacred cause." 
 
 No wonder that, with these qualifications, he rose rapidly 
 in public favour. Indeed, he soon stood forth pre-eminent 
 in acceptability and usefulness. It was a great beauty in 
 him that all this was without any apparent effort to be great, 
 or of consciousness that he was so regarded. He appeared, 
 as he really was, solely intent upon the fulfilment of his 
 commission. The impression made on his auditors harmo- 
 nized with an apostle's language, " We preach not ourselves., 
 
56 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 but Christ Jesus the Lord ; and ourselves your servants for 
 Jesus' sake." 
 
 His parents were now highly gratified, for the father's 
 wishes and mother's prayers were both fulfilled. Yet these 
 judicious and worthy parents never let their son discern the 
 height of their admiration. Nay, they took the utmost pains 
 to prevent him from feeling that he was an object of atten- 
 tion, and from forming a high opinion of his own powers. 
 For this purpose his mother especially, when he received 
 any commendation, would always name some defect ; or, if 
 his superiority was mentioned, she would suggest a compari- 
 son with one much before him in age and experience. In- 
 deed, the torrents of applause he received seemed to quicken 
 the good lady's perception of his faults to such a degree, that 
 the family really began to think that she had, after all, but a 
 slender opinion of her son's performances. The mistake 
 was corrected in a rather singular manner. One day she 
 received a letter from one of her sisters, informing her that 
 her son had become a minister, and expressing a wish that 
 she (Mrs. Fisk) could hear him, as she thought him an ex- 
 cellent preacher. When she had read this paragraph she 
 involuntarily placed the letter in her lap, and as with the 
 other hand she raised her spectacles from her eyes, she said, 
 with all the feeling of a mother, " Sister B. has never heard 
 my son !" The remark fell like a ray of light upon a dark 
 spot. It exhibited at once the rigid prudence of the humble 
 Christian, and the deep emotion of the admiring parent. 
 
 Some account of his own views of himself, and of his new 
 relation to mankind, is contained in the following extract of 
 a letter to his aunt, Mrs. Palmer, dated February 6, 1818 : 
 
 " Yes, strange as it may seem, your unworthy nephew has 
 commenced preaching. Next Sabbath will be the fifth time 
 that I have attempted to speak in public, in obedience to that 
 injunction which I think I feel laid upon me, ' Go preach the 
 Gospel.' Nothing but a sense of duty would have induced 
 me to undertake the arduous and highly-responsible duties 
 of the Gospel ministry. I may be deceived, but I think 
 ' necessity is laid upon me ; yea, wo is me if I preach not 
 the Gospel.' Yet I feel myself very unworthy, very inca- 
 
EXERCISES ON PREACHING. 57 
 
 pable of this office. I lack understanding ; I lack wisdom ; 
 above all, that wisdom that cometh from above. I have too 
 little devotion, too little piety. A minister of the Gospel 
 ought to be completely given up to the work. He ought to 
 have such an intercourse with Heaven that the world will 
 be all beneath his feet. He ought to have so much of the 
 spirit of his Master as to soar above the party spirit that too 
 much prevails among professed Christians, and not forbid 
 any that he may find casting out devils because they follow 
 not us." 
 
 We have already said that Mr. Fisk did not resolve on 
 devoting himself to the ministry without suitable considera- 
 tion and much inward conflict. Happily, we have an in- 
 sight into his inmost feelings upon this subject. It is afford- 
 ed by a paper containing his reflections, thrown into the form 
 of a dialogue between himself and his Divine Master, in 
 which his objections to the step are stated and answered. 
 This dialogue he once rehearsed, in the year 1838, as though 
 it related to another person, at a meeting which he attended, 
 of, I believe, the Preachers' Aid Society in the City of Bal- 
 timore : 
 
 "dialogue. 
 
 " Christ. Go preach my Gospel. 
 " Answer. But, Lord, I have other engagements. 
 " C. You are not your own ; you are bought with a price. 
 " A. But, Lord, I have been preparing myself for another profession. I have 
 been struggling for an education. I have high prospects before me, &c. 
 " C. What have you that you have not received 1 
 
 " A. Lord, I have strong domestic feelings, and I hope one day to have a fam- 
 ily and home of my own. 
 
 " C. He that loveth houses or lands, wife or children more than me, is not 
 worthy of me. 
 
 " A. Lord, I have aged parents, and I am an only son. Filial love and duty 
 require that I should look after them. 
 
 " C. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. 
 "A. Lord, is there no excuse 1 May not another answer 1 ? 
 " C. The gifts and callings of God are without repentance. 
 "A. At least, let me first stop and bury my father and mother. 
 " C. Let the dead bury their dead. 
 
 " A. At any rate, I must wait a while, and acquire some property, &c. 
 " C. He that putteth his hand to the plough and looketh back, is not fit for the 
 kingdom of Heaven. 
 " A. Lord, I cannot go. 
 
 H 
 
58 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 " C. Wo unto you if you preach not the Gospel. 
 
 " A. But, Lord, wilt thou not pity a poor helpless wretch, who begs for an ex- 
 cuse as one would plead for his life 1 
 
 " C. 'Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, 
 for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be made rich.' 
 
 " Here" (as he related the circumstance in Baltimore) " the 
 dialogue ended. The young man covered his face with his 
 hands, and bursting into tears, cried, 
 
 " ' Nay, but I yield, I yield.' 
 
 " The bond was signed and sealed, and the youth was con- 
 signed over, soul and body, to the Church. The next thing 
 I saw of him, he was threading a pathless forest among the 
 Green Mountains, bordering upon the Canada line, driving 
 his horse before him because of the roughness of the wilder- 
 ness, cheerful as an angel on an errand of mercy. And I 
 heard his song, with which he made the ragged mountain 
 tops that hung over his path reverberate ; and what, sir, do 
 you think it was ? 
 
 '"No foot of land do I possess, 
 Nor cottage in this wilderness, 
 
 A poor wayfaring man : 
 I lodge a while in tents below, 
 Or gladly wander to and fro, 
 
 Till I my Canaan gain. 
 
 Nothing on earth I call my own, 
 A stranger to the world unknown, 
 
 I all their goods despise ; 
 I trample on their whole delight, 
 And seek a city out of sight, 
 
 A city in the skies.' " 
 
APPOINTED TO CRAFTSBURY. 
 
 59 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Craftsbury Circuit. — Exposure and Incidents. — Letters. — Oharlestown. — 
 Resolutions. — Christian Perfection. — Correspondence. 
 
 Mr. Fisk's first field of labour was Craftsbury Circuit, at 
 the distance of about twenty-five or thirty miles from his fa- 
 ther's house. He was appointed to this place by the presi- 
 ding elder. Craftsbury is the seat of justice for Orleans 
 county. It contained an intelligent and respectable, though 
 small population. The state of religion was very low, and 
 Methodism was scarcely known except as a term of reproach. 
 
 It was in the month of April, 1318, that he took his de- 
 parture from his father's dwelling. The parting scene be- 
 tween him and his aged parents at the commencement of his 
 itinerant ministry was very affecting. He was not going to 
 be established in ease and comfort, in a respectable position 
 in society, with the confidence and esteem of the most influ- 
 ential on his side. He was to encounter the responsibilities, 
 the hardships, the meager support, the uncertain reception, 
 and certain obloquy of a Methodist minister, at a period in 
 the Church's history when the step he took required the 
 courage of a hero and the devotion of a martyr. But we 
 cannot describe the scene. The reader must imagine it ; 
 or, if he choose, he may find a description ready to his hand 
 in Dr. Fisk's sermon on the death of the Rev. Edward Hyde. 
 
 His preaching in Craftsbury was at first in a private d well- 
 ing, and afterward in the courthouse. He preached three 
 sermons the first week. But, not seeing immediate fruit, he 
 began to inquire, " Lord, hast thou sent me here ? Is my 
 work done ? Must I leave this people ? O what darkness ! 
 Why did I leave my friends, and come into this inhospitable 
 clime, where hearts are colder than the snow that covers 
 these mountains, and harder than the rocks that lock them 
 together ? I have mistaken my errand. O my God ! 
 strengthen me to fill my appointments, and I will then re- 
 
60 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 turn." But he preached with redoubled effort and power, 
 and in a short time the desire of his heart was given him. 
 A revival of religion broke out and spread through the 
 place, pervading all classes, and in a few months a respecta- 
 ble and efficient church was organized. A place of worship 
 was afterward erected, and it is now, and has been for many 
 years, one of the most prominent stations in that region. 
 The subjects of this revival were remarkable for constancy 
 and usefulness in their profession. Several became distin- 
 guished in the Church, and two, at least, have been for many 
 years engaged in the sacred ministry. 
 
 While in Craftsbury he was not less diligent in pastoral 
 visiting than faithful in the pulpit. His visits were not mere 
 formal calls : he sought the edification of his people. Yet 
 his religion did not make him ascetic : on the contrary, he 
 was cheerful, affable, and affectionate. He took an interest 
 in whatever related to his people, and by showing some in- 
 terest in trivial things, he found a readier access to their 
 hearts. Thus he gained the affection and confidence of all, 
 young and old ; for 
 
 " Even children followed with endearing wile, 
 And plucked his gown to share the good man's smile." 
 
 But it was the lot of our subject to suffer something from 
 the strife of tongues. The work of the Spirit, as might be 
 supposed, was designated by various hard names, while a 
 stanch supporter of the old order of things, being very in- 
 dignant and lachrymose at the recent innovations, exclaim- 
 ed, " That Fisk has been about here, and has undone in a 
 few months all that our minister has done in twelve years." 
 Some even made attempts to tarnish his reputation. But, 
 on the other hand, he was happy in possessing the friend- 
 ship and warm support of many of the most intelligent and 
 respectable people in the place. 
 
 We may here introduce one or two incidents illustrative 
 of Mr. Fisk's peculiar self-possession and promptitude. A 
 lady at whose house he often stayed was, unfortunately, sub- 
 ject to temporary fits of insanity. During one of these at- 
 tacks she one day rushed to him with a large, sharp-pointed 
 butcher's or carving-knife in her hand. Persons who were 
 
INCIDENTS. 
 
 61 
 
 present saw it and trembled. Stepping hastily up to Mr. 
 Fisk, she tore open his vest and shirt-bosom ere he was 
 aware, and placing the sharp point to his skin, said, " You 
 must die. You talk so much of Heaven, I am going to send 
 you there; for you are too good to live." Without quailing 
 in the least, he looked her calmly and steadily in the face. 
 She paused for some time, when, removing the instrument, 
 she said, " You are fit to live or die. We want such men 
 on earth, so I will let you live a little longer," and immedi- 
 ately left the apartment. The other incident is rather amu- 
 sing than otherwise. As he was one day preaching, this 
 lady sitting not far from him, he had occasion to use a pas- 
 sage from the parable of Lazarus, and misquoted it. " In 
 hell," said the preacher, " he lifted up his hell, being in — " 
 " Say eyes," exclaimed Mrs. C. Turning immediately to- 
 wards her, " Thank you, madam," he added, with a slight 
 inclination of the head ; " In hell he lifted up his eyes, being 
 in torment," and went on without the slightest perceptible 
 discomposure. 
 
 Craftsbury Circuit, like most others in that new region, 
 was very laborious. The country is rugged and mountain- 
 ous : many of the people poor ; and he often lodged where 
 he could count the stars through the crevices of the roof. 
 But he was no Sybarite. He never turned aside for diffi- 
 culties, unless they were absolutely insurmountable. In 
 some cases he was even imprudent in his efforts to meet his 
 appointments. In the winter of 1818, '19 (for he had been 
 admitted on trial into Conference, and reappointed to Crafts- 
 bury Circuit), he set out one morning, after a heavy fall of 
 snow, to ride about fourteen miles. The weather was ex- 
 tremely cold, the roads blocked up with snow, which had 
 drifted very much, and but one or two families resided with- 
 in the distance. He had a friend with him. On the road 
 their horse became completely exhausted, while himself and 
 his companion were chilled with the cold. In this condition 
 they were obliged to alight, tread down a path for the horse, 
 and lead him forward ; then beat down a path again, and 
 again lead the horse, and so on for several hundred yards, 
 till, weary and faint, they despaired of getting through. 
 6 
 
62 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 They then proposed to retire to an old barn not far distant, 
 for there was no house near, wrap themselves in their buffalo 
 skins, and await their destiny. This, however, was certain 
 death : it was equally so to remain. Summoning, therefore, 
 all their strength, they made another desperate effort, and 
 finally succeeded in making their escape. But the conse- 
 quence was that he was confined to his bed for several 
 weeks. Prodigality of life, where any good was to be ac- 
 complished, ever characterized our subject ; but he carried 
 it, in this instance, farther than prudence or duty required. 
 
 We have spoken of his amiable and obliging disposition. 
 We give a simple illustration of it. One day, I think the 
 same winter, riding with his sister Mary in a sleigh through 
 the unbroken snow, suddenly a voice reached their ears, 
 crying "Stop a minute!" And at the same instant was 
 seen a poor woman wading through the snow, and tossing a 
 bundle of yarn into the sleigh, begged them to leave it at a 
 house some distance on the road, as the snow prevented her 
 getting thither. They were much amused at the poor wom- 
 an's simplicity and assurance ; but Mr. Fisk observed, with 
 one of his pleasant smiles, " Well, Mary, if we can help this 
 poor woman a little, I believe it is all the good we can do 
 this snowy day." In the same spirit he would often accom- 
 modate persons with a seat in his chaise or sleigh, gain a 
 good deal of information from them as to the state of re- 
 ligion, society, &c, where they lived, always taking care 
 to drop some useful reflections, instruction, or reproof. 
 "Thus," he would remark, "though the seed is 'sown by 
 the way side,' some kernels might escape the devouring 
 birds, ; spring up, and bear fruit.' " 
 
 We now suspend our narrative for a short time to insert 
 a few passages from letters written by Mr. Fisk about this 
 time to Miss Peck. The first shows how completely his 
 earthly affections were subjected to his conscience : 
 
 " March 26, 1818. 
 
 " I know not what to think of your qualified consent. I 
 have received license in the Methodist connexion to officiate 
 as a minister of the Gospel. In such circumstances, it is a 
 
LETTERS. 
 
 63 
 
 duty I owe the connexion to wish to have my companion 
 worship at the same altar with me. * * * As a private mem- 
 ber of the Church, I think / could conform in many respects 
 to the customs and forms of any Church, and in a manner, 
 too, altogether improper in a minister. This you will admit; 
 but far be it from me to urge you into a conformity to my 
 modes and doctrines. And I agree with you in thinking 
 that we ought not to let our feelings rise superior to our 
 judgment." 
 
 In another letter he writes, " And what shall I do ? Has 
 not God answered my prayers ? Has he not blessed my la- 
 bours ? Then I mustcontinue among the Methodists, whatev- 
 er it costs me. My college friends reproach and ridicule me ; 
 the world persecutes, and — but hold, the Lord is good, and 
 I must obey Him. I have seen the haughty bowing, the 
 profane confessing, and the gay and airy forsaking their fol- 
 lies and pursuing the paths of piety. I am, then, in the way 
 of my duty ; and if I cannot find a companion that will unite 
 in the work heart and hand, why should I wish to take her 
 from her friends and her home ? If she is not hearty in the 
 work, she cannot receive that blessing in it that I feel." 
 
 To the Same. 
 
 "My Dear R., 
 
 " After waiting with no small anxiety for several weeks, 
 I have at length been gratified with an answer to my last. 
 I feared you were sick, and my forebodings have proved too 
 true. Surely you have been educated in the school of af- 
 fliction. O my dear girl, how do you support yourself under 
 your numerous sorrows 1 Support yourself ! That is im- 
 possible. ' The Lord supports the sinking mind.' And 
 how rejoiced am I, that, in all your afflictions, you have a 
 Saviour to go to for support and strength. O ! may you 
 always find him a present help in time of need ; so that you 
 may say with the apostle, ' As sorrowful, yet always rejoi- 
 cing !' I certainly sympathize with you ; and if I were 
 with you, how gladly would I bear a part in all your griefs. 
 But this pleasure is denied me, and it is only through the 
 
64 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 cold and tedious medium of epistolary correspondence that 
 I can communicate to you my feelings, or attempt to sooth 
 your troubled mind. But I go to the throne of grace, and 
 try to pour out my soul to the Father of mercies in your be- 
 half. O ! my tender-hearted and merciful Saviour, Thou 
 who, in the days of thy flesh, took delight in comforting 
 mourners and raising up the afflicted ; Thou who wast a man 
 of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; Thou who didst weep 
 with the mourners at Lazarus's tomb, hear, I beseech thee, 
 the prayers of thy unworthy servant in behalf of his absent, 
 afflicted friend : one whom Thou hast seen fit, in Thy wis- 
 dom, to pierce through with many sorrows ; one whom Thou 
 hast made to drink deep of affliction's cup. Sanctify unto 
 her the chastenings she has already felt, and pity her pres- 
 ent distress. If her only brother is yet a subject of prayer, 
 raise him, in mercy, from his bed of sickness, to be a com- 
 fort to his sister, and a support to his aged mother. But, 
 whatever thou hast determined, support them under all their 
 losses ; and may they be more than made up to them in the 
 better enjoyment of thyself. Wilt Thou, who art the wid- 
 ow's God, and a Father to the fatherless, grant that this 
 widowed mother, whose glass of life runs fastly to its finish, 
 and this fatherless child, may in faith anticipate that happy 
 day when the mother and the child, the sister and the broth- 
 er, shall meet on those shores of delight where they shall 
 unite in one continued scene of 'joy and gladness : sorrow 
 and sighing shall flee away.' O ! my friend, shall we ever 
 meet there ? Lord, grant that we may. Let this comfort 
 you. Do not, I entreat you, suffer your afflictions to cast a 
 gloom of heart-sickening melancholy over your mind. Some- 
 times I think, if I should see you now, your appearance would 
 be greatly altered ; I should see that countenance, once beam- 
 ing with smiles, pale, cheerless, and sad. But I mistake ; 
 the Christian is not so. He who has no hopes but in this 
 world's enjoyments may well be sad when he sees those 
 enjoyments leaving him. But religion, the heart-cheering 
 religion of Jesus, lights up a smile in the Christian's counte- 
 nance in the midst of affliction ; yes, my dear R. smiles 
 through her tears, and thanks her God for her hope of 
 Heaven." 
 
LETTER TO MISS PECK. 
 
 65 
 
 To the Same. 
 
 "April 29, 1818. 
 
 "My Dear R., 
 
 M Your letters of late are messengers of affliction. The 
 discontented mind, by way of complaint, is often inquiring, 
 Why are my afflictions so much severer than others'? But 
 the submissive mind, desirous to kiss the rod, is ever inqui- 
 ring under affliction, Lord, what lesson of heavenly wisdom 
 ought I to learn from this ? I trust, my dear R., that you 
 are of the latter class. And remember, that God designs, 
 by the afflictions he brings upon his children, not only to 
 teach them lessons of submission and obedience, but also to 
 illustrate and vindicate His providence and government to 
 others. When we see the humble, pious follower of Christ 
 borne down by a weight of affliction from the cradle to the 
 grave, while every stroke drives him nearer to his God ; 
 and when, on the other hand, we see the proud and impious 
 blasphemer enjoy a long life of almost uninterrupted pros* 
 perity, 1 nourishing like the green bay-tree,' what conclusion 
 are we to draw from all this ? Why, that the sanctions of 
 God's law, to wit, the rewards and penalties thereunto an- 
 nexed, are to be executed in another world. From which 
 we draw one of the strongest and most incontrovertible ar- 
 guments (aside from the Scriptures) in proof of the doctrine 
 of future rewards and punishments. Rejoice, then, and be 
 exceeding glad that your Lord and Master, whose cause 
 you wish to promote, has seen fit to make you the passive 
 instrument to illustrate His government and ' vindicate the 
 ways of God to man ;' at the same time remembering that, 
 wherein you are able in this way to be of service to the 
 world, your crown will shine the brighter in the world to 
 come. Let me ask, my dear friend, are you making advan- 
 ces in the Divine life? I can assure you I have of late felt 
 more and more the necessity of { growing in grace,' of hav- 
 ing a deeper work effected in the heart. Let us not be so 
 fearful of the expressions, ' perfect conformity to God's will,' 
 4 perfect love,' &c, as not to seek the thing which these 
 terms represent. I trust you are of that number that are 
 6* I 
 
66 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 ' looking forward and pressing forward.' I have seen so 
 many profess religion, attach themselves to some church, 
 and then settle down in an outward form of religion, and, 
 at the same time, into an inward and outward conformity to 
 the world, that it causes me to mourn for those who ■ have 
 a name to live while they are dead.' I have in this respect 
 suffered so much myself, and see my own danger so much 
 still, that it is the constant desire of my heart, Lord, give me 
 more religion. And this I am induced to do, not only that 
 I may love and serve God better, but also that I may be 
 more serviceable to others. And I think the Lord has, in 
 some measure, heard my prayers." 
 
 At the Lynn Conference of 1819, Mr. Fisk was appointed 
 to Charlestown, Massachusetts. This was a very trying ap- 
 pointment to him. The society was small, in every way 
 feeble, and embarrassed with debt. But he went to his 
 station, trusting only in Him who said, " Lo ! I am with you 
 always." 
 
 We insert the skeleton of his first sermon in Charlestown, 
 both as an evidence of the spirit in which he commenced his 
 labours there, and as a specimen of his mode of sermonizing : 
 
 " 'Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak : for I am a child.' — 
 
 Jeremiah, i., 6. 
 
 " In the case of Jeremiah, we see that of the Gospel 
 preacher at the present day. In examining the text with 
 the context, we shall notice, 
 
 " I. The call. L The Lord sanctified him from the 
 womb (v. 5). 2. He ordained him (v. 5). 3. He touched 
 his mouth, that is, qualified him, and gave him his commis- 
 sion (v. 9). 
 
 " II. The message. He was set over nations and over 
 kingdoms : 1. To root out and to pull down, and to destroy 
 and to throw down. 2. To build and to plant (v. 10). 
 
 " So the minister of the Word must pull down the strong- 
 hold of Satan's kingdom (2 Corinthians, x., 4, &c), and build 
 up the Church of God, &c. (Matthew, xvi., 19, and xviii., 18). 
 
 " III. The excuse. I am not qualified for this important 
 
SKETCH OF SERMON. 
 
 67 
 
 duty ; 1 1 am a child.' Young in years, young in experience, 
 young in knowledge, whom shall I meet with ? The old : old 
 in years, old in sin, old in the wisdom of the world. I shall 
 meet with the rich, with the noble ; with the scorner, with 
 the persecutor. 1 Who is sufficient for these things V Not 
 I. I am weak — I am a child. Ah, Lord God ! I cannot 
 speak. 
 
 " IV. The encouragement. 1. I send thee (v. 7). 2. I 
 have put words in thy mouth (v. 7) : see also Matthew, x., 
 16, 19, 20. 3. I am with thee, to deliver thee (v. 19) : see 
 Matthew, xxviii., 20. 4. I have made thee a defenced city, 
 and an iron pillar and brazen walls against the whole land 
 (v. 18). ' The servant of God is immortal till his work is 
 done.' 
 
 " REFLECTIONS. 
 
 u I. If God sends, how important the mission ! 
 
 "II. A faithful preacher must expect reproaches. 
 
 " III. But he has many encouragements ; and if these will 
 not make him bold, and plain, and faithful in his preaching, 
 let him at least remember this : ' Be not dismayed at their 
 faces, lest I confound thee before them' (v. 17). 
 
 " APPLICATION. 
 
 " My brethren, these considerations induce me to present 
 myself before you as a plain man in my doctrines, and bold 
 in my Master's cause. I received my appointment among 
 you with trembling. I was ready to say, 1 I cannot speak ; 
 I am a child.' But God, in his providence, said Go. I have 
 come ; and though I am but a child, I have come in that 
 ' name that is above every name.' Therefore, in my doc- 
 trine and exhortation I shall not spare. Ye aged, look not 
 upon my youth, nor disregard the message because it is de- 
 livered by a child, for it has the sanction of the Ancient of 
 days. Ye middle-aged, let not your pride of worldly wisdom 
 despise the simplicity of my message ; for, though I address 
 you not with enticing words of man's wisdom, yet I trust it 
 shall be ' in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.' Ye 
 youth, scoff not ; for this shall prove a savour of life or of 
 
68 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 death. May it prove a savour of life to all, for Jesus' sake. 
 Amen." 
 
 The following paper, dated June 30th, 1819, will show the 
 secret of his strength and success : 
 
 " Resolutions entered into for the better Improvement of my 
 
 Time. 
 
 " 1. I am resolved, so far as I can effect it, to retire at nine 
 and rise at five. 
 
 "2. I will appropriate one hour to my morning devotions. 
 
 " 3. I will allow one hour for breakfast, family devotion, 
 and such incidental circumstances as may demand my at- 
 tention. 
 
 " 4. I will write each day two hours. 
 " 5. I will spend two hours in some regular scientific or 
 literary study, which I shall adopt from time to time. 
 " 6. I will spend one hour in miscellaneous reading. 
 " 7. One hour for my devotions at noon. 
 " 8. One hour for dinner. 
 
 u 9. One hour (each day) in preparing my discourses for 
 the Sabbath. 
 
 " 10. The remainder of the day will be generally devoted 
 to visiting. 
 
 " 11. Whenever I am constrained, from any cause, to 
 break in upon my regular course, I will endeavour, as much 
 as possible, to prevent any loss of time by returning to it as 
 soon as may be, and then will attend to those branches that 
 my judgment dictates will be the most improper to neglect; 
 at all times remembering not to curtail my devotions and my 
 preparation for the Sabbath. 
 
 " 12. When, in the course of my various employments, a 
 passage of Scripture opens to my mind, or a striking thought 
 occurs to me, I will take the first opportunity to commit it to 
 writing. 
 
 " 13. In my devotions it shall be my particular business 
 to pray for a deepening of the work of grace in my heart, 
 and for a revival of the work of (God) in the town where I 
 labour. My usefulness can be secured only by the blessing 
 
CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 
 
 69 
 
 of God. Therefore, I must particularly pray for the Divine 
 assistance in all my labours. 
 
 " 14. I must not dine out on the Sabbath." 
 
 He adopted also a practice of noting down subjects that 
 occurred to his mind, for the purpose either of meditation, 
 or for discussion with his friends in private or in the social 
 circle. Thus I find, for instance, the following questions 
 as " subjects for consideration and inquiry : 
 
 M How far can any religion compare, taking into the ac- 
 count both the circumstances under which it was propagated 
 and the success with which it was crowned, with the Chris- 
 tian religion ? 
 
 " How far may those bodily exercises, with which many 
 religiously affected are influenced by, proceed from the im- 
 mediate operation of a good spirit, and how far from that of 
 a bad spirit ? and how we may be able to distinguish them." 
 
 Christian perfection is a tenet for which, more than any 
 other, the Methodist Church has endured the shafts of oppo- 
 sition and ridicule. Yet never, perhaps, have good and sen- 
 sible men, so much as in this case, thought themselves at 
 liberty to fight in the dark, and pronounce without any ade- 
 quate investigation. The truth is, this doctrine contains no 
 more than what the most devout Christians of every age 
 have believed and enjoyed. It is found in substance in 
 the ancient fathers, and in the reformers. It is clearly ex- 
 hibited in the most spiritual of the Roman Catholic Church, 
 from Thomas a Kempis to Fenelon and the Marquis de 
 Renty, and shone brilliantly in the chief luminaries of the 
 Anglican churches, such as Hooker, Herbert, Leighton, 
 Bunyan, Scougal, Doddridge ; and in our country I add 
 Dr. and Mrs. Edwards, Brainard, and Payson. Methodists 
 never contended for higher perfection than we find in these. 
 The chief difference between us and others, therefore, is the 
 use of terms. " But why, then, employ terms that are liable 
 to be misunderstood ?" To this we simply reply that we use 
 only the language of our common Text-book ; and we think 
 that great mischief has been done by " speaking in the 
 words which man's wisdom teacheth" instead of those 
 
70 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 " which the Holy Ghost teacheth." If, therefore, we use 
 Scriptural terms in the Scriptural sense, it is plain to see that 
 the controversy does not lie against us. 
 
 This is not the place for a theological discussion. Never- 
 theless, these preparatory remarks appeared necessary to 
 place our subject's subsequent history in a proper light. For 
 this reason, we trust the reader will excuse us if we intro- 
 duce for the same purpose a few remarks from a pen of 
 whose productions we have already availed ourselves. It is 
 the language of one who was not committed to any theory, 
 and who speaks rather as a philosopher than as a divine. 
 Mr. Knox, in one of his letters to Mr. Jebb, afterward Bishop 
 of Limerick, blames him for preaching in a way that would 
 be construed into an attack upon the Methodists. Thus he 
 proceeds : " Nay, the very point you aim at in them, I mean 
 their view of Christian perfection, is, in my mind, so essen- 
 tially right and important, that it is on this account particu- 
 larly I value them above other denominations of that sort. 
 I am aware that ignorant individuals expose what is in itself 
 true by their unfounded pretensions and irrational descrip- 
 tions ; but, with the sincerest disapproval of every such ex- 
 cess, I do esteem John Wesley's stand for holiness to be 
 that which does immortal honour to his name. # * # # In 
 John Wesley's views of Christian perfection are combined, 
 in substance, all the sublime morality of the Greek fathers, 
 the spirituality of the mystics, and the Divine philosophy of 
 our favourite Platonists. Macarius, Fenelon, Lucas, and all 
 of their respective classes, have been consulted and digested 
 by him ; and his ideas are essentially theirs."* 
 
 * " Thirty Years' Correspondence," Letter xix. — That the reader may see that 
 Mr. Knox had good reason for making his closing assertion, I subjoin the follow- 
 ing citations from two of the authors he has named. The first two are from the 
 Homilies of Macarius, a Christian writer of the fourth century, born at Thebais, 
 in Egypt, and died at Scetis, aged ninety years : 
 
 " But the unsteady and unskilful, whenever grace operates, imagine presently 
 they have no more sin ; whereas they that have discretion cannot deny that 
 even we, who have the grace of God, may be molested again with evd thoughts. 
 For we have often had instances of some among the brethren that have experienced 
 such a degree of joy and grace as to affirm, that for five or six years running they 
 had no sin in them ; and yet, after all, when they thought themselves freed en- 
 tirely from it, the corruption that lurked within was stirred up anew, and they 
 were wellnigh burned up." — Homily ix. 
 
CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 71 
 
 Mr. Wesley, therefore, was neither an inventor nor dis- 
 coverer in theology. His merit consisted chiefly in four 
 things : First. He popularized these sublime subjects, and 
 brought them within reach of ordinary minds, and showed 
 that to be attainable by all which had been regarded as the 
 privilege of a favoured few. Secondly. He adopted a more 
 Scriptural phraseology, and one less liable to be perverted 
 to sinful indulgences. Thirdly. He pointed out more clearly 
 the mode of its attainment. Fourthly. He brought that to 
 an immediate issue which had been previously spread out 
 over a long space, perhaps a lifetime. This is of no small 
 importance. Setting a definite object before the mind for 
 present attainment wonderfully quickens the faculties, and 
 stimulates one to much more vigorous efforts than when the 
 object is distant, vague, and uncertain. It was owing to 
 these things, in no small degree, that a great elevation was 
 
 Again : "As a stone in the bottom of the sea is every way surrounded with 
 water, so are these (mature Christians) every way drenched with the Holy Spirit, 
 and made like to Christ himself, possessing unalterably within themselves the 
 virtues of the power of the Spirit, being blameless within and without, and spot- 
 less and pure ; for, being brought to perfection by the Spirit, how is it possible 
 they should outwardly produce the fruits of sin 1 But at all times and in every 
 instance do the fruits of the Spirit shine brightly out in their whole deportment." 
 — Homily x. 
 
 Thus far Macarius. Let us now hear Dr. Lucas. After having explained the 
 nature of Christian perfection, he proceeds to answer objections : 
 
 " It may be objected against the account I have given of the growth of virtue, 
 that, when I come to the maturity of it, my colours are too bright, my strokes 
 too bold, and the form I have given it too Divine. * * * To this I have several 
 things to say. First. I have described the Christian's spiritual progress in the 
 same manner, and as near as I could, in the same words which the Scripture 
 does. Secondly. I do not pretend anywhere to assert that there is any state in 
 this life raised above trials and temptations. Thirdly. As the world now goes, 
 perfection is a state we arrive at very late,* and all the way to it full of labour 
 and travail, full of dangers and difficulties ; so that, upon this account, the life 
 of man may well be said to be a perpetual warfare. But, fourthly, I do by no 
 means affirm that the perfect man is incapable of improvement. Of this I shall 
 have occasion to unfold my sense more fully afterward." I have cited this pas- 
 sage, that the reader may perceive that in the objections and the answers to 
 them there was a strong resemblance, though not a perfect identity, between 
 Mr. Wesley's views and those of the pious and sightless prebendary of Westmin- 
 ster. But they differed in regard to the mode of attainment, as they did also in 
 regard to that of conversion. 
 
 • •• True," tayi Mr. Wesley, in the " Christian Library," " but it is our own fault." 
 
72 
 
 LIFE OP WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 given to the piety of the Wesleyan Societies. But to pro- 
 ceed. 
 
 On the 10th of August Mr. Fisk attended a camp-meet- 
 ing at Wellfleet, on Cape Cod. This meeting was signal- 
 ized by remarkable displays of Divine power in the awaken- 
 ing of sinners and sanctification of believers. The subject 
 of our narrative had many exercises of mind on the subject 
 of Christian perfection, but was not, when he went to the 
 meeting, under any special concern about it. But while 
 there his attention was strongly interested in it, especially 
 under a sermon by the Rev. Timothy Merritt, on the baptism 
 of the Holy Spirit. He became deeply sensible of his want 
 of full conformity to the Christian standard ; he sought 
 earnestly unto God through the blood of the atoning sacri- 
 fice ; and in the course of the meeting he obtained that 
 " perfect love" that " casteth out fear." His religious emo- 
 tions now acquired a wonderful intensity and elevation. 
 One who was present at the time says, " His language and 
 whole appearance had something in it more than human, 
 most manifestly indicating that his soul then glowed with 
 ardours of love nearly allied to those of angels. The next 
 morning he preached on growth in grace, when the impres- 
 sion made upon the audience was deep, awful, glorious. 
 His beautiful classic style, vivified with fire from Heaven's 
 own altar, never appeared to better advantage. He poured 
 forth a full soul in ' thoughts that breathe and words that 
 burn.' "* 
 
 * There is some resemblance between the case of Mr. Fisk and that of the 
 excellent Mr. Herbert, as related in his Life by Izaak Walton : On taking orders, 
 it is said, "The apprehensions of the last great account that he was to make for 
 the cure of souls made him fast and pray often, and consider for not less than a 
 month. * * * And in this time of consideration he endured such spiritual con- 
 flicts as none can think but only those that have endured them." — "And at length, 
 when, at his induction, he was shut into Bemerton Church, being left there alone 
 to toll the bell (as the law directs), he stayed so much longer than an ordinary 
 time before he returned to those friends that stayed, expecting him at the church 
 door, that his friend, Mr. Woodnot, looked into the church window, and saw him 
 prostrate on the ground before the altar ; at which time and place (as he told 
 Mr. Woodnot) he set some rules to himself for the future manage of his life, 
 and then and there made a vow to labour to keep them." From this time he 
 exhibited such uncommon sanctity that he has ever been distinguished as the 
 " pious" or the " divine" Herbert. 
 
EFFECTS OF THE DIVINE BLESSING. 
 
 73 
 
 Some effects of his late exercises of mind are not unwor- 
 thy of notice. His views of the Divine Being, and especially 
 of the power, glory, and fulness of Christ, were almost over- 
 whelming. He felt such a horror of sin, and had so great 
 an apprehension of the purity of the Divine law, that he 
 " almost," to use his own strong language, " feared to set 
 his foot on the ground lest he should do wrong." Familiar- 
 ity with these views would necessarily abate somewhat the 
 intensity of his feelings. But other effects became perma- 
 nent. Previously to this he had often doubted, not only his 
 interest in Christ, but the truth of the Christian religion ; af- 
 terward, never. From this time he has been heard to say 
 that he never laid his head upon his pillow without feeling 
 that, if he never waked in this world, all would be well. 
 Prior to this he was often subject to desponding, gloomy 
 seasons ; we heard him say long afterward that he knew no 
 gloomy hours ; his mind was always serene and happy. 
 This may have been owing, in part, to that admirable bal- 
 ance of mind which characterized him, and on which our 
 mental enjoyment so greatly depends ; but it was matured 
 and confirmed by that equal balance of the moral faculties 
 which the efficient spirit of Christianity produced. 
 
 Writing to his sister some time after, he says, " I have 
 found, my dear sister, much consolation of late in that reli- 
 gion which I profess. God has been pleased to brighten 
 my evidence of acceptance with him. I have been enabled 
 to say, ' 1 have not a doubt; I feel it so.' I have dedicated 
 myself anew to the Lord and to his ministry. Though I 
 love you, my sister, and my dear parents, if possible, better 
 than ever, yet I have felt such a complete devotedness to 
 the work in which I am engaged, that those ties which have 
 hitherto given me pain are loosed. Most willingly do I de- 
 vote all to God, and rejoice in the service of such a Master. 
 I look back upon my past life, upon my follies and my wan- 
 derings, and wonder at the mercy that has spared me, and 
 at that Providence that has protected me. O that I could 
 love this Saviour more and serve him better !" 
 
 To the Rev. Phinehas Peck he says, in a letter about the 
 same date, " O ! my brother, I could write pages on this 
 7 K 
 
74 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 subject ; but I must forbear. I thank God that I ever saw 
 this day. I love our Church better than ever. How glad 
 am I that I never left it, and how thankful that they never 
 cast me off when backslidden from the cause ! How grate- 
 ful am I to you for all your fatherly concern and care for my 
 soul. I pray God to reward you in heaven. I want to see 
 you more than ever, and all my Christian friends in Vermont. 
 O, encourage them to go on. Let holiness of heart be the 
 motto. My dear brother, will you preach it — in the desk, 
 in the class, and from house to house ?" 
 
 Mr. Fisk's labours at Charlestown were very successful. 
 His congregations were quite large and respectable ; but 
 this, with his usual modesty, he ascribed to the unhappy 
 state of the other churches, which were at variance with 
 their ministers, and whose members therefore came in 
 crowds to hear him. But, instead of congratulating him- 
 self upon this, he writes to his father, " If these difficulties 
 should be satisfactorily settled, our congregations will prob- 
 ably be considerably diminished. However, we do not 
 wish to build ourselves up on the ruins of others. We wish, 
 for the good of the cause in general, that these disturban- 
 ces may cease." Let such ever be the spirit of a Christian 
 minister. There is work enough for all ; and if all work 
 together in harmony, there will still be far too much left 
 undone. 
 
 But his labours were not confined to Charlestown. This 
 was a year of eminent prosperity to our Zion, and in many 
 of the adjacent towns a delightful state of religious inter- 
 est existed. Mr. Fisk was always ready to aid in this work 
 as he had opportunity, and everywhere his labours were 
 gladly received. 
 
 An incident which occurred about this time in one of his 
 visits to Lynn, illustrates the effect of his preaching, as well 
 as his self-possession and presence of mind. He was preach- 
 ing on the words, " He that is not with me is against me, 15 
 &c. A person was present who had made an engagement 
 to go on a pleasure excursion to Nahant, but, on hearing 
 who was to preach, deferred it until afternoon. When the 
 text was announced, he comforted himself with the thought 
 
REMARKABLE CONVERSION. 
 
 75 
 
 that the sermon would be to professors, and that none of it 
 would apply to him. But he soon found, from the view the 
 preacher was taking of his subject, that he was mistaken. 
 At length the preacher said, " There are no neuters in this 
 war : 1 he that is not with me is against me, and he that 
 gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.' " When these 
 words were pronounced, they were like an electric stroke. 
 He thought (and thought aloud, for, unconsciously, he spoke 
 the words), " Good God ! is this my case ? Am I an ene- 
 my to thee and opposed to thy cause ?" He trembled, sigh- 
 ed, and would have fallen from his seat had he not been 
 supported. The attention of the congregation was arrest- 
 ed, and many thought he was taken in a fit. The minister 
 paused, perceived his situation, left the pulpit and went to 
 the pew, conversed and prayed with him, and then went 
 into the pulpit and resumed his discourse to a congregation 
 who were as silent and solemn as the shadow of death. 
 Mr. A. continued a few days in distress, but was brought to 
 experience peace in believing in Christ Jesus our Lord. 
 An astonishing change took place in his whole deportment : 
 he gave an evidence of real and deep piety. He lived a 
 holy and happy life for one year, and died a peaceful and 
 triumphant death ; and in twelve months from the Sabbath 
 of his conviction, in the same house, was his funeral sermon 
 preached by the Rev. Enoch Mudge, from Zech., iii., 2 : 
 "Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire ?" 
 
 While the subject of our narrative was growing rapidly 
 in the esteem of the Church and the public, it is delightful 
 to notice his deep humility. In his familiar letters to his 
 nearest friends there is not to be found a single expression 
 indicative of conscious superiority, nor any of those expres- 
 sions by which, under a thin veil of modesty, many contrive 
 to eulogize themselves. He had a low estimate of his piety. 
 " I do feel an evidence," he says, " that Jesus is my friend. 
 I know it is nothing in me ; for I have an humbling sense 
 of my past wanderings and my present unworthiness. O, 
 that I could ever lie at the foot of the cross, and adore that 
 Saviour who has done so much for me ! I say so much; for, 
 though I discover my attainments to be but small to what 
 
76 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 they might have been if I had not buried my Lord's talent, 
 yet they are large compared with my deserts. "What shall 
 I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me ? I will take 
 the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord." 
 
 And again : " My preaching seems not to be attended 
 with that power I could wish. The people are too easy un- 
 der the word. I have a wish to see the word preached 
 ' sharper than any two-edged sword.' O that God would 
 make me more faithful in the ministry and more successful. 
 I know not that I could exert myself more than I do. I 
 endeavour to be in season and out of season." # # # " But 
 faith is too weak in all I do. Too few listen to the sound 
 of the Gospel. O my God ! what shall I do to save souls ?" 
 
 And again, in the little sketch of himself before spoken 
 of, written probably about this time, he observes, " My 
 greatest affliction on this subject is, that the people where I 
 labour, and my brethren in the ministry, from a knowledge 
 of my having had the advantage of a public education, ex- 
 pect more of me than they find in me. They find many 
 others, with not half my advantages, go before me in the ex- 
 cellence and usefulness of their performances. And the 
 greater their expectations, the greater their disappointment, 
 and the lower I sink in their estimation. But this is good 
 for my naturally ambitious heart. It enables me to take an 
 instructive lesson in humility of him who has said, 4 Learn 
 of me, for I am meek and lowly.' Lord help me to 1 be- 
 come a fool that I may be made wise.' And if I glory in 
 aught, let it be in my infirmities." 
 
 The following letters belong to this period of our subject's 
 life. 
 
 "Feb. 11th, 1819. 
 
 "To Miss Peck. 
 
 # # # " Unless, by the grace of God, I get the victory over 
 those corruptions, and am liberated from that burden of sin 
 of which you complain, I never expect to meet my God in 
 peace. I fear we, many of us, rest short of the Christian's 
 standard. 1 There is, therefore, now, no condemnation to 
 those that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, 
 but after the spirit.' Permit me, my dear R., to ask, Is it 
 
LETTER TO MISS PECK. 
 
 77 
 
 a necessary part of the Christian experience to feel sin mix- 
 ed with all that we do ? Are we not taught to believe that 
 * whosoever committeth sin is of the devil ?' I do not men- 
 tion this to prove that a Christian never sins, but to show 
 that sin is of the devil, and it is the Christian's privilege to 
 be free from its condemning power. But you are freed, you 
 think, by the imputed righteousness of Christ. Ah, my dear 
 R., what are we to understand by this ? Will you ask your- 
 self the question, ' What do I mean by the imputed right- 
 eousness of Christ V and see if you can find a satisfactory 
 answer. Do you mean that Christ's obedience to the law 
 is imputed to you, whether you are obedient or not ? This 
 is the rankest Antinomianism, and, it is believed, cannot be 
 supported by the Scripture. Take care that by such doc- 
 trine you do not strengthen the hands of the Universalist, 
 who under this plea dreams of Heaven, while living in 
 open rebellion to God. But perhaps you will say, 1 We 
 must strive to obey and if we do, shall we not, through 
 Christ, be enabled to succeed ? Can we not 1 do all things 
 through Christ that strengtheneth us V Has God taught us 
 to pray, ' Lord, create me a clean heart, and renew a right 
 spirit within me,' and yet taught us not to expect that this 
 prayer will be answered ? Is f Christ's blood sufficient to 
 cleanse from all sin,' and yet never applied for that pur- 
 pose ? My dear friend, I do not ask you to go to the wri- 
 tings of any learned doctor in divinity to learn the blessings 
 of the Gospel — go to some humble and devout soul, that 
 has experienced them in full. Go to your Bible, and there 
 learn that Christ wills you not to bondage, but to liberty. 
 Go to your God, and pray for victory over your enemies — for 
 an abiding witness of the spirit — for that perfect love that 
 casteth out all fear. I mention not these things to establish 
 any particular doctrine, but that you may enjoy all that is 
 your privilege. I know, if you were freed from the shackles 
 of education, your pious, Heaven-born soul would, by God's 
 assistance, emerge from the thraldom of inbred corruption 
 into the glorious liberty of the sons of God, and sing ex- 
 perimentally, 
 
 ' 0 glorious hope of perfect love, 
 It lifts me up to things above.' 
 
 7# 
 
78 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 "But I shall dwell too long upon this interesting subject. 
 May God help us both to reflect upon it, and search the 
 Scriptures to see if these things be so." 
 
 " Craftsbury, 23d April, 1819. 
 
 " To a Lady. — My dear Sister, 
 
 " You have, no doubt, often inquired, 1 Why is it that 
 God, while he is cheering others with the sunbeams of his 
 presence, has seen fit to envelop me in darkness ? "Why 
 am I left to that sickness of the heart which arises from 
 hope deferred V I have made this same inquiry, even on 
 my knees, while pleading with God in your behalf. ' Lord, 
 why is it that our sister must suffer so much ? Why must 
 she go mourning from month to month, and no lasting ray of 
 comfort beam upon her soul ? " Is there no balm in Gilead ? 
 Is there no physician there ?" Was "religion ever designed 
 to make our pleasures less V Was it not given to make 
 the soul happy ? Why, then, does it not, in this instance, 
 have its designed effect ? As a proof of the efficacy of thy 
 Gospel ; as a proof of the excellency of the pleasures of re- 
 ligion over those of the world ; as a mark of thy benevo- 
 lence towards the work of thy hands, to render happy a 
 poor trembling soul, dependant on thy mercy, appear in 
 mercy to our sister, and whisper peace to her soul.' To 
 these prayers I receive something like the following an- 
 swers : ' Short-sighted mortal ! To prove the efficacy of my 
 Gospel, if any other proof were wanted besides my revealed 
 Word, you have many witnesses even in this place and 
 among this people. These can, most of them, testify to the 
 excellency of the pleasures of religion over those of the 
 world. As to my benevolence towards my creatures, the 
 countless mercies that I daily bestow upon them establish it 
 beyond the necessity of farther proof. You have proof of 
 my good- will even in the case of her in whose behalf you 
 plead. To what is it owing but to my mercy that she is 
 now out of hell ? Why has she any desire, more than she 
 had in former years, to flee the wrath to come, but because 
 I have granted unto her the gracious influences of my Spirit ? 
 You plead for her that she may enjoy happiness, and 
 
LETTER TO A LADY. 79 
 
 • 
 
 spend the days of her sojourning here with joy. It is true 
 my religion^vas given to man for his enjoyment: Not bare- 
 ly for thJ enjoyment of the moment, but for his lasting good, 
 his eternal happiness. "My people are a tried people." ^ 
 t They "come up* through gre^t tribulation, and (thus) wash # 
 their robe^, and make them white in the blood of the Lamb." 
 This subject of your prayers is in my hands ; she is under 
 my particular providence. I am not a stranger to her sighs. 
 I count her tears, and mark the throbs of her anxious breast. 
 If she continue to struggle with the waves, if she keep her- 
 self unspotted from the world, if she attend faithfully to , 
 her duty, these shall not be in vain. Know ye not the prom- 
 ises : " Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be com- 
 forted." "Blessed are ye that weep now, for ye shall laugh." 
 " I see not as man seeth." I try the reins. I penetrate the 
 secrets of the heart. I see not only what is and what will be, 
 but also what might have been, under e\*ery possible variety of 
 circumstance. Such is the disposition, and such the peculiar 
 besetments of some of my creatures, that, in mercy to them, 
 and for the eternal good of their souls, I chasten them, and 
 withhold from them the evidence of my approbation. But 
 let them not therefore despair. I am still mindful of them. 
 " Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she would not 
 have compassion on the fruit of her womb ? Yea, they 
 may forget, yet will I not forget thee." "Behold, I have gra- 
 ven thee on the palms of my hands." Let them, then, con- 
 tinue to seek me with an humble heart. Let them be jealous 
 over themselves, and look with faith to their Saviour, and 
 in due time " I will give them beauty for ashes, the oil of 
 joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of 
 heaviness." They, as the "ransomed of the Lord, shall re- 
 turn and come to Zion with songs of everlasting joy upon 
 their heads ; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow 
 and sighing shall flee away." ? It is only in this way, my dear 
 sister, that the Lord hath hitherto been pleased to answer 
 my prayers. Thus the real cause of your mourning is still 
 left out of sight. Want of faith and trust in Christ may be 
 one ^ause ; but there may be others. Shall I suggest one ? 
 You possess naturally a strong desire to please. This is 
 commendable, and, when kept within proper bounds, may • 
 
80 * LIFE OF WILLBUFv FISK. 
 
 add much to the pleasures of society, and even to one's 
 usefulness in life. But it should be exercised^in a proper 
 way, and governed by Gospel rules, otherwise this desire 
 ^ to please will lead to such compliances as would prove de- 
 structive to the spirit of devotion, and thus* open the way to , 
 greater evils. Possessed with a lively disposition, a social 
 turn, and a wish to render yourself acceptable to all, I have 
 often thought, if you ha'd been blessed with that ease of mind 
 which many enjoy before you had been taught the wiles of 
 Satan, you might have been led away, step by step, till you 
 had^ost your confidence, your religion, your soul ! When 
 you have sufficiently learned the Gospel lesson, that there is 
 no other way to enjoy religion but by separation from the 
 world, by watching over your words and ways, then per- 
 haps God will lift upon you the light of his countenance. 
 Submit yourself, then, to God. Commit yourself to him in 
 well-doing, believing # that he is the rewarder, sooner or later, 
 of all who diligently seek him." 
 
 To his Sister. 
 
 " Charlestown, Nov. 20, 1819. 
 
 " I think my confinement proved a blessing to me. I find 
 every grace must be tried. I had previously been sorely 
 tempted for some weeks in various ways. And because the 
 infirmities of the body sometimes weighed down the soul, 
 Satan would say, 1 You have lost the blessing you received 
 at Wellfleet' (for he was not permitted to say I received 
 none). However, in the midst of these and various other 
 temptations, which caused me to be ' in heaviness,' my faith 
 was not moved from its object. But this seemed to be my 
 state. In the work of sanctification upon the heart there 
 appears to be two distinct operations : one is, to empty the 
 soul of sin and everything offensive ; and another is, to 
 fill it with love. 1. The strong man armed is bound and 
 cast out. 2. The stronger takes possession. These are 
 sometimes effected at once, and sometimes there is a period 
 elapses between them.* God was pleased, however, in my 
 case, to empty and fill at the same moment. But to trp my 
 
 * A person who has experienced the former need never fear ; for if he perse- 
 * vere, the latter will follow. 
 
LETTER TO A LADY. 81 
 
 faith, or for some other purpose, that fulness was after 
 a while occasionally withdrawn. Still, I could not discover 
 that there was anything in my heart contrary to the will of 
 God. In this situation, Satan assailed me. Then I had 
 reason to thank God for fathers and mothers in the Church 
 that could both instruct me and pray for me, but more es- 
 pecially that Jesus was my friend ; for I felt him so. I 
 prayed the Lord to fill me and sink me into his will before I 
 left my chamber. The Lord heard. O, my sister, what a 
 blessed Saviour we have ! 1 He saves his people from their 
 sins.' He fills them with his fulness. It was not that ecsta- 
 sy of animation which I have sometimes felt, but it was a 
 holy sinking into the will of God. Often, ever since that 
 time, while I am sitting in my chamber, looking at what the 
 Saviour has done for me and for the world, ' my heart is 
 dissolved in thankfulness, and my eyes melted to tears.' My 
 best hours are in retirement, holding communion with my 
 Saviour. At these times I think of you, in your seclusion 
 from the world, and think what blessings you may enjoy if 
 you seek and obtain all that is your privilege. Every day I 
 bear your case to our Heavenly Father. O, sister ! be in 
 earnest. You must be holy ; but it will cost you a strug- 
 gle. Though you have not wandered as far as I did, yet 
 you continued too long a 1 slain witness.' But perhaps the 
 Lord will bring you in a way you have not known. Leave 
 with him entirely the manner how, and the means by which 
 you are to be brought. Ask the Lord for just what you want : 
 a victory over inbred corruption, a fulness of love, an abi- 
 ding witness of the Spirit. Stop not to debate the question 
 with the enemy whether you were ever converted. The 
 question is, What do I want ? And, when you have discov- 
 ered your wants, carry them to Him in whom all fulness 
 dwells — to Jesus. The very name, sinful and unworthy as 
 you may feel yourself, will afford you encouragement. "What 
 says the angel ? < Thou shalt call his name Jesus.' Why, 
 heavenly messenger, why call his name Jesus ? ' Because 
 he shall save his people from their sins.' What a significant 
 name ! What an encouraging name ! What a sweet-sound- 
 ing name !" 
 
 L 
 
82 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 "December 1st, 1819. 
 
 " To Miss Peck, 
 
 " You express, my dear friend, great anxiety of mind, be- 
 cause you fear that you love God from selfish motives. It 
 is true, we should always examine ourselves and try our 
 hearts ; but Satan, my dear, may harass us both ways. We 
 have a God of mercy and of wisdom, who knows how to 
 suit his requirements to the radical principles of our moral 
 constitution. He does not require us to love Him, con- 
 sidered abstractly from our own happiness. He has been 
 graciously pleased, in all his requirements, intimately and 
 inseparably to connect our own happiness with His declara- 
 tive glory. And what right have we to separate them ? 
 Indeed, we cannot separate them ; nor does God require it. 
 He always wishes us to look forward to the prize. This 
 supports us under afflictions, and cheers us in our journey. 
 So David looked back upon what God had done for him 
 as a motive to love. I will love the Lord, because he hath 
 heard my voice and my supplication. — Psalm cxvi., 1. 
 So Moses looked forward to an expected reward ; for it is 
 written (Hebrews, xi., 25, 26) that he ' chose rather to suffer 
 affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures 
 of sin for a season : esteeming the reproach of Christ greater 
 riches than the treasures of Egypt.' Why ? * For he had 
 respect unto the recompense of the reward.' That self-love 
 which leads you to please self at the expense of your obedi- 
 ence to God is highly reprehensible. This kind of self 
 must be denied, for the fruit of it is not love to God. Love 
 to God is something that can be felt in the soul, something 
 that Satan himself cannot counterfeit. If you have this gen- 
 uine love, you know it. Do not, my dear, suffer the enemy 
 to harass and disturb you on account of your motives in lov- 
 ing God. None but a good motive can induce you to love 
 God in his true character. Any motive, then, that leads to 
 this, lay hold of. Is your heart melted into tenderness and 
 love while contemplating what the Saviour has done for 
 you ? Is your soul transported with delight, from a view, 
 by faith, of an expected paradise ? Let these be motives to 
 draw you on to love and obedience. This will bring you 
 
LETTERS. 
 
 83 
 
 nearer to God ; consequently, brighten your prospects ; and 
 these, again, will increase your love. Thus you will go on 
 from grace to grace, and from glory to glory, 4 until faith 
 shall be swallowed up in sight, and hope lost in full frui- 
 tion !' O the depth of God's wisdom and mercy towards 
 us ! For such a glorious plan, ' bless the Lord, O my soul ; 
 and all that is within me, bless and praise His holy name.' " 
 
 To the Same. 
 
 " February 21st, 1820. 
 " On the subject of loving God ' for what he is in and of 
 himself,' you have quoted a passage which seems to convey 
 the idea that we ought to, and can love God, even if he 
 do not love us. According to my view of the subject, I 
 could no more love a God that did not love me, than rec- 
 oncile the widest contradictions. It is in him I (spiritually) 
 i live, and move, and have my being.' I love him, because 
 Jesus is formed in me the hope of glory. I love him as he 
 has communicated himself to me. What he has not com- 
 municated I know nothing about. By faith we become one 
 with him. And so far as this oneness exists, so far we love 
 him, so far we enjoy him, and so far we are made partakers 
 of the same nature ; and this is why we love him, because 
 he has imparted to us his nature, which is love. But on 
 this ground, my dear, we will not contend ; only let us love 
 him — love him with all our heart. The simplest peasant, 
 that cannot decide any metaphysical question about motives, 
 can, if born of God, say, 1 By this I know that I love him, 
 by the spirit which he has given me.' " 
 
 To a Lady who had presented him with an Umbrella. 
 
 " Charlestown, February 8th, 1820. 
 " I return my sincere acknowledgments to you for the 
 last , as well as for all former favours conferred upon me, 
 and can only wish that the object of your benevolence was 
 more deserving. But I have one consolation, when the fa- 
 vours of my friends make me, more sensibly than ever, feel 
 my unworthiness. It is this : whatever becomes of me, they 
 will not lose their reward ; for our Lord says, ' Whoever 
 
84 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FfSK. 
 
 gives a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, shall not 
 lose his reward.' However undeserving the person favoured 
 may be, yet the design and intention of the person confer- 
 ring the favour shall secure to him his reward. In this view 
 of the subject, I rejoice at every act which manifests a de- 
 sire to promote the temporal welfare of the professed mes- 
 sengers of peace. ' Not because I desire a gift : but I desire 
 fruit that may abound to their account.' — Philippians, iv., 17. 
 ' But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last 
 your care of me hath flourished again. Not that I speak in 
 respect of want : for I have learned, in whatsoever state I 
 am, therewith to be content' (v. 10, 11). But when I con- 
 sider my own unworthiness, my own unprofitableness in the 
 cause of Christ, I wonder that I am blessed with the crumbs 
 that fall from my Master's table ; and yet he is continually 
 feeding me with children's bread. When I consider the 
 suffering life my Master led, the privations and hardships 
 which he endured, 
 
 " ' I blush in all things to abound ; 
 The servant is above his Lord.'' 
 
 " I assure you, these are not the unmeaning expressions of 
 a 1 voluntary humility;' they are the heartfelt sentiments of 
 my soul. What has God done for me, and how little have 
 I done for him ! While I write my eyes are melted to tears 
 at the reflection. He called me in my youth to serve him ; 
 
 " 'And when, like wandering sheep, I strayed, 
 He brought me to his fold again;' 
 
 and, after a life of disobedience, he still blesses me. When 
 I reluctantly entered into his vineyard, he nevertheless bless- 
 ed me, and still continues his favours. He gives me favour 
 in the eyes of the people, and, what is more, opens their 
 hearts to hear the Word, and gives me a hope that these 
 will one day shine as stars in my crown of rejoicing. Among 
 that number I trust you will be one. If you continue to 
 press forward after holiness of heart, you will undoubtedly 
 be among the number. O Lord ! if in that day of rejoi- 
 cing I am thus crowned, I will only receive that crown to 
 cast it at Thy feet, and 1 cry with a loud voice, saying, Sal- 
 vation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto 
 the Lamb.' 
 
LETTER TO A LADY. 
 
 85 
 
 14 But I began to make my grateful acknowledgments to 
 you. What shall I say ? While in life's journey you have 
 to pass through scorching heat and sultry blasts, may you 
 ever find yourself sheltered by Him who is 1 the shadow of a 
 great rock in a weary land.' Whenever you are assailed 
 by the floods of temptation and the storms of malice, may 
 Christ be your slielter from the stormy blast. And, finally, 
 when God shall rain 1 an horrible tempest' upon an ungodly 
 world, may he spread his canopy over you, and may 4 his 
 banner over you be love.' May your name be found ' gra- 
 ven upon the palms of his hands,' and impressed in unfading 
 character's on the Lamb's fair Book of Life. These are 
 the prayers which your much obliged friend and brother will 
 put up, when, for his own convenience, he makes use of your 
 highly-prized present for a shelter or a shade. 
 
 " May God help us both to live for him, and him alone, 
 the few revolving suns we have to spend on earth ; and then, 
 as we pass along, we can sing, 
 
 11 ' No burning heats by day, 
 Nor blasts of wintry air, 
 Can take my health away 
 If God be with me there. 
 Thou art my sun, 
 And thou my shade, 
 To guard my head 
 By night or noon.' 
 
 " And when we leave this earth, we shall go to those 
 healthful shores 
 
 " ' Where chilling winds and poisonous breath 
 Are felt and feared no more ;' 
 
 where no drenching torrents nor burning suns will afflict 
 us ; for the air will be cooled only by the refreshing breezes 
 from Zion's Hill, and illuminated by the mild and shining 
 rays of the Sun of Righteousness. 
 
 " Pray that I may ever be kept humble and useful, and I 
 will reckon that not the least among the favours conferred 
 upon your unworthy friend and brother in Christ." 
 8 
 
86 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Charlestown continued. — Calumny. — Sickness. — State of Mind. — Returns to 
 Vermont. — Letters. — Sketch of Character. 
 
 The New-England Conference, to which Mr. Fisk was 
 attached, met this year on the 20th of June, at Nantucket. 
 Here he was admitted into full connexion, and ordained a 
 deacon. He was reappointed to Charlestown, where he 
 immediately resumed his labours. 
 
 This year also he attended the Commencement of Brown 
 University, and at the particular solicitation of his friends, 
 for he was very indifferent about it himself, he took his 
 degree of Master of Arts. 
 
 Soon after his return he wrote to Miss Peck as follows : 
 
 " Charlestown, September 18th, 1820. 
 
 "My Dear R., 
 
 " I returned home the day I parted with you, but not in 
 time to attend to my meeting in the afternoon ; and was so 
 fatigued with the warm, dusty, and tiresome passage, that I 
 was unfit for the duties of the evening. I believe I must 
 enjoin it upon you not to solicit me again to stay beyond my 
 appointed time. My head and ear were very troublesome 
 and painful for some days after I returned, but have now 
 almost recovered. I find my little flock for the most part 
 well, engaged, and united ; had an excellent season yester- 
 day in preaching to them, especially in the morning, while 
 impressing upon them the necessity of heart-holiness, of wa- 
 ging a war of extermination with their internal enemies, and 
 of pleading constantly for the holy doctrines of the cross. I 
 thought at the close, i I wish my dear R. could have been 
 present.' But perhaps my arguments on that subject would 
 not have been to her very weighty. I have, however, to 
 make one request of you, and that is, that you would exam- 
 ine the Scriptures with prayerful attention with regard to 
 the subject of a deeper work of grace : especially examine 
 
LETTER TO MISS PECK. 
 
 87 
 
 those passages that relate to a death to sin and to a life of 
 faith : such are, Romans, vi., 2, 6, 7, 11, 12, &c. ; Gala- 
 tians, ii., 20, and vi., 14, with many others. Also those that 
 relate to cleansing: such are, 2 Corinthians, vii., 1; He- 
 brews, x., 22 ; 2 Peter, i., 4 ; 1 John, i., 7 ; Hebrews, ix., 
 14 ; 1 Thessalonians, v., 23. Also those that relate to being 
 filled with God, with the Spirit, &c. : such are, Ephesians, 
 hi., 19, and v., 18 ; Acts, xiii., 52. And when you have 
 examined these, ask yourself whether most of those profess- 
 ing Christians with whom you are acquainted walk by this 
 rule. Are they dead to the world ? Are they alive to God ? 
 Are they cleansed from sin ? Has the old leaven been pur- 
 ged out ? Does it appear that God dwells in them ? Are 
 they filled with his Spirit ? Perhaps it may be said they 
 are seeking and striving to walk by this rule. Some of them, 
 I trust, are ; but we have reason to fear most of those who 
 have named the name of Christ do not thus strive. Unless 
 living according to the course of this world, pleading for sin 
 in heart, and sinful indulgences in life ; unless contending 
 for the form, but denying the power ; setting the affections 
 on things below, and not on things above ; trusting to past 
 experience without a present witness ; unless indulging sin- 
 ful tempers, unholy desires, and worldly propensities, is death 
 to the world, is the life of faith, is purification from sin, is 
 being filled with the Spirit of God, we have reason to fear 
 there are quite too many that neither walk by this rule, nor 
 are striving so to do. When reflecting upon this subject, I 
 am often constrained to ask, with fear and anxiety, ' Lord, 
 are there few that be saved V And then, turning to myself, 
 I ask, with still more solicitude, Lord, shall I be among that 
 few ? And while writing to you, as I feel your interests 
 closely connected with mine, leaving all others to stand or 
 fall to their own master, I ask, Shall we be among that few ? 
 O my God, if the soul is once lost, it is forever gone. And, 
 my dear, what are our hearts ? Is pride remaining ? Is a 
 disposition to please the world, to attend to worldly trifles, 
 to seek for worldly ease, to talk of worldly things, prevailing 
 in our breasts ? How unfit a residence is the soul for the 
 Holy Spirit!" 
 
88 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 While in Charlestown our subject passed through a fiery- 
 ordeal. By some means the most vile slanders were put in 
 circulation touching his moral character. The precise cir- 
 cumstances I have not been able to ascertain ; nor is it 
 worth inquiry, since his innocence was fully attested by the 
 subsequent confession of the slanderer, which was read be- 
 fore the public congregation.* Yet such was the effect of 
 the calumny, that for a time it threatened the destruction of 
 his usefulness. His congregations decreased ; many lost 
 confidence in him ; and so far had some gone, that, even 
 after the confession of the traducer, they would never hear 
 him again. It is a wonderful Providence that permits the 
 usefulness of good men to be sometimes interrupted by such 
 groundless calumnies. But St. Athanasius, John Bunyan, 
 and the "judicious" Hooker had the same charge brought 
 against them, with about as much truth as in the case of the 
 faithful Joseph or the chaste Susannah. 
 
 Some of his trials were rather diverting, and only served 
 to show his invincible sweetness of disposition, as well as his 
 tact in dealing with men. The vicious young men of the 
 place, sometimes standing in groups in the streets, when they 
 saw him coming would make a passage, and, in evident 
 mock civility, take off their hats ; but he, seeming to consid- 
 er it all in earnest, returned the salutation by taking off his ! 
 Finding they could not irritate him, they soon grew tired of 
 the joke. 
 
 But Mr. Fisk's labours were now destined to meet with a 
 sudden and protracted interruption. He had laboured far 
 beyond the limit of prudence. He frequently preached thrice 
 on the Sabbath, twice or thrice through the week, attended 
 meeting of some kind every evening, and generally visited 
 several (often eight or ten) families a day for religious con- 
 versation and prayer. No frame could long endure to have 
 the mind kept in such a constant state of tension. His mode 
 of life did not allow him time enough for the bodily exercise 
 requisite to maintain the degree of strength such mental ex- 
 ertions demand. It is very much to be regretted that the 
 habits of many studious men are so at variance with the 
 
 * The confession is now before me, signed with his own name. He renewed, 
 when on his death-bed, this confession to Mr. Fisk. 
 
SICKNESS. 
 
 89 
 
 laws of health. They go on the erroneous theory that all 
 time is lost which is not devoted to their chosen pursuit, for- 
 getting that no time is really lost which is increasing our 
 capacity for happiness and usefulness, and that this capacity 
 depends upon the proportionate development of all our fac- 
 ulties, moral, intellectual, and physical.* 
 
 Mr. Fisk had already suffered severely while in Charles- 
 town from catarrhal affections ; but in the month of Novem- 
 ber of this year (1820), while as well as usual in other re- 
 spects, he was suddenly seized with a copious hemorrhage 
 from the lungs, which returned five several times, so that he 
 was confined to his chamber, and a good share of the time 
 to his bed, until the following March. During this period 
 his life seemed to hang on a vapour. His physicians gave 
 him up, and his father was sent for to be present at the clo- 
 sing scene. But on the very night when his friends were 
 gathered round his bed, and expecting every moment to be 
 his last, his Church, with the churches in Boston, including 
 some of other denominations, were engaged in solemn and 
 importunate prayer for his recovery. The meetings were 
 called in special reference to his case ; and He who said 
 " the prayer of faith shall save the sick," rebuked the disor- 
 
 * The devoted Payson gave some very good advice, piquantly expressed, to a 
 student in Divinity on the preservation of his health, 
 
 " A merciful man," he says, " is merciful to his beast, and you must be mer-. 
 ciful to your beast, or, as Mr. M. would say, to your ' animal.' Remember that 
 it is your Master's property ; and he will no more thank you for driving it to 
 death, than an earthly master would thank a servant for riding a valuable horse 
 to death under pretence of zeal for his interest. The truth is, I am afraid Satan 
 has jumped on to the saddle ; and when he is there, in the guise of an angel of 
 light, he whips and spurs at a most unmerciful rate, as every joint in my poor 
 broken-winded animal can testify from woful experience. * * * Remember Mr. 
 Brainard's remark, that diversions, rightly managed, increased rather than di- 
 minished his spirituality. I now feel that I am never serving our Master more 
 acceptably than when, for his sake, I am using means to preserve my health and 
 lengthen my life. * * * Ride, then, or go a fishing, or employ yourself in any 
 way which will exercise the body gently without wearying the mind." But alas 
 for human wisdom ! Had Dr. Payson followed the advice he gave, he might, 
 possibly, have blessed the world with his labours for many years longer. Yet, 
 when recommended to take a sea-voyage for the benefit of his health, his reply 
 was that he " had not time !" The most lavish waste of time is sapping the con- 
 stitution ; for it is hurrying to a premature grave. But the importance of these 
 views, unfortunately, are often not appreciated until it is too late to profit by them. 
 
 8* M 
 
90 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 der. His symptoms began to improve from that night. Mr. 
 Fisk always believed that he was raised up in answer to 
 prayer. 
 
 It is a rather too common opinion among Christians that 
 the test of progress in piety consists in an increase of sensi- 
 ble enjoyment in religion. But joy in Christ is only one of 
 the "fruits of the Spirit," and it is the one which depends 
 most on natural causes. The state of the health, particularly 
 of the nervous system, agreeable circumstances, the natural 
 temperament, and the peculiar quality of the imagination, 
 greatly modify the susceptibility of joyous emotion. Hence 
 the increase of joy is, of itself, no certain proof of growth in 
 grace. The sure marks of this are, increased knowledge of 
 ourselves, victory over sin, deadness to the world, improve- 
 ment in Christian tempers. In these the Christian often ad- 
 vances most rapidly under comparative depression. " Now, 
 if need be," said an apostle, " ye are in heaviness through 
 manifold temptations." For he is then constrained to cry 
 out, " Search me, O God, and know my heart ; try me, and 
 know my thoughts ; and see if there be any wicked way in 
 me, and lead me in the way everlasting." 
 
 The following passages will show that, though he was not 
 always " filled with comfort, and exceeding joyful in all 
 his tribulation," yet he was growing* in the vital elements 
 
 * That excellent and useful writer, Miss Hannah More, in one of her tracts, 
 but not the most judicious of them, says that Christian perfection would ex- 
 clude all farther growth in grace. I answer her from a dignitary of her own 
 Church, to whose opinions her admirers will pay more respect than to mine. 
 After describing a perfect Christian, much as Mr. Wesley would, he shows that 
 " Reason and Scripture press us on towards an endless progress in virtue. 
 Such a degree of excellence to which nothing can be added ; such a height, 
 above which there is no room to soar, if applied to man and this world, is surely but 
 an imaginary notion To dream of such a perfection were to forget our nature 
 and our state ; no sagacity of judgment, no strength of resolution, no felicity of 
 circumstances, can ever advance us to this height. Such a perfection as this, 
 that is incapable of any increase, belongs to God alone. It is hard to conceive 
 how we should enjoy divine faith without growing in spiritual wisdom and un- 
 derstanding ; it is hard to conceive how we should give God, the world, and our- 
 selves repeated proofs of our integrity in the day of trial, without increasing our 
 strength and assurance ; and love must naturally increase with these. Whence 
 it is that St. Paul, acknowledging himself not yet perfect,* resolves that, " For- 
 
 * That is, in this sense ; for in the other sense he says, " Let us, as many as be perfect." 
 
EXERCISES IN HIS SICKNESS. 
 
 91 
 
 of piety. His " affliction, though not joyous, but grievous, 
 afterward yielded the peaceable fruits of righteousness." 
 
 "March 20, 1821. 
 
 " To Miss Peck. 
 
 "You will help me to thank God for his mercy to me 
 in sickness^ for temporal and spiritual comforts. Grati- 
 tude ought to swell my heart to God and my many kind 
 friends. I trust I am not insensible to the renewed obliga- 
 tions I am under. But we are frail mortals; we know not 
 our strength until it is tried. I have learned some new les- 
 sons of my own frail heart in this sickness, which I trust 
 will be useful to me in life or death, by helping me to keep 
 at the Saviour's feet. Nowhere else are we safe. I some- 
 times get a glimpse of that humility , purity > and holiness with 
 which a minister of the blessed Jesus should be clothed, and 
 its loveliness ravishes my very soul, and sinks me in the dust 
 before him, in view of my own nothingness ; and I strive to 
 plead with him to put this comeliness on me, even worthless 
 me. O, my dear R., pray much for your unworthy W. ; 
 pray not so much for my life and health as for an increase 
 of godliness in my soul, that I may be ripening into a meet- 
 ness for all the will of God. Shall I retrace my steps to life 
 and health, and forget that I have been where I could al- 
 most see the realities of the eternal world? Forbid it, 
 Heaven ! Rather let the solemnities of eternity rest upon 
 me, 'so that I may finish my course with joy and, if 
 spared, ' the ministry which I have received of the Lord Je- 
 sus, to testify the Gospel of the grace of God.' " 
 
 During Mr. Fisk's illness the following characteristic in- 
 cident occurred : A gentleman who greatly admired nis 
 preaching called to see him. Mr. Fisk inquired of him if 
 he had heard the young minister preach who occasionally 
 supplied his place in the pulpit. The gentleman replied in 
 the affirmative, signified his gratification, and, by way of 
 
 getting those things that are behind, and reaching forward to those that are 
 before, he would press on towards the mark for the prize of the high calling 
 of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil., iii., 13, 14).— Dr. Lucas's Inquiry after Happiness, 
 part iii., sect, ii., ch. vi. 
 
92 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 confirming it, added that he preached " almost as well as Mr. 
 Fisk." The invalid immediately raised his languid eyes, and 
 with a deep sigh, in a most impressive tone, replied, " That 
 is saying very little in his favour ; for I am willing to sit at 
 any man's feet who preaches the Gospel." 
 
 The following extract from a letter will show his feelings 
 in view of his prospects. 
 
 " I despair of being able to preach much this season, if at 
 all. O, my dear friend, what a useless being I am becom- 
 ing to myself and every one else. But it is the Lord, and I 
 ought not to, I cannot complain. He does not stand in need 
 of my poor services ; or if he do, he can supply them with 
 the labour of another, who will be more faithful and success- 
 ful in cultivating his vineyard, and more careful to render 
 him the fruit in its season. Yet I must confess, though I 
 know I am not worthy to be a doorkeeper in the house of 
 God, or even to wash the saints' feet, it would be a great 
 cross to me not to be actively engaged in the cause of Christ. 
 Until I began to labour in the Lord's vineyard, my life was 
 a restless, anxious scene ; but when I began the ministry, I 
 got home, where my soul could exercise and rest with satis- 
 faction. But in the midst of all I was checked. "When I had 
 reconnoitred the enemy's camp, had estimated their strength, 
 meditated on the best mode of attack, exercised myself to 
 some little purpose in the Gospel armour, and began to 
 calculate with no small confidence, that by the grace of God 
 I should be able to do some injury to the foe, disease came, 
 and, like a messenger of God, said, 1 Thou shalt not go up 
 against this people to battle !' O Lord ! with submission I 
 throw myself at thy feet, and plead with thee ; if it can be 
 thy will, if it will be for the good of thy Church and my own 
 soul, if there be any humble employment where a worm 
 can serve thee, ' here am I, send me.' 1 But O ! Father, 
 not my will, but thine be done.' " 
 
 The latter part of May Mr. Fisk left Charlestown for his 
 father's house, which by slow and easy stages he reached in 
 safety on the 25th of June. On the way he w T rote a letter, 
 from which we extract a passage, to his good friend Mrs. 
 Goodwin, whose four daughters were seals of his ministry in 
 Charlestown. 
 
RETURNS HOME. 
 
 93 
 
 Speaking of attending a love-feast the evening before, he 
 proceeds : " We, I say, as though I was something in the 
 meeting ; but, in truth, I am nothing-. I never was much, 
 but still I find it a hard lesson to learn to be nothing. But 
 such I am, and such I am likely to be at present ; yea, though I 
 had my strength and health as usual, yet I see that I should be 
 almost of no consequence in this world. It is not that I wish 
 to decry myself that I thus speak ; but this proud, this once 
 ambitious and aspiring heart, has learned by severe lessons 
 1 to shrink into itself and be a fool.' But, sin excepted, I am 
 what the Lord made me ; and if he can use me in any way 
 for his glory, he shall have the praise. 'I had rather be a 
 doorkeeper in the house of my God,' than to arrive at all the 
 honours of the world. 
 
 " My health is as good as when I left C, and I think my 
 strength is increasing. But my journey seems a mountain. 
 I hope, however, by the strength of God,to get over it in some 
 way, as, indeed, I shall get over the whole journey of life 
 soon. O ! who would live in this world forever ? Contend- 
 ing with difficulties that require all our skill and resolution 
 to meet and overcome ; putting up with inconveniences at 
 every turn ; parting with friends that wring the heart, and 
 fighting with foes that would destroy the soul — these form 
 the business of life. But let us not, like cowards, wish to de- 
 sert our posts before we are regularly discharged ; but 1 all 
 our appointed time,' let us ' wait until our change come.' 
 ' Happy is that servant whom, when his Lord cometh,' he 
 shall find so doing !" 
 
 Having now arrived at a pause in our history, we shall 
 embrace the opportunity to present some of Mr. Fisk's lead- 
 ing characteristics as a preacher and a man. 
 
 His discourses generally were more in the nature of hom- 
 ilies than sermons, being rather explications of texts than 
 discussions of topics. His subjects were judiciously cho- 
 sen, being such as were adapted to the wants of his people 
 rather than to the most favourable exhibition of his own 
 powers. He does not appear to have been at any loss for a 
 suitable variety of pulpit materials. His own heart, deeply 
 interested as it was in the welfare of his hearers, helped to 
 
94 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 furnish this variety ;* but, as an assistance, he kept a list of 
 such texts as struck him with any peculiar force. A book 
 lies before me with not less than four hundred texts written 
 fully out. His aim in preaching was evidently not to startle 
 by novelty, nor amaze by profundity, nor bewilder by ab- 
 struseness; but to " commend himself to every man's con- 
 science in the sight of God," and be the instrument of bring- 
 ing sinners to piety, and the pious to holiness. 
 
 Hence all his aims at the intellect had an ultimate bear- 
 ing upon the heart and conscience. He kept his own mind 
 in contact with that of his hearers by addressing them in the 
 second person rather than in the third : he preached to them, 
 not about them, nor about mankind in general. He seldom 
 employed abstract or logical terms, and his reasoning, there- 
 fore, was more popular than scholastic. His manner was 
 rather that of a lawyer endeavouring to convince a jury, 
 than that of a professor instructing a class. If he struck a 
 chord that vibrated, he followed up the impression, touched 
 and retouched it with delicacy and skill, until his audience 
 was often melted down under the power of his eloquence. 
 He frequently preached with tears, and was sometimes over- 
 whelming. It was not unusual for the guilty to cry out un- 
 der his preaching when pierced by " the two-edged sword." 
 Sometimes the outcry, though equally complimentary, per- 
 haps, to his eloquence, was not so gratifying to his piety. 
 On one occasion, while preaching with great enlargement on 
 the final judgment of the wicked, a man rose as in a phrensy, 
 stamped upon the floor, and with a horrible oath rushed out 
 of the house. His sermons, as the reader has seen from his 
 " Resolutions," were well studied ; they were regularly 
 thought through, and systematically arranged ; but he great- 
 ly eschewed the practice of memorizing, or preaching from 
 notes. He did not take a scrap with him into the pulpit. 
 Writing to his friend after a season of great liberty in preach- 
 
 * "The heart acquires by piety and devotion, dispositions and sentiments 
 which render the inventive powers fertile, and clothe the effusions of the soul 
 with a felicity of expression that cannot fail to interest the people, because it is 
 the heart that speaks. On the contrary, whatever does not proceed from the 
 heart is seldom more than affectation ; ' invito. Minerva,' it is contrary to nature." 
 — Ostervald on the Composition and Delivery of a Sermon, section 9. 
 
SKETCH OF CHARACTER. 
 
 95 
 
 ing, he observes, u O, Mr. Taft, I would not have been 
 shackled with notes on any account. It seemed as if my 
 mouth was filled with arguments suited to the tone of feel- 
 ing then excited in the people. There was weeping through- 
 out the house, and a solemn awe seemed to rest upon the 
 people."* His manner had not, at this period, so far as I 
 can learn, the polish it subsequently acquired. He was oft- 
 en too loud and violent. His style was sufficiently correct 
 for an extemporaneous preacher to meet the demands of 
 good taste, yet there was no such studied attention to the 
 minor elegances as indicate an undue solicitude to please, 
 and thus create a distrust of the preacher's sincerity or sin- 
 gleness of purpose. It was evident to all that Mr. Fisk's 
 preaching was 
 
 " Warm from the heart, and faithful to its fires." 
 Of his reading at this time but little information has been 
 received. Practical and devotional books, however, formed 
 a suitable share of it. This, to a minister, is of absolute 
 importance, since his preaching and conversation must be 
 fashioned by his habitual reading and thinking. The prod- 
 ucts of the mind must be as the aliment it feeds on. Wes- 
 ley and Fletcher he read a great deal, and never lost his rel- 
 ish for them. 
 
 In private life Mr. Fisk always possessed great power 
 over the affections. His temper was singularly kind and 
 sympathizing. His manners were easy, affable, and ingra- 
 tiating. If he erred here, it was by a familiarity rather too 
 unreserved and indiscriminate. He has himself acknowl- 
 edged that he suffered some embarrassment from this cause, 
 but in what particular way or to what extent I have not 
 been informed. He was habitually grave ; yet his gravity 
 was softened by a gentle pleasantry, a peculiar vein of deli- 
 cate humour, that rendered his company and conversation 
 always attractive. Hence his deep piety wore an aspect of 
 great loveliness. It was a frequent saying among the young 
 people, " If I could be such a Christian as Mr. Fisk, I should 
 like to be religious." 
 
 * This passage was callett forth by a previous conversation, in which Mr. Fisk 
 endeavoured to convince Mr. Taft of the superior effect of extemporaneous over 
 written sermons. 
 
96 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 He was always very fond of children ; he regarded them 
 as the lambs of Christ's flock, and therefore paid them par- 
 ticular attention, talked much to them, prayed for them, and 
 interested himself in their welfare. As a natural conse- 
 quence, they in return were warmly attached to him. Some 
 pleasing illustrations of this feature in his character have 
 come to our knowledge. Take the following as a specimen : 
 Mrs. Goodwin had two sons, one eight, the other ten years 
 of age. Once, when Mr. Fisk visited them after he had left 
 Charlestown, these little boys might have been seen seated 
 on either side of him, each holding a hand, with their heads 
 reclining on his knee, or occasionally looking up into his face 
 for a word or a smile : and thus they remained more than 
 an hour. Must not the heart have possessed unusual quali- 
 ties of endearment that could so attract the youthful affec- 
 tions ? 
 
INDISPOSITION. 
 
 97 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Indisposition. — Letters. — Prosperity of Religion. — Resumes Preaching. 
 
 The period at which we have now arrived was the most 
 painful of Mr. Fisk's ministry. With his mental activity 
 and urgency of feeling, nothing was more distressing than 
 idleness. To see such fields of usefulness before him, ma- 
 king their demands upon human exertion, and not to be able 
 to open his mouth for God, required great self-command. 
 He was laid aside as a broken vessel unfit for use. " I nev- 
 er," he says, writing to a friend many years after, " I never 
 experienced anything more trying than this. To be recon- 
 ciled to be nothing ; nay, worse, to be a useless burden to 
 my friends and the world, was an extent of resignation 
 which not only brought into requisition all the little grace I 
 had, but forced me to pray earnestly for more." Thus the 
 season was not entirely lost to him. Though excluded from 
 active usefulness, he was gaining greater knowledge of his 
 own heart, greater depth and maturity of character, and lay- 
 ing up wisdom for future emergencies. 
 
 He spent his time in riding on horseback, visiting his 
 friends, reading, writing, and talking, as his strength woulfl 
 permit. Study he could not for some time, at least to any 
 great amount ; nor engage in vocal prayer, even at the fam- 
 ily altar. Yet it was not possible for such a man to be use- 
 less. He preached by his example ; he instructed by his 
 conversation ; he enlightened by the halo of piety that sur- 
 rounded him. The atmosphere he breathed impregnated 
 other spirits ; while he was blessed, he was likewise blessing. 
 
 Meantime, he could instruct from the closet, if not from 
 the pulpit ; and he ascended the latter again in a few 
 months, but very cautiously. The following letters are spe- 
 cimens of the instructions afforded by him at this season. 
 The first was written to his aunt, Mrs. Palmer, soon after his 
 arrival at home. She was in feeble health, and somewhat 
 depressed in mind in reference to her spiritual state : 
 9 N 
 
98 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 " Lyndon, June 30th, 1821. 
 * * * " Had it not been for my poor health, I should 
 have written to you before ; but it injures me to write, and 
 I do as little of it as I can. Hearing, however, of your de- 
 clining health, I cannot delay to write, especially as Marcia 
 mentions that you have some clouds and doubts upon your 
 mind ; and I would by no means be backward at such a 
 time to comfort, as far as I am able, the desponding. I 
 pray, indeed, for your health and life, if this may be for the 
 best ; but these, compared with the health and life of the 
 soul, are trifles. Let me say to you, then, my dear aunt, 
 make Christ your all. Satan never fails, in time of ill health, 
 especially if that illness threatens death, to do his utmost 
 to harass and torment the pious mind. The soul feels the 
 force of these temptations, and it begins to look around for 
 relief ; and, strange as it may seem, it is nevertheless a 
 truth, that persons of long Christian experience too frequent- 
 ly, at such times, begin to look upon wrong objects. And 
 this, instead of relieving them, serves but to increase their 
 distress. They look, perhaps, upon their past experience. 
 ' Perhaps I am deceived.' ' Did I ever experience a 
 change V They look, perhaps, upon their own unworthi- 
 ness : ' Shall I ever get to Heaven V But what are all 
 these things to the soul at such a time ? What is it to the 
 soul now, whether it has or has not, at some former period, 
 tasted that the Lord was gracious ? If it has, and has not 
 the present witness, it will not satisfy. Not a past intervievj, 
 but a present union, will satisfy the mind at this time. Nei- 
 ther will it give a person any right to claim blessings now, 
 because they have been blessed once ; but, while mercy may 
 be found, the soul, in any state, may claim it for Christ* s 
 sake. Christ is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever, pro- 
 fessor or non-professor ; those who have been once renewed, 
 and those who were never renewed ; Jew or Gentile, bar- 
 barian or Scythian ; worthy in their own estimation, or un- 
 worthy ; rich or poor, sick or well, all must come to Christ 
 in the same manner ; and as it respects their rights, are on 
 an equality, only with this exception : those who see them- 
 
LETTERS. 
 
 99 
 
 selves the most wretched, their case the most difficult, them- 
 selves the most unworthy, their wants the most pressing, 
 have the best claim, and are the fittest vessels for the Sav- 
 iour to show his mercy in. Dear aunt, let me exhort you 
 again to take Christ for your all. Take him for your worthi- 
 ness ; take him for your righteousness ; take, O take him 
 for your sanctification. Perhaps you have been looking 
 within, and have said, All is not pure, therefore I cannot 
 enter into the New Jerusalem. Indeed, you cannot if im- 
 pure ; but Christ will cleanse you, and now he waits to do 
 the work. Only believe, and you shall by experience know 
 what that meaneth : ' I will sprinkle clean water upon you, 
 and ye shall be clean.' O that God would be with you in 
 every trial, and support you in sickness or health, living or 
 dying. For this you shall have my prayers." 
 
 "Craftsbury, August 6th, 1821. 
 " To Miss Peck. — My very dear 'Friend, 
 
 " I should have answered your last before this, but I was 
 absent from home when it arrived, and I did not receive it 
 until a few days since. During this time I have been much 
 engaged, and have not had a convenient opportunity to 
 write till now. I have been for two weeks on this (Crafts- 
 bury) circuit, visiting those children that the Lord gave me 
 as the first fruits of my ministry. I have found it profitable 
 to body and soul : to my body — for the exercise of riding, 
 together with change of scene and pleasant conversation 
 with my friends, gives that tone to the body and mind which 
 is very conducive to health ; insomuch that my symptoms 
 are more favourable, and my lungs much stronger than they 
 were : to my soul — for I am much encouraged, and my 
 faith strengthened, to see that a goodly number of those who 
 professed faith in Christ three years ago are not only stead- 
 fast, but growing Christians. O, how do I feel obliged to 
 give myself anew to God ! He has called me, as I believe, 
 to the ministry ; he has blessed my feeble labours ; he has 
 spared my life ; he has raised me from a bed of sickness ; 
 he has permitted me once more to visit my friends and Chris- 
 tian brethren here, and rejoice with them in the hope of a 
 
100 
 
 LIFE OF W1LLBUR FISK. 
 
 future Heaven. If I am not faithful, if I do not give myself 
 wholly to God, I am, of all others, the most culpable. 
 
 " I am sorry to hear that your health is still feeble, but 
 rejoice to learn that you are so well resigned to the dispen- 
 sations of Providence. My daily prayer is, that God would 
 fit us both for all his will, and make us all he would have 
 us be" * * * " I thank God that for a number of weeks 
 my mind has been free and easy. My future destiny, my 
 duties, my sufferings, my life, my death, my joys, my sor- 
 rows, are all with Him ; and there I rest them. If I can 
 but enjoy a present evidence that God, through Christ, owns 
 me, it is enough. I know it is difficult to overcome our feel- 
 ings ; but, through Christ strengthening us, it is possible, and 
 he will help you to look, not to the things that are seen, but 
 to the things that are unseen and eternal. Our separation 
 may be shorter than we are aware ; perhaps we are soon to 
 meet in a better world, if not in this. In all events, if Christ 
 be our portion, all will be well ; for ' if we suffer with him, 
 we shall also reign with him ;' and it is my constant pray- 
 er that you may be blessed with every needed grace. 
 
 "Your ideas of holiness, as held and experienced by Fletch- 
 er and Mrs. Rogers, I believe, are correct. It is the life of 
 God in the soul, pervading every part, animating every fac- 
 ulty, engaging every affection ; and this life is, through faith 
 in Jesus Christ, our righteousness and our sanctification; 
 ' for he is made of God, unto us, wisdom, righteousness, 
 sanctification, and redemption.' Thanks be to God for his 
 unspeakable gift ! A gift that is not laid by out of reach, 
 or reserved for those who receive it without an earnest, but 
 a gift that is influential, operative, effectual 'to the pulling 
 down the strongholds of Satan in the heart, casting down 
 imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against 
 the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every 
 thought to the obedience of Chirst.' May we, my dear, lay 
 hold of this gift by faith ; may faith keep its hold by loving 
 obedience, until it purify the heart and fit us for heaven." 
 
 The following acknowledgment of obligation for profes- 
 sional services was addressed to the physician who attended 
 him during his illness in Charlestown : 
 
LETTER TO A PHYSICIAN. 
 
 101 
 
 " Lyndon, Nov. 20th, 1821. 
 
 "Dear Sir, 
 
 " The great haste I was in to make my arrangements with 
 all possible despatch to return to Vermont, prevented my 
 seeing you before I left Charlestown. Indeed, I called at 
 your house once after my recovery, but you were absent. 
 My intention was to make my personal acknowledgments to 
 you for your attention and services to me, which, indeed, is 
 but a small return, considering the extent of the favour con- 
 ferred. It is the least I can do, and I am willing to do any- 
 thing more that is in my power, and that you will receive. 
 Pecuniary satisfaction you have heretofore refused ; and 
 as for professional returns, since you do not believe in my 
 divinity, I can do nothing in that line that will be deemed 
 of any service. My prescriptions for your soul, when pla- 
 ced as an offset against your prescriptions for my body, will 
 hardly be considered, I suppose, a quid pro quo. Never- 
 theless, if you believe me sincere in my religion, you can- 
 not wonder if I am anxious that you should become a be- 
 liever in it. Indeed, sir, I would at least take as much pains, 
 not to say more, as you have taken to attend upon me, if I 
 could be instrumentally serviceable to your soul, as you have 
 been to my body. 
 
 "If, as you believe, there is nothing in experimental reli- 
 gion ; if the soul is but the action of the body ; if the former 
 ceases when the latter dies, and there is nothing after, then, 
 indeed, I mistake, but lose nothing ; your mistaken patient 
 will in the end fare as well as his more knowing physician. 
 But ah ! dreary thought ! under such a system, poor is the best. 
 Better, indeed, to live in the delusive hope of a happy hereaf- 
 ter, than to be under the constant dread of falling into naught. 
 But if my system be true ; if the soul is to exist after the dis- 
 solution of this body ; if it is by nature corrupt, and needs 
 cleansing; diseased, and needs healing; depraved, and needs 
 renewing, in order to qualify it for enjoyment hereafter; if 
 this cleansing, healing, and renewing are to be realized in 
 a course of virtuous seeking and striving, by forsaking sin, 
 by renouncing our own vainly-conceited systems, and hum- 
 9* 
 
102 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 bling ourselves at the feet of the Saviour, then the real 
 Christian has prospects indescribably bright, immeasurably 
 glorious ; but yours, dear sir, are colder and darker than 
 dreary annihilation itself. But I did not design, when I 
 began, to preach a sermon ; I have been led thus far from 
 the fulness of a heart that is not insensible to favours con- 
 ferred, and that would gladly seek what it deems the high- 
 est interest and welfare of its benefactor. But, to say no 
 more on this subject, I have one favour, Doctor, to ask of 
 you, in addition to the many that I have already received : 
 I hope you will not deny me. It is, that you will procure 
 and read a work written by Berkeley, called The Minute 
 Philosopher. I am sure you will be entertained with the 
 book, if you are not instructed. I do not recommend it to 
 you under the idea that your sentiments are the same with 
 many that are there examined ; but the same course of 
 reasoning which persons of your sentiments pursue, is there 
 pursued and answered, I think, satisfactorily. Do read it if 
 you can obtain it : if I were in Boston I would try to obtain 
 it for you. 
 
 " I should be glad to hear from you, but will not make 
 such a demand upon your time or attention as to ask you to 
 write. Perhaps I owe you an apology for detaining you so 
 long with this. 
 
 " Remember me, if you please, to Mrs. B., and to her 
 mother's family if you see them. 
 
 " As I believe in the efficacy of prayer, I shall not forget 
 to ask our common Father to reward you a hundred fold in 
 this world for all your kind attentions to me ; to lead you 
 into all truth ; to give you all the qualifications necessary to 
 make you meet to be a partaker of the inheritance with the 
 saints in light. In the mean time I subscribe myself, 
 " Sir, your sincere and greatly obliged friend, 
 
 " W. Fisk. 
 
 In the month of October (1821) he paid a visit to Provi- 
 dence, where he spent some days in company with Miss 
 Peck. Returning, he visited his friends in Charlestown and 
 
LIBERALITY. HEALTH. 
 
 103 
 
 Boston, and was much delighted in the latter city at finding a 
 very happy revival of religion in progress. On his return he 
 tarried a short time in his native town, and formed an agree- 
 able acquaintance with the Episcopal clergyman of Guild- 
 ford, from whom he received an urgent invitation to preach 
 in his church ; but circumstances did not allow it. He also 
 mentions reading Bishop Hobart's address to the clergy of 
 his diocese, with which he was much pleased. These little 
 things are mentioned only to show his liberality of mind, and 
 the readiness with which he saw and admired whatever was 
 good in others, though he did not in all things agree with them. 
 He arrived at his paternal home in good spirits, and some- 
 what improved by his jaunt. 
 
 His state and prospects during the winter are shown in a 
 letter to Miss Peck, dated January 25, 1822 : 
 
 " My Dear Friend, 
 
 " You have probably heard from me twice since I last 
 wrote, by the letters that I wrote to Brothers Rogers and 
 Taft. From them you have learned that my health contin- 
 ues much as usual ; on the whole, rather better than it was 
 last summer and autumn. It continues much the same still, 
 except that the extreme cold weather has increased my 
 cough. If I stand it through March without a return of the 
 bleeding, I shall hope to regain my former state of health ; 
 but such is the nature of my complaint, and it has been of 
 so long standing, that I have no hope that I shall ever be an 
 effective man in the vineyard of the Lord. I am aware that 
 I shall always need much care over myself, and always be 
 under the necessity of paying much attention to this frail 
 body. I have a hope, however, that I shall not be altogether 
 useless in the Church, with all my infirmities ; but in what 
 way the Lord, in his providence, will see fit to employ me, 
 if he spare my life, I have yet to learn. The employment 
 and station suited to my present state are such as I am now 
 in : a comfortable home, with liberty to divide my time, ac- 
 cording to health, weather, and other circumstances, in visit- 
 ing my friends, preaching, reading, and writing ; but what 
 my brethren will think about my continuing with them, al- 
 
104 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 most as an encumbrance, without rendering them much as- 
 sistance, I know not. I may now be considered as a drone 
 bee, that helps to consume the honey, but gathers none. 
 And perhaps my more efficient and industrious brethren 
 may think I had better leave the hive, especially if there is 
 not a prospect of my becoming more useful soon. However, 
 for myself, I borrow no anxieties about the future. I feel 
 perfectly confident that the God I serve, if I am faithful to 
 him, will go before me to direct my way. I only mention 
 these things, because I think you may wish to know my 
 thoughts and prospects. For your sake, I would be glad to 
 state something more definite or more encouraging. You 
 see, my dear, we are still called upon to live by faith ; but 
 we do know that He in whom we trust is faithful, and that 
 all things shall work together for good — our eternal good. 
 I know that your feelings would not, any more than mine, 
 permit you willingly to increase the burden of the Church, 
 and therefore we will cheerfully wait the openings of Prov- 
 idence. Indeed, I am becoming more and more established 
 in that important doctrine : it calms every anxious feeling. 
 Think of it much, my dear R. ; it will be useful to you 
 through life, under all circumstances. 
 
 " May the grace of God dwell in you richly, and direct 
 you in all things, is the prayer of your unworthy but sin- 
 cerely affectionate W. Fisk." 
 
 The next epistle was addressed to two young ladies — sis- 
 ters — of his recent charge : 
 
 "I beg the privilege of answering your letters in one, as 
 what I wish to communicate to each of you will be general- 
 ly the same. And first of all, permit me to express the sat- 
 isfaction I feel in learning from yourselves that you are still 
 engaged in the service of the Lord. ' I have no greater joy 
 than to hear that my children walk in truth.' — (3 John, 4.) 
 And this is particularly gratifying to me in my present sit- 
 uation. Laid by, as I measurably am, from active service 
 in the vineyard of the Lord, with but a small prospect of 
 ever being able to labour as I have done, what would be my 
 
CHRISTIAN ADVICE. 
 
 105 
 
 pain if I saw the few plants which I have, through grace, 
 been instrumental in planting, withering and dying ? On 
 the other hand, if I see them standing fast, growing and 
 bearing fruit, proportionably great will be my joy. Such, 
 my dear sisters, is the joy in you and others of the little soci- 
 ety in Charlestown. This joy is increased when I hear you 
 express, as you have done in your letters, a desire for full 
 redemption in the blood of Christ. What shall I say to you 
 to assist you in this good work ? Can I say anything that I 
 have not said ? I have said to you, scores of times, believe, 
 and the blessing is yours. 
 
 " 1. Believe that it is attainable : and, when you get this 
 degree of faith, fix your mind there. After being convinced 
 that this is the doctrine of the Bible, do not suffer the enemy 
 to come in at the time you are struggling for full redemption, 
 and disconcert your mind by suggesting, ' perhaps there is 
 no such blessing attainable !' Be assured much is lost by 
 our not holding all we gain. What doth it profit if we 
 gain half our object, and then, while we are thinking of the 
 other half, lose all we have gained ? Yet this is the way 
 that too many are in who are seeking to i perfect holiness 
 in the fear of the Lord.' The devil quarrels all away from 
 them that they gain, and then they have to begin anew ; and 
 perhaps a number of times, in the course of their experience, 
 they have to begin back to the first principles of the doctrine 
 of sanctification, and learn that such a blessing is attainable. 
 But let us, in our Christian experience, adopt the miser's max- 
 im : ' Keep what you get, and get what you can.' Fasten 
 everything as you go. When you have gained one foot of 
 ground, suffer not your enemy to flatter you out of it, nor 
 reason you out of it, nor frighten you out of it. If you take 
 this course you will constantly gain something ; and, though 
 you have to contend for your ground inch by inch, yet all 
 you gain will be yours. 
 
 " 2. You must not only believe there is such a blessing, 
 but also believe it is for you. The tempter would make you 
 believe, if he could, that your God is a partial God ; that 
 he has a few choice blessings, which he confers upon indi- 
 viduals — preachers, perhaps, and a few others — but they can- 
 
 O 
 
106 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 not be obtained by all. But believe him not ; he is dis- 
 honouring your God by such a suggestion. 
 
 " 3. If your case seems the most difficult of any — if it 
 seems almost impossible that such unholy and sinful hearts 
 as yours can be made holy — believe that, the more difficult 
 the case, the more ready the great Physician is to offer his 
 assistance, the more will he be glorified and his grace mag- 
 nified in your cause. The Lord Jesus delights to search 
 out and afford assistance to the greatest sinners. Is there a 
 woman that has spent all her substance with physicians, and 
 finds no relief? is there an impotent man, that hath lain a 
 long time at the pool, and not been healed ? is there a Mag- 
 dalen that has seven devils ? — these are the very cases that 
 our Lord relieves. 
 
 " I might go on with my instructions, but, to say all in a 
 few words, go to Christ ; take him for your sanctificaiion 
 and your all. And permit me to add one word of caution : 
 While you are striving for more victory, while you are pant- 
 ing for all the fulness of God, do not suppose that nothing is 
 to be enjoyed and nothing can be done till you receive all 
 that you are seeking for. Many in this way have laboured, 
 and toiled, and took no spiritual refreshments until they have 
 sunk under their exertions, and for a time given over their 
 pursuit ; but, seeing their need, they have started again, 
 and again exhausted themselves and given over their pur- 
 suit, and perhaps given up the object altogether. At any 
 rate, they do not gain so much ground as if they fed them- 
 selves as they went along. Saul, at a certain time, in his 
 eagerness to destroy his enemies, prohibited the people from 
 eating, that they might have the more time to destroy their 
 foes ; but the people, in consequence, became faint, and the 
 victory was not so great as if they had eaten freely. — (See 1 
 Sam., xiv., 24, 28, 29, 30.) But be ye not like them. God 
 has laid no such prohibition upon you. If, as you pursue 
 your spiritual foe, the trees of grace around you are drop- 
 ping with honey, you may not only take a morsel on the end 
 of your rod, but eat freely, till your soul is satisfied ; and 
 then, not only will your eyes be enlightened, but your souls 
 will be strengthened to pursue your enemies till all are slain. 
 
STATE OF HEALTH. 
 
 107 
 
 Fight on and rejoice on. While contending for more 
 ground, cultivate what you have got. This is the way to 
 make your exertions constant and your warfare joyous. O 
 what a glorious combat is this ! We triumph while we fight." 
 
 " March 14. 
 
 " To Mrs. Goodwin. 
 
 " I know of nothing very important to communicate to 
 you ; but, as you and your daughters have manifested such 
 a deep interest in my welfare, perhaps the old dull and un- 
 interesting subject, self, may not be altogether such to you 
 and yours, especially if he be not put forward too much, and 
 kept upon the stage too long. To begin, then, with the 
 body ; in its outward appearance, it is much as when you saw 
 it ; also in its strength and activity (or, rather, weakness and 
 inactivity) much the same. It is but a weak and tottering 
 cottage, in which the immortal inhabitant tabernacles for a 
 few days. She hopes for, and talks of a better house. And 
 were it not for the weakness of her faith, and a sense of 
 her own unworthiness and sinfulness ; were it not that she 
 has not yet obtained leave of her Lord to enter into the 
 heavenly mansions, the spirit would ere this have made her 
 escape through some of the chinks and openings of this 
 earthly cottage, ' to the house not made with hands, eternal 
 in the heavens.' As it is, much of my time and attention 
 are taken up in propping up the shattered building ; not un- 
 like (as I have often thought) the manner in which I have 
 frequently seen the Vermont peasant support with shores 
 and props his log cottage, that otherwise would fall and 
 crush its inhabitants. But when he has done all, he has at 
 best but a dangerous, inconvenient, and unlovely dwelling. 
 So with me : yet I murmur not ; for my blessed Lord has 
 given the promise that he { will change this vile body, and 
 fashion it like unto his most glorious body.'' 
 
 " ' In hope of that immortal crown, 
 I now the cross sustain, 
 And gladly wander up and down, 
 And smile at toil and pain.' 
 
 See the whole hymn in our collection, page 481. Tell your 
 daughters I know a sweet tune to the hymn, and hope I 
 
108 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 shall one day have the pleasure of singing it to them. I 
 often sing it till my soul is fired with the sentiment it con- 
 tains. Every line is full of meaning, and full of an antici- 
 pated Heaven. But I perceive, in giving you an account of 
 the body, I have imperceptibly slid into some account of the 
 soul ; and no wonder, for the soul is the most valuable ; 
 and but for this, the body would be worth nothing. And 
 were it not that the soul needs some kind of a dwelling du- 
 ring its temporary stay here ; and were it not that this body, 
 refined and immortalized, is to be the companion of the soul 
 hereafter, I would never more talk or think about it ; but 
 as it is, I think considerably of the body. Is the body here 
 the medium and occasion of pain ? Ah ! says faith, it shall 
 be the medium and occasion of happiness hereafter ; and for 
 your light pains on earth you shall have great degrees of 
 happiness in heaven ; and I believe happiness will be much 
 more perfect, in consequence of the reunion of soul and 
 body, than it otherwise would be. Is the body here a me- 
 dium of temptations ? Hereafter all its spiritualized senses 
 shall be so many additional inlets of joy. Does the body 
 here weigh down and clog the soul ? There it shall be a 
 light, buoyant vehicle, which, without touching the pave- 
 ment of heaven, shall bear the soul swift as angels fly, and 
 without weariness, through all the endless variety of the par- 
 adise of God. I need your indulgence. I begin to speak 
 of the body, and I talk of the soul ; I begin to speak of the 
 soul, and I talk of the body ; and I probably have spoken 
 of both much longer than I ought. Jesus Christ is a better 
 theme. Let me say, then, all that I have of bodily health 
 and comforts I derive from Jesus the Creator and preserver ; 
 all I have of spiritual health and comforts I derive from Je- 
 sus the Redeemer ; all my hopes for body or soul hereafter 
 I derive from him. He is the sinner's friend, therefore he 
 is my friend. ' He of God is made unto the believer wis- 
 dom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.' 1 Lord, 
 I believe : help thou my unbelief!' " 
 
 The period of Mr. Fisk's indisposition was one of great 
 prosperity in the cause of religion throughout his vicinity. 
 
STATE OF RELIGION. 
 
 109 
 
 The ministers of our own Church, though not generally men 
 of finished education, were men of sound minds, good nat- 
 ural parts, of great decision and force of character, and 
 deeply imbued with the spirit of their station. Their indus- 
 try was indefatigable. They constantly preached for the 
 conversion of sinners and sanctification of believers ; always 
 expected fruit, and were unhappy without it. According to 
 the language of our Discipline, they considered " fruit" as a 
 test of their call to the ministry. Hence their constant 
 prayer was, " Give me children, or else I die." In this 
 spirit each one went through the country like a flaming 
 torch, carrying light and heat into every neighbourhood ; 
 and their success bore a good proportion to their labour. 
 To this the state of the country was not entirely unfavoura- 
 ble. The people had been accustomed to a dry, cold, life- 
 less ministry, and a M form of godliness" without the power, 
 which held no place in the affections, and exercised but little 
 control over their consciences. Their prejudices, it is true, 
 were very strong ; but, as they heard for themselves, these 
 gradually yielded before the power of reason. The truth 
 took hold of their hearts, and spread from one to another, 
 and from village to village, and town to town, until the re- 
 gion all around was in a blaze. Other denominations also 
 caught the like spirit, so that the improvement in the reli- 
 gious condition was truly astonishing. 
 
 These were gratifying and trying seasons to Mr. Fisk : 
 gratifying to his contemplations, but trying because not al- 
 lowed to participate in the work. He was like a caged lion 
 in a forest abounding with game, or a disabled war-horse 
 neighing at the sound of the battle. Hear his own language : 
 " Sometimes I am almost ready to rise up like Samson, 
 who, when shorn of his strength, went out to shake himself 
 as at other times, for he wist not that his strength had de- 
 parted from him ; but I soon learn my weakness, and sit 
 down measurably reconciled that God should send by whom 
 he will." And how deeply his affections were embarked in 
 this work may be farther seen by the following extract from 
 a letter to the Rev. Daniel Filmore : " My health is, on the 
 whole, better since the opening of the spring. Perhaps the 
 10 
 
110 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 coming year I may be able to do something ; but I can as- 
 sure you I form but a very weak spoke in our itinerating 
 machine. The machine itself, however, must move on, and 
 will move on. I am as great an advocate for this as ever ; 
 indeed, the more I see of it, the more I am convinced of its 
 utility. This machine, if we, as a Church, live religion, will 
 roll throughout our country till it breaks down all opposition. 
 May the Lord go before it, a pillar of cloud by day, and of 
 fire by night. If I cannot move with it, I can pray for it." 
 
 He was not entirely inactive, however ; for, as appears by 
 the subjoined letter to Mrs. Goodwin, he had again ventured 
 into the pulpit : 
 
 "May 25th, 1822. 
 
 " I sit down late on Saturday afternoon to answer the last 
 from you, which I do at this time more particularly, be- 
 cause, after preaching to our good folks in L. to-morrow, I 
 purpose to set out the next day to visit some new towns in 
 our northern border and in Lower Canada, which will oc- 
 cupy all my spare time before Conference. I must there- 
 fore write now, or not at all. My object in the above-men- 
 tioned journey is to examine some northern towns, where we 
 think of forming a new circuit, and also to visit two or three 
 new settlements that have been blessed with revivals of late, 
 which are destitute of preaching ; especially one, which con- 
 tains about twenty families, a great part of whom have be- 
 come Christianized (though very loose before), and that, too, 
 without any, or but little public preaching. I also expect to 
 take in my tour my beloved Craftsbury Circuit, and visit 
 once more before Conference the children the Lord has 
 given me there. Craftsbury Society and Circuit 1 is my 
 first-born, and the beginning of my strength; the excellen- 
 cy of dignity, and the excellency of power.' My second, 
 Charlestown, cost me more tears and more pains, and is yet 
 the subject of greater anxiety ; but they are both as dear to 
 me as labours, tears, and anxieties on my part, and kind- 
 nesses, and dangers, and reciprocal affection on theirs, can 
 make them. But I the more joyfully visit Craftsbury Circuit 
 now, because I learn that one town, where I was accustom- 
 
LETTER. 
 
 Ill 
 
 ed to preach, and where all my public and private labours 
 appeared to be fruitless, is beginning to yield. A cloud of 
 mercy is hanging over, and a few gracious drops have de- 
 scended. I fly to witness the wonder that even Irasburg 
 has received the Gospel. Lord, let it spread through the 
 town. Indeed, there is a sound of abundance of rain all 
 around these regions. I have just returned from Concord, 
 in this state, where the Lord is carrying on a gracious work. 
 Between twenty and thirty have already found pardon, and 
 many are saying, 'What shall I do to be saved?' I feel 
 my whole soul in this work, but my body is in no work 
 worth mentioning. It is as good a body as I deserve, but I 
 assure you it is a miserable one : it has grown no better since 
 I last wrote. Indeed, my health has been poorer for three 
 weeks past than it was for some weeks before ; but I feel 
 that I am the Lord's, soul and body. I forget if I mention- 
 ed in my last that we are to hold a camp-meeting in Barre, 
 to commence on the 18th of June ; after which, the Lord 
 willing, Brother Hoyt and myself will return home and spend 
 the Sabbath, and then start for Conference. Our Confer- 
 ence to us (you must know) is more than the feast of taber- 
 nacles or of first-fruits was to the Jews. Here we meet from 
 all parts of the work to tell over our joys and our sorrows, 
 our adversities and successes during the past year. Brother 
 meets brother with ' How have you been ? What have you 
 witnessed ? How is your part of Zion prospering ?' Here 
 one finds a brother from his old circuit or station, and learns, 
 in answer to his anxious inquiries, that one is persevering in 
 grace, another has backslidden, and another has gone to 
 Heaven. We talk about the campaign of the coming year, 
 rejoice together seven or eight happy days, then each man 
 takes horse, flies to his post to labour, to suffer, to rejoice, 
 perhaps to die. But what then ? 1 He dies in the field of 
 battle,' and goes home to wear a crown of glory. Blessed 
 be God for the prospect of dying- in the field of battle. You 
 recollect, in our minutes of Conference, we have, among oth- 
 ers, this question : ' Who have died this year ?' Then fol- 
 lows the names of our deceased brethren. In this catalogue, 
 if you are careful to read it over year after year, you will 
 
112 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 ere long read the name of your much obliged friend, "Will- 
 bur Fisk. To the short account that may there be given, 
 you may add with your pencil this : i His early departure 
 excited in his breast but one regret, which was, that he had 
 to leave the war before the cause of truth obtained a general 
 triumph ;' yet he could say, 1 Even so, Father ; for so it 
 seemed good in thy sight.' Amen, and amen." 
 
EDUCATION. 
 
 113 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Education. — Preaches at Brattleborough. — Dedication Sermon at Danville. — Let- 
 ters. — Marriage. 
 
 We havE now reached the period at which Mr. Fisk's ef- 
 forts were to be enlisted in the cause of education. He was 
 well qualified to appreciate its importance ; but, like most of 
 our ministers, he had been too fully engrossed with other still 
 more important objects to make any personal exertions in its 
 behalf. Nor, indeed, prior to this era, were any denomina- 
 tional arrangements with a view to it demanded. But, as 
 it had pleased Heaven to increase the numbers, wealth, and 
 other resources of the Church, it became necessary to pro- 
 vide for the education of her children. Providence clearly 
 opened the way for this object by turning the heart of the 
 Church towards it, and by furnishing men and means to car- 
 ry on the enterprise. 
 
 At the New-England Conference for 1822, Mr. Fisk was 
 ordained elder and returned superannuated. He was re- 
 quested, at the same time, by the Conference, to employ 
 himself, as far as his sttength would allow, in raising funds 
 to aid the Academy at Newmarket (N. H.), the only insti- 
 tution of the kind in New-England under the care of the 
 Methodist Church. It had been founded only a few years, 
 and was dragging along a feeble and sickly existence ; but 
 its character and regulations — I know not why — did not 
 meet Mr. Fisk's approbation. He therefore determined to 
 decline the employment, unless the objectionable features 
 could be removed. To ascertain whether such modification 
 could be effected, he made a visit of observation to the acad- 
 emy ; prior to which, however, he spent a few days among 
 his friends at Providence. 
 
 There is ground for supposing that Mr. Fisk's thoughts 
 were not now first turned to the subject of education. He 
 seems to have contemplated some course of conduct in ref- 
 10* P 
 
114 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 erence to it ; but if so, it was very important to his success, 
 whether so intended or not, that he had established such a 
 character for piety and truly Christian zeal as had placed his 
 motives and ulterior views beyond suspicion. He had gained, 
 in a high degree, both the affections of the Church and the 
 confidence of the public. Some light is thrown on these 
 points by a remark which he made in a conversation between 
 himself, Miss Peck, and Mr. Taft. On giving to Miss Peck 
 the reasons why he could not encourage the Newmarket in- 
 stitution, he added, " But if the Lord spare my life, and will 
 give me influence, with his blessing the Methodist Church 
 shall not want academies nor colleges." After he had left 
 the room, Mr. Taft remarked, " Mr. Fisk, if he live, will be 
 a president or a bishop ; and with his humility, how bright 
 will be his example !" The sequel honours his penetration. 
 
 During his visit at Providence, in conversation with some 
 friends, Mr. Fisk advanced the following views, which, be- 
 cause they are alluded to in the subjoined letter, we think 
 it proper to introduce. The subject of discussion was po- 
 liteness. Mr. Fisk asserted that Lord Chesterfield's code is 
 little more than a system of dissimulation or polished hypoc- 
 risy ; that religion is the only firm basis of true politeness ; 
 and that, if we followed more closely the Saviour's precepts, 
 it would gradually polish a rough exterior : he remarked that 
 no other politeness would bear the scrutiny of Heaven. He 
 added, " I may be peculiar in my views, but I always think 
 of it as I do of neatness, that the want of it is incompatible 
 with the spirit of the Gospel." 
 
 From Providence Mr. Fisk made a tour through Massa- 
 chusetts and New-Hampshire, visiting, as above mentioned, 
 the academy at Newmarket. His mind was still dissatis- 
 fied with the state of the institution, and he therefore deter- 
 mined to do nothing for its support. He proceeded home- 
 ward by slow journeys and a circuitous route, and on reach- 
 ing Walpole addressed to his friend at Providence the ensu- 
 ing letter : 
 
 " August 30th, 1822. 
 
 " I have only had an opportunity to write you a hasty 
 note from Marshfield since I left Providence ; and although 
 
LETTER TO MISS PECK FROM WALPOLE. 
 
 115 
 
 this is a late hour (half past 10 o'clock), yet it is a good 
 one, and I eagerly employ it to write to you. It is at such 
 a time as this that my mind is completely itself. All is si- 
 lent around me save the music of the cricket in the wall, 
 whose plaintive note serves only to sooth the mind, and 
 harmonize the softer feelings of the soul. At a time so well 
 suited to reflection, you can judge of my feelings. Reflec- 
 tion carries me back to past days — scenes that will never 
 return. The thought 4 is, like the memory of joys that are 
 past, pleasant and mournful to the soul.' Anticipation looks 
 forward to the future ; and here I should be pained did I not 
 believe that you, as well as myself, can put your trust in God. 
 
 " My health has endured my journey thus far as well as I 
 could expect — perhaps, on the whole, better ; and I some- 
 times indulge the thought that God may yet make me in some 
 degree efficient in the Church. But again I chide myself for 
 indulging it. I would live every moment by faith. When I 
 review God's past providences to me, I am constrained to 
 say, Truly I, of all others, ought to place the most implicit 
 trust in his future dispensations. The doctrine of Provi- 
 dence is to me a precious doctrine. Here I can rest and be 
 at ease, for God will do all things well. 
 
 " Soon after I parted with you, I left Providence, made a 
 short stop at Marshfield, Newmarket, and Charlestown, 
 and then set my face for Vermont. Notwithstanding, I fre- 
 quently cast a longing, lingering look behind ; yet the dri- 
 ver and his horses were both unconscious of it, and hurried 
 me on with such rapidity, that, had our route been direct, I 
 might have indulged the thought of seeing the distant hills 
 of Vermont that night. But this pleasing vision I was obli- 
 ged to forego. However, before I arrived at Walpole (where 
 I am now writing) I had a view of Vermont. We were 
 ascending a pile of hills, that Nature, in some of her romantic 
 sports, had thrown together without any order, when we ar- 
 rived at a lofty eminence, where we had a prospect as exten- 
 sive as the eye could compass. My attention, you will read- 
 ily conclude, was turned towards Vermont. Below was a 
 rich valley, through which ran the beautiful Connecticut ; 
 still farther were seen, scattered upon a hundred hills, the 
 
116 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 numerous settlements of the Vermont cottagers ; beyond the 
 whole, the Green Mountains, now stopping the course of the 
 clouds with their lofty summits, now subsiding into more 
 passable heights, like a pillow of clouds stretched themselves 
 from north to south as far as the eye could ken. When to 
 this grand scenery was added the reflection that this was 
 6 my own, my native' state, the place where I prattled in 
 infancy, and sported in childhood, and in riper years learned 
 to love all that was lovely and sublime in nature, it raised 
 emotions that I cannot express. Such a prospect, perhaps, 
 would appear very different to you, educated, as you have 
 been, in the city. To you it might seem only a view of gloomy 
 vales and cheerless hills, where owls might screech or wolves 
 howl ; but to me it appeared like the ' land of delight,' where 
 the whippoorwill sung in the evening and the robin in the 
 morning, where simple sincerity took the place of unmean- 
 ing compliments and polished hypocrisy ; and yet I am in- 
 clined to think you would love Vermont. Your own native 
 simplicity of character would lead you to love the people, 
 and the beauties of nature would inspire you with love for 
 its natural scenery : for we have not only much of the beau- 
 tiful, but the grand, the sublime, that can kindle up the loft- 
 iest emotions of the soul. When, my dear R., I add to these 
 wild and lofty formations of nature the careering of the ele- 
 ments in all their terrific grandeur, my own soul is over- 
 whelmed, not only with the awful sublimity and grandeur of 
 ( Him who made them all,' but with a sense of my own notk* 
 ingness, a worm of the dust, a mere speck in creation ! O 
 the boundless goodness of God ! who, though he makes 
 darkness his secret place, his pavilion round about him 
 dark waters and thick clouds of the skies, yet he deigns 
 to notice even me ! poor feeble me ! O the unparalleled con- 
 descension of the love of God in Christ Jesus ! O my soul, 
 be lost in wonder, love, and. praise /" 
 
 In the course of this jaunt Mr. Fisk visited his relatives 
 at Brattleborough, where he was invited to preach in the 
 Congregational Church. The circumstances are, at this day, 
 somewhat amusing. The people of this town, like many 
 
INCIDENT AT BRATTLEBOROUGII DEDICATION SERMON. 117 
 
 others in New-England at that period, did not very well 
 understand the Wesleyan system ; but they, nevertheless, 
 agreed that it was dreadfully heretical. The congregation 
 did not generally know that he was a Methodist, nor ever 
 suspected from his preaching that he was heterodox. He 
 preached with all his usual effect. His audience thought it 
 not inconsistent with the soundest orthodoxy greatly to ad- 
 mire the sermon. One old lady, who thought the Metho- 
 dist doctrine very terrible, was particularly warm and profuse 
 in her encomiums ; but her more knowing son remarked, 
 " Well, mother, you have heard a Methodist preacher at 
 last, and you have lived through it." The good lady felt 
 thunderstruck ; nevertheless, she had gone too far to retract. 
 " Well, well, well," said a gentleman, on being similarly 
 caught, " if that be Methodism, I wish we had more of it." 
 Mr. Fisk preached but a few times in Brattleborough, yet he 
 has several living seals to his ministry there. 
 
 He reached his father's some time in September, much 
 recruited in health and strength. Soon after he wrote to a 
 friend, saying that his " summer's leisure and holyday had 
 been of great service" to him ; adding, " but I find I must 
 have done with this idling, and go to work." Accordingly, a 
 vacancy having occurred on Lyndon Circuit, through the ill- 
 ness of a minister, he consented to fill his appointment. He 
 was now employed in the manner most congenial to his dis- 
 position. " I am now," he writes, " in the character that I 
 so much admire — a regular itinerant preacher." There are 
 many who will not sympathize with him in this admiration ; 
 but we must remember that our estimate of an object de- 
 pends as much on our own character as on the object itself. 
 To one class we read " the preaching of the cross was fool- 
 ishness," while to another it was " the power of God." 
 
 In the autumn of this year (1822) the Methodist Society 
 at the adjacent town of Danville invited Mr. Fisk to preach 
 the dedication sermon for a church they had just erected. 
 It was with no little diffidence he gave his consent. In a 
 letter to the Rev. Daniel Filmore, dated October 27, is 
 found the following passage in reference to it : 
 
118 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 " This week, on Wednesday, is appointed for the dedi- 
 cation of the new Methodist Chapel at Danville. For the 
 want of a better man, who had time or inclination to under- 
 take it, they have appointed poor me to preach the dedica- 
 tion sermon. My subject is, 1 God is a Spirit : and they that 
 worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.' — 
 John, iv., 24. 
 
 " The doctrine of the text is contained in two propositions : 
 " First. The worship of God must be spiritual. 
 " Second. The worship of God must be in truth. 
 " And the doctrine contained in these two propositions is 
 confirmed and enforced by a 
 " Third, < God is a Spirit.' 
 
 " 1 guess it will be rather a slim sermon. But I can judge 
 better after it is preached ; and my hearers will judge better 
 
 stuiy 
 
 His congregation did judge better : for their judgment in- 
 duced him to send it to the press, whence it was issued in 
 pamphlet form, and afterward (1824) was inserted in the 
 Methodist Magazine. 
 
 When the reader considers how recently the author had 
 commenced his ministry, he will admit that he could have 
 been no negligent student of theology. The design of the 
 sermon was to give a view of the doctrines and kind of 
 preaching that might be expected from that pulpit. It is 
 well adjusted to the purpose. It is clear in its statements, 
 evangelical in its character, practical in its tendency, and 
 fervent in its piety. It had not the urgency and fervour of 
 his ordinary style of preaching,* but the occasion hardly 
 called for it. Nor had it the maturity and finish of his later 
 productions. Nevertheless, it is a discourse, especially con- 
 sidering the early period of his life and ministry, of far more 
 than ordinary ability. 
 
 While Mr. Fisk was stationed at Charlestown, he and 
 
 * Since writing the above, I have learned that at this time Mr. Fisk was obliged 
 to preach with the greatest caution. He durst not allow his feelings to become 
 deeply enlisted in his subject, for fear of renewing his hemorrhage. He fre- 
 quently said that it required much grace and self-command to restrain his emo- 
 tions within the limit of prudence. 
 
ORIGIN OF ZION'S HERALD. 
 
 119 
 
 others felt the want of some medium by which the friends 
 of Zion could communicate their views, and diffuse religious 
 intelligence among the churches. Accordingly, an asso- 
 ciation was formed, called an Intelligence Society, under 
 whose auspices a small pamphlet was issued weekly. But 
 this not fully answering the purpose, it was determined to 
 establish a weekly religious newspaper of a superior char- 
 acter. The subject was accordingly brought before the 
 New-England Conference. This was the origin of Zion's 
 Herald, the first publication of the kind in our denomination, 
 if not the first in the country and the world. It was ably 
 conducted, and soon obtained a large circulation, so that 
 when, in the year 1826, it was transferred to the Book-room, 
 it numbered more than five thousand subscribers. 
 
 To the Agent of the Intelligence Society, Boston. 
 
 " Lyndon, November 8th, 1822. 
 
 "Dear Brother, 
 
 " I suppose I ought to have written you, as the agent for 
 the Intelligence Society, before this ; but my labours for the 
 season thus far (until within a few weeks) have been so gen- 
 eral and scattered, that I have hardly had anything to com- 
 municate ; neither have I now anything of very special im- 
 portance. We can say, however, to the praise of God's 
 grace, that our Zion generally, in this section of the work, is 
 rising. Clouds of mercy, for more than twelve months past, 
 seem to have been gathering over us, and still they promise 
 much. Though we do not realize as yet any very powerful 
 showers of reviving grace, yet gentle rains, like ' showers 
 that water the earth,' refresh different parts of our vineyard. 
 Lyndon Circuit, where I now labour, is, on the whole, rising. 
 Lyndon itself is not so full of the heavenly flame as it has 
 sometimes been, though the members are generally steadfast. 
 In Sutton, where but twelve or fifteen months since we had 
 but eight or ten members, we have now between thirty and 
 forty, and the work is still promising. This work ought to 
 be particularly noticed. It is in a town where, for a number 
 of years, there has been little else but ' envying, strife, and 
 every evil work.' Citizen has been armed against citizen, 
 
120 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 and neighbour against neighbour, even to personal violence 
 and wanton destruction of each other's property. And, what 
 rendered it more painful to the friends of religion and peace, 
 this division and enmity had its first rise in strife between 
 two churches of different denominations ; but our preachers 
 went in, and began to preach without meddling with any of 
 their contentions. God has owned the word, and the pros- 
 pect is that the old leaven of malice will be purged out by 
 the leaven of grace. Truly the words of the prophet are 
 verified : ' The work of righteousness shall be peace, and the 
 effects of righteousness quietness.' 
 
 " In Burke we have lately received some members, and the 
 prospect is good. At Concord we have raised up a small 
 society, within nine months past, of something like thirty 
 members, against much opposition and strong prejudices. 
 
 ' It has been one of those places, of which we have too 
 many in New-England, where Methodism has been hardly 
 known except as a term of reproach. When shall we have 
 light enough to enlighten all the dark corners of our land ? 
 
 " I have lately visited Craftsbury and Danville Circuits, 
 and find them, on the whole, rising. Our camp-meeting at 
 Cabot was made a great blessing to Danville Circuit. The 
 members, which were before generally low, are greatly 
 quickened. There are conversions and growing prospects 
 in Cabot, Hardwick, Danville, Woodbury, and Walden. 
 In the three latter towns especially there are good revivals. 
 A very neat, convenient chapel, the first (best ?) on the cir- 
 cuit, was dedicated in Danville on the 30th of last month 
 [October], and another is under way in Cabot ; so that that 
 circuit, which has been declining for a few years past, espe- 
 cially since Lyndon was taken off from it, bids fair to take 
 a good stand very speedily. 
 
 " On Craftsbury Circuit, there are conversions in Albany 
 and Barton, and quite an awakening in Holland. There 
 old Brother Robinson, whose house used to be a home for 
 our preachers in the State of Connecticut thirty years ago, 
 is reaping the fruits of his prayers. He was at the Quarterly 
 Meeting for Craftsbury Circuit in Albany ; his head was 
 white with age, but his soul was in full strength; and he was 
 
DEVOUT FRAME. 
 
 121 
 
 rejoicing in the perfect love of God, and praising the Lord 
 from a full soul that many of his neighbours and some of his 
 children were turning to the Lord. * I had almost given 
 over,' said the good old man, 1 but the Lord has heard my 
 prayer at last.' 
 
 " Finally, we have much to encourage us in these regions, 
 and have reason to think that God is with us. While you 
 have a strong company to unite with you in Boston, do not 
 forget the few sheep scattered upon the mountains of Ver- 
 mont." 
 
 Can any one read the following account of his humble, 
 devout, heavenly state of mind without having his own heart 
 affected and his devotional feelings elevated ? It is an ex- 
 tract from a letter to his aunt at Brattleborough : 
 
 " December 10, 1822. 
 # # # " But I want, most of all, to feel more of the bless- 
 ed effects of the atoning sacrifice in my own soul. I have 
 not the power to explain, as clearly as I could wish, this 
 glorious doctrine to others, so as to enlighten the ignorant 
 and silence cavillers ; but in the experimental use of this 
 doctrine, as it respects my own case, I have not, for two or 
 three years, found any perplexing difficulties in my creed — 
 I had like to have said, no obscurity in my views — and I 
 know not but I might have said it with safety. I see clearly 
 the necessity, and propriety, and glory of taking Jesus Christ 
 as my wisdom, my righteousness, my sanclification, my re- 
 demption. And I see, I think, very clearly how this is done 
 — by simple faith. My mind seldom hits upon this subject 
 but it causes to vibrate one of the tenderest chords of my 
 soul ; it ' dissolves my heart in tenderness, and melts my 
 eyes to tears.' Is this the excitement of merely natural sym- 
 pathies ? Is it enthusiasm ? Blessed enthusiasm ! Would 
 to God I could live under its influence forever ! It tends, 
 more than anything else, to sink me into my own nothing- 
 ness ; causes me to throw myself in the dust at the foot of 
 the cross, my only proper place ; leads me to exalted and 
 heart-cheering views of God, my Redeemer, and induces 
 11 Q 
 
122 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 me to cry out with the apostle, 6 This is a faithful saying', 
 and worthy of^all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the 
 world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.' But my diffi- 
 culty is the weakness and inconstancy of that apprehending, 
 that appropriating act of faith, which ' receives the atone- 
 ment' and holds it fast ; which takes into the heart the heav- 
 enly guest, and entertains him there. Faith, when it is as 
 it should be, enables the soul not only occasionally to breathe, 
 but constantly to live. i I am crucified with Christ,' saith 
 the apostle, ' nevertheless I live ; yet not I, but Christ liv- 
 eth in me ; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live 
 by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave him- 
 self for me.' How few know by experience the deep import 
 of these words ? and yet all should know it — all may know 
 it. Into this state my soul at times presses to enter : till I 
 attain to this, I cannot, must not rest. If you believe this 
 state attainable, my dear aunt, and I think you do, unite 
 your prayers with mine, that I may gain, in the full sense 
 of the apostle, this death, this life, this spiritual crucifixion 
 and resurrection ; and then, whenever I come to the people, 
 I shall come in the fulness of the blessing of the Gospel of 
 peace." 
 
 To a young relative, who was in danger of imbibing lax 
 and dangerous views of Christianity, Mr. Fisk addressed this 
 faithful letter of warning and remonstrance. 
 
 " Lyndon, January 15, 1823. 
 u As your father is going down, I can hardly persuade my- 
 self to let so favourable an opportunity pass without writing, 
 though I have nothing of consequence to communicate ; 
 and I suppose you are in no hurry for another long lecture, 
 such as I gave you in my last ; probably you have not yet 
 digested that. There is reason, however, for another, if the 
 fears of our common friend H. are well founded. She rather 
 suspects you of skepticism. She thinks, however, that you 
 are not aware of it, but that it is creeping upon you, and en- 
 twining itself with your feelings secretly and imperceptibly, 
 while you imagine that you are still holding fast the princi- 
 
TO A YOUNG FRIEND ON SKEPTICISM. 
 
 123 
 
 pies in which you were educated. Now this, considering 
 where you live, is very possible. The very atmosphere of 
 Boston is contagious ; and a man mingling in society there 
 is in danger, unless fortified by experimental godliness, of 
 inhaling the most deleterious air that was ever breathed by 
 the soul of man. A man is in more danger in Boston, be- 
 cause the cup of infidelity is beautifully gilt, and its con- 
 tents so artfully mixed that he who quaffs it imagines him- 
 self drinking the most salutary beverage. Their religion is 
 liberal, their views are charitable. They have no opposition 
 to religion ; no, they are great advocates for it ; but it is en- 
 thusiasm they oppose — it is superstition — it is bigotry. Thus, 
 under the odious names of enthusiasm, superstition, bigotry, 
 they are removing all the ancient landmarks, and sapping 
 the very foundation of Christianity ; while infidelity, under 
 the imposing names of Liberality and Charity, is coming in 
 like a flood. This I conceive to be a true statement of the 
 general state of things in Boston. If you have shared so 
 much in the Boston tone of feeling, and have learned so 
 much of the Boston cant as to say to yourself, on reading 
 this, 1 Cousin is uncharitable ; he is illiberal towards the Bos- 
 tonians,' why, then, I say, so much the greater your danger. 
 This is the very reason why their society and influence are 
 dangerous, because they appear what they are not, and be- 
 cause they make people think, and even think themselves, 
 that they are pretty good Christians, when, in fact, they are 
 pretty near, if not quite, infidels. Now, cousin, I beg of you, 
 be on your guard. Do not think my caution unnecessary. 
 Let not the popularity of a Channing, an Everett, a Ware, 
 and others, lead you frequently to hear them. I would not, 
 to be sure, be so bigoted as not to hear them at all ; but my 
 visits to their churches should be, 1 like angels' visits, few 
 and far between.' If you want to be instructed, you have it 
 in your power to hear, every Sabbath, one of the soundest 
 divines of his age — I mean Mr. Hedding ;* if you would get 
 warmed, hear Mr. Wiley ; and if you would have your sym- 
 pathies moved at the same time your heart is instructed, cross 
 
 * Rev. Elijah Hedding, elected and ordained bishop at the General Confer- 
 ence of 1824. 
 
124 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 the bridge and hear Mr. Filmore ; then you will have an op- 
 portunity of taking tea with Miss M. G., who will talk more 
 sound sense to you in one half hour than some of your Boston 
 belles in a week. I doubt not but you may find, among the 
 other denominations — the Baptists, Episcopalians, and Hop- 
 kinsian Congregationalists — much that will be edifying. 
 Their cup, to be sure, may have a little of the Calvinistic bit- 
 ter ; but this you will know how to drain off, and the rest will 
 be good and wholesome. Finally, you and I, if it please you, 
 will still hold to the good old way. After the manner which 
 the Bostonians call heresy, we will worship the God of our 
 fathers. That religion which our great grandfather believed 
 and preached ; which enabled our grandfather to triumph in 
 the hour of death ; and, in short, which supported your af- 
 flicted and pious mother for many years, and which caused 
 her to exult in the painful agonies of a long-protracted death 
 — that religion shall be ours; not merely because it was 
 theirs, but because it is the religion of the Bible, and be- 
 cause it supported them, and has supported thousands, in the 
 hour when they most needed support. At that time, when 
 the heart-strings break ; when nature's crimson current cur- 
 dles back to the heart ; when all the vain popularity of the 
 world bursts like an airy bubble ; and when eternity, with 
 all its awful realities, rushes on to meet the soul, then Je- 
 sus, formed in the soul the hope of glory, affords to the dy- 
 ing saint his last, his only support." 
 
 The ensuing letter to a young lady is an additional proof 
 of the solicitude with which he watched over those who had 
 been the subjects of his ministry. She was on a visit to 
 Charleston, S. C, for the benefit of her health. 
 
 " Lyndon, Vt., Feb. 9th, 1823. 
 " After the fatiguing labours of the Sabbath, which you 
 know is my day of labour, I have seated myself in my room, 
 for retirement, rest, and reflection. Here, as is not unusual 
 with me, especially on Sabbath evenings, past scenes and 
 old friends pass in review before my mind. i The memory 
 of joys that are past,' says Ossian, 'is pleasant and mournful 
 
CHRISTIAN COUNSEL. 125 
 
 to the soul.' It is with mingled emotions of pleasing mel- 
 ancholy that I call up those scenes that have gone by, in 
 which I have enjoyed your society and that of other dear 
 friends in Charlestown. But, so far as these times have been 
 spent to the glory of God, I do not regret their flight. They 
 have only been hastening us on, through the subordinate and 
 mingled felicities of life, to the supreme and unalloyed feli- 
 cities of Heaven. There all friends that are united by the 
 ties of Christian affection shall one day meet and mingle in 
 their celestial joys, and chant together their endless songs. 
 The principal inquiry with us, then, should be, Are we trav- 
 elling thither? and, next to the inquiry into my own state 
 in this respect, the situation of those who have been the sub- 
 jects of my unworthy labours and prayers excites the highest 
 interest in my mind. I look them over one by one, and raise 
 the inquiry in my own mind, Is this one persevering ? and 
 then strive to answer the question according to my latest in- 
 telligence, or my knowledge of their dispositions and cir- 
 cumstances. You cannot wonder, then, if, when your name 
 comes up, I have some anxious feeling : not that I doubt 
 your attachment to the cause of your Redeemer, but I know 
 not your situation. Perhaps you have as many means of 
 grace as when in Massachusetts ; but it is possible you have 
 not : perhaps you are surrounded with pious friends, who 
 are striving to help you along in the way of the cross ; but 
 it may be you are among the lovers of this world, to whom 
 your religion will appear like superstition, and whose pleasure 
 it would be to have you join them in their worldly delights. 
 If this should be your situation — at a distance from your pi- 
 ous mother and sisters, and the Christian friends with whom 
 you have associated — you cannot wonder, I say, if I have 
 some anxieties on your account. It may be, the worldly at- 
 mosphere with which you are surrounded will damp, at least, 
 your spiritual fervour ; it may be, you will drink in some of 
 the heart-defiling, soul-destroying spirit. To prevent this, 
 as well as to assure you how tenderly and affectionately you 
 are remembered, I send you, from the mountains of Vermont, 
 this winged messenger of peace and salvation ; and I say 
 to it, Go and tell A., from him whom she is pleased to call 
 11* 
 
126 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 her spiritual father, who had the pleasure of witnessing the 
 first dawnings of heavenly light in her heart, and who has 
 often strived by the breath of prayer with her and others to 
 raise the smoking flax to a sacred flame — tell her, I say, that 
 she must guard with a vestal vigilance and a vestal purity 
 the holy fire that has been kindled in her heart ; tell her she 
 must always keep in mind that Jesus whom she has professed 
 to love, that cause which she has professed to honour ; that 
 if ever the empty, the gilded and fascinating objects of this 
 world begin to assume an engaging and inviting appearance, 
 she must turn her eye to the cross of Christ, and gaze upon 
 its divine sublimities and glories till the transforming vision 
 stamp an emptiness, a deserved emptiness, upon all the baw- 
 bles of time ; tell her I fear, most of all, that disposition 
 of hers, that is so unwilling to deny anything that is pleasing 
 to her friends : a disposition which, when properly sancti- 
 fied and regulated, renders its possessor a most amiable and 
 engaging friend ; but which, like most other endowments, 
 may become a source of temptation. It may lead to that 
 yielding relaxation, to those condescending compliances, 
 which are incompatible with the unbending principles of a 
 self-crucifying Gospel ; that Gospel which has said, ' If any 
 man come unto me, and hate not (that is, comparatively) 
 his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, 
 and sisters, yea, and even his own life also, he cannot be my 
 disciple.' — Luke, xiv., 26. Let this teach my dear A. the 
 necessity, at least, of being on her guard ; of saying, in the 
 spirit of a resolute Christian, Thus far can I go, but no far- 
 therS' 
 
 " April 28th. 
 
 "To Miss Peck. 
 
 "I would not, by a second delay, subject you again to 
 anxiety. I cannot but think, with you, that it is wrong to 
 suffer the feelings to be so anxiously exercised, though I 
 know it is natural ; still, reason would say it is wrong, 
 since it neither benefits your friends nor yourself ; religion 
 would say it is wrong, since it implies a distrust in God's 
 
DANGER OF STRONG EMOTION. 
 
 127 
 
 providences, or dissatisfaction with his dispensations. If you 
 find it difficult to overcome your feelings, let it lead you to 
 the inquiry, Am I not too strongly attached to the creature ? 
 am I not depending too much upon earthly enjoyments ? 
 Indeed, my dear, I have sometimes feared that you were ; 
 that you were calculating too much upon me ; that you may 
 be disappointed. You will find much, very much in me, to 
 try all your Christian graces, but much more in my situa- 
 tion ; for it will be no small lesson, educated as you have 
 been, to learn ' to become all things to all men :' and this 
 seems to be necessary for the wife of an itinerant minister. 
 But I trust my dear R. can learn it. I do not wish my friends 
 to be stoical. If they had not warm feelings, and were not 
 susceptible of strong attachments, / should be less interested 
 in them. I think I see these traits of character in the man 
 Christ Jesus ; and they are very strongly marked in the char- 
 acter of the apostles St. Paul and St. John. And these ten- 
 der sympathies and social feelings, when sanctified by grace 
 and dignified by a judicious depor'ment, render their possess- 
 or truly lovely. They are the delightful cords that bind kin- 
 dred spirits together — the uniting cement of friendly souls. 
 Nor is it surprising that one who, like you, has had most 
 of their earthly ties severed, should feel their attachment 
 to the few friends that remain strengthened. But this very 
 circumstance shows you the uncertainty of earthly enjoy- 
 ments, and the danger of trusting to them too much. Be- 
 sides, you well know, my dear, that these sympathies, how- 
 ever commendable when they are kept in their proper place, 
 are sure, when they take the lead of the soul, to conduct us, 
 through pain and anxieties, to disappointment. When we 
 are just ready to quaff the cup of earthly enjoyment, it falls 
 from our hand, or in tasting it we find mingled therein some 
 unexpected bitterness ; and frequently our Heavenly Father, 
 when he sees that we are depending too much upon any 
 earthly good, in mercy to us either deprives us of it, or im- 
 bitters the enjoyment. May Heaven forbid that we should 
 bring upon ourselves any painful discipline of this kind by 
 our undue attachment to sublunary good. It is my ardent 
 prayer that Christ would unite us to himself as the branch 
 
128 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 is united to the vine ; that, while we * love each other with 
 pure hearts fervently,' we may love him supremely ; and 
 have, above all things, an experimental knowledge of that 
 mystical union that exists between Christ and his Church : 
 so that hereafter, when Christ shall come to take home his 
 weary bride, you may go into the marriage supper of the 
 Lamb, and there be met by 
 
 " Your unworthy but truly affectionate 
 
 "W. Fjsk." 
 
 Mr. Fisk's health had now so far improved that he could 
 perform all the necessary labours of his ministry, preaching 
 often five times a week without inconvenience. He had 
 learned some prudence " by the things which he suffered,' \ 
 and never afterward exerted and exposed himself as he had 
 done before. Having now a prospect of life and improved 
 health, he thought seriously of bringing his matrimonial en- 
 gagement to a consummation. To prepare the mind of Miss 
 Peck for the anticipated change in her situation, he wrote to 
 her, February 21st, a letter, from which what follows is an 
 extract : 
 
 " You can form no idea, my dear R., of the pleasure we 
 take in this cold country in sleigh-riding, which we general- 
 ly enjoy from the middle of October to March, and some- 
 times to the last of March. It is indeed cold ; but this, 
 strange as it may seem, constitutes half of the amusement. 
 Roll yourself up in fur, and then, with a fiery Green Mount- 
 ain courser, you may glide over the snowhills without re- 
 membering it is winter ; or, if a northwest breeze sometimes 
 puts you in mind of it, this only increases the enjoyment 
 by making you reflect how much cold is left behind by the 
 swiftness of your courser, and how much is kept out by your 
 buffalo, and by making you feel in anticipation the warmth 
 of the blazing fire that awaits you when you stop. Nothing 
 is more certain than this truth, that pleasure is heightened by 
 partial deprivation : but I will not stop to philosophize here. 
 I was about to say, I wish you were here to take a sleigh- 
 ride with us ; it would be a double pleasure to me ; but, 
 again, the thought arises that it might not be so to you. 
 
LETTER TO MISS PECK. MARRIAGE. 129 
 
 " Our society, with a few exceptions, is not as refined as 
 that with which you have been accustomed to mingle. We 
 are a plain people ; there is more honest simplicity than re- 
 finement among us. But, if I have judged correctly of my 
 dear friend, she would value refinement little, unaccompa- 
 nied by moral worth. What we lack in polish we try to 
 make up in integrity and moral principle. We have many 
 warm hearts here, who not only love their friends with ar- 
 dour, but, I trust, their God with pure hearts fervently ; many 
 spirits with whom I trust it will be our delight to mingle 
 through the ceaseless ages of eternity. Religion does indeed 
 purify the heart from that selfishness which seeks only its 
 own accommodation and its own interests ; and not unfre- 
 quently, under a very rough exterior you will find a soul 
 noble, disinterested, and lovely in its moral qualities. And 
 these qualities, my dear R., you and I will think most of; 
 however pleasing a polished exterior may be to us, we will 
 remember that those who give evidence of being the children 
 of God are lovely to our Heavenly Father, and that it is 
 with them we hope to spend eternity. Besides, we must 
 take the world as it is, and do what we can to make it bet- 
 ter, always remembering that others will have much to bear 
 from our infirmities. If the Lord will but give us souls for 
 our hire, no matter whether they are among the rich or the 
 poor, the refined or unrefined : the love of Christ will refine 
 them, and in the day of eternity will polish them as dia- 
 monds of the first water. What a lovely character has St. 
 Paul drawn for our imitation in thirteenth chapter of 1st Co- 
 rinthians ! I love to contemplate it, and long to see all its 
 fruits in my own soul, and in those who are dear to me ; 
 and for this daily prays 
 
 "Yours in affection." 
 
 In the same spirit of devout piety that he had exhibited 
 all along, he proceeded in his nuptial arrangements. On 
 the 14th day of May he wrote his last lines to Miss Peck 
 prior to their union. In this, as he disliked publicity and 
 parade, he requested that the ceremony, contrary to the 
 usage of the church to which she belonged, might take 
 
 R 
 
130 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 place at her mother's house: he then adds, "Let us devout- 
 ly pray, my dear R., that God would crown our union with 
 his approbation ; making it a source of consolation and 
 thanksgiving to us, and, above all, a blessing to his Church. 
 Pray much for yourself, but much, very much for me, that 
 we may maintain a singleness of eye to the glory of God ; 
 that we may be one in heart, one in life, and one in a glori- 
 ous immortality." They were married on the morning of 
 the 9th of June, 1823, after a courtship of seven years. 
 
DIALOGUE. UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 131 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Dialogue. — Universalism. — Appointed Presiding Elder. — Official Conduct. — Let- 
 ters. — Incident. — Traits of Character. — General Conference of 1824. 
 
 The New-England Conference met this year at Provi- 
 dence. Mr. Fisk, having passed through his labours with 
 satisfaction and gradually improving health, attended and re- 
 sumed his effective relation. 
 
 In the course of business, the agency for the Newmarket 
 Academy came up; and when it was announced that the 
 agent had been altogether inactive, the following conversation 
 took place between him and the presiding bishop : 
 
 "Why," said the bishop, " have you not solicited funds 
 for the academy ?" 
 
 " Because, sir, my conscience would not let me." 
 "Must the Conference, then," returned the bishop, "be 
 governed by your conscience ?" 
 
 " No, sir, " was the reply, " I do not wish the Conference 
 to be governed by my conscience, but I must be ; neither do 
 I wish to control the Conference in any way ; but if, after 
 examining the school for themselves, the Conference see fit 
 to place it on a different footing, it shall have my utmost ex- 
 ertion." # 
 The suggestion was adopted. A committee, consisting of 
 Rev. Messrs. Hedding (now Bishop Hedding), Lindsey, and 
 Fisk, was appointed, with authority to investigate the sub- 
 ject, and to adopt such measures as might be deemed ex- 
 pedient or necessary. The final consequence was an en- 
 tirely new organization of the school, and its removal to Wil- 
 braham. But of this we shall learn more hereafter. 
 
 The region of country embraced in the New-England 
 Conference was much infested with the insidious doctrines 
 of Universalism. However it be accounted for, and, of 
 course, different parties will explain it differently, it is a fact, 
 that the regions where the Genevan theology has most pre- 
 vailed have been most prolific in the various modifications 
 
132 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 of semi-infidelity. These perversions of Christianity gave 
 great trouble to the zealous and untiring ministers in the New- 
 England Conference, and greatly obstructed the spread of 
 evangelical truth and holiness. For these reasons, the Con- 
 ference, at its preceding session, requested Mr. Fisk to deliv- 
 er before them a discourse on the doctrine of future punish- 
 ment. Such a request from such a body, most of them so 
 far his seniors in age and office, must be regarded as highly 
 complimentary. On the 23d of June he preached before 
 them his memorable sermon, from the text, " Also unto thee, 
 O Lord, belongeth mercy, for thou renderest to every man 
 according to his work." — Psa. lxii., 12. This is truly an ad- 
 mirable discourse, indicating unequivocal proof of what he 
 was to become, both as a writer and a preacher. The argu- 
 ment is clear, close, conclusive. It contains as much thought 
 as could well be brought into one discourse ; while some of 
 the views, especially in reconciling the punishment of sin 
 with the Divine mercy, were quite original. It was attacking 
 Universalism with a new weapon, and on its own ground. 
 The style is simple, concise, perspicuous ; sufficiently logi- 
 cal in its modes of expression for a popular audience, but 
 not so scholastic as to be obscure even to the uneducated. It 
 combines practical utility with theoretic accuracy, closing 
 with a pertinent and vigorous application. 
 
 The students of Brown University felt no small interest in 
 ^me of their own alumni, who was now rising fast into pub- 
 lic notice, and a large portion of them were present on the 
 occasion. They participated in the general feeling of de- 
 light excited by the discourse, and, as a proof of it, held a 
 meeting, at which they requested a copy for publication, of- 
 fering to bear the expense ; and when Mr. Fisk pleaded his 
 inability to remain long enough to attend to it, they engaged 
 to superintend its passage through the press. The Confer- 
 ence also passed a vote unanimously recommending its pub- 
 lication. The students, accordingly, had it printed as a 
 pamphlet. It was inserted afterward in the Methodist Mag- 
 azine, republished in the Wesleyan Magazine in London, 
 and printed by the book-agents in a separate form, and has 
 ever since been kept as one of their standard publications, 
 commanding a ready and extensive sale. 
 
UNIVERSALISM. PRESIDING ELDER. 
 
 133 
 
 In the course of the following year, Mr. Pickering, minis* 
 ter of the Universalist Society at Providence, published, in a 
 paper of which he was editor, a series of articles on this dis- 
 course. To these the author of the sermon replied, through 
 the columns of Zion's Herald, in ten numbers. These arti- 
 cles are written with an ability that sustained the opinion of 
 his talents created by his sermon, and amply showed the fu- 
 tility of his opponent's reasoning ; but, as we could not pre- 
 sent a connected view of his arguments, and detached state- 
 ments would answer but little purpose, we content ourselves 
 by referring the reader to Dr. Fisk's works. 
 
 It is no small proof of the position to which Mr. Fisk had 
 risen in the estimation of his brethren, that he was thus early 
 appointed presiding elder of the Vermont District. Leaving 
 Mrs. Fisk for the present with her mother, as soon as Con- 
 ference was over he set off for the scene of his labours. It 
 was an ample field, comprising all that part of the State of 
 Vermont lying east of the Green Mountains, with one cir- 
 cuit in New-Hampshire. The duties of this important office 
 — the connecting-link between the bishop and the stationed 
 ministers, and the Conference and the people — were in those 
 days peculiarly arduous. To travel over the entire ground 
 once in three months, to hold Quarterly Conferences " to 
 hear complaints and try appeals," to preach, meet the so- 
 cieties, attend to the wants of the preachers and the enforce- 
 ment of discipline, and to see that the ecclesiastical affairs, 
 temporal and spiritual, are properly conducted, is a work of 
 great labour and responsibility. And not the least delicate 
 part of his duty is the conveyance of suitable information 
 concerning the qualifications of ministers, and the claims of 
 the various places, to the bishop and his council, for making 
 out the annual appointments. These duties require a rare 
 combination of excellences. Much wisdom and prudence, 
 great knowledge of human nature, ardent attachment to the 
 Methodist Discipline, a faithfulness that shrinks from no 
 duty, however unpleasant, yet a temper not easily offended 
 or quickly appeased, an impartiality that eschews alike fa- 
 vouritism and antipathy, are among the essential qualifica- 
 tions. But to combine these with that ardour of tempera- 
 12 
 
134 
 
 LIFE OF VVILLBUR FISK. 
 
 ment, and energy of character, and spirit of enterprise, all 
 baptized into a pure, unadulterated Christian zeal, and with 
 efficient pulpit talents to ensure adequate respect and use- 
 fulness both among preachers and people, is the more diffi- 
 cult, because these attributes, involving some apparent con- 
 trariety, are not often found together ; but they were beau- 
 tifully blended in the character of Mr. Fisk ; and hence he 
 was received, notwithstanding his youth, by all his charge 
 with the utmost cordiality. 
 
 He went to his field of labour in the true spirit of his com- 
 mission. He found many things that required all his care 
 and efforts. The reins of discipline had become in many 
 places not a little relaxed ; the general rules were in some 
 cases habitually violated ; and love-feasts, and even class- 
 meetings, irregularly attended. These disorders grieved 
 him. "I am more than ever convinced," he says, in a let- 
 ter to the Rev. Daniel Filmore, " of the importance of keep- 
 ing all these little affairs straight ; otherwise Methodism will 
 and must inevitably run down." He accordingly commen- 
 ced at once, resolutely but prudently, to correct whatever 
 was contrary to the discipline, urging people and preachers 
 to enter more fully into the grand business of their profes- 
 sion. 
 
 In those days, when the circuits were very extensive, 
 Quarterly Meetings were very important and interesting 
 seasons. They were always continued at least two days, 
 viz., on Saturday and Sunday. The people came in flocks 
 from all parts of the circuit ; and friends and brethren, who 
 seldom saw each other but then, met, and sang, and prayed, 
 and rejoiced together, as at the feast of tabernacles among 
 the Jews. They were always looked forward to as signal 
 privileges, and preachers and people were disappointed if 
 they had not some sensible spiritual benefits. And who can 
 tell how much these occasions helped to foster Christian 
 sympathy, and promote a community of feeling and inter- 
 est, and thus bind the Church together in bonds of closer 
 union ? 
 
 Mr. Fisk faithfully discharged the duties of his office. 
 Notwithstanding his feeble health, he was always punctual 
 
CONDUCT IN HIS OFFICE. 
 
 135 
 
 to his appointments ; and " his coming," says the Rev. C. 
 D. Cahoon, " was always like the coming of Titus." His 
 practice was to keep each Friday as a day of fasting and 
 prayer, in especial reference to the Quarterly Meeting. On 
 Saturday his sermons were designed for the edification of 
 the Church, and were usually on the higher points of Chris- 
 tian practice and experience ; for it was his sentiment that 
 " a little band of holy, faithful Christians are stronger than 
 a large church of lukewarm professors." In the evening he 
 met the Quarterly Meeting Conference, while the private 
 members held a prayer-meeting, to which, provided his 
 health permitted, he always repaired if the Conference 
 closed in time. The general practice was to hold the love- 
 feast on Sabbath morning before preaching, at the close of 
 which he was accustomed, when there was need of it, to lay 
 the wants of the minister before the people, and urge them 
 to exertion. Often has the young and inexperienced heart 
 been encouraged to endure the trials and privations of the 
 itinerant life by the affectionate interest thus exhibited. On 
 the Sabbath, when the congregations were large and mixed, 
 his sermons were of a more general character, but always 
 constructed with a view to the legitimate objects of the 
 Christian ministry ; nor was he ever content to preach with- 
 out spiritual effect. Hence he wielded " the sword of the 
 Spirit" in earnest ; and in every part of the district, many 
 were the trophies of his Christian prowess. 
 
 His intercourse with the preachers of his district was like 
 that of a father with his children, or rather an elder broth* 
 er's with the family circle. He was affable yet dignified. 
 He studied in every way to profit the younger ministers, by 
 exciting them to piety, and by correcting their faults. Yet 
 he always reproved so judiciously and kindly as to secure 
 esteem rather than give offence. Hence his company was 
 invariably both agreeable and edifying. His conversation 
 was cheerful, but spiritual ; his example such as all might 
 imitate. He took great interest in his preachers, delight- 
 ing in their improvement, and rejoicing to tell it for their 
 encouragement. "Writing to a friend, he says, speaking of 
 one of the ministers, 11 He is always at his business, and 
 
136 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 works by day and by night. He preached yesterday one of 
 the most interesting discourses that I have heard since Con- 
 ference ; and I must say, I heard but very few at Confer- 
 ence that equalled it, in my estimation. His manner is 
 something like Bishop George's. He has, to be sure, his 
 own impediments and hesitancy ; but he nils and fills up, 
 and runs over, and baptizes his whole congregation. O my 
 brother, what a blessed thing it is to preach with the holy 
 unction from above !" 
 
 It was not unusual for him, when more than ordinary in- 
 terest was excited at the Quarterly Meeting, to remain a few 
 days to foster the work, to which he never hesitated about 
 sacrificing his own personal convenience or pleasure. On 
 one of these occasions he wrote to Mrs. Fisk as follows : 
 
 " Lempster, N. H., 13th August, 1823. 
 
 "My Dear R., 
 
 " I have been hoping, ever since I left Lyndon, to spend 
 this week in Brattleborough and Guildford, from whence I 
 designed to write you particularly, and for that reason have 
 delayed writing until this time ; but I have been disappoint- 
 ed in my calculation. The cause, however, I do not regret. 
 I came to this town last Saturday to attend to the Quarterly 
 Meeting for Unity Circuit. I found a good work of refor- 
 mation commenced here, and it w^as greatly forwarded and 
 increased by the meeting. The excitement became so gen- 
 eral, and the call for labour so great, that I concluded to 
 give up my visit to my friends for the present, and spend a 
 few days with the people here. I feel myself obliged to 
 forego every earthly consideration for the good of the Church 
 and the salvation of souls. O how glorious is the work of 
 saving souls ! I feel my own soul fired anew in the work 
 since I have been here. Old and young, parents and chil- 
 dren, are inquiring what they shall do to be saved. I 
 scarcely visit a house without leaving them all in tears. 
 Last Sabbath, after sacrament, I invited those who were 
 seeking their Saviour to come forward for prayers, and 
 numbers came from different parts of the house, with sighs 
 and tears, while a remarkable solemnity and much w r eeping 
 
REVIVAL AT LEMPSTER. 
 
 137 
 
 were seen throughout the whole congregation. I cannot tell 
 how many are awakened throughout the town ; but I must 
 say, I have rarely seen a better prospect for a general work 
 than is now discoverable in this place. Pray, my dear, that 
 no adverse winds may scatter the clouds of mercy that hang 
 over the people. This afternoon I have an inquiring-meet- 
 ing for the serious-minded, and to-morrow I am to preach 
 for the last time in the place. I leave the people reluctant- 
 ly ; but I must go to attend the Quarterly Meeting on Ath- 
 ens Circuit, after which I expect to spend a few days in 
 Brattleborough and Guildford, and then return towards the 
 north." 
 
 The following notice of this revival is furnished by a friend : 
 
 " Of Dr. Fisk's usefulness while presiding elder on Ver- 
 mont District, probably you are well informed. At Lemp- 
 ster, N. H., where I am intimately acquainted, he was in* 
 strumental, in connexion with Rev. Abram D. Merrill, in 
 promoting the greatest revival which that place has ever 
 witnessed. The effect of the doctor's sermon on the Sab* 
 bath at Quarterly Meeting was overwhelming. When the 
 invitation was given for seekers of religion to rise in the 
 congregation, there was a simultaneous movement through- 
 out the house ; and immediately subsequent to the Quarterly 
 Meeting, scores of persons were brought to the knowledge 
 of the truth as it is in Jesus." 
 
 His anticipations as to his secular prospects in this new 
 region, and the manner in which he endeavoured to prepare 
 Mrs. Fisk for her change of situation, may be learned from 
 a letter which he wrote her about this time. The clergy* 
 man's wife has some things to learn and to suffer as well 
 as her husband, for she marries the Church and its interests 
 when she marries its servant. " When the pious Herbert," 
 says his quaint biographer, " changed his sword and silk 
 clothes into a canonical coat, immediately after he had seen 
 and saluted his wife" — a noble lady, nearly related to the 
 Earl of Danby — " he said to her, ' You are now a minis* 
 12* S 
 
138 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 ter's wife, and must now so far forget your father's house 
 as not to claim a precedence of any of your parishioners ; 
 for you are to know that a priest's wife can challenge no 
 precedence of place but that which she purchases by her 
 obliging humility ; and I am sure places so purchased do 
 best become them : and let me tell you, I am so good a her- 
 ald as to assure you that this is truth.' And she was so 
 meek a wife as to assure him it was no vexing news to her, 
 and that he should see her observe it with a cheerful willing- 
 ness." — But to the letter. Those of us who enjoy the great- 
 er advantages and comforts of the present day, may take a 
 lesson from it. 
 
 " Lyndon, Sept. 4th, 1823. 
 " On my return to Lyndon this week, after having been ab- 
 sent nearly six weeks, I found a letter from you, which was 
 the first intelligence I have had from you since I left Provi- 
 dence. I am sorry to hear that your health is so feeble ; 
 hope it is by this time improved. Give yourself no uneasi- 
 ness about a preparation to come among strangers, as you 
 term it ; you will be as well prepared to come as we shall 
 be to receive you ; and both the preparation and the recep- 
 tion will be good enough, if we have a good share of grace 
 and humility. The truth is, if you should bring nothing we 
 should be quite comfortable, provided we can bring our- 
 selves down to our circumstances. You must give up all 
 ideas, my dear, of being very particular. This, I perceive, 
 will be a hard lesson for you to learn ; but, through grace, 
 you will learn it. We live not for ourselves, but for the 
 Church ; and we must get along in that way that will make 
 the Church the least expense, and ourselves the least trou- 
 ble and the most time. What conveniences we cannot 
 obtain this year, we will, if we should live, try to get next ; 
 at any rate, we will not so far inconverience ourselves for 
 the sake of conveniences as to injure our health : this would 
 be to frustrate our own object. And what if we should not 
 procure, while we live, all the conveniences that appear de- 
 sirable ? the time will soon come that shall be the last of 
 our earthly enjoyments and deprivations, and then, if we are 
 
THE ITINERANT PREACHER. 
 
 139 
 
 found faithful, we shall be welcomed ' into the joy of our 
 Lord — into the mansion prepared for us above — into the in- 
 heritance that is incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not 
 away.' What are all the little privations, the temporary 
 trials, the light afflictions of this life ? they are not worthy 
 to be compared with the glory that shall follow ; no, bless- 
 ed be God, they are not worth naming. Give me Christ 
 and his cross here, and then shall I have Christ and his glory 
 hereafter. The world looks less to me of late than it has 
 done in months past ; it is like a bubble, and the goodliness 
 thereof like a fading flower. But Jesus and his love are 
 permanent ; they engage my soul, they fill my heart. My 
 joy below is to feast upon a Saviour's love ; my business is 
 to recommend it to others ; and you, my dear companion, 
 must join me in this sacred work. O, may God fire your 
 soul with the subject, and loose your tongue upon the theme.' 7 
 
 In the month of October Mr. Fisk attended a meeting of 
 the trustees of the Wesleyan Academy at Boston, and avail- 
 ed himself of this opportunity of taking Mrs. Fisk home to 
 his father's at Lyndon, where he intended to reside while on 
 the district. 
 
 There was no little romance in those days in the life of a 
 Methodist itinerant minister. It was almost constantly di- 
 versified by incident, amusing, grotesque, edifying, and not 
 unfrequently elevated. The variety of persons with whom 
 he came in contact — lodging to-night in a palace, to-morrow 
 night in a hut — afforded a fine field for the study of human 
 nature : the extent of their travels furnished high gratifica- 
 tion to the lover of natural scenery. He was independent 
 as the Calmuc, and free as the mountain hunter. True, he 
 encountered some hard fare, but not more so than Washing- 
 ton Irving describes in his Tour to the Prairies. And then, 
 how delightful, by contrast, was the clean hearth and cheer- 
 ful fire of the substantial farmhouse, where every one vied 
 in assiduity to show him kindness, after having been pelted 
 by the mountain storm, or half famished among the semi- 
 civilized mountaineers to whom he had been carrying the 
 Gospel of peace ! These lights and shadows often diversified 
 
140 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 the itinerancy of Mr. Fisk. Take the following speci- 
 mens: 
 
 As Mr. and Mrs. Fisk (it was her first initiation) pursued 
 their journey to Lyndon, while yet in the State of New- 
 Hampshire, they were on a certain occasion overtaken by 
 night before they reached their intended stopping-place. 
 There was a prospect of a very dark night. Mr. Fisk there- 
 fore stopped at a comfortable-looking farmhouse, and asked 
 if they would entertain strangers. " Yes," replied the old 
 lady who opened the door, " if you have any religion." 
 
 " If we have not," said Mr. Fisk, " perhaps you can help 
 us to some." 
 
 " O then," was the reply, " come in, come in, with all 
 my heart." 
 
 They accordingly passed the night at the cottage, where 
 they were very hospitably entertained. They found their 
 hostess a rare specimen of primitive Christianity : one whose 
 walk seemed to be in the very precincts of a better world. 
 In the morning our traveller was invited to lead the devo- 
 tions of the family, which he did with such fervour and elo- 
 quence that the good old lady was completely melted down ; 
 and when he closed, she in her turn began, and poured out 
 her heart in such strains of humble love and devout praise 
 as showed a soul in close communion with the skies. When 
 her guests left the house she followed them to the door, cry- 
 ing after them, " God bless thee, thou blessed of the Lord ; 
 continue faithful, and God will hold thee in his right hand !" 
 There are some who will not be surprised to hear that this 
 was Mrs. Fletcher, of Unity, N. H., long known as an " Is- 
 raelite indeed, in whom there was no guile." She and her 
 strange guest are now the inhabitants of the blessed abodes, 
 
 " Where all things that are lovely meet, 
 And all things that are pure." 
 
 The following is a scene from nature : Going to one of 
 his appointments with Mrs. Fisk, their route lay across a 
 lofty range dignified with the classical name of Mount 
 Olympus. When they commenced the ascent the snow was 
 falling thick and fast, and there was every prospect of a 
 stormy and uncomfortable ride ; but when they got midway 
 
HIS BENEVOLENCE. 
 
 141 
 
 to the top, the snow ceased, and dense clouds settling below, 
 obscured the view on all sides. Above, the sun was veiled 
 by a thin cloud, as if to Screen its dazzling brightness, and 
 make their way more pleasant. Descending, they found, 
 Avhen about half way down the mountain, that it was still 
 snowing as fast as ever, and that much snow had fallen 
 while they were enjoying their ride above the clouds. Such 
 scenes are not uncommon in mountainous regions. 
 
 Mr. Fisk's benevolence has been several times mentioned. 
 This was not confined to mankind; it included also the brute 
 creation. He could not give needless pain to any living 
 thing. He was very careful of his horse, and the horse, in 
 turn, seemed greatly attached to his master, which he would 
 make known unequivocally by neighing and pawing the 
 ground at the sound of his voice, or of his peculiar and well- 
 known cough. Of his father's dog he was not less a favour- 
 ite. An instance of canine sagacity is not unworthy of rela- 
 tion: Mr. Fisk was absent at a certain time, and was not 
 expected home for some days. One evening, Diamond, the 
 dog, came running and panting to Mrs. Fisk, put his feet 
 upon her lap, wagged his tail, and showed by every speak- 
 ing sign his anxiety to communicate something. Not seem- 
 ing to be understood, he ran off, but soon returned again in 
 the same manner, and again bounded away. Feeling now 
 alarmed, Mrs. Fisk followed him to the door, and soon heard 
 Mr. Fisk's cough. At the sound Diamond showed more 
 glee than ever, leaping up, licking her hands, &c, and then 
 away he ran to meet Mr. Fisk, who was still near half a mile 
 distant. He followed him home, kept close to him, eagerly 
 looking for his caresses until he was noticed. 
 
 In the course of this year he wrote a letter to Mrs. Good- 
 win, from which we present an extract : 
 
 "December 17. 
 
 " My spiritual health is gaining a little : on this subject 
 I could say much, but I forbear. You are too well acquaint- 
 ed with my unworthiness and deficiencies in the service of 
 God. I would be glad to see my children rising to a higher 
 standing in the divine life than I have attained unto, and 
 
142 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 hold all they gain much faster than I have done. It is a 
 great attainment to get blessings of a spiritual nature, but 
 still greater to retain them. 
 
 " ' Happy the man who wisdom gains ; 
 Thrice happy who his guest retains.' 
 
 If, through the whole of my Christian life, I had practised 
 the maxim of the miser, 4 Keep what you have, and get 
 what you can,' I should by this time have been very rich : 
 but I have not ; I have too often lost great blessings, and 
 overlooked and squandered away small ones. I mention 
 this, my dear sister, that you and yours may profit by my 
 errors. Let me entreat you to be saving of your small 
 gains ; Christians generally lose more by not attending to 
 this than they are aware of. Most earthly estates are accumu- 
 lated by small gains ; and a man in any business generally 
 thrives in proportion as he is saving of his littles. How many 
 in this way, though they began with but small capitals, have 
 in a few years become wealthy : so might the Christian ; and 
 so some do. I have seen in a few cases a constant, though 
 almost imperceptible, march towards holiness, until the weak- 
 est among God's people have ' become as David.' If we 
 follow the light as it is made known to us ; if we deny our- 
 selves, as we see by our increasing light that our indulgen- 
 ces are improper ; if, as we gain a little ground, we fix our 
 stake, and determine we will not be driven back beyond it, 
 how sure and regular our advances towards Heaven ! on the 
 contrary, if we improve not the grace given, our light be- 
 comes darkness. We can plead for what we once rejected, 
 and neglect what we formerly could not. 4 Despise not the 
 day of small things.' 
 
 " We have had a good reformation on Lyndon Circuit, es- 
 pecially in the town of Burke ; about thirty there have late- 
 ly joined society, and a number more have professed conver- 
 sion. Some of our circuits are low. I sometimes grow sick 
 of professing Christians (many of them, I mean), because 
 there is so much uncharitableness among them ; so many evil 
 surmisings, little envyings, and bitter jealousies :* O, when will 
 
 * How often has the devout mind to say with the pious Cecil, " I have seen 
 gtich sin in the Church, that I have often been brought by it to a sickly state of 
 
GENERAL CONFERENCE OF 1824. 
 
 143 
 
 that ' charity that hopeth all things,' at least of our breth- 
 ren, generally prevail ? not until unholy self is crucified j 
 not until self-seeking and earthly-interested views are laid 
 aside, and the glory of God and the good of the Church be 
 the ruling motive of the soul. This can be done only by our 
 doctrine of Christian holiness : I love this doctrine ; yet, 
 I confess to my shame, I enjoy less of it than I once did, 
 notwithstanding some have abused and dishonoured it, and 
 others despise it ; still, I know it to be the doctrine of the 
 Bible, the truth of God, and the only doctrine that can save 
 the Church. O that I were inspired with holy zeal to 
 preach it !" 
 
 At the preceding session of the New-England Conference, 
 Mr. Fisk was elected a delegate to the General Conference, 
 held this year (1824) in May, in the City of Baltimore. He 
 left home on this business the latter part of April, spending 
 a few days in New- York, where, by previous invitation, he 
 addressed the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episco- 
 pal Church, at their anniversary held April 23d, in John- 
 street. Many will remember this meeting with interest, 
 from the fact that the eloquent Summerfield, and the Rev. 
 John (now Dr.) Hannah, the associate of the Rev. R. Reece, 
 representative from the British Wesleyan Conference to the 
 General Conference in the United States, and whose minis- 
 try was so highly acceptable to our churches, were among 
 the speakers on this occasion. Mr. Fisk, in a letter to Mrs. 
 Fisk, dated New-York, April 26th, speaks of this meeting 
 thus : 
 
 " I performed my part probably without much honour to 
 myself; but that is of little consequence. It is more to be 
 regretted that some abler hand (tongue ?) had not pleaded 
 the cause of missions ; however, a number followed me in 
 interesting and edifying addresses. The other speakers 
 were Messrs. Brown, Reed, Case, (Hannah), and Summer- 
 mind. But when I have turned to the world, I have seen sin working there in 
 such measures and forms, that I have turned back again to the Church with more 
 wisdom of mind and affection for it— tainted as it is."— Cecil's Remains, 
 
144 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 field. (He arrived in the city the day before me.) A col- 
 lection was taken* of about $160 or $170. The work of 
 the Lord is going on gloriously among the Indians, as you 
 will see by the Magazine. It makes me think of apostolic 
 times, when the Gospel was first preached to the heathens." 
 
 This was Mr. Fisk's first initiation into the missionary 
 work. He caught the impulse of the occasion, and, as his 
 sympathies enkindled and his views enlarged, he became an 
 efficient labourer in the field. This we shall see hereafter. 
 The address delivered by him at this meeting was published 
 in Zion's Herald. 
 
 The General Conference of 1824 is memorable for the 
 warm discussions called forth by what is known as the Rad- 
 ical Controversy. From divided sentiments on doctrinal 
 points we have very fortunately been preserved, but on 
 church government we have had various controversies ; and 
 the very few, and mostly unimportant schisms that have oc- 
 curred among us, have all been on this account, or from per- 
 sonal grievances, real or supposed. The points under dis- 
 cussion at this time related to a representation of the laity 
 and of the local preachers in our ecclesiastical bodies, and 
 the mode of appointing the presiding elders. This discus- 
 sion had not attracted very much attention in New-Eng- 
 land ; but in the Southern, Middle, and Western States it had 
 been carried on with great spirit and some acrimony. On 
 these subjects the General Conference received numerous 
 petitions and memorials, some demanding, others depreca- 
 ting alterations in the Discipline. Mr. Fisk, though in fa- 
 vour of making the presiding elders elective, was decidedly 
 opposed to a lay delegation. As he was always remarkable 
 for his republican views, some reason for what some may 
 consider an inconsistency will not be out of place. 
 
 Those who think the government of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church anti-republican, cannot be aware how limited 
 is the power of her clergy. It is not known to all that they 
 
 * It is difficult to say how this expression came into such general use. We 
 cannot but wish, for the sake of good English, that the word made would super- 
 sede it. 
 
THE RADICAL CONTROVERSY. 
 
 145 
 
 are entirely dependant on the people for their support. If 
 they have fixed their own claim or salaries, it is still only 
 advisory ; merely an estimate — and who will not say a re- 
 markably modest one ? — of what is necessary for their main- 
 tenance, but which the people can withhold at their option. 
 The clergy have no method of enforcing payment. It should 
 also be considered that the ministry originate with the peo- 
 ple. No minister can be made without examination and 
 recommendation by the inferior judicatories composed of 
 laymen ; and, indeed, our Leaders' Meetings, held monthly, 
 the Board of Stewards, and our Quarterly Meeting Confer- 
 ences, secure to our people a balance of power against the 
 clergy, as effectual as could be secured by any lay delega- 
 tion without them. I should run no risk in saying that the 
 power of the laity in the Methodist Episcopal Church is 
 greater than in any other denomination, excepting only the 
 Quakers, who, however, by their views of the ministry, can 
 hardly be brought to the comparison. Even the appoint- 
 ment of the ministers is not as arbitrary as it appears on a 
 partial view, since the wants and wishes of the people are 
 made known to the bishop by the presiding elders in the 
 arrangement of the stations. The requests of the people 
 always receive attention, and all things are adjusted for 
 the general accommodation. Bishop Asbury, who exercised 
 more power than any other incumbent of the episcopal chair, 
 was always very tenacious, as I have heard from those who 
 knew him, of the people's right to petition ; but on this point 
 there has been no wish for an alteration. The people prefer 
 this mode of appointment as, on the whole, best adapted to 
 our wants ; and if there have been occasional dissatisfaction, 
 it has generally been borne quietly, from regard to the good 
 of the Church. It also deserves to be noticed, by the way, 
 that no member can be expelled from the Methodist Episco- 
 pal Church without a regular trial before a committee of his 
 peers, with the right of being confronted with his accuser. 
 
 This controversy, moreover, did not take its origin from 
 the private members of the Church : it originated with the 
 local preachers, especially among those who had left the 
 travelling connexion, and by thus losing a large share of 
 13 T 
 
146 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 their influence and consideration, became restless and dis- 
 satisfied: and when once they had thrown out suspicions and 
 complaints, it was not wonderful that they were eagerly 
 caught at, and a theory which had not been fully examined 
 by the people, should be subjected to a rigid investigation. 
 The government of the United States was not organized 
 without rigid, ample, and protracted scrutiny, and a very 
 searching controversy. These remarks are not made by 
 any means in disparagement of the local preachers, certainly 
 a useful, honourable, disinterested class of men ; I give them 
 only as belonging to the history of the Church, and neces- 
 sary to explain the conduct of our subject.* 
 
 The Presiding Elder Question, as it was called, was, wheth- 
 er the presiding elders should be elected by the conferences, 
 or appointed by the bishop ? It was determined that render- 
 ing them elective would present such temptations to intrigue, 
 favouritism, time-serving, and jealousy, that it was safer to 
 leave it as it was. 
 
 These questions were debated in the General Conference 
 with a good deal of earnestness and some warmth of feeling, 
 though not with any flagrant violation of Christian charity. 
 But in a Methodist Conference, so remarkable for calmness, 
 mutual deference, and fraternal affection, it was uncommon; 
 
 * The views in the text are confirmed by a letter Mr. Fisk received the suc- 
 ceeding year (1825), an extract from which illustrates the spirit that originated 
 this unhappy controversy. After inquiring, Have you ever considered "what an 
 important station a local preacher fills in our Church V and complaining bitterly 
 of their having no share in the government, and asserting that he had "letter 
 upon letter sent him on this subject," the writer adds, "If this fire explode, I 
 fear it will not end in smoke ; I have my unconquerable attachments to the 
 Methodist" (Church) " (though perhaps you have known that I am not much in- 
 clined to Episcopacy), yet I am a. located preacher, and, of course, have no part, ei- 
 ther directly or indirectly, in the management or government of the Methodist 
 Church. But I say no more at present." 
 
 He seems to have forgotten the Quarterly Conference, the Leaders' Meetings, 
 and the Board of Stewards, of the first of which he was necessarily a member, 
 and was certainly eligible to both the others ; or else he forgot the strong " in- 
 direct" influence, at least, which these exert over "the government of the 
 Church." I hope, again, that I shall not be understood as disparaging a class of 
 men whom I have such abundant reason to esteem. The spirit apparent in the 
 above extract, so far as I know, has entirely passed away, and local preachers, a3 
 well as people, are well satisfied of the wisdom and excellence of our ecclesias- 
 tical institutions. 
 
LETTER TO HON. B. F. DEMING. 
 
 147 
 
 and to a delicately pious mind it could not fail to be painful. 
 Mr. Fisk found but little satisfaction in attending the delib- 
 erations. His feelings may be seen, in part, in the ensuing 
 passage of a letter to his friend, the Hon. B. F. Deming : 
 
 " Baltimore, May 26th, 1824. 
 
 " Dear Brother, 
 
 "I have waited thus long with the hope of having some- 
 thing of importance to write to you ; but, truly, we have done 
 business so slowly and so badly, I can hardly give you much, 
 even at this late period, that will be entertaining. But I can 
 tell you some things which we have not done. We have 
 not done, and shall not do, anything towards a lay or local 
 delegation, though we have had many petitions to that ef- 
 fect. Even the advocates of such measures think, I believe, 
 that things are not ripe for such a change. We have not 
 been agreed on scarcely any measure. We are divided into 
 two great parties, nearly equal : one party thinks some of 
 our Discipline might be altered for the better ; the other is 
 so afraid of reform or alteration, that it is almost impossible 
 to get a single alteration in any point. Here we stand and 
 debate, and do almost nothing. However, we have done 
 something ; we have modified the District Conferences so 
 that, if any district choose, they may refuse to meet, and in 
 that case the business all reverts back into our Quarterly 
 Meeting Conferences. We have made some salutary altera- 
 tions in the Book Concern ; also in our missionary system. 
 These, however, are of minor importance. We have, or, 
 rather, a majority have, passed a resolution revoking the sus- 
 pended resolutions, as they are called, on the Presiding El- 
 der Question ; it has passed to once reading, and. will prob- 
 ably finally pass. This has caused much excitement and 
 much warm debate. I will be more particular if God spare 
 me to see you ; and may that day be hastened ! I am tired 
 of this business, and long to be back again to my work. A 
 camp-meeting is a Heaven compared with a General Con- 
 ference ; still, it is thought, all things considered, we have 
 got on with but little excitement and acrimony, compared 
 with what might have been. We shall rise the last of this 
 week." 
 
148 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUIt F1SK. 
 
 His estimate of himself is exhibited in the same letter. 
 After alluding to some of the more distinguished preachers 
 whom he had heard, he proceeds: 
 
 " We have, indeed, many able preachers, and I lose sight 
 of my own gifts among them, as comparatively unworthy of 
 notice ; but my gifts are such as God has given me, and on 
 this account I ought to prize them. I cannot be great ; I 
 may be good, and, by the blessing of God, I may be useful." 
 
 Mr. Fisk was one of the committee to draught a reply to 
 the address of the British Conference, sent by the hands of 
 their worthy representative, the Rev. Richard Reece. This 
 document is Mr. Fisk's production. It is admirably chaste, 
 beautiful, and appropriate. One or two passages we in- 
 troduce, because they serve to throw light on what will 
 soon become a peculiarly distinct feature in his character. 
 We allude to his missionary spirit. In responding to the 
 sentiments of our British brethren on Missions, he said, 
 " We are also following you, though at humble distance, in 
 your missionary exertions. But such is the extent, and in- 
 creasing extent, of our work here, that we cannot find means 
 nor men for foreign missions. The increase of our popu- 
 lation is unparalleled ; and it is widely scattered over an 
 extensive continent. To keep pace with it under such cir- 
 cumstances requires much labour and much privation. In 
 addition to this, the Lord, as you have heard, has opened 
 for us a great and effectual door among the aborigines of 
 our country. These we dare not neglect. They are our 
 neighbours, and we must minister unto them ; they have 
 been injured, and we must make them reparation ; they are 
 savages, and must be civilized. All this shall be done if 
 God permit. We have the work much at heart, and hope 
 and pray for success. In addition to this, we have entailed 
 upon us, in several of our states, a degraded and enslaved 
 population, whose situation is making, if possible, a still 
 stronger claim upon our Christian philanthropy. And, final- 
 ly, the way seems to be opening for missionary exertions in 
 Mexico and South America. 
 
ADDRESS TO THE BRITISH CONFERENCE. 
 
 149 
 
 " With these fields of labour in the midst of us and round 
 about us, you cannot expect us to join you in the great and 
 good work in which you are engaged in the East. Still, we 
 hope the time is not far distant when we shall join hands on 
 the Asiatic shores of the Pacific Ocean. We are constantly 
 advancing our labours towards the West, and you are ex- 
 tending towards the East, not only on the Continent, but 
 over the islands of the sea. Is it chimerical, then, to suppose, 
 that at some future day we shall have encompassed this 
 earth, and girded it round with glorious bands of Gospel 
 truth ? O no, Faith says it shall be done." 
 
 Not less characteristic of our subject are the following sen- 
 timents of the same document : " And while we are en- 
 larging our work and multiplying our numbers, we trust we 
 have not forgotten that the great design of Methodism, the 
 ultimate end of all its institutions, is to raise up and preserve, 
 in the midst of a sinful world, a holy people. Without this, 
 numbers and influence are nothing. We deprecate, more 
 than anything else, that ecclesiastical pride which builds 
 itself up upon the numbers and popularity of the Church, 
 while that Church is sinking in the spirit and tone of the Di- 
 vine life. From such a state of things, we, on both sides of 
 the water, are doubtless united in saying, 1 Lord, preserve 
 us ; make us holy, and make us instrumental in spreading 
 holiness throughout the earth.' " 
 
 While in Baltimore he wrote a letter to Mrs. Fisk, dated 
 May 22, from which we present an extract, as follows : 
 
 "My dear R., 
 
 " I am not unconscious of the various feelings and exercises 
 of your mind, many of them unpleasant, and perhaps pain- 
 ful, during my absence, especially in your poor state of 
 health ; but I feel a satisfaction in the reflection that you 
 are among friends who can sympathize with you and pro- 
 vide for you ; and, above all, that you are in the hands of 
 Divine Providence, affords the highest consolation : and here 
 I rest with full confidence. The same Providence that sup- 
 ports us when together, and without which even our mutual 
 aids and counsel would amount to nothing, has an equal 
 13* 
 
150 
 
 LIFE OP WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 power and an equal tenderness for us under all circumstan- 
 ces and in all places : that Providence has hitherto been 
 with me since I left home, though amid many mercies I have 
 had some slight afflictions. I took some cold before I left 
 New- York, which increased so much when I got to Phila- 
 delphia as induced me to stop two or three days in that city. 
 "With some improvement of health I pursued my journey to 
 this place, but continued ill after my arrival, so that I did 
 not attend Conference for about one week, when I got able 
 to attend, and have ever since been gaining. I am now in 
 comfortable health, but my soul is sick — sick, I mean, of the 
 duties and controversies of the General Conference. I shall 
 be glad, heartily glad, when I get to my work again on the 
 Green Mountains : not but I would be willing to submit to 
 the drudgery of this business, if I could thereby benefit the 
 Church ; but the truth is, our views are so different and so 
 various, and our mutual jealousies — I say this to our shame — 
 are so great, that we can do nothing — nothing that relates to 
 the great and essential concerns of the Church. "We have 
 passed some resolutions that respect private and local ques- 
 tions, but nothing else is done ; little or nothing else will be 
 done. O, when shall we have peace ? Not, I fear, until 
 the Church is torn and rent by schisms. However, I hope 
 for the best ; and perhaps, by the interposition of that Prov- 
 idence under whose fostering care Methodism has attained 
 to its present high standing, we may yet be bound together 
 by the cords of love in the great work of saving souls." 
 
HIS LABOURS. 
 
 151 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Continued Presiding Elder. — Incident. — Letters of Condolence. — Mysticism. — 
 General Lafayette. — Incident. — Aid to Young Ministers. — School of the 
 Prophets. — Traits of Character. — Incident. 
 
 Mr. Fisk was reappointed the two succeeding years, viz., 
 1824 and 1825, to the office of presiding elder, and contin- 
 ued to discharge his duties with unabated ardour and faith- 
 fulness. The ministers under him also laboured zealously 
 and with success. These were years of great and general 
 prosperity throughout the Vermont District. 
 
 He was also a trustee of the Wesleyan Academy, which, 
 as before intimated, was to be established at Wilbraham. 
 To meet the board was often very inconvenient, requiring 
 long journeys ; yet he always attended them, and that with- 
 out missing his appointments, though he frequently had to 
 travel in the night. He also acted personally as an agent 
 in soliciting funds for the institution. 
 
 During his service on the district, also, the missionary 
 cause was not allowed to slumber. He brought it before 
 the people in sermons, at love-feasts, and other meetings, 
 and had the pleasure of awakening the attention of many to 
 the subject. The same may be said of our other benevolent 
 institutions. 
 
 While Mr. Fisk was on the district, Mrs. F. frequently 
 accompanied him to his appointments, and was thus a par- 
 ticipator in his dangers as well as enjoyments. 
 
 In the summer of 1824, when they were travelling to- 
 gether, one evening they were overtaken by a terrific thun- 
 der-storm. The heavens were black with clouds, the night 
 was already closing in, and they had yet eight miles to go 
 to the nearest stopping-place. We give the scene nearly 
 in Mrs. Fisk's own words : 
 
 " My dear husband being familiar with the road, we 
 thought it best to continue our journey. The storm and 
 
152 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 darkness increased. The rain poured in torrents. We enter- 
 ed a piece of woods, and went but a short distance, when he 
 observed, ' We must be out of our road : from the sound, 
 our carriage- wheels are on bushes.' We could not discern 
 the least thing ; it was, indeed, ' darkness visible.' The 
 lightning glimmered only at long intervals in the distance. 
 Giving me the reins, Mr. Fisk got out of the carriage, and 
 with his hands felt for the wheel-ruts; but finding none, and 
 perceiving, as he suspected, that the wheels were on broken 
 bushes, for a short time we remained stationary, when a ter- 
 rific peal of thunder rolled over our heads, accompanied with 
 a brilliant flash of lightning, which struck a tall tree not very 
 far from us, and shattered it from top to bottom with a tre- 
 mendous crash ; but it enabled us to see where we were, and 
 we found that we had wandered half a mile from the main 
 road into the woods. The lightning now became more fre- 
 quent, and during its flashes Mr. F. was enabled to lead his 
 horse back to the road, stopping when the lightning disap- 
 peared, for it seemed only to render the darkness ' such as 
 might be felt.' We continued in this way three miles on our 
 journey, Mr. F. leading his horse ; and at length, at half past 
 ten o'clock, found admission into a comfortable farmhouse. 
 
 " In the midst of this terrific scene, my dear husband pos- 
 sessed the utmost calmness and confidence in God. Amid 
 the warring elements, you could hear his sweet voice singing 
 these beautiful lines of Watts : 
 
 " ' The God that rules on high, 
 
 That thunders when he please, 
 That rides upon the stormy sky, 
 
 And manages the seas : 
 This awful God is ours, 
 
 Our Father and our love ; 
 He will send down his heavenly powers 
 
 To carry us above ;' 
 
 and frequently calling to me, as he stood by the head of his 
 horse in total darkness, 1 Yes, this awful God is ours.' " 
 
 If there were any one trait in the character of Mr. Fisk 
 that shone more brightly than another, it was that kindness 
 of disposition which led him to participate in the joys and 
 sorrows of others. His heart was keenly alive to every 
 
LETTER OF CONDOLENCE. 
 
 153 
 
 touch of sympathy. To this, in no small degree, was ow- 
 ing the hold he had upon the affections of his friends. A 
 letter which we here insert bears some testimony to our re- 
 mark. With the lady to whom it was addressed he enjoyed 
 some acquaintance, and had partaken of the hospitalities of 
 her house while passing through his circuit or district. For 
 her and her husband, Judge Williams, he ever entertained a 
 sincere regard. Hearing of the death of her father, the ex- 
 cellent Mr. George Warner, of New- York City, he wrote to 
 her as follows : 
 
 • Randolph, April 7th, 1825. 
 " In a visit to the north part of the state, I was informed 
 of your irreparable loss in the death of your worthy father ; 
 worthy, I say, because this is the character that all give him, 
 who knew him, with whom I have spoken on the subject. 
 For myself, I had not the honour or pleasure of his acquaint- 
 ance ; I had expected this, but the time is now past ; I can 
 never know him in the flesh. But if I be so happy as to make 
 one among the saints of light, I expect to meet your honour- 
 ed father there, and have the pleasure of forming a heaven- 
 ly acquaintance with him, unless, as Mr. Whitefield said of 
 Mr. Wesley, he should be honoured with a place so much 
 nearer the throne than myself, that I should scarcely be able 
 to see him. This, however, is hardly a consistent supposition ; 
 for, however rich in faith he was, and however superior his 
 reward may be, there will doubtless be no indistinctness of 
 vision in Heaven ; we shall then all see as we are seen, and 
 i know as we are known.' But should we need there, as we 
 do here, an introduction to those who were before strangers, 
 by a third person, you, I expect, will be there, and will make 
 us acquainted in Christ's kingdom. I am expecting, indeed, 
 and praying that your affliction will contribute much towards 
 preparing you for that kingdom. You have lost another tie 
 that bound you to earth, and have gained another cord to 
 draw you to Heaven. You are also hereby taught how 
 groundless are all our hopes of happiness built on earthly 
 good. You can therefore sing, with more feeling than ever, 
 
 " ' Nothing on earth T call my own ; 
 A stranger to the world unknown, 
 
 u 
 
154 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 I all their goods despise ; 
 I trample on their whole delight, 
 And seek a city out of sight, 
 
 A city in the skies. 
 
 There is my house and portion fair ; 
 My treasure and my heart are there, 
 
 And my abiding home : 
 For me my elder brethren stay, 
 And angels beckon me away, 
 
 And Jesus bids me come.' 
 
 " Had I seen you when your heart was bleeding under the 
 recent stroke that severed the tenderest ties of nature, it 
 would have been my imperative duty as a minister and ser- 
 vant of Christ, and my highest, though mournful pleasure 
 as a friend, to have attempted at least to administer conso- 
 lation to your soul. But you have had time to reflect ; you 
 have had time to pray. The first and most furious blast of 
 the storm has gone by : and in the melancholy pause that 
 has succeeded, though you have had time more deliberately 
 to reflect on your loss, and every object around you is cal- 
 culated to add an additional pang to your pained bosom, 
 still you also have had time to call in religion to your aid. 
 You have called to mind all those precious Scriptures that 
 assert the special providence and fatherly care of your God. 
 You have prayed again and again, ' Not my will, but thine 
 be done,' until the soul, with sweet acquiescence and filial 
 resignation, most sincerely responds to the sentiment, and 
 God's will to you is all and in all. What remains but that 
 you 1 reckon yourself dead indeed unto the world, but alive 
 unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord ;' and, in agree- 
 ment with this, make the best possible use of the remainder 
 of life, and of life's blessings, which God has put into your 
 hands ; that when you fail on earth, not only your beloved 
 father, but all who have been honoured with your acquaint- 
 ance or shared in your benevolence, i may welcome you into 
 everlasting habitations.' " 
 
 To the Rev. Joel Steele, on the death of his wife. 
 
 "Very dear and much afflicted brother, 
 
 " I have just had confirmed to me the melancholy intelli- 
 gence that our beloved sister and your affectionate wife is 
 
LETTER OF CONDOLENCE. 
 
 155 
 
 no more on earth. I need not tell you it has affected me 
 most sensibly. I know of none among all my acquaintances 
 and Christian friends whose worth I more highly prized. 
 She always exhibited those excellent qualities that endeared 
 her to all who knew her. I feel that I have personally suf- 
 fered a loss. From the circle of my valued Christian friends, 
 one among the worthies is gone. I feel that the Church has 
 suffered a loss. One of its ornaments is gone ; and one, too, 
 who, from the station she filled, as well as from the excel- 
 lences she possessed, was eminently qualified ' to allure to 
 brighter worlds and lead the way.' All this I thought of 
 when I first heard the news of her death. I saw, I, in a 
 measure, felt, the bitterness, the inexpressible bitterness of 
 that overflowing cup of sorrow which your heavenly Father 
 has put to your mouth. I beheld you in that heart-rending 
 moment when lingering hope, with an awful shock, was 
 about to have torn from it its last hold on the beloved ob- 
 ject. I saw you looking inward to a heart about to be made 
 desolate ; outward and around, on your babes about to be 
 motherless ; upward, to that seemingly frowning Providence 
 that was mixing for your sorrowful soul this cup of anguish ; 
 while your grief, too full to have a tongue, and too express- 
 ively intelligent not to be understood, cries out, * Father, if 
 it be possible, let this cup pass from me.' My sighs, my 
 tears, my prayers were ready to mingle with yours ; but all 
 is over — Sister Steele is dead ! When incredulous sorrow 
 could realize that this was truth, and when the first gust of 
 grief was over in your troubled breast, I beheld you with 
 your heart still looking upward, while religion, with all its 
 instructing and consoling influence, enabled you to add, in 
 the language of Divine resignation, < Nevertheless, not my 
 will, but thine be done.' To this sentiment my soul says 
 Amen. The Lord write it upon your heart. And here my 
 sympathy for you finds rest, because here you find rest. 
 Yes, my brother, it relieves my heart to hear you say, as you 
 have said in your letter to Brother A., which I have just 
 read, * I will not complain. It is God that has done it ; and 
 shall not the Judge of all the earth do right ? I feel as 
 though the consolations of religion are my support in this 
 
156 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 day of tribulation.' Ah ! my brother, what a God is ours ! 
 The severest strokes upon his children are laid on with the 
 rod of love. Satan's fiery darts make but a small wound, 
 but they leave therein the poison of death. The rod of God 
 ploughs in the trembling heart deep and painful furrows, 
 but it leaves therein the balm of life, the medicine of the 
 soul ; and, by Divine grace, the deeper the wound, the more 
 salutary and glorious the effects. Yea, it worketh out for 
 us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. 
 
 " I spoke of a loss, and so this death seems to be properly 
 termed. But it only seems ; the truth is, it is gain ; gain, 
 not only to her, for she has doubtless gone to Paradise, but 
 it shall be seen in the issue to be gain to you and to your 
 children, impossible as it may appear. But you may ask, 
 * Who can supply the place of a mother to my children V 
 The God who gave them a mother, and hath taken her away. 
 "Without him even a mother could do nothing. But, in re- 
 moving her, has he removed his loving kindness from you 
 and yours ? No, he is the same God, and will prove him- 
 self such to you and to your household. Trust him, then, 
 trust him forever. 
 
 " Randolph, April 6, 1825." 
 
 It is a fact growing out of the constitution of the human 
 mind, that no revulsion of sentiment takes place, good or bad, 
 without generating some excesses. Novelty always throws 
 something of a haze over the mental vision, and few possess 
 such clearness of perception as not to feel its distorting influ- 
 ence. The Pietists of Germany, the Quietists of France, the 
 errors of Fox, and even the infidelity of Voltaire, are illustra- 
 tions of the same principle. Who can tell how many infi- 
 dels have been made by associating true religion with its 
 abuses ? Most errors take their origin from some germe of 
 truth. The sudden quickening of the attention to the sub- 
 ject of spiritual Christianity in the region in which Mr. Fisk 
 laboured, produced some illustrations of our remark. From 
 the utter neglect of the religious emotions, a few ran into the 
 opposite extreme, and made them the absorbing objects of 
 solicitude. The common duties of life were undervalued ; 
 
GENERAL LAFAYETTE. 
 
 157 
 
 the proprieties of life, " the ornaments of a meek and quiet 
 spirit," the " charity that never faileth" and "thinketh no 
 evil," were displaced by dreamy reveries, or wild and head- 
 strong zeal, or sour and irritable tempers. Lofty professions 
 of spirituality and abstraction from the world were, in some 
 instances, fearfully at variance with the omission of good 
 works, and a neglect of the nicer laws of Christian pro- 
 priety. To correct these evils, Mr. Fisk wrote a series 
 of letters on Mysticism, addressed to one of the most dis- 
 tinguished of these visionaries. She was a sincere Chris- 
 tian and a sensible woman, but had been misled probably 
 by the ethereal productions of Lady Guion and the Arch- 
 bishop of Cambray. It is a proof of her good sense that she 
 was reclaimed from her temporary hallucination, and has now 
 been for many years a devoted, exemplary, and practical 
 follower of Christ. These excellent letters will, should Dr. 
 Fisk's works be called for by the public, be included among 
 them. 
 
 In the years 1824-5, General Lafayette made his tour 
 through the United States, and was received everywhere 
 with those demonstrations of enthusiastic regard which were 
 due to so disinterested a benefactor of the country. During 
 the summer of 1825 he passed through the Northern States, 
 and among other places visited Montpelier, the seat of gov- 
 ernment for Vermont. His route lay through the village of 
 East Randolph, where Mr. Fisk now resided. It was the 
 design of the committee of arrangements only to stop long 
 enough to change horses here ; but, as their distinguished 
 guest had become fatigued, they determined to prolong their 
 sojourn and partake of a cold collation. The citizens im- 
 mediately determined to manifest their gratitude and re- 
 spect by appointing a deputation to wait on him with their 
 salutations. Mr. Fisk was chosen as their speaker. Trust- 
 ing to the impulse of his own feelings and his ready com- 
 mand of language, in a few moments he was ready to con- 
 duct the procession, and offered the following neat and ap- 
 propriate effusion, in which he not only expressed senti- 
 ments pertinent to the object, but also beautifully sustained 
 his own character as the agent of man's highest interests. 
 He spoke as follows : 
 14 
 
158 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 " General Lafayette, 
 " Sir : Permit one who, though a stranger to the profession 
 of arms, is not a stranger to the blessings of liberty, to ad- 
 dress you in behalf of the inhabitants of this village. They 
 feel, sir, that they have no claim upon a large share of your 
 time or attention ; but in the fulness of their hearts, they 
 would express their regard for him whose disinterested val- 
 our, under God, has been instrumental, with our own belov- 
 ed Washington, in procuring for them liberty and inde- 
 pendence. 
 
 " We cordially and sincerely welcome you to our coun- 
 try — our state — our village. 
 
 Sir, permit me to say, we love our benefactor — we thank 
 him. We do more : we pray for him. And we pray, sir, 
 that, though your triumph through these states has been 
 greater, it is believed, and more glorious than was ever be- 
 fore the portion of a mortal — the homage being voluntary — 
 that you be prepared for, and ultimately share in, that infi- 
 nitely more glorious triumph of the Church of the First-born 
 in Heaven."* 
 
 General Lafayette listened to the address with great at- 
 tention and very evident emotion. As he made his short 
 but appropriate response, the tears glistened in his eye, and 
 as he alluded to the prayer, they could no longer be restrained : 
 they rolled down his cheeks. It was a thrilling moment, 
 combining as it did the loftiest emotions of our nature, those 
 of piety and humanity. The scene had something of the 
 moral sublime. The hero who had braved the cannon's 
 mouth, and exposed his own person, fortune, and liberty for 
 man's highest earthly interests, and now stood forth the object 
 of the "world's wide gaze," responds in tears at the sugges- 
 tion of a brighter immortality. The glories of Heaven at- 
 tract the soul upward from the highest pinnacle of worldly 
 greatness. 
 
 We have spoken of Mr. Fisk's admiration of the sublime 
 
 * The speech was taken down by several friends and handed to Mrs. Fisk, 
 who, on comparing them together, found that they varied in not more than two 
 or three words. 
 
PERILOUS INCIDENT. 159 
 
 and beautiful in nature, and of the variety of incident by 
 which his itinerant life was diversified. An account handed 
 me by Mrs. Fisk serves to illustrate these particulars. 
 
 " While we lived in Randolph, in going and returning 
 from the north part of his district and from his father's, Mr. 
 Fisk usually took the route by the way of the Gulf Turnpike. 
 This road leads through the gulf from which the road de- 
 rives its name. This mountain pass was pronounced (July, 
 1825) by General Lafayette one of the wildest he had ever 
 seen. At that time, for several miles, but one or two small 
 clearings had been effected. The road had been carried 
 along a deep ravine, following a stream between the mount- 
 ains, sometimes at the base, sometimes on its side, leaving 
 a deep precipice on one side of the road of fifty or seventy- 
 five feet, and on the other side the mountain reared itself, 
 almost perpendicularly, one hundred feet or more : you were 
 now on a level with the stream, now fifty or seventy-five 
 feet above it. Sometimes the lofty, dense forest-trees, ren- 
 dered more magnificent by their rich foliage, would form an 
 arch over your head and obstruct your view of the heavens. 
 At other times, as the road wound its way among the mount- 
 ains, you would only see a few yards of the beaten path be- 
 fore you, and the blue sky by looking directly upward. 
 Added to this was the constant roar of the stream, as it 
 dashed its waters from rock to rock, which in the spring, 
 when the snow melted from the mountains, would be swollen 
 to quite a river, increasing the grandeur of the scene.* 
 Here, too, the feathered songsters seemed to vie with each 
 other in raising their loudest notes of praise. 
 
 " To my dear husband this was a loved and lovely spot. 
 In summer he loved to pass this gulf just before the sun was 
 going down ; and when he could, he always arranged his 
 journey to do so. As we passed, he made the mountains re- 
 verberate with his favourite stanzas of * Beattie's Hermit,' oc- 
 casionally pausing to enjoy the sublimity of the wild scene, 
 to listen to the echo, and to the evening vespers of the feath- 
 ered warblers, or the plaintive notes of the whippoorwill. 
 
 * It is a peculiar charm of the scenery of Vermont, that the mountains are 
 generally covered with verdure to their very summits. 
 
160 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 " In May, 1825, having been detained one day when we 
 were to pass this gulf, we entered it after the sun had set. 
 Just before we arrived near the precipice, we thought we saw 
 in the distance a light, resembling that which is emitted from 
 the shoe of a horse as it strikes a stone. We listened, and 
 distinctly heard the sound of carriage-wheels. The dense 
 foliage of the forest-trees obscured the light of the stars, and 
 rendered it quite dark ; and knowing that the road was too 
 narrow to permit two carriages to pass each other without 
 the utmost care, our first fears were that the carriage was 
 approaching us. Again we listened. Mr. Fisk immediately 
 said, 1 Whether the carriage is approaching us or not, I know 
 from the sound that it is on the very edge of the precipice,' 
 and called to them ' to keep to the right.' Again we listen- 
 ed ; but receiving no answer, and hearing the same sound, he 
 jumped from his carriage, giving me the reins ; and speaking 
 sharply to his horse to prevent his following him, he has- 
 tened on to the carriage, which was some distance before us. 
 It was, indeed, on the very brink of the precipice, resting 
 against a wooden rail, which had prevented it from plunging 
 down, while the rail was actually bending beneath its weight. 
 But for the timely assistance of Mr. F., it must have been 
 destroyed. The carriage contained an intoxicated man, 
 his wife, and two small children. The horse's bit was no- 
 thing but a rope, which was so much worn that it was diffi- 
 cult to manage him. But the man was equally unmanageable. 
 After Mr. Fisk had with great exertion succeeded in get- 
 ting the carriage from the bank, he persuaded the man to 
 give up the reins, and requested his wife to hold them until 
 he had fastened our carriage to theirs. He then led their 
 horse, and in this way we proceeded through the Gulf, hav- 
 ing nearly three miles to go before we could get to the open 
 road ; and deeply did we feel our dependance on our Divine 
 Preserver." 
 
 We shall close this chapter with a few gleanings, which 
 we found it not so convenient to introduce into an earlier 
 period of our history. 
 
 The reader has probably noticed our subject's firm reli- 
 ance upon an overruling Providence. This never forsook 
 
TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 161 
 
 him. In the midst of cares and trials, Mrs. Fisk observes, 
 she has often known him to lie down and sleep as calmly as 
 an infant ; and when she has expressed her surprise, he 
 would reply, " Why should I be anxious ? Am I not in the 
 hands of my heavenly Father ? I try to do what I think is 
 right and for the best, and then leave all with him." Thus 
 we have a beautiful verification of the prophet's words, 
 " Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed 
 on thee, because he trusteth in thee." — Isaiah, xxvi., 3. 
 
 We have mentioned Mr. Fisk's residence at his father's. 
 It would have been greatly to his temporal interest to have 
 remained there ; but when the ministers at the other end of 
 the district urged that it would be better for his charge to 
 have him nearer the centre, he did not hesitate to remove to 
 East Randolph. 
 
 As a proof of his anxiety for the improvement of the 
 younger ministers, the following incident may be given : 
 One who was stationed on a circuit near to Mr. Fisk's resi- 
 dence, under his advice commenced the study of the Latin 
 language. It was his practice to come to Mr. Fisk's house, 
 when he was at home, to recite ; and to redeem his time, and 
 avoid interruptions from company, the young man always 
 retired to bed at sunset and rose at midnight, the family 
 supplying him with fire and candles ; and that he might 
 hear his recitation without interruption, his instructer also 
 rose earlier than usual ; but, in consequence of his cough, it 
 was necessary for him to have his breakfast as soon as pos- 
 sible after rising. Hence the arrangements of the whole 
 family were disturbed. Such, also, is a specimen of the en- 
 ergy, sacrifices, and privation of many Methodist ministers 
 in prosecuting their studies. 
 
 While on the district, a school or association was formed 
 for the instruction and improvement of the young exhorters 
 and those who had the ministry in view. I am not informed 
 whether Mr. Fisk originated it, but he certainly concurred 
 in it very cordially, and gave as much of his time to its ad- 
 vancement as he could spare when in its vicinity. The Rev. 
 L Lord was for some time the instructer. Similar associa- 
 tions have been formed elsewhere among the Methodists. 
 14* X 
 
162 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 Mr. Fisk did not limit his preaching, while on the district, 
 to his regular appointments. He was always ready to preach 
 the word wherever he could find attentive hearers ; nor did 
 a regard for remuneration sway him in the least. He has 
 frequently carried the "Word of Life to destitute congrega- 
 tions, not only without remuneration, but at his own ex- 
 pense. He was accustomed to remark that " those who 
 paid least needed the Gospel most," and that he thought 
 " the hardest work grace had to do was to make a covetous 
 man liberal ;" and that he feared " more would lose heaven 
 by that sin than any other, because no man would own him- 
 self to be covetous, though very few obeyed the injunction, 
 1 Look not every man on his own things, but every man 
 also on the things of others.' " 
 
 There is certainly no situation in life that more impera- 
 tively demands elevation of Christian character than that of 
 an itinerant minister ; and, as an inevitable counterpart, 
 there are few that present severer tests of the disinterested 
 virtues. From the very nature of the existing relations, 
 great caution is required to guard against the grovelling 
 views of envy, jealousy, and self-seeking ; nor can we ascribe 
 it to anything but the special grace of the Almighty, that the 
 body has always, thus far, been preserved in so pure a spirit 
 of brotherly affection. No man was ever more exempt from 
 these vile dispositions than our subject, and no man, proba- 
 bly, has exerted a better influence in this respect on others. 
 As an illustration, we give the following anecdotes : On a 
 certain occasion, he observed a young preacher on his dis- 
 trict apparently very much depressed in spirits. His sym- 
 pathizing disposition led him to ask the cause. The young 
 man gave him to understand that it was an apprehension 
 that he could not meet the expectations of the people, alle- 
 ging, as the reason for this apprehension, the constant enco- 
 miums which he heard upon his predecessor. Mr. Fisk re- 
 plied that upon his mind it would have just the opposite 
 effect ; that, wherever he went, his predecessor was the con- 
 stant subject of eulogy also ; " and I think," added he, " if 
 they love brother L., they will have some Christian love for 
 me, if I merit it ; but if they did not love him, I certainly 
 should not expect to excite their Christian sympathy." 
 
NOBLE CONDUCT. 
 
 163 
 
 But if it is virtuous to rejoice in the honours and prosper- 
 ity of another when he is justly entitled to them, it requires 
 a still nobler elevation to leave another in undisturbed pos- 
 session of what belongs to ourselves. At a certain time, sev- 
 eral ministers were expressing their admiration of a younger 
 brother, just deceased, for a certain document ascribed to 
 him by his biographer, and lamenting the loss the Church 
 had sustained in his early departure. Mr.Fisk mentioned 
 having met the person in question at the General Confer- 
 ence, and being highly pleased with him, but said nothing 
 about the document. 
 
 " You do not think very highly of that document, " said 
 Mrs. Fisk to him, after the others had withdrawn, judging, 
 probably, by his apparent reserve. 
 
 " Not very," was the reply. 
 
 " "What do you consider its defects ?" 
 
 Going to his desk, he drew out the original draught of the 
 document in his own handwriting. 
 
 " There," he said, "is the proof who is the author. Your 
 husband wrote it." 
 
 " But how did this mistake happen ?" 
 
 " As I write an indifferent hand, he copied it ; and being 
 found in his handwriting, it was ascribed to him." 
 
 " But you ought to have the honour of it." 
 
 " I do nothing for honour — I have honour enough," was 
 all his reply. 
 
 It ought to be considered that at the date of this transac- 
 tion Mr. Fisk was only just coming before the public, and, of 
 course, a little credit at that period was of much more im- 
 portance to him than subsequently. The reader, if he please, 
 may compare this with the celebrated incident of a similar 
 character in the life of Dr. Samuel Johnson. After listening 
 for some time to the applauses some friends bestowed on 
 one of Pitt's supposed speeches, published in the Gentleman's 
 Magazine, " I wrote that speech," thundered forth the lexi- 
 cographer, " in a garret in Exeter-street." The simple di- 
 vine eclipses the great philosopher. To be indifferent to 
 honour is often, not to say always, the surest way to obtain it. 
 
164 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Wesleyan Academy. — Removal to Wilbraham. — Government. — Revival. — Elec- 
 tion Sermon. — Embarrassments of the Institution. — Theological Class. 
 
 We must now turn our attention to the history of the 
 Wesleyan Academy. When the committee appointed to 
 examine the condition of the Newmarket Academy deter- 
 mined on the expediency of moving the institution to some 
 other place, the people of North Wilbraham offered to erect 
 suitable buildings for the purpose, and pledged their influence 
 to promote the prosperity of the school if located among 
 them. This, in connexion with other considerations, deter- 
 mined the committee to fix on Wilbraham as the location. 
 An act of incorporation was obtained from the Legislature 
 of Massachusetts, trustees were appointed, and other neces- 
 sary arrangements made to organize the school as soon as 
 practicable. Amos Binney, Esq., of Boston, very gener- 
 ously pledged ten thousand dollars towards the enterprise, 
 and the Rev. John Lindsey was appointed agent to procure 
 the remainder by subscription. The following spring (1825) 
 the buildings were commenced. 
 
 The eighth day of November of the same year was the 
 time appointed by the board of trustees for opening the 
 academy. The occasion was celebrated with a little festi- 
 val, consisting of an address from Mr. Fisk, accompanied 
 by appropriate religious services. In the evening, by the 
 liberality of the citizens, the academy buildings were hand- 
 somely illuminated. The address was listened to with great 
 interest, and was afterward published in pamphlet form. It 
 is marked by the author's usual characteristics. But many 
 will be surprised to hear of the manner in which it was com- 
 posed. Such were the urgency of the author's duties, and the 
 demands upon his time, that he could not command leisure 
 for its preparation except while in his chaise. The whole 
 of it, therefore, was written with a pencil on the road at va- 
 
REMOVES TO WILBRAHAM. 
 
 165 
 
 rious intervals, his hat serving for a desk, while Mrs. Fisk 
 held the reins and officiated as charioteer ! 
 
 At the ensuing meeting of the trustees, held a short time 
 afterward, Mr. Fisk was elected principal of the academy. 
 
 As he still held the office of presiding elder, he did not 
 take up his residence immediately at Wilbraham. Having, 
 therefore, made such arrangements as were necessary for 
 the present, he left the school under the care of Mr. N. 
 Dunn, the instructer selected by the trustees, and returned 
 to the duties of his district, spending such portions of his 
 time at the academy as he could spare from his other en- 
 gagements. 
 
 Mr. Fisk was recognised by the Conference, at its session 
 in 1826, as principal of the Wesleyan Academy, and accord- 
 ingly prepared to transfer his residence to Wilbraham. With 
 what feelings he contemplated this step, may be seen from 
 an ex^-act of a letter to the Misses Osborn, at Charlestown : 
 
 " You will have learned, before this reaches you, that I am 
 about j£> transfer my residence from Vermont to Wilbraham- 
 This is no small cross to me. I am extremely attached to 
 Vermont. The Lord has blessed me here ; he has blessed 
 my labours ; he has here confirmed my health : he has done 
 everything for me here, almost. I was born here the first 
 and second time, and I know not but I ought to add the 
 third time ; for here I had restored to me my long-forfeited 
 peace. Twice, when in other places I drew near to the 
 grave, God has upon these mountains restored me to a good 
 degree of health. Here, too, I made my first efforts to blow 
 the Gospel trumpet ; and here I have more souls to my min- 
 istry than in the wide world besides. And here — but I for- 
 bear to speak of the favour God has given me in the eyes of 
 the people. Suffice it to say, my earthly kindred are here, 
 some alive, some in their graves ; and hither, if it please 
 God, I hope in due time to return, to die where they have 
 died, and sleep where they sleep. Of this, however, I will 
 not be too solicitous. If I can fall asleep in Christ, it is of 
 little consequence where the body rests. It shall be pillow- 
 ed on the bosom of love : it shall be resuscitated by the 
 
166 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 Spirit of life : it shall be fashioned like unto Christ's most 
 glorious body ; and then it shall dwell, not in the mountains 
 of this bleak world, but amid Mount Zion's pleasant scenery, 
 and in the lovely groves of a celestial paradise, where saints 
 and angels meet and sing, ' and all the air is love.' O bless- 
 ed prospect ! O delightful anticipation ! Will it be even so ? 
 Lord, help ' every one of us that hath this hope in him, to 
 purify himself even as Christ is pure.' " — 1 John, hi., 3. 
 
 He removed to Wilbraham in May, A.D. 1826, and en- 
 tered upon his duties with great alacrity. These were suf- 
 ficiently onerous, and multifarious enough to distract most 
 men. The school was new, most of the persons concerned 
 were inexperienced in their business, and the plan of the in- 
 stitution was rather novel ; facts which excluded, in no small 
 degree, the advantages of a division of labour. Mr. Fisk 
 was chief director everywhere. All looked up to him for 
 counsel — steward, teachers, and pupils. In addition, he had 
 frequent calls abroad to preach, deliver addresses, and the 
 like, besides conducting a very extended correspondence. 
 
 He was now in a situation for which he was admirably 
 qualified. His education and his natural talents; his great 
 facility in transacting business ; his knowledge of men, and 
 quick insight into character ; his affability, sound judgment, 
 and practical good sense, were all important qualifications. 
 By these he secured both the confidence of parents and the 
 affection of the scholars. With such a principal at its head, 
 the school rose into a commanding notoriety, and was ex- 
 tensively patronised, not only in our own, but also by other 
 denominations. The institution opened with but seven schol- 
 ars : during the first term it increased to thirty, and the next 
 year it rose to seventy-five. Its subsequent increase was 
 correspondingly rapid, until in a few years it numbered from 
 two to three hundred. 
 
 Mr. Fisk was remarkably successful in the administration 
 of government. His mode was truly paternal. He used 
 the rod but a few times, and then only in extreme cases. 
 He was singularly happy in inspiring both affection and re- 
 spect. But his government, and the means by which he en- 
 
MODE OF GOVERNMENT. 
 
 167 
 
 gaged the affections of his pupils, may be better illustrated 
 than described. On the evening of the simple fete in com- 
 memoration of the opening of the school, he observed a little 
 boy looking rather dispirited, perhaps at his being among 
 strangers. Going up to him, he said, " John, what is the 
 matter ? we want no sad faces here." Then taking John's 
 hands, he put them into those of a little girl somewhat young- 
 er than himself, saying, " Come, M., I must give John into 
 your charge. Do you try to cheer him up." Such an in- 
 terest in the happiness of his pupils would, of course, secure 
 their attachment. For a specimen of his mode of giving 
 the gentler kind of reproofs, take the following : A young 
 lady had a practice, when engaged in study, of knitting her 
 brows unpleasantly. Passing near her one day when bu- 
 ried in thought, wearing her usual scowl, he passed his hand 
 gently over her forehead, saying, in his pleasant manner, 
 " Heaven never intended that that brow should wear such 
 frowns." 
 
 He was remarkable for tact in adapting his admonitions or 
 punishments to peculiarities of character. On one occasion, 
 a student, who was very refractory and obstinate in some ag- 
 gravated case, was shut up in solitude. After giving him 
 suitable time to reflect, Mr. Fisk went to him, talked with 
 him very seriously and affectionately; then kneeling down, 
 he prayed with him until the culprit was completely melted 
 down and subdued. He ever after manifested the highest 
 respect for his faithful reprover. On another occasion, two 
 of the older students were brought before him for card-play- 
 ing. He talked to them closely, plainly, and with his usual 
 affection ; showing them the impropriety of their conduct, 
 and the danger of contracting a passion for such amuse- 
 ments. They loved him all the better for his faithfulness, 
 and out of mere respect to him, never repeated the practice. 
 They are now both ministers of the Gospel. 
 
 Mr. Fisk set up a high standard of moral rectitude in youth. 
 He regarded the conduct of the boy as an indication of what 
 might be expected in the man. On a certain occasion, speak- 
 ing of a young gentleman in the school who did not feel the 
 obligation to deny himself in order to pay his debts, he re- 
 
168 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 marked, u The young man means no harm ; it is a defect of his 
 early education, and I fear will lay the foundation of his future 
 ruin. What a fearful responsibility do such parents incur. 
 God will not be mocked ! and it is of his long suffering that 
 parents do not always reap what they have sowed. Could pa- 
 rents, even Christian parents, only realize the vast impor- 
 tance of deeply instilling into the minds of their children, 
 from their very cradle, the pure principles of integrity, what 
 exertion would they make to do it, and in what a different 
 world should we live." Then he added, as the tears gush- 
 ed from his eyes, " What a debt do I owe my parents !" 
 
 He always cherished the deepest solicitude for the reli- 
 gious welfare of his scholars. He believed Christianity to 
 be the hope of our race both for this world and the next, 
 and therefore nothing pained him so much as indifference, or 
 delighted him more than attention to its claims. Hence he 
 laboured, preached, and lived with a continual view to the 
 advancement of vital godliness. Nor did he neglect the cul- 
 tivation of his own heart. Like the Roman general who 
 never lost a battle, he did not say " go on," but "come on." 
 He did not point others to the course which he himself neg- 
 lected to pursue ; his own good sense would guard him 
 from such inconsistency ; for 
 
 " His wisdom sure on folly's confines lies, 
 Who, wise for others, for himselfs unwise." 
 
 His example enforced his precepts, while his avowed con- 
 viction of the paramount importance of religion was amply 
 sustained by the subjection of his temper, conversation, and 
 deportment to its laws ; indeed, his whole character was ra- 
 diant with the " beauty of holiness." 
 
 " Instinct to rouse the heart, and lead the will, 
 By a bright ladder, to the throne above." 
 
 Nor were his labours without success. In a few weeks 
 he had the satisfaction of communicating to the editor of 
 Zion's Herald the subjoined intelligence : 
 
 Revival at the Wesleyan Academy, 
 
 " Wilbraham, July 7, 1826. 
 
 " Dear Brother, 
 
 " Through the columns of the Herald we would give a 
 
REVIVAL IN THE ACADEMY. ] 69 
 
 short notice of the prosperity of our rising seminary, and of 
 the dealings of God with us in this place. Our school has 
 filled up beyond our expectations, having increased since 
 this term commenced to about seventy-five, fifty of whom 
 are inmates of the boarding-house. These are all enjoying 
 a good course of instruction, under the tuition of Mr. Dunn 
 in the male department, with such monitors as he has en- 
 listed for his assistance, and Miss Tillinghast in the female 
 department. The students are generally well-behaved, dili- 
 gent, and easily governed. This is undoubtedly, in part, 
 owing to that which rejoices us more than anything else — a 
 revival of religion among us. There were several instances 
 of conversions, and some good symptoms of a work of grace 
 among the people previously to the sitting of the Conference 
 in this place, but nothing special appeared until since the 
 Conference ; but now a number profess to have found for- 
 giveness through Christ, and numbers more are inquiring 
 after salvation, insomuch that present appearances indicate 
 a general shower of Divine mercy, not only in this parish, 
 but in the south parish and other neighbouring places. The 
 labours of our brethren during the session of the Conference 
 have doubtless contributed to this ; and the work has been 
 specially forwarded, under God, by the instrumentality of 
 Brother Maffit, who tarried more than a fortnight after the 
 Conference arose, and laboured much, and with great suc- 
 cess, among the people. Of this work our interesting family 
 at the boarding-house have shared a good proportion. I will 
 not name the number who have professed to experience jus- 
 tifying grace, because, among such young persons, in times 
 of great excitement, there jannot always be a strong assu- 
 rance that the work will in every case prove genuine. A 
 number, however, give good evidence of a change of heart ; 
 and I know some oi our preachers will rejoice when they 
 learn that some of their children are among the number. I 
 cannot express the feelings of my heart, when I returned 
 from a journey which I took directly after Conference, to 
 find a number of those dear youths who have been intrusted 
 to our care rejoicing in the Lord. We rejoice over them, 
 however, with trembling ; we watch for their confirmation 
 15 Y 
 
170 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBDR FISK. 
 
 in the Divine life with affectionate anxiety, and constantly 
 pray, ' O Lord ! strengthen what thou hast wrought for us.' 
 O that all our brethren would join with us in this prayer ! 
 We are the more encouraged to hope the work will prove 
 permanent, because a number of the scholars were confirm- 
 ed in experience before they came here, whose example and 
 conversation are very serviceable to the converts. 
 
 M Should the work increase, you may expect farther par- 
 ticulars hereafter. W. Fisk." 
 
 Few terms, if any, elapsed during Dr. Fisk's connexion 
 with the Wilbraham Academy without a revival of religion. 
 At these seasons he invariably closed the meetings at a fixed 
 and suitable hour. On one occasion, however, when he was 
 absent, a prayer-meeting was held in the dining-room of the 
 boarding-house, and continued too late. Returning home in 
 the evening, and ascertaining the fact, he went to the room. 
 There was some extravagance and confusion. He softly 
 opened the door, and as the prayer then in progress was 
 closed, his well-known, soft, and musical voice was heard in 
 one of his favourite hymns. Having sung one or two stan- 
 zas, he expressed his gratification at their zeal and enjoy- 
 ment in religion, told them it was time to separate, and clo- 
 sed the meeting. All felt the reproof, but no one was hurt 
 or displeased. Such was the manner with which he tem- 
 pered decision with gentleness, and such, too, was his at- 
 tention to whatever rekted to the benefit of his pupils. 
 
 It is customary in some of the New-England States to 
 open the Legislature each \^ar with a sermon from some 
 clergyman, chosen for that purpose at the preceding ses- 
 sion. This is called the Election Sermon. Mr. Fisk was 
 chosen for this honourable office by the Legislature of his 
 native state in 1825, and the twelfth day of October, 1826, 
 was the day appointed for the ceremony. According to 
 custom, the discourse was delivered from written notes ; 
 but, for the want of time, it was prepared, like his inaugural 
 address, chiefly in his gig on the road. His text was, " My 
 kingdom is not of this world." — John, xviii., 36. This is an 
 admirable production. It is remarkable for clear and sound 
 
ELECTION SERMON AT MONTPELIER. 
 
 171 
 
 views, lofty eloquence, Christian spirit, and faithful admoni- 
 tion. It is singularly felicitous in introducing, without cant, 
 with perfect appropriateness and good taste, the most spirit- 
 ual views of the Christian religion. One is surprised to see 
 how much of evangelical truth could be exhibited on such 
 an occasion. But the speaker's own heart was full of it, and 
 hence it flowed forth spontaneously. There was no going 
 out of the way in searching for it, nor any appearance of 
 dragging it in by force. 
 
 It may be acceptable to the reader to know something of 
 the scope of this discourse. " It is to be feared," said the 
 preacher, " our politicians are not sufficiently aware how 
 much they are indebted to Christ's kingdom for those excel- 
 lent principles which form the basis of our political fabric ; 
 nor do they seem to be fully aware of the vast influence of 
 this kingdom in preserving this fabric from ruin." The 
 statement of his subject is thus made : " To guard us against 
 a criminal and dangerous indifference to the kingdom of 
 Christ in our political operations, by pointing out the proper 
 relation between Christ's kingdom and the kingdoms of this 
 world, so that the rights of each may be distinctly marked, 
 their due share of independence recognised, and their alli- 
 ance defined, will be the design of the present discourse." 
 He then shows, in six particulars, wherein the kingdom of 
 Christ differs from the kingdoms of this world, and closes 
 with a pertinent, faithful, yet dignified appeal to his venera- 
 ted auditory. 
 
 This discourse produced a very strong impression on the 
 minds of his audience, and gave its author a commanding 
 place in their esteem. According to custom, it was sent to 
 press, more than a usual number being printed, which was 
 so far from satisfying the demand, that a second edition was 
 published in a few months. It was afterward inserted in the 
 Methodist Magazine. 
 
 Mr. Fisk was immediately elected chaplain to the Legis- 
 lature, and consequently remained in Montpelier. His du- 
 ties were to open the session each day with prayer, and preach 
 to the two houses on the Sabbath. The latter was always 
 done in the Congregational Church, the only place of wor- 
 
172 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 ship in the town. This affords us opportunity to illustrate 
 another point in our subject's character. A few years prior 
 to this, the Rev. John Lindsey was chaplain to the Legisla- 
 ture; but such was the prejudice against Methodism, that it 
 was deemed inexpedient to receive the regular services of 
 the chaplain in the church. He consequently preached in 
 the Courthouse. In 1824, while Mr. Fisk was on a visit at 
 Montpelier, the clergyman of the church invited him to 
 preach for him. 
 
 " But, sir," was the answer, " that cannot be." 
 
 "Why so, sir ?" 
 
 " Because you do not admit the ministers of my denomi- 
 nation into your pulpit." 
 
 " Oh, but you are not like your brethren ; we will admit 
 you." 
 
 " You say right, sir, that I am not like my brethren, for 
 many of them are very far my superiors. Nor have I any 
 wish to go where they are not admitted." 
 
 Nevertheless, during Mr. Fisk's chaplaincy in Montpe- 
 lier, he preached regularly in the Congregational Church. 
 A few, feeling indignant at the former treatment of his breth- 
 ren, were opposed to this ; yet he thought it better not to 
 yield to their feelings, and consequently preached, greatly 
 to the satisfaction and edification of the people. The fol- 
 lowing year the town was favoured with a very happy revi- 
 val of religion, which many of the inhabitants ascribed, in 
 a great measure, to his able and faithful ministry. 
 
 Nor were the remarks in the foregoing conversation care- 
 lessly made. Mr. Fisk always showed the same spirit. He 
 made no claims on the ground of superiority. He never 
 wished for greater respect or attention than every minister 
 of Christ is entitled to receive. He felt himself perfectly on 
 a level with his brethren, however young or unfavoured by 
 human advantages ; and if any one of his brethren, through 
 inferior attractions or qualifications, seemed to be overlooked 
 or neglected, he would be sure to single him out for more 
 than ordinary attentions and acts of kindness. 
 
 For the following characteristic incident, the reader is in- 
 debted to the pen of Mrs. Fisk : 
 
DIFFICULTIES OVERCOME. 
 
 173 
 
 * ' As we were going to attend the Vermont Legislature in 
 the autumn of 1826, my dear husband heard that the young 
 minister of Athens Circuit, on Vermont District, was very 
 feeble ; and, contrary to our previous arrangement, Mr. F. 
 felt it his duty to continue his journey, that he might render 
 the young minister some assistance, instead of spending the 
 Sabbath with his aunt at Brattleborough, as was his usual 
 practice. 
 
 " At sunset on Saturday evening we had still eighteen 
 miles to ride to accomplish his object, though we were only 
 two miles from his aunt's. Soon after dark a dense fog ob- 
 scured our view, even of our horse. Mr. F. stopped at a 
 farmhouse and purchased two candles, and lighted one. 
 While he guided the horse, I was able to hold the lighted 
 candle in such a manner (there being not the slightest 
 breeze) that he could see when the wheels of our carriage 
 were in the road, though we could not discern the head of 
 our horse. We had to pass through a piece of road called 
 the 1 Auger Hole,' where for one or two miles it is very dif- 
 ficult for two carriages to pass each other. But, through the 
 mercy of a protecting Providence, we arrived in safety at the 
 hospitable mansion of W. R. Shafter, Esq., in Townsend, 
 four miles from Athens, at half past eleven o'clock, just as 
 our last candle was expiring. The next morning we rode 
 on to A., and Mr. F. preached for the young man. 
 
 " Nor was this our only ride by candlelight. We were 
 often out in the most terrific thunder-storms, my dear hus- 
 band being unwilling to disappoint a congregation. 
 
 " Before we went to Europe it was very common for Mr. 
 F. to say, ' My dear wife has been with me in perils by day, 
 and perils by night, and perils by land, but I cannot say "by 
 sea." ' After our return, he would add, ' I can now say by 
 sea.' " 
 
 The Wilbraham Academy during this period was greatly 
 embarrassed in its finances. This was a subject of deep 
 anxiety to its friends, and to none more than to its principals 
 As the enterprise was new, and its importance was, by many, 
 not appreciated in the Church, it was looked upon somewhat 
 coldly. Affairs wore a gloomy aspect ; yet many of the 
 15* 
 
174 LIFE OF W1LLBUR FISK. 
 
 people, to their praise be it spoken, and some noble spirits 
 among our New-England ministry, were ready to make al- 
 most any sacrifice to sustain it. Of this, ample proof was 
 given at a meeting of the trustees held at Wilbraham, No- 
 vember 22, 1826. The prospect at this time was sufficiently 
 discouraging. Everything looked dark, and many began to 
 despond. In this state of feeling, one of the trustees ob- 
 served that " We shall be obliged to go to jail." This 
 brought from the Rev. L L. the following answer : " It is 
 said we must go to jail ! My brethren, I had rather go to 
 jail, and lie in jail, than that this institution should go down ; 
 but God will avert such a dreadful alternative. We have 
 confidence in God, for ' the cattle upon a thousand hills are 
 his;' and we shall succeed!' " Such were the difficulties 
 encountered at the commencement of this cause, and such, 
 too, the generous spirits that surmounted them. 
 
 But virtue is diffusive, and the faith of one stout heart 
 moves many. Vigorous efforts were now determined on to 
 relieve their embarrassments. Soon after, Mr. Fisk under- 
 took a tour through Vermont and New-Hampshire to aid 
 the Rev. J. Lindsey, who had consented to take a special 
 agency for a few months in behalf of the institution. The 
 amount was raised, and the object accomplished. 
 
 This journey produced the following article from his pen : 
 
 " ERA OF GOOD FEELING. 
 
 " A circumstance occurred, during a late tour to Vermont 
 and New-Hampshire to solicit donations for the Wesleyan 
 Academy, which I deem worthy of public notice. I had a 
 letter of introduction to Colonel B., of Hanover (Dartmouth 
 College), N. H. ; and, as I hardly supposed the people in 
 that village would be disposed to do much towards the ob- 
 ject of my mission, I had designed to call on the colonel, 
 and then go on my journey. In conversation with the Rev. 
 William W., Congregational minister in N., I mentioned my 
 design, and he suggested the propriety of my calling upon 
 the other citizens in Hanover, and especially upon the offi- 
 cers of the college, and kindly offered to be my company, 
 and introduce me to such gentlemen as he thought would 
 
ERA. OF GOOD FEELING. 
 
 175 
 
 be favourable to my object. This was accordingly agreed 
 upon, and in the course of a few hours, the next day, we re- 
 ceived subscriptions in that small village to the amount of 
 seventy-five dollars. Most of the officers of the college, in- 
 cluding the president, became subscribers, and all seemed 
 to wish success to the institution. The donations themselves 
 were not more gratifying than the spirit with which they 
 were given. No captious questions were asked, no long 
 complaints of poverty were made by those who gave ; though 
 complaints might have been made with propriety at that time, 
 if ever, by the good people of Hanover. They had but a 
 little before completed a fund of $10,000 for their own col- 
 lege, of which a very generous proportion had been subscri- 
 bed in that village ; and but just before, about $1000 had 
 been collected in that place for a religious charity by Mr. 
 C, of S. ; and, in addition, they had just undertaken to raise 
 a fund of $50,000 for their own college, $5000 of which had 
 been subscribed, or would be subscribed in Hanover. In 
 the midst of this almost unparalleled levy of public benevo- 
 lences, they gave $75 dollars to an institution 130 miles 
 from them, under the patronage of another denomination, 
 and of which, until that day, they had probably had but little 
 knowledge. 
 
 " I call this at least one good proof that the present is an 
 era of good feeling. When men of different denominations 
 and of different local interests in literary seminaries, unite 
 their valuable efforts with men of other denominations and 
 other local interests to aid the common cause of religion 
 and of science, we may expect such a holy alliance will drive 
 sin and error from the field : an alliance, this, which can only 
 exist among men of enlarged and noble minds. 
 
 "Another reflection grows out of the above facts, viz., that 
 men are not the less willing to give because they are often 
 solicited and have been in the habit of giving. As in Han- 
 over, so I believe it will be found in other places, that where 
 the objects for public charity are the oftenest presented, there 
 their importance is the most considered, and the duty of giv- 
 ing is the best understood. The yoke of benevolent duties, 
 where it is taken and worn ) is easy, and the burden thereof 
 
176 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 becomes light. It is the man who seldom gives that chafes 
 and complains most when requested to give. It has been 
 intimated by some of our ministerial brethren, that, unless 
 we cease our public and private solicitations for charity, we 
 shall sour our people, and drive them from us. This, how- 
 ever, I believe, is a mistake. If we are careful to solicit aid 
 for only worthy objects, and if we prudently expend the 
 public charities intrusted to us, we need not fear. We have 
 been too fearful of calling upon our people to aid in the 
 great works of benevolence of the present day, and this is 
 why we are so doubtful of their willingness to give. Are 
 Methodist Christians different from other Christians in their 
 dispositions and feelings ? If they are, Methodism has made 
 them to differ, for it has selected its adherents from the same 
 mass of population with the other denominations. And are 
 we prepared to acknowledge, that that modification of Chris- 
 tianity which maintains a universal atonement, and offers a 
 free salvation to the whole human family, has a tendency to 
 lock up the soul of him that believes it within the narrow 
 walls of self? Shall those who believe in perfect love to 
 God and man, in complete deadness to the world, in the 
 entire subjugation of the. unholy and earthly passions, be 
 accounted less accessible to the pleas of benevolence and 
 the claims of charity than other Christians ? It cannot be. 
 Methodism is a benevolent religion. It makes high profes- 
 sions of consistency, as well as of that charity which i seek- 
 eth not its own.' Frequent appeals for laudable chari- 
 ties to men under the influence of such a religion cannot 
 drive them from us, but draw them to us by the strongest 
 cords of attachment. We may, indeed, irritate the feelings 
 of those who have connected themselves with us, not because 
 they have any peculiar attachment for us, but because they 
 think ours a cheap religion, and they can live with us with- 
 out paying for it. Such men ought to be disturbed. They 
 have hung upon us like dead weights, and been sponging 
 around our ecclesiastical gates long enough. If they will 
 not reform, it is no matter how soon they leave us, and it is 
 to be hoped no one else will receive them. The least we 
 ought to do to such narrow, covetous minds, is to make them 
 
CATHOLIC SPIRIT. 
 
 177 
 
 uneasy everywhere. Such souls will never be admitted to 
 the heavenly feast in their present state, for there will not 
 be found a wedding-garment in the vestry of heaven to fit 
 them — they are all too large ; and they ought to have no 
 seat at the table of the Church below. But, thank God, the 
 great body of the Methodists are not such. If they are de- 
 ficient in their public charities, it is chiefly because their at- 
 tention has not been often enough called to these subjects, 
 and their importance and necessity have not been sufficient- 
 ly set before them. 
 
 But I will close this article by adding, that the seminary 
 at Wilbraham, for which the above-mentioned subscriptions 
 were received, will succeed and prosper, unless its more im- 
 mediate patrons are greatly wanting to themselves. With 
 the best wishes of other denominations, and even with their 
 pecuniary aid in its favour ; with a large and increasing 
 number of students, and a prosperous beginning, all that is 
 now requisite is a united effort at this time to relieve it of 
 its present embarrassments, and a steady perseverance in its 
 support. But if a few be left to groan and toil under the 
 burden till they faint and give over, it shall be to our shame 
 and confusion, if not to our overthrow. Let us, then, urged 
 on by the good example and encouraging aid of others, 
 show by our works that we are what we profess to be, the 
 supporters of a liberal and enlightened system of truth. 
 
 " W.Fisk. 
 
 " Wilbraham, March 27, 1827." 
 
 A passage from a private letter referring to the foregoing 
 incident, breathes the same spirit. 
 
 " Wilbraham, April 2d, 1827. 
 " When I was returning I stopped at Norwich Plain, and 
 spent a Sabbath with the Rev. Mr. W., a clergyman of the 
 Congregational order, by whom I was treated like a brother. 
 He took much interest in the object of my mission ; went 
 with me to Hanover, and helped me to beg, as if the cause 
 were his own. We obtained seventy-five dollars in that vil- 
 lage on Saturday ; and in return, I came home with him, 
 
 Z 
 
178 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 and preached three times to his people on the Sabbath, and 
 left him on Monday morning, thinking ' how good and how 
 pleasant a thing it was for brethren to dwell together in unity.' 
 When Christians can feel that the cause is a common cause, 
 and will unite in sincerity to help it on, the enemy must be 
 driven from the field." 
 
 Subsequently to this, Mr. Fisk wrote a petition to the Mas- 
 sachusetts Legislature, and watched its progress through both 
 houses, by which means a grant was made to the academy 
 of a tract of land, which was sold for twenty-three hundred 
 dollars. 
 
 The subjoined article was written by Mr. Fisk. It con- 
 tains thoughts worthy of consideration at all times, and is 
 entitled to a more permanent place than the columns of a 
 newspaper. 
 
 " WESLEYAN LIBERALITY. 
 
 "Mr. Editor, 
 
 u I saw in the Herald of the 18th of April the amount that 
 the English Wesleyan Methodists raised for missionary pur- 
 poses ; it was a great sum, and I was led to admire their 
 liberality. My impression is, that the English are more lib- 
 eral in all their religious contributions than the American 
 people. If I am not mistaken, there are numerous dona- 
 tions, and some large ones, made to that society, the inter- 
 est of which makes a considerable part of the sum raised. I 
 think that it would be well for the American brethren to im- 
 itate the English brethren in this respect. Our society, in 
 many places, are poor, and their dependance for the sup- 
 port of the Gospel is much like that of the first Christians. 
 Among the numerous poor there are some rich men, whose 
 children are in good circumstances, and a part of their rich 
 parents' property would make them as happy as if they had 
 the whole. Some of those rich men are called into the vine- 
 yard at the eleventh hour, after they have spent all their life- 
 time in serving themselves. How reasonable it is that they 
 should leave something to the Church, and thus do good af- 
 ter they are dead and gone. Suppose that some of the rich 
 
WESLEYAN LIBERALITY. 
 
 179 
 
 are called into the vineyard while young, and the good Lord 
 has blessed them with this world's goods after they 1 first 
 sought the kingdom of God.' They have spent all their life- 
 time in doing good ; yet, like Samson, they may at death 
 do more than all they have done in their lives. 
 
 " If it should be asked how this could be, I answer, it 
 may be that they have been doing good five, ten, twenty, or 
 fifty years ; but by leaving something for religious purposes, 
 the interest thereof might be doing good for centuries after 
 they are dead. If some who are able should make dona- 
 tions to the particular societies where they live, being ac- 
 quainted with all the embarrassments of their brethren for 
 want of property, to make their preachers comfortable until 
 the Lord had blessed the society with competency — then let 
 the trustees transfer it to some missionary society, so that it 
 would be constantly doing good, what immense benefit to 
 mankind they might accomplish ! The rich may plead that 
 all they give by donations they take from their children. 
 Poor excuse ! The rich generally do not make any sacri- 
 fices, although they give considerable towards supporting 
 the Gospel ; but the poor have to contend with poverty, and 
 deprive themselves and their children of many conveniences 
 when they support the Gospel. Why shall not the rich man 
 take something from his children, as well as the poor always ? 
 I feel thankful for what has been done and what is now do- 
 ing, but there is a lack yet. I am convinced that there 
 must be considerable exertions and sacrifices made, and a 
 spirit of liberality infused into our people, before they shall 
 take hold of the cause unitedly. If this should provoke or 
 excite any to more liberality, I should rejoice. If the rich 
 think that the poor need stirring up to duty, which I am con- 
 fident they do, as I am one of them, I should be happy to 
 be addressed by them every week. 
 
 " A well wisher to the 'prosperity of Zion. 
 
 " April 24, 1827." 
 
 A love of labour was a remarkable feature in Mr. Fisk's 
 character. He was not satisfied with the routine of indis- 
 pensable duties, nor did he ever shun any feasible addition 
 
180 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 that seemed to promise usefulness. Hence, notwithstanding 
 his engagements, he formed a voluntary theological class 
 of students who had the ministry in view, for the purpose of 
 aiding them in those subjects which relate to the sacred of- 
 fice. The course, to be sure, was not very extended nor 
 very profound, but it was as much so as circumstances justi- 
 fied. It was entirely gratuitous, undertaken without any 
 expectation of recompense ; nor did he receive any, beside 
 the gratification resulting, save only a handsome copy of the 
 Scriptures as a token of grateful esteem.* 
 
 At a certain time, also, when the school was in need of 
 an additional teacher, and one just suited could not be found, 
 he selected a young minister but indifferently qualified, and, 
 that he might appear before his classes with credit, regular- 
 ly heard him, in his own hours of relaxation, through every 
 lesson : a fact affording some glimpse of the difficulties of 
 his undertaking. 
 
 But farther : the institution was unable, in its infancy, to 
 afford the principal an adequate support. Hence, a part of 
 the time, Mr.Fisk supplied the pulpit in the village, and dis- 
 charged the pastoral duties, for which he received no addi- 
 tion to his salary. The school and the church united in his 
 support. After the church at Wilbraham was supplied with 
 a regular pastor, he preached on the Sabbath in some of the 
 adjoining villages. In several of these, especially at South 
 
 * Since writing the above, I have learned that the first theological class in the 
 "Wesleyan Academy consisted of but three persons, Messrs. John W. Merrill, 
 Charles Adams, and Edward Otheman. These young gentlemen had for some 
 time felt the necessity of enlarging their theological acquirements ; had conversed 
 together and prayed over their embarrassment. At length they determined to 
 request the principal to meet with them once a week to instruct them. They 
 felt that it was rather a bold step to ask him to make such an addition to his la- 
 bours for so small a number. How great, then, was their satisfaction, when he 
 not only received them most kindly, but cheerfully and promptly acceded to their 
 proposal. Although, therefore, Dr. Fisk was not actually the originator of the 
 class, yet, as we learn from Mrs. Fisk, he had long been meditating something 
 of the kind, and only waited a favourable opening. This was the incipient 
 step to unforeseen results. The trio soon increased to twenty or thirty. The 
 members of the class carried the plan into other insticutions with which they 
 severally became connected, and the impulse thus given is no doubt the origin 
 of the present movements in favour of theological education. But for Mr. Fisk's 
 promptitude and devotion, it would not have been commenced, or, at least, not 
 so soon. 
 
LOVE OF LABOUR. 
 
 181 
 
 Hadley, Ludlow, and other places, he was the means of ex- 
 tensive revivals of religion. Springfield also, South Wilbra- 
 ham, and, indeed, many of the adjacent towns and villages, 
 were blessed with fruitful showers of grace, in the labours 
 of which our subject largely participated. Frequently, too, 
 feeble as his health was, he would ride six, eight, or ten 
 miles in the evening, after preaching, to be at his duties in 
 the school early the next morning. 
 
 While at Wilbraham Mr. Fisk always preached or lec- 
 tured on Tuesday evenings, in the dining-hall, on some se- 
 lected portion of Scripture, in regular course. In this way 
 he went through the Decalogue, taking each commandment 
 for a subject. He also, in the same manner, went through 
 our Lord's Sermon on the Mount. We have heard these 
 discourses spoken of as singularly interesting and edifying. 
 On Sunday and Thursday evenings he always, when able, 
 attended the prayer-meetings in the institution. Wednes- 
 day evening was uniformly devoted to a social interview, as 
 it was called. To this the teachers and trustees, with their 
 families, were invited, as well as the scholars. After the tea 
 had been handed round, some time was spent in social con- 
 versation, and the interview was closed with devotional ex- 
 ercises about nine o'clock. The design of this was to ac- 
 custom the students to move in society, to improve their 
 manners and social feelings, to teach them to unite the amen- 
 ities of life with the gravity, dignity, and useful aims of a 
 graceful piety. These little attentions to the manners and 
 feelings of his scholars tended to secure public favour and 
 promote the interests of the school. The scholars were a 
 happy circle, usually very much attached to each other, as 
 well as to their instructers. Whether, however, this inter- 
 course of male and female pupils was likely to have a good 
 influence in other points of view, I do not so well know. 
 Under Mr. Fisk's management, the improper tendencies 
 might .be safely guarded against ; but in some cases we 
 should have doubts of it. 
 
 The annexed account of a revival at Wilbraham Academy 
 I received from Mrs. Fisk : 
 
 " In March of 1828, the school at Wilbraham was favour- 
 16 
 
182 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 ed with a very general and deep work of grace. The work 
 commenced without any previous excitement, except my 
 dear husband's calm, faithful preaching. Our steward and 
 stewardess were truly heavenly-minded persons, but very 
 far from enthusiasts, and we had several truly pious in the 
 school. 
 
 " One day, one of the young gentlemen, * about fifteen years 
 of age, said to his young friend, ' Will you set out with me 
 to serve God ?' ' With all my heart,' was the reply of his 
 young friend. The next evening, in the social prayer-meet- 
 ing in the hall, Rufus, in a very calm, interesting, and sim- 
 ple manner, related their determination. It was very affect- 
 ing. The simultaneous thought, that if these two youths, 
 who stand high with the officers and scholars for their ami- 
 able qualities, need conversion, what is my case ? seemed 
 to pervade almost every heart, and produce a corresponding 
 effect. There were about 60 students in the boarding-house 
 family, and about 160 or 70 connected with the school. 
 Never have I witnessed such a solemn scene. For nearly a 
 week the regular duties of the school were mostly suspend- 
 ed : nor could you put your foot over the threshold of the 
 door at the boarding-house without hearing the voice of 
 prayer and praise from almost every part of the house. 
 Often, even now, do those interesting meetings come in re- 
 view before me. If you can imagine a group of more than 
 one hundred young faces, of whom scarcely twenty had seen 
 fifteen years, hanging with breathless interest on every word 
 of their beloved and affectionate principal, with eye fixed, 
 either glistening with joy or dimmed with tears, while the 
 prevailing silence would permit you to hear the falling of a 
 pin in the most distant part of that spacious room, their be- 
 loved principal in their midst, in all the simple dignity of an 
 ambassador of Christ, with his little pocket Bible in hand, 
 his countenance varying as he sympathized in their joy and 
 their sorrow, pointing them to the Lamb of God, you may 
 form a faint idea of the scene. 
 
 " Its fruit has been lasting ; some of them you know. 
 
 * Rufus Black, grandson of the celebrated English missionary to Nova 
 Scotia. 
 
REVIVAL AT WILBRAHAM. 
 
 183 
 
 Rev. D. Patten, Rev. O. Baker, Rev. Morris Hill, and I 
 might mention a score of others, some of whom, holding 
 fast the faith of the Gospel, have taken their flight upward, 
 and, I doubt not, were permitted to welcome their beloved 
 principal into the joys of their Lord.'' 
 
184 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Journey to Pittsburgh. — General Conference of 1828. — Rev. Joshua RandelTs- 
 Appeal. — Bishop George. — Amusing Incident. — Election Sermon. — Honours 
 conferred. — Elected Bishop of Canada, which he declines. — Letters. 
 
 The General Conference for the year 1828 was held in 
 Pittsburgh, Pa. ; and Mr. Fisk, having been appointed a del- 
 egate, commenced his journey, in company with some of his 
 brother delegates, the latter part of April, going by way of 
 Niagara and the lakes. He shared the usual fate of travel- 
 lers by that route. He encountered horrible roads, broke 
 down, arrived repeatedly at the end of a stage exactly in 
 time to see the next coach or boat go off without him ; was 
 cheated and imposed upon, until he thought that a goodly 
 number of the people concerned about the public conveyan- 
 ces deserved to be sent to the Penitentiary for the crime of 
 falsehood. He complained bitterly of the roads f-om Albany 
 to Schenectady, and. from Niagara to Buffalo. Experience 
 corrected his misjudgment. " How foolish," he says, in a 
 letter to Mrs. Fisk, " how foolish and ignorant I was to call 
 the road from Niagara to Buffalo bad. So indeed I thought 
 it till I left Erie ; but, compared with the road from that 
 place to this city (Pittsburgh), I can call nothing bad that I 
 ever travelled under the name of a stage-road." Part of the 
 way, too, they made quite remarkable progress, namely, fif- 
 teen miles in six and a half hours. However, this proved 
 an advantage to our traveller ; since, by the courtesy of one 
 of the stage proprietors, he procured a horse, and accom- 
 plished the distance in three hours, thus obtaining three 
 hours of much-needed repose. 
 " The company stopped at Niagara Falls long enough to 
 view that wonder of creation. The effect of this stupendous 
 scene upon different minds would itself be a study not un- 
 worthy a philosopher. How various the thoughts and asso- 
 ciations it awakens in the diversity of its beholders ! Here 
 is a company of ministers, whose thoughts are familiar with 
 
IMPRESSIONS OF NIAGARA. 
 
 185 
 
 the Divine intelligence as set forth in revelation rather than 
 in nature ; who contemplate sublimity rather in the moral 
 than in the physical world ; and whose meditations sponta- 
 neously dwell upon the invisible and eternal. Does this 
 habit of thinking deaden or quicken the sensibility to the 
 beautiful and sublime in nature ? Let us hear. One of 
 them — a person of vigorous and capacious mind, but with- 
 out imagination, and of phlegmatic temperament — was so 
 excited that he could not be prevailed on to draw near, but 
 stood in mute astonishment and gazed upon the scene from 
 a distance. Some were conscious of something like an im- 
 pulse to cast themselves into the current, and tumble down 
 headlong with the roaring waters. Mr. Fisk writes : " For 
 myself, the impression was too awful to be uttered. As I 
 stood quite over the verge of the foaming cataract, with the 
 perpendicular falls (160 feet), the rapids above and the foam 
 below, full in view, it seemed to me, in its ceaseless course, 
 like an image of eternity ; and in its rolling, tumbling, foam- 
 ing, sparkling billows, its resistless currents, its eddying 
 whirlpools, its all-ingulfing, all-overwhelming torrents, it ap- 
 peared a striking image of those fiery steeps, and rolling 
 billows, and noisy caverns where the spirits of the lost are 
 tossed in ceaseless horror." A remark of one of the com- 
 pany deserves to be inserted as quite unique : Standing on 
 the bridge that led over a part of the mighty waters, a little 
 above the perpendicular pitch, after gazing in silent admira- 
 tion for a season, he turned round, and throwing up his arm, 
 exclaimed, with great apparent feeling, " I suppose, if all the 
 worlds that compose this vast universe were so united by 
 cogs as to turn each other, here is water-power enough to 
 move the whole." Did the spirit of utilitarianism ever con- 
 ceive such an image before ? 
 They prosecuted their journey 
 
 " Through moving accidents by flood and field." 
 "We were two and a half nights and two days rolling in 
 the mud, sometimes walking half-leg deep in clay mortar, 
 sometimes lifting up a broken stagecoach, sometimes going 
 without dinner until nine o'clock at night, and the whole 
 time without sleep save what we could get in a stage, sur- 
 16* A a 
 
186 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 ging worse than any vessel in the roughest sea, and every 
 few moments in imminent danger of being overturned." Mr. 
 Fisk, however, as mentioned before, had, in regard to sleep, 
 a slight advantage over his companions. On reaching Pitts- 
 burgh he wrote to Mrs. Fisk again, and after an account 
 of his journey, he says, " However, through the mercy of 
 God, we were all preserved, and brought safe from any fa- 
 tal accident to this city, on Friday morning, May 2d, but in 
 a miserable plight, I assure you. Some of our company got 
 so nervous from fatigue, want of sleep, and from fear, that 
 they would cry out during the night like frightened women 
 or children, whenever the stage fell into one of the deep 
 clay ditches, of which we had plenty. For myself, I was 
 enabled to feel very calm through the whole, and desire to 
 praise God, to whose kind providence I attribute our pres- 
 ervation and my present comfortable health." Yet his 
 health would hardly have been considered comfortable by 
 most people. He complained, while on his journey, of fe- 
 verishness, cold chills, and an aggravation of his cough, full 
 violent enough at all times. Tenacity of the vital powers 
 was always a striking characteristic of his physiological sys- 
 tem.* 
 
 Arrived at his place of destination, Mr. Fisk was soon fully 
 occupied with the business on which he went. In a few days 
 he was engaged in the famous appeal of the Rev. Joshua 
 Randell. This person thought that he had received some 
 new light in regard to the Atonement, and gave birth to his 
 ideas in the shape of a sermon. The doctrine therein set 
 forth was condemned by the New-England Conference, of 
 which he was a member, and he was required to desist from 
 preaching it. To this, however, he would not submit. Con- 
 sequently, he was brought to trial before the Conference on 
 a charge of heretical pravity. This was in 1826. 
 
 The substance of his theory may be briefly stated thus : 
 namely, that the atonement of Christ extends only to viola- 
 
 * From Mrs. Fisk I learn, that during his entire journey up the North River he 
 raised blood, and, indeed, was so unwell that, had he not improved on the way, 
 he would have returned. Even as it was, he would have done so but for par- 
 ticular engagements at the Conference. 
 
REV. JOSHUA RANDELL's APPEAL. 
 
 187 
 
 tions of the " Adamic law," which are thereby uncondition- 
 ally cancelled; while the violations of the "Mediator's law," 
 the "law of faith," or new covenant, by which we are to be 
 finally judged, are pardoned on condition of penitence, faith, 
 and obedience. 
 
 The charge was resolved into two specifications: " First : 
 Denying that the transgressions of the law, to which we are 
 personally responsible, and by which we are finally to be 
 judged, have had any atonement made for them. Second- 
 ly : Maintaining that the infinite claims of justice upon the 
 transgressor of the Divine law may, upon condition of the 
 mere acts of the transgressor himself, be relinquished and 
 given up, and the transgressor pardoned without an atone- 
 ment." 
 
 Upon the charge and specifications he was tried, convict- 
 ed, and expelled. From this decision Mr. Randell ap- 
 pealed to the highest tribunal in the Church, and Mr. Fisk 
 was appointed by his brother delegates to sustain the act 
 of their Conference. This he did with very great ability 
 and power. As the clause in the Discipline under which 
 he was accused is that which concerns "holding and dissem- 
 inating doctrines contrary to our articles of religion," it was 
 necessary to explain those articles, and to show what were 
 the views of our standard writers on this subject. He there- 
 fore explained, in the first place, the language of the Dis- 
 cipline, and then cited at length the testimony of Messrs. 
 Wesley and Fletcher. Then he exhibited the fatal conse- 
 quences of this heresy : first, in destroying the harmony of 
 the Divine attributes ; secondly, in leading directly to various 
 anti-evangelical theories, such as Pelagianism, Socinianism, 
 and Universalism ; thirdly, in destroying the simplicity of 
 the plan of salvation ; and, lastly, in overturning the cardi- 
 nal principle of the Gospel, salvation by faith in our Lord 
 Jesus Christ. Towards the close of his argument, he inge- 
 niously presented the view which an humble believer in the 
 atoning blood would be likely to take of this doctrine ; and, 
 to give the greater vividness to his sentiments, he persona- 
 ted such a soul. This affords a fair illustration of his fre- 
 quent manner of preaching. Thus he expresses himself : 
 
188 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 "This, sir, is what so deeply interests my feelings in this 
 subject. This doctrine has ' taken away my Lord,' and has 
 removed him so far over several laws, and buried him so 
 deeply beneath the curse of an antiquated covenant, that * I 
 know not where to find him.' I need such a close and inti- 
 mate connexion with the blood of the Covenant, that I wish 
 to come very near to my dying Lord : 
 
 " 4 To see him heave, and hear him groan, 
 And feel his gushing blood.' 
 
 And it is this method of preaching the Atonement which 
 gives such energy and success to the Gospel. And this, sir, 
 is the way we preach : it is the way our fathers preached. 
 The venerable Wesley, and his assistants in the work of the 
 ministry, used to preach the blood of the Covenant, as it was 
 warm and gushing from the fountain that was opened for 
 Judah and Jerusalem to wash in. According to their 
 preaching, the Atonement was not completed in its merits 
 and efficacy eighteen hundred years ago, but it is a stand- 
 ing sacrifice : therefore they believed and sung, 
 
 " ' Thy offering still continues new, 
 Thy vesture keeps its bloody hue, 
 Thou stand'st the ever-slaughter'd Lamb, 
 Thy priesthood still remains the same.' 
 
 This finished salvation by the Atonement, for all laws or 
 for one law, never, I believe, entered into their creed : and 
 if the departed Wesley were here himself to witness our de- 
 liberations in this highest council of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, and should mark with what tenacity we .adhered to 
 the forms and modes of expression which he has left us, would 
 he not charge us, like our Divine Master, while we tithe mint, 
 and anise, and cummin, not to omit the weightier matters of 
 the law ? Would he not enjoin upon us to guard with a holy 
 vigilance these important doctrines, which are a legacy, not of 
 Wesley, but of Christ himself? and especially that which of 
 all others is the most fundamental, the doctrine of the Atone- 
 ment ? It is, sir, in defence of the doctrine of our Church ; 
 it is in defence of the preaching of our fathers, and of your 
 preaching, sir, and the preaching of the great body of our 
 ministers throughout the connexion, in Europe and America; 
 
REPORT ON EDUCATION. 
 
 189 
 
 it is in defence of all that is evangelical in faith, and all that 
 is dear in experience, that we ask this General Conference 
 to affirm the decision of the New-England Conference in this 
 case." 
 
 Dr. Bangs, in his History of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, observes,* " After a full, and, as was acknowledged 
 by the defendant himself, an impartial examination and hear- 
 ing of the case, the decree of the New-England Conference 
 was affirmed by a vote of one hundred and sixty-four out of 
 one hundred and sixty-five who were present and voted on 
 the question, two members, at their own request, being ex- 
 cused from voting either way." This was not only highly 
 honourable to the clearness, force, and eloquence of the 
 speaker, but strikingly illustrative of the unanimity of the 
 Methodist ministry on doctrinal points. 
 
 Mr. Fisk, at this session of the General Conference, was 
 chairman of the committee on education — one of the stand- 
 ing committees of the body. The report was his produc- 
 tion. It is the most satisfactory and able document which 
 had been presented on the subject. At the session of 1820, 
 a resolution was passed recommending the establishment of 
 a classical school by each Conference ; but, up to the session 
 of 1824, only three or four had followed the direction. In 
 1828, as appears from the report, there were seven schools 
 in successful operation, and three others in an incipient 
 state ; while there were two colleges successfully established, 
 and another in contemplation. After exhibiting the condi- 
 tion of these several institutions, the report closes by vigor- 
 ously enforcing the subject upon the attention of the Church. 
 This exhibits as rapid an advancement in the enterprise as 
 could be reasonably expected from the comparative infancy 
 of the body. Appended to the report were resolutions ap- 
 proving of the general cause, and recommending, in addition, 
 to the academies, the establishment of several institutions 
 of a collegiate character. This document, adopted as it 
 was by the highest ecclesiastical judicatory, and published in 
 our leading periodical, served, no doubt, to give an addi- 
 tional impulse to the cause of education in the Methodist 
 community. 
 
 * Vol. iii., p. 386. 
 
190 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 On the adjournment of the General Conference, Mr.Fisk 
 immediately returned to Wilbraham, and resumed his du- 
 ties in the academy. 
 
 The autumn of 1828 is memorable in the annals of the 
 Methodist Church for the death of Bishop George. Soon 
 after this event, Mr. Fisk wrote the following sketch of his 
 character in a lady's album. It was afterward inserted in the 
 Christian Advocate and Journal. 
 
 4 'BISHOP GEORGE. 
 
 "Bishop George has gone to Heaven. He left this world 
 for glory, at the rising of the sun on the 23d of August last; 
 and from the known tendency of his soul heavenward, and 
 his joyous haste to be gone, there can be little doubt but his 
 chariot of fire reached the place of its destination speedily ; 
 and the triumphant saint has, long ere this, taken his seat with 
 the heavenly company. And, since he is gone, the owner of 
 this, to whom I am a stranger, will pardon me if, upon one 
 of her pages, I register my affectionate remembrance of a 
 man whom I both loved and admired, and at the report of 
 whose death my heart has been made sick. I loved him, 
 for he was a man of God, devoted to the Church with all 
 his soul and strength ; I loved him, for his was an affection- 
 ate heart, and he was my friend. But the servant of God, 
 the servant of the Church, and my friend, is dead. I ad- 
 mired him — not for his learning, for he was not a learned 
 man ; but Nature had done much for him. She had fash- 
 ioned his soul after an enlarged model, and had given it an 
 original cast and an independent bearing ; into the heart 
 she had instilled the sweetening influences of a tender sym- 
 pathy, and infused into the soul the fire of a spirit-stirring 
 zeal, sustained by a vigorous and an untiring energy ; but, 
 to finish the character, grace came in, and renewed the whole 
 man ; and the Spirit anointed him to preach the Gospel ; 
 and the Church consecrated him to be one of her bishops. 
 He superintended with dignity and faithfulness ; he preached 
 the Gospel with the Holy Ghost sent down from Heaven. 
 The unction that attended his word was not merely like the 
 consecrating oil that ran down Aaron's beard, but it was like 
 
AMUSING INCIDENT. 
 
 191 
 
 the anointing of the Spirit that penetrates the heart. He 
 preached wkh his soul full of glory ; no wonder, then, that 
 his dying words were, '/ am going! and thaVs enough! 
 glory ! glory V Yes, thou triumphant saint, that is enough. 
 i May I die the death of the righteous, and may my last end 
 be like his.' " 
 
 We have already had some proof of Mr.Fisk's tact in 
 management and fertility of expedient in difficulties. A 
 somewhat amusing incident, in farther illustration of the same 
 trait, occurred in November, 1828. He received a letter 
 from a clergyman of an adjoining town, bitterly complain- 
 ing that a certain student of the academy — a licensed ex- 
 horter — had been endeavouring to proselyte two young ladies 
 of his charge. The letter is quite remarkable for its pecu- 
 liarities in orthography, etymology, and syntax, to say no- 
 thing of prosody and rhetoric, or logic and good sense. It 
 assumes a very dignified and important air, enlarges upon 
 the duty of " religious public teachers," and the courtesy due 
 to other denominations. It then prefers the charge above 
 named against the aforesaid member of the institution, alle- 
 ging sundry Lilliputian specifications. In a postscript, it as- 
 signs as the reason for addressing Mr. Fisk, first, that he under- 
 stood that the party concerned "was not in these parts;" and 
 secondly, because he " supposed that the students were sent 
 out into the country and villages around about at his discre- 
 tion and under his direction." 
 
 To this singular billet Mr. Fisk replied that he was both 
 surprised and pained at the grievous complaint alleged 
 against one whom he had before highly esteemed ; express- 
 ed his disapprobation of the proceedings mentioned by his 
 correspondent ; that he had, according to our form of Dis- 
 cipline, preferred charges against said student, who would 
 be called to trial thereupon by the stationed minister before 
 a committee ; and that he should depend on him, the accu- 
 ser, to appear, with what testimony he could bring, to sub- 
 stantiate said charges. Here was an unforeseen dilemma. 
 A letter was returned, saying that the complainant had been 
 a trifle too positive ; that the facts were only reported to 
 
192 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 him by others ; and declining to appear at said trial, partly 
 because it would be " quite inconvenient to attend," and 
 also because he had "no particular desire to attend, if it were 
 more convenient." Nevertheless, the trial took place ; and 
 it appeared, from the testimony of the young women them- 
 selves, that one of them was a Methodist before she saw the 
 accused ; that neither had been in company with him but 
 once, and that by accident ; and that no such attempt at 
 proselyting had been made. This testimony was confirmed 
 by other respectable persons who were present, and heard 
 the conversation alluded to. The accused was, of course, 
 acquitted. Nevertheless, the same conscientious and deli- 
 cate clergyman addressed a letter to the minister presiding at 
 the trial, "making himself merry with the investigation, and, 
 by a low anecdote of a sailor, gave him to understand that 
 the committee cleared him because they were determined to 
 clear him, right or wrong :" the same anecdote implying 
 that, if his Church had tried him, they would have condemn- 
 ed him, right or wrong ! 
 
 Such trivialities would be hardly worth recording, were it 
 not that the follies of some men serve for beacon-lights to 
 others. We give the facts because they may be useful ; to 
 give the names would gratify no virtuous sentiment: let 
 them sleep in peace. 
 
 In January, 1829, Mr. Fisk was elected by the Senate of 
 Massachusetts to preach their next Election Sermon, on the 
 last Wednesday of May ensuing. On this occasion he de- 
 livered the sermon on 1st Peter, iv., 7 : " But the end of 
 all things is at hand ; be ye therefore sober, and watch unto 
 prayer." It was prepared, like his other productions, in the 
 midst of multifarious occupations, and written partly, if not 
 entirely, on the road. It is a plain, faithful, sensible dis- 
 course, though not equal to his former election sermon. It 
 was published, according to usage, by a vote of the Legis- 
 lature, and also inserted in the National Preacher, conduct- 
 ed by the Rev. Austin Dickinson, at New- York. 
 
 Mr. Fisk's name had now risen into a very commanding 
 notoriety, and his talents and influence became greatly in 
 request in various important fields of usefulness. He was 
 
FLATTERING OFFERS. 
 
 193 
 
 solicited, with strong assurances of success, to become a 
 candidate for the vacant presidency of the Vermont Univer- 
 sity at Burlington. He was solicited to take an agency in 
 the Bible Society. He was requested by the Hampden 
 county Temperance Society to become their agent. He 
 was also appointed, in 1829, a general agent of the Society 
 to promote the Observance of the Sabbath, with a salary 
 of one thousand dollars and travelling expenses. He was 
 elected the same year to fill the presidential chair of La 
 Grange College, then just going into operation; and about 
 the same time he was elected a professor in the University 
 of Alabama, at Tuscaloosa, with a salary of two thousand 
 dollars, and a prospect of being chosen president. But that 
 which had the greatest weight with him was his election, the 
 preceding year, to the office of general superintendent, or 
 bishop of the Canada Conference. This branch of the Wes- 
 leyan family had, by consent of the late General Conference, 
 on account of the inconvenience of holding their civil and 
 ecclesiastical relations under different governments, separa- 
 ted from the Church in the United States ; and, desiring to 
 retain the episcopal form of government, they unanimously 
 and cordially elected Mr. Fisk to the episcopal office. 
 Though the labour and privations would be greater, and the 
 stipend smaller than in some of his other offers, yet these 
 had no farther influence with him than so far as his health 
 was concerned. Duty was what he consulted ; and duty, 
 after serious deliberation, prompted him to write the annex- 
 ed letter to the Rev. Egerton Ryerson, through whom he 
 had received official notice of his election. Mr. Ryerson's 
 letter was dated November 27th, 1828 : 
 
 "March 30, 1829. 
 
 " Dear Brother, 
 
 " My long delay to answer your esteemed favour of No- 
 vember last has not been occasioned by an indifference and 
 an inattention to its contents ; on the contrary, the deep 
 solicitude I have felt to weigh the subject well, to watch the 
 openings of Divine providence, and decide in the best light, 
 has induced me to deliberate and postpone my answer to 
 17 B b 
 
194 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR F1SK. 
 
 the present time. All my deliberations, however, upon this 
 subject have resulted in the confirmation of my earliest im- 
 pressions in relation to it, that it will not be consistent for 
 me to accept of the affectionate and flattering invitation of 
 the Canada Conference. I have not come to this conclusion 
 without feeling the influence of contrary motives. My high 
 sense of the honour you have done me is enhanced by the 
 consideration that the ' nomination was unanimous and 
 warm.'' While I highly appreciate and cordially recipro- 
 cate those warm and concurrent expressions of confidence 
 and affection, I also look back upon this union in the elec- 
 tion as an encouraging token that my labours among you 
 might be useful. The information I have of the character 
 of the Conference, joined with my personal acquaintance 
 with some of its members, convinces me that whoever su- 
 perintends the Canada Church will have a charge that will 
 cheer his heart and hold up his hands in his official duties. 
 On this point I have no scruples, and therefore here there is 
 nothing to discourage, but much to invite my acceptance. 
 Equally encouraging and inviting are the growing prospects 
 of your country and your Church, and especially of your mis- 
 sionary stations. These, to a man of missionary enterprise, 
 who loves to bear the banners of the cross, and push its vic- 
 tories more and more upon the territories of darkness and of 
 sin, are motives of high and almost inevitable influence; and 
 they have so affected my mind, that, although my local at- 
 tachments to the land of my fathers, and to that branch of 
 the Church in which I was born and have been nourished, 
 are strong ; although my aged and decrepit parents lean 
 upon me to support their trembling steps as they descend to 
 the tomb ; although I might fear the influence of your cli- 
 mate upon an infirm constitution, always predisposed to bil- 
 ious complaints, yet these considerations, strengthened as 
 they are by a consciousness of my own inability, and by the 
 almost unanimous dissuasion of my friends, would hardly 
 of themselves, perhaps, have induced mc to decline your in- 
 vitation. But, in addition to all these, I am connected with 
 a literary institution that promises, as we flatter ourselves, 
 much advantage to the Church and to the public, but which 
 
DISINTERESTEDNESS. 
 
 195 
 
 is as yet under circumstances that will require close and un- 
 remitting attention for some time to come, to give it that 
 direction and permanency which will secure its usefulness. 
 If it should fail to receive that attention and care, not only 
 will its present prosperity be blighted, but all that has 
 been done will be lost. How far my leaving this institution 
 would hazard its standing and prospects, is not for me to 
 decide ; but perhaps it may be just and becoming for me to 
 say that, by whatever arguments it may be shown that an- 
 other might supply my place in this institution, by the same 
 or better arguments it might be urged that another might 
 successfully fill the more responsible office of superintendent 
 over the Canada Church ; and, while I feel a lively inter- 
 est for that branch of our Zion, it gives me pleasure to be- 
 lieve that one may and will be selected to fill that place in 
 your labours and affections, of which I am at best but un- 
 worthy, and from a participation in which I am detained by 
 other duties. 
 
 " Permit me, dear brother, through you, to express to your 
 Conference, as a body, my sincere acknowledgments for 
 their confidence and affection manifested towards me, and 
 assure them that they shall live in my affections and my 
 prayers ; and accept for yourself my sentiments of esteem 
 and Christian love, while I subscribe myself your brother 
 and fellow-labourer in the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour. 
 " Yours affectionately, W. Fisk." 
 
 To some it may appear unaccountable that Mr. Fisk 
 should decline situations so important, and one of them, es- 
 pecially, so elevated and responsible, for the sake of an in- 
 fant academy. But those who consider his relation to the 
 cause of education in the Church of his choice ; the infancy 
 and feebleness of that cause ; the scarcity, at that time, of 
 suitable men to fill his place ; and the disastrous conse- 
 quences of a failure in the academy which had been estab- 
 lished with such difficulty, and so many expectations, will 
 probably admit the wisdom of his decision. Though liberal 
 to all truly Christian denominations, yet he was, from the 
 deepest convictions of his heart and understanding, a de- 
 
196 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 cided Methodist, and conscientiously devoted to her ad- 
 vancement. No offers, therefore, that tended to detach him 
 from her interests, however advantageous in other respects, 
 found a moment's entertainment with him. To such pro- 
 posals he replied, as when he had a liberal offer to induce 
 him to become a settled minister in another persuasion : 
 " This would build up Willbur Fisk, but it would not build 
 up Methodism. "* In the same spirit, he says to his excel- 
 lent father, in a letter, after mentioning some of the above- 
 named invitations, u All these I have declined. Have I 
 done right ? I know not what awaits me here ; but my 
 mind leads me, for the present, to keep this post in preference 
 to any other that has yet been presented. Perhaps I shall 
 hereafter be sorry, but I go according to my present light, 
 and leave the event with God. Money looks to me like a 
 trifling consideration when compared with usefulness. It is 
 true, I need a living, but I have that here ; and, having food 
 and raiment, I desire to be therewith content. " 
 
 It is this fact which gave his conduct a loftier moral. 
 He had, indeed, food and raiment, and no more. While he 
 was doing the work of three men, he received but a scanty 
 support for one. This, however, was not the fault of the 
 trustees ; the finances of the school were too restricted to 
 allow him a larger stipend ; but he found it inadequate to the 
 necessary demands of his station ; and, to remedy this, he 
 consented to receive some persons into his family as boarders. 
 
 Under other circumstances, the trustees could not have 
 been justified in allowing this. It is much wiser and more 
 economical for an institution or a church to pay its teachers 
 or ministers a salary that will command all their time and 
 attention in the most profitable manner, rather than compel 
 them to spend a great part of it in trivialities, or be embar- 
 rassed by domestic solicitude. It is miserable economy to 
 allow a man, whose labour is worth fifty or a hundred dol- 
 lars a month, to do work that a man might be hired to do 
 for ten or fifteen. Penuriousness is far from being econom- 
 ical. But, in the above case, the motives sufficiently excul- 
 pate the parties. 
 
 * Methodism, in Mr. Fisk's acceptation, was synonymous with the purest 
 form of Christianity. 
 
MADE DOCTOR OF DIVINITY. 
 
 197 
 
 In the summer of this year (1829) Mr.Fisk received from 
 Augusta College, in Kentucky, the title of doctor of divini- 
 ty. At first he resolved not to accept it, observing, " Neither 
 my age, learning, nor piety entitles me to such an honour.'' 
 Others thought differently ; and the title was immediately 
 and so generally applied to him, that modesty and humility 
 required that he should be passive, rather than by a violent 
 refusal make himself an object of public attention and re- 
 mark. 
 
 A few letters, or extracts from letters to his friends, will 
 exhibit something of the habitual tendency of his thoughts 
 about this period, and will form an appropriate conclusion 
 of the present chapter. The first is addressed to one of 
 his former flock, who was spending some time at a southern 
 city for the benefit of her health, where she was greatly ex- 
 posed to the influence of worldly associations. 
 
 " Wilbraham, January 27, 1828. 
 
 " Dear Sister M , 
 
 u You have been long enough acquainted with me to make 
 allowances for my delays in my epistolary correspondence. 
 I thought I should have written you before you left the state ; 
 but, failing in this, I resolved to write while in Boston, during 
 a late visit there. But in this too I failed ; still, I remem- 
 ber my obligations, and I feel it my duty and my pleas- 
 ure to fulfil them. I found in my last visit very lonely ; 
 
 and the remembrance of former scenes and former days 
 pressed upon my mind with great emphasis the images and 
 characters of those who once inhabited and cheered the now 
 changed and almost deserted dwelling. Two only of the 
 seven now remained the tenants of that cheerful and happy 
 habitation, where so many hours of social joys and devout 
 exercises have been spent ; but those two remain unchanged. 
 A. is the same pleasant and affectionate friend, save perhaps 
 that her flow of humour and bursts of wit have been changed 
 to a more sombre cast of mind by the lapse of time, and es- 
 pecially by a change of circumstances. Your mother, not- 
 withstanding the sorrow she has waded through since I last 
 saw her, seems the exact image of herself. I thought, in- 
 17* 
 
198 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 deed, when I first met her, that sorrow had chilled her soul, 
 and cooled her affection for all that were left ; but I soon 
 discovered my mistake ; doubtless, at the first, the past rush- 
 ed upon her mind, and produced feelings that she could not 
 immediately overcome ; she soon rose above them, and I 
 found her the same I have ever found her since our first ac- 
 quaintance. Her uniform friendship to me, her repeated 
 proofs of kind feeling, will not be easily forgotten. 
 
 "I went the accustomed round in , enjoyed my usual 
 
 satisfaction in visiting those whose interest once lay so near 
 my heart, and in whose service I had wellnigh laid down 
 my life. I find the flock still small and feeble ; they have a 
 little strength left, and have not, I trust, as a body, denied 
 the Saviour's name, though some have turned again to fol- 
 ly, and others, I hope, have gone to Heaven. May the re- 
 mainder get safe through in due time, and walk with Christ 
 in white, being found worthy. My sister, may this be your 
 happy lot. God forbid that the flatteries of this world, or 
 the gilded prospects of earth, should ever draw you from the 
 simplicity of the Gospel as it is in Christ Jesus. Will you 
 pardon me when I tell you i" fear? Already I see, or think 
 I see, the blandishments of worldly hope, and the influence 
 of worldly associations, have stirred up the rudiments of 
 pride and ambition that were once, by the influence of grace, 
 precipitated to the bottom and rendered almost invisible, and 
 the pure waters of heavenly-mindedness and spiritual devo- 
 tion, that once shone in your bosom with such holy transpa- 
 rency, may have become defiled thereby. Is it not so ? Is 
 there not cause to fear ? But I forbear by commending you 
 to God, and praying that your faith fail not. I am also ad- 
 monished that I have cause of fear for myself, and that I 
 ought — as over you, so over myself — to be jealous with a 
 godly jealousy. Permit me to entreat of you to return in 
 the spring. If you do not wish to find your grave in the 
 South, return. I am fearful it will not be the best for your 
 spiritual health to stay too long in , and I am very con- 
 fident it will be at the hazard of your life if you attempt to 
 summer there." 
 
CHRISTIAN LETTERS. 
 
 199 
 
 To the Misses O. 
 
 "Wilbraham, February 12th, 1828. 
 " I received your friendly letter, dear sister or sisters, for 
 which I thank you. I arrived home the second day after I 
 left Boston, without suffering any serious inconvenience, 
 though the weather was extremely cold. My health, how- 
 ever, was somewhat impaired, but is now restored. My 
 family is in usual health, and our concerns here are prosper- 
 ous. But God has been speaking to the people of this place 
 by death and sickness, and it remains to be proved whether 
 the people will hear. We have at present no special move 
 among the people. As for myself, I find my business en- 
 grossing all my time, and, when it comes Sabbath, I try to 
 preach the best I can ; sometimes with some satisfaction to 
 myself, and at other times I find my communications, like the 
 bones of Ezekiel's vision, f very dry.' I have, however, 
 some satisfaction in reflecting upon the pleasant season I had 
 in Charlestown and Boston when I was down ; and especially 
 does it give me satisfaction to think your little society ap- 
 peared to be rising, and its prospects brightening. I hope 
 these appearances will not prove to be deceptive ; and I am 
 sure they will not, if you all stand in the liberty of the Gos- 
 pel, wherewith Christ has made you free. I think, when our 
 dear friends in Charlestown all learn to go and tell their 
 brother or sister their faults, in the spirit of love and meek- 
 ness, then they will find their words of love drawing them 
 closer and closer together. I hope all will learn this lesson ; 
 and I hope you, my dear sisters, will get your own souls un- 
 der the droppings of the Holy Sanctuary, and feel that con- 
 stant communion with God, and refreshings from the pres- 
 ence of God, that will cheer your souls, and strengthen your 
 faith, and confirm you in grace ; and I hope, too, I shall 
 have an interest in your prayers, that my soul may be always 
 alive in the holy exercises of faith and love. 
 
 " I heard last Sabbath a very devoted young person give 
 in a remarkably clear testimony in favour of that perfect love 
 which casteth out fear, and her very words carried convic- 
 tion that it was even so. It was something like some of 
 
200 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 those testimonies I used to hear in Bromfield-lane Vestry 
 in former years. O, there is something so convincing, so 
 heavenly, so solemn in the spiritual communications of a full 
 heart, that nothing on earth can equal it. May God give us 
 all that fulness." 
 
 To his Mother. 
 
 " Wilbraham, September 3, 1828. 
 
 "Dear Mother, 
 
 " I take this opportunity to fulfil my promise, made in my 
 last letter to father, that I would soon write to you. The 
 soon has not come very quick, you may think ; however, it 
 has not been out of my mind ; but for want of time how to 
 perform what I promised, I have found not. We have had 
 our annual trustee meeting since I returned from Confer- 
 ence, and also a meeting of our board of visiters ; which, to- 
 gether with the reports I have had to prepare for them, the 
 attention I have had to pay to students who were leaving at 
 the close of the term, attending the dedication of a meet- 
 ing-house down in Connecticut, and also a camp-meeting ; 
 attending to the necessary preparation for furnishing my 
 house and getting into it ; visiting a reformation at South 
 Hadley Canal, and labouring some there, and forming a so- 
 ciety, all have contributed, as you may well suppose, some- 
 thing to that tax which has claimed the whole of my time 
 and attention since I returned home ; and even now, were 
 it not for the affliction of a severe cold, by which I am pre- 
 vented from being abroad on business, I know not that I 
 should find time to stay to write to you. Do not think, how- 
 ever, that, amid my various duties, I have lost any sense of 
 my obligations to my parents. This is certainly not true. 
 It has been said that parents will not forget their children, 
 but childen may their parents. I cannot answer for others, 
 but this saying is not true in my case. I feel my obligations 
 to my parents, to do all in my power to give them aid and 
 comfort, strongly as ever. I owe too much to my parents to 
 suffer time, or distance, or circumstances to efface their im- 
 age from my heart. I have indeed, dear mother, sympa- 
 thized with you in your late affliction, and should have been 
 
LETTER TO HIS MOTHER. 
 
 201 
 
 glad to visit you before this, if I could have found oppor- 
 tunity. I rejoice, however, to hear that the comforts of 
 that salvation which you have so long professed and en- 
 joyed have sustained you ; yea, and I hope that this afflic- 
 tion has, even here, wrought out for you a greater degree of 
 this salvation than you have ever before experienced. Per- 
 haps your heavenly Father saw that there was some imper- 
 fection of experience, some defect in one or more of the 
 Christian graces, or some want of reconciliation to existing 
 circumstances, which nothing would so readily remedy as the 
 present affliction. When its bitterness shall have passed 
 away, God grant that it may be found a message of love 
 from his paternal hand!" 
 
 C c 
 
202 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Controversy. — Freemasonry. — Universalism. — Temperance. — Sermon on the 
 Law and the Gospel. — Official Conduct. — Conversation. 
 
 Probably no man possessing the requisite qualifications 
 for effecting important changes in human conduct and opin- 
 ions has escaped the elements of commotion. "I came," 
 said the Saviour, " not to send peace on earth, but a sword." 
 Where some one strong quality has a decided preponder- 
 ance in the character, this is most likely to be the case ; but, 
 even where one possesses that harmony and equipoise of 
 qualities necessary to constitute a mediator — a reconciler — 
 he will not always escape contention ; on the contrary, 
 standing in the breach, and bidding the combatants on ei- 
 ther side to sheath their swords, he encounters danger from 
 both parties. Mr. Fisk was an illustration of these remarks. 
 Hitherto we have contemplated him only as a Christian 
 minister, distinguished chiefly by superior talents, and deep- 
 er devotion to the objects of his sacred calling. Hereafter 
 he will appear more as a controversialist ; yet controversy 
 was never his delight. He engaged in it only under an im- 
 perative sense of duty, and then with great reluctance. It 
 is only such a spirit that is fit for controversy. Such a one 
 is not likely to engage in it from impure aims. A thirst for 
 distinction or an eagerness for conquest will not needlessly 
 prolong it, and no ebullition of temper or sophistical devices 
 mark its progress. He pursues not truth at the expense of 
 charity ; he wars not in the cause of righteousness with car- 
 nal weapons. 
 
 In the years 1826 to 1829, the churches of New-England 
 were seriously agitated on the subject of Freemasonry. 
 Prior to this, many serious and sensible Christians had been 
 somewhat scandalized by their clergy attending the lodges. 
 Yet they did not look on this superfluous remnant of a dark 
 and troublous age — an institution for mutual protection and 
 defence inconsistent with social and political equality — as 
 
FREEMASONRY. 
 
 203 
 
 being at variance with the civil compact, and the mutual and 
 equal obligations between man and man, but rather as a piece 
 of puerility and folly. A very different view was taken after 
 the tragedy at Batatavia, when the people saw that the 
 obligations of the fraternity were regarded as paramount to 
 those of law, liberty, and religion. The excitement then be- 
 came very great, not only in our own, but also in other de- 
 nominations. Many would not hear Masons preach ; they 
 would leave the house if one even went into the pulpit to 
 close the service, or attempted to lead in prayer. The Ma- 
 sons, on the other hand, had their supporters ; and thus many 
 churches were most painfully rent and distracted. In this 
 state of things, many eyes were turned towards Mr. Fisk. 
 His well-known moderation, judgment, and decision, joined 
 to his superior abilities, presented him as a guiding mind to 
 the Church in this emergency. Various letters were ac- 
 cordingly addressed to him by influential persons in the 
 Church, requesting his advice and friendly offices. From a 
 state approaching to indifference on the subject, he now be- 
 came decided in his opposition to the society ; yet he never 
 went to extremes. He distinguished between the society 
 and individuals, between Freemasonry and Freemasons. 
 But, while he could not brand every individual as criminal, 
 he still thought it due to the sentiments and peace of the 
 Church that every member of the lodge should give satis- 
 faction to the Church, and that the Church, on its part, 
 should be content with what was reasonable. "With these 
 views, he drew up sundry resolutions, which, by the aid of 
 his friends, he succeeded in getting through the Conference, 
 at its session in 1829. The first of these resolutions dis- 
 claimed all " connexion whatever with speculative Freema- 
 sonry," and considered " any member who should disregard" 
 it as " offending against the authority of the Conference ;" 
 the second was a covenant to " avoid all such questions and 
 measures, for or against Masonry, as produce excitement 
 and stir up strife among the people ;" and the third was an 
 exhortation to the people to conduct themselves peacefully, 
 and to receive as ministers of Christ such as might labour 
 among them agreeably to these mutual promises. After 
 
204 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 nearly an hour's discussion, the resolutions passed by a very 
 large majority, if not unanimously. Nevertheless, after the 
 Masonic members came to reflect, some thought they had 
 conceded too much, and Mr. Fisk accordingly received 
 some letters complaining of dissatisfaction, and even disgust, 
 at the measure ; but the agitation ultimately subsided. Ma- 
 sonry had already, in fact, received its mortal stroke, and, 
 after a few expiring throes and paroxysms, the subject was 
 buried among the things that have been. 
 
 In the year 1827, the Rev. T. Merritt, stationed at Spring- 
 field, Massachusetts, believed the interests of truth required 
 him to enter on a public examination of the doctrines of Uni- 
 versalism. With becoming candour, he gave notice of his 
 intention to the Universalist minister, Mr. Paige. The issue 
 was a public discussion between them. The parties agreed 
 to write their discourses, and the notes of each were placed 
 in the other's hands to make out his reply. This arrange- 
 ment has very obvious advantages over the more common 
 method of giving extemporaneous harangues, which gives 
 such unfair advantage to a shrewd flippancy over solid rea- 
 soning. It was understood at the time that the principal of 
 the Wesleyan Academy would probably take some share in 
 the controversy, to which, we believe, no objection was 
 made. . When, therefore, the agreement with Mr. Merritt 
 was concluded, Mr. Paige was informed that Mr. Fisk was 
 about to deliver one or two lectures on the subject in the 
 Methodist Church, to which, if he saw proper, he might re- 
 ply, but that, in case he should, his opponent would probably 
 follow with a rejoinder. This offer Mr. Paige saw proper 
 to decline. The lectures, however, were delivered, and are 
 contained in Mr. Merritt's Universalist Controversy. There 
 was a most vehement effort on the part of Mr. Paige and 
 his abettors on this occasion to injure Mr. Fisk's character : 
 but the circumstances are not worth recording. Suffice it 
 to say, that they proved not less impotent than malicious. 
 Their darts fell harmless at his feet, or recoiled upon the 
 heads of his assailants. 
 
 The year 1827 is the date of Mr. Fisk's embarking in the 
 Temperance enterprise, which ever after made an important 
 
TEMPERANCE REFORMATION. 
 
 205 
 
 feature in his history. His attention had, before this period, 
 been drawn to the subject, not only from beholding the great 
 prevalence of inebriety in the land, but especially from ob- 
 serving that even the Wesleyan societies were suffering fear- 
 ful ravages from this fell destroyer. It is true, the testimony 
 of their venerated founder was clear and strong ; it is also 
 true, though the point has been contested, that in the first 
 editions of the Wesleyan Discipline, using, making, and sell- 
 ing ardent spirits were expressly prohibited. But such was 
 the difficulty of carrying this rule into effect, especially in 
 the agricultural districts at a distance from market, where 
 the inducement to convert the grain and fruit into liquor 
 was very strong, that the rule, out of accommodation to pub- 
 lic sentiment, was so modified as only to forbid " drunken- 
 ness, or drinking spirituous liquors unless in cases of neces- 
 sity." Thus we had many members who made and sold 
 ardent spirits, and many more who gave such latitude to the 
 condition expressed in the rule as to drink whenever they 
 chose. The consequence was the generation of an appetite 
 for them among many, and the creation of habits of inebriety. 
 Hence there were more instances of degradation from the 
 ministry, and of expulsions from the Church, from this than 
 from any other cause, perhaps than all others put together. 
 These things Mr. Fisk saw, and they deeply affected him. 
 Even in his own neighbourhood, in his circle of familiar 
 friends, a member of the Church, a trustee of the academy, 
 owned a distillery, and carried on an extensive business, 
 using the article so freely himself as to create serious alarm 
 among his friends. Yet there was no remedy. The Church 
 did not prohibit the manufacture and sale, and he only drank 
 when he thought it necessary. What was true in Massa- 
 chusetts and Vermont, was equally true in other sections, 
 and perhaps more extensively so in the Southern and West- 
 ern States, where the climate was then thought to render ar- 
 tificial stimulants indispensable. 
 
 It was, therefore, with great satisfaction that Mr. Fisk hail- 
 ed the formation of Temperance Societies. He perceived 
 that the light in which they presented the subject, the infor- 
 mation they would diffuse, the energy that would arise from 
 18 
 
206 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 combined action, and especially when the influence of the 
 most learned, able, and respectable men of all parties and 
 opinions could be enlisted in the cause, were just what were 
 wanted. Wisely auguring the most beneficial results from 
 the enterprise, he did not fail to enter into it with all his 
 heart. 
 
 In the month of April, 1827, on the annual fast-day, dis- 
 courses on Temperance were delivered in the churches at 
 Wilbraham in the morning, and in the afternoon a meeting 
 of the students of the academy took place, for the purpose 
 of organizing a society. It is thus mentioned in a commu- 
 nication of Mr. Fisk to the editor of Zion's Herald : 
 
 " The meeting of the students took place that very after- 
 noon, and it proved a most interesting season. A num- 
 ber of young men spoke on the subject with much judgment 
 and feeling, and facts were adduced, not only illustrative 
 of the evils of intemperance, but also showing the useless- 
 ness of ardent spirits in those cases where men have thought 
 they could not do without them ; and also showing how a 
 temperate use of ardent spirits in families frequently led 
 some of the members of such families to intemperance and 
 ruin. "Where all was interesting, it is difficult to select ; one 
 or two facts, however, I have retained, and will communi- 
 cate. One young gentleman stated that he had been ac- 
 quainted with a blacksmith in the City of New- York, who 
 worked upon anchors and other heavy work, and thought it 
 necessary, in his severe labour, exposed to so much heat, to 
 drink ardent spirits daily. He was converted, and made a 
 public profession of religion ; but still thought, like all the 
 rest of the community, his business required the use of spir- 
 its. He found, however, that at night, after labour, he would 
 be heavy and dull, and unfit for devotion ; he supposed it 
 might be from the use of distilled liquors ; he therefore left 
 it off entirely, and found not only that he could perform his 
 work as well or better than before, but also that his mind 
 was much more lively, and his animal spirits more vigorous, 
 when his daily task was done. This, it is believed, would 
 prove true in all cases. 
 
TEMPERANCE REFORMATION. 
 
 207 
 
 " Another said that a clergyman, a distant connexion of 
 his father's family, lived till he was a hundred years old, in 
 the daily use of ardent spirits ; very temperately, however, 
 measuring to himself one half glass daily : he also used to 
 deal it out temperately to his family. He had ten sons, all 
 of whom became intemperate, and their children after' thern^ 
 so that, it was now thought, there were forty drunkards 
 among the old clergyman's descendants, all evidently made 
 so by the gentleman's temperate use of ardent spirits in bis 
 family. How many, in like manner, make drunkards in 
 their families, unconsciously and undesignedly, by the cus- 
 tom of using spirits among their children, workmen, and vis- 
 iters ! And yet the same practices are persisted in, as if such 
 a course were not dangerous, but absolutely essential to life. 
 Till sober and temperate men wake up to a sense of this sub- 
 ject, and adopt for themselves and households the scriptural 
 maxim, i Touch not, taste not, handle not,' we never can 
 expect a reformation in society." 
 
 "We add another extract from the same communication. 
 Marking the commencement of an important era in the his- 
 tory of society, it cannot fail to be interesting. 
 
 " At a meeting of the citizens of the town, in which the 
 different denominations united, a committee was appointed 
 to draught a constitution for a society, which constitution was 
 reported at an adjourned meeting, and was amply discussed. 
 A number were prepared to sign it, but others hesitated : to 
 resolve not to use ardent spirits themselves, nor permit it to 
 be used in their families, seemed so much like entering into 
 a new world, and adopting new modes of life, that they 
 hardly knew what to say or do. That such a course was 
 necessary seemed to be very generally admitted, but how 
 to perform they knew not. However, it was at length de- 
 termined to adjourn the meeting until the fourth of July 
 next, and a committee were appointed to make choice of one 
 to deliver a public address on the subject at that time. But, 
 before the meeting broke up, the following resolution was 
 adopted almost unanimously, viz. : 
 
208 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 " 'Resolved, That we will practise ourselves, and endeav- 
 our to have practised in our families, the spirit of the consti- 
 tution that has been reported to this meeting.' 
 
 " In short, the subject has excited much attention ; and 
 though some opposition has been stirred up, yet some appa- 
 rent good has been effected. Several gentlemen of influence 
 in the place have renounced the use of spirits altogether, and 
 the bottle has been banished from a number of families. 
 The importance of the subject is much thought of by those 
 who before thought but little of it ; and, possibly, an impres- 
 sion has been made on some minds which will not be readi- 
 ly effaced. 
 
 " Quere. Would it not be well for ministers to preach ex- 
 pressly on this subject, and aim their arguments not so much 
 at the drunkard, for his case is almost hopeless, as to the 
 practices of temperate men ? 
 
 " W. Fisk. 
 
 " Wilbraham, Mass., April 19, 1827." 
 
 But Mr. Fisk did not enter upon this undertaking without 
 much opposition and some obloquy. It arose, too, where he 
 had not anticipated it, and therefore he felt it more keenly, 
 namely, among his own brethren. Some of them were re- 
 luctant to enter into the measure. The stand taken by the 
 eminent founder of Methodism on the subject of ardent spir- 
 its, the high ground taken by the Methodist Church, and the 
 prohibitory rule in the Discipline, led them to believe that, 
 however necessary temperance societies were in the commu- 
 nity at large, or even in other churches, they were not requi- 
 red among us. They claimed to be a temperance society al- 
 ready. Some things also occurred at the commencement 
 of the enterprise rather unfortunate. One was, a proposal 
 by the National Society to raise a permanent fund of twenty 
 thousand dollars for the support of a special agent. To this 
 they objected, partly because they were always opposed, 
 somewhat unreasonably, perhaps, to special agencies for reli- 
 gious and charitable purposes, believing the regular minis- 
 try the best agency, and partly because they had always 
 seen such funds in the hands of one denomination not mark- 
 
OPPOSITION TO THE TEMPERANCE MEASURES. 209 
 
 ed by great liberality towards them, whose power they sup- 
 posed it would augment. Another error was the utterance 
 of unguarded expressions, which sometimes gave offence or 
 awakened distrust. One made an injudicious comparison 
 between the excellent and successful agent of the American 
 Temperance Society, the Rev. Nathaniel Hewitt, and the 
 Rev. John Wesley, whom the Methodists justly delight to 
 honour. The assertion was, that "but for temperance socie- 
 ties, the voice of Hewitt would have been as inoperative as 
 that of Rush or Wesley." Another asserted that the tem- 
 perance societies were composed of the sober men of all 
 parties, thereby charging all with intemperance who did not 
 join them. These, it is true, were small matters ; but when 
 the mind is not fully convinced of the propriety or necessity 
 of any step, small objections become great obstacles. It 
 shows, moreover, that they who are " had in reputation for 
 wisdom," should beware of the "dead flies" which spoil the 
 precious ointment. 
 
 Mr.Fisk very much regretted that the Christian Advocate 
 and Journal, the official organ of the General Conference, 
 took a decided stand against him. The very excellent and 
 able editor of that paper, residing in the City of New- York, 
 was less conversant with the state of the Church generally, 
 in regard to Temperance, than clergymen residing in the 
 country, especially in the agricultural districts. Hence, 
 while he approved of the enterprise so far as others were 
 concerned, and wrote and published in favour of the general 
 undertaking, he did not think the Methodists called upon to 
 take any part in it by joining the National Society. It should 
 be known, too, that the Christian Advocate, even at that early 
 period, had not less than fifteen thousand subscribers, and 
 perhaps sixty thousand readers. 
 
 Notwithstanding the opposition, Mr. Fisk was generally 
 treated with great respect and courtesy ; yet some allowed 
 their prejudices to carry them beyond the bounds of charity. 
 He was suspected of impure motives, aims at popularity, 
 worldly influence, truckling to other denominations, and the 
 like ; while one person, who had no little influence in the 
 Church, said " he had allowed the Presbyterians to cast a 
 18* Dd 
 
210 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 veil over his eyes." But none of these things moved him. 
 Calmly he pursued his determined way. He spoke, wrote, 
 and travelled in behalf of the cause, and had the satisfaction 
 to see his labours crowned with success. Many were con- 
 vinced. He had the farther satisfaction to see many of his 
 private friends enter into his views ; among others, the trus- 
 tee of the academy already alluded to became a convert to 
 the new opinions, abandoned his distillery, confessed his er- 
 ror, and came forth a decided supporter of the Temperance 
 measures. 
 
 A little incident exhibits at once the feeling of the Church 
 in many places, and our subject's firmness and independence 
 where duty was involved. Going by invitation to deliver 
 an address on Temperance at a certain town in Connecticut, 
 he was met by a member of the Church, by whom he was 
 strongly advised to alter his purpose. The reason given 
 was that the Church in that place was opposed to the Tem- 
 perance movement ; some were engaged in the trade in ar- 
 dent spirits, and others did not feel any necessity for agita- 
 ting the question. In short, if he persisted, it would create, 
 it was alleged, such division of feeling as would ruin the 
 Church. "Sir," said Dr. Fisk, "if the Church stands on 
 rum, let it go /" He delivered his address notwithstanding, 
 but without any such disastrous effects. 
 
 Meantime the cause was gaining constant accessions of 
 strength, even among the Wesleyan societies. Several 
 Quarterly Meeting Conferences avowed the total abstinence 
 principle publicly: that of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in 
 June, 1828, Litchfield, Genesee Conference in September, 
 and Bedford, in Virginia, and that of Grove Circuit, Geor- 
 gia, the next year. In the autumn of 1829, at a camp- 
 meeting held in the town of Somers, Connecticut, the 
 preachers consulted together, and adopted a series of res- 
 olutions in favour of temperance societies, which were for- 
 warded by Dr. Fisk, accompanied by remarks in support 
 of them, to the editor of the Christian Advocate. They were 
 inserted, but the same number contained a long editorial 
 decidedly maintaining the former ground. But, to compen- 
 sate for this, Dr. Fisk soon after received an interesting let- 
 
SUCCESS OF THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. 
 
 211 
 
 ter from Washington, Pennsylvania, from several class-lead- 
 ers, strongly commending the course he had taken, disap- 
 proving of the views held out in the Advocate, and urging 
 him to perseverance. This, no doubt, was greatly refreshing 
 to his spirit, and the more so, since it came from so great a 
 distance, and where he was personally unknown. 
 
 Facts were now multiplying with astonishing rapidity, 
 demonstrating the utility of the undertaking. In January, 
 1830, the third anniversary of the American Temperance 
 Society was held in New-York City. From the managers' 
 report it appeared, that during the year the number of State 
 societies had increased from four to eleven, and three more 
 were about to be formed, while the whole number of local 
 societies was 1015, numbering not less than 100,000 names. 
 More than 700 reformed inebriates were reported during 
 the year ; fifty distilleries were discontinued ; and in one 
 case, when the property of a bankrupt distiller was offered 
 at public sale, not a single bid for it could be obtained. A 
 decrease of sales was reported from some towns in almost 
 every state, varying in amount from one fourth to nine tenths 
 of the whole, and in some places the trade was totally aban- 
 doned. More than 400 had relinquished the trade from 
 conviction. A single town in Vermont had saved by tem- 
 perance in one year $8400, and the State of New-Hampshire 
 was reported to have saved $100,000 thereby.* These 
 facts, not easily repelled or answered, greatly encouraged 
 Dr. Fisk and the friends of the cause to continue their ex- 
 ertions. 
 
 As the New- York Conference has the supervision of the 
 Book Room, and, consequently, the official periodicals of 
 the Church, Dr. Fisk was extremely desirous of gaining its 
 influence on the right side. With this view, he attended 
 the Conference in May of this year, intending to present a 
 memorial on the subject ; but the necessity for this was hap- 
 pily superseded. The Conference appointed a committee 
 
 * Not the smallest testimony to the progress of the Temperance reformation 
 was the reply of the agent of a French importing-house, when applied to for a 
 freight of brandy to this country. " No, no," said the man of observation, " de 
 devil is getting out of de 'Mexicans : dey drink no more brandies." 
 
212 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUIt FISK. 
 
 to take the cause of Temperance into consideration, with 
 Dr. Bangs for its chairman. Their report was satisfactory 
 to the friends of Temperance. It commenced with noticing 
 the importance of the cause ; explained the views of the 
 Church up to this period on the subject, assigning the rea- 
 sons why it had not united with the National Society ; enu- 
 merated some of the benefits which had already resulted 
 from the enterprise ; and finally recommended the formation 
 of Temperance Societies in all our congregations. The re- 
 port was adopted, and published in the Christian Advocate 
 and Journal. The New-England Conference adopted a yet 
 stronger report ; other Conferences followed their example, 
 and the cause gradually extended until it pervaded nearly 
 the whole Church. At first it was only intended to oper- 
 ate in the Church ; but it was soon seen that, though this 
 would purify its skirts from the pollution, yet it would not 
 exert so extensive an influence as uniting in the general 
 cause. Sectarian feelings gradually yielded to a spirit of 
 more enlarged philanthropy, and the whole Church united 
 in the great national enterprise. Dr. Bangs, with charac- 
 teristic frankness and candour, changed the course of the 
 Christian Advocate and Journal, and made it one of the 
 most efficient aids in the country to the noble enterprise, to 
 which it has ever since given a decided support. 
 
 At the session of the New-England Conference in 1829, 
 Mr. Fisk preached from Rom., viii., 2, 3, 4, a sermon on the 
 distinctive properties of the Law and the Gospel. This dis- 
 course was admirably timed and ably executed. It gave a 
 clear exhibition of a subject lying at the basis of the evan- 
 gelical theory. On three accounts it was particularly ac- 
 ceptable to the auditory, especially to the members of the 
 Conference. It served to settle the minds of many who 
 were involved in no little confusion on the subject ; it threw 
 additional light on the errors of Mr. Randall, and dispersed 
 the remnants of the fog he had created ; and it exposed the 
 inconsistencies of Unitarianism. A system that rejects a vi- 
 carious sacrifice is utterly at variance with the relations ex- 
 hibited in the sermon as existing between the Law and the 
 GospeL 
 
SERMON ON THE LAW AND THE GOSPEL. 213 
 
 The Conference, by a unanimous vote, requested the pub- 
 lication of this discourse. To this the author at first ob- 
 jected, fearing some of his positions would be assailed, and 
 involve him in controversy. At length he yielded, and his 
 anticipations, to some extent, were realized. One point was 
 disputed by many, both of our own and other denomina- 
 tions : " It is," says the sermon, " this Gospel grace that 
 constitutes man a free moral agent, and restores to him the 
 power of choice which he lost through sin." But there was 
 a great want of logical precision in the statement of the ob- 
 jection. The preacher did not assert that the Gospel con- 
 stitutes man a moral agent, for on this there would have been 
 no disagreement : but he asserted that he was hereby " con- 
 stituted a free moral agent." The proper inquiry, there- 
 fore, should have been on the force of the epithet "free" as 
 qualifying " moral agent." Now it evidently implies that 
 some moral agents are not free, otherwise the word means 
 nothing — is a mere expletive. This being so, the sermon 
 does not deny, it rather asserts, that fiends and lost spirits 
 are moral agents, i. e., beings capable of moral action, and 
 therefore punishable, notwithstanding they can will only one 
 way, and therefore are not free. They are held under chains 
 of darkness and sin ; are under an everlasting necessity of 
 sinning, superinduced by their wilful conduct : they are, there- 
 fore, according to the sermon, not " free moral agents." 
 They could become such only by having the power to choose 
 good restored to them, i. e., being replaced in a state of pro- 
 bation ; and in this sense our author contends that " Gospel 
 grace constitutes man a free moral agent, and restores to 
 him the power of choice (of choosing good) which he lost 
 through sin." 
 
 It was painful to Mr. Fisk that this sermon gave dissatisfac- 
 tion to some of his intimate associates in the ministry. One 
 of these wrote an article in the New-England Herald, setting 
 forth his objection. It may be briefly stated thus: the ser- 
 mon denies to the Gospel the nature of Law, whereas the 
 Gospel contains a rule of life. This article was ably an- 
 swered by, as is understood, the Rev. T. Merritt. The ob- 
 jection arises from not distinguishing between the essential 
 
214 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 character of the Gospel as a remedial provision, and what 
 is contained in the evangelical system of faith and practice. 
 The sermon does not deny that the obligation of the Moral 
 Law is recognised in the Gospel ; but this very expression 
 implies that the Law and Gospel are in their nature distinct. 
 The container and the thing contained are not identical. 
 
 As we are now drawing towards the close of Dr. Fisk's 
 connexion with the Wesleyan Academy, we shall add a few 
 additional particulars illustrative of his demeanour in the sta- 
 tion he occupied. 
 
 His devotion to the interests of the school was as unremit- 
 ting as his sense of responsibility was profound. He left no 
 expedient untried to improve the minds and morals of his 
 charge. Learning that, in some houses where the scholars 
 boarded, the rules of the school were held almost in abey- 
 ance, he addressed a circular letter to the keepers of the 
 boarding-houses, explaining and enforcing the regulations 
 of the school, and requiring them either to see them observ- 
 ed or to dismiss their boarders. 
 
 The subjoined letter will show the feelings with which he 
 regarded a nuisance far too common at the seats of literary 
 institutions. 
 
 " Wilbraham, April 2, 1830. 
 
 " Dear Sir, 
 
 " I received a bill this morning against which gave 
 
 me much pain. It would be incredible to me, if matter of 
 fact did not confirm it beyond the possibility of a doubt, that 
 respectable men in this town should encourage our scholars 
 to run up such bills as this. If they wish to ruin the repu- 
 tation of the school, and thereby drive all scholars from it, 
 this is the way to do it. Notwithstanding all I have said to 
 you, sir, and to other gentlemen on this subject, the same 
 course is pursued quarter after quarter ; and that it is pursu- 
 ed very extensively at your store, and others are lamen- 
 table examples. They have been called home for their prof- 
 ligacy ; injured in their habits and morals (if not ruined) ; and 
 carrying with them, and carrying in their own corrupted ex- 
 amples and characters, blasting testimonies against the repu- 
 
LETTER OF REBUKE. 
 
 215 
 
 tation of the institution. However little, sir, you and the 
 good people of this place realize it, a few more such sea- 
 sons as the last will ruin the school. I have published to 
 the world, and proclaimed it upon the house-tops, that we had 
 a moral and religious school ; that there was little or no op- 
 portunity for the scholars to get corrupted. But, sir, how can 
 I hold up my head, and face the fathers of those sons who 
 came here moral and virtuous, but have been permitted, at 
 the stores and taverns, by men who profess to be friends to 
 the institution, and some of them friends to Christ, to run up 
 bills for sweetmeats, wine, oyster-suppers, sundries (rum, I 
 suppose), to the amount of from $5 to $100 ? And these 
 very men, too, have been requested not to trust such boys 
 even for the necessaries of life without an order. Sir, I am 
 ashamed and confounded before the public ! I am disap- 
 pointed in gentlemen who take this course ! Sir, I never 
 shall pay such bills, and the parents will never pay them if 
 I can hinder it. If a love of present gain will lead men to 
 suffer such bills on their books, they may at least be re- 
 strained when they find those bills are uncollectable. I 
 know, however, this will not wholly meet the evil. Men 
 may, if they choose, take a course to induce scholars to sell 
 their books and clothes, as some have done, to meet these 
 debts of honour, as they are taught to consider them. But 
 let me ask you, sir, as a Christian, is this religion ? Is this 
 doing as in similar circumstances we would have others do 
 by our children ? Is it befriending the institution ? Permit 
 me, dear sir, to deal plainly. I am not angry, but I am af- 
 flicted and pained. I did expect a different course from you, 
 at least. 
 
 " What you mean by sundries I cannot tell ; I say per- 
 haps it is ardent spirits, for I have been informed you have 
 said you would sell the scholars rum. Is this true ? I have 
 also been informed that some of our scholars would be in 
 your store carrying on until ten o'clock, or perhaps eleven 
 o'clock at night. Is this true ? Sir, any explanation you 
 can give me I shall be pleased to receive. I have written 
 my feelings frankly. If I know my heart, I have no other 
 motive but the good of the institution ; and in this I did sup- 
 
216 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 pose that the citizens here had a common interest. But if 
 they have no greater interest than to indulge our scholars to 
 the injury of their morals and the offence of their parents 
 for the sake of a little paltry pelf, the sooner we know this 
 the better. Yours in sincerity, 
 
 " W. Fisk. 
 
 "P.S. — Do not think, sir, I blame you only in this thing : 
 others have done the same ; it has become a crying evil 
 against the institution." 
 
 An extract from a letter written to Mrs. Fisk since the 
 death of her husband, by a lady who for some time was 
 principal of the female department at Wilbraham, will show 
 the estimation in which Dr. Fisk was held by those associ- 
 ated with him in the duties of every-day life : 
 
 " Those who have enjoyed the privilege of his society in 
 the private circle, and have seen all those lights and shades 
 which so sweetly diversified his character unfolded in all 
 their loveliest hues, peculiar to himself as a companion and 
 friend, feel still more deeply his irreparable loss. Among 
 these I have been peculiarly favoured by a kind Providence, 
 which, by a train of circumstances, associated me with him 
 as governess in the institution at Wilbraham, where he pre- 
 sided as principal, and laid the foundation of its fame and 
 usefulness. I witnessed the care, anxiety, and deep solici- 
 tude which daily marked his steps. Often did he exclaim, 
 * I rise or fall with this institution being, from the humble 
 opinion he had of his own abilities and wisdom in planning 
 its operations, doubtful of its ultimate success. He bore all 
 our burdens, and was consulted on every occasion. All 
 matters were referred to him, moral, intellectual, or physical. 
 No circumstance, however trifling it might appear, if con- 
 nected with the interests of the institution, was beneath his 
 notice. He would take a little boy who had transgressed 
 the rules into a room by himself, and reason with him upon 
 his conduct until he had melted him into tears of repent- 
 
 rjj^jQg ■% ■¥> 
 
 During this, as, indeed, every period of Dr. Fisk's life, his 
 conversation was marked by piety. Not that he was in the 
 
CHRISTIAN OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 217 
 
 habit of delivering formal lectures in the social circle, nor did 
 he ever practise to any extent the monologue. His conver- 
 sation was always easy, familiar, and natural. The heaven- 
 ward tendency of his spirit was observable in the views 
 which he took of things, in his occasional remarks, and the 
 readiness with which he would suggest topics of piety, or fall 
 in with religious trains of thought suggested by others. On 
 such occasions he often uttered sentiments replete with Chris- 
 tian edification. It is to be regretted that more of his ob- 
 servations have not been retained. We insert the following, 
 not as the best specimens, but the only ones made at this pe- 
 riod of his life which we have received. 
 
 Christian Watchfulness. — " I was once conversing with a 
 pious female of the Friends' Society. She said that it ap- 
 peared to her that Christians did not rightly understand the 
 nature of Christian watchfulness. We are not to watch our 
 feelings or the world, sinners, Satan, or temptations, but we 
 are to watch Christ." " Looking unto Jesus" is a precept 
 of Divine authority. 
 
 Make a Christ of nothing but Christ. — " At a certain pe- 
 riod in my experience, I was very much troubled in my mind 
 respecting my feelings. I unbosomed my heart to the Rev. 
 T. Merritt, who knows, I think, as much about the way of 
 faith as any man I ever saw, and told him all my obstacles. 
 * I think,' he replied, ' that you make a Christ of your feel- 
 ings. You do not expect that Christ will bless you unless 
 you have a peculiar kind of feelings. But Christ does not 
 bless because you have peculiar feelings, but because you 
 believe in him. Make a Christ of nothing but Christ.' " 
 19 E e 
 
218 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Wesleyan University. — Dr. Fisk elected President. — Letters. — Sermon on Pre- 
 destination and Election. — Inaugural Address. — Occupations. — Letters. 
 
 The cause of education in the Methodist Episcopal Church 
 was now rapidly advancing. This, however, was not ow- 
 ing so much to any essential change of views, as many have 
 supposed, as to a change of circumstances. The Meth- 
 odists had become the most numerous body of Christians 
 in the United States, and had greatly increased both in 
 wealth and intelligence. As they became able to educate 
 their children, they found the importance of having insti- 
 tutions of learning under their own control. Prior to this 
 they had been satisfied to send their children to colleges 
 under the influence of other denominations, and, as a natu- 
 ral consequence, many became alienated from the views of 
 their parents. Besides, most of the colleges in the coun- 
 try were under the direction of some one denomination, and 
 this secured to those churches who had most influence in this 
 line, a control over public sentiment that was hardly com- 
 patible with the equal rights of the several churches. Ine- 
 quality of condition often leads to an invasion of the equality 
 of rights. Moreover, while we had no such institutions among 
 ourselves, the importance of education was not likely to be 
 so generally felt as it ought to be ; while the possession of 
 them would cause the subject to be brought frequently be- 
 fore the congregations, and the spirit of the enterprise would 
 become more universally diffused. The result has fully equal- 
 led the expectations of the Church. Education is now ap- 
 preciated, not only by those among us already educated, but 
 is sought for with eagerness by those who had no early ad- 
 vantages. The progress of opinion necessary to effect any 
 great enterprise is generally slow ; but, nevertheless, it was 
 steadily deepening and extending as Providence continued 
 to indicate the path of duty. 
 
EDUCATION IN THE M. E. CHURCH. 
 
 219 
 
 We have seen that several public academies had already- 
 risen into being. These served to cherish the awakened de- 
 sire for knowledge. Besides these, two colleges, as we have 
 also seen, were established by our people in the Western 
 country, namely, Augusta College in Kentucky, chartered 
 in 1822,* and Madison College at Union Town, Fayette 
 county, Pennsylvania, chartered in 1827.* From these, 
 as well as from our more intelligent ministers and laymen, 
 many articles on education had appeared in our leading pa- 
 pers, the effect of which was to awaken the attention of 
 many to the subject. It was also favourable to this project 
 that the agitating questions of ecclesiastical polity were now 
 settled ; and the Church, being prosperous within as well as 
 without, had leisure to turn her attention to her own improve- 
 ment in solid, intelligent, and influential piety. 
 
 In the above remarks I have said nothing of the unfortu- 
 nate Cokesbury College at Abingdon, or the Washington 
 College in Baltimore ; because, though the example of our 
 fathers was a strong expression of their sense of the value 
 of education, yet the calamities of those institutions more 
 than neutralized the force of that example, and, indeed, farm- 
 ed a strong obstacle to future efforts in the cause. The spir- 
 it, however, was now fairly up, and it would work its way. 
 
 In the year 1829, the New- York Annual Conference made 
 its first movement towards the establishment of a college. 
 The circumstances which immediately gave rise to this move- 
 ment are not unworthy of notice. It happened at this time that 
 the buildings erected for the Literary, Scientific, and Military 
 Academy, under Captain Partridge, at Middletown, Connec- 
 ticut, had become vacant. On a certain day, some of the trus- 
 tees of these buildings being together, one of them expressed 
 no little surprise at the energy and liberality exhibited by the 
 members of the Methodist Church in Middletown, in the 
 recent erection of a large and very commodious place of 
 worship ; hinting that he should not be surprised if, before 
 long, they should think of establishing a college. To carry 
 on the idea, another sportively added that they had build- 
 ings to dispose of, which might be had for five thousand dol- 
 * Christian Advocate and Journal. 
 
220 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 lars. Upon what trivial things do important events often 
 turn ! This remark, made merely in badinage, was report- 
 ed to the venerable Laban Clark, presiding elder of the 
 New-Haven district, then in Middletown, who promptly sent 
 word that he would accept the offer, and be responsible for 
 the money. This led to the serious consideration of an ar- 
 rangement, the result of which was, that at the ensuing ses- 
 sion of the New- York Conference, the subject was submit- 
 ted, with proposals in due form, from the trustees of the acad- 
 emy. The establishment of a college having been in con- 
 templation for some time before among some of the leading 
 members of the body, they were readily induced to appoint 
 a committee for the prosecution of the business. This com- 
 mittee consisted of the Reverend Drs. Emory and Luckey, 
 and the Reverend Heman Bangs. The New-England Con- 
 ference* being invited to unite in the project, appointed the 
 Reverend Messrs. T. Merritt, S. Martindale, and Dr. Fisk, 
 to act in conjunction with the New- York committee. 
 
 The first act of the joint committee was to issue proposals, 
 inviting the several towns within a specified region to com- 
 pete for the location of the college by the offer of subscrip- 
 tions. Troy, in New- York, and Bridgeport, in Connecticut, 
 both made liberal proposals ; but those from Middletown 
 were now so modified as to leave no room for hesitancy as 
 to which should be preferred. The trustees of the academy, 
 with the consent of the stockholders, offered the entire prop- 
 erty, valued at about thirty thousand dollars, to the Conferen- 
 ces in fee simple, with the single condition that it should be 
 sustained as a college or university, besides giving an addi- 
 tional local subscription of eighteen thousand dollars. In 
 this way fifteen acres of land, large, commodious, and sub- 
 stantial buildings, with fixtures, and the nucleus of a library, 
 were placed at once in their hands. The report of the com- 
 mittee in favour of Middletown was adopted at the next ses- 
 sions of the Conferences, and the name of Wesleyan Uni- 
 versity agreed on. Permanent trustees for the management 
 of the financial department were chosen ; and, in order to 
 
 * A similar project had been talked of, I understand, but not acted on, in this 
 Conference. 
 
WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY. DR. FISK CHOSEN PRESIDENT. 221 
 
 secure the influence of the Conferences, visiters, not exceed- 
 ing the whole number of trustees, were to be appointed an- 
 nually by the Conferences patronising the institution. New- 
 Hampshire and Vermont Conference came immediately into 
 the measure, and that of Troy and others united in it after- 
 ward. A charter was granted by the Legislature of Connec- 
 ticut in 1831, ratifying this arrangement, with an additional 
 provision for placing the institution, should it become desi- 
 rable, under the direction of the General Conference of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. The charter secures all the 
 rights and immunities of a University. 
 
 It would scarcely be proper, in this place, to go any farther 
 into detail upon this subject. "We cannot, however, forbear 
 saying, that it appears, from Dr. Fisk's papers, that two con- 
 siderations, in addition to what we have already named, 
 made him enter with great alacrity into the enterprise : one 
 of these was a desire that in the contemplated institution 
 some arrangement might be made for the benefit of the sons 
 of his brethren in the ministry, few of whom, on account of 
 the expense, could enjoy the advantages of a liberal educa- 
 tion. The other was the necessity of some more efficient 
 measures for the education of young men who might be call- 
 ed to the work of foreign missions ; for it was evident that 
 the regulations of the Church for the improvement of the do- 
 mestic ministry must be very inadequate to the wants of the 
 foreign work. We shall see in the sequel how this latter 
 object was provided for. To accomplish the former, pro- 
 vision was made, by which the payment of one hundred dol- 
 lars by any clergyman should secure the right of keeping a 
 son, or the son of any clergyman, at the institution, free of 
 charge for tuition, during the life of the subscriber or the 
 minority of his sons. 
 
 On the 24th of August, 1830, at the first meeting of the 
 Joint Board of Trustees and Visiters, Dr. Fisk was elected 
 President of the Wesleyan University. At first, for various 
 reasons, he hesitated about accepting the appointment, and 
 was on the point of declining ; but convinced at length that 
 to accept it was his duty, he sent the following reply to the 
 official notice of his election. 
 19* 
 
222 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 " To the Joint Board of Trustees and Visiters of the Wesley an 
 University, now in Session in Middletown, Conn. 
 M Gentlemen, 
 
 " With a high sense of the confidence reposed in me by a 
 majority of your Board, in electing me president of your pro- 
 posed University, I tender you my sincere and grateful ac- 
 knowledgments. I have a deep conviction of my own ina- 
 bility to perform the important and responsible duties con- 
 nected with this appointment. In accordance, however, with 
 the judgment of my friends, and in reliance upon the cordial 
 and united aid of the Board, and of the colleagues which 
 have been or may be appointed, and especially in an hum- 
 ble reliance upon Almighty God, without whose assistance 
 the most gifted labour in vain, I will engage to the extent 
 of my ability in the service of the Board, in the discharge of 
 the duties assigned me, so soon as I can, in honour and jus- 
 tice, disengage myself from my present relation to another 
 institution. W. Fisk." 
 
 Arrangements were made at this meeting of the official 
 board to organize a preparatory school, which was to com- 
 mence in October ensuing, under the care of the Rev. Will- 
 iam C. Larrabee, a graduate of Bowdoin College, Maine. 
 Dr. Fisk, meanwhile, was to remain at Wilbraham until the 
 following December. 
 
 We introduce some passages from his private correspond- 
 ence belonging to this part of our subject's life. The first 
 is a letter to his cousin, the Rev. Daniel Brayton, a member 
 of the Genesee Conference. 
 
 " Wilbraham, Feb. 23, 1829. 
 " Dear Brother in Christ and Kinsman in the Flesh : 
 
 " When I received your esteemed favour of July last, I 
 thought I should have written to you long before this time ; 
 but business, hurrying, pressing business, has prevented, and 
 would now prevent, did I not crowd its claims aside to at- 
 tend for a few moments to the pleasanter claims of friend- 
 ship. My life is much unlike what it once was. Once I 
 had leisure, and spent much time in cultivating the friend- 
 
CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 223 
 
 ships of life ; but now I have become almost a man of busi- 
 ness. It is true, I generally preach on the Sabbath, and 
 some week-lectures ; but my preaching seems frequently to 
 myself like the running of a rusty saw. I never coveted this 
 situation : to give myself wholly to the ministry was always 
 more pleasant to me ; but Providence has thrown me here, 
 and here, for the present, it seems to be duty to stay. Some- 
 body must take care of our literary institutions, or we shall 
 have none ; and whoever does it will find it no easy task, 
 especially if he has to be teacher, beggar, builder, treas- 
 urer, secretary, steward, bookkeeper, proctor, preacher, 
 &c, &c, all himself; and perhaps I may as well be that 
 man, so far as my abilities will permit, as any other. I know 
 not, with all my exertions and the exertions of my fellow- 
 labourers in this good work, that we shall make our institu- 
 tion flourish. We well know that, except the Lord build 
 the city, they labour in vain who build it ; but hitherto the 
 Lord hath helped us. Our plans have succeeded, and our 
 exertions have been prospered beyond our expectations. 
 
 " I hope you will not fail to write to me. Let my delay 
 have no influence to retard your next letter. As for any 
 difference between us, in rising high or looking high as to 
 worldly eminence,* I hope you will neither name nor think 
 of that, unless you think me ambitious of eminence, and if 
 you do, chide and reprove me as such feelings deserve. 
 If my heart ever aspire to greatness, it is contrary to my 
 better teaching. By a deep view of my own heart, God has 
 shown me, several years since, what a helpless, worthless 
 thing I am. What have I that I have not received ? And 
 so negligent have I been, I have received but little, and on 
 that little I have improved less ; and these are not the ef- 
 fusions of a voluntary humility, they are the strong and con- 
 stant convictions of my inmost soul. May God forgive me." 
 
 To the same. 
 
 " Wilbraham, Nov. 1, 1829. 
 " When your esteemed favour arrived in Wilbraham, I 
 was absent on a long and pleasant journey, first to Boston, 
 
 * This refers to some expressions in one of his correspondent's letters. 
 
224 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 next to Portsmouth to attend our Conference, and then 
 through the easterly part of New-Hampshire, and through 
 the sublime pass of the White Hills up to my native state 
 and my paternal cottage. This was a relaxation that my 
 debilitated system required, after incessant labour and in- 
 tense application in my professional duties ; and especially 
 was it necessary for Mrs. Fisk, who had for some time been 
 in a feeble state of health. We enjoyed a pleasant visit at 
 our father's, took our friends in Brattleborough on our route 
 home, and finally arrived home past the middle of July. 
 Since my return I have kept your letter safe in my apart- 
 ment of unanswered letters. Full many a time have I shuf- 
 fled over the packet to see which must be answered, and 
 yours has always come tip, and had its claims acknowledged 
 and postponed, under the influence of that cruel maxim to 
 which many are unwillingly subject, ' business before friends.' 
 But the time is come for you, my friend and brother, to have 
 ' some fragment of time, which otherwise might be lost,' de- 
 voted to you. Indeed, I fear too many fragments of my time 
 are lost. But what I most reflect upon is, that that portion of it 
 which is employed, and diligently employed, is comparatively 
 lost, for want of the holy unction that gives an unearthly 
 energy to the mind and an uncommon efficiency and success 
 to the labours of the deeply-devoted servants of God. Much, 
 under God, is to be attributed, I know, to commanding tal- 
 ents judiciously employed ; but what a crowning energy 
 there is in the language and labours of that man whose soul 
 is fired at the altar of Heaven ! How that man preaches 
 who feels the word of God ' like a fire in his bones,' and 
 who 1 longs to speak that he may be refreshed !' Of this 
 feeling I have too little. Sometimes, in the midst of my 
 other avocations, my mind becomes so barren that I seem 
 to have none of the spirit of an ambassador of the skies ; and 
 this often leads me to doubt whether, in the engrossing cares 
 of the institution, I am in the way of my duty. I have one 
 thing, however, to encourage me : most generally, when I 
 attempt to speak, the Lord fills my heart and my mouth. 
 O, who would not preach such a Gospel with such helps ? 
 I would not exchange my commission to preach the Gospel 
 for a throne." 
 
CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 225 
 
 To the Rev. Chauncey Richardson, East Cambridge. 
 
 " Wilbraham, April 26, 1830. 
 " I was gratified in receiving a letter from you, and, al- 
 though I have very little time to write, as I am preparing to 
 go to New- York, still I feel disposed to drop you a line, that 
 you may know I am not inattentive altogether to the claims 
 of friendship. It affords me pleasure to learn that you have 
 some refreshing drops on that barren point. May a shower 
 follow ! I have no doubt a powerful reformation would do 
 them good ; but it would take a more powerful heat than that 
 which melts the flint in their glass (works*) to melt down the 
 motley mass of character in your charge, and purify them 
 into the transparent medium of Gospel sincerity. But we 
 need not despair ; the Gospel has power in it. Have you 
 done anything yet in the Temperance cause ? Would it 
 not be well to get some tracts on the subject, and circulate 
 them among the people, and then preach them a tremen- 
 dous sermon, and form a Temperance Society ? This work 
 must go on ; and to this end we must all keep an eye.' , 
 
 The next is an answer to a letter which he received from a 
 young gentleman of fine talents, a student at Harvard Uni- 
 versity, formerly one of his pupils at Wilbraham, and at the 
 present time a highly respectable and useful minister in the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. The nature of the letter will 
 appear from the answer. 
 
 " Wilbraham, August 29, 1830. 
 
 " My dear Brother, 
 
 " I rejoice greatly to learn that you have been enabled ' to 
 make an unreserved dedication of all you have and are to 
 God.' I cannot readily describe to you the feelings of my 
 heart on receiving this joyful intelligence. I always felt a 
 special interest in your welfare ; but I began to fear that the 
 world had so far ensnared your heart, and its prospects and 
 allurements had so far engrossed your affections, that there 
 was little hope of your breaking the fascinating spell, and of 
 * The word is illegible in the manuscript. 
 
 F F 
 
226 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 your deciding to live and die for God. But God be thank- 
 ed that you have at length deliberately and decidedly form- 
 ed the resolution, and that God has accepted the offering 
 of your heart. I have only one remaining anxiety left re- 
 specting you, and that is, that you may persevere unto the 
 end. I know the temptations you will have to meet. I 
 know the peculiar inducements to vain conversation, to neg- 
 lect of prayer, and to pride and ambition, which lie espe- 
 cially in the path of the scholar. But you have intimated 
 several things in your letter which give me much encourage- 
 ment in your case. You seem to be aware of your danger, 
 and therefore you will be on your watch. Besides, you 
 seem to attach yourself strongly and warmly to that church 
 whose doctrine and discipline, in my opinion, are peculiarly 
 calculated to help on the young Christian in his religious 
 course. In addition, you seem desirous to be useful, and to 
 devote your talents and acquirements to the service of the 
 Church and of the world. And, finally, you have placed be- 
 fore you, as an example, the great and good Wesley. All 
 these things strengthen my hopes concerning you. Maintain- 
 ing this course, and pursuing these objects, you shall finally 
 triumph, and gain the prize ; yea, will persuade others to pur- 
 sue the same happy course. But let me say to you, the only 
 way of safety and of usefulness is to keep at the foot of the 
 cross, humble and devout. Keep your soul alive in the spir- 
 it of devotion, and all the rest will be well. The moment 
 you feel your soul declining in spiritual life, go to your closet, 
 and wrestle with God till you prevail. Beware of your so- 
 cial feelings. These, even in religious company, and in re- 
 ligious exercises and conversation, may be indulged too far. 
 Here, perhaps oftener than anywhere else, the young Chris- 
 tian stumbles ; and those of your warm and social tempera- 
 ment are more exposed in this way than those of a different 
 temperament. 
 
 " My young friend, God has given you your portion of ex- 
 istence in a very interesting age of the world, and called you 
 to his favour and service at a very interesting time of life. 
 Never was there a time for such extensive and promising 
 moral enterprise as the present ; and seldom has any young 
 
LETTER TO HIS MOTHER. 
 
 227 
 
 man had better opportunities to prepare for this work than you 
 have. The world is before you ; the Church is before you ; 
 the favourable providences of God are with you. O ! may 
 you be a faithful soldier in this cause. The prospect before 
 you is a glorious one ! How many unfading laurels you may 
 gather in this noble enterprise, this holy warfare ! My life 
 must soon decline, my physical energies are already impair- 
 ed, and the intellectual, feeble at best, must soon wane ; 
 but thanks be to God that he is raising up young men for 
 the work, who, I trust, with an untiring zeal, will take the 
 field and fight the battles of the Lord." 
 
 To his Mother. 
 
 "Middletown, July 12, 1831. 
 
 "Dear Mother, 
 
 " I have written to Mary and to father since I have re- 
 ceived letters from them, and it has now been several months, 
 I believe, since I have heard anything directly from Lyn- 
 don. I hope you are all well ; but it would be pleasant to 
 me to hear from you a little oftener. It is said children do 
 not think of their parents, when absent, as often as parents 
 do of them. This may be true ; but I think of my parents 
 often enough to wish to hear from them more frequently 
 than I do. Indeed, I feel my affection for my family con- 
 nexions strong and unalienable ; and though called, as I sup- 
 pose, by the providence of God, to spend my life mostly at 
 a distance from them, still they have a warm place in my 
 affections and unworthy prayers. Seeing, as I do, that you 
 are beginning to feel the effects of age and infirmity, and that 
 you are not only feeble in body, but frequently depressed in 
 mind, I feel very solicitous to have the privilege of soothing 
 the anxieties, and elevating the depressions of age. I have 
 no doubt but that your pilgrimage will end in triumph ; for 
 doubtless the Lord, the righteous Judge, has in reserve for 
 you an incorruptible crown, an unfading- inheritance. But I 
 would not like to have your declining sun obscured by any 
 transient cloud of gloom. Your life of faith ought to be 
 followed by an old age of comfort and joy, as well as by an 
 eternity of triumph. I hope you have an increase of spirit- 
 
228 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 ual animation since I last saw you. How do your domestic 
 concerns prosper ? How is your health ? How is your faith 
 in the promises ? These and many more questions I would 
 ask if I were with you ; but I do not expect you will answer 
 them by letter with your trembling hand. You might, how- 
 ever, get Mary, in connexion with some communication from 
 herself, or father, when he writes, to say something on 
 these subjects." 
 
 The Methodists have always been remarkable for carrying 
 their labours into every place where they were needed, and 
 where Providence seemed to present an open door. Where 
 they have been received and treated with Christian courtesy 
 by the other denominations, things have usually gone on in 
 harmony ; but where they have met with repulses or improper 
 treatment, it has not unfrequently resulted in the confusion 
 of their opponents. In saying this, I do not mean to assert 
 that the Methodists, under such treatment, have never acted 
 injudiciously, but merely to state the fact that violent oppo- 
 sition to them has seldom been successful. Several illustra- 
 tions of this occurred in the life of Dr. Fisk. 
 
 In the town of Greenwich, about twelve miles from Wil- 
 braham, there had been Methodist preaching for some 
 time, which produced considerable religious interest. They 
 preached, of course, their own doctrine clearly and fully. 
 This excited uneasiness among the Calvinistic portion of the 
 population, who had a strong desire to keep the Methodists 
 out of the place, and attempted it in various ways. The 
 town was now divided into two parties, those who believed 
 in election and predestination, and those who held with the 
 Methodists. In this state of things, Dr. Fisk, who had 
 preached there several times, was requested by some re- 
 spectable gentlemen to preach on the contested points. In 
 pursuance of this request, he delivered his celebrated dis- 
 course on predestination and election. 
 
 In a few days he received a most pressing invitation, sign- 
 ed by Laban Marcy, Esq., and others, requesting a copy for 
 publication. This was the occasion of this sermon's going 
 to press. It is asserted that many in the very large audience 
 
VALEDICTORY AT WILBRAHAM. 
 
 229 
 
 who heard it preached were convinced by it of the errors of 
 the predestinarian theory, and others have been convinced 
 by reading it in print. 
 
 The time had now arrived when Dr. Fisk must take leave 
 of his friends and pupils at Wilbraham. It was a season of 
 deep interest and unfeigned sorrow, and strong were the ex- 
 pressions of affectionate regard for him, both in the academy 
 and among the citizens. 
 
 On this occasion he delivered to the school a valedictory 
 address, which was highly interesting, and creditable to all 
 parties. But it would swell our volume too much to intro- 
 duce more in this place than an extract, merely to exhibit 
 his views and feelings on dissolving this interesting con- 
 nexion. Towards the close of his address, the speaker pro- 
 ceeded : 
 
 " Five years of labour and anxiety have deeply enlisted 
 and closely connected every feeling of my heart in its (the 
 institution's) behalf. Such have been the variety and extent 
 of my labours, that, contrary to general experience with re- 
 spect to past time, the period seems, upon the review, like 
 half an age instead of five years. But in this retrospect I 
 have nothing to regret with respect to my connexion with 
 the school but my own imperfections and mistakes ; of these 
 I have had an abundant share, and have needed the forbear- 
 ance of the trustees and the charity of the public : aside from 
 these, the review is, on the whole, pleasant. 
 
 " My experience has been profitable. I have had an op- 
 portunity of taking many interesting lessons in studying the 
 unsophisticated character of childhood and youth ; I have 
 become more interested in the improvement of the rising 
 generation, and have gained a fixed purpose of devoting to 
 this work, in connexion with my ministerial duties, the little 
 I may have of talent or influence, and the remainder of a 
 feeble constitution and short life. 
 
 " I had rather have my name embalmed in the memory 
 and affections of the rising generation, than to gather mili- 
 tary honours in the field of battle, or civic wreaths in the 
 Senate House, or to have it emblazoned on the proudest 
 escutcheons of this world's glory. The triumphs of this day, 
 20 
 
230 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 however subordinate and limited the field of operations may 
 have been, surrounded as I am by a hundred and fifty 
 youths, who have gathered around our literary standard, and 
 with whom we associate on terms of reciprocal affection, are 
 an ample compensation for all past labours and solicitudes. 
 
 " I stand here this day, also, with the consciousness of 
 having aimed to do my duty, both to the people of the place 
 and to the school. I have coveted no man's gold or silver ; 
 I brought none here, I shall carry none away ; nay, but ye 
 bear me witness that I have been willing to spend and be 
 spent for you. If I can carry away a clear conscience to- 
 wards God and towards man, it is all I ask. 
 
 " If this were the last day I were to reside among you, I 
 should not take a formal leave of the school or the people, 
 for my connexion with them is not wholly broken off; both 
 my affection and relation to the school will often call me 
 here. And I still hope, under God, to contribute, as I am 
 able, something still — even for years, if life should be spared 
 i — to the aid of this institution." 
 
 The following extract will give a general view of the re- 
 sults of this school. We believe its subsequent history has 
 corresponded in a good degree with these early indications: 
 
 " At the opening of this school we had seven scholars, 
 since which time we have entered upon our books one thou- 
 sand one hundred and fifty different scholars. Of these 
 about thirty have entered the sacred ministry, a number are 
 pursuing the study of law or physic, from twenty to thirty 
 are now pursuing a college course, and from a hundred and 
 thirty to a hundred and fifty have gone out of our seminary 
 at different times as teachers. 
 
 " We have had the satisfaction of keeping many of our 
 scholars several years, and many, very many, have returned 
 to us from their different occupations a part of the season, 
 year after year, to pursue their education. Our number has 
 gradually increased up to the present term, and the advan- 
 tages of the school have also increased.' ' 
 
 In the month of December our subject took up his resi- 
 dence in Middletown, leaving his family, however, in Wil- 
 braham until the ensuing spring. Some passages from a 
 
REMOVAL TO MIDDLETOWN. 
 
 231 
 
 letter to his cousin at Brattleborough about this period will 
 be read with interest. 
 
 " Middletown, December 31, 1830. 
 
 " I am once more in college. I entered on the 18th in- 
 stant, after having been a graduate fifteen years and four 
 months. I have my room, bed, table, chair, &c, as former- 
 ly, and here I spend my days and nights, and enjoy a soli- 
 tude and leisure from perplexing care and toil, to which, for 
 these six years past, I have been an entire stranger. For 
 certain reasons, it was not thought advisable for my family 
 to remove here this winter ; they remain at Wilbraham, 
 therefore, until spring. In the mean time, my retirement is to 
 be short. I expect to start to-morrow for Wilbraham, to 
 make a short visit to my family preparatory to an excursion 
 to New-York on my old business — begging ; after which 
 I shall probably visit Boston, and perhaps New-Bedford and 
 Providence. For this winter campaign I enjoy a good de- 
 gree of health and strength, through the goodness of God ; 
 and as much courage as strength. With the favour of Di- 
 vine Providence, I expect we shall succeed ; at any rate, we 
 shall try. But I will not trouble you with a long story on 
 this subject. My friends, I suppose, are not as much inter- 
 ested in my hobbies as I am ; but I thought they might 
 wish to know where I am and what I am doing. * * 
 
 " The clock reminds me that in about four hours more the 
 year 1830 will close. It has gone with the years beyond 
 the flood ; gone, with all its records of character and con- 
 duct for and against us. There are a thousand common- 
 place sayings concerning the lapse of time which men are 
 accustomed to use at this annual period, but none of them 
 seem to have much effect upon us when made in the way of 
 general remark. But who can sit down and call himself to 
 a strict account, personally and conscientiously, without 
 trembling before God, and confessing in sackcloth and ashes ? 
 Alas ! how little have I done for God compared with what 
 he has done for me ! How little for the Church and the 
 world ! This seems to me to be a time for great exertion. 
 Who has girded himself for the battle as he ought ? If ever 
 
232 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 it was pre-eminently criminal for the people of God to sleep 
 upon their posts, I believe it is now. The signs of the times 
 portend that the shaking of the nations is at hand. What 
 commotions in Europe ! Who that sees the mustering of ar- 
 mies, the furbishing of arms, the note of busy preparation 
 for the work of death, but must groan in spirit, and pray for 
 an arrest of judgment, and a staying of the fury of the Lord ! 
 Before the next year closes, according to present appear- 
 ances, what multitudes of mothers will be left widows and 
 childless ! What rivers of blood will be shed ! What 
 groans will be uttered in the field of battle ! and, above all, 
 what multitudes of souls, unwashed and unforgiven, will be 
 hurried into eternity ! O, my God, my heart sickens at the 
 sight ! But faith looks through those scenes of blood, and 
 this murky, humid atmosphere, saturated with the bloody 
 vapour that rolls up from the heaps of the slain, and sees that 
 when a third part of the men are slain, and the nations are 
 convulsed and overthrown, 1 the God of heaven shall set up 
 a kingdom which shall endure forever.' May he hasten it 
 in his own time." 
 
 After the above-mentioned visit to Wilbraham, having re- 
 turned as far as Middletown on his way to New- York to 
 raise funds for the University, he wrote to Mrs. Fisk as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 "Middletown, January 14, 1831. 
 " When I parted with you, I thought I should not write 
 until I arrived at New- York ; but, for various reasons, I 
 have deferred my journey until to-day, and shall go on to 
 New-Haven to spend the Sabbath, and not reach New-York 
 till next week. I therefore drop you a line to let you know 
 of my safe arrival, comfortable health, &c. I had a time of 
 it getting over the river the morning I left Springfield, being 
 under the necessity of travelling two o^ three miles on foot, 
 and carrying my valise, and a part of the way on fences and 
 lopped trees, to get over the meadows which were overflowed. 
 However, I arrived safe, and attended the Quarterly Meet- 
 ing ; rode into Hartford, and preached on Sabbath evening, 
 
OPENING OF THE WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY. 
 
 233 
 
 and on Monday arrived here. I have been troubled some- 
 what with a cold. The weather is extremely cold ; the nights 
 long and rather tedious, as I feel little inclined to sleep ; and 
 the regions of frost seem all around me and almost touching 
 me, though I make out to keep tolerably comfortable. 
 
 " What success I shall have in New- York is very prob- 
 lematical ; but I must go and do what I can. My stay there 
 will depend on circumstances ; but I will advertise you from 
 time to time of my operations. I rather dread engaging in 
 these conflicts with selfishness and covetousness ; but, when 
 I get well engaged, I can drive on with pretty good courage. 
 I sometimes ask myself, Am I never to have done with these 
 new enterprises ? To be always pushing up hill is hard work, 
 but I suppose I must tug on. Perhaps, if I have any appro- 
 priate place in the army of the faithful, it is that of a pioneer. 
 This is not the easiest department, but still I like it, because 
 it has so much of chivalry in it, and keeps the mind so much 
 awake to its duties. What a dull world this would have 
 been if our Creator had left everything prepared and planned 
 to our hands ! I am glad he did not do it. It was enough 
 that he furnished materials, and tools, and a mind, and com- 
 manded us to invent, and plan, and fashion, and execute, ac- 
 cording to our several ability. O, there is an interest in this 
 course, which wakes up the soul, and calls out the energies 
 of the intellect, and makes man feel that he does not live in 
 vain. I wonder if heaven will not be a place of enterprise ! 
 Or shall we be so 1 satisfied when we wake up in his like- 
 ness,' and 1 see as we are seen,' and 1 know as we are known,' 
 that this prying, and toiling, and enterprising spirit will then 
 be at rest, or be excited and exercised only with joyous won- 
 der and ecstatic praise ? Probably the latter will be the true 
 state of the glorified saints, but never before. At any rate, 
 my dear R., may we so perform our part here as finally to 
 know by experience in what heaven consists." 
 
 On the 21st day of September, 1831, the halls of the Uni- 
 versity were thrown open for the reception of students, and 
 the occasion was celebrated by appropriate literary ceremo- 
 nies. After prayer by the president, a salutatory address in 
 20* " G g 
 
234 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 Latin, and a poem and oration in English, were delivered by 
 three of the students, after which Dr. Fisk delivered his in- 
 augural address. This able production was listened to with 
 profound attention by the friends of education, while it fully 
 sustained the reputation of its author. Many flattering tes- 
 timonies of approbation were received, some of them from 
 persons of distinction, expressed in the warmest terms. It 
 was immediately published in pamphlet form, and in the 
 leading periodicals of the Church, and was soon circulated 
 throughout the Union. The consequence was, the immediate 
 elevation of the institution over which the author presided 
 to a commanding position before the public ; and many sought 
 to place themselves under a mind so sound and vigorous, so 
 pure and elevated, so richly fraught with the moral and men- 
 tal endowments requisite to the responsible station which he 
 occupied. 
 
 From the remarks in this address on the study of ancient 
 languages, some have drawn the conclusion that the author 
 did not properly appreciate their value. But this is unwar- 
 ranted. It never was his intention to reduce the requisitions 
 for a diploma below those of the most respectable institutions 
 in the country. But there were many young men in the 
 Methodist community of superior talents, who, though they 
 had passed the period of life when the ancient languages 
 could be pursued to greatest advantage, might nevertheless 
 attain to very respectable proficiency in science and Eng- 
 lish literature. To encourage this class to pursue such stud- 
 ies as were adapted to their years, was his object in these 
 remarks, and hence, also, he admitted, in his system, the 
 "partial course," made up entirely of the English branches. 
 Such students, however, received, instead of a regular col- 
 legiate degree, a certificate, or modified diploma, testifying 
 their attainments in the several branches they had studied. 
 
 On the study of the ancient languages he never went so 
 far as Dr. Rush, who thought the time D pent in them almost 
 lost ; and for the views which he did entertain he was sus- 
 tained by very respectable modern authorities. The same 
 views were advanced at the New- York Literary Convention 
 elsewhere spoken of, especially by Professor Vethake and 
 
STUDIES AND CLASSIFICATION. 
 
 235 
 
 Mr. Gallaudet. In support of them, the example of the 
 Polytechnic School in Paris was adduced, together with an 
 institution of a high order at Berlin, in Prussia. 
 
 Dr. Fisk's views of the classification of students differed 
 from those which generally prevailed. In the Wesleyan 
 University, the students were arranged, not in classes, ac- 
 cording to the length of standing, but in sections, according 
 to their advancement. The diploma was to be received 
 whenever the candidate was prepared for it, without regard 
 to the time spent at college. His views upon this subject 
 were not adopted hastily, nor without suitable consultation. 
 Besides others, he received letters on the subject from Dr. 
 Olin, Professor (now President) Durbin, who were enrolled 
 in the Faculty of the University, though they subsequently 
 resigned ; from the able president of Brown University, and 
 from President Marsh, of the University of Vermont. In 
 the last-named institution, the plan was already in success- 
 ful operation, though it has been since abandoned. In the 
 Wesleyan University, the ancient names of the classes have 
 been restored, without materially deviating from the new 
 principle. The student enters any class for which he is pre- 
 pared, takes as many studies as he has ability successfully 
 to carry on, and receives his degree whenever he has ac- 
 complished the entire collegiate course, be it sooner or later. 
 But by far the greater number go regularly through, as in 
 other colleges ; a course always recommended when no se- 
 rious obstacles exist. 
 
 In the month of October in the preceding year (1830), at 
 a convention of literary and scientific gentlemen held in the 
 City of New- York, these views were very clearly and forci- 
 bly advanced. They were the subject of an able and inter- 
 esting communication from Professor Vethake, presented to 
 the Convention and read by the Reverend Dr. Wainwright. 
 Whether Dr. Fisk was aware of this fact, I cannot say. 
 Probably he was not, as he was not at the Convention, and 
 the Journal of the Convention was not printed until 1831, 
 most likely after the inaugural address was composed. Yet 
 the views were entirely his own, both in regard to the points 
 already named, and the distribution of college honours. 
 
236 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 These he thought decidedly objectionable, often unjust, and 
 therefore injurious, and always creating an unwholesome 
 moral influence by presenting improper motives to exertion. 
 Even the assignment of the parts at the public exhibitions 
 were distributed on the ground of general expediency rather 
 than on that of scholarship. If it be objected that this di- 
 minishes the stimulus of emulation, we might answer that it 
 still leaves ample room for as much as is virtuous and health- 
 ful, and more than this is pernicious. 
 
 It was Dr. Fisk's wish to have had one year allowed him 
 for the purpose of raising funds to place the institution on a 
 liberal and permanent foundation ; but this was overruled. 
 Nevertheless, he made great personal exertions to assist the 
 agents of the Conferences in this business. It is matter of 
 regret, that one whose talents should have been employed in 
 a sphere so much more elevated, was obliged to spend so 
 much time in a work that might have been accomplished by 
 a much lower amount of talent and learning ; but, in the in- 
 fancy of the cause, it was absolutely necessary to the suc- 
 cess of the undertaking, and Dr. Fisk never, from personal 
 considerations, declined labour in any department, however 
 humble, when he thought his efforts were really demanded. 
 He also desired to send to Europe for philosophical appara- 
 tus, and arrangements were made for this purpose ; but, for 
 some reason, the project was abandoned. 
 
 Dr. Fisk was now fully inducted into his new office, and 
 found himself involved in as much business as ever. His 
 hands, and head, and heart were completely occupied. He 
 was again the principal of a new institution, where the found- 
 ation had to be laid and the superstructure reared. In such 
 a situation, one with his peculiar disposition would necessa- 
 rily find ample occupation. All called upon him for advice 
 or other aid, and his supervision extended everywhere. He 
 draughted rules for the University, and framed the regula- 
 tions of the boarding department ; he superintended the 
 studies in the college, and the pecuniary arrangements of 
 the Prudential Committee ; he heard classes recite in Greek, 
 Latin, and Metaphysics, and listened to the petty details of 
 the students' personal concerns ; and while he aided the pro- 
 
MULTIFARIOUS OCCLTATIONS. 
 
 237 
 
 fessors in the higher regions of mind, he often came down to 
 the examination of the accounts of the institution in dollars 
 and cents. He was remarkably fitted for this multiplicity 
 of business by his peculiar tact in management, his readi- 
 ness and flexibility of mind, his knowledge of men, habits 
 of order, and facility in executing his plans. He was never 
 embarrassed, never out of temper. Always calm, even in 
 the midst of tumult, he never lost the control of his facul- 
 ties. An influential business man of liberal education, re- 
 sponsible civil office, and a member of the Prudential Com- 
 mittee, remarked to me that he had seldom been more sur- 
 prised than at the first meetings which he attended with Dr. 
 Fisk. He exhibited such knowledge of affairs, such fertility 
 of mind, skill, and address in transacting business, as very 
 soon convinced him that they had no ordinary man to deal 
 with. Skill in securing co-operation in his plans was one 
 of his peculiar qualifications. All had confidence in his judg- 
 ment, and in most things readily yielded to his views. His 
 own mind seemed the centre of light and influence, and its 
 radiations illumined all who were about him. ^ 
 An extract from a letter to his cousin at Brattleborough 
 is in keeping with his character. It is a pleasing specimen 
 of his mind, exhibiting alike that vein of pleasantry which 
 often marked his intercourse with his intimate friends, and 
 his devotion to the best interests of the world. 
 
 " Middletown, Sept. 29, 1831. 
 " In looking over my unanswered letters, I find I have been 
 in debt to you and your dear mother ever since last May. 
 As you know something of my situation, however, I doubt 
 not but you will excuse the delay, without requiring me to 
 plead specifically and in detail in my own defence. Suffice 
 it to say that, in changing my situation from Wilbraham to 
 this place, I took a second office before I had given up the 
 first, which threw upon me a double duty, divided by a dis- 
 tance of 45 miles, and each part increased by peculiar cir- 
 cumstances. I am now, however, somewhat' relieved. Rev. 
 Win, M. Bangs, son of Rev. Dr. Bangs of New- York, has 
 been appointed my successor at Wilbraham, and. our new 
 
238 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 institution has at length struggled her way into being. She 
 is a promising daughter nine days old, and, though so young, 
 already appears quite womanly, and, in the opinion of her 
 parents at least, quite interesting and hopeful. If we can 
 give her a good training and a proper direction, we are con- 
 fident she will in her turn become the Alma Mater of many 
 interesting sons, who will rise up and call her blessed, and 
 will go forth from her tuition to bless the world. Forty-five 
 promising youths have already joined her family and soli- 
 cited her patronage. We are hoping they will not be train- 
 ed to selfishness, to be emulous of earthly honour, and cov- 
 etous of earthly gain ; but will be such as the present cir- 
 cumstances of the world require, men of enlarged philan- 
 thropy, of godlike benevolence, who shall go forth in the 
 great work of conquering the world for Christ. If I thought 
 this would not be the result, I would now quit my station 
 and take the field, and sell my life as dearly as possible to the 
 common enemy. I can hardly restrain myself as it is. It 
 looks so blessed to be engaged directly in the work of saving 
 souls, especially at this season of general revival, that I hard- 
 ly know how to confine myself within these stone walls. O, 
 what an eventful day is this ! Is God gathering in his elect 
 preparatory to those judgments which will sweep away the 
 incorrigibly impenitent ? Is he ' yet once more shaking the 
 heavens and the earth,' that ' those things which are shaken' 
 may be removed, and that 1 those things which cannot be 
 shaken may remain V At any rate, my dear friend, ' let us, 
 receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, have grace 
 to serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear,' 
 and let us do what we can to get others on the same immo- 
 vable foundation." 
 
 The following note, accompanying the copy of an original 
 letter from Dr. Fisk, is from one of the doctor's early pupils. 
 The note shows the occasion on which the letter was writ- 
 ten, and at the same time exhibits the feelings of the writer 
 towards his instructer : 
 
SPIRITUAL COUNSEL. 
 
 239 
 
 "Dear Sir, 
 
 " I have just read a note from you, soliciting letters, &c, 
 written by the late Dr. Fisk. Though very unworthy, it has 
 been my happiness to enjoy the confidence and regard of 
 Dr. Fisk for the last ten years. Were he now on the shores 
 of mortality, I could not repay to him the kindness and in- 
 struction I have received. Under God, he was the means 
 of my awakening and conversion at Wilbraham, and every 
 important step I have taken since that period has been with 
 his counsel and advice. While in college I was accustom- 
 ed to lay before him my peculiar feelings, and the following 
 letter was received in answer to some of my inquiries : 
 
 Wesleyan University, October 28, 1831. 
 
 " 'Dear Brother, 
 
 11 i In reply to your inquiries, I have only time for a few 
 thoughts. Your state of feeling is, on the whole, encoura- 
 ging. I should judge the good Spirit was leading you on 
 lo know more perfectly the deep things of the kingdom ; 
 and, though this may be done in a way different from what 
 you might desire, it is no uncommon way, nor yet is it un- 
 profitable. The Lord's way is always the best, and we 
 may know that we are led in this way whenever we give 
 ourselves up to him, and contend for no will of our own. 
 What more can we do ? But we do not give ourselves up 
 to him when we are dissatisfied with our exercises. Indeed, 
 we should be dissatisfied when we live in known sin, or are 
 destitute of the witness of the Spirit ; but when we are living 
 for God, and have the witness that we are his, we may safely 
 leave the rest at his disposal, without fear or solicitude. In 
 this frame of mind, conviction for sanctification is not " a 
 sense of condemnation," nor is it, perhaps, merely " a sense 
 of the importance of the blessing." It is the longing of the 
 soul for the Divine fulness, because the taste it has only 
 sharpens up the soul for more of this divine enjoyment ; and 
 it is the loathing of sin, because the soul has a clear view of 
 the odious character of sin, contrasted with the beauty of 
 holiness and the purity of the Divine law. If at any time 
 
240 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 sin gets the victory over us, then we feel a conviction for 
 justification. But this is often accompanied with a convic- 
 tion for sanctification of a deep and painful character ; and 
 for this obvious reason, that the soul is now convinced, by 
 painful experience, of the power of indwelling sin, and of the 
 constant danger it is in of being overcome when this enemy 
 is lurking within. If you " know that there are corruptions 
 in your heart," watch them closely, or they will give you too 
 much feeling- ; and if you keep them under, God will take 
 care of the rest. Faith, it is true, will not take hold of Christ 
 beyond our conviction of our wants. This I hold to be an 
 axiom in Christian experience, but to the faithful soul God 
 will give this conviction as he sees it is needed. You need 
 never fear to enjoy " small blessings" as you go along : 
 many get discouraged by a mistake here. If Saul's army 
 had eaten freely as they fought, the conquest over their ene- 
 mies would have been greater. Our heavenly Father drops 
 honey around us that we may eat. He has never called us 
 to go to war faint with fasting. " Eat, drink, O beloved : 
 let thy soul delight itself in fatness." It is by this spiritual 
 nourishment that the soul grows up into Christ. If these 
 blessings " set your teeth on edge," it may be for the reason 
 that God cursed the children of Israel after answering their 
 prayer, while yet the meat was between their teeth, because 
 they were dissatisfied with his dealings with them. 
 
 " 1 "With respect to your question whether there are any 
 lawful gratifications of self, the terms of the question are so 
 indefinite I should not know how to answer it. If you mean 
 self as distinct from the will of God and the good of the 
 world, I should say no. But there are gratifications which 
 have an indirect bearing upon the social and divine duties, 
 and may therefore be lawful to a certain extent : such as 
 certain bodily exercises, and mental recreations, and tem- 
 perate indulgence of the appetite, all of which are not direct 
 acts of duty to God or man, and yet may be useful. But as 
 some of these, if indulged in too frequently, would damp 
 devotion, and thus we should lose more in soul than we 
 should gain in body or intellect, therefore it may be lawful 
 to indulge in them occasionally, and yet not habitually. The 
 
APTNESS AT ILLUSTRATION. ILLNESS. 
 
 241 
 
 same may be said, perhaps, of certain condescensions to the 
 habits of society, which may seem a needless tax upon time, 
 but which may be requisite " to gain the more." But in all 
 these things wisdom is profitable to direct, and he whose 
 spiritual " taste can discern perverse things," will soon learn 
 what food is injurious to his spiritual constitution.' " 
 
 Aptness at illustration was a peculiar quality of Dr. Fisk's 
 mind, which added not a little to the interest and utility both 
 of his preaching and conversation. An incident illustrating 
 this trait may be inserted here : Mrs. Fisk had been for some 
 time in a rather desponding, doubting state in regard to her 
 spiritual interests. Riding out one day with a very gay 
 horse, as they were about leaving some friends on whom 
 they had called, the ladies exclaimed, " Mrs. Fisk, are you 
 not afraid to ride with that horse ?" " O, not at all afraid," 
 was the reply; " why should I be afraid ? Do I not know 
 who holds the reins ?" " My dear wife," said the doctor, 
 on driving off, u do you know how beautifully you have ex- 
 plained faith ? Only put the same simple confidence in the 
 Saviour that you do in me, and you will know who holds 
 the reins there." It was a word in season. 
 
 To the Rev. Daniel Br ay ton. 
 
 " Middletown, December 14, 1831. 
 " I write from a sick room. Almost a fortnight I have 
 been confined with an attack upon my lungs, accompanied 
 by fever. I am now better, through mercy, so as to be able 
 to leave my room. Mrs. Fisk has also been quite ill, but she 
 is improving. My greatest fear is that I shall not profit by 
 my affliction as I should. I need the rod ; and the more 
 my worldly cares and responsibilities multiply upon me, the 
 more I find myself in danger of being absorbed therein. By 
 this means my mind becomes barren, and my spiritual fer- 
 vour is cooled. I am alarmed at such symptoms ; for, after 
 all, what is to be compared with communion with God ! I 
 know the leading motive of my heart is to fight sin and Sa- 
 tan, and, in connexion with the Church, to achieve some 
 decisive victory over * the god of this world,' and ' spiritual 
 21 Hh 
 
242 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 wickedness in high places but I am also aware that much 
 of unsanctified ambition may be enlisted even in this work. 
 I hope, however, to be directed aright, in motive as well as 
 in act. There is certainly much to be done. When I look 
 around upon the world, and see it lying in the wicked one, 
 I feel such an ardour burning within me as I cannot de- 
 scribe ; I want to be divided into a thousand parts, and have 
 a thousand fold efficiency given to each. My dear brother, 
 is not the Christian world asleep ? What unparalleled stu- 
 pidity ! Would to God we had some electrifying instru- 
 ment that would draw from heaven a portion of that celes- 
 tial fluid that fires the breasts of angels, and shocks simulta- 
 neously the whole heavenly host ! With such an instrument, 
 and a conductor that would extend over the Church, some 
 holy zeal might be communicated to the Church militant. 
 Where is another Franklin that will draw down this spirit- 
 ual fire ? Whose faith will pierce the clouds to draw it 
 down ? and who w r ill join hand in hand to share in the 
 shock ? O, my brother, let us rally a company, and go to 
 work as if we felt, what is indeed the fact, that a world is at 
 stake !" The remainder of the letter is torn off. 
 
 It was during the above-mentioned sickness that Dr. Fisk 
 wrote his stirring address to the Methodist Church on Tem- 
 perance. His mind, in the quiet and seclusion of a sick 
 chamber, had leisure to look abroad upon the condition of 
 the world, and he became so much affected, and so strongly 
 desirous of contributing towards its melioration, that, calling 
 for pencil and paper, with his hat or a book for a desk, 
 propped up on one side with pillows, for he could not even 
 sit erect, he commenced this powerful appeal. His physi- 
 cian, finding him thus employed, said to him, " I believe I 
 must deny you the use of your pencil." 
 
 " I will put it up," was the calm reply, " if you say so, 
 doctor; but I have an important subject — it is Temperance; 
 and I think it will help your medicine." 
 
 However, on the doctor's reiteration of his fears, he inter- 
 mitted his work for a day or two, but completed it during 
 his convalescence. 
 
ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. 
 
 243 
 
 This tract differs considerably from the author's usually 
 calm and subdued style. It is ardent and vigorous, amount- 
 ing almost to the vehement. It was intended only for the 
 Christian Advocate and Journal ; but so effective and appro- 
 priate was it considered, that it was stereotyped, and pub- 
 lished as a tract by the Book Concern, and has received a 
 most extensive circulation. 
 
 It was with difficulty Dr. Fisk could reconcile himself to 
 inactivity when he saw so much to be done around him. 
 During his convalescence, he one day remarked to Dr. Wood- 
 ward,* " I have just been saying to Mrs. Fisk that she en- 
 joys my sickness, because she can keep me here. But I shall 
 get you, doctor, to intercede for me." 
 
 "I believe, " was the reply, "I shall take Mrs. Fisk's part; 
 for I should hardly have known you but for this sickness. 
 And how much I should have lost ! though perhaps some 
 of my patients may complain of my long visits here. But I 
 do fear that you are too anxious to be at your work ; and I 
 shall commission Mrs. Fisk to keep you here as long as she 
 can." 
 
 During this year, a paragraph published by Dr. Fisk in the 
 Christian Advocate and Journal, designed to excite interest 
 in behalf of the Library of the Wesleyan University, attract- 
 ed, through the Rev. Jefferson Lewis, then stationed on 
 Camden Circuit, the attention of Thomas Chapman, Esq., of 
 Woodbury, New-Jersey. This gentleman had collected a 
 library valued at about seven thousand dollars. He ulti- 
 mately concluded to transfer to the Wesleyan University 
 about two thousand volumes of standard works, many of 
 them scarce and valuable, between two and three hundred 
 of which were in folio or quarto, on terms so favourable that 
 there was no hesitation about complying with them. They 
 now form the Chapman Library of the Wesleyan University. 
 It is deposited in alcoves, with space reserved for additions, 
 
 * Dr. Henry Woodward, a gentleman of great worth, as well morally and in- 
 tellectually as professionally. Dr. Fisk considered his skill the means of saving 
 his life. He ever took pleasure in cultivating the friendship now formed between 
 them. Dr. W. died a few years subsequently ; and Dr. Fisk in his last illness 
 having made an allusion to him, added, " O, I shall soon see him !" 
 
244 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 as the liberal benefactor expressly desired the privilege of 
 making subsequent additions to it. 
 
 No man could form any conception of Dr. Fisk's labours 
 and activity of mind without a minute account of every day's 
 occupations. And yet the greater part of these, however 
 important and useful, were such as could not with propriety 
 be inserted in a memoir. Certainly no man ever lived less 
 for himself. The frequent and often protracted journeys 
 that he took, invariably connected with some public end ; his 
 sermons at home and abroad ; public addresses on a great 
 variety of topics, together with his writings and the uninter- 
 mitted care of his presidency, so completely engrossed his 
 time, that Mrs. Fisk said she had less of his society after 
 he became connected with the University than while he was 
 presiding elder of a district. Even his correspondence was 
 itself no little burden. His easy, accessible manners brought 
 him into contact with so many persons who thought they had 
 claims upon him, as laid no small tax upon his time, and 
 strength, and patience too, had this been an exhaustible ele- 
 ment. A great part of his letters were, indeed, on the busi- 
 ness of the school or the University ; but he had a goodly 
 number besides these, and some of them curious enough : 
 for instance, one from some young persons, requesting him 
 to establish preaching in a factory ; another from some phi- 
 losophers in Boston, containing nice mathematical calcula- 
 tions to prove that they had solved that insolvable problem, 
 the quadrature of the circle, and proposing that he should 
 go to Europe to astonish her savans with the discovery : one 
 was from a stranger to him, complimenting him on his in- 
 augural address, and trying to prove that they two were the 
 only men in the country who knew anything; and, after in- 
 flicting a letter upon him of appalling length, requesting him 
 to revise it and send it to press ! Many of his letters are 
 from young men asking advice upon their conduct in life, 
 and some even in relation to their matrimonial affairs. This 
 is only a slight specimen, but it must suffice. 
 
PREDESTINATION AND ELECTION. 
 
 245 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Predestination and Election. — General Conference of 1832. — Incident. — Literary 
 Convention. — Study of the Bible in Colleges. — Letter from Rev. Richard Wat- 
 son. — Honours Conferred. — Correspondence. — Ecclesiastical Union. — Address 
 on Temperance. 
 
 Dr. Fisk's sermon on Predestination had now gained ex- 
 tensive notoriety. Numerous testimonies to its value reach- 
 ed him from different parts of the country, while the de- 
 mand for it had already produced the third edition, and it 
 was, moreover, about to be stereotyped, and issued from the 
 Book Room as a tract. But he had to pay the penalty of 
 pleasing the believers in his doctrine by displeasing their op- 
 ponents. Had this been confined to strangers, the trial 
 would have been less painful ; but he had many very dear 
 friends among the Predestinarian school, and a severe letter 
 from one of these drew from him, in reply, an exposition of 
 his views and motives as follows : 
 
 " Middletown, March 19, 1832. 
 
 " My dear , 
 
 " The perusal of your letter gave me much pain ; as much, 
 probably, as my sermon gave you. It afflicted me to think 
 
 I had grieved my kind , and, probably, the other friends 
 
 of the family; and it afflicted me more especially to be sus- 
 pected of injuring the cause of God ; of making Christians 
 mourn, and infidels rejoice ; of wielding carnal weapons, &c, 
 I have reviewed my sermon, and re-examined my motives ; 
 but either from blindness, or from a consciousness of my in- 
 tegrity, I am not convinced of the truth of the charges, nor 
 can I with my present light plead guilty. As you do not 
 specify the points in which I have erred, I cannot, of course, 
 know where the offence is : it is not, you say, that I differ 
 from you, but it is in the manner of doing it. In my argu- 
 ments I have endeavoured to be candid ; I thought I was. 
 It is true, I have tried to make it appear from the Calvinistio 
 21* 
 
246 
 
 LIFE OF W1LLBUR FISK. 
 
 premises that certain logical consequences would of neces- 
 sity follow, but I have not said the Calvinists either ac- 
 knowledged or believed these consequences ; and here is 
 the controversy between us : we infer what they deny. Look, 
 
 my dear , again, and see whether I do not charge these 
 
 consequences upon the doctrine, and not upon the persons 
 who hold it ; and if I argue upon this subject at all, I must 
 present these consequences, and that, too, in a strong light, 
 if I am able to do so. As it respects Universalists finding 
 4 support for their doctrine' from the sermon, this surprises 
 
 me. You know, dear , and we all know, that Univer- 
 
 salism is founded on Predestination : take that away, and 
 Universalism is dead, of course. If Predestinarians insist 
 upon their doctrine, and thereby strengthen the Universalist 
 foundation, this is not my fault ; and if real Christians mourn 
 because they cannot hold up Predestination without seeming, 
 according to the showing of the sermon, to encourage Uni- 
 versalism, neither is this my fault. The joy of the one and 
 the sorrow of the other do not prove the sermon wrong, but 
 only show the connexion between the two doctrines, for 
 which the sermon is not accountable, since it is an undeniable 
 fact that I could not preach successfully against Universalism 
 without opposing Predestination. At least these are my 
 views ; and, believing thus, shall I refrain to probe the 
 error to the bottom because of the tender feelings of some, 
 whose systems may be affected thereby ? I can do anything 
 to save the feelings and affections of my friends except to 
 keep back what I conceive to be God's truth. 
 
 "But the part of my sermon which has given most offence 
 is that in which a changing of the argument, and an appa- 
 rent want of openness and sincerity, are attributed to the Cal- 
 vinists: this you probably had in view in your letter. "When 
 a late writer in the Connecticut Observer attacked me on 
 that point, I replied to him that if he would give his name, 
 and come out openly, and deny any or all of that paragraph, 
 I pledged myself to prove it by facts, or make my public 
 acknowledgment. Neither he nor any other person has 
 presumed to do it. I believe them all to be truths, and truths, 
 too, very capable of proof. I may have made the charge 
 
GENERAL CONFERENCE FOR 1832. 
 
 247 
 
 too general ; but it is a very common policy. It should be 
 corrected ; it is not done in a corner ; it is public ; and there 
 is no other way but to give it public reproof. I trust it was 
 in the spirit of love that I did it. And do I love my brother 
 the less because I will not suffer sin upon him ? 
 
 " With respect to the circumstances that called forth the 
 sermon, I could say many things ; but no circumstances 
 would justify me in doing wrong, or in wielding unscriptural 
 weapons. The sermon was preached, it is true, where many 
 things were done as they ought not to be done ; but on this 
 point I will add nothing. I want to say much more, but my 
 sheet is full. "What I may have lost in your confidence, I 
 hope I may gain in your prayers. Mine and R.'s love to 
 
 yourself, and to , and , and all other friends — by 
 
 no means forgetting L . 
 
 " With undiminished confidence and affection, your un- 
 worthy W. Fisk." 
 
 This letter brought a reply, couched in terms of great af- 
 fection and respect, and full of acknowledgments and apolo- 
 gies for the injustice which had been done him. The affair 
 passed off ultimately without any disturbance of the affec- 
 tion which had existed between the parties, and probably, on 
 both sides, with an increased conviction that Christians of 
 opposite opinions can " agree to differ." 
 
 Dr. Fisk was a member of the General Conference which 
 met this year (1832) in Philadelphia. While there, he was, 
 as usual, full of various and important business. Being a 
 member of the committee on education, of which the la- 
 mented Dr. Emory, at the same Conference elected bishop, 
 was chairman, he wrote the report on that branch of the 
 work. 
 
 He had also been appointed at the New-England Confer- 
 ence of 1831, together with the Rev. Messrs. Scott and Hyde, 
 to " draught a respectful petition to the next General Con- 
 ference (i. e., 1832) to be holden in Philadelphia, setting 
 forth the difficulties to which the cause of God and Metho- 
 dism is subjected in this part of the work, in consequence of 
 the provisions of Discipline restraining our people from build- 
 
248 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 ing churches with pews, and praying that the Discipline may 
 be so altered as to take off those restrictions, and leave our 
 people at liberty to consult circumstances and the necessi- 
 ties of the community in respect to the manner of building 
 churches in different parts of the work." The writing of 
 this document devolved upon our subject, and so did its 
 presentation to the body to which it was addressed. This 
 was a very delicate and exciting topic ; the New-England 
 Conferences, from the peculiar state of the community, being 
 as much in favour of pews as the Southern and Western Con- 
 ferences are against them. The former, indeed, had several 
 years since been obliged to adopt the practice of pewing 
 their churches. Much warm debate was consequently anti- 
 cipated. Hence, as, no doubt, many will remember, when 
 the subject was once called up, the apostolic M'Kendree, 
 then in the chair, raised his feeble hands, and in his gentle 
 manner, with a tremulous voice, observed, " Now, breth- 
 ren, the Pew Question is coming up : watch and pray, breth- 
 ren." The admonition was not lost upon the Confer- 
 ence. Though there was much debate, there was, gener- 
 ally speaking, a good spirit prevailing. In one or two in- 
 stances only was this departed from ; and as Dr. Fisk was 
 necessarily prominent in the business, he came in for his full 
 share of animadversion : yet he never lost his self-com- 
 mand. Once only we recollect, when a younger member 
 of the body dealt out some rather irritating personalities, we 
 saw a sudden movement of the head, as though about to re- 
 ply ; but, instantly checking himself, he resumed his habitu- 
 ally dignified and placid manner. His calm dignity and the 
 meekness of his demeanour commanded the admiration of 
 all, while the arguments he advanced, as appears from his 
 subsequent correspondence, convinced some of the justice of 
 his cause, who, at the opening of the debate, were entirely 
 prejudiced against it. 
 
 These circumstances led to one of his many beautiful and 
 edifying observations. A lady who was present and saw 
 the whole scene, on his return from the Conference express- 
 ed her surprise at his self-control, and inquired, 
 
 " Have you no feeling, doctor ?" 
 
SELF-CONTROL. GENTLENESS OF MANNER. 249 
 
 " Yes, madam," was the reply ; " I have too much." 
 
 " Then, sir, how did you command yourself? Will you 
 please to give me a lesson ?" 
 
 " I can only point you," was his answer, " I can only 
 point you to my Master, and regret that I follow him at so 
 great a distance." 
 
 Could any response have indicated greater dignity, mod- 
 esty, and Christian simplicity ? 
 
 It was at this period that the writer of this memoir may 
 be said to have formed his first real acquaintance with him 
 from personal observation ; and well he remembers how for- 
 cibly he was struck with the lovely features of his character. 
 Energetic, yet gentle ; kind, but faithful ; gifted, but unas- 
 suming ; and popular, yet humble and retiring, no wonder 
 that he was admired by all who knew him. A slight spe- 
 cimen of his spirit and manners will exemplify some of these 
 virtues. We remember that when a delegate, who was 
 asked when he reached the city, replied, " On Sabbath morn- 
 ing," how gently and delicately Dr. Fisk turned to him and 
 remarked, " Why, you broke the good day, brother," draw- 
 ing out the explanation that the steamboat had been acci- 
 dentally delayed. And upon another occasion, when a lady, 
 staying at the same house, lamented to him her loss, through 
 feeble health, of the opportunity of hearing the preaching, 
 he remarked, with his peculiar simplicity, " Then I think I 
 must give you a sermon all to yourself, in the parlour, to 
 help to make up your loss." Whether his many engage- 
 ments permitted it, I did not ascertain. Need I apologize 
 for introducing such trivial incidents ? I trust not. Those 
 who like to mark the nicer shades of character will appre- 
 ciate their value. 
 
 While he was thus, by his gentler virtues, the favourite 
 of the social circle, he possessed those more commanding 
 qualities that gain public confidence and respect. Nor was 
 his influence confined to a small portion of society ; it per- 
 vaded the mass. A rather striking proof of this occurred 
 during his journey to the General Conference. When on 
 board a crowded steamboat, the clerk announced that Dr. 
 Fisk would perform religious service before retiring for the 
 
 I i 
 
250 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 night, and that those who did not choose to participate 
 might withdraw to the forward cabin ; but one only retired ; 
 and all the rest, with but few exceptions, after joining in 
 a song of praise, bowed together before the throne of grace, 
 while commended by Dr. Fisk to the protection of Heaven. 
 But such instances were by no means rare. He frequently 
 had evening prayers when travelling by steamboat. This 
 reminds one of the incident between the late Dr. Livingston 
 and the Count Survilliers, mentioned in Dr. Gunn's life of 
 the former.* 
 
 Dr. Fisk about this time was engaged in an interesting 
 discussion on the introduction of the Bible as a text-book, 
 or classic, into our institutions of learning. This subject had 
 been proposed at the Literary Convention in New- York in 
 1830, and the Reverend W. C. Woodbridge, Reverend E. 
 Robinson, and Reverend T. H. Gallaudet were appointed a 
 committee to consider the subject, and report upon it at the 
 next Convention. These gentlemen addressed a circular to 
 several distinguished persons, of whom Dr. Fisk was one, 
 requesting their views. To this paper he returned an an- 
 swer arguing in favour of its introduction. 
 
 The following paper shows the action of the Convention 
 at its next meeting in 1831 : 
 
 "New- York, November 5, 1831. 
 
 " Sir, 
 
 "At a recent meeting of the Literary Convention in this 
 city, a report was presented by a committee appointed by the 
 
 * It is thus related : " The doctor and the ex-king of * * * * * happened once 
 to be fellow-passengers, with many others, on board one of the North River 
 steamboats. As the doctor was early in the morning walking the deck, and 
 gazing at the refulgence of the rising sun, which appeared to him unusually at- 
 tractive, he passed near the distinguished stranger, and stopping for a moment, 
 accosted him thus : ' How glorious, sir, is that object !' pointing gracefully with 
 his hand to the sun. The stranger assenting, he immediately added, 'And how 
 much more glorious, sir, must be its Maker !' A gentleman who overheard this 
 short incidental conversation, being acquainted with both personages, now in- 
 troduced them to each other, and a few more remarks were interchanged. 
 Shortly after, the doctor again turned to the ex-king, and with that air of polish- 
 ed complaisance for which he was so remarkable, invited him first, and then the 
 rest of the company, to attend a morning prayer. It is scarcely necessary to 
 add that the invitation was promptly complied with." — Life of Dr. John H. Liv- 
 ingston, p. 499. 
 
THE STUDY OF THE BIBLE IN COLLEGES. 
 
 251 
 
 Convention of 1830, on 1 the propriety of studying- the Bible 
 as a classic in the institutions of a Christian country.'' 
 
 " This topic was considered as involving the inquiry wheth- 
 er such a study of the Bible as would make our youth famil- 
 iar with its contents, and, as far as possible, with its litera- 
 ture and antiquities, ought not to form a part of the studies 
 of seminaries of learning, in connexion with, or in addition 
 to, such a course of scientific, classical, and religious instruc- 
 tion as may be deemed appropriate to the peculiar character 
 of each institution. 
 
 " After an extensive correspondence with gentlemen of va- 
 rious religious opinions, the committee recommended in 
 their report that the Bible should receive the respect and at- 
 tention due to a classic in our literary institutions, on the 
 ground that the importance of its subjects; its genuineness, 
 authenticity, and reputation as a literary work ; its unrivalled 
 beauty and sublimity ; its permanent and universal value ; 
 its happy influence on the intellectual and moral character ; 
 its value to a free people as the firmest basis of free institu- 
 tions, the only incontrovertible ' bill of rights,' and its prac- 
 tical usefulness in life, give it higher claims to regard (aside 
 from all questions of inspiration) than are possessed by any 
 classic of ancient or of modern times ; they believed that it 
 could not be thoroughly taught if left to parents or Sunday- 
 schools ; and they had heard of several instances which 
 proved that this study could be pursued in our seminaries of 
 learning without exciting sectarian jealousy. 
 
 " After hearing the report, a special committee, to whom it 
 was referred, recommended the following resolutions, which 
 were adopted by the Convention : 
 
 "'Resolved, that in the opinion of the Convention, the Bi- 
 ble has the strongest claims, founded on its literary character, 
 to be received as a classic ; and that the study of its contents 
 ought to form a part of common education. 
 
 " 1 Resolved, that the literature and antiquities of the Bible 
 ought to constitute a part of every course of liberal education. 
 
 " 1 Resolved, that a committee be appointed to prepare and 
 report a plan of Biblical instruction, especially in reference 
 to the academical and collegiate course, and that Dr. Milnor, 
 
252 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 Dr. Maclay, W. C. Woodbridge, Professor Vethake, and 
 Professor Woolsey, constitute the committee.' 
 
 " In compliance with the last resolution, and by direction 
 of the Convention, the committee solicit your aid and coun- 
 sels on the responsible task assigned them. The plans of 
 Biblical instruction thus far known to the committee include 
 one or more of the following methods : 
 
 " 1. The study of the contents of the Bible in the English 
 translation, commencing with the historical portions, and sup- 
 plying the interval between the Old and New Testaments 
 from secular history, and terminating with the poetical and 
 prophetical books. 
 
 " 2. The study of the Greek Testament in addition to this, 
 with the same view, after the student is familiar with the 
 Greek language. 
 
 "3. A course of instruction in the literature and antiqui- 
 ties of the Bible, following or connected with these studies, 
 comprising an account of the origin, history, transmission, 
 and translation of its respective books ; of its chronology, 
 style, and imagery ; and of the Oriental manners and customs 
 to which it alludes. 
 
 M 4. The study of the Hebrew Scriptures. 
 
 "5. The general principles of interpretation, which some 
 deem important, not only in reference to Biblical, but also to 
 classical studies. 
 
 " The committee respectfully request your opinion, so soon 
 as your convenience may admit, as to the extent to which 
 these, or any other methods of Biblical instruction should be 
 adopted in our literary institutions, at what periods they 
 should commence, and in what manner they should be con- 
 ducted. 
 
 " They would also be gratified by an account of any 
 course of this kind which may have been heretofore pursued 
 in your institution or within your knowledge, of the difficul- 
 ties which may have been encountered, and of the results 
 which have appeared, if not already communicated to the 
 former committee. 
 
 " The information which may be obtained is designed to 
 be presented to the Literary Convention in October next. 
 
STUDY OF THE BIBLE IN COLLEGES. 
 
 253 
 
 " The answer may be forwarded to the chairman of the 
 committee, or to any one of its members, as may be most 
 convenient. On behalf of the committee." 
 
 "Rev. Dr. Fisk, President of the Wesley an University. 
 
 " Reverend and dear Sir, 
 
 " You will doubtless remember the appointment of the com- 
 mittee who have prepared the above circular, and who would 
 have transmitted it to the colleges long since had not some 
 delay taken place in New- York on the part of the publish- 
 ing committee, in whose hands the business of lithographing 
 this circular was left. When that committee, first mention- 
 ed, met, consisting of Dr. Milnor, Dr. Maclay, Mr. Wood- 
 bridge, and myself, it was unanimously resolved to request 
 you, sir, to act as a member of the committee ; and I was 
 ordered to transmit that request as soon as I should have re- 
 ceived the circulars. Now it is only within a short time that 
 I have received them, and I therefore take this opportunity 
 of sending to you a number, with the hope that you will hon- 
 our the committee by participating in its labours. What is 
 to be done is briefly this : certain colleges and certain indi- 
 viduals of standing were assigned to each committee-man, 
 to whom circulars were to be sent, with such remarks sub- 
 joined as might seem best. You, sir, were requested to take 
 upon you the Methodist colleges and higher public semina- 
 ries, and the principal individuals of that denomination, as 
 the committee thought that you could obtain from them a 
 more free and informal expression of views than one less ac- 
 quainted with them. From the interest which you took in 
 the proceedings of the Convention, and in this measure espe- 
 cially, the committee were led to believe that you would not 
 consider the transmission of a few such circulars a burden. 
 " I am, sir, respectfully yours, 
 
 " Theodore D. WooLSEV.' , 
 
 In consequence of this application, Dr. Fisk addressed 
 letters to several distinguished ministers of our own denom- 
 ination, from whom he received answers more or less ex- 
 tended. From Professor Caldwell, of Dickinson College, 
 22 
 
254 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 at that time principal of Maine Wesleyan Seminary, he re- 
 ceived a valuable letter approving of the measure, but ad- 
 vocating the method of instruction by lectures rather than 
 recitations, as more accordant with the nature of the subject, 
 and less liable to degrade the Holy Scriptures to the level 
 of a mere human production. The idea is well worth atten- 
 tion. From the Rev. Richard Watson he received a com- 
 munication which will be read with interest by all the ad- 
 mirers of that truly great and good man. Dr. Fisk, it will 
 be perceived, had also suggested to him the preparation of a 
 work on Christian Ethics. 
 
 "London, October 19, 1832. 
 
 ■ My dear Sir, 
 
 " I thank you for your obliging communications, both of 
 which have interested me greatly ; and especially as thev 
 indicate the amazing advantages to be derived to a country 
 when those who are concerned most deeply and profession- 
 ally with the education of its youth are aware of the su- 
 preme importance of revealed truth, and feel how necessary 
 it is to have that ' glory' upon all learning 1 as a defence.' 
 This is infinitely more important as the result of conviction 
 and experience, than as enforced and bound by articles of 
 faith, subscriptions, and the appropriation of college honours 
 and ecclesiastical prospects to a cold and nominal orthodoxy. 
 
 " I feel with you, that a work on Morals and their philos- 
 ophy, constructed on sound principles, and pursued under 
 the guidance of Holy Writ, would be a most valuable acqui- 
 sition to general literature as well as to a collegiate course. 
 For myself, however, I do not feel adequate to the task, 
 and think I could not, were I disengaged, satisfy myself to 
 go out to the world at large ; although, were I a lecturer on 
 Moral Philosophy, I should certainly form my course on this 
 plan, with the full conviction that I should find more true 
 philosophy in it, as well as more influential authority. This, 
 however, is decisive as to myself, were I to be encouraged 
 to the work by your too flattering and kind estimate of my 
 fitness, that I am engaged in a large and important underta- 
 king, which occupies all my leisure from regular duties. 
 
LETTER FROM REV. R. WATSON. 
 
 255 
 
 Let me therefore, in turn, commend the enterprise to you, 
 who, from all I have heard, and from the publications of 
 yours I have seen, have both principles, and a reach of 
 thought, and a philosophic habit highly adapted to it. I 
 speak from conviction, in the same Christian sincerity in 
 which you have addressed me ; and I really think you could 
 not bestow a better gift on the highly-important institution 
 over which you preside. 
 
 " On the other plan. That the literature of the Scriptures 
 ought to be, in various degrees, according to the future pro- 
 fession of the students, taught in all Christian colleges, seems 
 a proposition so obviously grounded upon fitness, and pro- 
 priety, and duty, that the wonder is, that, in a course of ed- 
 ucation, the Bible has been, both by us, and you too, I pre- 
 sume, forgotten in colleges, or very slightly elucidated. The 
 sketch contained in the circular appears judicious and com- 
 prehensive ; but I hesitate as to the way the matter is put. 
 The Bible ought to be studied as an ancient classic — this 
 is the ground. 
 
 " Now, though I grant that if it had fared as well among 
 critics as a Greek or Roman classic, we should not have had 
 so much licentiousness of criticism, such unscholar-like doings 
 with its text and its interpretation ; yet, on the other hand, 
 a formal investment of the Scriptures with this human garb 
 may court liberties which ought not to be tolerated. In some 
 respects, it is true that the literature of the Bible assimilates 
 with the ancient compositions of human genius ; but my no- 
 tion is, that it is, in the main, sui generis throughout in its 
 literature as well as theology. Let this be guarded, and a 
 Biblical course, even when not pursued into the criticalities 
 of the original tongues (those being reserved for ministers), 
 would be a high improvement in your academical courses. 
 Here is the Book of God, full of various learning : come, let 
 us study it as such, and in its style, history, poetry, prophe- 
 cy, doctrine, morals, &c, in all hear what God the Lord 
 will speak, and how he speaks. This is the true ground to 
 be kept in the question, as I conceive. 
 " I am, my dear sir, 
 
 "Your affectionate friend and brother, 
 
 "R, Watson." 
 
256 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 About this time Dr. Fisk received a letter from Dr. Ruter, 
 president of Augusta College, asking his views on the intro- 
 duction of the Bible as a study into institutions of learning, 
 and wrote in return an extended reply ; but, as this will 
 probably be given to the world in another form, we need 
 say no more of it here. 
 
 Unaffected modesty and humility were among the most 
 shining of our subject's virtues. He never seemed conscious 
 of his own position in the public eye. He neither affected 
 to undervalue the marks of respect which he received, nor 
 did he ever betray the least elation on their account. Many 
 of them his friends would hardly have known but by their 
 appearance in the public papers : yet they were conferred 
 perpetually. We say nothing now of the great demand in 
 which his services were held in his own denomination, nor 
 of the letters of thanks he received for sermons, lectures, 
 addresses, and the like, always couched in terms of highest 
 eulogy, and generally containing assurances of the happiest 
 results. Besides these, he received such tokens of esteem 
 as are usually conferred on the most distinguished in the 
 land. This year alone he received several. He w r as ap- 
 pointed by General Cass, secretary of Avar, one of the visit- 
 ers of the United States Military Academy at West Point: 
 he was elected to the presidency of the richly endowed Col- 
 lege of Louisiana, and received high inducements to accept 
 the place, besides the offer of three thousand dollars per 
 annum ; and in 1835 he was elected a member of the Rhode 
 Island Alpha of the Phi-Beta-Kappa Society. But in the 
 midst of all he maintained the same uniform simplicity, hum- 
 ble piety, and steady devotion that had marked his charac- 
 ter when labouring in the humble sphere of an itinerant min- 
 ister among the mountains of his native state. When he 
 read or heard any favourable notice of himself in the public 
 prints, he would generally remark, and often with a sigh, 
 "They do not know me as I know myself." 
 
 How jealous he was of his own motives will be seen from 
 a passage in a letter to Mrs. Fisk, written in Boston in the 
 winter of 1832, while on one of his begging excursions. 
 After speaking of his suffering from the intense cold of the 
 season, he proceeds : " I seem never to arrive at that period 
 
LETTER TO HIS MOTHER. 
 
 257 
 
 when I can favour myself. One enterprise after another 
 comes upon me, and drives me to the work. And perhaps 
 this is right ; I might otherwise be indolent ; but as it is, I 
 find no time for idleness. And yet I often ask myself 
 whether I am indeed labouring for God. You know there 
 is a great share of ambition in my constitution, and this may 
 be one of the inciting motives to action. When I consider 
 in how many respects I am not what I should be, I am led 
 to distrust my own motives in this ever-toiling life in which 
 I am engaged. O, if I should fail of my reward at last by 
 reason of a selfish heart and an unsanctified mind, what a 
 disappointment ! what a loss ! My dear wife, pray for me ; 
 not so much for my bodily health, as that I may glorify God 
 in my body and spirit, which are his." 
 
 We shall now lay before our readers passages from some 
 interesting letters written about this period. 
 
 To the Reverend O. C. Baker. 
 
 "Iam sorry to hear of your affliction in the loss of your 
 mother, and I sympathize also with your surviving parent. 
 But you both know where to go for comfort. O, who can 
 lament that the one he loves has gone to heaven ! Should 
 we not rejoice, rather than grieve, that the object of our af- 
 fections has anticipated us, and gained the crown first ? Let 
 them go, and we will follow. Heaven is a place good 
 enough for your dear mother, but your heavenly Father saw 
 that this earth was not." 
 
 On the occurrence of a severe accident to his aged moth- 
 er, he wrote, January 3d : 
 
 * * * " I learn that you have had an additional visitation 
 of Providence by a fall, dislocation, and a consequent lame- 
 ness. Truly, my dear mother, you are afflicted in your de- 
 clining years. I sincerely and deeply sympathize with you, 
 and gladly would I afford you any succour and comfort in 
 these visitations ; but I am deprived of the privilege of af- 
 fording you any personal aid or comfort by the distance 
 which separates us. Daily, however, do I remember you in 
 my feeble prayers, together with all others in the family. I 
 22* ' J Kk 
 
258 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 desire most ardently that the remainder of your days may be 
 spent in peace and quiet. * * # It is, in truth, one of the 
 strongest desires of my heart to have everything done that 
 can be done to render the few remaining days of my parents 
 as pleasant as possible. For this I would be willing to suffer 
 and labour." * # * 
 
 " We have just been called to bury one of our professors, 
 Reverend John JVI. Smith.* He died very suddenly of in- 
 flammation of the lungs, but has undoubtedly gone to rest. 
 His soul was happy in God, and he rejoiced with unspeak- 
 able joy. I feel it to be a loud call to me to be also ready." 
 
 To a Lady on Infant Baptism. 
 
 " Middletown, February 27, 1833. 
 
 " My dear Sister, 
 
 11 1 am sorry to learn that your mind has been brought 
 into trials from any cause, and especially from the one men- 
 tioned in your letter. I should be glad were it in my pow- 
 er to say something that would afford you any relief, but I 
 can hardly expect it for two reasons : 1. Because, in the 
 short compass of a sheet, I could not even begin to enter 
 into the arguments on this subject. 2. Because, from the 
 experience I have had, I believe there is hardly any point to 
 which the minds of persons who once get an idea that they 
 must be rebaptized, adhere so pertinaciously as to this, I 
 have not the least doubt but the enemy of souls takes this 
 method often to harass and afflict God's people, and keep 
 them back from more important duties. I have known num- 
 bers who, by their own acknowledgment, had never been 
 i baptized with the Holy Ghost and with fire,' by which I un- 
 derstand the blessing of sanctification, but who, nevertheless, 
 had no particular exercises of mind about this, and yet the 
 Spirit of God, as they say, would give them no rest on the 
 subject of water baptism ! But is it true that the Divine Spir- 
 it is more anxious that we should be baptized with water 
 than with fire ? And is it well pleasing to God that we are 
 exercised, and afflicted, and pained about the former, when we 
 
 * Professor John M. Smith was an amiable, pious man, and an agreeable 
 companion. His talents would no doubt have raised him to great eminence in 
 his profession, had his life been spared. He still lives in the warm affections of 
 all who knew him. He filled the chair of Ancient Languages. 
 
LETTER ON INFANT BAPTISM. 
 
 259 
 
 are at ease about the latter ? My dear sister, do you enjoy 
 the blessing of perfect love ? If not, do you think it attain- 
 able ? If so, would it not be wise to let this subject engross 
 your soul wholly until you obtain the blessing ? Do not 
 misunderstand me : I do not think you would mean to be 
 obstinate, but I mean to say, that the subject is one well 
 suited to be used by our arch enemy to injure our peace. I 
 know what it is ; I have been through it all : I was once, on 
 this question, a strong Baptist, but I have been convinced that 
 I was in an error. I can therefore sympathize with you. 
 But I do not believe it is well pleasing to God that you 
 should afflict your soul on this question, whereas I have no 
 doubt it is well pleasing to Satan ; for thereby you are kept 
 from enjoyment, from a growth in grace, and from usefulness. 
 
 " You ask for the Scripture warrant for baptizing infants. 
 My reply must be short : I can only touch upon a few points. 
 For a fuller discussion of this subject, I would refer you to 
 an essay in a volume published at our Book Room, called 
 < Doctrinal Tracts.' 
 
 " But, to say a word by way of argument, Do you believe 
 God has always had a Church in the world ? Do you be- 
 lieve the Jews were his visible Church ? Do you believe the 
 Christian Church was but the continuation of the Church of 
 God, with increased light and privileges ? Were infants 
 entitled to the seal of the covenant of faith in the Church 
 of God before Christ ? Is not this indisputable ? The ques- 
 tion should not be, then, whether they have any new grant 
 to this privilege under the Gospel dispensation, but whether 
 the old grant has been revoked. This turns the tables alto- 
 gether. The Baptists ask us to show the New Testament 
 authority ; we ask them to show us the New Testament pro- 
 hibition. God's charters never become obsolete unless he 
 revokes them. One enactment of Jehovah is enough to the 
 end of time. It is true, he revoked the burdensome ritual of 
 his Old Testament Church, i which neither they nor their fa- 
 thers were able to bear ;' but where is it said that he took 
 away or circumscribed any of the privileges of his ancient 
 Church ? Could the Jew bring his child with him to share 
 in the seal of God's covenant of grace, the blessings of 
 which were received by faith (Rom., iv., 11), and shall I, un- 
 
260 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 der a dispensation of enlarged privileges, be denied that fa- 
 vour ? And by what authority ? God has changed the seal 
 from circumcision to baptism. This none will deny, because 
 all believe the former to be the seal under the Old Testa- 
 ment dispensation, and all believe the latter to be the seal 
 under the New Testament dispensation. The seal is chan- 
 ged, then, but is the subject ? What an opportunity to let that 
 be known, if it were so, when the seal was changed ! When 
 Christ said to his apostles, ' Go disciple all nations' (for so it 
 reads in the original), ' baptizing them, &c.,' he ought to 
 have added, to prevent mistakes, 1 but not their children ; 
 hereafter they are not to be admitted to the seal of my visible 
 Church.' Instead of this, however, the apostles went forth, 
 and, as if they meant to renew the former privilege, they say, 
 at the very first sermon after Christ's ascension, ' Repent and 
 be baptized, &c, for the promise is to you and your children, 1 
 &c— See Acts, ii., 38, 39. 
 
 u Does this look like revoking the former grant ? The 
 apostles did not so understand it ; and this is the reason, 
 doubtless, why their immediate successors practised infant 
 baptism as a rite, which, had they not received it from the 
 apostles themselves, and had it not been well understood to 
 have apostolic authority, would not have been introduced 
 immediately, or, if introduced, not without some opposition 
 and dissension. But of such an opposition to infant baptism 
 there is not the least vestige on record ; on the contrary, all 
 speak of it at that early period as a thing of course. 
 
 " Again : Infants ought to be admitted to baptism, because 
 they are proper subjects of the ordinance. Our Saviour him- 
 self has decided this question : ' Of such is the kingdom of 
 heaven.' Are all justified persons fit subjects of the seal? 
 Infants are justified (Romans, v., 18). But you say, per- 
 haps they will grow up wicked : not always. If infants and 
 children were taken care of by the Church as they should 
 be, I doubt whether there would be so many ungodly chil- 
 dren raised up in the bosom of the Church. The Church 
 obligate themselves, by the sacred rites of baptism, to train 
 up these children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. 
 If they fail of this, let not the ordinance of God be blamed. 
 
LETTER ON INFANT BAPTISM. 
 
 261 
 
 Besides, adult believers may apostatize. Would you bap- 
 tize a backslider again who had once been a church mem- 
 ber, but apostatized and lost his justification, and was after- 
 ward reclaimed ? 
 
 " Why, then, rebaptize a child who had lost his early jus- 
 tification, when 1 he was of the kingdom of God,' but is af- 
 terward restored ? Do you say the apostles taught to believe 
 and be baptized ? This was when they went out to ' disci- 
 ple' those families and communities which were not disci- 
 ples before. So we should preach now, when we go to pa- 
 gans or Jews, or even adult citizens of a Christian commu- 
 nity who have not been baptized. So Abraham was required 
 to believe, and circumcision was given him as a seal of the 
 1 righteousness he had by faith ;' and yet it extended to his 
 children. Will you ask, as the Baptists often do, What ad- 
 vantage is it to the child ? I might answer by asking, What 
 advantage is baptism to the adult ? What advantage was 
 circumcision to the child anciently ? And, though this would 
 be an all-sufficient answer, I will say it is of much advantage 
 if properly attended to ; more, if possible, to the child even 
 than to the adult. It throws an obligation on the child, into 
 the nature of which he should be early instructed ; and it 
 throws an obligation upon the parent and upon the Church 
 as solemn as the oath of God. And if the Church has not 
 felt this, blame not the ordinance or Him who instituted it, 
 but let the blame fall where it belongs. 
 
 " Dear sister, be pleased to weigh these considerations ; 
 and if your difficulties continue, write again, and tell me 
 wherein ; and if they are removed, inform me. I shall re- 
 joice in having been able to throw any light on your mind.' , 
 
 There is a certain spurious benevolence in the world, that 
 expends itself on distant objects, and overlooks the more 
 familiar. And, indeed, there is always danger lest those en- 
 gaged in the higher and wider spheres of usefulness should 
 content themselves with the general benevolence of their 
 aims, while they come not down to the humbler objects of 
 every-day life. The danger is lest they substitute some self- 
 ish motive in place of true philanthropy, which, like the char- 
 
262 
 
 LIFE OF WILLEUR FISK. 
 
 ity of Heaven, remits not its care for individuals in its con- 
 cern for the species. Such was not the case with our sub- 
 ject. While at the head of many important enterprises, he 
 never overlooked the claims of ordinary life. His charities 
 were warm and active, and were dispensed as freely upon 
 the nearest objects as upon the most remote. His benevo- 
 lence never waited for a splendid occasion, nor stopped to 
 consider the chances of notoriety. The following letters 
 help to confirm these observations. The first, addressed to 
 a valued relative, was written at the same time with the 
 foregoing letter to his mother : 
 
 " I am happy to learn that the good work of reformation 
 is going on with you, and should be pleased to share in it, 
 and make one in your interesting religious meetings, if cir- 
 cumstances would permit. May the work continue to spread 
 until 1 all the proud, and they that do wickedly,' and all the 
 unsound professors, * shall be brought to the foot of the cross. 
 It is well that the hollow-hearted and formal professor should 
 look about himself and tremble ; for many, doubtless, are 
 dreaming of heaven who will never get there. I am sorry, 
 however, that C. K. should suffer Satan to alarm and dis- 
 courage his soul. It is all a temptation, I have no doubt. I 
 have the fullest confidence in his piety. I know, however, 
 that my confidence will not satisfy him. He must feel it 
 for himself, and ' then shall he have rejoicing in himself 
 alone, and not in another.' Had I the privilege, however, I 
 would say some things to him which perhaps might, by 
 God's blessing^do him good. I would, in the first place, ad- 
 vise him not to make the apparent exercises of others any 
 criterion for himself; and, in the second place> I would spe- 
 cially exhort him and strongly advise him not to spend much 
 time or suffer much anxiety about the past. An old hope 
 would be worth but little if he could find it, provided he 
 had not now a living hope of a heavenly inheritance. And 
 all that is necessary for a present hope is a present faith. 
 One of the greatest excellences of the Christian system is, 
 that it admits of our coming to Christ now, as we are, no 
 * Alluding to an expression in his correspondent's letter. 
 
LETTER TO AN AFFLICTED FRIEND. 
 
 263 
 
 matter what we have been or what we are : there is enough 
 in Christ now to meet our case. Is not this true ? Is it not 
 Gospel ? Why, then, should any doubt ? C. K. will not, 
 cannot doubt, when he takes this view of the subject. May 
 God cheer his heart with the new wine of the kingdom." 
 
 On learning that this message of love had not produced 
 the desired result, he addressed a letter to the wife of this 
 afflicted person, accompanied by one for himself. We in- 
 sert them both : 
 
 " March 22, 1833. 
 
 " Dear C M , 
 
 " Deeply do I sympathize with you and your afflicted hus- 
 band, but not without hope. I cannot but believe that God 
 will appear for your deliverance. I have written what I 
 could to meet his case ; perhaps God may bless some word 
 to the good of his soul. Pray and believe : let not any 
 forebodings of the future prey upon you. Our Deliverer is 
 mighty, and we shall triumph. Perhaps by this trial you 
 will be able to say, more than ever, ' My soul is even as a 
 weaned child.' This affliction may be working out for you 
 all ' a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.' Mrs. 
 Fisk joins with me in love to you and your dear mother, 
 and in tender sympathy and condolence with your afflicted 
 husband. May God bless you all, and after that you have 
 suffered a while, make you perfect, ' establish, strengthen, 
 settle you.' 
 
 " Most affectionately, your sympathizing kinsman, friend, 
 and brother in Christ, s W. Fisk." 
 
 " Middletown, March 22, 1833. 
 
 " My dear Friend and Brother, 
 
 " I heard by cousins C. and L. Fisk that the adversary of 
 God and man was sorely tempting you with gloom and de- 
 spondency respecting your spiritual state and future pros- 
 pects. This induced me to indite a few lines to you in a 
 former letter. Since that, I received a letter from cousin u., 
 in which he spoke of having received letters from B., and 
 that all was well, &c, from which I inferred that the power 
 
264 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 of the tempter was broken. I am sorry, however, to learn 
 that this was incorrect, and that you are still in a state of 
 despondency. Now, for myself, I have no doubt that this 
 is nothing more or less than the temptation of the devil, 
 strengthened, perhaps, by indisposition and bodily debility ; 
 yet I have seen so many such cases, I almost despair of con- 
 vincing you of this. I know, when unbelief gets hold of the 
 mind, it leads it to be skilful in turning everything against 
 itself, and causes its afflicted victim to dash from his lips the 
 cup of salvation, though pressed upon him by the hand of 
 Divine mercy. However, I will not despair. God hath 
 sent me ' to bind up the broken-hearted, and to proclaim 
 liberty to the captive, and the opening of the prison doors 
 to them that are bound.' Come, then, my afflicted brother, 
 gird up the loins of thy mind, and let us reason together. 
 I come to plead the cause of Christ, the merits of his blood, 
 the efficacy of his grace : and what have you to object to 
 these merits and this grace ? 1 Nothing,' perhaps you say ; 
 1 but I am a wretched sinner ; I have deceived myself, and 
 shut myself out of the mercy of God.' Before I reply to 
 this, permit me to premise one thing, viz., I have nothing to 
 do, and you need have nothing to do, with the question, 
 { Have I ever been converted ?' This I know not, though I 
 most sincerely believe you have. But suppose the worst ; 
 suppose you have deceived yourself, and others have been 
 deceived in you, still what I wish to say, and what I am 
 prepared to maintain by the word of God, is, that Jesus 
 Christ is a Saviour exactly suited to your present state and 
 character. You may say, perhaps, that 1 I know not your 
 heart ; that you are a great sinner,' &c. All this may be ; 
 and yet I know, were you ten times as great a sinner as 
 even you think yourself to be, Jesus Christ is a greater Sav- 
 iour, and his grace is sufficient for you. You may say, per- 
 haps, that you have the fullest conviction that you are lost, 
 and there is no mercy for you. I reply, I have the fullest 
 conviction that you are not, and that Heaven is full of mercy 
 for you. But you say, I do not know your case as well as 
 you know it. It may be so ; but I know something of the 
 Gospel ; I know something of the ricnes of Divine grace, 
 
LETTER TO ONE IN AFFLICTION. 
 
 265 
 
 something of the love of Christ ; I know that 1 this is a faith- 
 ful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus 
 came into the world to save the chief of sinners. 1 Do you 
 stop to inquire whether God will permit you to believe in j 
 Christ as a privilege ? Why, my dear sir, he commands you 
 to believe in him as a duty. Have you a case too hard for 
 our Almighty Jesus ? Do you challenge the power of Divine 
 grace ? Does your case set at defiance the omnipotence of 
 Divine love ? Read Ephesians, iii., 14 to 21, and when you 
 come to the 20th verse, read it over and over, and tell me, if 
 you can, what this expression meaneth, ' according to the 
 power that worketh in us /' O, what a power is this ! Why, 
 God can break the jaws of the lion, and take the prey from 
 the mighty. In view of such a wonder-working God, shall 
 we talk about the difficulty of our case ? Shall it be known 
 in the universe of God that there is one poor miserable 
 wretch that was bought by the blood of Christ, and lived 
 under the sound of the Gospel, and desired salvation, and 
 was ready to sacrifice everything for it, but he could not 
 obtain it ? Such a fact would fill hell with shouts of tri- 
 umph, and cover heaven with sackcloth. If one such a soul 
 must be lost, then all is lost ; the Saviour is proved to be 
 inadequate to his work. Let it no longer be said, ( He has 
 led captivity captive, and received gifts for rebellious men.' 
 But, thank God, there is no such failure. Jesus is 1 strong 
 to deliver and mighty to redeem.' 
 
 " ' He cannot hear a sinner pray, 
 And suffer him to die.' 
 
 " Do you ask, ' Why, then, does he not deliver me V Be- 
 cause you do not believe on him ; you have doubted whether 
 his grace was sufficient for you. Doubt no more ; throw 
 yourself upon him ; take him at his word ; if you go down 
 to the pit, sink through his promise ; nay, cling to the prom- 
 ise ; carry it with you wherever you go ; i sink or swim, sur- 
 vive or perish,' cleave to the promise of God. Remember ! 
 ' God is not man, that he should lie. 1 But you say, ' I know 
 not that God has made any promise to me. 1 Indeed, he has 
 not, unless you are a sinner : prove to me you are not a sin- 
 ner, and I will acknowledge there is not a promise for you 
 23 Ll 
 
266 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 in the Gospel charter. ' Ah ! but I am a great sinner,' you 
 say ; ' that is my difficulty, the ground of all my fear.' Say, 
 rather, the only ground of your hope in Christ. If you are 
 a great sinner, you are in the better case for Jesus to magnify 
 the riches of his grace towards you. Do you know where it is 
 written, ' Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound?' 
 Has sin abounded in you ? Then are these promises for you. 
 O that God would open your eyes to see them, and your 
 heart to feel them ! O that you could hear the voice of him 
 who hath said, ' Come unto me, all ye that are weary and 
 heavy laden, and I will give you rest !' Listen to that 
 voice, my weary, sorrowing, burdened brother ! O listen, 
 and believe ! Methinks I hear that voice come ringing 
 down, through the lapse of centuries, sweet and fresh as 
 when first it dropped from his gracious lips. That invita- 
 tion and promise, my dear brother, is for thee. Does it not 
 fall on thy ear like a powerful charm to break the spell of 
 Satan, and set thy spirit free ? Does it not melt thy heart 
 and sooth thy soul ? 
 
 *' 4 Stung by the scorpion sin, 
 Thy poor expiring soul 
 
 The balmy sound drinks in, 
 And is at once made whole : 
 
 New songs do now thy lips employ, 
 
 And dances thy glad heart for joy.' 
 
 " Such, I doubt not, is or will be the victory of thy soul. 
 With this hope I will conclude. Only be assured of this, 
 that my feeble prayers will go up to the mercy-seat for you. 
 * Satan has desired to have thee, that he may sift thee as 
 wheat ; but when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.' 
 
 " From your affectionate friend and brother, 
 
 " W. Fisk." 
 
 About this period Dr. Fisk received a letter from a stran- 
 ger seeking religious advice. He was a native of Germanv, 
 of superior education, and early impressions of Divine truth. 
 But, having got entangled in the labyrinth of German meta- 
 physics, his heart had wandered from God. Unable to find 
 rest, he had again become an earnest inquirer after the right 
 way, and was now in a state of great anxiety. The first lei- 
 
LETTER TO MR. WILLIAM NAST. 
 
 267 
 
 ter which he received in answer to his inquiries has not 
 reached us. The second is as follows : 
 
 To Mr. William Nast, Benvenu, Dauphin county, Penn. 
 
 " Middletown, March 12, 1833. 
 
 " Mv dear Sir, 
 
 " Since receiving yours, I have been so occupied as to be 
 scarcely at leisure to write to you ; and now I can say but 
 a word. I am deeply afflicted at your sorrow. I sympa- 
 thize with you, and would fain comfort you. But I am 
 aware, from numerous instances that I have witnessed, that 
 your kind of despondency readily changes every considera- 
 tion into the same gloomy hue with the other images of the 
 mind, even though such consideration be designed to cheer 
 the heart. Permit me to say, however, if you have not yet 
 obtained relief, I am confident you will. 
 
 " ' Can Jesus hear a sinner pray, 
 Yet suffer him to die V 
 
 " ' No, he is full of grace ; 
 He never will permit 
 A soul that fain would see his face, 
 To perish at his feet.' 
 
 " You take wrong views of the Gospel, my brother. 
 Christ directed ' repentance and remission of sins to be 
 preached in his name, beginning at Jerusalem" — sins — not 
 some sins, but all. And that none need despair, he commen- 
 ced this offer among those whose hands were not yet washed 
 from the blood of him who now, through the same blood, 
 offered them salvation ; and who are you, my brother, that 
 claimest to have produced a case too hard for an almighty 
 Saviour ? Hell might indeed triumph if this were true, and 
 the blessed Jesus own himself conquered ; but, thanks to his 
 name, he has triumphed; he has 1 led captivity captive, and re- 
 ceived gifts for rebellious man.' ' But it is so just,' you think, 
 ' to cast you off.' Yes, so it would be to cast us all off. 
 But then you ' have sinned so much, and against such great 
 light.' So much the better opportunity for the Saviour to 
 show that 'where sin abounds, grace does much more 
 abound.' 
 
 M But let me say again, you take wrong views of yourself. 
 
268 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 You think your wretched feelings are in consequence of your 
 being so great a sinner ; but it is rather because you do not 
 reject (your sins). Christ is willing to save you from (your) 
 sins ; but you cannot trust him, and therefore (your) sin and 
 wretchedness remain. You (say that) you need more light 
 and more strength, (that) you may be able to see Christ and 
 (love him) ; but you mistake. You only need (to go to) 
 Christ that you may have light (and strength). Take Christ, 
 then, in the present (time for) everything. I entreat of you, 
 I command you to receive Christ. The reception of Christ 
 (is) not merely a privilege which you may possibly attain to 
 by the Divine favour, but it is a duty which you cannot neg- 
 lect without Divine displeasure. Ask, then, not whether you 
 may receive the atonement, whether God will permit it. 
 You must : God commands it. 
 
 " (You see), then, you have utterly mistaken (your) own 
 case and the character of the (Gospel). Do not, then, long- 
 er dishonour the (Saviour) and injure your soul. Remem- 
 ber, ( As many as received Christ, to them gave he power (to 
 become) the sons of God.' 
 
 " Affectionately yours, 
 
 " W. Fisk." 
 
 What the immediate effect of this truly evangelical epistle 
 was we have not heard. That it was highly prized and dil- 
 igently perused, are indicated by its tattered condition. 
 Many parts, as the reader may judge from the number of 
 words supplied in parentheses, are entirely obliterated. The 
 gentleman to whom it was addressed has since become fa- 
 vourably known as a useful minister in the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church, and the able editor of the German Apologist, 
 published at Cincinnati for the benefit of the German popu- 
 lation of the United States. 
 
 To the Rev. C. K. True. 
 
 " August 3, 1833. 
 
 " With respect to my illness, the cause, progress, and 
 cure, they are briefly these : The pulmonary complaint with 
 which you know me to be afflicted has hung around me 
 
LETTER TO REV. C. K. TRUE. 269 
 
 from my childhood. When I first commenced preaching, I 
 could speak but once on the Sabbath, and rarely once 
 through the week. I gradually gained in strength, however, 
 and in courage, or, rather, presumption, faster than in 
 health. When I was stationed in Charlestown I saw much 
 to do ; I was inexperienced, indiscreet, and zealous. I 
 preached thrice on the Sabbath, besides some other extra 
 labours ; attended one or more meetings every day ; visited 
 daily eight or ten families, and talked, sung, and prayed 
 with them all ; attended camp-meetings, and there laboured 
 night and day, and often prayed and preached at the top of 
 my voice, and fell suddenly, when in other respects I was 
 as well as usual. Through irritation and inflammation of the 
 lungs I was confined about six months ; got able to ride, 
 and spent nearly two years in courting the nymph Hygeia 
 on my native mountains, or, to speak more like a Christian, 
 in doing penance for my indiscretion, perhaps I ought to 
 say my folly, and in the use of means waiting for God to 
 heal me. The time was almost a blank. I studied none, 
 because I could not study. The system was like a bundle 
 of feeble nerves, which were disorganized by every effort at 
 study. I spent much of my time on horseback, which, under 
 God, was my great restorator. Since that time I have 
 learned in most cases to stop considerably short of the ex- 
 treme point of endurance. I find, the way to sell my life to 
 the enemy as dear as possible, is to use it sparingly, that I 
 may use it longer. I expect to sacrifice life sooner or later ; 
 but, by the aid of Providence, I hope not to throw it away. 
 If, like Samson, I am ever placed in a situation where one 
 mighty, martyring effort is likely to shake down the temple 
 of sin, and in my death I can slay more than in my life, then 
 here is the sacrifice. I can assure you, my brother, the devil 
 likes nothing better than to offer up scores of Methodist 
 preachers on the altar of an indiscreet zeal. I should, indeed, 
 except one thing : he would prefer destroying their zeal al- 
 together, because he knows, if they die fighting, Jhey will 
 not die alone. Better that they all die this year tKan lose 
 their zeal. But let that zeal be tempered." 
 23* 
 
270 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 To the Rev. O. C. Baker. 
 
 " Middletown, September 18, 1833. 
 
 " My dear Brother, 
 " I know how to sympathize with you in your present fee- 
 ble state of health. Before I began to preach I was in a 
 similar state for eight or nine months, and since I began I 
 have had one turn of nearly two years, in which I was laid 
 by as a broken vessel. I never experienced anything more 
 trying than this. To be reconciled to be nothing; nay, 
 worse, to be a useless burden to my friends and the world, 
 was an extent of resignation which not only brought into re- 
 quisition the little grace I had, but forced me to pray ear- 
 nestly for more. This kind of experience, however, will do 
 you no harm ; it is sent by your heavenly Father in mercy, 
 and will result in good ; besides, you have hope in the dis- 
 tance even in this world, and that, too, not very distant. I 
 cannot think your constitution is broken : you are young, 
 and the vigorous energies of nature will heal the breaches 
 and repair the wastes ; only it becomes yon to this end that 
 you take a prudent course. Let me counsel you a little, not 
 as a physician, but as a man w T ho has added to common- 
 sense views a little painful experience : First, then, if you 
 feel the body and the mind feeble, study none and read but 
 little ; ride much on horseback in pleasant weather ; visit 
 friends far and near, but never be induced by them either 
 to keep irregular hours or to exert yourself beyond your 
 strength. This winter, if your health gets so that you can 
 bear it, take in about a dozen scholars of an age to need but 
 little care, and teach them. In one year, perhaps in six months, 
 you will find your strength returning, and you will be able 
 to increase your exertions, always taking care that you do 
 not go beyond your strength. This watching one's bodily 
 symptoms, I know, is rather earthly business, but then we have 
 to take care of the house for the sake of the tenant ; but be 
 sure in all this you do not get notional and spleeny, as it is 
 sometimes termed. This is a difficult point to adjust — to 
 take enough of care, and not too much; especially talk but 
 little about the body ; this is injurious to health, unprofitable 
 to the soul, and wearisome to friends. 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL UNION. 
 
 271 
 
 " You could not graduate here without an examination. 
 Let mathematics alone for the present ; you can get them 
 hereafter if God pleases ; if not, no matter. Do not be so- 
 licitous about what you shall do hereafter. Business as well 
 as grace, this life as well as another, the body as well as 
 the soul, require that we should walk by faith. Sufficient 
 for the day are its duties, as well as its sorrows or joys. 
 
 " My love to friends, and believe me, as ever, your friend 
 and brother, W. Fisk." 
 
 We have already seen that the diversity of views existing 
 in different sections of our country had introduced some 
 collision of mind into our ecclesiastical, as well as into civil 
 affairs. To our subject this conflict was peculiarly painful; 
 indeed, it made him, in some degree, undervalue the impor- 
 tance of unity in our ecclesiastical organization, as he could 
 see no prospect of an adjustment of these differences. Take 
 the following in evidence upon this point : At the General 
 Conference of 1828, he writes to Mrs. Fisk from Pittsburgh, 
 u There is evidently a difference in habits, in feelings, in 
 views, between the South and West on one part, and the 
 North and East on the other ; and it is very probable it 
 will ultimately terminate in a division of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church into Northern and Southern ; and I confess, 
 though such an idea was at first painful to me, I have begun 
 to look upon it as an event not altogether undesirable, and 
 perhaps not unprofitable." But it is worthy of observa- 
 tion, that greater experience, and more extended knowledge 
 and information, entirely changed his views. On the mar- 
 gin of the passage quoted from his letter of May, 1828, there 
 is a note in his handwriting, dated January, 1837, thus : 
 " Farther experience convinces me that this would be both 
 undesirable and unprofitable to Church and State." This is 
 clear and decided testimony, and must be regarded as the 
 last, best decision of a most competent judge ; nor does it 
 possess any the less, but rather greater, weight from his hav- 
 ing once thought differently. 
 
 This subject began to appear before him in its true light 
 at the General Conference of 1832. He saw now the effect 
 
272 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 of the combined wisdom and strength of the whole Church, 
 in the facility and resources thereby furnished for carrying on 
 its sacred purposes. He also felt that the different sections 
 of country exercised a salutary influence on each other, pla- 
 cing a check or applying a stimulant as might be required ; 
 and thus the very differences which exist might be made in- 
 structive and useful. But enough. My remarks are intend- 
 ed only to introduce an extract from a letter to the Reverend 
 Ignatius A. Few, who applied to Dr. Fisk for some infor- 
 mation or advice in organizing the Georgia Manual Labour 
 School, of which he had been recently appointed principal: 
 
 " Middletown, Conn., March 19, 1833. 
 
 "My dear Brother, 
 
 " Your esteemed favour of the 1st instant gave me great 
 pleasure. My attachment to my brethren in all parts of our 
 work was never greater, I think never so great, as since our 
 last General Conference. It was the third I have attended, 
 and the most pleasant of the three. It is true, there was 
 some 1 wordy warfare ;' but, in respect to myself, no loss, but 
 rather a gain, of brotherly love. I feel more the spirit, and 
 see more the need of the union of all parts of that Church 
 that is the mother of us all. My motto is, ' The Church,' 
 ' the whole Church f and I may add, in view of the most 
 extended relations and bearings of the Christian cause, ' no- 
 thing but the Church.' " 
 
 Meantime Dr. Fisk lost none of his interest in the impor- 
 tant enterprises of the day. The cause of Temperance, es- 
 pecially, which was steadily widening and deepening its in- 
 fluence, still lay very near his heart. In the month of May, 
 1833, he delivered, at the anniversary of the New- York City 
 Temperance Society, his celebrated address on the nature 
 of the traffic in ardent spirits. This branch of the subject 
 was almost new. The consumers of the article were the 
 principal objects of attack, while the manufacturers and 
 venders were but little disturbed. An inquiry into the mo- 
 rality of the trade, therefore, was not only novel, it was bold, 
 evincing no slight share of moral courage. It was fortunate 
 for him and the cause that his mode of presenting the sub- 
 
TEMPERANCE ADDRESS. 
 
 273 
 
 ject was so clear and dispassionate. He selected his ground 
 with great caution, laid down his premises fairly and dis- 
 tinctly, and deduced his conclusions so justly that few would 
 be likely to controvert them. This done, his close, search- 
 ing, powerful appeals carried home with them a mighty force, 
 and yet they could scarcely give offence. No wonder that he 
 was greatly successful. The address on this occasion was 
 among his happiest efforts. Its novelty took the audience 
 by surprise, and its clearness, boldness, and power excited 
 their admiration. It was soon published in the Christian 
 Advocate and Journal, and was everywhere read with great 
 avidity. It was subsequently printed at the Book Concern 
 as a tract, and has had a wide circulation. 
 
 M M 
 
274 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Mission to Liberia. — Translation of the New Testament into the Mohawk Lan- 
 guage. — Oregon Mission. — Calvinistic Controversy. 
 
 We have not adhered, as the reader has no doubt observ- 
 ed, to very rigid chronological order in our notice of some 
 of the more prominent enterprises in which our subject was 
 engaged. We supposed it would be more agreeable to fol- 
 low out some topics consecutively than to break them up 
 into fragments merely to preserve the order of time. This 
 is the case with the cause of missions. 
 
 We have already had some intimation of the interest Dr. 
 Fisk took in the evangelization of the heathen. The address 
 of the General Conference of 1828 to the British Confer- 
 ence, which was written by him, as before mentioned, and 
 from which we made some extracts, bears strong testimony 
 to this point. This feeling was very strongly enlisted in be- 
 half of the mission to Liberia ; and it was at his instigation 
 that the Young Men's Missionary Society at New- York 
 pledged themselves to the support of a missionary in that 
 field. He even offered to go out himself in that capacity ; an 
 offer which the board declined, in consequence of a strong 
 remonstrance from the friends of the Wesleyan University. 
 In consequence of this, in the year 1832, the Rev. Melville 
 B. Cox, of precious memory, was appointed ; an appoint- 
 ment, however, which had been in contemplation for some 
 time before. He ever continued his interest in this mission; 
 went several times to New- York for the purpose of aiding to 
 raise funds, and in various ways contributed essentially to 
 the object. 
 
 Another enterprise in which he was prominent deserves 
 notice. Our missions among the various tribes of Indians in 
 Upper Canada had been very successful, astonishing refor- 
 mations had been effected, and numerous and flourishing 
 churches established. But the converts suffered much in- 
 convenience and detriment for want of a knowledge of the 
 
MOHAWK TRANSLATION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 275 
 
 Holy Scriptures, a part only of the New Testament having 
 been translated and published in their language. Under 
 these circumstances, Dr. Fisk prevailed on the Young Men's 
 Bible Society of New- York to undertake the translation and 
 printing of the New Testament in the Mohawk language, 
 that being the most prevalent dialect among the tribes in that 
 region. He was a speaker at one of the earliest meetings 
 of that society, at which the Rev. William Case and several 
 converted Indians were present. Mr. Case, in moving the 
 resolution to adopt the report of the Board of Managers, 
 dwelt upon the destitute condition of the Indians, and ex- 
 pressed a strong desire to see their wants supplied. Dr. 
 Fisk, in seconding this resolution, spontaneously moved to 
 amend the same, by adding that the society, aided by 
 the parent society and the auxiliaries, would pledge them- 
 selves to raise the sum of three thousand dollars for the pur- 
 pose of translating and publishing the entire New Testament 
 in the Mohawk language. The amendment prevailed, and 
 a very liberal contribution to the object was made on the 
 spot. Nor did his labours end here. While the society, 
 through various obstacles, were prosecuting this work, he re- 
 peatedly visited New- York to preach, or make addresses in 
 its behalf, or otherwise give it his support. When it was 
 completed, "he rejoiced with exceeding great joy" that the 
 thousands of the tribes who understood this language were 
 now enabled to read for themselves the words of the Great 
 Spirit. The meeting at which Dr. Fisk made the proposal 
 was held in 1831 : the translation was completed in 1839. 
 
 In the year 1833 originated one of the most intensely in- 
 teresting missions ever projected in the Christian Church. 
 I allude to the mission to the Flathead Indians, or, more 
 properly speaking, to Oregon Territory. As Dr. Fisk was 
 very closely connected with this undertaking — indeed, was 
 the father of it — we shall lay its history before the reader. 
 
 About this period, or somewhat earlier, there arrived at 
 St. Louis, in Missouri, a deputation of four men from some 
 of the Indian tribes situated in the region of the Columbia 
 River and its tributaries. They had left their homes, crossed 
 the Rocky Mountains, and travelled near three thousand 
 
276 
 
 LIFE OF W1LLEUR FISK. 
 
 miles through the wilderness to learn something of the true 
 God. They had been excited to this inquiry, according to 
 some, by an adventurer who had found his way into their 
 country, and was providentially present at one of their idol- 
 atrous feasts. He told them that their mode of worshipping 
 the Great Spirit was altogether wrong and displeasing to 
 him. He also related that the white men " away towards ; 
 the sun rising" had a book that taught them how to worship 
 God acceptably. Struck with the tidings, they immediately 
 called a national council to consider the subject, the result 
 of which was, that they determined on despatching four of 
 their chiefs in quest of information so important. On this 
 wonderful mission they had come to visit General Clarke, 
 the fellow-traveller of Lewis through the Oregon Territory, 
 of whom they had heard, who now resided at St. Louis as 
 superintendent of Indian affairs under the general govern- 
 ment. They looked up to this gentleman with great respect, 
 and believed him to be the most likely person to afford them 
 the information they desired. It has also been said that 
 two of the four deputies had spent some time at a Catholic 
 school in Canada, and that their communications aided in 
 the excitement of this spirit of inquiry. 
 
 They reached St. Louis in safety, where they were kindly 
 received and entertained by General Clarke. How great 
 must have been his astonishment at learning the object of 
 their perilous undertaking ! And greatly did he feel the re- 
 sponsibility that rested upon him in being unexpectedly 
 called on for an exposition of the Christian faith. He satis- 
 fied their inquiries as far as he could ; related the principal 
 incidents in Scripture history from the creation to the birth 
 of the Saviour ; informed them of the incarnation, death, and 
 resurrection of Christ, and explained the doctrines and pre- 
 cepts of the Christian religion. Few preachers have ever 
 had such an audience. They listened, no doubt, with pro- 
 found attention and the most lively interest, expecting to 
 carry back to their countrymen the words they were now 
 hearing. But, alas ! they did not all live to bear home the 
 tidings. Change of climate and mode of life produced dis- 
 ease, and two of them finished their earthly pilgrimage at 
 
OREGON MISSION. 
 
 277 
 
 St. Louis. The other two, we understand, reached their 
 homes in safety. 
 
 On Thursday evening, March 1st, 1833, the above account, 
 furnished by G. P. Disosway, Esq., from a letter written to 
 him by Mr. Wm. Walker, the exploring agent of the Wy- 
 andotts, appeared in the columns of the Christian Advocate 
 and Journal. Dr. Fisk, on the evening when he received 
 it, was more than usually engaged in writing letters for the 
 University, of which several had to go into the mail the fol- 
 lowing morning. Nevertheless, according to his usual cus- 
 tom when that paper was handed to him, he ran his eye 
 over the contents to see whether anything demanded imme- 
 diate attention. On seeing the above narrative, he immedi- 
 ately remarked to Mrs. Fisk, " I have something interesting 
 to read ;" and, having read the article aloud, he said, " We 
 will have a mission there." 
 
 " It would be a noble enterprise," remarked Mrs. Fisk ; 
 " but where will you get the man?" 
 
 " I know," was the answer, " of but one in the world ev- 
 ery way qualified for such an undertaking, and you know 
 who that is." 
 
 " Yes," she replied, " but you are too late for him. You 
 know it is about time for Mr. Lee to apply for admittance 
 into the British Conference." Mr. Lee was in Canada. 
 
 He instantly called for pen and ink, and, without sitting 
 down, wrote to Mr. Lee to ascertain whether he would en- 
 gage in the enterprise, should the Church see fit to appoint 
 him. In half an hour or less the letter was in the postoffice. 
 He soon received word from Mr. Lee that he had already ap- 
 plied to the British Conference for admittance, but that he 
 should prefer the mission, and would engage in it cheerfully, 
 should Providence open the way. By some miscarriage of 
 letters or other derangement, he received no answer to his 
 application to the British Conference, and, having waited a 
 reasonable time, he signified his readiness to engage in the 
 Oregon Mission. Thus, by individual promptitude and prov- 
 idential arrangement, this noble undertaking was originated. 
 
 Dr. Fisk's next step was to insert the following heraldic 
 cry in the Advocate : 
 ' 24 
 
 i 
 
278 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 " Hear ! Hear ! Who will respond to the call from beyond the 
 Rocky Mountains ? 
 
 "Messrs. Editors, 
 
 " The communication of Brother G. P. Disosway, inclu- 
 ding one from the Wyandott agent on the subject of the 
 deputation of the Flathead Indians to General Clarke, has 
 excited in many in this section intense interest. And, to 
 be short about it, we are for having a mission established 
 there at once. I have proposed the following plan : Let 
 two suitable men, unencumbered with families, and possess- 
 ing the spirit of martyrs, throw themselves into the nation. 
 Live with them ; learn their language ; preach Christ to 
 them ; and, as the way opens, introduce schools, agriculture, 
 and the arts of civilized life. The means for these improve- 
 ments can be introduced through the fur-traders, and by the re- 
 enforcements with which, from time to time, we can strength- 
 en the mission. Money shall be forthcoming. I will be 
 bondsman for the Church. All we want is the men. Who 
 will go ? Who ? I know of one young man who I think 
 will go, and of whom I can say I know of none like him 
 for the enterprise. If he will go (and we have written to 
 him on the subject), we only want another, and the mission 
 will be commenced the coming season. Were I young and 
 healthy, and unencumbered, how joyfully would I go! But 
 this honour is reserved for another. Bright will be his 
 crown, glorious his reward. Affectionately yours, 
 
 " W. Fisk. 
 
 " Wesleyan University, March 9, 1833." 
 
 This stirring appeal was followed up by suitable measures 
 to raise funds ; but so deep and pervading was the interest 
 excited in the public mind, that these began to flow in rap- 
 idly. Societies and individuals, both of our own and other 
 denominations, from different parts of the country, tendered 
 their contributions. Indeed, it began to be feared that this 
 mission would absorb too great a portion of the Church's 
 sympathy, and so injure others ; and hence Dr. Fisk was in- 
 duced to publish a request that it might be left to the es- 
 
INTEREST FELT IN THE MISSION. 
 
 279 
 
 pecial care of the missionary societies of Middle town, New- 
 Haven, and Hartford. 
 
 The following notice was inserted in the New- York Ob- 
 server of August 7, 1833. It is delightful to see Christians 
 of different sects thus aiding each other, and rejoicing in 
 each other's labours. May the monitory hints these lines 
 contain prove a blessing to our readers who may be engaged 
 in the missionary cause. 
 
 " Flathead Indians. 
 
 " We rejoice to learn that a very deep and extensive in- 
 terest is felt in the success of the mission which our Metho- 
 dist brethren are about to send to this interesting tribe in the 
 Rocky Mountains. The following letter has been forward- 
 ed to us for publication : 
 
 " ' Rev. Willbur Fisk, D.D.— Sir, 
 
 " 4 I was interested in the account recently given in some 
 of the public journals of the solicitude of the Flathead In- 
 dians to know the true God, and how to worship him. 
 
 " 1 The appeal made by you in their behalf derived weight 
 from the assurance given by you, that if younger, you would 
 yourself carry the Gospel to them. While I rejoice that 
 you have taken up this subject with so much zeal, I still 
 more rejoice that devoted men of ardent piety have conse- 
 crated themselves to this holy employment. Let them en- 
 deavour to possess the prudence of Swartz, the humility of 
 Brainerd, the learning of Martyn, the devotedness of Fisk, 
 the self-denial of Judson, the untiring ardour of GutzlafF, and, 
 with the blessing of the God of missions on their labours, 
 they may hope soon to see these children of the forest be- 
 coming sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty. 
 
 " ' Funds will be required to accomplish your benevolent 
 undertaking, and the enclosed $50 will not, I trust, be the 
 less acceptable from the circumstance that it is presented 
 by one not of your denomination. 
 
 u c I shall learn that the money reaches you safely if the 
 receipt of it is acknowledged in the New- York Observer. 
 " < Yours, &c, X. X. 
 
 " 1 New-London, July 19.' 
 
280 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 " We learn also from Mr. G. P. Disosway, of this city, to 
 whom, with his friend Walker of the Wyandott nation, the 
 Christian world are indebted for the first notice of these ex- 
 traordinary inquirers after i the truth,' that a young gentle- 
 man in the interior of this state has offered the whole of his 
 property, amounting to $2000, in aid of this mission, provi- 
 ded he can have the privilege of being usefully employed 
 himself in that field of labour. The same gentleman informs 
 us that the account of the visit of these Indians has recently 
 been published in the Journal Official de l'Instruction Pub- 
 lique, which is the official paper of the University, Royal 
 Institution of France, and several other literary and scien- 
 tific institutions. The publication of such intelligence in this 
 journal indicates that there is some feeling on the subject 
 even in Catholic France. No mission which has been un- 
 dertaken in modern times seems to have excited such deep 
 and general interest." 
 
 The appeal thus made to the sympathy of Christians 
 spread throughout the country like lightning, and enkindled 
 a holy ardour in many hearts. The effect was surprising. 
 In one year the income of the Missionary Society of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church more than doubled. Thus the 
 expansion of sympathy develops resources. We scarcely 
 know what are our capabilities until the mind is quickened 
 to unusual action, and the heart enlarged by powerful emo- 
 tion. The influence in bringing forth funds was hardly ex- 
 ceeded by its effect in drawing men into the missionary cause. 
 One noble offer has been mentioned already. The follow- 
 ing is another. It is contained in a letter directed to Dr. 
 Fisk. 
 
 " New-Madrid Circuit, Missouri, April 15, 1833. 
 
 " Dear Brother, 
 
 " A few weeks ago, in the Christian Advocate, I met with 
 the Flathead Indian chiefs' visit to St. Louis, and was much 
 affected by that relation. Had I received this intelligence 
 sooner, and been without any engagement, I think that I 
 should not have hesitated to go with the chiefs on my own 
 
LETTER FROM MR. R. W. OWEN. 
 
 281 
 
 responsibility. I learned, however, by that account that the 
 chiefs had returned, and thus my thoughts on the subject 
 were for a while suspended. I have for some time felt a 
 strong desire to engage in missionary service, and have been 
 waiting for some door to be opened by the Head of the 
 Church, that I might enter in and labour. During the past 
 week I have been severely exercised. I felt that some 
 great change was about to take place in my condition, which 
 time and Providence alone could explain. While in this 
 state of anxious suspense, waiting for the Almighty to unfold 
 his designs, your letter in the Advocate, stating that a mis- 
 sion to the Flathead Indians is determined upon, fell into 
 my hands, and it appeared as an electric spark to burst the 
 cloud that had so long enveloped my mind. You ask, ' Who 
 will go as a missionary to the Flatheads V I fully believe 
 that it is the will of God that I should go, and, consequent- 
 ly, I offer myself for the service. I have counted the cost, 
 and expect it will be perpetual exile from civilized life, toil, 
 danger, hardship, and probably premature death ; but none 
 of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto 
 me, so that I may finish my course with joy, and the minis- 
 try which I have received of the Lord Jesus. 
 
 " It is about two years ago since, in the State of New- 
 York, we heard the cry from the distant West, ' Come over 
 to Missouri and help us.' I came over, and brought my free- 
 will offering, and was permitted to witness such an outpour- 
 ing of the Divine Spirit, that I then resolved, if such were 
 the high remunerations of Heaven, should the cry for help 
 ever again be heard from the setting sun, that I would be 
 the first to respond to it. Little, indeed, did I then think 
 that this would ever be the case ; but the ways of God are 
 mysterious. 
 
 " An event altogether unprecedented in the annals of the 
 Christian Church has taken place. The messengers of a dis- 
 tant nation have suddenly, Heaven directed, appeared be- 
 fore us to ask the bread of everlasting life, and a knowledge 
 of the white man's God. 
 
 " I shall rejoice to be commissioned by our Church to car- 
 ry the tidings of salvation over the Rocky Mountains, and 
 24* N n 
 
282 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 there to plant the tree of life among the distant sons of the 
 forest, that it may bear its immortal fruits for the service of 
 the surrounding natives. How vast the good that may re- 
 sult from such an establishment ! Gospel truth, like a mighty 
 river, may roll onward and downward to generations unborn. 
 
 " If you think my offer worth attention, I shall be glad to 
 hear from you as soon as possible, and will give you any in- 
 formation in relation to myself that you may wish. 
 
 "I remain, dear brother, yours, &c, 
 
 "R.W. Owex. 
 
 " Rev. Willbur Fisk." 
 
 But the men were already provided for this work. The 
 Rev. Jason Lee, and his nephew, the Rev. Daniel Lee, had 
 been accepted by the Missionary Society, and appointed by 
 Bishop Hedding, together with Mr. Cyrus Shepherd as 
 school-teacher. In the month of November they were ready 
 to commence their perilous and tedious journey, and had al- 
 ready held various public meetings to take leave of the 
 churches, and commend the undertaking to their prayers 
 and patronage. They were, however, greatly at a loss for 
 information as to their route, and as to the arrangements 
 necessary for the journey. After having used every effort 
 to procure information, there seemed little hope for them 
 but to commence their journey, as Abraham did of old, 
 scarcely knowing whither they went, and depending on such 
 intelligence as they could gather by the way. How great, 
 then, was their delight to learn, the very day after the Fare- 
 well Meeting in the City of New- York, that Captain Wyeth 
 had arrived at Boston from Oregon, whither he had been on 
 a trading expedition. This seemed like an opening of Prov- 
 idence. By the advice of the Missionary Board, they now 
 turned their course to Boston. On this journey Dr. Fisk ac- 
 companied them, aiding them by his counsel, and holding 
 public meetings with them. He preached on Friday and on 
 Sunday evenings in the Bromfield-street Church, and on 
 the former occasion Captain Wyeth answered, in the pres- 
 ence of the congregation, sundry questions touching the pros- 
 pects of a mission to Oregon, and gave much information 
 
DEPARTURE OF THE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 283 
 
 highly valuable to the missionaries. From this city Dr. Fisk 
 wrote to Mrs. Fisk : " Our visit to Captain Wyeth has been 
 most providential. He is going out with a party in the 
 spring, and will take the missionaries under his protection. 
 He will go quite over the mountains. He is a fine man. 
 They will also send out a vessel that will carry any neces- 
 sary freight. Much information has also been obtained of 
 great importance to the mission. I cannot state the details." 
 
 Early in the spring the missionaries proceeded to St, 
 Louis, holding public meetings at every important town, 
 and everywhere quickening the Church to effort. The lat- 
 ter part of April they started from St. Louis, on horseback, 
 for the place appointed to meet the trading companies, and 
 thence over the Rocky Mountains, three thousand miles 
 away from the abodes of civilization. The perils of the 
 wilderness, especially to men unaccustomed to such a life, 
 were great ; but, while the traders were supported by the 
 hope of secular gain and a spirit of adventure, the others 
 were borne up by their love for immortal souls, and the 
 hope of waving the banner of salvation along the shores of 
 the Columbia and the Pacific, and swelling the army of the 
 faithful among the wilds of Oregon. We might dwell on the 
 moral grandeur of the enterprise, but it is our business sim- 
 ply to record facts ; we leave it to others to expatiate upon 
 them. 
 
 This seems to be a suitable place for explaining what 
 might lead to a false impression. In the foregoing account 
 the Flathead Indians seem to be spoken of as a single tribe, 
 which might convey to the reader an idea that the impor- 
 tance of the object was hardly sufficient to justify such un- 
 wonted exertion ; but the name of Flathead* is common to 
 
 * The name of Flathead, as is known to many of our readers, is taken from 
 the singular shape of the scull, not flattened on the top, but tapering towards the 
 crown, both before and behind, into something of a wedge-like form. The pro- 
 cess of effecting this is graphically described by Washington Irving in his 
 Astoria, vol. i., p. 93 : " The infant is laid in a wooden trough by way of cradle. 
 The end on which the head reposes is higher than the rest. A padding is placed 
 on the forehead of the infant, with a piece of bark above it, and is pressed down 
 by cords which pass through holes on each side of the trough. As the tighten- 
 ing of the padding and the pressing of the head to the board is (are) gradual, the 
 
284 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 numerous tribes inhabiting the shore of the Pacific Ocean 
 south of the Columbia River. These tribes number not less 
 than ten thousand souls. But in addition to these are the 
 Nez Perces, or Chopunnish Indians, who were also concern- 
 ed in the deputation. They reside along the River Lewis, 
 about the mouth of the Kooskooskee, and include seven thou- 
 sand more. According to the estimate made by Lewis and 
 Clarke in their travels, there are about sixty different tribes 
 inhabiting this vast region, numbering in all not less than 
 eighty thousand human beings. Perhaps even this is below 
 the truth, since it is very probable that many tribes escaped 
 the knowledge of the travellers. 
 
 But this is not the only important aspect of this interest- 
 ing mission. That extensive region has long been the seat 
 of various establishments engaged in the fur-trade, and some 
 insulated colonies for agricultural objects. In these the 
 whites have intermarried with the natives, so that a motley 
 race is rising up of semi-barbarians. Having among them, 
 to some extent, the elements of civilization, they will no 
 doubt multiply ; so that there is no faint prospect of that 
 country, abounding, as it does, in everything to tempt cupidi- 
 ty, becoming, at no distant day, a populous and productive 
 region. The influence of the whites upon the aborigines in 
 the vicinity of the settlements has, as may well be supposed, 
 been highly pernicious, and the Gospel provides the only 
 means of their rescue from degradation and ruin. In other 
 parts the Indians were represented as unusually moral, mild, 
 docile, and accessible. In every point of view, therefore, 
 this enterprise presented very great claims upon Christian 
 philanthropy. 
 
 We shall, in this place, introduce a brief history of Dr. 
 
 process is said not to be attended with much pain. The appearance of the in- 
 fant, however, while in this state of compression, is whimsically hideous, and 
 1 its little black eyes,' we are told, 'being forced out by the tightness of the band- 
 ages, resemble those of a mouse choked in a trap.' About a year's pressure is 
 sufficient to produce the desired effect, at the end of which time the child emer- 
 ges from its bandages a complete flathead, and continues so through life." Mr. 
 Irving adds, that this distinction "has something in it of aristocratical significan- 
 cy, like the crippling of the feet of the Chinese ladies of quality. At any rate, it 
 is a sign of freedom. No slave is permitted to bestow this enviable deformity 
 upon his child ; all the slaves, therefore, are roundheads." 
 
CALVINISTIC CONTROVERSY. 
 
 285 
 
 Fisk's participation in the Calvinistic Controversy. It com- 
 menced somewhat earlier than this, and continued until 
 1835 ; but we have delayed noticing it until now, and shall 
 here present it without interruption. 
 
 The sermon on Predestination had been two years before 
 the public, and had reached its third edition before any very 
 serious notice was taken of it. " After the third edition was 
 announced," says our subject, "there were several passing 
 acrimonious censures in some Calvinistic periodicals, which 
 did not affect the merits of the question,"* and therefore 
 were not answered. At length, however, an opponent ap- 
 peared in the person of the Rev. Mr. Tyler, of Middletown, 
 who published a discourse obviously, though not professedly, 
 in opposition to it. But its propositions were so indetermi- 
 nate as scarcely to admit of argument : for what dispute on 
 election can be maintained with one who defines it " the 
 eternal purpose of God to renew, sanctify, and save every 
 man whom he wisely can, and no others ?" 
 
 In 1831, a writer appeared in the columns of the Connec- 
 ticut Observer over the signature of Truth. He complained 
 bitterly of what he was pleased to denominate the misrepre- 
 sentations of the sermon, and even implicated the author's 
 character as a " gentleman and a Christian." The commu- 
 nication bore the aspect of a challenge, and even " dared" 
 the author of the sermon to reiterate certain specified state- 
 ments. In his reply he says, u And now, Mr. Editor, not 
 because your correspondent has ' dared' me to it in the 
 taunting manner of a knight-errant seeking an adventure, but 
 to bring this matter to a fair trial and a just decision before 
 the public, I have thrown into distinct propositions the state- 
 ments in my sermon which have given so much offence, not 
 only to your correspondent, but, as I am informed, to many 
 other Predestinarians, both of the clergy and of the laity ; 
 and if any responsible person or persons will, in any suita- 
 ble public way, attempt to sustain the opposite of these 
 propositions, I will, so far as I am able, support them ; and 
 if I fail in the proof, I will acknowledge my mistake, and do 
 what I can to counteract my error. If any or all of these 
 * Calvinistic Controversy. 
 
286 
 
 LIFE OP WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 statements shall be sustained by credible testimony or fair 
 reasoning, I shall be willing to leave it to the good sense 
 and piety of those concerned to correct the evils." Then 
 follows seven distinct propositions, which we need not in- 
 sert, as, in form or in fact, they are contained in the sermon 
 on Predestination, and are discussed in the papers on the 
 Calvinistic Controversy, which have been for some years be- 
 fore the public. This article was first published in the Con- 
 necticut Observer, and copied into the Christian Advocate 
 and Journal. 
 
 Opponents now became numerous. In addition to the 
 Rev. Mr. Tyler and the Connecticut Observer, already men- 
 tioned, the Quarterly Christian Spectator, the Rev. David 
 Metcalf, of Lebanon, Connecticut, the Boston Telegraph, the 
 New- York Evangelist, and I know not how many more, en- 
 tered the arena of contest. The article in the Christian 
 Spectator, from the pen of the Rev. Professor Fitch, was 
 ably written, ingenious, dignified, and courteous.* Mr. 
 
 * The general scope of this article is to show that Dr. Fisk confounded the 
 fact of Predestination with the solution of the fact as held by some Calvinists ; 
 and that the fact is true, though the solution on which Dr. Fisk's arguments are 
 based is false. 
 
 This is certainly ingenious ; but, unfortunately for its success, it was incum- 
 bent on the reviewer to prove that Dr. Fisk's was not the identical solution of 
 Calvin and of the Calvinistic formularies. This, we think, he has hardly done. 
 The reviewer shows that he, and many who are called Calvinists, do not hold 
 this view of Predestination ; that, in fact, their view of that doctrine is essen- 
 tially Arminian. But, after all, this proves no more than that, if their theory is 
 what Dr. Fisk did not aim at, then he did not hit it. But this affords no shield 
 to others ; and, indeed, the reviewer himself admits that some, at least, do 
 hold to the theory opposed in the sermon, and frankly acknowledges that they 
 are effectually answered in it. 
 
 Yet the reviewer seems hardly clear in distinguishing his theory from that of 
 the Genevan divine ; for while the latter says, as quoted by Dr. Fisk, " Adam 
 fell, not only by the permission, but also by the appointment of God : He not only 
 foresaw that Adam would fall, but also ordained that he should fall ;" the former 
 deliberately states his proposition on Predestination thus : " God determined 
 that the events which take place should take place in the very manner in which 
 they do, and for the very ends." It seems to us impossible to reconcile this 
 with the solution of Predestination given in the review. 
 
 The reviewer makes a distinction between " election unto holiness" and 
 " election to salvation ;" affirming that the former only is unconditional, while he 
 predicates conditionality of the latter.* But, unfortunately for his cause, the 
 
 * See Christian Spectator, vol. iii., for 1831, p. 619. 
 
CALVINISTIC CONTROVERSY. 
 
 287 
 
 Metcalf, who came out in a pamphlet* of forty-eight pages, 
 was of a different character. His manner was arrogant and 
 dogmatical. He seemed to think that the game was entirely 
 in his own hands, and that he had now only to bring his op- 
 ponent to his knee, and deal out terms at discretion. In 
 view of the proposition made by Dr. Fisk, as given in the 
 preceding paragraph, Mr. Metcalf demanded that he should 
 make " a public acknowledgment of his errors ;" and farther 
 asserts, " if, after he shall receive these letters, remembering 
 also what is said in the Christian Spectator's review of his 
 sermon, he shall allow another copy of it to be printed, I 
 think he will find it difficult to convince any intelligent can- 
 did man that he is not guilty of breaking the ninth command- 
 ment." This language is altogether too supercilious to be 
 used towards an equal, and is especially improper, consider- 
 ing that, except what little modicum of credit is given to 
 Professor Fitch in the passing allusion to his article in the 
 Christian Spectator, the demand was made on the score of 
 
 doctrine of infallible perseverance ties the two together so closely as to neutral- 
 ize this distinction. Moreover, how will this view agree with the authorized ex- 
 position of election 1 At the first passage to which I open in the Confession of 
 Faith, I find these words : " Those of mankind that are predestinated unto life, 
 God, before the foundation of the world was laid, according to his eternal and 
 immutable purpose, and the secret counsel and good pleasure of his will, hath 
 chosen in Christ, unto everlasting glory, out of his mere free grace and love, with- 
 out any foresight of faith or good works, or perseverance in either of them, or 
 any other thing in the creature as conditions or causes moving him thereunto." 
 And in the answer to the thirteenth question in the Larger Catechism, we have 
 these words : " God, by an eternal and immutable decree, out of his mere love, for 
 the praise of his glorious grace, to be manifested in due time, hath elected some 
 angels to glory, and, in Christ, hath chosen some men to eternal life and the means 
 thereof'' &c. Here the election to salvation is stated as prior to the election to 
 holiness, and the latter as the consequence rather than as the condition of the 
 former ; for " some men are elected unto eternal life and the means thereof." 
 
 For farther observations on the subject, we refer the reader to Dr. Fisk's first 
 number of the Calvinistic Controversy. 
 
 * Mr. Metcalf desired to have his letters published in the Christian Advocate 
 and Journal. But as they were in reply to the whole sermon instead of the par- 
 ticular propositions on which Dr. Fisk had challenged debate, and as the sermon 
 was never published in the Advocate, the editors declined their insertion. They 
 were then published, like the sermon, in pamphlet. It will be seen afterward 
 that a proposition was made to publish Mr. Metcalf 's letters in that paper, to- 
 gether with any subsequent discussions, provided some extensively-circulated 
 Calvinistic paper would insert Dr. Fisk's sermon, and such discussions as were, 
 or might be, consequent upon it. This was fair. 
 
283 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 his own publication. It is not an uncommon thing for a 
 combatant, when he " girdeth on his harness, to boast himself 
 as he that putteth it off;" but it not unfrequently leads to 
 deeper mortification. We ought, however, in justice to Mr. 
 Metcalf, to say, that during the progress of the controversy 
 he addressed a note to Dr. Fisk, requesting him to hasten 
 his work, inquiring into some things not entirely satisfactory 
 to him, and expressing a hope that they might yet establish 
 an identity of views upon some of the points in debate. It 
 was expressed in a manner altogether unexceptionable, at 
 once courteous, liberal, and Christianlike. The deviations 
 from propriety in the pamphlet must therefore be accredit- 
 ed to that unguarded spirit which controversy too frequently 
 engenders, even in persons in other respects wise and good. 
 
 The articles in the Boston Telegraph ran through ten num- 
 bers of the paper, filling in all about twenty-two columns. 
 The writer signed himself Timothy. He is of an entirely 
 different school from Mr. Metcalf and the Christian Spec- 
 tator ; for, while these endeavoured to bring Arminianism 
 and New School Calvinism upon the same ground, the oth- 
 er maintained the plain oldfashioned theory of irresistible 
 grace, particular election, and positive fore-ordination. Nay, 
 so honest and downright is the author of the articles, that he 
 freely admits that God is the author of sin. The passage is 
 curious. In answering the assertion of his opponent, that 
 the doctrine of Predestination makes God the author of sin, 
 after giving several senses to the word author, such as the 
 u doer or perpetrator of a thing," the " approver as well as 
 doer of a thing," and, lastly, the " efficient cause," he thus 
 proceeds : " Now I am willing to admit, that those Scriptures 
 which teach that God has decreed the sinful conduct of men, 
 do imply that he is the efficient cause of moral evil. For 
 his own glory and the greatest good, he said, ' Let there be 
 sin, and there was sin.'' The above objection, when stripped 
 of all ambiguity, means only that 1 God worketh all things 
 (without exception) after the counsel of his own will.' " We 
 insert this extract only to show the writer's creed ; but it is 
 not necessary to enlarge upon his views. The papers are 
 written with good temper and considerable ability ; but this 
 
CALVINIST1C CONTROVERSY. 
 
 289 
 
 aspect of the controversy is not exciting much attention at 
 the present period. 
 
 It was now high time to couch the lance and address 
 himself to conflict. The array against him was formidable, 
 and fearful the odds ; yet he was not disposed to shun the 
 encounter. His first article was published in May, 1832, 
 in answer to the Christian Spectator ; and his second in Oc- 
 tober following, in reply to Mr. Metcalf. This gentleman 
 had thrown out a charge against the Methodist clergy of 
 wishing to keep their people from reading Calvinistic publi- 
 cations. To meet this promptly, Dr. Fisk makes the follow- 
 ing proposition : 
 
 " And, in the mean time, as a farther proof that the charge 
 is unfounded, I will, Messrs. Editors, with your consent and 
 approbation, make a proposition to Mr. Metcalf. It is cer- 
 tainly desirable that both Calvinists and Methodists should 
 hear both sides. Mr. M. seems very desirous to enlighten 
 the Methodists. This is very well. But we also wish to 
 enlighten the Calvinists. To accomplish this, the discussions 
 on both sides should be put into the hands of the people on 
 both sides. If, then, some reputable and extensively-circu- 
 lated Calvinistic periodical will publish my sermon, and the 
 discussion which has arisen or may arise out of it on both 
 sides, the Christian Advocate and Journal will publish Mr. 
 M.'s letters, and the discussions which shall follow, provi- 
 ded, always, that it shall be submitted to the respective edi- 
 tors whether the pieces are written in respectful and becom- 
 ing style and language ; and provided, also, that the Cal- 
 vinistic editor shall, by consenting to this arrangement, be 
 considered as thereby acknowledging that Mr. Metcalf is a 
 suitable man to manage the controversy in behalf of the 
 Calvinists, and that you, Messrs. Editors, by consenting to 
 the arrangement, will thereby consent that you are willing 
 to trust the controversy in my hands, to be managed in be- 
 half of the Methodists. To give an opportunity for the Cal- 
 vinistic periodical to be prepared, I shall wait a reasonable 
 time, when, if the offer is not complied with, I shall want the 
 privilege, perhaps, of occupying the columns of the Advo- 
 25 O o 
 
290 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 cate by the insertion of a few numbers touching the present 
 Calvinistic controversy, both as relates to their own differ- 
 ences, and also as relates to the general question between 
 them and us. Respectfully yours, W. Fisk. 
 
 "Wesleyan University, September 27, 1832." 
 
 This was perfectly fair. It would bring Dr. Fisk and the 
 Christian Advocate on equal ground with their opponents. 
 But it seems there were serious objections to this arrange- 
 ment. The editor of the New-York Evangelist shall be al- 
 lowed to state them : 
 
 " There is one condition he exacts, however, which we 
 think impracticable : it is, that some person should be desig- 
 nated by a sort of common suffrage as the champion of Cal- 
 vinism. Now the truth is, Calvinists, as a class, are rather 
 remarkable for thinking for themselves ; and, of course, while 
 there are great principles on which, as a class, they all agree, 
 there are other things which will be held or stated different- 
 ly by different minds. Consequently, we can, each of us, 
 defend ourselves, and defend Calvinists as a class, notwith- 
 standing each one may think his fellow holds some errors ; 
 and therefore, in his contest with Calvinism, Dr. Fisk must 
 assume to himself the responsibility of selecting those doc- 
 trinal points and modes of statement which distinguish Cal- 
 vinists as a class ; and when he has found these principles, 
 we hope he will confute or embrace them."* 
 
 This proposition, therefore, not being accepted, our author 
 furnished for the Christian Advocate and Journal a succes- 
 sion of articles, the last of which was published April 3d, 
 1835. They were read with great avidity ; and such was 
 the interest felt in them, that the Book Agents, soon after 
 their completion, issued them in a distinct volume. It sold 
 extensively ; and, after Dr. Fisk's return from Europe, they 
 were republished in an improved form, the stereotype plates 
 having been destroyed in the conflagration of the Book Con- 
 cern in the winter of 1835. 
 
 If the gratification of your friends and the disturbance of 
 your foes be alike concessions to superior power, our author 
 * Quoted from the Calvinistic Controversy. 
 
CALVINISTIC CONTROVERSY. 
 
 291 
 
 received ample compliment on his Calvinistic Controversy. 
 We may learn something of a general's estimate of a hostile 
 army by his manner of preparing for the encounter, the num- 
 ber and quality of the forces he brings into the field, and the 
 like. After the array against him which we have mention- 
 ed above, it would have been useless and inconsistent to 
 deny that he was an opponent of no ordinary power. Ac- 
 cordingly, we find Timothy, in the introduction of his article 
 in the Boston Telegraph, holding this language : " This dis- 
 course has already received an uncommon share of public 
 attention. The ability with which the sermon is written, 
 and the celebrity of the author, have given it a pretty exten- 
 sive circulation ; and it is thought by many that Dr. Fisk 
 has, in this discourse, put the subject of Predestination and 
 Election forever at rest, and that Arminianism has gained a 
 complete and decisive victory." On the other hand, from 
 the friends of his own cause our author received numerous 
 and highly flattering testimonials, both by private communi- 
 cation and the public journals. Nor were these confined to 
 the members of his own church. The ensuing lines we ex- 
 tract from an article, in which, under the signature of " A 
 clergyman of another denomination," an unknown writer 
 speaks of one of Dr. Fisk's addresses on Temperance : 
 
 " May I also say that I have been very much pleased with 
 the doctor's papers on the Calvinistic Controversy. In truth, 
 I have seldom read anything more logical, argumentative, 
 clear, and conclusive. I should like much to see them in a 
 popular form. May the blessing of the Lord be with him." 
 
 But the highest commendation of the work is found in the 
 interest with which the successive numbers were read, the 
 demand for them in a separate volume, and the rapidity and 
 extent of its circulation. 
 
 Dr. Fisk's work on the Calvinistic Controversy was of 
 great service to the cause of truth. The system of the Ge- 
 nevan reformer had gone through so many convolutions as 
 nearly to have slipped through the pincers in which Wes- 
 ley and Fletcher had held it. The ground it assumed was 
 ao new, that the arguments heretofore employed against it 
 were of little avail. Besides, it now claimed close affinity 
 
292 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBTJR FISK. 
 
 with Arminianism, and adopted much of its phraseology and 
 mode of preaching. Its advocates themselves seemed to 
 think that they had discovered a method of constructing an 
 Arminian edifice on a Calvinian basis. Some of our own 
 people were deceived by these appearances, and really 
 thought that Calvinists had shot the gulf. Before Dr. Fisk 
 entered upon the work, several attempts had been made to 
 arrest the evil ; especially Dr. Bangs had published two vol- 
 umes against Hopkinsianism ; and several writers had ap- 
 peared in the Christian Advocate and Journal, and other pe- 
 riodicals. These all had their use, but did not meet the 
 present aspects of the case, or were too local and partial to 
 cover the entire ground. Dr. Fisk's work just supplied the 
 desideratum. It assailed the vulnerable points of the sys- 
 tem with masterly skill. Full of thought and information, 
 adapted to the times, written rather in a popular than in a 
 scholastic style, clear, natural, fluent, and engaging, it inter- 
 ested all classes. The effect was most happy. It convinced 
 some, at least, of the errors it opposed. One letter espe- 
 cially is before me, from a young man educated in the Cal- 
 vinian doctrines, who was delivered by it from a dark and 
 agitated state of mind, and peacefully established in the 
 views of Wesley. He afterward graduated at the Wesley- 
 an University, and is now a promising licentiate in the min- 
 istry. 
 
 But the controversy had the most beneficial influence on 
 the Church. It exposed to view the real difference between 
 the two theories ; it settled several contested points among 
 ourselves ; it proved that, though some Calvinists, in their 
 anxiety to avoid the offensive features of the system, had, in 
 effect, explained it all away, yet they were as far as ever 
 from Wesleyanism, and, in some points, far less evangelical 
 than Calvin, especially in regard to human depravity, con- 
 version, and regeneration. Since this time, to whatever it 
 may be ascribed, the Church has enjoyed repose ; our op- 
 ponents, if not convinced, are at least silent ; and the sword 
 of controversy rests undisturbed in its scabbard.* 
 
 * The Reverend Francis Hodgson's acute and seaiching work is the only ex- 
 ception of any consequence that we are aware of to the above remarks. This 
 
CALVINISTIC CONTROVERSY. 
 
 293 
 
 It ought to be observed, however, that the articles were 
 written at intervals, as the author could secure time from his 
 numerous and imperative engagements, and sent to press as 
 they were ready. This did not permit so minute a revision 
 and correction as they, no doubt, would have received had 
 the publication been delayed until all were finished. The 
 author felt these disadvantages, and modestly offers his apol- 
 ogy in the advertisement. 
 
 In closing this portion of our work, we feel happy in be- 
 ing able to say, that though it was our author's lot to come 
 into collision with many excellent as well as able men, he 
 did not allow his heart to be alienated from them by a mere 
 difference of opinion. So far as his opponents exercised the 
 appropriate Christian tempers, he still regarded them as breth- 
 ren, while he had many personal friends in different branches 
 of the Church of Christ. Thus he exemplified the saying 
 of the elder Mason, that " one true Christian differs from 
 another without breach of charity, as friends love one anoth- 
 er, though in different garbs." He frequently remarked, " 1 
 do not love my neighbour less because I love my own family 
 more." It has been said that our dislike of our opponents 
 is in the direct ratio, not of their distance from our own the- 
 ory, but of their propinquity to it. It was not so with Dr. 
 Fisk. He properly discriminated between the degrees of 
 error, and loved those most who were nearest what he un- 
 derstood to be the truth. He adhered to the only true ba- 
 sis of Christian concord : 
 
 " In necessariis unitas ; 
 
 u In non-necessariis lenitas ; 
 
 " In omnibus charitas." 
 
 goes farther into the subject than Dr. Fisk intended, and has done much towards 
 setting the doctrines of New Divinity, as it is called, in their proper light. 
 
 25* 
 
294 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Official Conduct. — Disinterestedness. — Revival. — Sickness. — Death of Judge 
 Deming. — Education. — Letters. — Theological and Missionary Education. — 
 Future Punishment believed by the Jews. — Writings and Literature. — Mode 
 of Instruction. — Intercourse with the Students. 
 
 Dr. Fisk's labours in the University were all the time 
 steadily increasing. The number of students was now 
 about one hundred, but the care and responsibility had in- 
 creased in a very disproportionate ratio. This arose partly 
 from the infancy of the institution, and partly from its pecu- 
 liar organization. The system adopted was much more per- 
 plexing to the faculty than the old plan ; it required a much 
 stricter personal vigilance ; it brought the students into closer 
 contact with the officers, especially with the president, and, 
 of course, made larger draughts upon his time. Besides, Dr. 
 Fisk was always opposed to governing by a system of stat- 
 utes and precedents. The government of a college is, in its 
 essential elements, paternal ; and in a family it would be 
 ruinous to govern by a minute system of inflexible law. The 
 mode of treatment must be varied, to meet the variety of 
 characters and dispositions composing the household. Thus 
 our subject believed that, while there should be certain gen- 
 eral principles, as invariable as possible, the president of a 
 college should exercise his discretion, to a greater extent 
 than is usually done, in the treatment of different cases and 
 persons. This system has important advantages, but it ren- 
 ders the situation of a presiding officer much more diffi- 
 cult. To carry it out fully and safely requires great dis- 
 crimination, tact, and promptitude ; but Dr. Fisk possessed 
 these in an eminent degree, and hence he succeeded to an 
 extent to which few would have done in the same situation. 
 
 His control over the students was almost unbounded. He 
 commanded to an uncommon extent the two affections ab- 
 solutely essential to success in his position, reverence and 
 attachment. A word from him was generally enough. If 
 
OFFICIAL CONDUCT. DISINTERESTEDNESS. 295 
 
 he had occasion to correct any little impropriety by public 
 remarks in the chapel, it was done in such a manner as 
 rarely to need repeating. He was very seldom severe, oc- 
 casionally sarcastic, often witty and humorous, just so as to 
 turn the laugh upon the offending person ; generally he was 
 mild and gentle, but never harsh nor angry. His perfect self- 
 command always sustained his dignity of character, and com- 
 manded respect. Cases of irregularity would of course oc- 
 cur ; but he would talk to the offender in such a manner as 
 generally to subdue him, and often bring him to penitence. 
 The number dismissed was remarkably small. He was not 
 accustomed to mention the faults or misdemeanours of the 
 students out of college, even to his own family ; and when 
 asked the reason of his reserve, he replied, " I wish the 
 young gentlemen to reinstate themselves in my confidence, 
 and I give them the opportunity ; but if I mention it abroad, 
 and they hear of it, they will not make the effort." Indeed, 
 the students regarded him as a friend. They went to him 
 for advice, for sympathy, and for aid in their difficulties with 
 perfect freedom and confidence. When sick, he not only 
 prayed with and for them, but attended to their wants and 
 comfort, and ministered to them with his own hands. These 
 things consumed a large share of his time, but it secured his 
 object, the safety and success of the institution. 
 
 We have already had proof of his disinterestedness. No 
 man could have had less regard to lucre ; he did not even 
 receive what was proper and necessary to meet the de- 
 mands of his station. On accepting the presidency of the 
 Wesleyan University, he refused a part of the salary offered 
 him by the trustees, not, however, from contracted views, 
 but from prudential reasons ; but he found it inadequate, and 
 received afterward an addition, but never more than a mod- 
 erate sufficiency for his unavoidable expenses. 
 
 But his disinterestedness appeared in a form still more 
 unequivocal and elevated, in his superiority, namely, to the 
 claims of reputation. He laboured with a single eye, with 
 a pure intention. He did not ask, How will it affect my- 
 self ? but Will it do good ? When he came to Middletown, 
 some one advised him not to preach often, lest familiarity 
 
296 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 should abate the interest in him, but to reserve himself for 
 great or important occasions. But to such worldly wisdom 
 he was an utter stranger. Such arts of self-seeking and rep- 
 utation hunting he never practised. They were beneath him. 
 Where there was need of labourers, he rushed to the field, 
 no matter whether the congregation was large and imposing, 
 or small and obscure. Some of his ablest sermons, of al- 
 most overwhelming power, were preached in little village 
 churches, in country school-houses, and to rustic audiences. 
 Nor was he sparing in his labours. When at home, he sel- 
 dom spent an idle Sabbath. Though he never used notes in 
 the pulpit, yet he often preached on an emergency, and fre- 
 quently was so engrossed with other duties as to have no 
 leisure to prepare himself properly for the pulpit. If by this 
 course he did not attain to quite the eminence he might have 
 done otherwise as a brilliant pulpit orator, he gained, what 
 is much more dear to the devout spirit of a true minister of 
 Christ, the entire affection and confidence of the Christian 
 public. 
 
 Dr. Fisk always felt the importance of maintaining an as- 
 cendant religious influence in the institution. Nor was it an 
 inactive and fruitless conviction. He spared no pains to 
 foster it. He frequently preached to the students in the chap- 
 el before regular service was established. In his private 
 conversations and reproofs for delinquencies, he gave, though 
 always with judgment and good taste, a suitable prominence 
 to religious considerations. Such appeals, sustained by his 
 own personal example, gave an elevation to his views and 
 a weight to his admonitions that rendered them more effect- 
 ive. An illustration of his solicitude to secure an influential 
 religious example it is thus in our power to present. It was 
 always, as we have elsewhere remarked, particularly inju- 
 rious to him to rise, especially to be in the open air, in the 
 morning long before breakfast ; it invariably aggravated his 
 cough and expectoration. Yet when he came to Middle- 
 town, he commenced the practice of attending morning 
 prayers in the chapel at six o'clock ; and it was only at the 
 urgent solicitation of the professors that he consented to de- 
 sist. When he had thus sufficiently proved his anxiety to 
 
REVIVAL AT THE WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY. 297 
 
 fulfil every duty, and secured the influence it gave him, he 
 yielded to entreaty, and ever after regularly officiated in the 
 daily service of the chapel only in the evening. 
 
 Of the students in the Wesleyan University, a large pro- 
 portion, generally more than one half, were professors of re- 
 ligion, and many of them of more mature age and character 
 than is usual in colleges ; yet, notwithstanding his exer- 
 tions, the president often lamented the comparative unfruit- 
 fulness of his ministerial labours, and had " great searchings 
 of heart" as to the reason. But in the spring of 1834, a pro- 
 tracted meeting was held in the church in town, under the 
 pastoral care of the Rev. Bartholomew Creagh. Dr. Fisk felt 
 it to be a time of interest and of great importance. The 
 evening the meeting commenced, he gathered his family 
 around the domestic altar, and having read a portion of 
 Scripture, he observed, " I have never laboured so long any- 
 where as here, without special evidence that God owned my 
 labours by the outpouring of his Holy Spirit. Can it be that 
 by this God means to indicate that I am not in the path of 
 duty ? I do not feel that my own soul has lost any of its fer- 
 vour ; but the University — the souls in the University !" 
 
 " In prayer," says Mrs. Fisk, from whom I have this inci- 
 dent, " in prayer he was very fervent. One expression I 
 well remember : ' I ask not to be the honoured instrument ; 
 only give me a token that thou dost own the University.' " 
 His prayer was answered, and he had the supreme satisfac- 
 tion, in a few weeks, to forward the annexed communication 
 
 To the Editors of the Christian Advocate and Journal. 
 
 " Wesleyan University, March 12, 1834. 
 
 " Dear Brethren, 
 
 " I have the inexpressible happiness of communicating to 
 you the cheering intelligence of a blessed work of grace in 
 the Wesleyan University. This is the first general revival 
 we have had since the institution was opened. Although 
 we have had a great proportion of pious students from the 
 beginning, still those who entered in an unconverted state 
 have generally remained so, and in some instances the piety 
 of the professing students had evidently declined. This was, 
 
 Pp 
 
298 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 to us, a matter of great grief and special solicitude. The 
 University was established by the Church for the good of the 
 world, and especially for the advancement of the Redeem- 
 er's cause ; and to experience no spiritual refreshings for 
 more than two years seemed peculiarly inauspicious. The 
 young men were moral, regular in their habits, remarkably 
 correct in their general deportment, active in the cause of 
 temperance, of missions, and of other benevolent enterprises; 
 but all this, commendable as it was, did not come up to the 
 important standard, personal holiness of heart and life. But 
 God had not forgotten us. He has at length visited us in 
 great mercy. A few of our students are absent. Of those 
 who are present, but very few, perhaps but three or four, can 
 be found who profess not to have obtained peace in believ- 
 ing, or are not earnestly pressing after it. The work, in 
 most cases, seems to be thorough and deep. So great has 
 been the interest for the last two weeks, we have been obli- 
 ged partially, and some days almost wholly, to suspend our 
 regular college duties, and our college edifices have resound- 
 ed with the voice of prayer and praise. 
 
 " Although all who are acquainted with our literary insti- 
 tutions know that here, as elsewhere, there are snares and 
 temptations for the inexperienced youth — so that we rejoice 
 with trembling — yet I cannot but believe that a goodly num- 
 ber of young men have here, within a few days, been brought 
 to a state of feeling and a course of action that will be pro- 
 ductive of lasting advantage to themselves, and, through 
 them, to others. What an interesting consideration is this ! 
 and how strongly does it recommend our literary institutions 
 to the patronage of the Church. This is a point to which I 
 strongly suspect the attention of the Church has not been 
 sufficiently directed. Let one fact speak on this subject. 
 To say nothing of the advantages of our seminaries to those 
 who are already pious, and of the moral and religious influ- 
 ence that has been thrown over others, I have the means of 
 knowing that about three sevenths of all the students of this 
 University have become pious either here, or at one of our 
 academies before they entered here. Thus religion and lit- 
 erature have met together in the very cases in which there is 
 
EFFECT OF HIS EXERTIONS ON HIS HEALTH. 
 
 299 
 
 the greatest hope for the cause of God — in young men who 
 are training and girding themselves for the great enterprise 
 of subduing the world to Christ. And will our friends look 
 on and see our institutions languish for the want of the ne- 
 cessary funds, when God is showering salvation upon them ? 
 And will our pious members hesitate to send their children 
 here for fear of injury to their souls, when it is here that God 
 blesses them ? Brethren, inquire what is duty in this matter. 
 
 "I will just observe, in conclusion, that the work in the 
 University has been in connexion with a gracious revival in 
 the town, of which our beloved brother Creagh, preacher in 
 charge, will doubtless give a more particular account. 
 
 "W. Fisk." 
 
 By his labours during this season of uncommon interest, 
 Dr. Fisk's health was greatly prostrated. It was still farther 
 affected by an excursion, immediately after the meeting clo- 
 sed, to New-London, to solicit funds for the institution, and 
 still more by the arduous duties devolving on him at the 
 New- England Conference, which took place soon after. On 
 his return home, though really unfit to be out of bed, he in- 
 sisted on fulfilling an appointment, which he had sent on be- 
 fore him, to preach in the chapel to the students. This suc- 
 cession of tasks upon his strength was entirely too much. 
 He was now seized with a violent attack of peripneumony, 
 which confined him to his chamber for several weeks : yet 
 he could not desist from work. During his illness he re- 
 ceived unpleasant intelligence of some kind from Wilbraham 
 Academy that required prompt attention. Unable to sit up 
 in bed, yet supported by pillows, Mrs. Fisk guiding his 
 emaciated hand, he penned an answer to the communica- 
 tion. Such was the spirit in which he lived. Take another 
 instance : Before he was entirely recovered from this illness, 
 the annual examination of the students of the University took 
 place. Too feeble to walk, he would be carried up morning 
 and afternoon each day, attending an hour or so at a time, 
 as he was able to bear it. On Mrs. Fisk's expostulating 
 with him about it, he replied, " I wish to know for myself 
 the standing both of professors and students ; and at this 
 
300 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 time I feel called upon to use all the exertion I can make, 
 and then cast myself on the providential care of God." But 
 such exposures of health and life, though they arise from a 
 lofty sense of duty and noble elements of character, trespass 
 on the verge of prudence, and are not commended for imi- 
 tation ; but our subject seemed to go on the theory that he 
 would not hold any situation in which he could not do all 
 that was necessary to give it efficiency. He acted on the 
 principle that " That life is long which answers life's great 
 end." From the effects of this illness Mrs. Fisk thinks he 
 never entirely recovered. 
 
 In the summer of 1834 Dr. Fisk met with a severe afflic- 
 tion in the death of his friend the Hon. Benjamin Franklin 
 Deming. The attachment between these, in many respects, 
 kindred spirits, was similar to that of David and Jonathan. 
 The previous year Judge Deming was elected a member of 
 Congress, and consequently spent the winter in Washing- 
 ton. While there his health failed, and on the adjournment 
 of Congress he proceeded homeward as far as Saratoga 
 Springs, where he purposed spending a few days, in hope of 
 deriving aid from the water. But, alas ! no Hygeian spring 
 could avail. He took to his bed, and died far from home, 
 surrounded by strangers. But he was a devout Christian, 
 had retained his religious confidence and fervour unimpair- 
 ed through the trying scenes of a Congressional career, and 
 died in humble reliance upon the Saviour, and in full assu- 
 rance of a blissful immortality. Dr. Fisk received the ac- 
 count of his friend's departure while on a journey to visit 
 his parents at Lyndon. He was deeply affected by it. " He 
 never afterward," says Mrs. Fisk, " heard Judge Deming's 
 name without painful emotion. More than once, when I al- 
 luded to him, he said, i The loss of Judge Deming has made 
 a vacuum in my heart which can never be filled. On earth 
 to me his place is blank. But it is all well. I love to think 
 of him in heaven.' " 
 
 From Lyndon he addressed the subjoined letter, though 
 still very feeble, to the bereaved widow of his friend, resi- 
 ding at Danville : 
 
EFFORTS IN BEHALF OF EDUCATION. 
 
 301 
 
 " Lyndon, August 6, 1834. 
 
 " My dear Sister, 
 
 " I had purposed to visit you before I returned, but poor 
 health and want of time will prevent. I need not tell you 
 how sensibly I felt the loss of your lamented husband, and 
 how my heart bled, not only for myself, but also for you. I 
 feared the burden would be more than you could bear ; but 
 how happy am I to learn from Mr. Cook that our heavenly 
 Father, who tempers the wind to the shorn lamb, has gra- 
 ciously sustained you in this hour of trial. I desire to be 
 most thankful in your behalf for this special favour. May 
 this affliction, my dear sister, be the means of your entire 
 sanctification to that God that you profess to serve. This 
 is, indeed, a great loss — an irreparable loss ; but then it may 
 be a great blessing — the greatest blessing, perhaps, that you 
 ever experienced. 
 
 " You have now a double duty to perform for your dear 
 children ; may you have wisdom to direct. If I can afford 
 you any assistance as counsel in the education of your chil- 
 dren, you may command my services. 
 
 " We had not heard of your dear husband's death until I 
 left home, but I wrote to Mrs. F. immediately. I need not 
 tell you she will sympathize with you deeply, and will pray 
 for you. 
 
 " My kind regards to your dear children, and believe me 
 your affectionate and sympathizing friend and Christian 
 brother, W. Fisk." 
 
 The cause of education in the Methodist community had 
 now received an impulse which was felt to the utmost bounds 
 of the connexion. Yet it touched the more prominent mem- 
 bers rather than vivified the whole body. Dr. Fisk rejoiced 
 greatly at what was done, but still lamented that it was so 
 little compared with our obligations. Speaking of the slow 
 progress of the cause in general, and in particular of the dif- 
 ficulty of obtaining funds for the Wesleyan University, he 
 remarked, in a letter to the Reverend Chauncey Richardson,* 
 " Something must be done, or we are thrown into the back- 
 ground as a denomination. Our people are not half awake. 
 * Now president of the college at Rutersville, Texas. 
 
 26 
 
302 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 Their contributions for this great object are as meager as 
 the leakage of a miser's purse." Again : " We must keep 
 *his subject alive until we wake up a spirit of enterprise that 
 will sleep no more. Religion and education, bound together 
 in their native affinities, and their operations in unison, must 
 save the Church and must save the nation." 
 
 His views were enlarged and comprehensive. From his 
 peculiar position, he had abundant opportunity of learning 
 the condition and wants of the Western and Southern States 
 in regard to education and intelligence ; and deeply was his 
 heart affected by the pictures often presented to his view. 
 From every direction letters came thronging to him, chiefly 
 from the West, beseeching him to aid them, and especially 
 to furnish them with suitable instructers. These things in- 
 duced him to write a spirited article, inserted in the Chris- 
 tian Advocate and Journal, under date of April 11th, 1834, 
 headed " Supply of Teachers for the West," which brought 
 an article from another hand, signed " A Voice from the 
 South," claiming equal consideration in that section. Among 
 his acquaintances and the students of the University he used 
 great exertion, and many are the teachers sent through his 
 instrumentality into those regions. Many, perhaps I might 
 say most, of the colleges and academies in the country under 
 Methodist influence have beeu furnished with instructers, in 
 whole or in part, from the Wesleyan University, including 
 two in the Faculty of Victoria College, recently established 
 in Upper Canada, to say nothing of the number engaged in 
 private schools or as domestic teachers. Indeed, it is not 
 known that a single graduate of the institution is otherwise 
 than honourably engaged in some useful occupation. Thus 
 Dr. Fisk so far has had his wishes fulfilled. True, part of 
 these results have followed since his death, but we still may 
 justly lay them to the credit of his influence and exertions. 
 
 The spirit and motives which actuated him may be still 
 farther seen in an extract from a letter to Miss Susan Brew- 
 er, now Mrs. Thomas, of Louisiana, who went out under his 
 recommendation to Alabama as a teacher, and is well known 
 and esteemed for her labours in various institutions in the 
 South in that capacity. The letter was written August 10, 
 
VIEWS IN CONNEXION WITH EDUCATION. 
 
 303 
 
 1831, but I reserved it for this place in consequence of its 
 appropriateness to the present topic. 
 
 " I wish we could fill that new country with sound pious 
 teachers. Indeed, I want to send out enough to set the 
 world on fire ! I have done educating youths for themselves ; 
 my sole object, I think, will be, hereafter, to educate all I 
 can get for the world. I can do but little myself, but per- 
 haps I may be able to stir up the fire of a few young hearts, 
 who will burn their way through this dark, wicked world ! 
 My heart burns in this work, and the fervour increases from 
 year to year. O, what a work lies before us ! Who is on 
 the Lord's side ? Would to God I could train up an army to 
 march against the powers of darkness and spiritual wicked- 
 ness in high places ! See the opening doors for doing good 
 all over the world! And yet the Church sleeps on, and the 
 rising generation are educated for self! poor little self! 
 Never ! never shall we see the world renewed until this 
 blighting mildew, this withering curse, is removed from the 
 Church." 
 
 To Mr. George H. Round, a graduate of the Wesleyan Uni- 
 versity. 
 
 " January 12, 1835. 
 " That you are employed profitably to yourself and to the 
 world, is the only recompense you can receive for your past 
 toils, and the only recompense you can make to the world for 
 the privileges you have enjoyed and do still enjoy in it. So 
 far as the human race are concerned in their relations to each 
 other, we are all mutually debtors and creditors, and the 
 only way to keep the account balanced is to go to the extent 
 of our ability both in obtaining and communicating. The 
 more we obtain, the more we can communicate ; and the more 
 we can communicate, the more we can obtain. This is the 
 circulation of the life-blood of society. When it is complete, 
 the state of society is perfect; when it is checked, society 
 suffers, but not so much as the individual member in whom 
 the suspension occurs. Wo be to him ! he perishes in and 
 by his own accumulations. The healthful action of his own 
 
304 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 soul ceases ; mortification takes place ; and, although he 
 struggles a while in this violence to the law of his being, the 
 action is morbid and painful to himself, and he finally dies, 
 a corrupt and offensive appendage of the social system. 
 Rather than die such a social and moral death, let us endure 
 all kinds of labour and privation. Man may cast me off and 
 persecute me, but he never can destroy my earthly happi- 
 ness until he checks the current of benevolence in my heart, 
 and robs me of the privilege of loving him and serving him. 
 Can he ever do this ?" 
 
 Progression in whatever he was engaged was Dr.Fisk's 
 continual aim ; stagnation was his utter abhorrence. From 
 the first establishment of the Wesleyan University, he medi- 
 tated a carrying out of the full provisions of the charter. 
 "With this view he desired to see erected in the institution a 
 department of law, and another of medicine. With a view 
 to the former, he wrote to Thomas Chapman, Esq., the liber- 
 al benefactor of the University, to ascertain whether he would 
 accept a professorship, and organize a law department. But, 
 from his professional engagements, joined to the health of his 
 family, he was induced to decline. He also wrote to his ex- 
 cellent friend, Dr. Sewall, of Washington (D. C), asking his 
 advice as to the establishment of a medical college, and re- 
 questing his services as professor. He received a very judi- 
 cious and candid answer, entirely discouraging the project. 
 The reasons were chiefly the great expense and risk attending 
 it, and the danger of multiplying such institutions too fast ; the 
 greater advantages of large cities for pursuing the medical 
 studies, especially surgery, and the superiority of a few insti- 
 tutions on an extended scale, over a great number feebly sus- 
 tained. These views as to the medical school were deci- 
 sive. A department of law, however, has been recently 
 added, under the supervision of the Hon. William L. Storrs. 
 
 Another topic belongs to this period of our history, on 
 which it may be expected that our subject's views would be 
 presented. The spirit of improvement which had been 
 awakened in our ministry had led to the agitation of the The- 
 ological School Question. From his ardent devotion to the 
 cause of general education, and his desire to elevate the 
 
VIEWS ON THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION. 
 
 305 
 
 standard of ministerial attainments, many entertained no 
 doubt that Dr. Fisk would cordially advocate such institu- 
 tions. But he had strong objections to them, partly as op- 
 posed to the feelings of the Methodist community, and partly 
 as incompatible with our organization and economy. Yet 
 he thought that arrangements might be made, in connexion 
 with our colleges, for the improvement of young minis- 
 ters, answering very nearly to the Theological Institution of 
 our British brethren. But we are enabled to lay before the 
 reader his views, pretty fully expressed in two letters on the 
 subject, addressed, one to the Rev. Martin P. Parks, now of 
 the P. E. Church, and recently elected Bishop of Alabama, 
 and the other to the Rev. Thomas Stringfield. The reader 
 will see that there is some difference in the date, but as they 
 relate to the same subject, we introduce them together. The 
 former was written when the subject was just broached ; in 
 the latter his views are more matured. 
 
 " Middletown, December 17, 1833. 
 
 "My dear Brother, 
 
 " Your esteemed favour arrived as I was on the eve of 
 my departure to visit Captain Wyeth in reference to the Or- 
 egon Mission, an account of which you have doubtless seen 
 in the Christian Advocate and Journal. My absence, and 
 the bringing up of arrears in my official duties since my re- 
 turn, have delayed a reply until now ; and, now that I have 
 taken up my pen, I know not what to say. I can indeed re- 
 spond to your statements, that, as a whole, our ministry is in 
 many respects greatly deficient ; and, what is to me a mat- 
 ter of deeper and more fearful interest, that deficiency will 
 be felt more in twenty years than it now is, from the fact 
 that, while society in general is advancing, we receive min- 
 isters on our old standards, and educate them in the old 
 way ; and hence shall raise up men of precisely the same 
 character, to operate upon a material which, by the changes 
 in society, is of a very different character. The odds 
 against us, moreover, in future, w r ill be the greater, from the 
 fact, that while other denominations have lost nothing of their 
 former intellectual and professional preparation, they have 
 26* Q Q 
 
306 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 gained much in zeal and industry. The zeal and industry 
 of the Methodist preachers formerly, notwithstanding their 
 ignorance, gave them an ascendancy in the ecclesiastical 
 field over the ministers of other denominations, notwithstand- 
 ing their knowledge. But let the latter possess both, and the 
 former only retain the one, and they are unquestionably su- 
 perseded. This is the crisis towards which we are rapidly 
 tending. The inquiry is, How can the present and the still 
 greater coming evil be remedied or prevented ? Now if it 
 were judged best, in abstract theory, to have theological sem- 
 inaries, it would not be best to attempt their establishment 
 at present, and that for several reasons. First. We could 
 not command the means to establish them. Second. We 
 could not furnish the men to take the direction and control 
 of them. Third. An attempt to get up such institutions 
 would raise the popular cry in our Church against all our 
 literary institutions, and would, I fear, ruin them. There is 
 one way, however, in which this evil may in part, at least, be 
 remedied, and this is a method which I have practised 
 ever since I have been concerned in our institutions. Let 
 all the members of our colleges and academies who design 
 entering the ministry be formed into voluntary classes, to 
 have exercises weekly or oftener, consisting of written 
 themes, lectures, and familiar discussions on doctrine, Bib- 
 lical criticism, Church government, pastoral duties, and pulpit 
 exercises. Let the president and such of the professors as 
 are skilled in these topics give their services to this noble 
 work. Soon, perhaps, we can introduce theological profes- 
 sors into our colleges, and may induce many of our gradu- 
 ates to reside a year or two at the college after graduation, 
 to study their profession. In this way we shall gradually 
 introduce a change in the ministerial profession among us, 
 which cannot fail, by direct and indirect influences, to affect 
 the whole body. This work may be commenced at once. 
 If it has not been done in your college before, you can com- 
 mence it the very day you receive this suggestion, if you ap- 
 prove of it. If we cannot do all we would, we can do some- 
 thing ; and every inch gained gives so much enlargement 
 for future action ; and, in time, we shall mould the public 
 
VIEWS ON THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION. 
 
 307 
 
 mind to our purpose, and shall secure pecuniary means, and 
 efficient instructers, and willing pupils." 
 
 To the Rev. Thos. Slringfield. 
 
 " Middletown, February 13, 1835. 
 
 "My dear Brother, 
 
 " It is the general opinion here, I think, both among the 
 learned and the unlearned, that our young men ought to be 
 better instructed in theology, as well as in general science 
 and literature, than they usually are when they enter the min- 
 istry, and better than they can be without some one to in- 
 struct them. 
 
 " But it is the general opinion with us that this instruction 
 can be better given in the literary institutions than in any 
 separate school : this is decidedly my opinion. When we 
 see how greatly deficient we are, as a body, in the knowledge 
 of Scripture theology, and when we see how difficult it is to 
 get this knowledge after entering the ministry, how can I 
 doubt, and how can any one doubt, but that they should be 
 better educated beforehand ? The old theory, you know, is, 
 that the young men should, while on trial and while deacons, 
 be placed with experienced fathers, who should teach them. 
 This is what some have called the 1 Old Methodist Theolo- 
 gical Seminary. 1 However well this may sound in theory, 
 you and I very well know how it operates. In these days 
 of practical philosophy, it is the working of a principle that 
 gives it credit. This is true in general ; but I fear we are 
 not such good philosophers. We call our machinery perfect, 
 and have persisted against all experience. The fact is, and 
 we ought to know it, the constitution and exigences of the 
 itinerant connexion are such, that it can never take the raw 
 material, and work it up to that extent and in that degree of 
 perfection which is imperiously demanded ; much less can 
 it do it in its present condition ; for the machinery which is 
 relied upon to accomplish this is itself in so unfinished a 
 state, that in many of its parts it is but little advanced be- 
 yond the raw material. The only question, therefore, that 
 remains to be decided, is, How can this preparatory knowl- 
 edge be best imparted ? I propose our literary institutions 
 for this object; among other reasons are the following: 
 
308 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 "1, It will be a great saving of expense. In our literary 
 seminaries we have the buildings, the libraries, the teachers, 
 already prepared. To get up and support separate estab- 
 lishments would almost double the expense. The attempt, 
 therefore, in the present condition of these seminaries, would 
 be likely to ruin both. 
 
 u 2. By having an experienced and well-educated minister 
 in these seminaries, this work can be accomplished to all 
 needful extent. 
 
 " 3. It will be a saving of time to the young men, who 
 can thus mingle the study of theology with their other pur- 
 suits. It will become a part of their miscellaneous reading; 
 and, in hours of relaxation, of their conversation. Mind, 
 acting upon mind, will elicit truth almost incidentally, and 
 there will always be one to whom they might appeal to set- 
 tle all doubtful questions. 
 
 " 4. In this way, too, we shall not be so much in danger 
 of carrying speculation too far, so as to make the instruc- 
 tion result in dogmatism, and lead to the spinning out of new 
 theories, as is the case sometimes in theological seminaries. 
 
 " 5. In this way we should throw a greater amount of salt 
 into our literary fountains, and thus get new and promising 
 candidates for the ministry converted, perhaps. 
 
 " 6. What I have here proposed is not mere theory. I 
 have acted upon this principle, more or less, ever since I en- 
 tered upon the business of education, and I have now a 
 class of from twenty to thirty promising young men under 
 this kind of training. I hope you will do the same in your 
 institution. Our brethren in Virginia say they cannot take 
 this course, because their charter and public sentiment will 
 not permit. In that case they must take the next best way. 
 It is not so here. I ought, however, to say, that the theolo- 
 gical instruction which we impart is not made a part of a 
 college course ; it is extra and voluntary on their part, and 
 gratuitous on ours. 
 
 " Your affectionate brother, W.Fisk." 
 
 We have already had occasion to observe, that one object 
 Dr. Fisk had in view, in connexion with the Wesleyan Uni- 
 
EDUCATION OF MISSIONARIES. 
 
 309 
 
 versity, was the preparation of suitable persons for the mis- 
 sionary field. Of this he did not lose sight. At the session 
 of the New-England Conference in 1833, he introduced a 
 resolution for the appointment of a committee to digest a 
 plan for the formation of education societies throughout the 
 Conference. The ensuing spring he received from the Rev. 
 John^Lindsey a letter, to which he wrote the subjoined an- 
 swer. It is dated March 24, 1834. 
 
 " Your letter from Andover was received this morning. 
 With respect to the missionary department in the University, 
 I know not what to say ; I believe such a department, could 
 it be sustained, would be of great service to the cause of 
 missions : it would create and establish such a cause among 
 us. As yet, we have no missionary cause in our Church for 
 foreign missions. The Young Men's Missionary Society in 
 New-York, with much labour and perseverance, got up the 
 Liberia Mission ; and a few of us, in the same way, got up, 
 by our independent exertions, the Oregon Mission. An in- 
 dependent movement on the part of New-England I do not 
 so well like, because it would be viewed with distrust by 
 other parts ; it would be construed into radicalism and the 
 like by some. I think, however, that a missionary depart- 
 ment in the University would accomplish the object without 
 exciting those jealousies. If we have men raised up and 
 prepared, who say to the bishops and to the Conference, i 1 
 am for a foreign mission ,' then the missions will be planned 
 and the work will be sustained. 
 
 " But how shall such a department be sustained ? Or, for 
 a preliminary question, How shall it be constituted ? It 
 must, of course, be a department for instruction preparatory 
 to a foreign mission, for which charitable provision should 
 be made for the poor. Hence perhaps a professorship 
 should be established and endowed, or else a fund should 
 be raised for the education of such young men as were des- 
 tined for the mission field. The latter I should rather pre- 
 fer. But can such a fund be raised ? and in raising it, would 
 not our other efforts be paralyzed ? for you know we have 
 not funds yet for the college proper. Think of these things, 
 and write. " 
 
310 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 Dr. Fisk, at the next Conference, was chairman of the 
 Committee on Education, while the Rev. John Lindsey was 
 in the same relation to the Committee on Missions. Having 
 respectively examined the subjects committed to them, the 
 two bodies united in presenting the subjoined report to Con- 
 ference. The document was written by Dr. Fisk, and signed ■ 
 by the chairman of each committee. It is worthy of serious 
 perusal. 
 
 " The committee are of opinion that the two subjects, that 
 of missionary labour and education, are nearly related to 
 each other, and, in the present state of the Church, the two 
 are, in fact, inseparable. It is evident, from the signs of the 
 times, that the only embarrassment to the missionary cause, 
 which threatens seriously to impede its progress in our Church, 
 is the want of the proper agents to carry it on. The mis- 
 sionary work is somewhat peculiar, and differs from our reg- 
 ular work in two respects : First, An education suited to 
 the particular work to which the missionary is called. "We 
 have already commenced in the foreign missionary enter- 
 prise, and calls are made upon us for an enlargement of 
 these operations, in places where an acquaintance with other 
 languages, and with some of the sciences and other profes- 
 sions, especially the profession of medicine, is indispensable. 
 To suit these peculiarities, it is necessary that an education 
 should be given of an appropriate character. Secondly, An- 
 other peculiarity in the missionary work is its identity with 
 the cause of education. Education and the Christian reli- 
 gion always have been and always should be intimately con- 
 nected. A minister of the Gospel that is not interested in 
 the cause of general education is an anomaly ; and, in the 
 opinion of your committee, such a man, if he can be found, 
 has forgotten an important part of his calling. But this ap- 
 plies with peculiar emphasis to the missionary work. Here 
 not only must the missionary aid this cause collaterally and 
 indirectly, but he must make it a part of his business to teach, 
 or, at least, he must superintend this work as performed by 
 others, associated with him for that expiess purpose. Hence 
 the missionary himself must be prepared for the work of in- 
 struction, and in many cases must have associated with him 
 
EDUCATION SOCIETY. 
 
 311 
 
 missionary teachers, all of whom need to be educated for 
 the purpose. The question is, Where shall we get the men 
 with the appropriate qualifications for this all-important en- 
 terprise ? If we look into the ranks of the travelling minis- 
 try, or among those who are candidates for the itinerant 
 connexion, we must be constrained to acknowledge that we 
 have them not to spare from these sources ; and if we look 
 into the private ranks of the Church, we shall find — what 
 shall we find ? Men qualified for this work ? Your com- 
 mittee believe not. We shall find, it is true, young persons 
 of both sexes, ardent in piety, glowing in love to God and 
 man, burning with a commendable zeal for the missionary 
 enterprise, but altogether unprepared to prosecute this labour 
 successfully. In proof that we have many such among us, 
 the committee have had the testimony of other brethren from 
 different parts of the Conference, and they know this to be 
 a fact from personal acquaintance. It is also known that 
 a great portion of these persons are poor, and unable to 
 secure an education without aid. The committee have there- 
 fore agreed to report a plan, the general features of which, 
 they are fully confident, will meet the exigences of the 
 Church in this matter, if the members of the Conference will 
 enter into it with unanimity and zeal ; and until some plan 
 of this kind be adopted, the committee are of opinion that 
 the intellectual resources of the Church will never be fully 
 developed, and rendered, to the full extent, efficient and use- 
 ful in the great cause of evangelizing the world. They be- 
 lieve that the longer this work is delayed, the more will the 
 cause of the Church suffer, both at home and abroad. The 
 youth of our Church are alienated from the purposes of the 
 Church, either into business purely secular, or into the ser- 
 vice and under the control of others, who offer them advan- 
 tages for intellectual improvement and subsequent employ- 
 ment which they have sought for in vain among us. 
 
 " The committee are also of opinion, that by this proposed 
 plan the Conference may afford the most efficient aid to our 
 literary institutions, and that, too, in a way corresponding 
 with the original design of getting up these institutions. 
 The primary object of general education is, as it should be, 
 
312 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 the highest good of man in this world and the next. It is 
 because this object has so high an import, and because it 
 stands connected with man's highest elevation and destiny, 
 that our Church has interested herself in the establishment 
 and maintenance of literary institutions. These institutions 
 need aid, especially the Wesleyan University ; an institution 
 which, while it is eminently worthy, as your committee be- 
 lieve, of public patronage, has strong claims upon the Con- 
 ference for patronage and support. But paying students 
 are as profitable for the time being to the University as 
 money. If, therefore, the Conference should raise funds for 
 the purposes of education at the University, they will so far 
 strengthen and aid the institution ; and if they do this in 
 connexion with the missionary work, they will so far aid the 
 cause of the Church directly, and hence the cause of educa- 
 tion and religion will, by the same operation, be promoted. 
 
 " The committee might enlarge upon the wants of the 
 Church in reference to this subject ; they might say that 
 calls have been made for missionaries and teachers in South 
 America, and that there are increased openings in Africa ; 
 they might mention that hundreds of teachers are now called 
 for in our new settlements, on our frontiers, and among our 
 aborigines : calls that cannot be met until the persons are 
 provided, and the persons cannot be provided unless they are 
 educated. 
 
 " The committee are aware that the execution of this plan 
 will require zeal, unanimity, and prudence. But we shall 
 gain nothing by delay. An efficient and discreet committee 
 should be appointed, and great care should be taken in ma- 
 turing the plan and fixing the details. Let us not, however, 
 by our fears, hesitate longer in this work ; we have neg- 
 lected it too long. With prayer for wisdom, and with in- 
 terest in the cause, and with a resolution to go forward, let 
 us engage. And may the Great Head of the Church give 
 success to the enterprise." 
 
 To the report was attached a resolution imbodying the 
 essential feature recommended. A constitution for such a 
 society was also submitted, defining its object to be " to 
 look up and bring forward such young persons as may be 
 
EDUCATION SOCIETIES. 
 
 313 
 
 judged suitable for Home or Foreign Missions, either as 
 teachers or preachers, and to furnish them with the means 
 of an education suited to the peculiar duties to which they 
 may be respectively called." They recommended, at the 
 same time, that the bishop be requested to appoint an agent, 
 to travel through the Conference the ensuing year, to pro- 
 mote the objects of the society. The entire plan was adopt- 
 ed, and carried into immediate execution. This was the 
 origin of education societies in the Methodist Church. The 
 example has been followed in some other Conferences, and 
 we trust the day is not far distant when the plan will become 
 general. 
 
 An extract from the report of the Executive Committee, 
 presented the ensuing year, will show the doings of the so- 
 ciety during the intervening period. It was written by Dr. 
 Fisk: 
 
 " The number of beneficiaries that are now under the 
 patronage of the society is eight, at an annual expense of 
 from 85 to 100 dollars. Two of these are coloured men, 
 both of whom are designed for the African Mission. One of 
 these, Reverend Amos Herring, is a minister recommended 
 for orders to the present session of the New-England Con- 
 ference, and a man of much promise to the Church. The 
 other is already qualified as a teacher in a high school in 
 Africa, and is expected to be called to that station in a few 
 months. The committee feel highly gratified at the pro- 
 spective usefulness of these men, and feel confident that ei- 
 ther of them has been benefited by the society to an extent 
 that would, if there were no other good accomplished by 
 their operations the past year, amply compensate for all the 
 money and labour that have been bestowed in the operations 
 of the society. Three of the beneficiaries of the society are 
 in the Wesleyan University, from whom the committee have 
 the most gratifying information respecting their religious 
 standing, their attention and improvement, and their prom- 
 ising usefulness. The others are at the Wesleyan Academy 
 in Wilbraham. From these, also, the committee have such 
 returns as afford them, in the main, high satisfaction and 
 encouragement. The whole expense of those under the pa- 
 27 Rr 
 
314 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 tronage of the society the past year is estimated at about five 
 hundred and twelve dollars." 
 
 But, like most new enterprises, the present had to encoun- 
 ter distrust and opposition. Another extract from the report 
 will show how our author endeavoured to overcome these : 
 
 " 4. The youth of our Church must be educated, or the 
 missionary work must be seriously embarrassed and restrict- 
 ed, so far as our instrumentality is concerned. On this 
 point perhaps the committee ought to enlarge a little, by 
 way of illustrating their views, and of calling the attention 
 of the Church to the subject. This is the more necessary, 
 perhaps, because the attitude assumed by this society may 
 seem to be novel in the Methodist Church, and possibly, to 
 some, may seem to conflict with our former doings and 
 teachings. ' It is a departure from our ancient landmarks,' 
 say some. If, however, it be a departure from the ancient 
 landmarks of Methodism to be interested and active in the 
 cause of education, then the committee have yet to learn 
 what ancient Methodism was. But if the objection be, that 
 to educate in view of the ministry is the particular point of 
 divergency from the ancient landmarks, to this a few words 
 may be replied : 
 
 " 1. The Methodist Church never discarded education in 
 view of the ministry or for the ministry, but, on the contrary, 
 always encouraged and insisted upon it, both in her Disci- 
 pline and by her usages. It is true, she has not always sent 
 her candidates or licentiates to a literary and scientific insti- 
 tution for an education. She has endeavoured to educate 
 them in the work. In this she has done much, and done, 
 too, in most cases in former years, the best thing she could 
 do, considering the exigencies of the Church. But this was 
 always a tedious process, and only practicable to a certain 
 extent, and only profitable under certain circumstances. 
 When the state of society advances, when theological knowl- 
 edge increases, and when astute and learned opponents are 
 in the field, the man of God must be proportionally ad- 
 vanced in his intellectual attainments. Besides, our own 
 people now — whether right or wrong, they must judge — will 
 not suffer us to fill up the ministry as we once did. They 
 
EDUCATION OF MINISTERS. 
 
 315 
 
 say, in the greater portion of the work, < Do not send us 
 uneducated boys, but men — men who can instruct us.' Now 
 either some parts of the work must take all the licentiates 
 and educate them for the other parts, by supporting them as 
 their pastors for the time of their probation, with an assu- 
 rance of leaving them as soon as they become qualified for 
 their work (a disinterestedness which we rarely, if ever, find, 
 and have no right to expect), or these men must be better 
 educated before they are imposed upon the people. 
 
 u 2. Another reply to the objection here attempted to be 
 met is, that that form of ecclesiastical organization called 
 Methodism is peculiarly the offspring of Providence, and 
 specially adapted to the circumstances and wants of men. 
 Mr. Wesley followed where Providence prepared the way, 
 and he left the institutions of which he was the author, un- 
 der God (we mean the prudential regulations of the Church), 
 in such form in Europe, and especially in this country, as to 
 be readily adjusted to the providential variations of society. 
 This is one of the glories of Methodism ; and the moment 
 the Church on these points assumes that the canons of the 
 volume of Providence are complete, and that the Church is 
 immutable in her course of prudential and providential 
 measures to benefit mankind, that moment the Methodist 
 Church is stopped in her glorious career of usefulness, and 
 the lapse of a few years will mark her with the wrinkled 
 visage of age ; her institutions will become antiquated, ob- 
 solete, and inefficient. Against such a prostration of all the 
 energies of the Church, by the bigoted and unmeaning 
 clamour for oldfashioned Methodism, every member of the 
 Church should enter his practical protest. 
 
 " 3. But, whatever may be thought of this process for the 
 regular work at home, it is obvious to the most casual ob- 
 server that this course will not answer for the missionary 
 work. There we want men of suitable qualifications to be- 
 gin with, and frequently such qualifications as are peculiar. 
 We want teachers, also, as well as preachers. We want 
 physicians, not unfrequently, to get access to the soul by 
 doing good to the body. For the missionary work, then, 
 we must have men properly educated. As to the argument 
 
316 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 that God will call such men as are properly qualified, if he 
 need any different from what are now in the field, it seems 
 to the executive committee to be an Antinomian heresy, a 
 censure upon the past proceedings of the Church, and an al- 
 most blasphemous arraignment of Divine Providence. It is 
 Antinomianism, for it implies that, when the Head of the 
 Church wishes to accomplish any object for the Church, he 
 will do it without human co-operation, which is contrary to 
 the whole analogy of the Gospel. It is a censure upon the 
 past proceedings of the Church, because it has always and 
 uniformly assumed that those whom God calls are not pre- 
 pared for the holy office without probation and training. It 
 is an arraignment of Divine Providence, for the fact is, we 
 have not the men suitable for the work ; and for this defi- 
 ciency, let not the Church blame God, but herself. 
 
 " W. Fisk, 
 " Chairman of the Executive Committee. 
 
 " Lynn, June, 1835." 
 
 Dr. Fisk's correspondence was all the time rapidly increas- 
 ing. Piles of letters are before us, written to him from every 
 part of the New World, from Nova Scotia to Texas and Ore- 
 gon. They were as varied in their topics as ever, embra- 
 cing theology, science, literature, Church government, edu- 
 cation. Many of these required elaborate answers. Thus 
 a coterie of friends in Virginia, by indulging a course of 
 speculation on the Divine Ubiquity, find themselves soon "in 
 wandering mazes lost," and Dr. Fisk is appealed to for re- 
 lief. A person has his mind perplexed in regard to the 
 proper divinity of the Messiah, and he sends an account of 
 his perplexities to our author, from whom he received a reply, 
 which, according to a subsequent acknowledgment, rescued 
 him from the horrors of skepticism. Most of these letters 
 have been lost, or, at least, have not found their way to the 
 writer ; but, happily, two have been given to the public, of 
 which one has received a large share of applause. We al- 
 lude to his reply to the Rev. Mr. Pierpont's tract entitled 
 " Jesus Christ not a Literal Sacrifice. " In December, 1834, 
 our author received a copy of this tract, enclosed in a letter 
 
JEWS BELIEVED IN ETERNAL PUNISHMENT. 317 
 
 from one whose mind was perplexed by it, requesting his 
 views on it. These views were published in Zion's Herald, 
 and were so highly satisfactory as to occasion a request from 
 the editor and publisher to have them printed in tract form. 
 We have never seen a more perfect piece of argumentation : 
 it may be regarded as a gem of logic. An answer, I be- 
 lieve, has never been attempted. The other letter, to which 
 allusion has been made, is a reply to a Universalist, who re- 
 quested proof of an assertion he heard in one of Dr. Fisk's 
 discourses, namely, that the Jews believed in the doctrine 
 of endless punishment. As the letter is not long, we lay it 
 before the reader. 
 
 On Future Punishment. 
 
 "My dear Sir, 
 
 " In the letter I had the honour to receive from you in 
 New-London, touching my sermon on the previous Sabbath, 
 I was not a little surprised that you should question my state- 
 ment that the Jews, in the days of our Saviour, generally 
 believed in the eternity of future punishment. You say you 
 * find no evidence that such was the fact ;' and if 1 4 can fur- 
 nish such evidence, it will much oblige you.' 
 
 " Permit me, then, sir, in the first place, to remark, that 
 some of your own authors acknowledge this. — See Dr. Hart- 
 ley. In fact, I do not now recollect that I ever before heard 
 it denied by any Universalist who might be supposed to 
 have the means of information within his reach. Again, the 
 Targums and many of the Rabbinical writings teach this doc- 
 trine. But, to set this subject fully at rest, let me refer you 
 to Josephus, who, you must acknowledge, is the best author- 
 ity on this subject, not only because he was himself a Jew, 
 and a highly accredited historian, but also because his early 
 life was contemporary with some of the apostles, having been 
 born about four years after the crucifixion of Christ. In his 
 book entitled 'War of the Jews,' chap, ii., sec. 11, he says 
 that the Essenes, a sect of the Jews, believe, in common 
 with the Greeks, that ' bad men suffer immortal punish- 
 ments after death ;' and in sec. 14, that the Pharisees be- 
 lieve that 1 the souls of bad men are subj ect to eternal pun- 
 27* 
 
318 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 ishment.' The Sadducees, it is true, did not believe in a 
 future state, neither in 1 angel nor spirit.' But they were an 
 inconsiderable sect as to number, and were principally con- 
 fined to the higher classes ; the people generally, as you 
 must know, sir, held with the Pharisees. See again 1 An- 
 tiquities of the Jews,' book xviii., chap, i., sec. 3 : 1 They 
 (the Pharisees) also believe that souls have an immortal 
 vigour in them, and that under the earth there will be re- 
 wards and punishments, according as they have lived virtu- 
 ously or viciously in this life, and the latter are to be de- 
 tained in an everlasting prison,' &c. See also Josephus's 
 Discourse concerning Hades, which you, sir, and every Uni- 
 versalist, ought to study closely, not only that you may learn 
 that the Jews, as is there stated, believed in a ' lake of un- 
 quenchable fire, prepared for a day afore-determined by 
 God, in which one righteous sentence shall deservedly be 
 passed upon all men, when the unjust, and those that have 
 been disobedient to God, shall be adjudged to their ever- 
 lasting punishment,' but also that you may thereby learn the 
 meaning of certain terms, then in popular use, and adopted 
 by our Lord and his apostles. You will then understand 
 what is meant by * that day? that ' appointed day? so often 
 spoken of in the New Testament ; as also what is meant by 
 the judgment, which Universalists so unmeaningly explain 
 away; by ' rewards' and 'punishments? and by 'unquench- 
 able fire? which Universalists confine to this life. Do you 
 believe, sir, that these terms are used in the New Testament 
 in any other than the commonly received sense ? And 
 when you here learn what that sense was among the Jews, 
 and hear our Saviour and his apostles talking of unquench- 
 able fire, of salvation, of eternal punishment in a future world, 
 of the day of judgment, in the same manner in which the 
 Jews used these terms, thus confirming instead of correcting 
 their views, can you, sir — O ! let me put the question to you 
 as a responsible subject of the Divine law — can you, sir, say 
 ' I believe the Bible,' and then add, ' I have no evidence that 
 the Jews believed the doctrine of endless punishment, or 
 that Jesus or any of his apostles believed it ?' 4 Art thou a 
 teacher in Israel, and knowest not these things ?' May I not 
 
AIM OF HIS VARIOUS WRITINGS. 
 
 319 
 
 hope, sir, you will review this whole business ? If you have 
 attended to it as little as your ignorance of the belief of the 
 Jews seems to indicate, there is reason for your own per- 
 sonal faith, much more for the responsibility of a public 
 teacher, that you re-examine the subject. If Universalism 
 is an error, it is inconceivably ruinous. In that case, the 
 riches of the material universe would not compensate a man 
 for having had a share in its propagation. So deeply does 
 this consideration impress my mind, that it would deter me 
 from ever propagating Universalism, even if I believed it, 
 unless I believed also in my own infallibility. I ask you, as 
 a reasonable man, am I not correct ? 
 
 "I subscribe myself, sir, a lover of truth and of man, 
 
 "W. Fisk. 
 
 " Middletown, February 23, 1834." 
 
 No man could practise the arts of gaining reputation less 
 than Dr. Fisk. How an undertaking would affect himself 
 was his last thought, if he thought it at all. Had he hus- 
 banded his mental resources, and concentrated his powers 
 on the production of a single work, he would, no doubt, 
 have stood even higher than he did in the republic of let- 
 ters. But, if he did not work for eternity in the sense of 
 Zeuxis, he did in another ;* he aimed at moral effect more 
 than scholastic character. Hence his publications, general- 
 ly, were owing to immediate occasion. Whenever he saw 
 any demand upon his labours, seizing his pen, cur rente ca- 
 lamo, he threw off an article and sent it to the press, often 
 with little time for study or revision. Many of these fugi- 
 tive pieces are lost, or we have no means of identifying them. 
 Many of them were in reply to some of the numerous at- 
 tacks made at that period upon the Church of his affections, 
 and, however able and important at the time, would hardly 
 be worth preserving, as the points they treat on have ceased 
 to interest. The cause he defended has outlived much of 
 the opposition of that day, and is now better understood and 
 appreciated. Let the grievances of the past be covered by 
 the veil of Christian charity. 
 
 * " I write for eternity," was his frequent remark. 
 
320 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 But his writings were not limited in their topics. Every- 
 thing relating to public morals, social improvement, and hu- 
 man happiness interested him, and often engaged his pen. 
 The spirit in which he pursued this course is finely illustra- 
 ted by his remarks on a certain occasion to Mrs. Fisk. He 
 was writing an appeal to the public, for one of the New-York 
 journals, on the disregard of human life, as evinced by an 
 explosion of the steamboat New-England in the Connecticut 
 River. On her remarking to him that he did not take the 
 proper course to become a great man — that, instead of wri- 
 ting on every topic, he should confine his attention to a few 
 — his simple and pregnant reply was, " I do nothing merely 
 for the present life !" 
 
 From the view we have thus given of our subject's occu- 
 pations, the reader may be led to believe that he had but 
 little leisure to explore the deep recesses of science and lit- 
 erature. But this was not his calling ; nor was the mere 
 book-worm his proper character. Although he duly appre- 
 ciated the labours of the intellectualist, who is busy in lay- 
 ing the foundations of human knowledge and belief, yet his 
 own mind was more practical than speculative. In the best 
 sense of the term, he was a utilitarian. The knowledge he 
 gained was chiefly with a view to practical uses. Still, by 
 uncommon industry, joined to rigid method, he acquired 
 much more knowledge than most would have done in his 
 circumstances. His labours did not occupy as much time 
 as many would suppose. He despatched business rapidly. 
 He wrote with ease, spent little time in revising and cor- 
 recting, and none in anticipating or reflecting upon the re- 
 ception of his works ; and, while his labours were perform- 
 ed with a very small expenditure of vita] energy, he possess- 
 ed a ductility of mind and a command of attention that ena- 
 bled him to pass from one occupation or train of thought to 
 another with great facility. Hence he lost but little time by 
 change of company and employment. By these means he 
 was making continual additions to his information. His 
 mind was remarkably clear and symmetrical, his knowledge 
 well digested and accurately classified, and his memory was 
 both retentive and prompt. Thus, with the advantage of the 
 
MODE OF INSTRUCTION. 
 
 321 
 
 excellent foundation laid in early life, he found little difficul- 
 ty in keeping up with the improvements of the age. Indeed, 
 proficients in science have often expressed their surprise, 
 knowing the multiplicity of his avocations, at the amount of 
 his acquirements in branches to which they supposed he had 
 paid but a very cursory attention. It was of great advan- 
 tage to him, and, indeed, it may be considered an attribute 
 of a practical mind, that his knowledge was entirely at his 
 command. Hence he was seldom found unprepared, and 
 was rarely at a loss for a happy illustration or an apt allu- 
 sion in the time of need ; hence, too, he not unfrequently 
 made a splendid effort at but a moment's warning. It was 
 said of the " judicious Hooker," " that he not only knew 
 more, but what he knew he knew better than other men." 
 The latter part of this the audiences he addressed were in- 
 clined to say of Dr. Fisk ; for, if he did not astonish, dazzle, 
 and confound them with a useless profusion of learning, yet 
 so perfect was his command of his subject and of himself, 
 so comprehensive his views, and consecutive and satisfactory 
 his logic, that it might well be said he seemed to know what 
 he knew better than other men. 
 
 In the early stage of the Wesleyan University, while the 
 board of instruction was incomplete, he sometimes, as before 
 remarked heard classes recite in Greek and Latin, as well as in 
 his own appropriate departments. But this was now no long- 
 er necessary. He generally heard only one daily recitation, 
 and attended to the weekly exercises in composition and dec- 
 lamation. The subjects included in his course of instruction 
 were such as are common in most of our American colleges 
 in the junior and senior years, embracing Rhetoric, the Evi- 
 dences of Christianity, Logic, Ethics, Mental Philosophy, with 
 Political Economy and the Elements of Constitutional Law. 
 His recitations were always conducted by means of a text- 
 book, but without a servile adherence to the author ; and 
 his mode of questioning was adapted to ascertain both how 
 closely they had studied the lesson, and how far they under- 
 stood the subject. He allowed, and even encouraged, the 
 utmost freedom on the part of the class ; took pains to awa- 
 ken interest ; patiently listened to what any member had to 
 
 S s 
 
322 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 say ; and satisfied, as far as possible, all inquirers. Fre- 
 quently he would illustrate the lesson by some playful stroke 
 of humour or a pleasant anecdote ; always taking care, 
 however, to maintain a proper dignity while thus ministering 
 at once to instruction and entertainment. In short, his in- 
 tercourse with his classes had more the air of familiar con- 
 verse than of formal recitations. He seemed to address them 
 rather ex animo than ex cathedra. Thus he not only kept 
 the mind of the student constantly on the alert, but he also 
 united in a good degree the advantages both of recitations 
 and lectures. Courses of lectures he did not deliver, either 
 because he preferred the other method of teaching, or be- 
 cause his various engagements did not allow him to prepare 
 them. But he delivered lectures occasionally, either on such 
 portions of the subject as he thought not clearly or satisfac- 
 torily treated in the text-book, or on such topics as he desired 
 to expand or to enforce. These lectures were sometimes 
 before the whole college. 
 
 What we have said above will give the reader some idea 
 of Dr. Fisk's mode of intercourse with the students out of 
 the recitation-room. He believed that, in order to secure 
 dignity of conduct and manliness of character, it is necessary 
 to inspire the youth with self-respect. To produce, there- 
 fore, in his mind a feeling of inferiority, he thought highly 
 prejudicial. Hence he ever treated the students, not as boys, 
 but as young gentlemen. He addressed them as such. He 
 put on no magisterial airs. Though strict as a disciplinarian, 
 yet, by always treating the students with respect, he taught 
 them, in return, to respect themselves and him. He never 
 demanded any marks of courtesy or formal expressions of 
 reverence. He thought it better to leave this to the prompt- 
 ings of private feeling ; believing that, if the sentiments and 
 feelings of the student were properly trained, such expres- 
 sions of respect as urbanity demands or custom sanctions 
 would be spontaneously given, provided the teacher's own 
 demeanour were such as to call them forth ; but, in the ab- 
 sence of these, the enforcement of respect by statute,* or 
 
 * Thus I have before me a copy of the laws of the University of Vermont, 
 where our subject first entered college. In these it is enjoined that, " whenever 
 
INTERCOURSE WITH THE STUDENTS. 323 
 
 the formal demand of it, would only create an empty pa- 
 rade, or perhaps awaken a spirit of resistance, more fatal to 
 the authority of a teacher than negative rudeness. Perhaps 
 on that subject a just medium may be pursued; for if, on 
 the one hand, everything is to be stiffened into shape by stat- 
 utes, not only will the teacher know but little of the private 
 feelings of the student, and so, under an outward show of 
 respect, there may be a secret disregard for authority ; and, 
 on the other hand, if there be no attention paid to the man- 
 ners and social observances, the student may be very indif- 
 ferently qualified to perform his part in that circle of society 
 with which his education qualifies him to mingle. Manners 
 are morals ; or, as the French say, " les petites morales." 
 And hence, says the philosophic Paley, u Bad manners are 
 bad morals.' 9 They take their rise from some defect in the 
 nicer shades of character. 
 
 the president or any college governor speaks to any student, or he to either of 
 them, he shall stand uncovered." He shall always give precedence to an offi- 
 cer in passing through a door or a gate. " He is to rise whenever the president, 
 &c, enter his chamber, or any place where he is, and stand till he is desired to 
 sit." Dr. Fisk approved of these as spontaneous courtesies, but he thought that 
 making them the subject of rule and statute was legislating over much. 
 
324 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 The Abolition Controversy. — Unauthorized Transformation. — Speech at the 
 American Union. — Colonization. — Ability as a Speaker. — Bible Society Ad- 
 dress in 1835. — Description of his Preaching. — Impaired Health. — Prepares for 
 his Voyage to Europe. — Letters.— Honour Conferred. 
 
 We now come to a painful portion of our subject's history. 
 It was painful to himself, because it brought him into colli- 
 sion with many of his brethren, and some even of his earli- 
 est and dearest friends in the ministry ; and it was painful 
 to the Church, because the talents which might have been 
 so available if otherwise employed, were occupied in a com- 
 paratively fruitless controversy. A commander in a civil 
 war may render important service to his country ; yet his la- 
 bours must always be painful, and, in a certain sense, un- 
 profitable. The reader will perhaps understand that we al- 
 lude to the Abolition Controversy. It is not our intention to 
 enter into the merits of this question : all we have to do is 
 honestly to illustrate our subject's course in it. This is the 
 more obligatory on us, as many have blamed him for enter- 
 ing into it ; but with what justice our history will show. 
 
 Dr. Fisk was always opposed, sentimentally and consci- 
 entiously, to the system of slavery ; but he saw, or believed 
 that he saw, in the mode in which the anti-slavery movement 
 was conducted, the elements of great mischief, both to the 
 Church and nation. He believed that it seriously threat- 
 ened a schism in the one, and a dissolution of the other ; 
 while, by the feelings it awakened at the South, it was ma- 
 king the present condition of the slaves altogether worse, and 
 actually postponing the period of their emancipation. We 
 need not state the grounds on which these opinions were 
 formed ; it is enough to prove that he was perfectly honest 
 in holding and maintaining them. 
 
 For a considerable time he stood watching the progress 
 and indications of the controversy without taking part in it. 
 In the month of January, 1835, he received a letter from the 
 editor of Zion's Herald, Mr. Benjamin Kingsbury, inform- 
 ing him that, by a vote of the publishing association, the pa- 
 
ABOLITION CONTROVERSY. 
 
 325 
 
 per was to be opened to the Slavery Question, and inviting 
 him to share in the discussion. It was far from Dr. Fisk's 
 wish to comply ; but it was not designed that he should long 
 remain neutral or silent. In February, a leading abolition- 
 ist parodied his celebrated address on Temperance, substi- 
 tuting in brackets for temperance, ardent spirits, and the like, 
 the terms abolition, slavery, and so on, thus converting it 
 into an anti-slavery document. To say the least, this was 
 highly discourteous. A parody, Coleridge has somewhere 
 said, " on an ancient writer is a compliment ; on a modern 
 it is a satire." How greatly was Dr. Fisk surprised to find 
 his name, without his own knowledge or consent, coupled 
 with this contest ! There was now no alternative but to give 
 his influence to one side or the other ; and he did not long 
 hesitate, as silence would, in the estimation of many, have 
 identified him with measures which he deprecated. Nor 
 would it have been proper to have allowed such a trifling 
 with his feelings to go unrebuked. With these views, he 
 drew up his protest against the " unauthorized transforma- 
 tion." It was a powerful article, smooth, keen, eloquent. 
 Many of Dr. Fisk's friends, judging him by the calmness of 
 his ordinary style, were astonished ; and some, like Romilly 
 on listening to the withering sarcasm and invective poured out 
 by Wilberforce in the House of Commons upon a member 
 who sneered at his piety,* wondered that, having such powers 
 at command, he had never before seen fit to use them. Be- 
 fore sending it to press, he read it to Professor Whedon, on 
 whose judgment in literature he placed great reliance, when 
 the following conversation took place : " Doctor, it certainly 
 ought to be well weighed ; it commits you completely to the 
 controversy : and from the moment you publish it, you hang 
 yourself up as a target to be shot at." 
 
 " I know that," was his characteristic reply ; " but I have 
 ever, when called upon by duty, expressed my opinion with- 
 out regard to personal considerations. I have found it turn 
 out best, and I think I must do it now." 
 
 * " Yes," said Sir Samuel to a friend, who remarked that this speech " out- 
 matched Pitt, the great master of sarcasm," "yes, it is the most striking thing 
 I almost ever heard ; but I look upon it as a more singular part of Wilberforce's 
 virtue than of his genius ; for who but he ever possessed such a formidable 
 weapon, and never used it ?" — Brougham's Sketches. 
 
 28 
 
326 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 This remark, made in the privacy of the study, was never 
 expected to be repeated, much less published to the world ; 
 and it is therefore a more unequivocal proof of the singleness 
 of his aims. It is in perfect accordance with his usual sen- 
 timents. It is evident that he entered upon the contest under 
 conscientious, yet painful emotions. 
 
 From a letter to the Rev. Asa Kent, we extract a passage 
 still farther illustrating his views. 
 
 "March, 14, 1835. 
 
 " With respect to the Anti-slavery Controversy, I fear for 
 the result. You see I have thrown myself upon the billows, 
 but I fear with too little effect ; perhaps not enough to com- 
 pensate for what I may lose by the course. But I have al- 
 ways remembered some advice of yours when I first en- 
 tered the ministry, viz., if I had any influence, not to hesi- 
 tate to sacrifice it, if need be, to the good of the Church. In 
 this matter I may have misjudged ; but I confess I tremble 
 for the consequences of this ultra-abolition doctrine. I think 
 its ultimate tendency, nay, the aim, of some of the leaders 
 in this business, is the dismemberment of the political union 
 and of the Methodist Episcopal Church. If you, my dear 
 sir, and other fathers in the Church, see any danger of this 
 kind, ought you not to let your voices be heard ? Perhaps 
 I am in an error here, and the danger is only in my mind. 
 May it prove so. But what other result can possibly follow, 
 if all the North get excited in opposition to the South ?" 
 
 Dr. Fisk was not unfrequently stigmatized as a pro-slavery 
 man, as though he was a theoretical supporter of the institu- 
 tion. Nothing could be more unfounded. His sentiments 
 on the subject were essentially Wesleyan. Disapproving 
 of the system, he was in favour of meeting it just as Chris- 
 tianity met the slavery of the Roman Empire, and as the 
 apostles of Methodism did the slavery of the West India 
 Islands. He sought to leaven the public mind with evangel- 
 ical principles, and would leave the political bearings of the 
 subject to political men. He fully believed that, when the 
 public mind should become fully imbued with Christian prin- 
 ciples, the acts of legislatures, which are but expressions of 
 
CANDOUR TO HIS OPPONENTS. 
 
 327 
 
 the mind of the people, would be in accordance with her re- 
 quisitions. Yet, anxious to maintain a just medium between 
 extremes of pro-slavery and ultra-abolitionism, he sometimes 
 felt the effect of conflicting elements, and found it not al- 
 ways easy to avoid vibrating to one side or the other. A 
 remark of his own indicates his habitual jealousy of himself: 
 " It requires," he said, to Professor Whedon, " it requires 
 an effort in my own mind, in opposing the ultra denuncia- 
 tions of the South, not to look too favourably on what is re- 
 ally wrong ; nevertheless, the balance must be kept." 
 
 We have already had evidence of our author's candour 
 and liberality towards his opponents. We find additional 
 proof of it in the Abolition Controversy. When he issued his 
 protest against the " unauthorized transformation," he dis- 
 tinguished properly between the action and the motive of 
 the perpetrator. With the latter he had nothing to do. 
 Motives are sacred things, which rest between the individual 
 and his Maker. He only impugned the action. " I have 
 no unkind feeling," he says, " to the brother whose touch 
 has, without the aid of magic, produced the metamorphosis. 
 His. motives were undoubtedly good : he was influenced by 
 that warmth of feeling, which has impelled him, and others 
 who were associated with him, into measures that are be- 
 lieved by many, and my humble self among them, to be 
 fraught with impropriety and injury ; a course that we are 
 all liable to pursue when the impulsive feelings of our na- 
 ture preponderate over the understanding." Subsequently 
 to this, finding that the author of the transformation still jus- 
 tified his conduct, and that, on the other hand, many were 
 disposed to criminate him farther than was proper, he pub- 
 lished the subjoined paragraph in Zion's Herald : 
 
 " Mr. Editor, 
 
 " I am sorry to notice that both Brother Storrs, and his 
 friends for him, persist in maintaining the propriety of his 
 course in respect to the metamorphosis of my Temperance 
 Address. If Brother S. really feels, after a fair review of 
 the subject, that he was justified in that course, and if he 
 also justifies the personal reflections which have been thrown 
 
328 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 out in the paper of which he is a principal proprietor, in ref- 
 erence to my disclaimer, I can only say he does not view 
 the subject as I view it, and as most of those do whose opin- 
 ions I have heard and read on the subject. Brother Storrs 
 may rest assured, however, that my Christian regards to- 
 wards him are the same as ever, because I believe the error 
 the effect of an honest zeal, which, however, is not according' 
 to knowledge. 
 
 " Brother Storrs is hereby farther assured, that I do not 
 consider the offence of so high a character as seems to have 
 been attributed to it by some of the public periodicals. He 
 did not say that the abolition sentiments were mine. It is true, 
 those who did not know my sentiments on abolition would, 
 if I had not disclaimed it, naturally have supposed that I 
 consented to such a use of my composition, especially as 
 Brother S. did not inform the public that I had not consent- 
 ed to it, nor yet that I was not a modern abolitionist. I did 
 not, however, in my reply, accuse him of designing to rep- 
 resent me as an abolitionist, and I regret to see that design 
 attributed to him. I know him too well to believe he would 
 knowingly misrepresent the opinions of another, or take what 
 he believed to be improper means to propagate his own 
 opinions ; and I thought I knew him well enough to be- 
 lieve that, when his attention was recalled to a step improper 
 in itself, he would see it and retract. But if I was mistaken 
 in this, I have no more to say on that point : the public have 
 my views. W. Fisk. 
 
 " Wesleyan University, April 9, 1835." 
 
 We shall not follow the details of this exciting topic, since 
 it would be as unprofitable to the reader as unsatisfactory to 
 ourselves. It was debated on both sides with an ardour cor- 
 responding with the interests that were believed to be in- 
 volved. The effects, for the time, were unhappy ; so much 
 so as to lead Dr. Fisk to resign his seat in the General Con- 
 ference of 1836, to which he was elected at the session of 
 the New-England Conference of the present year (1835). 
 The reason for this step was a conviction " that the entire 
 election, himself alone excepted, was carried on party prin- 
 
SPEECH BEFORE THE AMERICAN UNION. 
 
 329 
 
 ciples, and such principles as ought not to be brought in an 
 election in this Conference." His resignation and the rea- 
 son were entered on the New-England Conference Journal. 
 
 About this period, if we mistake not, was formed the 
 " American Union for the Relief and Improvement of the 
 Coloured Race." Dr. Fisk, anticipating favourable results 
 from this association, yielded it his support. Being in Bos- 
 ton in 1835, at the time of its anniversary, he delivered 
 there an address, in which he sustained the proposition, 
 " That in every specific enterprise of benevolence, it be- 
 comes an enlightened philanthropy carefully to consider, 
 not only the particular condition, but the social relations 
 also, of those whose good is designed ; and, in view of these, 
 the measures should be wisely adapted to the end propo- 
 sed." The address was characterized by comprehensive 
 views, deep thought, and sound philosophy. He showed 
 that this is an age of strong feeling, and that there is in ev- 
 erything a tendency to ultraism ; that the most highly- wrought 
 emotion is not always true philanthropy, and that, under in- 
 tense emotion, it is all-important to follow an enlightened 
 judgment in our measures. Towards the close of the speech 
 he spoke of the probability of the coloured and white races 
 dwelling together in a state of political equality. In a form 
 of government like ours especially, where all political rights 
 must take their origin from the domestic and private relations, 
 he thought it not very feasible. At this point, Mr. George 
 Thompson, who was present, and sat near him, interrupt- 
 ed him by saying, " I should like to see it tried." The or- 
 ator, without being in the least discomposed, promptly an- 
 swered, " Will the gentleman give proof of his sincerity by 
 setting the example ?" and then resumed his discourse. M I 
 do not assert," said Dr. F., " the superiority of the florid 
 over the coloured countenance, but I say the two races have 
 been separated by the Almighty himself by the strong lines 
 of climate, country, and colour ; and it is, perhaps, because 
 man has rudely broken through these lines, and deranged 
 the order of nature, that the evils we at present suffer have 
 come upon us. It is for us now to repair the evil in the 
 best way we can. For this purpose, Dr. F. inculcated the 
 28* Tt 
 
330 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 necessity of caution, conciliation, and careful observation 
 and inquiry — the means intended to be employed by this 
 association." 
 
 This naturally introduces us to another subject. It is well 
 known that Dr. Fisk had long been the decided advocate of 
 African colonization. He thought that he saw in it the only 
 hope of the African race on both continents. Whether his 
 opinions were rightly formed or not, it is not our intention 
 to inquire ; but, whatever may be thought of this, no liberal 
 mind can deny that he was honest, disinterested, and benev- 
 olent in maintaining them. His sole aim was the elevation, 
 and salvation, and freedom of the wretched sons of Ham. 
 But we prefer giving on this subject his own eloquent and 
 spirit-stirring language. It is extracted from his Protest 
 against the "unauthorized transformation :" 
 
 " Finally, I object against the abuse of the ' address,' be- 
 cause it thus makes use of my words to commend the la- 
 bours of Mr. Birney, which, since this is Mr. Birney's pri- 
 mary object, is the same as commending the dissolution of 
 the Colonization Society ; and this, with my present views, I 
 could never do. What ! commend the dissolution of that 
 society which has done more than anything else to excite ' a 
 healthy public sentiment' in favour of the man of colour, 
 Mr. Birney's reasoning to the contrary notwithstanding ? 
 A society that has indirectly liberated more slaves, proba- 
 bly, than all the anti-slavery societies of our country, from 
 the beginning until now ? A society which the unprincipled 
 slaveholder hates and dreads, because it leads to abolition ; 
 and the ultra-abolitionist opposes, because it stands in the 
 way of his dangerous high-pressure engine ? A society 
 which, by a successful experiment, makes fair promise of 
 giving to the world a convincing and extended exhibition 
 of negro elevation, moral, intellectual, and social ? A so- 
 ciety that has done more to put down the African slave-trade 
 than has been done by the decisions of kingly courts and 
 republican Congresses ? A society that holds its banner 
 over the missionary of the cross on the very shores of pa- 
 ganism, and has already opened up a passage of civilization 
 and salvation into the interior of that dark continent ? Dis- 
 
AFRICAN COLONIZATION. 
 
 331 
 
 solve this society ? No ! Forbid it, Heaven ! Rather let 
 Christian sympathy gather around it, and Christian munifi- 
 cence sustain it, until it shall become the light of Africa, and 
 the glory of her sons in both hemispheres." Such were his 
 conscientious views, and, consequently, he did not hesitate 
 to lend his most strenuous support to this enterprise. Many 
 of his ablest and most eloquent addresses were in behalf of 
 its interests. On these occasions, his comprehensive views, 
 range of information, clear style, felicity of illustration, and 
 ardent feelings, generally captivated his auditories, and held 
 them as though spellbound ; and on one occasion, in the 
 North Congregational Church in Middletown, though the 
 audience were accustomed to hear him, so strong was the 
 sensation created, that no sooner had he resumed his seat 
 than a gentleman on the platform — a clergyman of the Prot- 
 estant Episcopal Church — rose instantly, expressed his grati- 
 fication that their town was ornamented and blessed with 
 such talents, and moved an immediate request that a copy 
 of the address just delivered might be furnished for publica- 
 tion. The motion was carried by acclamation. The reader 
 will find the address in question among Dr. Fisk's works. 
 
 Dr. Fisk's addresses were usually marked by the charac- 
 teristics of a sound judgment and a well-furnished mind, 
 rather than by brilliancy of imagination. He had usually 
 enough of the latter to impart interest and rivet attention ; 
 but imagination was not his predominant faculty. His 
 speeches and sermons were therefore able rather than splen- 
 did. In some cases, however, he threw aside the cool, de- 
 liberate manner of the reasoner and instructer, and plunged 
 with all his soul into the midst of his theme. Then he would 
 play upon the feelings of his audience like a skilful organ- 
 ist upon the keys of his instrument. But such attempts 
 were not frequent, and always made with good judgment. 
 On a certain occasion, in the same church, and, it is believ- 
 ed, on the same subject, he had to follow several very dis- 
 tinguished speakers. The exercises had already been pro- 
 tracted, the audience was getting weary, and was looking 
 with some impatience for the last speaker, knowing, proba- 
 bly, that Dr. Fisk was not remarkable for short addresses. 
 
332 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 But no man knew himself better, or better understood fitness 
 and propriety. Instead of a deliberate, thoughtful discourse, 
 by the aid of his vivid imagination and ardent feelings he 
 threw off a sparkling, brilliant rocket, that astonished and daz- 
 zled the assembly. He held them for a few minutes almost 
 breathless. " It was very short," said a well educated and 
 highly intelligent gentleman to me when speaking of it ; " it 
 was very short, but it was, to be sure, a splendid little mor- 
 sel." As no minutes were kept, the purport of it is not re- 
 membered. 
 
 The period at which we have now arrived was probably 
 the culminating point of Dr. Fisk's power as a public speak- 
 er. With the fire of his youth, he possessed also the polish, 
 the taste, the dignity of mature age and experience. He 
 had already placed himself in a very commanding attitude 
 before the public, and especially the Christian community. 
 In the month of May, 1835, he took another flight still higher 
 than any former. This was at the anniversary of the Amer- 
 ican Bible Society, held in the Broadway Tabernacle. The 
 address he delivered on this occasion, take it for all and all, 
 was probably the happiest specimen of his abilities. It ex- 
 hibited all the mental qualities we have already ascribed to 
 him. His survey of his subject was ample, and the address 
 abounds with thought and information, just views, and strong 
 sense. These are enlivened by a happy mixture of fancy and 
 imagination, and are strongly impregnated with emotion. 
 The resolution which he was requested to support was, in 
 substance, that the friends of the Bible, of every religious 
 denomination, be invited to co-operate in placing a copy of 
 the Holy Scriptures in the hands of every child in the Uni- 
 ted States under fifteen years of age, who might be able to 
 read, but destitute of the sacred volume. He commenced 
 in his usual simple, unpretending manner, and after a few 
 introductory sentences, proceeded thus: "When I take by 
 faith an enlarged view of the future, and contemplate that 
 vast assembly of youth who, should the terms of this reso- 
 lution be complied with, will receive each a copy of the 
 Word of God ; when I see those children gathered into one 
 company, with each a Bible in his hand, the exhibition is 
 
ADDRESS BEFORE THE BIBLE SOCIETY. 333 
 
 more than beautiful — it is sublime. When I read the resolu- 
 tion," he continued, " in my study, it went through my soul 
 in a thrill of ecstasy, and, indeed, I have scarcely been able 
 to think of anything else since. And is it indeed so ? I 
 thank God — I thank the American Bible Society, that all our 
 young children are to be supplied with the Bible ! This, 
 indeed, is like a new sun rising over our already favoured 
 and happy land." In this strain he proceeded for some 
 time, and then he launched forth into a wider sea. He took 
 a view of some of the leading characteristics of the age 
 which especially demand the conservative influence of the 
 word of God. It is a " transition age" full of change — im- 
 pulse — excitement. " Go ahead" is the motto, and nothing 
 but a railroad speed will answer. But the Bible is the great 
 regulator. It is the mental and moral balance-wheel that 
 keeps the machinery of the world in order. " The Bible — 
 the Bible must direct and control the wheels of government, 
 the principles of education, the character of the rising gen- 
 eration : this is our spiritual palladium, the glory of the 
 churches, the honour of our nation, the salvation of the 
 world." 
 
 But we cannot follow in his train of glowing and com- 
 prehensive thought. The address is beautiful throughout : 
 now it is wise and reflective ; then brilliant with trope and 
 metaphor ; then sportive and playful ; and anon, touching 
 and pathetic. On the catholic feature of his resolution he 
 remarked, "A Sectarian Bible Society! What a contra- 
 diction ! I know, indeed, that the branch of Christ's Church 
 to which I belong did establish a separate Bible Society, 
 but it was a measure I could not approve. I always spoke 
 against it, and voted against it, and I believe I always shall." 
 Then he added, while the fire beamed from his eye, and his 
 whole countenance became radiant with Christian feeling, 
 " Let us have but one sect ! Let us all belong to the great 
 Bible sect of America ;" and now low murmurs of appro- 
 bation are heard throughout the house. 
 
 Then he changes the current of his remarks, and in a tone 
 of half raillery, replies to the pseudo-political economist's 
 objection, that these schemes of benevolence " will impov- 
 
 i 
 
334 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 erish the nation." " Now, sir," said the orator, " I am one 
 of those who do not believe one word of this. We are in 
 no danger, as a people, of dying of consumption ; our danger 
 lies the other way ; we are rather in danger of dying of 
 plethora." Then he urges the depleting system as the only 
 way of guarding against the destructive influence of luxury, 
 sensuality, and selfishness. Benevolence, too, has a reno- 
 vating power. " It gives one and gets ten." He then, for 
 the sake of illustration, introduces an extended figure of the 
 rotation of water from the ocean to clouds, from the clouds 
 to the earth, and so back again to the ocean. The figure it- 
 self is trite ; but in this case it was happily introduced, beau- 
 tifully applied, and admirably sustained. Several distin- 
 guished clergymen, of different denominations, pronounced 
 this address the finest they had ever heard in their lives. A 
 report of it, taken on the spot, was afterward published in 
 the New- York Observer ; and although such a report must 
 necessarily fall short of the original, yet it is sufficiently ap- 
 parent that it possessed much more than ordinary interest. 
 Dr. Fisk admitted that no speech of his was ever reported 
 more correctly. Should a volume of Dr. Fisk's works be 
 called for by the public, this address will, most likely, be 
 contained in it. 
 
 This is a favourable opportunity for attempting some 
 sketch of our subject as a preacher. He was now, as re- 
 marked in relation to the other department, at the zenith of 
 his excellence. Shortly after this, his physical strength be- 
 gan to abate, so that, though his mind retained all its vig- 
 our, yet, for want of bodily energy, he failed of producing 
 his former effect. But to describe him accurately would 
 require the graphic pen of a Wirt ; yet, as duty requires, we 
 must present some suggestions, merely to aid the concep- 
 tions of the reader. 
 
 Much of what has been already said will apply to his per- 
 formances in the pulpit as well as on the platform. Part, 
 also, of our former description of his preaching* will apply 
 equally well to the present period ; yet it had undergone 
 some important modifications. The elements were there, 
 
 * See page 94. 
 
DR. FISK AS A PREACHER. 
 
 335 
 
 and the germe; but these had expanded, were matured, and 
 had become more beautiful to the eye and delightful to the 
 mind. 
 
 Dr. Fisk's appearance in the pulpit was highly prepossess- 
 ing, not so much for an air of artificial elegance and refine- 
 ment, as for the intellectual, elevated cast of countenance, 
 admirable phrenological development, and an unaffected 
 simplicity, modesty, and dignified gravity. His head was 
 classically beautiful, and his bright, mild, benevolent eye 
 beamed with intelligence and thought. His appearance was 
 eminently spiritual ; yet his whole person indicated more the 
 Christian virtues than the heroic, more the gentle and sub- 
 dued temper than the grand and lofty. 
 
 In action he was not very remarkable. He was easy, dig- 
 nified, and natural, but not in the highest degree elegant and 
 oratorical, and as far as simplicity can be from the histrionic. 
 His voice was not very deep and strong, but distinct, varied, 
 and musical. In tenderness and pathos it was perhaps un- 
 surpassed. 
 
 He usually commenced his sermons with the enunciation 
 of a few simple propositions, in a style perfectly natural and 
 familiar. Sometimes, however, his exordiums were more 
 profound and elaborate. The doctrine of his text was ac- 
 curately drawn out and clearly stated, and in few words he 
 would announce the divisions of his discourse. You now 
 saw the hand of a master. You are not astounded, how- 
 ever, by the affectedly intellectual, nor by splendour of lan- 
 guage, nor captivated by extraordinary beauty of style. But 
 new views begin to break upon you. Your mind looks this 
 way and that, and you are astonished at the vistas of thought 
 which open before you. Yet it is all so easy and natural, 
 that the preacher does not seem to be doing wonderful 
 things so much as that he is enabling you to do wonderful 
 things. He is eminently suggestive. You feel as if you 
 might have thought it all yourself if you could only have hit 
 upon the starting points. This is the perfection of simplicity 
 — of naivete. The last thing the speaker seems to think of is 
 showing off himself. He is evidently intent on putting you 
 in possession of his own thoughts in the easiest and shortest 
 
336 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 way possible. There is but little imagery : all is whole- 
 some, solid food for the understanding. Occasionally you 
 see the professor or philosopher in his turn of thought, modes 
 of statement, and illustration ; and sometimes his discourses 
 are too philosophical to be in the highest degree evangelical ; 
 certainly too much so to be imitated by inferior minds. But, 
 notwithstanding, you feel that the speaker is endeavouring 
 to make you wiser and better. 
 
 Thus he passes along the body of his discourse. If he 
 have preached before on that day, or for any cause his 
 nerves are unstrung or his feelings out of tune, he closes, 
 and leaves upon you the impression that he is an intellect- 
 ual and able, but plain preacher. But hear him when he is 
 in good health and spirits ; when his mind is itself, untram- 
 melled by bodily ailments, and in unexhausted vigour, and 
 when he is about two thirds through his discourse, or earlier, 
 he begins to kindle, and flash, and electrify ; his imagina- 
 tion begins to play ; his feelings seem to fire by the velocity 
 of his mental action, above all, by the elevating nature of his 
 themes ; and now, seizing some strong hold, he pours all his 
 artillery full upon the heart. He raises you up and sinks 
 you down again ; he weeps, and you weep with him. He 
 turns your thoughts upon the sufferings of the Lamb, and 
 you are melted ; or paints the splendours of the New Jeru- 
 salem, and you are ravished with ecstasy. Now the audi- 
 ence are bathed in tears of humble love, or transported with 
 raptures of heavenly joy. And now come forth unequivo- 
 cal, audible testimony to the eloquence and power of the 
 preacher. Sighs and tears, and perhaps shouts, are heard 
 around you. Thus 
 
 " The live fountain in the speaker's heart 
 Sends forth the streams that melt the ravish'd hearers." 
 
 A striking instance is given of the power of his oratory, 
 while preaching on a certain occasion in the large church in 
 Forsyth-street, New- York. Having finished the discussion 
 of his subject, he addressed himself directly to the heart and 
 conscience. He described the danger of the wicked man : 
 his exposure, his constant liability to death. He followed 
 him to the brink of Death's dark precipice, and painted him 
 
DR. FISK AS A PREACHER. 
 
 337 
 
 plunging over the edge into perdition's gulf. The whole 
 scene is vividly before the eye. A preacher sitting below 
 him in the altar suddenly and unconsciously throws out his 
 arms to catch the sinner in his fall, and carry him in faith to 
 the Lamb of God 1* This is eloquence. 
 
 It was after one of these displays of powerful Christian 
 oratory in the chapel of the University, that a lady of culti- 
 vated mind, decided genius, and strong feeling — a stranger 
 in the place — as she came away, said to another, with a half- 
 stifled voice, " Have you any irreligious students in your 
 college ?" and, on being answered in the affirmative, added, 
 " Astonishing !" 
 
 It should be borne in mind, that as substantial thought 
 formed the basis of his eloquence, the emotions he excited 
 were not less strong than permanent. It was far different 
 from that evanescent and superficial feeling that is generally 
 produced by those of whom Cowper says, 
 
 "Like quicksilver their rhetoric they display, 
 Shines as it runs, but, grasp'd at, slips away." 
 
 Such as we have described was Dr. Fisk in his most fa- 
 voured moments in the pulpit. A few, and only a few, such 
 sermons was it our privilege to hear from him. It was not 
 until about the period of which we write that I began to hear 
 him frequently, and then his best preaching days were over. 
 In the chapel of the University his sermons were more 
 familiar, and with less effort ; but he was always able and 
 instructive, generally animated, and on some few occasions 
 reached his highest flights. In my sketch, my feelings led 
 me to employ the present tense. Alas ! that sober reality 
 throws our thoughts back again on the past. His preaching 
 and his labours are among the things that were, but are no 
 longer. Who shall see and hear another Fisk ?f 
 
 Dr. Fisk's labours had now made fearful inroads upon his 
 naturally frail constitution. Not that he appeared to a cas- 
 ual observer nearer the grave than he had been for the last 
 
 * See Dr. Bangs's Sermon on the Death of Dr. Fisk. 
 
 t Those who wish to see a more philosophic and intellectual analysis of Dr. 
 Fisk's character as a preacher, may consult Professor Whedon's " Tribute to the 
 Memory of President Fisk." 
 
 29 Un 
 
338 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 ten years ; but to those who knew him intimately the truth 
 was painfully evident. His state of health would have ut- 
 terly incapacitated most men for exertion, and hence the 
 great admiration of his friends at the amount of labour he 
 accomplished. This admiration was increased by the inva- 
 riable and invincible sweetness of his disposition. Dr. Orme 
 has thought it necessary to apologize for Baxter's irritability 
 of temper, by ascribing it to his various maladies. We have 
 no need of such an apology for our subject. Greater equa- 
 nimity, kindness, and patience we never saw. Some have 
 remarked a slight reserve of manner at times in his study, 
 but without any appearance of impatience or of irritation. 
 The same amiability appeared in his demeanour in his fami- 
 ly. Here, where the inner man appears without disguise or 
 concealment, he was as lovely as to the transient guest. 
 
 The year 1834, as we have already seen, was particularly 
 trying to him. His exertions in the revival, his frequent 
 journeys, * with the alarming illness which has been already 
 mentioned, had brought him very low. These things re- 
 vived in his mind a project which he had contemplated at 
 intervals for some years, namely, of making a voyage to 
 Europe. On this subject he now consulted his most com- 
 petent advisers, especially Dr. Sewall, of Washington, who 
 approved the project under these restrictions: that he should 
 take Mrs. Fisk with him, of whose skill and attention in 
 sickness he had had such ample experience ; and should 
 make every object subservient to his health. He found the 
 advantage of Dr. Sevvall's advice in Mrs. Fisk's assiduous 
 attentions during his alarming illness at Pisa. 
 
 Dr. Fisk had been too long accustomed to consult the Di- 
 vine Will to take any important step without asking " counsel 
 at the mouth of the Lord." He made his contemplated 
 voyage the subject of earnest prayer, and consulted some 
 of the most spiritually minded of his brethren to ascertain 
 what was duty in the case. His ultimate conclusion was 
 that he ought to go. Is it not as important, at least, to in- 
 quire what effect any measure is likely to exert upon our 
 
 * He travelled, for various purposes, not less than six hundred miles between 
 the 1st of January and his departure for Europe. 
 
PREPARES FOR HIS EUROPEAN TOUR. 
 
 339 
 
 piety, as to ask what influence it will have upon health, 
 wealth, or reputation ? So, at any rate, thought Dr. Fisk. 
 
 The Wesleyan University, now past the period of its in- 
 fancy, had waxed into a vigorous adolescence. Its friends 
 were anxious to place it on the most solid foundation, and 
 furnish it with all the materials for imparting a thorough and 
 elevated course of instruction. For this purpose, it was im- 
 portant to make some additions to the philosophical appara- 
 tus, and to the library, especially in the recent scientific works 
 of Europe. 
 
 Hence, at the meeting of the Joint Board of the Wesley- 
 an University, it was resolved to give the president a com- 
 mission to Europe, for the twofold purpose of benefiting his 
 health and advancing the interests of the institution. 
 
 But before his departure he was destined to undergo an- 
 other probation of his life. In the month of October he vis- 
 ited New- York on business for the institution, and on his re- 
 turn was again confined to his bed, and remained for sever- 
 al weeks under the physician's care. His symptoms now 
 seemed to indicate a rapid consumption. He had profuse 
 night-sweats, with chills, and such a coldness of the extrem- 
 ities that it was impossible to raise a vital warmth ; a dis- 
 tressing stricture in the chest, and an aggravated cough. 
 But, as usual, when he began to recover he resumed his ex- 
 ertions. While yet able to sit up only a part of each day, 
 several meetings of the prudential committee were held in 
 his room. But there was, at that time, some important and 
 perplexing business to be adjusted, connected with arrange- 
 ments in the University during his absence, and which made 
 his presence indispensable. By these, and some other 
 means, his voyage was delayed until the autumn of 1835. 
 
 We retard the progress of our narrative for a short time, 
 for the purpose of introducing the following letters, the for- 
 mer to his mother, who had again met with a serious disas- 
 ter ; the other to Mrs. Childs, of Cazenovia, New- York, on 
 the death of her husband. 
 
340 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 " Middletown, January 25, 1835. 
 
 " My dear Mother, 
 
 " It gives me great pain to learn, as I did by sister Mary's 
 letter, that you had met with another fall ; and especially 
 have I been afflicted at the painful and aggravated circum- 
 stances of that fall. My imagination has again and again 
 run over the occurrence : the fall itself ; the dislocation of 
 so many limbs, and the bruising of others ; the hours of pain 
 you passed in this bruised and mangled state ; the painful 
 ride of twelve miles* in this condition, in such severe weath- 
 er, in which you must have suffered much from pain and 
 cold, and father must have suffered much, also, from cold 
 and anxiety. The only relief to my feelings in this review 
 is, that it is past, and you are now better. Perhaps it is 
 in mercy to us that our heavenly Father conceals from us 
 often the sufferings of our friends. I was myself ill, and 
 confined at home at that time ; but I was free from distress- 
 ing pain, was surrounded by kind friends, and was seated 
 by a comfortable fire ; but how insupportable would my 
 feelings have been, if I had known, at the time, that you 
 were in such circumstances of distress ? The Father of 
 mercies, however, sustained your life, and, I hope, kept your 
 soul in peace. It seems, my dear mother, that our Father 
 in heaven sees it best for you to suffer much in your old 
 age. To be bruised and broken so severely three times in 
 a few years, is unusual ; but the religion you have enjoyed 
 has no doubt made you feel that all is right. ' As many 
 as I love, I rebuke and chastise,' is the language of the Holy 
 Spirit. What proof you have that God loves you ! I doubt 
 not but you are laying up in store a glorious treasure by 
 these sufferings. The heart will thus be driven, by God's 
 grace, from all its selfish retreats, and any remaining earthly 
 ties will be severed. May God bless and sustain you, and 
 grant you the riches of his grace here, and of his glory here- 
 after. 
 
 "I am truly thankful that sister Mary is with you, to at- 
 tend to your wants, and take care of you. Her attentions 
 will more than compensate for my lack of service, which I 
 * Judge Fisk and lady were travelling in a sleigh at some distance from home. 
 
CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 341 
 
 so clearly owe you for watching over my pillow in early and 
 helpless childhood, and in sickness in later years. Although, 
 of the two, I have received most of parental care and solici- 
 tude, yet upon her mainly falls the duty of filial attention 
 and service. If Providence permitted, I would cheerfully 
 share it with her. Verily she shall not lose her reward ; 
 piety towards parents never goes unrequited. 
 
 " Since hearing of your misfortune, I have thought of an 
 expression of old Mrs. P., our brother P.'s mother. Her 
 head had been broken and permanently deformed by a hurt 
 from a horse ; but says she, in love-feast, on a certain oc- 
 casion, 1 When I get to heaven, I shall have as sound a head 
 as any of you.' Your limbs had become stiff and enfeebled 
 independent of fractures and dislocations ; you would soon 
 need a new edition, at any rate — much more after these in- 
 juries. But * these vile bodies shall be fashioned like unto 
 Christ's most glorious body ;' then shall your poor fractured 
 frame be strung anew with ligaments that shall never be lux- 
 ated, and with limbs of ethereal elasticity and heavenly pol- 
 ish, that shall never be fractured. What a consolation are 
 thoughts like these to a decrepit and suffering Christian ! 
 Such a consolation, my dear mother, I doubt not, is yours. 
 
 " My own health has been poor ever since I returned from 
 New- York. I preached last Sabbath for the first time for 
 about nine weeks. I am now much better than I have been. 
 I hope some one of the family will write again soon, that we 
 may know how you get along. We all join in love to you 
 and to all the family. 
 
 " Your affectionate children, W. & R. Fisk." 
 
 To Mrs. Childs. 
 
 " Middletown, April 11th, 1835. 
 
 "My dear Madam, 
 
 11 Since I first heard of the death of your lamented hus- 
 band, I have purposed to write you a letter of condolence 
 and sympathy ; and yet I have felt almost forbidden to ap- 
 proach that grief which, from its depth and the bitterness of 
 its anguish, may deem this well-meant address almost an 
 unwelcome and unseasonable intrusion. I am aware that 
 29* 
 
342 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 there is an anguish of heart that is sacred, with which a 
 stranger, especially, cannot safely intermeddle. But, al- 
 though my acquaintance with you, personally, has not been 
 long and intimate, yet it is of such a character, and is so 
 strengthened by an intimacy with branches of your family, 
 that I claim to be a sharer in that sorrow which has sud- 
 denly spread a gloom over the whole family circle. But 
 what shall I say ? If I speak of the private and public vir- 
 tues of your deceased husband, to which his numerous ac- 
 quaintances and friends bear such ample testimony, this may 
 seem but an aggravation of the loss. If I cite your atten- 
 tion to your remaining blessings, and especially to the circle 
 of affectionate children, who cluster like gems of loveliness 
 around your widowed heart, even this may swell the heav- 
 ing tide of sorrow, when you remember that you now share 
 these blessings alone, and that your children are fatherless. 
 And yet, although these considerations may not seem to 
 lessen the amount of grief, they certainly will mitigate its 
 bitterness. If the lightning stroke has riven the heart, it has 
 not dismantled the trunk. While your children are around 
 you, your leaf shall not be withered, nor shall even your 
 worldly hope be blasted. While you live, you shall bless 
 with your prayers, and cultivate with your fostering hand, 
 the budding shoots of the first and second generation, and 
 rejoice that you do not live unblessed nor in vain. Such are 
 your earthly consolations, and they are neither few nor small. 
 But you have, I doubt not, higher consolations than these. 
 That God whose you are, and whom you serve, has not left 
 you comfortless, and will sustain you in all your afflictions. 
 You know 1 he has done all things well;' and can you not 
 trust him ? Can you not ' kiss the rod,' and say, 4 Even so, 
 Father, for so it seemeth good in thy sight ?' Our blessed 
 Saviour suffered for us even until his God forsook him ; but 
 in your suffering God has not forsaken you. He has bound 
 up your heart with cords of love, that it may not break ; he 
 has mingled in your cup of sorrow the ingredients of mercy, 
 that the poisonous draught may not destroy. In your Sa- 
 viour's bitterest suffering, he had only an angel to strengthen 
 him, but you have the Saviour himself. He that wept at 
 
HONOUR CONFERRED. 
 
 343 
 
 Lazarus's grave is < a merciful High-priest ;' he is 1 touched 
 with the feelings of your infirmities,' and ' will not leave 
 you comfortless.' With what confidence can I commend 
 you, dear madam, to his grace. I leave you in his hands. 
 Your daughter Catharine found the stroke, at first, all but in- 
 supportable ; I trust, however, she is comforted. 
 
 "Mrs. Fisk joins in sympathetic and affectionate remem- 
 brance to yourself and dear Helen. My regards and bless- 
 ing to all the other children. 
 
 " May the ' God of all comfort' comfort your and their 
 hearts in all your tribulation. 
 
 " Most affectionately, your sympathizing friend, 
 
 "W. Fisk." 
 
 A few days before his departure for Europe, he received 
 the following testimony of esteem from his Alma Mater : 
 
 " Brown University, September 4, 1835. 
 
 M Rev. and dear Sir, 
 
 " I have the honour to inform you that, at the late meet- 
 ing of the Board of Fellows of Brown University, the de- 
 gree of Doctor of Divinity was unanimously conferred upon 
 you by that authority, and that the act was duly announced 
 on Commencement Day. 
 
 " I am happy to avail myself of this opportunity of ex- 
 pressing rny high respect for your personal and official char- 
 acter, and of assuring you that, with sincere esteem, I sub- 
 scribe myself, 
 
 " Dear sir, yours very truly, 
 
 " F. Wayland, 
 " President of the Brown University. 
 " To the Rev. Willbur Fisk, D.D., * • 
 " President of the Wesleyan University." J 
 
344 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR F1SK. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Voyage to Europe. — Paris. — Occupations. — Letter. — Rome. — Rev. Pierce Con- 
 nelly. — Letter from Florence. — Milan. — Remarks on his Tour in Italy. — Swit- 
 zerland. — Hofvvyl. — England. — Conference at Birmingham. — Painful Inci- 
 dents. — Remarks. 
 
 On Tuesday, the 8th of September. Dr. Fisk and his lady, 
 accompanied by Mr. Harvey B. Lane, now professor of 
 mathematics in the Wesleyan University, embarked on board 
 the Roscoe, Captain Delano, for Liverpool. He took a good 
 supply of letters of introduction from and to various per- 
 sonages distinguished in religious, literary, and civil stations. 
 He was commissioned, likewise, by sundry religious and be- 
 nevolent societies, to represent them abroad. 
 
 We insert an interesting correspondence which occurred 
 on the eve of his embarcation. 
 
 To Rev. W. Fisk, D.D. 
 
 "New- York, September 7, 1835. 
 
 "Rev. and dear Sib, 
 
 " In the name and on behalf of the Young Men's Mis- 
 sionary Society of New- York, auxiliary to the Missionary 
 Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, the undersigned 
 have been directed by our board respectfully and affection- 
 ately to communicate the expression of our grateful sense of 
 the obligations you have conferred upon us, as well as upon 
 the cause of missions in our Church, by your valuable servi- 
 ces on so many occasions. 
 
 " And, now that you are on the eve of departure for for- 
 eign countries in quest of health, be pleased to accept the 
 assurance of our deep solicitude for the successful prosecu- 
 tion of your voyage, and for the safe return of yourself and 
 your estimable lady to your country and friends. Our pray- 
 ers shall ascend to the throne of our common Lord, that 
 your visit to Europe may conduce to the restoration of your 
 enfeebled constitution, and that during your absence you 
 
INTERESTING CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 345 
 
 may be as useful in the several departments of education, 
 benevolence, and religion, as you have been in our own 
 country. And if, in the providence of God, you should find 
 opportunity to represent the cause of missions, and especi- 
 ally that of Africa, to the friends of Christ among our trans- 
 atlantic brethren, and to the Committee of the Wesleyan 
 Missionary Society in London, we beg to be affectionately 
 remembered to them all, and to bespeak, through you, an 
 interest in their prayers. 
 
 " On behalf of the society, we commend you to your God 
 and to our God, that he may have you in his holy keeping, 
 and bid you an affectionate and fraternal adieu. Your 
 brethren in Christ, D. M. Reese, Preset. 
 
 " G. P. Disosway, Cor. Sec." 
 
 " To the President and Secretary of the Young' Men's Mis- 
 sionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church in New- 
 York City. 
 
 "New- York, September 8. 
 
 " Respected Brethren, 
 
 " On the eve of my departure for a foreign land, every 
 expression of respect and friendship from my fellow-citizens 
 and Christian friends in America is most grateful to my 
 feelings. Your friendly and truly Christian parting saluta- 
 tions are especially so, both for the matter and the manner. 
 The pleasure is increased by the reflection that these ex- 
 pressions of kindness and Christian friendship are from one 
 of the most efficient auxiliaries of the great missionary en- 
 terprise in which we are engaged. To you, brethren, and 
 those associated with you, belongs the honour of having con- 
 tributed so efficiently to the establishment of the first foreign 
 mission of the Methodist Episcopal Church ; and, while 
 the Gospel lives and spreads in Africa, thousands on thou- 
 sands shall be raised up to bless the memory of the Young 
 Men's Missionary Society of New- York City. 
 
 " You have, Christian brethren, set a noble example. 
 You are engaged in a noble work. Your influence is seen 
 and felt in the foreign missionary spirit which has been ex- 
 cited throughout our Church, for in this work you led the 
 
 X x 
 
346 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 way. For any little service that I have rendered to the 
 cause, however pleasant it may be to have the gratitude of 
 my Christian brethren, I deeply feel that I have no cause 
 for self-gratulation. I have done far too little ; still I feel 
 thankful to the great Head of the Church that I have been 
 permitted to have any part or lot in this holy enterprise ; 
 and you may be assured that I shall avail myself of every 
 * opportunity to represent the cause of (American) missions, 
 and especially that of Africa, to our transatlantic brethren.' 
 I shall not fail to make them acquainted with your labours 
 and success in this glorious work, and ' especially in Africa,' 
 and ' bespeak' for you an 'interest in their prayers.' It is 
 not among the least of the gratifying considerations connect- 
 ed with your address, that you have given us a kind assu- 
 rance of a remembrance in your prayers. In the Divine 
 protection is our only trust ; that protection is granted in 
 answer to prayer. Be pleased, Christian brethren, to pre- 
 sent my Christian salutation to your board of managers, with 
 an affectionate farewell ; and accept for yourselves my strong 
 assurances of the undiminished affection with which I now, 
 as ever, hold you enshrined in my heart, and in the prospect- 
 ive perpetuity of which I bid you adieu. 
 
 " W. Fisk. 
 
 " D. ML Reese, M.D., Pres't., ) r „ 
 «7Tt» r, c \ Y. If. Miss. Soc. of Tsew-York." 
 
 G. P. Disosway, Cor. Sec, > 
 
 As the public are already in possession of very ample in- 
 formation of Dr. Fisk's travels from his own able hand, it 
 would be quite superfluous to go minutely over the same 
 ground. All we aim at, therefore, in this part of our work, 
 is to present a few additional facts, and to these we may 
 add some illustrative observations. 
 
 During the voyage, Dr. Fisk received very gratifying at- 
 tentions from the captain of the Roscoe and the whole com- 
 pany; but, from sea-sickness, he was incapable of outward 
 enjoyment. Once only he attempted to preach, but was un- 
 able to finish his sermon. Indeed, he was confined to his 
 berth nearly the entire passage of eighteen days, and a part 
 of the time suffered severely. On his arrival at Liverpool, 
 
DETAINED AT DOVER. 
 
 347 
 
 under the exhilaration of spirits consequent upon a sudden 
 restoration to ease and comfort, he wrote that humorous 
 and most graphic description of the sea-sickness, which, on 
 its publication, so greatly surprised those who were not aware 
 of this facetious vein in his constitution. Intending to visit 
 England at a more genial season, our travellers, after a few 
 days of rest at the hospitable mansion of T. Sands, Esq., by 
 whom they were most kindly entertained, proceeded to the 
 metropolis, where they were received most affectionately by 
 the venerable and Reverend Richard Reece, president, that 
 year, of the British Conference. They spent a few weeks 
 very pleasantly at the house of Mr. Reece's daughter and 
 son-in-law. 
 
 Early in November they left London for Paris. Arriving 
 at Dover, Mrs. Fisk was taken seriously ill, which detained 
 them a week. But this trying season was not unemployed, 
 nor employed unprofitably. Dr. Fisk had received a request 
 from the managers of the Methodist Missionary Society to 
 do what he could for the advancement of their cause, by 
 communicating information to them while abroad. He com- 
 menced the execution of the task at Dover, by writing three 
 long letters to the corresponding secretary of the society, 
 the Rev. Dr. Bangs. In the first, he details the systematic 
 operation of the Wesleyans of England in the missionary 
 work. In the second, he " inquired into the practicability 
 and expediency of adopting some of the peculiarities of the 
 British system in the United States, and especially recom- 
 mends the appointment of a resident correspondent secretary, 
 to be employed exclusively in behalf of the society." This 
 measure, however, had been talked of for some time, and 
 at the ensuing General Conference, which met at Cincinnati, 
 it was adopted, and Dr. Bangs was appointed to the of- 
 fice. He had formerly held it in connexion with his situa- 
 tion as editor of the Christian Advocate. The third letter 
 was on the means of providing men for the service, and of 
 keeping up the spirit, of missions. 
 
 Every traveller of a distinctive character has his own pe- 
 culiar aims, and selects his own class of associations and 
 subjects of inquiry. Dr. Fisk's character and aims should 
 
348 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 be kept in view in perusing his own account of his travels. 
 He did not go abroad as a fashionable tourist, but as a Chris- 
 tian clergyman and a man of letters. In this character he 
 sought for knowledge, solid, useful, and available. Yet it 
 was not such as would suit the mere man of taste and ele- 
 gant pursuits, nor yet such as belonged to the professor of any 
 particular science, but rather that general information adapt- 
 ed to his own peculiar position and cast of mind. How in- 
 dustrious and successful he was, the reader may learn from 
 the instructive letters addressed during his tour to the cor- 
 responding secretary of the Missionary Society, the profess- 
 ors and students of the Wesleyan University, and to sundry 
 private friends. 
 
 While in the gay and seductive capital of France, our 
 traveller was not found attending any places of public amuse- 
 ment, nor mingling in scenes of gayety unsuited to his char- 
 acter. He shunned the reproach too often brought on this 
 ground against clerical tourists. His days were employed 
 in observing whatever was worthy of observation in that 
 emporium of the sciences, and in executing his commissions 
 for the Wesleyan University. His evenings were generally 
 spent in some select circle of friends, where social converse, 
 intelligent and pious, occupied the hours, which were uni- 
 formly closed with reading and expounding the Scriptures, 
 singing, and prayer. Several delightful acquaintances were 
 formed here, especially that of the Rev. Messrs. Newstead 
 and De Jersey, with their ladies, Wesleyan missionaries re- 
 siding in Paris, and the Rev. Robert Baird, the excellent 
 and well-known agent of the Foreign Evangelical Society. 
 On the Sabbath he preached in the Wesleyan missionary 
 premises, which were in the lower story of the house in 
 which General Lafayette resided when in the capital, and 
 where he expired. "I am happy to say," observed a cor- 
 respondent of the Commercial Advertiser, " that Dr. Fisk 
 delighted, and, I hope, profited all who heard him. He 
 made many acquaintances while here, and employed well 
 ids time in seeing whatever was worthy of his notice." For 
 an account of the observations he made, we must refer the 
 reader to the Travels. He spent in Paris about six weeks. 
 
AFFECTION FOR HIS BRETHREN. LETTER. 349 
 
 One particular we ought not to omit. We have seen, in 
 the course of this memoir, the interest with which he regard- 
 ed his brethren in the ministry. He sympathized deeply 
 with them in their restricted means of support, often unable 
 properly to provide for their families, and especially to edu- 
 cate their children. He saw, moreover, that this was pro- 
 ducing a pernicious effect upon the interests of religion. 
 Many toiled on in great discouragement, while some were 
 driven from the ministry ; and the Church, of course, paid 
 a heavy penalty for her mistaken policy. These reflections 
 kept possession of his mind, and wrought deeply upon his 
 feelings. They haunted him even in his dreams, those ap- 
 parent realizations of our waking thoughts. One night he 
 thought himself in his own Conference, pleading the cause 
 of his suffering brethren ; and so deep became his emotions, 
 that he " was," to use his own words, " choked with weep- 
 ing." " So great," says Mrs. Fisk, " was my dear husband's 
 distress, that he shook the bedstead so much that it awoke 
 me first ; and, after I had awaked him, he sobbed like an in- 
 fant for some time." 
 
 Under these feelings, he wrote two long letters upon the 
 subject for the Christian Advocate, urging the importance 
 of making more systematic effort for the support of the min- 
 istry, and again commending the financial arrangements of 
 our British brethren. 
 
 As Dr. and Mrs. Fisk had no children, they adopted, 
 while residing at Wilbraham, a little girl, whom they ever 
 regarded as their own. During their absence in Europe, 
 she remained in Middletown with Mrs. Fisk's mother. Af- 
 ter recovering from his alarming illness in Pisa, Dr. Fisk 
 addressed to Martha the subjoined letter : 
 
 " Pisa (Tuscany), February 14th, 1836. 
 
 "My dear Daughter, 
 
 " When I last wrote to your grandmother, which I think 
 was from Turin, I gave you some account of our route to 
 that place. If you take your map, you will be able to trace 
 out the following, which has been our course since : From 
 Turin through Asti, Alessandria, Novi, over the Apennines 
 30 
 
350 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 by the Valdi Scrivia to Genoa ; from Genoa along or near 
 the Mediterranean Sea, sometimes close by the shore, some- 
 times upon the mountains above the clouds, and sometimes 
 going under the mountains, through tunnels or arches that 
 had been dug through to save the difficulty of climbing 
 over them. We passed the towns of Spezzia, Sarzanna, 
 Carrara, Massa, and Lucca, to Florence. From Florence 
 we kept down the Arno to Pisa. We stopped in Genoa 
 four or five days, and in Florence over a week ; saw many 
 things which you would be pleased to hear about, and which 
 I will read to you from my journal if our heavenly Father 
 spare us to return home. A few things, however, I will 
 write now, to entertain you when you feel sad in thinking of 
 our absence. One thing has greatly pained us through our 
 entire route since we came into Italy, and the farther we go 
 the worse it is, and that is, the extreme poverty of a portion 
 of the people. A great many little, ragged, dirty, miserable 
 children seem to spend all their time in begging from trav- 
 ellers. They would follow our carriage sometimes a mile, 
 with the most pitiful tones begging that we would give some- 
 thing to a ' poor little hungry boy or girl,'' &c. These poor 
 children had no Jire, and often no bread. Sometimes they 
 go away into the high mountains barefooted, and some of 
 them with wooden shoes, to bring great loads of brush, or 
 knots and limbs of trees, to make a little fire. The poor 
 women, who take in washing, do not wash in hot water in 
 a tub, but they go to the rivers and streams, and stand, some 
 of them on the shore, and some of them in the middle of the 
 stream, without shoes or stockings, when it is so cold that 
 ice is forming on the edges of the stream, and there they 
 wash their clothes. They often have a rock or a stone for 
 their washboard. When they have finished, they put their 
 clothes in a basket, and their basket on their heads, and 
 carry them home. The poor people, especially in the mount- 
 ainous parts of the country, live mostly upon chestnuts, which 
 they boil and roast, and sometimes pound or grind, and make 
 into cakes. When chestnuts fail there is a famine.* 
 
 * It is known that chestnuts yield an excellent meal, affording a very pala- 
 table bread. Evelyn, as quoted in Downing's Landscape Gardening, informs us 
 
LETTER FROM PISA. 
 
 351 
 
 M I have already told you the poor people wear wooden 
 shoes. This is almost universal in France. In Piedmont 
 they oftener have wooden soles and cloth tops ; and in Mo- 
 dena and Lucca they had no quarters to their shoes, only 
 soles and vamps, so that without care they would step out 
 of them. They are so used to it, however, that they do much 
 better than we should at first with such shoes. We fre- 
 quently, in Piedmont and Genoa, saw the women dressed 
 in bodices, or a kind of stays, which were laced before, and 
 ornamented with embroidery and various kinds of needle- 
 work. Some of them looked as though they had come down 
 from their great-grandmothers as a family inheritance. 
 These stays, of course, are left exposed to view, as the most 
 dressy article of apparel, while over them is worn a sort of 
 spencer, or short loose gown open in front. On their heads, 
 the middle and lower classes of France, when they go out, 
 almost universally wear neat white caps instead of bonnets. 
 In Piedmont the headdress looked very much like a large 
 white towel folded and laid upon the top of the head, with 
 one end hanging down over the back of the neck. I could 
 not see that they were fastened in any way to the head, In 
 Genoa the headdress is a large white veil, tastefully ad- 
 justed to the head, and hanging in drapery round the shoul- 
 ders. In Tuscany they wear those great Leghorn flats, such 
 as they are when we buy them new in America, before they 
 are made into bonnets ; for this is the country where those 
 bonnets are made. They are sent to America from a sea- 
 port fourteen miles from here, called Leghorn : hence they 
 are called Leghorn hats. Some of the people here also 
 wear black beaver hats. The higher classes, however, in 
 all these countries, dress very much like Americans. 
 
 " My sheet is almost full, and I must omit farther details 
 for the present. We have been here in Pisa between three 
 and four weeks. Your dear mother was first sick with the 
 chicken-pox. As soon as she got better, I was taken sick, 
 
 that the bread of the chestnut-meal is extremely nutritive, and very favourable, 
 withal, to the complexion. Formerly fritters were made of it, which, being 
 wetted with rose-water, sprinkled with grated parmigans (parmesansl), and 
 fried in fresh butter, were quite a delicacy. 
 
352 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 and was confined about two weeks. I am now better, and 
 we think of starting for Rome and Naples in the course of 
 the week : have not determined whether we shall go by 
 steamboat from Leghorn, or go round by land. * * * 
 "From your affectionate parents, W. & R. Fisk." 
 
 There may be some difference of opinion among our read- 
 ers as to the introduction of the preceding letter. But the 
 design of a book of travels and that of a biography are in 
 some measure different. The object of the one is more par- 
 ticularly to impart information ; that of the other, to exhibit 
 character. The above letter presents Dr. Fisk in an aspect 
 in which we have had no previous opportunity of introdu- 
 cing him. It shows him talking affectionately and familiarly 
 to a child, and for this purpose, with good judgment, select- 
 ing such topics as would be likely to interest his reader. 
 
 Extract of a letter to Dr. Jabez Bunting, of London, dated 
 at Pisa, February 12, 1836. 
 
 " The more I see of popery, the more convinced I am that 
 this is emphatically the great hinderance of the Gospel — 1 the 
 man of sin, that letteth and will let till he be taken out of the 
 way.' I wonder and wonder ! ! Next to the ' mystery of 
 godliness,' the f mystery of iniquity' is most marvellous ! 
 Whence had Satan such wisdom ? Whence had iniquity 
 such venom ? How is it possible that all the combined cun- 
 ning and sin of earth and hell could have succeeded, not mere- 
 ly in measurably corrupting the Gospel, but in filling the 
 very channels of salvation with the waters of death ? How 
 have these waters deluged this fair land ! How have they 
 steeped the inhabitants in the deadly bath ! How are the 
 pride of men and the policy of states, yea, and of Protestant 
 states too, pledged to sustain the diabolical system ! Yes, 
 my dear sir, England, great and glorious as are her moral 
 and intellectual influences to the contrary, has, by her na- 
 tional policy, strengthened and intrenched the power of the 
 Beast. This you, with all other good men, doubtless see 
 and deplore. The only question now is. What is to be done ? 
 Cannot you, my dear sir, and men of your wisdom and in- 
 
ROME. — REV. PIERCE CONNELLY. 
 
 353 
 
 fluence, devise and execute some plan to diffuse light into 
 poor benighted Italy ? O for some moral hero, who, cross- 
 ing the Alps in the spirit of a Hannibal, shall carry the war 
 into the enemy's country, and push the battle to the very 
 gates of Rome." 
 
 So far as incident is concerned, the present might have 
 been made the most interesting portion of our work. But 
 we have been anticipated here by an abler pen. We must, 
 therefore, leave a blank for the reader to fill up, at his pleas- 
 ure, from Dr. Fisk's Travels. Leaving, therefore, our trav- 
 ellers to pursue their way, we rejoin them again at Rome, 
 where they spent the Passion Week, Here they saw what 
 excrescences had been borrowed from paganism to deform 
 the beauty and impair the efficiency of Christianity, and how 
 pantomime and mummery are often substituted for devo- 
 tion. Passion Week is the most favourable time, as is well 
 known, for seeing these exhibitions, and hence our travel- 
 lers, like other tourists, selected this season for their sojourn 
 in the city of his holiness. A very ample account of the 
 ceremonies will be found in the Travels, accompanied by 
 philosophic reflections upon Romanism, touching its moral, 
 religious, political, and economic tendencies. Christianity 
 at Rome is little more than an assemblage of ceremonies, 
 which seem to be kept up for the purpose of attracting 
 money-spending travellers from abroad, and of beguiling and 
 fleecing the people at home. It is doing nothing there, or 
 throughout Italy, to enlighten, to reform, to elevate the peo- 
 ple, or in any way to improve their condition. It is an in- 
 cubus upon the body politic. How wonderful the difference 
 between a papal and a Protestant country ! 
 
 While in Rome Dr. Fisk was concerned in an incident 
 which his modesty and dislike of egotism induced him to 
 suppress. He travelled from Leghorn to Rome with the 
 Rev. Pierce Connelly. This gentleman was a clergyman 
 of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States, 
 and had been settled at Natchez, Mississippi. He had a 
 wife and two children. Having become doubtful of the 
 Protestant faith, he was now on a visit at Rome, the fount- 
 30* Y y 
 
354 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 ain, as he supposed, of information, to prosecute his inqui- 
 ries on the subject. Dr. Fisk had several conversations 
 with him, and finally sent him a letter, of which the fol- 
 lowing is a rough copy. It is somewhat long, but, we trust, 
 not too long to interest the reader, especially as, in our coun- 
 try, it bears upon other questions besides the one primarily 
 involved. 
 
 " Rome, February 29, 1836. 
 
 " Rev. and dear Sie, 
 
 " The subject of the < Unity of the Church f as it is termed, 
 has undoubtedly received much more attention from you 
 than from me ; for I confess it has always struck me as one 
 of so easy a solution, if made a question, that no abstruse 
 reasoning or deep research was necessary to decide it. You, 
 therefore, could not expect, if I were called on, that I should 
 be able to enter far into the arguments, pro and con, by 
 which this subject is elucidated (better, perhaps, say obscu- 
 red) by those who have discussed it. You will, however, 
 pardon me, I trust, in making a few suggestions, or, if you 
 please, proposing a few questions. My solicitude for the 
 cause of truth, to say nothing of the interest which has been 
 excited by my short acquaintance with you personally, would 
 justify me, I think, however I might fail of my desired ob- 
 ject, or however irrelevant or unsatisfactory my suggestions 
 might seem to you. 
 
 " That Christ has a Church on the earth, and that he 
 views that Church as one, we are, I suppose, all agreed. It 
 is also, I presume, granted that, to be members of the 1 king- 
 dom of Heaven' in glory, it is necessary to be members of 
 the ' kingdom of Heaven' on earth ; or, in other words, that 
 those, and those only, who belong to Christ here, will be with 
 him hereafter. With these principles of agreement at the 
 starting-point, we are prepared to inquire, Who are Christ's 
 on earth ? What are the requisite characteristics to consti- 
 tute an individual a member of the body of Christ ? Will a 
 visible membership, and a partaking of the sacraments, be 
 sufficient? Then ought Ephesians, v., 5, to be changed to 
 read thus : 1 For this you know, that whoremongers, and 
 
UNITY OF THE VISIBLE CHURCH. 
 
 355 
 
 unclean persons, and covetous men, who are idolaters, have 
 an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God;' for 
 whatever church you fix upon as the true Church, such char- 
 acters are found in it. Besides, the apostle John speaks of 
 some ' who went out from us, because they were not of us.' 
 Here, then, were members of the visible Church, who, how- 
 ever, were not of the true Church ; indeed, I will not insult 
 the understanding and moral feelings of one educated like 
 yourself by dwelling long upon arguments to prove that vis- 
 ible church-membership while living, or canonization after 
 death, cannot of themselves constitute a man a member of the 
 kingdom of Heaven, here or hereafter ; otherwise, ' Christ 
 came to confirm the works of the devil ;' to be * a minister 
 of sin;' to introduce, in fact, the most demoralizing and ex- 
 tended system of licentiousness with which the world was 
 ever cursed. If, then, we must acknowledge that not all 
 who are of any visible church are ' of the kingdom of Heav- 
 en,' what becomes of the ' unity of the visible Church ?' Are 
 not the hypocrites who are members of the visible Church a 
 part of its unity ? Most certainly they are ; and, therefore, 
 the unity of any visible Church now existing on the earth is 
 not the unity of Christ* s Church. I confess to you, my dear 
 sir, that this, granting the premises, appears to me as clear 
 a demonstration as any proposition in physics. The prem- 
 ises I am sure you will not deny. And will it be said that, 
 since a part of the visible Church, perhaps a majority (al- 
 though this is far from being certain, or even probable, al- 
 ways), is ' of the kingdom of Christ,' that therefore its visi- 
 ble unity is not destroyed ? This would be making the unity 
 of a compound the same as that of one of the ingredients ; it 
 would be making a part identical with the whole ; it would 
 be making that unity which is bounded by visible lines the 
 same as that unity which is not bounded by these, but by 
 other lines, invisible and indefinite ! My dear sir, what lo- 
 gical mind could consent to such a proposition ? Turn it, 
 sir, as you may, you must come to the same conclusion at 
 the last, that the visible Church of Christ is, strictly speak- 
 ing, one thing, and the true Church another ; they have not 
 the same unity, they have not the same identity. 
 
356 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 " Here, I think, it would be perfectly safe to rest the ar- 
 gument ; but, willing to look at it on every side and in 
 every supposable position, let it be inquired again, What are 
 the characteristics of the true Church ? Shall we say that 
 those, and those only, are the members of the true Church 
 who have personal holiness, together with a membership in 
 some particular church, and a participation of its sacra- 
 ments ? Assume, for the sake of the argument, which church 
 it shall be to which these holy persons must belong in order 
 to belong to the true Church. Say, for the sake of the argu- 
 ment, it is the Roman Church. The two characteristics, be- 
 longing to the true Church, and being personally regenerated 
 and made holy, constitute them members of the true Church, 
 without both of which there is no salvation, here or hereafter ; 
 but this would exclude from all hopes of heaven all who are 
 not members of the Roman Church. Are you prepared to 
 adopt this ? It is, I believe, the doctrine of Romanism, and 
 ought, for consistency's sake, to be the doctrine of all who say 
 that there is one, and only one, visible true Church on the 
 earth. And yet St. Peter, who is claimed to be the first pope, 
 said, in view of the devotion of certain Gentiles, ' Of a truth 
 I perceive,' &c. (Acts x., 34, 35), although these persons 
 had not as yet become members of the visible Church ; be- 
 sides, this declaration of St. Peter's evidently implies that in 
 every nation, even where Judaism and Christianity were not 
 known, there might be those who feared God and wrought 
 righteousness. But, passing this, and many other scriptures 
 that might be adduced, if the two qualifications, personal 
 holiness and membership in the true Church, be necessary 
 to constitute one 6 of the kingdom of Heaven,' then the ques- 
 tion occurs, How and when is the former of these obtained ? 
 Here is a regenerate person. Did he become holy before 
 or after joining the Church and partaking of the sacraments ? 
 If before, then, should he die before he has the opportunity 
 of participating in the sacraments, he will nevertheless be 
 saved, because the regenerate cannot be lost ; and thus one 
 who w T as not a member of the visible Church is neverthe- 
 less proved to be of the true body of Christ, a branch of the 
 true vine. Much more, then, on this supposition is the unity 
 
UNITY OF THE CHURCH. 
 
 357 
 
 of the true Church proved not to be the same as the unity 
 of this visible Church, because this visible Church not only 
 has some in it that are not of the true Church, but some who 
 are of the true Church are not in it. But if it should be said 
 that men do not become holy until they become members of 
 the visible Church and participate in the sacraments, then 
 all must be evidently and inevitably lost who do not belong 
 to this supposed true Church, for men cannot be saved with- 
 out holiness. Such a sentiment would certainly make God 
 a hard master, because it is physically and morally impossi- 
 ble for some men to receive the sacraments of this supposed 
 true Church. Moreover, if all are unholy or unregenerate 
 until they join the Church and participate in the sacraments, 
 then is the Church, in the first instance, made up of the un- 
 regenerate men, with no certainty of their becoming regen- 
 erate, unless it be said that the sacraments infallibly work 
 regeneration. If this is pretended, it will follow that all 
 who are members of the true visible Church are also mem- 
 bers of Christ's body, and heirs of the kingdom of glory ; 
 but this has already been seen to be contrary to fact, since 
 some of the worst characters have been and are members 
 of the visible Church. The sacraments, then, do not neces- 
 sarily and certainly impart spiritual grace ; and, therefore, 
 as all are received in unregeneracy, they may continue so ; 
 and thus there is a possibility that a majority, and even all, 
 of Christ's true visible Church may be of the synagogue of 
 Satan. 
 
 " Let me ask farther, Do the sacraments impart grace at 
 all ? Are they even directly the medium through which God 
 imparts grace ? Is not their use strictly this, that they are 
 a help to faith, which, in the Word of God, is made the only 
 direct medium of communicating grace ? If this latter con- 
 clusion be true, as I think it must be, unless all are certainly 
 recipients of grace, without any other condition, who parti- 
 cipate in the sacraments, then may there be regeneration 
 before receiving the sacraments: for the New Testament 
 gives numerous instances of faith in Christ, and the conse- 
 quent fruits of peace in believing and joy in the Holy Ghost, 
 before the believing converts were received into the Church, 
 
358 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK . 
 
 Indeed, this was the general order under the ministry of the 
 apostles. Here, then, are cases where some belonged to 
 Christ by regeneration, and principles are here recognised 
 by which others may receive the same grace, without being 
 members of the visible Church : another proof that the 
 unity of Christ's Church is not identical with the unity of 
 any visible church. 
 
 " Permit me, my dear sir, to inquire farther, What is the 
 advantage of such an exclusively true visible Church of Christ 
 as that for which you would contend ? Is it that such a 
 church may administer the ordinances effectually ? But if 
 the ordinances are only a help to faith, then may they be ad- 
 ministered by different churches, and, if received believing- 
 ly, may have all the efficacy of their original design. But 
 if you think there is some mysterious grace in the ordinance 
 itself, then it behooves you to do these following things : 
 You must prove this from Scripture, and not from tradition, 
 nor any assumed authority of a pretended true Church of 
 Christ ; for, remember, we are on the preliminary question, 
 Which is the true church ? and therefore cannot permit any 
 church to assume its own authority, in order, by its authority 
 ex cathedra, to establish and prove its own claims. If you 
 maintain that there is efficacy in the sacraments themselves 
 when administered by the true Church, you must show why 
 all men who receive them are not regenerate and holy ; that 
 is, why, in every church, and, of course, in the true Church, 
 whichever it is, from the days of Christ until now, there 
 have been, and still are, many arrant hypocrites. It be- 
 comes you, also, to show, if this grace is received only through 
 ordinances, &c, how God can be just, much more, how he 
 can be merciful to all men, when by his providence he has 
 rendered it physically impossible for some men to receive 
 these sacraments from the hands of the true Church. In- 
 deed, sir, I cannot conceive of what possible advantage this 
 exclusively true visible Church can be, unless it is for the 
 two purposes of the power of the keys and of transubstantia- 
 tion ; with respect to both of which purposes, it appears to 
 me the considerations just urged press upon them very heav- 
 ily. If the text so often quoted, * Whatsoever ye bind on 
 
UNITY OP THE CHURCH. 
 
 359 
 
 earth,' &c, be taken in the Roman Catholic sense of it, 
 then this binding and loosing must be, ipso facto, saving or 
 damning by receiving into or rejecting from the Church ; 
 in which case all the difficulties just urged will press upon 
 the advocate of such a sentiment. If the text, 1 This is 
 my body,' &c, be explained as Romanists explain it, then 
 all who take of the consecrated Host must have spiritual life, 
 according to Christ's own words ; that is, they must be re- 
 generate : and all who do not eat the consecrated Host will 
 not have life ; that is, cannot be saved : and in this case the 
 preceding considerations will lie against the doctrine with 
 all their force. In every point of view, then, this doctrine 
 of the visible unity of the Church of Christ, whether it be ex- 
 amined in view of the necessary characteristics of such a 
 church, or in view of the purposes for which such a church 
 is claimed, we find it fraught with inconsistency, embarrass- 
 ed with difficulty, and altogether useless. Why, then, should 
 we vex ourselves and each other by seeking after such a 
 church, or defending the claims of this or that body of pro- 
 fessing Christians to such exclusive prerogatives ? Protest- 
 ants do not claim the power of the keys in the popish sense, 
 and none but high-toned Episcopalians, I believe, claim any 
 mysterious grace in the ordinances themselves. But if there 
 be any such power of the keys, or any transformation of a 
 wafer to a god by a ministerial consecration, I know not 
 how any man can prove that I, as a Methodist minister, do 
 not possess it as well as the priests of Rome. Hence the high- 
 est purposes claimed for this unity of the visible Church may, 
 for aught that appears, be just as well secured without it. 
 
 " Finally, Does the Bible indicate any such visible unity ? 
 Here, sir, permit me to tell you what is in my heart, and I 
 trust you will receive it in the same spirit with which I write 
 it. Have you not mistaken your course ? "Why should you 
 and I go on a pilgrimage to Rome or to Mecca to ascertain 
 the truth or falsity of Romanism or Mohammedanism, or to 
 ascertain which is the true Church ? 1 To the law and to the 
 testimony ; if they speak not according to this word, it is 
 because there is no light in them.' We have our Bibles at 
 home. In our closets, with hearts lifted to God, and with 
 
360 
 
 LIFE OF W1LLBUR FISK. 
 
 our eye upon the revealed, written, inspired word, we should 
 look for the true Church. When we leave this proper 
 course of inquiry, and go to Rome to inquire of popes, car- 
 dinals, and priests, we have virtually decided the question, 
 although we may not be aware of it. We have constituted 
 the very Church which is the subject of investigation the 
 oracle to settle our doubts and proclaim her own preroga- 
 tives. 
 
 " My dear sir, pardon the freedom with which I have 
 spoken. I have done it from a deep conviction not only 
 that your own interest and that of your interesting wife and 
 children are at stake, but also and especially from the con- 
 viction that the Church of Christ and the interests of religion 
 might sustain a loss. 
 
 " Whatever you may think of my communication, which 
 has become much longer than I originally intended, believe 
 me yours, in the bonds of Christian affection and sincere 
 regards, W. Fisk." 
 
 But the well-intended effort was in vain. The letter was 
 written the evening before our travellers left for Naples, and 
 after a week's absence, in the first Cathedral they visited 
 upon their return, Mr. Connelly was in the act of renouncing 
 his Protestantism. 
 
 Dr. Fisk did not go abroad in the character of a tourist 
 of pleasure nor a mere virtuoso ; yet, with his lively curi- 
 osity and desire of knowledge, he would naturally wish to 
 see whatever tended to enlarge his information, improve his 
 taste, and contribute to usefulness. For these objects he 
 employed his time diligently while abroad, and especially at 
 Rome. Evident proof of this is found in his book, and 
 much that is not written there is written upon the hearts and 
 memories of his companions. The travelling party while at 
 Rome consisted of six ; and of these the gentlemen were 
 accustomed to say that, when they sallied out in quest of 
 knowledge, they must take care to go with Dr. Fisk, as he 
 would be sure, by some means or other, to find out what 
 was worth seeing and remembering. But, while intent upon 
 improvement, he was not less assiduous to please and oblige. 
 
LETTER FROM FLORENCE TO A LADY. 
 
 361 
 
 Mrs. Fisk delights now to recall his image as he stood on an 
 architrave supported by columns more than 28 feet high, 
 among the ruins at Paestum, throwing down some moss, 
 which she had expressed a desire to carry home as a souvenir. 
 
 Having remained long enough in Rome to see the princi- 
 pal curiosities, they started, on the 25th of April, for the more 
 northern part of Italy. Arriving again at Florence, Dr. Fisk 
 wrote the following letter to a lady in Middletown. It shows 
 what were his feelings while in this land of romance and of 
 song. 
 
 " Florence, May 1, 1836. 
 
 ** My dear Madam, 
 
 u I believe I made something like a promise to you that I 
 would write to you from Italy. At any rate, there rests upon 
 my conscience a vague impression of that kind, which I cannot 
 well dispose of without writing at least an apology for a letter. 
 Perhaps you may decline receiving a letter written for con- 
 science' sake, or an apology for a letter. However, in this land 
 of falsehood, where ingenious lying passes for a virtue, com- 
 mon lying for common honesty, and religious imposition for 
 pious fraud, I am thankful that I have so much conscience left ; 
 and as for accepting an apology for a letter, you could not, if 
 you knew my circumstances, expect much more. You would 
 not, of course, expect me to rhapsodize or poetize. Even Italy 
 cannot make a poet of me ! Besides, I am so much in the 
 habit of giving my attention to the social and moral condi- 
 tion and associations of the inhabitants of a country, that 
 any special defects in these cast a gloomy aspect over the 
 physical beauties of the country itself. Such is the case in 
 Italy. This country has its physical beauties, natural and 
 artificial ; but these, even, have been overrated. Take, for 
 example, the far-famed Italian sky : a subject alluded to, I 
 recollect, at the time you expressed a wish to have a letter 
 from Italy. This sky has obtained its credit from English 
 authors, who, coming from the murky atmosphere of their 
 fog-wrapped islands, are astonished and charmed at the 
 beauty and brightness of an Italian sky. But I may say, I 
 think, with the greatest safety, that if I have seen a sky 
 31 Zz 
 
362 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 in Italy to equal, I certainly have not seen one to excel an 
 American sky. I almost doubt whether the ethereal canopy 
 of America is surpassed by that of any other country on the 
 globe ; and yet Americans, when they come here, must at 
 least imagine that they see surprising beauties in the ceru- 
 lean of Italy, merely because poets and novelists have asso- 
 ciated these skies with the glowing descriptions of genius, 
 and intertwined them, in connexion with all their studded 
 brilliants, with wreaths and garlands of fancy. 
 
 " Italy has her landscapes, her mountain scenery, her cas- 
 cades, her lakes, her valleys festooned with vines, her hills 
 crowned with olives, and her orangeries resplendent with 
 golden fruit. All these, moreover, are set off by the most 
 skilful and expensive efforts of art. This country, too, has 
 her works of art in the greatest perfection. It is needless to 
 Tepeat what all the world knows, that the finest products of 
 the chisel and of the pencil are here ; and, above all, here 
 are classic associations, historic monuments, and remains of 
 antiquity, which, more than anything else, interest me. It is 
 thus, and in connexion with these, that the spectator is ena- 
 bled to bring down to the present times the most renowned 
 and polished of the ancients. All these are presented to the 
 mind of the traveller, and, with these to entertain him, it 
 might be supposed, perhaps, that the pleasure of visiting 
 Italy would be very great. But there are still other parts in 
 this exhibition, other colours in this picture. Some of your 
 finest antiquities are surrounded by filth the most loathsome, 
 and you gratify the sight of the eye at the expense of the 
 olfactories. You see, too, among the splendid ruins of the 
 Coliseum and of the Palatine Hill, squalid poverty picking 
 off vermin from greasy rags and skins. Wherever you go, 
 you are followed by a host of beggars, whose wants you 
 cannot supply, and whose importunities, backed as they are 
 by the most evident tokens of wretchedness, you can hardly 
 have a heart to repel. You see some of the most fertile val- 
 leys tilled by companies of wretched-looking females, with 
 one or two lazy-looking male overseers, having long canes to 
 chastise them into industry if they are found too dilatory. 
 You see, in fine, the whole population given up to a most de- 
 
LETTER TO PROFESSOR JOHNSTON. 
 
 363 
 
 grading and, I may say, in many instances, most disgusting 
 superstition, on the one hand, and a Jax, licentious morality 
 on the other. All these things are here, and, being here, you 
 may judge whether, with my feelings, I could be expected 
 to deal much in rhapsody, or feel the inspiration of poesy, 
 even under the influence of all that is inspiring in Italy. 
 Since, then, you cannot expect, on the other hand, in the 
 short compass of a sheet, a detail of particulars, and espe- 
 cially since my sheet is already full, you will be kind enough 
 to accept this apology for a letter, and wait for particulars 
 until I return."* 
 
 They visited, while in Florence, that rare institution for 
 Italy, the Lancasterian School, under the patronage of the 
 Marquis Torrigiani, who, in his visit to the United States, 
 had seen the effect of education upon the poorer classes, and 
 on his return had attempted to introduce it into his own 
 country. From this philanthropic nobleman they received 
 very polite attentions. They also formed an interesting ac- 
 quaintance with Mademoiselle Callandrini, the noble origi- 
 nator of infant-schools in this benighted region. Dr. Fisk 
 received two letters from her, explaining her operations, her 
 difficulties, and prospects, which would, no doubt, be ac- 
 ceptable to our readers, but we should not, without her per- 
 mission, deem it proper to make them public. 
 
 From the capital of the kingdom of the iron crown, f Dr. 
 Fisk addressed the following letter to Professor Johnston, of 
 the Wesleyan University : 
 
 "Milan, May 21, 1836. 
 
 "My dear Professor, 
 
 " I am now on the eve of recrossing the mighty barriers 
 of the Alps, I hope for the last time. I am tired of journey- 
 ing, especially among a people of a strange tongue, although 
 
 * This letter was sent by the hands of Mr. William J. Webb, whose melan- 
 choly fate is related by Dr. Fisk at page 352 of his Travels. It is remarkable, 
 that of the six who formed their party in Rome, only two are now living. 
 
 t All have heard of the iron crown of Lombardy, but all do not know that it is 
 so called " from a small ring of iron, said to be made of a nail of the true cross, 
 placed upon the interior of a circlet of gold." — Dr. Fisk's Travels^ p. 393, note. 
 
./7 •• mf<>'\ 
 
 364 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 it must be confessed that Italy is now just clad with her 
 charms. The winter has been severe, and much of the in- 
 terest of the country has been lost ; but now it is clad in a 
 most luxuriant robe of verdure, such as in our country is not 
 known. The weather is temperate, and the whole scene is 
 enchanting. We have just now — three days since — arrived 
 from Venice, having travelled the whole length almost of 
 this luxuriant valley of Normandy. There is, perhaps, no- 
 thing finer of the same extent in the wide world. However, 
 I ought to bear in mind that I have as yet seen but a little 
 part of the world. This city, the capital of Lombardy now, 
 as it was of Napoleon's kingdom of Italy formerly, is a beau- 
 tiful city, and the more so for the masterly touches of Na- 
 poleon's improving hand, who has left the impress of his 
 genius, of his power, and of his taste on every part of this 
 country. His power is gone ; and as his mind, insatiate 
 with power, was ever grasping after more, we ought not to 
 regret, perhaps, that his power is gone ; but the works of 
 his hands will live while the world stands; and the impulse 
 he has given to society here is felt and must be felt more and 
 more, notwithstanding the leaden sceptre of Austria, which 
 presses upon public sentiment and upon the buoyant ten- 
 dency of mind like an incubus. It is impossible to stop the 
 progress of mind ; and if other revolutions do not burst the 
 chains of Austrian despotism, an event by no means improb- 
 able, still the march of mind will go on. As Galileo said, 
 when, by compulsion, he was obliged to sign his recantation 
 of the true astronomical theory, ' The world will go round 
 for all that/ so one may say of the policy of Metternich, 
 ' The principles of intellectual emancipation will go round 
 and go on for all that.' Venice is in its decline, and must 
 ultimately go back into the lagunes whence it arose. The 
 time may be distant, but at some day, if the world stands, 
 the waves of the Adriatic will again sweep over the islets of 
 the present site of Venice as they did before the fierce arms 
 of Attila and other barbarians drove the fugitives of Italy to 
 steal from Neptune a refuge from tyranny. But I cannot 
 enlarge now. We shall leave here, Providence permitting, 
 in one or two days ; shall visit Lakes Como and Maggiore ; 
 
POWER OF ASSOCIATION. 
 
 365 
 
 prepare to reach Geneva, by the Simplon, on the first of 
 June ; pass down the Rhine, and be in London by the 15th 
 or 20th, where we hope to hear from home. 
 
 " I have sent a box of Vesuvius minerals* by Mr. W. J. 
 Webb, who, poor man, is, I fear, almost gone with the con- 
 sumption. He was to have sailed by the 10th instant from 
 Leghorn. You can open the box if it arrive. I hope to 
 get some more in Switzerland. Pray how does your de- 
 partment prosper ? Will you write me in England ? Our 
 kind love to your lady, and also to all the professors and 
 their families, to students, and to other friends. I think of 
 you all much, and hope to see you again in the flesh, and 
 join you in your work. Our health is good. Be pleased to 
 see Mrs. Fisk's mother, and inform her of our health, and 
 give her our love. Yours in haste, as it is time for the mail 
 to close. W. Fisk." 
 
 Dr. Fisk was remarkable for his attachment to his native 
 land. The feeling had been instilled into his mind from 
 his early childhood by both his parents, so that the love of 
 country was more a passion with him than a sentiment. 
 This feeling is never more vividly called out than while trav- 
 elling in foreign lands, and is frequently brought into activ- 
 ity by comparative trifles. We cannot forbear noticing an 
 instance of this power of trifles over the associations while, 
 our travellers were at Bavena, on the shore of Lake Mag- 
 giore, on the eve of their departure from Italy. At a com- 
 fortable inn, where they passed the night, a wooden floor to 
 their room gave them more of a home-feeing- than anything 
 they had met with for a long time. It was the first wooden 
 floor they had seen in five months. The water scenery, the 
 distant mountains, the trout of the Like, and the wooden floor, 
 carried the thoughts of our travellers across the Atlantic, 
 and they retired to rest sigtmg for their New-England 
 home. Their feelings are expressed in the words of a na- 
 tive poetess : 
 
 * This arrived safely, and the specimens are now in the cabinet of the Uni- 
 versity. 
 
 31* 
 
366 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 " Though warm hearts have cherish'd the exile 
 In moments of sorrow and pain, 
 There's a home in the heart of New-England, 
 Oh ! when shall I see it again." — Mrs. Osgood. 
 
 And here we shall venture a few general observations on 
 Dr. Fisk's account of his travels in this region. In estima- 
 ting this portion of his work, reference must be had, as has 
 been before intimated, to his character and aims. He was 
 evidently more interested in the history, religion, morals, 
 literature, and physical condition of the countries he passed 
 through, than in the objects which more generally attract 
 tourists. He was more interested in men than in things ; 
 but, though he gave a subordinate place to the fine arts, 
 yet he did not despise, nor entirely neglect them. He vis- 
 ited them for the sake of information, and spoke of them 
 rather as they impressed the mind of a person of a busy, 
 active, useful life, than that of a professed connoisseur. To 
 the latter he made no pretensions ; he even expressly dis- 
 claims it. We can, therefore, see neither justice nor liber- 
 ality in the remarks some were disposed to make on his 
 meager descriptions of the fine arts in Italy. An author is 
 not to blame for failing to accomplish what does not come 
 within his design. If his design do not please us, or suit 
 our taste, we lay the book down ; but why, on that account, 
 should we impeach its excellence ? We think not the less 
 of Sir Humphrey Davy as a philosopher on account of his 
 insensibility to the beauties of the Louvre, nor do we ad- 
 mire the philanthropy of Howard the less because, when 
 he visited Greece on his errand of benevolence, he did not 
 turn aside to view the remains of the Parthenon and the 
 Acropolis, nor kindle with rapture amid the remains of the 
 Academy or the Lyceum, or on the classic banks of the Ilis- 
 sus. Yet Howard was a man of taste and of fortune, and 
 of no mean attainments in science. He was a Fellow of 
 the Royal Society. Our tmveller visited whatever was 
 worthy of observation in his torn > and speaks of what he saw ; 
 but it was in accordance with his professed character and 
 purposes. This is all we ought to expect. 
 
 In portraying the condition of the people, our tourist was 
 evidently more at home than in describing the productions 
 
REMARKS ON HIS TOUR IN ITALY. 
 
 367 
 
 of the chisel and the pencil. To this he principally turned 
 his attention, and his observations are valuable. The com- 
 pendium of the history of Italy, the description of the Ro- 
 mish ceremonies of Passion Week, the exhibition of the 
 moral, political, and religious, as well as literary state of 
 the country ; his remarks on the causes and cure of these 
 evils, evince observation, thought, research, and great indus- 
 try, especially considering that this was all done in, as it 
 were, a flying journey of a few months' duration. Indeed, 
 if any one desire a correct apprehension of the actual condi- 
 tion of the Italian States, we know not where, in the same 
 compass, he can be better and more agreeably informed 
 than in Dr. Fisk's Travels ; and if, in every particular, mi- 
 nute accuracy be not found, still these mistakes are so in- 
 considerable as to be no serious deduction from the value 
 of the work, while the circumstances of the writer furnish an 
 ample apology. 
 
 We might follow him with something of the same train of 
 thought across those mountains, 
 
 " Whose head in wintry grandeur towers, 
 And whitens with eternal sleet," 
 
 as he took his course by way of the Simplon to Geneva. 
 But here he is more in his element. The beauties of Nature 
 always had charms for his understanding and his heart. 
 Some beautiful touches of description are contained in this 
 portion of his travels ; but we cannot stay to repeat them, 
 nor would it be justice to the reader. 
 
 In a passage so rapid as that under consideration, great 
 amplitude of topical information could not be expected ; 
 yet the Travels are enlivened with many local descriptions, 
 and especially by allusions to the chief historic associations 
 connected with the places through which they passed ; and 
 thus, while he did not despise the interest created by the ex- 
 citement of the imagination and sensibilities, yet he aimed 
 chiefly at conveying information, especially such as accord- 
 ed with his own character and habits of thinking. Many of 
 his observations, though they be but hints, are well worth 
 our attention, such as those on the influence upon morals, 
 resources, and literature, exerted by the division of Italy and 
 
36S 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 Germany into so many petty independent sovereignties ; and 
 those on the inefficiency of the confederation existing among 
 the Swiss cantons, so like the union of these states before the 
 adoption of the Federal Constitution. 
 
 His tour through Switzerland is deeply interesting, espe- 
 cially his sojourn at Geneva, his visit at Basle to the patri- 
 archal Dr. Blumhart, now no more, and his description of 
 Count, or, as he prefers to be called, Mr. Fellenberg's es- 
 tablishment at Hofwyl. Although we have determined not 
 to introduce anything from the Travels into this work, yet 
 we must break our rule in one particular. Dr. Fisk's re- 
 marks upon the government of the Hofwyl school are so 
 just an exhibition of his own principles and practice, that 
 we think the reader will be pleased to see them, for the sake 
 of the portrait which they give of himself as governor of an 
 institution of learning. 
 
 " As Mr. Fellenberg is sole proprietor, so he is absolute 
 governor of this institution, or, more properly, he is the fa- 
 ther of this family, for the government is truly patriarchal. 
 All the subordinate teachers are solely under his control, 
 and all the students look up to him as the common father ; 
 all needful liberty is given to throw them, in a proper de- 
 gree, upon their own responsibility, and yet due care is ta- 
 ken to follow them with such a parental solicitude as to pre- 
 vent them from being exposed to too strong temptations, and 
 with the view to call their attention, speedily and kindly, to 
 the beginnings of error. This trains their moral feelings, 
 calls conscience into action, and teaches them to resist temp- 
 tation, not for wrath, but for conscience' sake. This is the 
 very reverse of the French system of government. They 
 put their Aleves under a lock and key, and trust almost en- 
 tirely to seclusion and physical restraints to guard their mor- 
 als and habits. This prevents the overt act of moral delin- 
 quency, but causes, on the one hand, a rank growth of many 
 of the nascent passions, and, on the other, effectually ex- 
 cludes all education of conscience and the moral feelings. 
 The truth is, there are two wrong ways, and but one right 
 way, of governing a literary institution. The two wrong 
 ways are the easiest for the instructer, but are both equally 
 
HOFVVYL. DISCIPLINE OF SCHOOLS. 
 
 369 
 
 ruinous to the pupil. They appear to have been adopted 
 with a view to the good of the student, but with a design to 
 secure some good to him with the least possible trouble to 
 the teacher. The first of these is that of the French, already 
 alluded to, and is the same with that of most Catholic coun- 
 tries, and is a part of the same system that encourages con- 
 vents and monasteries ; founded, in fact, upon that anti- 
 scriptural doctrine, that we are to be 4 kept from the evil of 
 the world' by being ' taken out of the world.' True, if you 
 put your pupil in prison, he will not get out to do any mis- 
 chief, if your locks and walls are safe ; but when he gets out, 
 whether by stealth or at the time of his legal enlargement, 
 you may be quite sure he will do mischief with but little re- 
 morse. 
 
 " The other extreme is to give the student up entirely to 
 his own responsibility, under the sanction of fixed penal laws. 
 This is nearly the plan of the English, and too many of the 
 American universities and colleges. This, too, is an easy 
 process ; for it takes much less time to decide a case and 
 affix a penalty in view of a fixed statute, than it does to look 
 after the exposed youth with a parental eye ; to fortify his 
 mind with the strong persuasives and dissuasives of moral 
 and religious obligation, and to call his attention to the ele- 
 ments of sin in his heart, and the earliest deviations of his 
 practice. Yet this latter is the true course. The man who 
 is not willing to watch with a vigilance that never sleeps, 
 and to rebuke and exhort, persuade and correct, with a dili- 
 gence that never tires, is not the man to have the care of 
 youth. Mr. Fellenberg adopts the right course. To pa- 
 rental authority and counsels he adds the obligations of reli- 
 gion ; indeed, religion, not in its controverted dogmas, but 
 in its moral precepts and holy sanctions, is made a prominent 
 part of instruction ; and thus, like the hydraulic works of 
 Fair Mount, near the City of Philadelphia,* the very ele- 
 ment that is elevated into the moral reservoir of the soul for 
 future usefulness, furnishes the power also by which the pro- 
 cess itself is conducted with regularity, beauty, and efficien- 
 
 * " In these works, the same river, the water of which is elevated to be con- 
 veyed into the city, furnishes also the water-power for their elevation." 
 
 A A A 
 
370 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 cy." In one point only Dr. Fisk thought the Hofwyl system 
 of moral instruction deficient, which is, that it does not in- 
 culcate a change of heart. In this it is inferior to many of 
 the American institutions. 
 
 We must again refer our readers to the Travels for an ac- 
 count of the passage down the Rhine, and for his remarks . 
 on the libraries in Germany, and the Prussian system of edu- 
 cation. Meantime we hasten to rejoin them in London, 
 where they arrived on the 28th of June. It was Dr. Fisk's 
 original design to be in London in May, to attend the anni- 
 versaries, and especially since he was deputed, as before 
 mentioned, to represent some of the religious associations of 
 his own country — among others, the American Bible Society. 
 But he found, while on the Continent, that his state of health 
 rendered it inexpedient. The frequent calls to speak, with 
 the fatigue of attending the meetings, and consequent men- 
 tal excitement, would, no doubt, have been seriously detri- 
 mental to him. 
 
 During their second visit to the British metropolis, they 
 found an agreeable home at the house of the Rev. Dr. Alder, 
 of whose kindness, together with that of his lady, our trav- 
 ellers ever spoke in the warmest terms. Here they spent 
 from two to three weeks, visiting the British Museum, West- 
 minster Abbey, the Tower, and, in short, as far as time would 
 allow, whatever was worth examining in this wonderful epit- 
 ome of the nations. Dr. Fisk also visited the Universities 
 of Oxford and Cambridge ; but we need not repeat his ob- 
 servations on them. 
 
 In May of this year (1836), the General Conference of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church in America appointed Dr. Fisk 
 their delegate to attend the British Conference, which was to 
 meet at Birmingham on the 27th of July. On the 19th of July, 
 therefore, he left London, with Mrs. Fisk, for the seat of the 
 Conference, intending to stop at some intermediate places. 
 During this journey, a disagreeable incident convinced him 
 that his sojourn in England was destined to be disturbed by 
 some unkind offices, arising from a misapprehension of his 
 views on the Slavery Question. A stranger informed him, 
 while on the road, of a public meeting held the night before 
 
PAINFUL INCIDENTS. 
 
 371 
 
 in Birmingham, at which it was announced to the audience 
 " that a Methodist bishop was expected at Birmingham in a 
 few days, as a delegate to the Wesleyan Conference ; that 
 he was sent by a pro-slavery party in the Methodist Episco- 
 pal Church, and was himself an advocate for slavery ; and, 
 as my informant understood it, and as one of the public 
 journals afterward reported it, it was also added that this 
 bishop was a slaveholder. The name of the gentleman was 
 called for by some one in the assembly, that he might be 
 known, and treated accordingly when he should arrive. 
 Bishop Fisk, was the reply." The stranger also " intimated 
 that it would be very unpleasant, if not unsafe, for the Amer- 
 ican bishop to show himself in Birmingham, as he would 
 meet with rough treatment." Dr. Fisk informed him that 
 he " did not claim to be a bishop" (he had been elected in 
 his absence by the General Conference, but was not ordain- 
 ed) ; " yet, as I was the delegate from the Methodist Episco- 
 pal Church to the Wesleyan Conference about to be held at 
 Birmingham, I supposed I must be the person alluded to ; 
 that I should not take any pains to hide myself from the 
 good people of Birmingham ; and, therefore, they should 
 have full opportunity of doing all their pleasure in the case." 
 
 This was not all. The principal agent in this affair, Mr. 
 Sturge, who has since paid a visit to the United States, took 
 the pains to send a printed circular to each member of the 
 Conference, giving his own mistaken views of Dr. Fisk's 
 character and position in regard to the agitated question ; 
 and when he found that he had failed of attaining his object 
 with the Conference, he sent another circular expressive of 
 his dissatisfaction and indignation. Leaving the suiyect out 
 of view in our estimate of this transaction, every candid mind 
 will admit that such an intermeddling in the affairs of a body 
 with which he had no sort of connexion, was in the highest 
 degree officious, pragmatical, and arrogant. 
 
 But all this was by no means so trying to Dr. Fisk's feel- 
 ings as a memorial which was sent by some members of 
 several American Conferences to the British Conference on 
 this painful subject. It was signed by eighty-five names. 
 This document, though, as is claimed by the signers, it was 
 
372 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 not so intended, was yet precisely adapted to create a prej- 
 udice against Dr. Fisk, and prevent his cordial reception 
 by his brethren and the British public. He felt this the 
 more keenly, because many of the signers were those with 
 whom he had long been on the most intimate terms, and on 
 some of them he had conferred particular obligations. Per- 
 haps, in the whole course of his life, nothing ever affected 
 him so painfully as this transaction. Yet, while under the 
 anguish of lacerated feeling, his prayer was, " Father, for- 
 give them, for they know not what they do." 
 
 But, whatever influence this document may have had with 
 individuals, the Conference was too high-minded and hon- 
 ourable a body to listen to or entertain it; they decided that 
 it would be improper for them officially to receive commu- 
 nications from single Conferences or portions of Conferen- 
 ces while in regular correspondence with the entire body. 
 The document, therefore, was not allowed to be read. This 
 decision was made spontaneously, when Dr. Fisk was ab- 
 sent, to whom, afterward, the paper was handed by the 
 president. 
 
 A touching proof of Christian virtue follows. On the day 
 of this painful transaction, the family whose hospitality Dr. 
 and Mrs. Fisk enjoyed had invited company to dinner. Dr. 
 Bunting was among the guests. With his usual cheerful- 
 ness and self-command, Dr. Fisk appeared in the drawing- 
 room and at the table. In the course of conversation, Dr. 
 Bunting mentioned the offensive document, and expressed 
 his disapprobation of the measure, when " Dr. Fisk," says 
 Mrs. F., " with his peculiar sweetness, replied, 1 I know 
 those brethren, doctor. They are good men. They have 
 doubtless meant well, though their zeal for the slave seems, 
 with them, to be the sundering of all other ties, and the all- 
 absorbing principle of goodness.' " To the same purport 
 was his communication concerning it in the Advocate ; but 
 that was for the public eye, and this in private intercourse, 
 while the wound in his feelings was just inflicted. 
 
 Notwithstanding these efforts, Dr. Fisk was received by 
 the Conference with a very gratifying cordiality and respect. 
 For this he was no doubt, in part at least, indebted to the 
 
BRITISH WESLEYAN CONFERENCE. 
 
 373 
 
 characteristic magnanimity of their president. On his intro- 
 duction to the body in his official character, which had taken 
 place before the arrival of the aforesaid memorial, in the 
 course of his remarks he explained the attitude of the Amer- 
 ican connexion in reference to slavery, and explained its ad- 
 ministration of discipline on this subject. On his conclusion, 
 the Conference expressed themselves satisfied, admitting 
 that, so far as ecclesiastical action was concerned, the Meth- 
 odist Church in America had done more than the Wesley- 
 ans in England, since the instructions given to their mission- 
 aries to the West Indies were to preach the Gospel, and not 
 intermeddle with their civil relations. To these views Dr. 
 Bunting assented ; adding, however, a wish that the late Gen- 
 eral Conference had reiterated its disapprobation of the sys- 
 tem of slavery, but admitted, nevertheless, that it did not 
 become their nation " to interfere and dictate in this matter, 
 and especially to send agents to the United States to agi- 
 tate the public mind."* This course was highly judicious 
 and honourable. The consequence will be, we trust, a per- 
 petuation of those friendly relations that have ever existed 
 between the two bodies, which tend to the interest of the 
 two countries, as well as to the benefit of our common 
 Christianity. May the Wesleyan family be one throughout 
 the world ! 
 
 Dr. Fisk's visit to the British Conference marks an era 
 by a slight though interesting change in their manner of set- 
 ting apart their ministers. Hitherto, after a strict examina- 
 tion before the Conference, and afterward a public relation 
 of their religious exercises, and an account of their spiritual 
 call to the ministry, they were simply recognised by the 
 president as ministers in full standing. At this Conference 
 the question of ordaining by the imposition of hands was 
 discussed, and, being called on by Dr. Bunting, Dr. Fisk 
 stated the views and practice of the Wesleyan body in the 
 United States. The subject elicited considerable discussion, 
 but the form was finally adopted. 
 
 While attending the Conference, our travellers made their 
 home at West Bromwich, a few miles from Birmingham, 
 * Dr. Fisk's Travels. 
 
 32 
 
374 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 * v 
 
 where they received the greatest kindness and attention from 
 Mrs. Hartley and her amiable family. Part of the intervals 
 of business was spent in examining the objects of interest 
 around them, in seeking up reminiscences of Bishop Asbury, 
 and inspecting the curiosities of the u toyshop of Europe. " 
 It was a season of great intellectual, as well as social and 
 spiritual enjoyment. But those who wish to see the details 
 can receive them from Dr. Fisk's own hand. 
 
 The day after Conference closed he took coach for Lon- 
 don, whence, after another week spent in the Metropolis, he 
 went to Bristol, to attend the meeting of the British Associ- 
 ation for the Promotion of Science. Here he had the op- 
 portunity of identifying some of the most brilliant produc- 
 tions of the age with their respective authors by ocular as- 
 sociation. He was happy also to see his own country cred- 
 itably represented by Dr. Hare, of Philadelphia, and his own 
 denomination honoured by Thomas Exley, Esq., of Bristol, 
 brother-in-law of the late Dr. Adam Clarke. But we need 
 not repeat the particulars. 
 
 Dr. Fisk spent ten delightful days in Bristol, hospitably 
 and most agreeably entertained at the house of J. Irving, 
 Esq., where he enjoyed the additional pleasure of the soci- 
 ety of his friend, Dr. Bunting. On the 30th of August our 
 travellers left Bristol for Ireland, visited the Giant's Cause- 
 way, crossed over to Scotland, and spent a few days at Glas- 
 gow, where a letter from Professor Torrey, of New- York, 
 procured them the acquaintance of Sir William J. Hooker, 
 the celebrated botanist, since removed to the royal gardens 
 at Kew, and then took an excursion through the Highlands. 
 They returned to Liverpool on the 19th of October, whence 
 they took passage for New- York in the same vessel which 
 carried them out. 
 
 In all his travels, Dr. Fisk entertained a most grateful sense 
 of the kindness shown him at the different places where he 
 stopped. From the very few private memorandums which 
 he kept, we insert the following only as specimens. 
 
 " Left Bristol August 30th, with much grief at parting 
 with our dear and excellent friends at the Prospect House, 
 and Mrs. A. of London ; their excellent spirits partake of 
 
SEPARATION OF CHRISTIAN FRIENDS. 
 
 375 
 
 the joys of yon bright world. How delightful will be our 
 meeting in our Father's mansion above ! Who can de- 
 scribe the pleasure of such friends in a strange land ? none 
 but those who have felt their need : never, never let me for- 
 get strangers." 
 
 " October 1. Left Roundhay with many regrets. The 
 week spent there was among the happiest in England. The 
 local situation, refined society, cultivated taste, Christian 
 simplicity and sincerity, rendered it almost a little earthly 
 paradise. But the hour of parting proves to us all that this 
 world is not our home : we seek one above." 
 
 Dr. Fisk was very busily employed during his entire so- 
 journ in England. Besides fulfilling his various engage- 
 ments, public and private, gaining information, and the like, 
 he kept up an extensive correspondence, and wrote many 
 articles for different periodicals. And on taking leave of 
 the country, he, at the request of several friends, ministers 
 and laymen, wrote an excellent paper on " Methodist Edu- 
 cation in America." It was published in the Wesleyan 
 Methodist Magazine, and copied into the Christian Advo- 
 cate at New-York. 
 
 The following letter shows his feelings on receiving intel- 
 ligence of the melancholy death of his friend and fellow- 
 traveller, Mr. William J. Webb. It was written to Profess- 
 or Augustus W. Smith, of the Wesleyan University. 
 
 " Manchester, October 6, 1836. 
 
 " Mt dear Brother, 
 
 " Your very welcome letter reached us at Manchester on 
 the 1st instant. We are under great obligations to you for 
 writing, as it afforded us great interest to hear from you 
 again. A part, however, was a painful interest. A report 
 of five deaths, of which we had not before heard, in one let- 
 ter, and that, too, from among our friends and intimate ac- 
 quaintances, was certainly an unexpected and mournful mes- 
 sage. Poor Mr. Webb ! I feared, I almost predicted the 
 result when he left us. I hoped, however, he would reach 
 home. What must he have suffered ! I almost fear I was 
 deficient in my duty to him. He had a great flow of spir- 
 
376 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 its, but at times was depressed. Often after prayer — for we 
 used to have prayers in our little travelling household — he 
 would be seen wiping his watery eyes, and would often talk 
 freely about his religious standing. He expressed to me, 
 more than once, his hope of an interest above. But when I 
 parted with him at Florence, my heart was so swelling, 
 bursting full, I could not speak. He, too, was almost 
 speechless. We mutually pressed each other's hands, sigh- 
 ed a farewell, and parted : my own conviction at the time 
 being, whatever he might have thought, that I should see his 
 face no more until we should meet at the last day. The 
 very remembrance of our connected journeyings, and visits 
 to the ruins of Rome, and over the plains and mountains of 
 Italy, is darkened by the associations of his feebleness and 
 sufferings, and consequent death. But I must change the 
 subject ; it is insupportable ! My feelings can never be re- 
 alized by those who have never met in a foreign land, and 
 felt all the sympathy which friendship and suffering will, un- 
 der such circumstances, produce. Peace to the shade of the 
 lovely, the intelligent, the kind and friendly-hearted, and, 
 therefore, the more lamented Webb. Say to his brother I 
 feel for him and with him in this, and the, to him, still more 
 painful loss of his amiable and excellent wife. I would 
 write to him, but I cannot. I feel unmanned on this subject, 
 and cannot dwell upon it. 
 
 " I shall embark for America, God willing, in the same 
 ship I came out in (Roscoe, Captain Delano), on the 24th 
 instant. I rejoice that my time is so near, and yet I feel 
 miserable whenever I allow myself to think of it, in view of 
 the weeks of misery that await me on the mighty deep ; but 
 home is in the distance, and God reigns. 
 
 " I find the climate disagrees with me more and more as 
 the autumn advances." 
 
 We could not, in our own estimation, do justice to this 
 part of our subject, without making a few general remarks 
 on this portion of his history. Considering the circumstan- 
 ces under which Dr. Fisk appeared before the British public, 
 especially at Birmingham, he always felt that he had reason 
 
HIS CHARACTER AS A TOURIST. 377 
 
 to be gratified with his reception in England ; and, accord- 
 ing to universal testimony, the impression he made for piety, 
 talents, and learning was highly favourable. Yet it may be 
 doubted whether, while there, he was quite equal to himself. 
 Perhaps this is only partially true. His sermon before the 
 Conference, on the subject, " Lord, what is man ?" &c, was 
 not, as we have understood, one of his happiest efforts. It 
 was regarded as a philosophic disquisition on the nature 
 of man rather than such a discourse as is expected be- 
 fore their assembled Conference.* But he fully retrieved 
 himself subsequently, in a sermon from Isaiah, xii., 1, " O 
 Lord, I will praise thee ; though thou wast angry with me, 
 thine anger is passed away, and thou comfortest me." This 
 was a delightful sermon, richly fraught with evangelical 
 truth and Christian emotion. His charge, also, delivered in 
 London at the ordination of certain young missionaries for 
 the foreign service, was a highly efficient performance. The 
 London Watchman, who published it entire, says, " Both 
 from its intrinsic excellence, and the most impressive man- 
 ner in which it was delivered, it is likely long to continue in 
 the remembrance of those who had the pleasure of hearing 
 it." The copy was not furnished by Dr. Fisk. It was ta- 
 ken down at the time of its delivery by a young minister, 
 who did himself so much credit by its near approach to ac- 
 curacy, that the author declined rewriting it. He preached 
 in England altogether twenty-eight times, besides delivering 
 various public addresses. 
 
 In estimating Dr. Fisk as a tourist, regard ought to be had 
 to the institutions and habits of his own country. It is, per- 
 haps, impossible for travellers fully to divest themselves of 
 the bias arising from previous circumstances and opinions ; 
 and it is equally impossible for a reader to appreciate the 
 remarks of a traveller, unless he understands his character 
 
 * This sermon was delivered in the Chapel where the Conference had been 
 sitting all day, by which the air had been rendered impure. Impure air or want 
 of proper ventilation always affected his feeble lungs very painfully. Before 
 preaching, he expressed a doubt whether he should be able to speak at all. This 
 prevented his usual animation. Indeed, he never preached, even under favour- 
 able circumstances, without great exhaustion and severe pain. Hence he fre- 
 quently remarked, that he wished it was customary to have sofas in our pulpits, 
 that he might lie down immediately on concluding. 
 
 32* B b b 
 
\ 
 
 378 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 and associations. His remarks portray himself as much as 
 the people he describes, An Englishman is not quite pleased 
 with everything he sees here. There are corresponding rea- 
 sons why an American is not exactly pleased with all he 
 finds there. England has all the features of an old monar- 
 chy and an hereditary aristocracy ; the United States have 
 the features of a young republic. The institutions of each 
 country are the representations of the spirit of the people, 
 and they serve, at the same time, to perpetuate that spirit 
 which originated them. Let us fix this in our minds, and 
 no nation need be very solicitous about the remarks of trav- 
 ellers. Such remarks, perhaps, should be omitted, unless 
 we are certain that they are founded on a philosophic basis, 
 or upon some principle held in common. In regard to the 
 latter, we shall not be likely to agree in our conclusions 
 unless we start from the same premises ; and without the 
 former, we shall have no safe standard of judgment ; but to 
 establish such a standard, it would be necessary to investi- 
 gate the primal elements of moral, political, and economic 
 science. 
 
 As Dr. Fisk appeared in an official capacity before the 
 British Wesleyan Conference, it is no wonder that much of 
 his attention was bestowed on the affairs of British Method- 
 ism ; hence a considerable portion of what relates to Eng- 
 land is upon this topic. This is viewed differently by differ- 
 ent persons, according to their interest or otherwise in the 
 subject. To many, even of our own people, a good deal of 
 it was new ; others were interested in it as a matter of gen- 
 eral information touching a sister denomination ; and some, 
 perhaps, were interested in it from no very creditable mo- 
 tives. Such, at least, we infer from a certain review of the 
 work, in which some of the peculiarities of Wesleyan Meth- 
 odism are paraded with an air of illiberal triumph. The 
 reviewer makes Mr. Wesley's " poll-deed" the especial ob- 
 ject of his attack, forgetting, or not knowing, that under the 
 British Constitution this was deemed the best, and, perhaps, 
 the only method by which the connexion could be held to- 
 gether after Mr. Wesley's decease. It was necessary, in 
 order to obtain a charter, to insert the names of some respon- 
 sible persons ; and Mr. Wesley nominated one hundred, un- 
 
ATTACK OF THE CHRISTIAN SPECTATOR. 379 
 
 der the designation of the Conference, whose names were 
 inserted, with a provision to supply vacancies, and who are 
 thus constituted the legal representatives of the whole body. 
 But, though these are the Conference known in law, yet, in 
 transacting the general business of the connexion, all the 
 ministers in full standing meet with them, and have the priv- 
 ilege of speaking and voting ; but it is not true, as this re- 
 viewer would fain have his readers believe, that the chapels 
 are all deeded to the Conference. The church property is 
 held, as with us, by certain private members, in trust for the 
 use of the people, but with a proviso securing to the Confer- 
 ence the right of supplying the pulpit. 
 
 The reviewer is, in his own opinion, severe — very — upon 
 the nature of the Wesleyan formulary of doctrine. Instead 
 of drawing up sundry specific articles in the form of a Con- 
 fession of Faith or Catechism, they simply take Mr. Wesley's 
 doctrinal sermons, and his plain, terse, comprehensive notes 
 on the New Testament, as their standard. Yet it is evident 
 they do not require conformity in every minute point, but 
 only in the leading doctrines of the evangelic plan, leaving 
 a reasonable latitude of construction in the minor details ; 
 but on the cardinal points, like ourselves, they allow no 
 double construction, no retaining of the form of words with 
 a diversified understanding of them. In all the essential 
 points, the " Watchmen see eye to eye." There is, there- 
 fore, no danger, in exhibiting the plan of salvation, of their 
 contradicting one another, and, by such contradictions, of 
 involving their hearers in confusion of mind, or distraction, 
 or despair, or insanity. " The trumpet gives a certain 
 sound," and each one is made to know distinctly " how to 
 prepare himself for the battle." This is excellent. We 
 wish it was universally the case in the churches of Christen- 
 dom. 
 
 The reviewer misunderstands another point ; in regard, we 
 mean, to the right of the Conference to station the preach- 
 ers. True, they have the legal right ; but, in fact, as the 
 Travels themselves show, the appointments are all read out 
 in open Conference, that is, before all the assembled minis- 
 ters, amounting to from two to four hundred, as the case 
 may be, where every man has the privilege of objecting to 
 
380 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 I 
 
 his appointment at pleasure, and when everything is adjust- 
 ed as nearly as possible to general satisfaction. If those 
 concerned are satisfied with this arrangement, we know not 
 why our reviewer should feel any particular anxiety about it.* 
 
 "With the Wesleyan ministers as a body, Dr. Fisk was 
 much pleased. In point of talent, education, and theologi- 
 cal acquirements, he considered them, in the aggregate, su- 
 perior to our own ; and he predicted a still greater advance- 
 ment from their recently-erected Theological Institution — a 
 prediction which appears likely to be accomplished. In the 
 pulpit he thought them, in manner, less natural and easy 
 than ours, and also less urgent in exhortation to an imme- 
 diate religious life. But, so far as my own information may 
 be relied on, their preaching is quite as spiritual and evan- 
 gelical as our own. 
 
 One observation in relation to the Wesleyan ministers, we 
 perceived, attracted some little attention in certain quarters. 
 The doctor thought that they seemed to be the happiest and 
 most robust class of men he had ever met with. This is no 
 doubt owing, besides the cheerfulness of their piety, in a 
 great degree, to their peculiar manner of life. They are 
 very laborious men ; but then their system requires such an 
 equal exercise of the mental and bodily faculties as is pecu- 
 liarly favourable to health, vigour, and vivacity. As a body, 
 they are very early risers ; so that they secure time for the 
 various duties of their vocation, and often walk their circuits, 
 though their appointments may be from four to ten miles 
 apart. By thus observing the laws of our complex nature, 
 they secure important advantages. They perceive no con- 
 nexion between a devout heart and a puny frame or a ca- 
 daverous countenance. They do not fit themselves for the 
 tomb that they may get ready to live.f 
 
 * My remarks here are directed against an article put forth in the dying gasp 
 of the Christian Spectator. A more illiberal, unfair, malignant article we have 
 seldom read. Without drawing out the peculiar merits of the book, the review- 
 er has ransacked it thoroughly to find defects, and parades them with infinite 
 complacency before the reader. By such a process any work might be con- 
 demned. 
 
 t We are sorry our British brethren took any offence at Dr. Fisk's remark on 
 this point. Had they seen the childlike simplicity with which he sometimes ut- 
 
BRITISH METHODISM. 
 
 381 
 
 Much, also, may be ascribed to their freedom from fretting 
 anxieties. The preacher's family is well provided for ; his 
 house is furnished with every convenience; his children are sent 
 to school, and an appropriation is always made for the hire 
 of a domestic. The people thus enjoy the labours of an un- 
 encumbered, undistracted mind, and the preacher pursues 
 his work with alacrity and with unimpaired faculties. There 
 is, perhaps, no happier body of men to be found than the 
 British Wesleyan ministers. 
 
 The above facts, taken in connexion with the absence 
 of what we technically call locations, produce another 
 good effect. A large proportion of their ministers retain 
 their standing, usefulness, and influence to a good old age. 
 The younger men grow up around them, look up to them 
 as fathers, and yield them reverence and respect. With 
 us, owing, in part, to a comparative lack of aged men, the 
 young men are necessarily called to perform more impor- 
 tant parts in the work, and are thus thrown into greater prom- 
 inence. They are obliged to take too soon the position 
 which of right belongs to age and experience. This, I be- 
 lieve, rather than any moral obliquity, and more than our 
 republican form of government, produces what some have 
 esteemed an irreverence for age. Still, even the appearance 
 of this vice is so unlovely that it ought to be carefully 
 guarded against. We ought not only to avoid all evil, but 
 even " all appearance of evil." 
 
 Dr. Fisk was struck with another peculiarity in British 
 Methodism. A difference of opinion, as is known to many, 
 exists among them on the comparative utility of revivals. 
 One preacher seriously asked him if he thought " revivals 
 are, on the whole, advantageous to the Church." We sup- 
 pose the question must have contemplated a comparison be- 
 tween occasional excitements of religious interest and a 
 steady progression of the work of piety, including the spirit- 
 ual advancement of the Church, and constant accessions of 
 newly converted persons. Upon this question there may be 
 a difference of opinion without impeachment of religious 
 
 tered such little pleasantries — for it was nothing more— they could not have felt 
 aggrieved. But it is impossible to print a smile. 
 
382 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 character. A revival implies a previous deadness ; and 
 where there is deadness in religion, no one who favours re- 
 ligion will deny the utility of a coming to life, or a revival. 
 But still is it possible, by faithful, spiritual, evangelical 
 preaching, to maintain such a constancy of vital warmth and 
 activity in a church, that a revival, properly so called, or a 
 coming to life again, may be precluded ? Now, for our- 
 selves, we should like to hear that question discussed by two 
 persons intellectually and spiritually qualified to do it jus- 
 tice. Yet, on the general question put to Dr. Fisk, there can 
 be but one opinion among men properly qualified to judge. 
 Revivals have, on the whole, done immense good, from the 
 times of the apostles to the present age ; and although 
 many who are converted in revivals fall away, yet not more, 
 perhaps, in proportion to the whole number, than apostatize 
 where the work is more gradual and protracted. Meantime 
 thousands are added to the churches that otherwise, perhaps, 
 would not become religious at all. 
 
 Dr. Fisk often spoke of the personal piety of the British 
 ministers, their urbanity of manners, sweetness of spirit, and 
 beauty of character. He felt deeply their Christian kind- 
 ness and attentions. In conversing on the subject, he would 
 often say, " How it increases the value of Christianity to 
 believe that we shall meet them all again. Yes ! to part no 
 more." He often said that " there were some in their body 
 who were among the purest models of Christianity he had 
 ever seen." Of some of their aged men, as the Reverend 
 Messrs. Entwisle and Wood, both now " entered into the 
 joy of their Lord," and others of their class, he said, " They 
 are the patriarchs of the body ; the spirit of the venerable 
 Wesley is with them. Their sons rise up and call them 
 blessed. They make me in love with old age. I am will- 
 ing to be old if God will but bless me with their spirit." 
 Of the excellent Dr. Bunting, who came from London to 
 Manchester to take leave of him, and accompanied our 
 travellers to the ship, he spoke in terms which it would be 
 indelicate to record in the lifetime of that gentleman. 
 
 But we forbear. Perhaps we have already wearied the 
 patience of the reader. 
 
VOYAGE TO NEW-YORK. ^ 383 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Voyage to New- York. — The Roscoe Herald. — Return Home. — Declines the 
 Episcopate. — Revival. — Colleges and Academies. — Letters. — Aaron C. Bangs. 
 — Hon. James G. Birney. — Dr. Fisk's Travels. — Abolition. — Letters. — Address 
 on the Fourth of July. 
 
 We left our travellers on board the packet ship Roscoe, 
 pursuing their voyage homeward. As before, Dr. Fisk suf- 
 fered severely from sea-sickness. He was, in fact, confined 
 to his berth almost the whole time, until within a few hours 
 of his landing, except only on the Lord's day. Was it a 
 special providence that the Sabbaths were uniformly calm 
 and fine, so that he was able to preach regularly on that 
 day ? At any rate, he availed himself of the opportunity, 
 preaching every Sabbath to the passengers in the large cabin. 
 
 The few entries which he made in his memorandum-book 
 during the voyage will be read with interest. 
 
 " Oct. 28th. Sick all day — the preceding night most dis- 
 tressing — rough, rolling sea. 
 
 " Oct. 29th. All day rough, rolling sea. Evening : winds 
 more calm ; become light, but contrary. Made but little 
 progress through the night. Towards morning I became 
 so restless and miserable that I could not remain in my 
 berth. I got up, and, with my dear wife's assistance, dress- 
 ed myself, and we went upon deck. The wind had changed ; 
 the moon shone brightly ; the air was mild, and the sea tol- 
 erably calm. All was tranquillizing to the spirit and re- 
 freshing to the body. The demon of sea-sickness gave way, 
 and a change came over the spirit of my nauseous, dreaming, 
 giddy life. May a kind Heaven preserve me from that dread- 
 ed enemy for the rest of the voyage. 
 
 " A calm moonlight night at sea is lovely : we enjoyed it 
 much. Our canvass was all spread. We had just wind 
 enough to fill the sails. Our noble, gallant ship seemed 
 like a thing of life, proudly careering on her native element, 
 as if exulting that she was the only object to be discerned 
 on this boundless expanse. Yet, 
 
384 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 " 1 How dark would be sea's vale, and damp, 
 
 Though moon beams bright and sweetly o'er us ; 
 But Immortality's pure lamp 
 Gladdens and gilds the scene before us.' 
 
 Truly, God is love. At sea, on land, in sickness or health, 
 God is love. 
 
 " Sunday, Oct. 30th. Winds light ; ship's company all 
 better. I read and expounded the twelfth of Romans ; had 
 much liberty in enlarging upon the mercy of God, and the 
 obligations we were laid under thereby to serve him. Gen- 
 eral attention and some tenderness. God grant that this 
 bread cast upon the waters may be gathered after many days. 
 What a place is the ocean to impress upon the mind of man 
 his own littleness and his own dependance ! The word 
 Ocean is a sermon of itself. 
 
 u The passengers met last Saturday, Oct. 29th, and re- 
 solved upon a semi-w T eekly herald, to be called the * Roscoe 
 Herald,' to be issued every Tuesday and Friday. They also 
 organized a government, appointed a judge, their officers, 
 constable, &c. This is much better than some of their 
 amusements. It is curious to see with what trifles people 
 can be amused when at sea — anything to kill time. Eter- 
 nity ^ as on land, is too often forgotten ; and yet nowhere, one 
 would think, is eternity brought nearer. 
 
 " Sunday, 13th. Calm again — service — too weary and sick 
 to write. 
 
 " Nov. 27th. After several days of rough weather, in 
 which I was confined to my bed, we have at length a lovely 
 day, and that day is the Sabbath. We had service : I en- 
 deavoured to expound from Col., 3d. Serious attention — 
 hope some good may be done — have cast again bread upon 
 the water — Jesus can bless it — too sick to write." 
 
 Yet even the sea-sickness did not overcome his interest in 
 the happiness of those around him. He was habitually not 
 less an agreeable companion than a sympathizing friend and 
 a wise counsellor. No one knew better how to combine 
 cheerfulness with gravity, and to sustain the dignity of the 
 ministerial character amid the relaxations of society. Of 
 this he had opportunity of giving proof during the ordeal of 
 a voyage across the Atlantic. His piety threw around him 
 
THE ROSCOE HERALD. 
 
 385 
 
 no mantle of repulsiveness. He contributed his share to 
 whatever innocent expedients were adopted to relieve the 
 tedium of the passage. Of this the following is an instance : 
 The first number of the Roscoe Herald was deficient in the 
 poetical department, and at Mrs. Fisk's request, the doctor 
 wrote the following lines for the " Poet's Corner. " The 
 reader ought to know that they were written in his berth, 
 as he was too ill to sit up, and was scarcely able to guide 
 his pen. 
 
 "THE ROSCOE HERALD. 
 
 " The 1 Roscoe Herald' — who'll refuse it 1 
 
 Though born at sea, and rock'd on ocean — 
 
 Must have a place, if poets choose it, 
 Where they may breathe their soul's devotion ; 
 
 Where they may chant the waves among, 
 
 In all the rhapsody of song. 
 
 But who can catch the inspiration 
 
 In circumstances such as these 1 
 Or who can hold a poet's station, 
 
 When rock'd and toss'd on rolling seas, 
 Till reeling sense and giddy brain 
 Bind fancy in a leaden chain ? 
 
 Not that inspiring scenes are wanting 
 
 To touch the heart or tune the lyre ; 
 For here are scenes quite as enchanting, 
 
 As pregnant with poetic fire, 
 As ever caught the poet's eye 
 By land or sea, in earth or sky. 
 
 Here undulating waves are rolling, 
 
 With crests of spray and caps of foam ; 
 Here day and night, the hoarse winds howling, 
 
 Through shrouds and spars make plaintive moan ; 
 While stormy peterels skim the air, 
 And dolphins play and meteors glare. 
 
 And here, in vessel's wake at even, 
 
 In one broad belt of mystic light, 
 Reflecting back a mimic heaven, 
 
 Which dazzles as it charms the sight, 
 Old ocean shows a milky way 
 Of stellar light on dancing spray. 
 
 The bright cerulean above, 
 
 In canopy of heavenly blue, 
 Bends down and round in melting love, 
 
 To kiss this sea of kindred hue, 
 And gazes through her eyes of light 
 On him she loves, the livelong night. 
 
 33 C c c 
 
386 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 And when the clouds obscure the sky, 
 
 And interrupt her raptured gaze, 
 She weeps with many a tearful eye 
 
 Through tedious nights and gloomy days, 
 Sprinkling with dewdrops from above, 
 The unseen object of her love. 
 
 Sure scenes like these might charm the muse 
 To swell her notes in sweetest measure ; 
 
 Dost ask, then, why should she refuse 
 To contribute her share of pleasure 1 
 
 Her harp's untuned in every string, 
 
 She's sea-sick, and she cannot sing. 
 " Ship Roscoe, November, 1836." 
 
 The following document serves to show the estimation in 
 which he was held by his fellow-voyagers : 
 
 " Packet ship Roscoe, near Sandy Hook, ) 
 Monday, November 21, 1836. $ 
 
 " Resolved, that Messrs. Crane and Smith be requested to 
 convey to the Rev. Dr. Fisk the grateful thanks of the cap- 
 tain and passengers of this vessel, for the obliging manner 
 in which he (although suffering from sea-sickness and indis- 
 position) complied with their wishes, by the performance of 
 Divine service on board the Roscoe during her passage from 
 Liverpool to New-York ; and also for the advice and in- 
 struction afforded to us in the lectures delivered by him, 
 wherein he most impressively and consistently inculcated the 
 invaluable doctrines of true piety, and ably advocated the 
 spirit of Christian charity towards all mankind." 
 
 Our travellers landed in New- York on the 23d day of 
 November (1836). They remained a few days in the city. 
 On the Sabbath Dr. Fisk preached, greatly to the delight and 
 edification of his audience, in the large church in Forsyth- 
 street, on the appropriate text, " Thy statutes have been my 
 songs in the house of my pilgrimage." — Ps. cxix., 54. And 
 on the succeeding evening, at the request of the Board of 
 Managers of the Young Men's Missionary Society, he gave 
 the result of his observations in the countries he had visited. 
 The audience was very large and deeply interested. A de- 
 tailed account of both these discourses was published in the 
 
RETURN TO MIDDLETOWN. 
 
 387 
 
 Christian Advocate and Journal. After the discourse, the 
 audience, by an unanimous vote, requested the publication 
 of his Travels. 
 
 Dr. Fisk's return to Middletown was hailed with un- 
 affected joy. His voyage seemed to have accomplished 
 all that was anticipated. His health appeared, to many, 
 much improved. He had enriched the apparatus and li- 
 brary of the Wesleyan University with important additions, 
 to the value of about seven thousand dollars, besides a hand- 
 some donation from the British Conference of books, among 
 which were a complete set of the Arminian and Methodist 
 Magazine, and the entire works of Richard Baxter, in 23 
 vols. 8vo, and Mr. Wesley's Christian Library. He also 
 received benefactions from individuals in England, consist- 
 ing of money, books, and contributions to the cabinet of 
 Natural History.* But, besides these, he returned with a 
 mind enriched by the results of foreign travel ; a more ex- 
 tended intercourse with mankind, and with, in some re- 
 spects, more enlarged views, and a valuable stock of infor- 
 mation. His increased attractions had still more strongly 
 drawn public attention to the Wesleyan University, the ef- 
 fect of which was a large accession to the number of students. 
 The patrons and supporters of the institution looked forward 
 to several years of efficient service from its beloved and re- 
 vered president, upon whose account, and that of the insti- 
 tution, they had expended a liberal sum of money, and in- 
 curred heavy responsibility. 
 
 Their minds, however, were not entirely free from appre- 
 hension on this point. We have had occasion casually to 
 observe that, at the General Conference held at Cincinnati 
 during his absence, Dr. Fisk was elected to the episcopal 
 office. His election was equally satisfactory to the North 
 and to the South, a point of great importance at a time when 
 a schism on the Slavery Question was feared by many, and 
 when, consequently, it was not easy to find candidates for 
 
 * The museum of the Wesleyan University is also indebted, through Dr. 
 Fisk's influence, to Dr. Prescott, of Lynn, Massachusetts, for a handsome collec- 
 tion of specimens in conchology and mineralogy, called after the donor, the Pres- 
 cott Cabinet ; and to Mr. Blackstock the library is indebted for the collection of 
 books which belonged to his brother-in-law, the late Rev. John Summerfield. 
 
388 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 the office acceptable to both parties. It was Dr. Fisk's ear- 
 nest desire to make his apparently conflicting obligations 
 harmonize, and he spared no pains to obtain suitable ground 
 on which to make his decision. After earnest prayer, a 
 careful review of the opposite claims upon him, and a cor- 
 respondence with competent advisers, he announced his in- 
 tention in the following letter to Dr. Bangs. It was pub- 
 lished in the Christian Advocate and Journal, January 20th, 
 1837. 
 
 " To the Rev. Dr. Bangs , on the subject of his election to the 
 Episcopal Office. 
 
 "My dear Brother, 
 
 " When I parted with you in New- York, you expressed 
 a wish that, as soon as I could make up my mind on the 
 subject of my election to the episcopal office, I would make 
 that decision public. This you thought desirable, to meet the 
 inquiries and satisfy the minds of many who were anxious to 
 know the result. I have found some difficulty in satisfying 
 myself with respect to this question. Since I entered upon 
 the ministry, I have ever felt it both a duty and a privilege 
 to fill that post and perform that labour, as I was able, which 
 the constituted authorities of the Church were pleased to as- 
 sign me ; and, although I consider this appointment as stand- 
 ing on different ground from the ordinary assignments of 
 ministerial labour, still, even here, I think, in ordinary cases, 
 the voice of the Church decisively expressed, in view of all 
 the circumstances, should not be disregarded. There are cir- 
 cumstances, however, in the present case, which would jus- 
 tify me, I think, in declining, at least for the present, a con- 
 secration to the office of a bishop in the Methodist Episco- 
 pal Church. I do not say that there may not be such a con- 
 currence of circumstances, between this and the next Gen- 
 eral Conference, as would convince me that it was my duty 
 to enter upon that office ; but at present my way is not clear 
 in that direction. For this decision, the following are some 
 of my reasons : 
 
 " 1. It seems that the General Conference were of the 
 opinion, at the first, that only two additional bishops were 
 
DECLINES CONSECRATION. 
 
 389 
 
 needed ; and only agreed upon a third after several of the 
 older bishops had been excused from the full labour of effi- 
 cient men. At present, however, most of these members of 
 the Episcopal Board have, by arrangement, undertaken and 
 entered upon their full proportion of episcopal labour. So 
 long as they are able, therefore, to perform that labour, it 
 would be going contrary to the wishes of the General Con- 
 ference, unequivocally and officially expressed, to increase 
 the board of bishops beyond the number already consecrated. 
 If I have a right understanding of the subject, then the case 
 is this : a third bishop was elected to meet a possible, or, 
 perhaps, a probable exigency ; which exigency has not oc- 
 curred, and may not occur for the next four years. To pro- 
 vide for that exigency, the General Conference were pleased 
 to elect three. Being absent, of course I could not be con- 
 secrated when the others were. On my return, I find the 
 exigency, without the expectation of which the election of a 
 third new bishop never would have been ordered, does not 
 exist. Should I not, then, be going contrary to the express- 
 ed wishes of the General Conference ? Should I not be 
 guilty of a great breach of Christian modesty, and show a 
 great want of a nice sense of propriety, if, under these cir- 
 cumstances, I should come forward and claim my consecra- 
 tion, and throw myself upon a board that is full, and all the 
 joint labours of which are provided for, and, by God's bless- 
 ing upon the health of the bishops (which may he richly be- 
 stow), will be performed for the next four years ? So, at 
 least, it seems to me. 
 
 " 2. Another reason (if an additional one were necessary) 
 is, that, encouraged by the sanction of the authorities of the 
 Church, I have come under such obligations, and incurred 
 such responsibilities in my present station, as I cannot sud- 
 denly dispense with, without serious disappointment, and an 
 apparent breach of confidence. 
 
 " 3. My constitution is such, that, to all human appearance, 
 I might calculate, with the fullest certainty, upon a speedy 
 termination of my labours, if obliged to be exposed to all 
 the varieties of climate, at any and all seasons of the year. 
 This, if I believed the interests of the Church required it, 
 33* 
 
390 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 should not deter me ; for why should I not go into the hot- 
 test of the battle, and fall as well as others ? So long, how- 
 ever, as I cannot see that the interests of the Church do de- 
 mand this at my hand, or at the hand of any one, I cannot 
 see the propriety of volunteering a sacrifice that God hath 
 not required. 
 
 " These, then, are the deliberate views I entertain on this 
 subject : views which are the result of my best judgment, 
 after all the light and counsel I have been able to obtain of 
 men and at the throne of grace. You are at liberty to make 
 such use of these as you may judge proper. 
 
 " With my most unfeigned acknowledgments to those of 
 my brethren who have honoured me with their confidence, 
 and with an earnest prayer for the prosperity and unity of 
 the Church, I remain, as ever, your affectionate brother and 
 fellow-labourer in the kingdom of Christ, 
 
 " W. Fisk. 
 
 " Middletown, January 9th, 1837." 
 
 These reasons did not prove entirely satisfactory to all Br. 
 Fisk's friends, and some of them expressed their views to 
 him by letter with sufficient plainness.* One, moreover, as- 
 
 * The following is an extract of a letter from Dr. Fisk to the Rev. Benjamin 
 F. Drake, of Mississippi, in answer to one from that gentleman relating to this 
 subject. It is dated January 8, 1838. 
 
 " I think you state the doctrine of submission to the General Conference rath- 
 er too strongly. You compare it to a man's refusing, after having joined the 
 travelling connexion, to take the appointment assigned him by a bishop ; only 
 mine is a worse case, because I hesitate ' to obey the solemnly declared majori- 
 ty of the whole Church.' Now, my dear brother, this is not quite fair. When 
 we join Conference, we do it in view of doing the work assigned by the bishop 
 and by our ' chief minister.' This is the business of the itinerant — this he promi- 
 ses. But who ever promised to obey the call to the bishopric 1 Who ever joined 
 the connexion in view of thisl Certainly not I. Yet I concede a man should 
 not, for slight reasons, disobey the voice of the Church. But it strikes me, diso- 
 bedience is one thing, and declining an appointment, under some circumstances, 
 another. But the severest part of your charge is, that I am ' depriving the 
 Church of the labours of some efficient superintendent, who might have been 
 elected in my place.' Have I placed the Church in this situation ? She appoint- 
 ed me to an office in my absence, not knowing my circumstances ; and, had I been 
 present to state these, the General Conference might have excused me ; but they 
 ventured on the appointment. Now, if your doctrine be correct, that we must 
 take the appointment assigned us unless excused by the General Conference, 
 
RESUMES HIS DUTIES. 
 
 391 
 
 sured him that, if he would accept the office and would re- 
 move into Alabama, a purse of ten thousand dollars would 
 be raised to procure him a comfortable residence. But such 
 arguments did not weigh a feather with him. He had made 
 up his mind on conscientious ground, and he could not be 
 moved by inferior impulses. It may be observed, that 
 though, in his letter to Dr. Bangs, he urges the first consid- 
 eration at greatest length, yet the succeeding ones had no 
 small weight with him. 
 
 Dr. Fisk now devoted himself with all his former assidu- 
 ity to the duties of his station. The affairs of the institution, 
 under the temporary presidency of Professor Smith, Avhose 
 administration was highly satisfactory, had gone on prosper- 
 ously. The number of students had increased, and addi- 
 tional buildings for their accommodation were wanted. All 
 this augmented the labours of the president. It was interest- 
 ing to observe with what facility he returned to his former 
 routine of avocations after a period of long excitement. 
 There was no appearance in him of listlessness, or distaste 
 
 then who has most cause to complain, I, who was unexpectedly appointed in 
 my absence, and when I had other engagements and pledges on my hands, with- 
 out giving me an opportunity of being heard, or the Church, which has not had 
 my services as bishop in consequence of my declining or postponing consecra- 
 tion 1 And ought I, under such circumstances, to be chargeable with standing 
 in the way of another man 1 I may be wrong, but I assure you I do not feel 
 the force of that charge farther than that it pains me that any of my friends 
 should bring it against me. 
 
 " Waiving this, however, I acknowledge that the opinion of the General Con- 
 ference, solemnly expressed, has great weight with me, and would have still 
 more if persisted in after learning all my circumstances, and yet more if, in ad- 
 dition, the connexion were actually suffering from a reliance upon me. With 
 respect to my being chosen in view of a probable failure in the labours of the 
 older bishops, that I do not say ; I did not so understand it. I understood that 
 three were agreed on, however, because the bishops asked indulgence ; and I far- 
 ther understand that these very bishops, with the exception of Bishop Hedding, 
 did, at the meeting of the Episcopal Board, claim, and have allotted to them, their 
 full share of episcopal labour for the coming four years, by which arrangement 
 the whole work was provided for and officially disposed of, and that, too, by giv- 
 ing each bishop only from five to six Conferences on an average per annum. 
 There is no vacancy for me. I could attend no Conference only as a spectator 
 and a visiter. Were I consecrated this moment, I could have no episcopal juris- 
 diction or official duty until the next General Conference. How, then, can it be 
 said, my dear sir, that I am depriving the Church of the efficient services of 
 another 1" 
 
392 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 for drudgery ; no reluctance to labour after the relaxation ; 
 no relapse after the excitement had passed away. His mind 
 was in too just an equipoise for that; and he resumed his 
 work as though he had enjoyed but a few days respite. 
 There was scarcely any perceptible change in him, save 
 what has been before mentioned. In the essential features 
 of his character he was the same : the same in piety, humil- 
 ity, and simplicity. Those who were most intimate with 
 him discovered no trace of elation, nor any betrayal of a 
 conscious superiority. His affability was such as seemed 
 always to place him upon an equality with those with whom 
 he conversed. In this he frequently reminded one of what 
 is said of the devout and amiable Fenelon, to whom, in sev- 
 eral features, our subject bore no faint resemblance. " I 
 have seen him," says Ramsay, " in a single day, mount and 
 descend all ranks ; converse with the noble in their own 
 language, preserving throughout his episcopal dignity, and 
 then talk with the lowly, as a good father with his children, 
 and this without effort or affectation."* Such was Dr. Fisk. 
 
 We are enabled, in this place, to add another illustration 
 of a feature which we have already noticed — his catholic 
 spirit. Firm he was in his attachment to his own Church, 
 and tenacious of the fundamental doctrines of the Gospel ; 
 yet he well knew how to exercise a Christian charity to 
 those who differed from him. He had long felt that there 
 was an unnecessary distance between different sects of the 
 Catholic Church, and he desired to see measures adopted 
 that might unite them more closely together. In one of his 
 sermons after his return from Europe, preached on the text, 
 " By whom shall Jacob arise ? for he is small" (Amos, vii., 
 2), he alleged, as one of the causes of the comparatively 
 slow advance of piety, and the dwarfish state of the Chris- 
 tian Church, a want of proper union in heart and effort 
 among the different denominations ; and as this discourse 
 was delivered in a Methodist church, there was no room for 
 suspecting that he followed the example of those who preach 
 liberality abroad, but bigotry at home. Dr. Fisk did not lay 
 down rules for others that he was unwilling to follow him- 
 * Quoted from Mrs. Shelley's Eminent French Writers. 
 
CHRISTIAN UNION. REVIVAL. 
 
 393 
 
 self. The following is from a letter written about this time 
 to his old and tried friend, the Reverend John Lindsey : 
 
 " I am heartily convinced that there is too little union of 
 feeling and of effort among Christians of different denomina- 
 tions, and that, until a change can be effected by some means 
 on this point, the work of God in all its branches will be re- 
 tarded. I therefore wish full success to all designs and ef- 
 forts to increase 1 Christian union.' With respect to the best 
 means of accomplishing this, I have no mature thoughts or 
 plans. It must certainly be of service, however, to bring it 
 prominently before the Christian public in a way to excite 
 public attention and inquiry. The evils of disunion should 
 be presented and illustrated by facts, and the advantages of 
 united effort should be portrayed. Hence some public 
 agency or association on the subject, prudently managed, 
 would seem desirable. Willbur Fisk. 
 
 " Middletown, December 17, 1836." 
 
 In the spring of 1837, the Methodist congregation in Mid- 
 dletown, under the pastoral care of the Rev. Charles K. 
 True, was favoured with a blessed work of grace, in which 
 the University largely participated. In this work Dr. Fisk 
 was deeply interested, and seldom appeared to greater ad- 
 vantage. He laboured diligently and efficiently. It was 
 delightful to see him, as the students came forward for 
 prayers, singing, praying, and conversing with them, solely 
 intent on leading them to the " Lamb of God who taketh 
 away the sins of the world." 
 
 The character of his preaching at this season was remark- 
 ably appropriate and evangelical. Divested apparently of 
 the stately forms of art, it was delivered with all that " sim- 
 plicity, dignity, and directness" that indicate a pure solici- 
 tude for the triumph of truth. But then, conscious of the 
 high import of his message, he threw into his sermons all his 
 mental powers and resources. He selected for his themes 
 the most familiar points of the evangelic plan, and with evi- 
 dent painstaking, laboured to bring them home to the un- 
 derstanding and the heart. Two very common faults of the 
 
 D D D 
 
394 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 pulpit he thus avoided : one is, the selection of topics so re- 
 motely connected with personal piety as to leave the con- 
 science of the hearer untouched, and his feelings uninterest- 
 ed ; the other is, discussing more familiar themes in a man- 
 ner so indifferent, and with such little effort of mind, and va- 
 riety of thought and illustration, as to create an impression 
 that the speaker is not interested in his own peculiar busi- 
 ness. If he treated on the doctrine of repentance, or faith, 
 or regeneration, it was with such clearness of statement 
 and amplitude of scriptural illustration, as exhibited at once 
 the experienced Christian and the able theologian. Such 
 preaching will always be interesting to those who have a 
 proper conception of the great end of the Gospel ministry. 
 It is like a person mapping out a road for future travellers, 
 over which he has passed himself until he has become fa- 
 miliar with all its waymarks. 
 
 Dr. Fisk's attention had been directed for some time to 
 the relation existing between the colleges and academies un- 
 der the control of the Methodist Church. He thought that, 
 in many cases, a student remaining at an academy after he 
 was sufficiently prepared to enter college, for the sake of 
 entering a higher class, was detrimental to all parties. Un- 
 der this conviction, he wrote, as a private letter to a princi- 
 pal of one of the academies, an article on the subject, which, 
 on subsequent reflection, he sent to the Christian Advocate 
 and Journal. This paper was not entirely satisfactory to 
 some of the principals and teachers of the academies, and, in 
 consequence, he received one or two letters asking an expla- 
 nation. From the Rev. George (now Dr.) Peck, at that 
 time at the head of the Cazenovia Seminary, he received a 
 communication, to which the following is his reply : 
 
 » Middletown, July 12, 1837. 
 
 " My dear Brother, 
 
 " Your views correspond with mine, I believe, exactly. If 
 the providence of God interpose, and the student cannot go 
 to college four years, then he must waive it, and do the next 
 best way. I only wish these students might be impressed 
 with the importance of making every exertion, and not sup- 
 pose it is a matter of very little consequence whether they 
 
COLLEGES AND ACADEMIES. 
 
 395 
 
 go to college or not the first years of their course ; and even 
 in the case proposed, it would be a grave question whether, 
 in most instances, a thorough course in part of their studies 
 would not be ttetter than a hurried and an imperfect course 
 in all, even if honoured with a degree by adopting the latter 
 plan. This hurried and imperfect education is very much 
 better than none ; but it does not educate the mental powers; 
 it gives them knowledge, and that is well ; but even this 
 knowledge is not as likely to stick as though the ground was 
 thoroughly prepared ; much less is it likely to bear as abun- 
 dant a harvest in after life. This kind of education is the 
 origin of most of the ultraism in the land. We are getting, 
 in fact, to propel everything by steam, and hurry over the 
 world with a railroad speed. Is it not so ? With regard to 
 those who cannot or will not go to college at all, I think it 
 very desirable that they have such advantages as can be fur- 
 nished them in our high academies ; and in this respect I 
 think these institutions are doing a vast amount of good in 
 the Church and in the country. I do not wish them to cast 
 off this class of scholars : I should think it would be a great 
 calamity to do so. Persuade as many of them, however, to 
 go to college as you can, and then do your very best with 
 the others. You will perceive that my aim was not to dis- 
 approve of this, but to object to the academies' educating 
 the young men in our course, and then sending them here 
 for us to certify to their education by an official diploma. I 
 did not say the 1 outside row, when left to you, was as good 
 as lost? but that the college course would have an ' outside 
 row' even if they entered sophomore or junior; and there- 
 fore it was as useless to stay away to get rid of it, as for the 
 farmer to refuse to plant an outside row to avoid having 
 one. By-the-way, you seem to think I meant you — if not ex- 
 clusively, at least principally. This is not the fact. I be- 
 gan the communication as a private letter to the principal of 
 another institution on this side of the Hudson, and finally con- 
 cluded to give it a public and general character : I therefore 
 meant you inclusively with others. I find my sheet is full, 
 and I must close. Love to all friends. 
 
 " Yours in affection and esteem, 
 
 " W. Fisk. 
 
396 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 " Send us on as many as you can next Commencement. 
 We want our outside row well planted ; and we can insert 
 some in the centre, if they are big enough. They will droop 
 a little at first when transplanted so large, but we will water 
 them as well as we can, and try to make them live." 
 
 As we have had occasion to allude to Dr. Fisk's senti- 
 ments on theological education, we insert a letter addressed 
 to Mr. Henry Bannister, a graduate of the Wesleyan Uni- 
 versity, who wrote to him for advice in regard to the course 
 he should pursue. 
 
 " Middletown, August 30, 1837. 
 
 "My dear Brother, 
 
 " Absence at first, and, since my return, our Commence- 
 ment, have prevented an earlier answer to your esteemed 
 favour of a late date. 
 
 " With respect to the principal topic of your letter, I would 
 say that I heartily approve of most of the suggestions and 
 sentiments therein advanced. I would not say that we 
 ought to expect every one who enters the ministry to go 
 through college even, much less through a theological sem- 
 inary. But, other things being equal, the more learning the 
 better ; and, as you well observed, the time is at hand [yea, 
 now is), when the Methodist Church demands the best talent 
 and the best culture to fill many of her important posts. 
 
 " I should not think it advisable, however, for you to go 
 through a three years' course at one of the theological semi- 
 naries. Many things are taught in those courses which a 
 Methodist preacher could better learn elsewhere. The fol- 
 lowing is, as it strikes me, a better plan : In the New- York 
 University is one of the best Oriental scholars probably there 
 is in the country. There you can study Hebrew and Bib- 
 lical Criticism, and the laws of Interpretation. Perhaps one 
 year will be all you will want for this purpose ; pastoral du- 
 ties can be best learned on the circuit : and during the two 
 years' probation, a young man may qualify himself in all that 
 is peculiar to Methodism, and in many points of dogmatical 
 theology. 
 
CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 397 
 
 " I am glad to discover that your mind is deeply, and, as 
 I trust, profitably exercised on the great subject of the Chris- 
 tian ministry. May the Great Head of the Church lead you 
 into the path of duty, and fit you for it. 
 
 " Most affectionately yours, 
 
 " W. Fisk." 
 
 To Mrs. M. K., of Braltleborough. 
 
 " Middletown, October, 28, 1837. 
 
 " My dear Cousin, 
 
 H I have often determined to write soon since I returned,* 
 but find there is no other way than to write now. if I mean 
 to write at all. But I cannot write much if I write now. 
 It is Saturday evening, and to-morrow I go to a neighbour- 
 ing town to preach to a people that have recently been vis- 
 ited with a gracious shower of mercy. This, by-the-way, is 
 what may be said of many towns of late. For years I have 
 not heard of such extensive revivals as are now reported to 
 us in the news of every week. It seems the commercial 
 embarrassments of the country are doing the people good, 
 and they are beginning to think that something besides mon- 
 ey-making deserves the attention of immortal minds. " 
 
 ^ ^ 
 
 " I trust, my dear cousin, your faith has increased since 
 last I saw you, and that you are trusting in our common Sa- 
 viour with a Christian's confidence. The privilege of trusting 
 in Christ is a blessed one, which the most unworthy have the 
 most need of, and the most encouragement to enjoy. The 
 weary and heavy laden, the sick, hungry, thirsty, mourning-, 
 sinful, yea, the chief of sinners, all, all are invited to trust 
 in Christ. Which of these are you ? Do you say all ? Then 
 have you all that ever a poor sinner had to recommend you 
 to the compassion of our merciful High-priest." 
 
 This year (1837) is mournfully memorable to many by the 
 destruction of the steam-packet Home, in which so many hu- s 
 man beings found a watery grave. In this ill-starred vessel 
 was a graduate of the Wesleyan University, a young man of 
 
 * That is, from a journey to Lyndon, in the course of which he stopped at 
 Brattleborough. 
 
 34 
 
398 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 fine talents, amiable disposition, and exemplary morals. He 
 had been seven years under Dr. Fisk's care, and had gone, at 
 his recommendation, to the South to take charge of a school. 
 We allude to Mr. Aaron C, son of the Reverend Heman 
 Bangs, one of the earliest and warmest supporters of the 
 Wesleyan University. The annexed letter of condolence 
 was written to his mother on the occasion, while his father 
 was gone down to the coast to endeavour to regain the 
 corpse of their child. 
 
 " Middletown, October 19, 1837. 
 
 " My dear Sister, 
 
 " When I first heard of the probable loss of your beloved 
 son, I thought of writing to you, but the hope that possibly, 
 after all, he might have been saved, led me to forbear. 
 The intelligence of this morning, however, having almost, if 
 not entirely, annihilated that hope, I cannot longer forbear 
 dropping a few words, which, if they have no other effect, 
 may contribute a little to the assuaging of your bitter sor- 
 row, by showing you that your friends do not leave you to 
 suffer alone. Into a mother's grief, mourning for the loss 
 of her firstborn son, I know I cannot fully enter. But I 
 can form some idea of a mother's love, and, of course, of a 
 bereaved mother's loss. 
 
 "It will be hardly any diminution of your sorrow to speak 
 of the excellences of your son, and yet it may be some mit- 
 igation. If it does not lessen the amount, it may assuage 
 the bitterness of your grief to reflect that he was a dutiful 
 and affectionate son ; that he was an amiable and a promis- 
 ing youth ; beloved by all who knew him ; and yet you say, 
 'from such a son I must be parted !' Ay ! but, I trust, not 
 forever. God, in his providence, has willed that he should 
 go first ; but then you must follow : and say not that you 
 have travailed at his birth, and laboured and watched over 
 him during his childhood and youth in vain ; for, to say 
 nothing of the mother's joy, that has been mingled all the 
 way with a mother's love and anxiety, is it nothing that you 
 have been instrumental of introducing into an endless exist- 
 ence an intelligent being ? Have you not hope in his death, 
 
 * 
 
MR. AARON C. BANGS. 
 
 399 
 
 and is it no consolation that you- have assisted in swelling 
 the songs of Heaven ? Where could the fondest mother 
 more desire to see her much-loved son, than ranked with 
 the heavenly choirs, joining in the songs of the redeemed? 
 Who would not feel a mother's pain and solicitude for the 
 honoured privilege of being instrumental in peopling Heav- 
 en ? and then you have, in addition, this most efficacious 
 lesson to lead your affections from earth to Heaven. Here 
 you may show your faith and patience in the dispensations 
 of your heavenly Father. Shall we receive good at the 
 hand of the Lord, and not evil ? * As many as I love,' says 
 God, 1 I rebuke and chasten.' God is trying you now, to 
 see whether your confidence in him is so genuine and sin- 
 cere, that you are willing to trust in him for enjoyments in 
 his own way, or whether you must sink under the weight of 
 disappointments, because he has crossed your fondest wish- 
 es. But you say, perhaps, 1 My heart is bruised, my wound 
 is incurable.' God can and will bind up and sooth that 
 bruised heart. 
 
 1 Ask but his grace, and, lo ! 'tis given.' 
 " My affectionate remembrance to the sisters and brother. 
 Tell them, now that Aaron is gone, they must love and hon- 
 our their parents the more — must the more carefully cherish 
 their affection for each other, and, above all, the more care- 
 fully prepare to follow their departed brother. 
 
 " Mrs. Fisk joins in sympathetic remembrance. Our pray- 
 ers are for you. When the bereaved father returns, assure 
 him of my sympathies and prayers. 
 
 " Yours in Christian and friendly sympathy, 
 
 "W.Fisk." 
 
 Our duty now requires us to record an incident which our 
 feelings incline us to suppress ; but it has already been pla- 
 ced before the public in a form calculated to do Dr. Fisk an 
 injury, and that by the only person who can have any cause 
 of complaint against this passage. Returning from New- 
 York early in December, Dr. Fisk met on board the steam- 
 boat with the Hon. James G. Birney, well known as an ac- 
 tive agent in the abolition cause. In his company were 
 
400 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 several gentlemen of his own sentiments. By some means, 
 they led Dr. Fisk into a discussion of their respective theo- 
 ries. It attracted considerable attention, and excited no 
 small interest among the passengers. Dr. Fisk stood alone, 
 while several were opposed to him, who prompted and aided 
 each other. Yet he maintained his ground with, at least, 
 equal advantage, according to the testimony of a gentleman 
 who was present, and with perfect dignity and self-command. 
 A few days after, he was quite surprised to receive from Mr. 
 Birney a letter, requesting him to correct a partial and gar- 
 bled copy of the discussion, stating that it was the writer's 
 intention to publish it. Here is Dr. Fisk's answer : 
 
 " Hon. James G. Birney. 
 
 "Dear Sir, 
 
 " I was not a little surprised at the reception of your note 
 of the fourth instant, announcing your purpose to publish a 
 sketch of the discussion we held on Saturday last, on board 
 the steamboat, while on our way from New-York to New- 
 Haven. 
 
 "To this I have many objections. Among others, before 
 I choose to have my sentiments spread before the public, I 
 prefer to do it myself, in my own words, and in my own 
 way. In these times of public calumny and misrepresenta- 
 tion, I would not have a familiar friend to publish my senti- 
 ments for me, much less an interested opponent. 
 
 " I object, also, to the ' sketch' given in your letter, as one- 
 sided, deficient, and unfair. I do not accuse you of design- 
 ing to misrepresent the conversation ; I only state the fact, 
 as a reason for objecting to your proposed course. If you 
 should publish the sketch as you have given it in your letter 
 to me, one of two things must follow : I must be silent, and 
 thus suffer the public to be deceived, or I must enter into a 
 public controversy with you. For the latter alternative I 
 have neither time nor inclination. The public, sir, do not 
 pay me a salary to spend my time in writing upon this sub- 
 ject. I am engaged in other and important duties ; and, if 
 I appear before the public, I must choose my own time and 
 manner of doing it, so as not to interfere with other para- 
 mount engagements. 
 
UNPLEASANT OCCURRENCE. 
 
 401 
 
 " It is in accordance with the practice of many abolition- 
 ists, I know, to draw others before the public when and as 
 they will, without reference to the proprieties and courtesies 
 of life. That you, sir, are of this character, I have yet to 
 learn. If, however, you attempt it with me in this case, 
 and in the manner proposed, you will have learned before- 
 hand that I consider it unfair, ungentlemanly , and unchris- 
 tian. Most respectfully yours, W. Fisk." 
 
 Nevertheless, the paper was published by Mr. Birney, to- 
 gether with the correspondence relating to it. No honour- 
 able and impartial mind can approve of this conduct. The 
 discussion was of Mr. Birney's own seeking, and on his own 
 selected, professional topic : with Dr. Fisk it was but a sec- 
 ondary or tertiary subject. "While the one was aided by 
 coadjutors, the other stood alone in the contest. Mr. Birney 
 had the subject afterward in his own hands, wrote the ac- 
 count to suit himself, and had the advantage of his own after- 
 thoughts. Of these, by his own acknowledgment, he had 
 availed himself, while he claimed only substantial accuracy 
 on the one point which he selected out of the many discuss- 
 ed. A slight variation, in such a case, might make great 
 difference. These things prove Dr. Fisk's assertion, that it 
 was " one-sided, deficient, and unfair." But, letting this 
 alone, he must have a very obtuse sense of propriety who 
 will justify a publication under such circumstances. Let it 
 be once understood that you are always liable, in stage or 
 steamboat, to be drawn into controversy by any one who 
 meets you, and that he is at perfect liberty to publish the 
 conversation to the world, maugre all your prohibitions, and 
 every man must travel with a gag in his mouth. It will 
 break up all the little urbanity and freedom of intercourse 
 that now exists in the travelling community. 
 
 One expression in Dr. Fisk's answer might as well have 
 been omitted ; that, I mean, in which he alludes to the Abo- 
 litionists as a body ; but this by no means justified the se- 
 verity of Mr. B.'s reply. He seems to have felt that he had 
 the worst side of the case, and he endeavoured to make up 
 in ardour what he wanted in reason. 
 34* E e e 
 
402 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 In connexion with this, for the sake of unity, we introduce 
 another incident connected with the same gentleman. In 
 the following May (1838), Dr. Fisk delivered an address at 
 the meeting of the Colonization Society in New- York. He 
 stated that a certain coloured man had become dissatisfied 
 with the Abolitionists, had gone over to the Colonizationists, 
 and was, in fact, determined on emigrating to Liberia. Mr. 
 Birney addressed a note to Dr. Fisk at the Book Room, 
 demanding the name of this coloured man. Meantime, the 
 doctor had left the city, and did not receive the note until 
 some weeks afterward, when he was in Boston attending 
 the New-England Conference. It was brought to him by 
 some one directly from the Book Room — Dr. Bangs, I think. 
 After Mr. Birney's former conduct, Dr. Fisk desired no far- 
 ther correspondence with him, and therefore immediately 
 returned the letter through the postoffice unanswered. The 
 writer then spread his own version of the affair before the 
 public, with an asperity unwarranted by the facts. He 
 charged him not only with " littleness," want of " generosi- 
 ty," "justice," and "magnanimity," but also with "inex- 
 perience" and " simplicity," and gives the public to un- 
 derstand that, " whatever credit his (Dr. Fisk's) bare word 
 may have with particular friends and admirers," that he 
 (Mr. B.) would not believe him " without the proof." 
 
 Against Mr. Birney we have nothing farther to say. He 
 enjoys the reputation of an honourable character as well as of 
 distinguished abilities. If this be truly deserved, as I have 
 no reason to doubt other than what is implied in the above 
 transactions, he furnishes only an additional evidence of the 
 distorting influence of party spirit, which has so frequently 
 turned wisdom and goodness from their proper course. Nei- 
 ther do we wish to implicate those with whom Mr. Birney is 
 associated. Every individual must be held responsible for 
 his own conduct, for which his partisans are accountable 
 only so far as they participate in, or justify it. 
 
 Immediately on his return from Europe, Dr. Fisk set 
 about writing his Travels. It was, in his state of health and 
 with his engagements, a serious undertaking. But the pub- 
 lic demanded the work, and, moreover, he was anxious to 
 
DR. FISK'S TRAVELS. CONTROVERSY. 
 
 403 
 
 do something towards defraying jthe expenses of his tour.* 
 Through numberless interruptions he pursued his labours, 
 and early in the year 1838 it was presented to the public. 
 To prepare for the press a volume of seven hundred pages, 
 in twelve months or less, was ample work for a man of lei- 
 sure ; but for a person in Dr. Fisk's state of health, with his 
 innumerable and diversified occupations, it was astonish- 
 ing. His friends feared that he was not doing himself jus- 
 tice ; others feared that the labour would again prostrate him. 
 Nevertheless, the volume was completed, and its success sur- 
 passed the expectations of the most sanguine. It speedily 
 ran through seven editions, and not less than eight thousand 
 copies have been sold. 
 
 Dr. Fisk's pen was seldom unemployed for any length of 
 time. While preparing his Travels, he wrote several occa- 
 sional articles for different periodicals ; and, on their com- 
 pletion, he published a series of papers in opposition to the 
 measures that were distracting the Church. The contro- 
 versy in the Church had now, in a great degree, deviated 
 from the main question of slavery, and turned upon points 
 of ecclesiastical jurisprudence, such as the power of the bish- 
 ops and presiding elders, the relation of the subordinate 
 Conferences to each other and to the General Conference, 
 and various other kindred topics. It was, in fact, an exten- 
 sion, in a somewhat modified aspect, of the old radical con- 
 troversy into New-England, where it had not before been 
 debated. Dr. Fisk had long foreseen this result. In a let- 
 ter to the Rev. Dr. Few in 1837, after conceding to the abo- 
 litionists purity of intention, and showing how high- wrought 
 emotion had misled them, he proceeds, " Their object, then, 
 is this, either to bring the great whole of the Church into 
 their views and measures, or to divide the Church."! For 
 
 * Dr. Fisk made the offer of his expenses to the trustees, which they gener- 
 ously declined. He then proposed that, if they would build a house for the pres- 
 ident, he would contribute the avails of his Travels towards it, to go without 
 interest so long as it should be occupied by himself, and to pay six per cent, in- 
 terest to him or his heirs in case of his removal or death. This proposal was 
 accepted, and the house was built. About two thousand seven hundred dollars 
 were contributed from the profits of the Travels. 
 
 t Only the more violent are here intended ; and the division of the Church 
 was to be only a last resort to accomplish the end. 
 
404 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 this purpose, the officers, institutions, and government of the 
 Church were denounced by some of the more indiscreet with- 
 out mercy, and held up to public odium. Dr. Fisk did not 
 believe this to be the best way to accomplish any moral or 
 religious purpose. He also foresaw that the course things 
 were taking would carry this question to the polls, so that, 
 instead of being debated on grounds strictly moral and reli- 
 gious, it would become a question of party politics ; and, 
 if it should come under the influence of political chicanery 
 and intrigue, and in this temper become the dominant influ- 
 ence of the North, it must inevitably lead to a dismember- 
 ment of the great Confederation, and probably strike the 
 deathblow to national liberty as well as to the hope of eman- 
 cipation to the slaves. This course of things had already 
 commenced. In a letter to the Rev. Daniel Fillmore, dated 
 Oct. 17th, 1838, he says, " They are now driving it into pol- 
 itics — political action, they say, is the only thing. Alas ! how 
 frail is human nature ! When I forewarned them, at the 
 very outset of this business, that it would run into party pol- 
 itics, they almost thought I slandered them. It was a great 
 moral question, they said ; and, as such, was proper business 
 for ministers and Christians : and now this great moral 
 question is to be decided by, as the Emancipator tells us, 
 4 looking well to the ballot-boxes;' not by looking to see 
 whether the candidate for office be a sound, upright man, 
 but whether he will answer certain specific questions to meet 
 their views." The result thus justified Dr. Fisk's prescience. 
 His prediction had already come to pass. Taking all the 
 aspects of the affair, morally, ecclesiastically, politically, not 
 omitting its ulterior bearings upon slavery itself, he consid- 
 ered its prognosis every way alarming. He thought it an 
 awful crisis. To him, the unity alike of the Church and the 
 nation, the perpetuity of our institutions, and, possibly, our 
 national existence, seemed to be trembling upon the breath 
 of the populace. Another step, and he knew not but the 
 golden chain that binds together the Church and the States 
 would be broken. He seemed to himself to be standing 
 under the arch of a splendid temple, raised with infinite cost, 
 and skill, and sacrifice, while its foundations and pillars were 
 
ABOLITION CONTROVERSY. 
 
 405 
 
 giving way, and threatening to bury him and multitudes be- 
 neath its ruins. The danger was the greater, because the 
 violence of the North provoked equal violence at the South ; 
 and when two such antagonistic spirits were aroused, there 
 was no knowing what the result might be. Hence, writing 
 again to Dr. Few, and exhorting the South to quietness and 
 forbearance, thus pouring oil upon the yesty waves of strife, 
 he says, " But if the South should become alienated, what 
 would become of us, who have thrown ourselves in the way 
 of these modern reformers ? Let them get the power, and 
 we shall be sacrificed." It may be that, by dwelling long 
 upon the subject, his mind had taken too dark a view of the 
 prospect ; yet, as he had seen his predictions become his- 
 tory in other cases, it might also have become so in this, had 
 not a better spirit come over the land. 
 
 Under these impressions, Dr. Fisk wrote his various arti- 
 cles upon this mooted question. His papers on Conference 
 Rights, addressed to the Rev. Dr. Luckey, and published in 
 the Christian Advocate and Journal, and his appeal " To 
 the Members and Ministers of the Northern and Eastern 
 Conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church," together 
 with sundry fugitive and occasional articles, were written 
 about this time. For these papers he received a very abun- 
 dant share both of praise and blame, publicly and privately, 
 not omitting some anonymous lucubrations, half moonshine 
 and half mist. 
 
 In these discussions we are under no obligation to say that 
 Dr. Fisk never exhibited any undue warmth of feeling. His 
 feelings certainly were strongly excited in view of the inter- 
 ests pending, and he often wrote with great urgency. But, 
 had he evinced much greater warmth than he did, it would 
 not have been surprising, considering how he was assailed. 
 A certain London editor, who replied to Dr. Fisk's account 
 of the slavery question in England, employed language, tried 
 by what code you please, highly reprehensible. To speak 
 of any respectable man as a " busy blockhead," giving a 
 " plausible misrepresentation," and adding, " the lie (short 
 words are sometimes most convenient) passes current at 
 least four months before it can be contradicted," really 
 
406 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 places its author so low in the scale of society that he is be- 
 neath notice. Yet this language was the very pink of cour- 
 tesy compared with what came from a renowned personage 
 in Boston. To repeat it after the other would be stepping 
 from St. James's to Billingsgate. One passage alone is 
 enough : " May God convert your proud and stony heart, 
 Willbur Fisk !" Such a specimen of apostrophizing as runs 
 through that article is quite unique, " Well," said Dr. Fisk, 
 with one of his pleasant smiles, after reading it, " that goes 
 a little beyond anything I have seen before." Such was ha- 
 bitually his calm and unruffled temper. 
 
 In this state of things, Dr. Fisk attended the New-England 
 Conference, held this summer in Boston. It was a trying 
 scene to him, and very laborious. Besides the business of 
 the Conference, in which he always participated largely, and 
 which was this year unusually onerous, he had personal de- 
 mands upon him to meet. A junior member of the body, 
 the editor of Zion's Watchman, presented against him a 
 charge of defamation, and it was for some time doubtful 
 which way the case would be decided. Fortunately, how- 
 ever, by sending to New- York, two most respectable and 
 competent witnesses were produced, who completely neu- 
 tralized the accusation. The triumph was complete ; and 
 the accuser voluntarily and unconditionally withdrew the 
 charge. At this Conference was also passed the healing 
 measure known as the " Pacification Bill." It originated 
 with the Rev. Gershom F. Cox, who did himself great hon- 
 our by his services on the occasion. After being freely and 
 fully canvassed by the leaders of the respective parties, Dr. 
 Fisk taking his full share of the labour, it was adopted by 
 almost the entire Conference, who pledged themselves to 
 abide by its provisions. The reader may find the whole doc- 
 ument in vol. xii., No. 48, of the Christian Advocate and 
 Journal. 
 
 The anxiety and labours of this Conference wrought very 
 serious effects upon our subject's health. He was very much 
 prostrated. " On his return home," says Mrs. Fisk, " he 
 was more feeble than I had ever seen him, except when con- 
 fined to bed." This led to a touching incident in conjugal 
 
STATE OF HEALTH. END OF THE CONTROVERSY. 407 
 
 life, worthy the effort of a painter. Mrs. Fisk expressed 
 her fears that his late exertions would lay the foundation of 
 some fatal malady. His answer was, "I hope not; after 
 resting, I shall be better. I have, to be sure, been called 
 to make great exertions in behalf of the Church. I have 
 done it conscientiously, and from a sense of duty. And," 
 added he, raising his eyes full in my face, with an expression 
 I had never seen upon his countenance before, " my dear 
 wife, if my exertions could only be the means of uniting the 
 Church, I am willing my life should be the sacrifice. Is it 
 too much to ask of you ?" This was a trying appeal. Burst- 
 ing into tears, she could only reply, " I cannot feel as you do." 
 
 Whatever opinion may be formed of Dr. Fisk's exertions 
 in this conflict of minds — and different parties will think dif- 
 ferently — one thing, at least, is certain ; the Church has come 
 pretty much on to his ground. The file-leaders in the ad- 
 verse movement have lost their hold upon the public mind. 
 The Eastern Conferences have reverted back to the old 
 and long-tried principles of Church polity and government. 
 In the " seething and boiling of the caldron, the scum," 
 what little there was, "has floated off;" but the residuum 
 is sterling. The last session of the New-England Con- 
 ference especially, where there had been great contention, 
 was extremely pleasant and soundly Methodistical. We 
 could not but think that, had the spirit of our subject, ere it 
 departed, caught a glimpse of this distant prospect, it would 
 have shed the radiance of delight upon his closing hours. 
 He left us just at the darkest period. Had he survived a few 
 years, he would have been ranked among the conservators 
 of the Church, and would have stood higher than ever in the 
 estimation of his brethren. The sun never looks more glo- 
 rious than just after an eclipse, and a virtuous man never 
 commands such high regards as immediately after a season 
 of partial obscuration. 
 
 It ought to be remarked, that this was not the only topic 
 or occasion on which our subject manifested his preference 
 for temperate measures. The reader has, no doubt, remark- 
 ed the same disposition in him respecting the anti- Masonic 
 excitement. With his wonted consistency, he also showed it 
 
408 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 on the Temperance Question, which he thought was now 
 running into extravagances that threatened to mar the en- 
 terprise. He approved as much as ever of the object of the 
 Temperance movement, namely, to discourage the use of all 
 intoxicating drinks, whether distilled or fermented ; but he 
 disliked the ground assumed in regard to the latter class, and 
 especially the discussion on the use of wine at the sacrament. 
 He was for rigidly adhering to truth and reason in our views 
 of things, and to moderation and sobriety in our measures. 
 He believed that, whenever we go beyond these in grasping 
 at immediate effects, the issue will generally be detrimental 
 to the cause it was intended to favour. He hit off this sub- 
 ject at a stroke in one of his piquant and somewhat facetious 
 remarks at the New- York Colonization Society. " We live," 
 said he, "in an age of ultraism; and we can scarcely en- 
 gage in any enterprise, in spite of the devil, but he himself 
 will turn charioteer, and ruin, by intemperate zeal, a cause 
 which he cannot resist." 
 
 We insert some letters which belong to this period of our 
 history : 
 
 To the Rev. Charles P. Bragdon. 
 
 " Middletown, January 15, 1838. 
 
 "My dear Brother, 
 
 " Your esteemed favour was duly received. In reply to 
 the question whether baptism should be administered by a 
 Methodist preacher (for I understand this to be the purport 
 of your inquiry) to one who denies the divinity of Christ, I 
 should answer it most decidedly in the negative, and for this 
 plain reason : I should not consider that such a person or 
 man possessed the faith which, in my opinion, is indispensa- 
 bly prerequisite for the admission of adults to baptism. The 
 requisition to believe in order to baptism is clearly indicated 
 in the New Testament in reference to adults ; and Christ is 
 the object of this faith — Christ in his true character. In 
 short, the very foundation of the Christian character, and, 
 of course, of motives for Christian ordinances, is faith in 
 Christ. I could not, therefore, give this ordinance to one 
 who denies Christ in his essential character. I would not, 
 
CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 409 
 
 by this, say no man can be saved who denies the divinity of 
 Christ. This denial may be the result of an error of the 
 head, while the heart may trust in Christ. Against the pos- 
 sible salvation, therefore, of such an individual, I would not 
 contend ; but when I undertake to build up a visible Church, 
 and fix the grand principles of faith and practice for public 
 example and external influence, I must build nothing but 
 the gold, and silver, and precious stones of Gospel truth, 
 lest not only my own works should suffer loss, but also my 
 own salvation be endangered. Besides, how can I baptize 
 a man in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, when 
 I know that he receives the ordinance in the name of Christ 
 in a widely different sense from that in which I use the name 
 when I solemnly repeat it in the ordinance ? Either I who 
 administer am an idolater, or he who receives the ordinance 
 is no Christian. In either case, it would be utterly incon- 
 sistent for him to receive the ordinance at my hand, or for me 
 to administer it. 
 
 " Yours in Christian bonds, W. Fisk." 
 
 The following two letters w r ere written to a graduate of 
 the Wesleyan University, whom Dr. Fisk had recommended 
 for the presidency of a college at the South. They will ex- 
 plain, in some degree, the secret of his own success in the 
 government of literary institutions : 
 
 "Wesleyan University, March 1, 1838. 
 
 "My dear Brother, 
 
 " Your acceptable favour of the 24th ult. is just received. 
 
 I am highly gratified that you have concluded to go to , 
 
 and have strong confidence that you will succeed. It is 
 well you have made up your mind to try the ministry. If 
 God have called you to this office, it will be an additional 
 qualification also for the head of an institution. Will it not 
 be best for you to take a license with you ? I certainly 
 think it would. 
 
 " I have another thought to suggest. You are aware, I 
 presume, that Southern colleges have suffered more from 
 35 F f f 
 
410 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 the officious interference of the trustees than from any other 
 source. This is especially true of the state institutions. 
 When Mr. F. first wrote to me on the subject, I inform- 
 ed him I thought a man might be obtained who would suit 
 them, provided they would permit him to have a control- 
 ling voice in the organization of the faculty and in the in- 
 ternal arrangement of the school. The reply was, that they 
 should certainly be willing to do that, provided they had a 
 man in whom they found they could confide. This is all 
 we could expect. 
 
 " Now the perfection of management in a principal or 
 president is to manage with such prudence and judgment as 
 to be able to secure the co-operation of the board in carry- 
 ing out his plans. The truth is, a public institution will 
 never flourish when the president is merely the instrument 
 to carry out the details of the board. The board must be 
 his instrument in carrying out his plans. I speak, of course, 
 with respect to the government, the course of study, the or- 
 ganization of the faculty, &c. In money matters, of course, 
 they are the legal organ. But even here the president must 
 keep a good look-out, and assist in all matters of economy 
 and finance as far as he can. In short, the president must 
 be the head and soul. A man that cannot govern the facul- 
 ty, the trustees, and the students, and all without seeming to 
 aspire to rule, is hardly qualified for the place. This he will 
 always be able to do, if his plans are wise, and are executed 
 with prudence and moderation. And although your youth, 
 and your Northern birth and education, may prevent you 
 from speaking and acting with so great freedom at first, yet 
 you will have a countervailing advantage in the fact of its 
 being a new institution, and of its coming into existence un- 
 der your care. I would advise, then, that you get young 
 men for your colleagues, so that you may mould them to 
 your will ; that you have few regulations in the form of trus- 
 tee statutes. Require them, if they are inclined to make 
 laws (except what relates to terms, &c), to let you experi- 
 ment a little at first, and find out what you need, and when 
 you think you have gained their confidence, always evade, 
 in the least offensive way possible, any interference of the 
 
CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 411 
 
 board in the government. As faf as you can do it without 
 giving offence, I think your faculty should be selected from 
 Northern men. 
 
 " Pardon the freedom with which I give counsel. My 
 anxiety that you get the right start is my excuse. 
 
 " Yours in affection, W. Fisk." 
 
 " Wesleyan University, August 14, 1838. 
 
 "My dear Brother, 
 
 " Your interesting favour was duly received, and would 
 have been answered before, but that the continued pressure 
 of, first, the Conferences, then our examination, after that, 
 sickness, and, finally, our Commencement, and the accompa- 
 nying and consequent bustle and labour, has hitherto pre- 
 vented. But all seems now to be settling down into a reg 
 ular calm. Our classes are organized, and our machinery is 
 oiled, and plays in unison, without derangement or friction. 
 Much to your disappointment, I fear, tutors R. and K. are 
 tending a part of our machinery, which, from their former 
 acquaintance, as well as from their excellent ability, they are 
 enabled to do to good advantage. They are fine young 
 men, and would, I am persuaded, do well almost anywhere. 
 But as it seems all-important to keep the old flag-ship well 
 officered and manned, for the good of the whole fleet, we 
 presume you will cheerfully accord to us these subalterns for 
 the present. In this way we shall be able to train and fur- 
 nish officers for the and and such other gal- 
 lant crafts as belong to our fleet. Please make your selec- 
 tion out of all the rest. I think well of A., and I also think 
 very well of C, now at Amenia, as also of W. and many 
 others. 
 
 " I am glad to hear of your prosperity and prospects. A 
 great door and effectual seems to be opened to you, and I 
 trust there are few or no adversaries. May you have wis- 
 dom and grace to aid you. I say grace, for in nothing, in 
 my own experience, have I realized the Divine aid more 
 than in directing me in those official duties which I had un- 
 dertaken for the sake of his cause. Prayer will bring that 
 
412 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 assistance ; for inspiration itself has said, £ If any man lack 
 wisdom, let him ask of God,' &c. 
 
 " The present graduates are mostly provided for, and 
 more of the first class are wanted than we can supply. 
 " 1 shall ever be happy to hear from you. 
 
 " In much affection, yours truly, 
 
 " W. Fisk." 
 
 To his Parents. 
 
 " Wesleyan University, April 8, 1838. 
 
 "My dear Parents, 
 
 " By this time I suppose you are settled in your new 
 home. I should be pleased to look in upon you, and see 
 how you are. I hope your new dwelling is comfortable as 
 to finish, water, arrangement of apartments, &c. ; but still I 
 fear that, while you may have gained in some respects, you 
 may have lost in others. There is your orchard, and your 
 plums, and your currants ; there is your sugar orchard, 
 your beautiful grove on the opposite side of the road, all of 
 which will be wanting in your new residence. That was a 
 vile hill we were obliged to climb, and I confess there is 
 some pleasure in the reflection that, when I visit you again, I 
 shall not be obliged to climb it. But then there are associ- 
 ations around the brow of that hill which I shall never find 
 elsewhere : not an eminence on which I have not gambolled 
 in childhood ; not a copse of trees with which I have not 
 some cherished association ; the spring, the brook, the su- 
 gar place, the limekiln, the pastures, the meadows, the elm- 
 tree, the balm-of-Gilead, the well with its ' moss-covered 
 bucket,' the barn where I used to feed the cattle and tend 
 the lambs, all crowd upon my mind when I think of your 
 leaving that farm of my childhood. And then the prospect ! 
 There was the slope of the hill at the east, how fresh and 
 verdant in June, how rich and varied in autumn ! To the 
 south the hills are spread out before you as a map ; and 
 still farther on, the White Mountains display their snowy 
 sides and cloud-capped tops. Such was that observatory of 
 nature on which my young mind used to expatiate and rhap- 
 sodize, and from which I used to gaze upon the mountain 
 
CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 413 
 
 scenery, or watch the careering clouds. If anything of ge- 
 nius or enterprise has characterized my life, I think it is 
 measurably owing to these scenes. But the voice of the 
 stranger is now heard in the cottage of my childhood. Well, 
 be it so ! When I visit you I can climb the hill, and hold 
 converse with the genii of the groves, and live over, for a 
 short time, the scenes of by-gone days. 
 
 " You are nearer public worship, and more among conge- 
 nial minds, and that is a sufficient compensation for other 
 sacrifices. " 
 
 To Mrs. if., of Brattleboroug-h. 
 
 " Wesleyan University, April 8, 1838. 
 
 " My dear Cousin M., 
 
 " It is now some weeks since I received your last favour, 
 and which, if I rightly remember, I have not answered. 
 Since that time I have been variously occupied, some of the 
 time at home, and some of the time abroad. I have now but 
 lately returned from Washington City, where I had an op- 
 portunity not only to see and hear some of the great ones of 
 the nation, but also to proclaim to them, on the Sabbath, in 
 the Capitol, the sovereignty and grace of God. To this they 
 listened with attention ; but, alas ! how little hope of abiding 
 fruit in such a field ! Pride and ambition, party spirit and po- 
 litical intrigue, occupy the mind, and leave little room for se- 
 rious thought, much less for repentance and faith. I found in 
 Washington, however, some of the excellent of the earth, 
 and some of the members of Congress are truly devoted to 
 God and his Church." # # # # 
 
 " With respect to your own mind, I trust you find it com- 
 posed and peaceful. It seems to me, notwithstanding the 
 gloomy cast of your letter, that you nevertheless held on to 
 the main pillars of the Christian's support and joy. So long 
 as you can realize the kindness of God, and feel that he 
 does not forsake you, there seems little else needed. What 
 more can you desire ? If there is not as much light in your 
 path as you desire, still, if God careth for you, all will be 
 well. What more light do you desire than that God is your 
 35* 
 
414 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 merciful friend ? On him let your faith rest, and all things 
 are yours." 
 
 In the summer of 1838, the citizens of Middletown deter- 
 mined to celebrate the anniversary of our nation's inde- 
 pendence with more than usual eclat. His excellency the 
 governor and his suite were to be present, with several mili- 
 tary companies ; an oration was to be delivered, and a public 
 dinner given. The committee of arrangements invited Dr. 
 Fisk to deliver the oration. At first he declined. Never- 
 theless, such was the urgency of the committee, and such 
 the difficulty of procuring a substitute, that he reluctantly 
 consented. When he received the last urgent invitation, he 
 was in attendance upon the New-England Conference at 
 Boston, undergoing the labours already described, and the 
 remainder of the intervening time was occupied in preparing 
 for, and attending to, the annual examination of the classes 
 in the University. The examination closed July 3d ; hence 
 it was not until between four and five o'clock of the day be- 
 fore the celebration that Dr. Fisk commenced preparing his 
 oration. "It will," said he, " be a barren concern; for I 
 do not feel like making any exertion. I shall pity the audi- 
 ence." The notes of this oration are now before me. They 
 occupy two sheets of letter-paper, folded once, and writ- 
 ten not at all closely. But it occupied an hour and a half 
 in the delivery. It was an able, philosophic, statesmanlike 
 performance. Instead of that strain of unmingled panegyr- 
 ic usual on such occasions, and now almost worn thread- 
 bare, he directed the attention of his auditory, after having 
 properly noticed the advantages of our national independence, 
 to the dangers which threaten, and the means of perpetua- 
 ting it. He dwelt on the pernicious influence of party spirit, 
 the tendency of local and sectional feelings, and the demor- 
 alizing effect of wrong notions of liberty and equality. It 
 was remarkable that, at a time when the public mind was 
 very captious on political subjects, with so much impartiality 
 did he deliver his views, that no one could determine from 
 the discourse itself to which of the two political parties he 
 belonged. Both sides claimed him,* each admitting the cor- 
 
FOURTH OF JULY ORATION. 
 
 415 
 
 rectness and importance of his views. The committee of ar- 
 rangements, in presenting him a vote of thanks for his ser- 
 vices, earnestly solicited a copy of the address for publica- 
 tion. But he could not take time to write it out. He was 
 so feeble that he went from his bed to the meeting, and 
 thence back to the sofa. 
 
416 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Commencement-day of 1838. — Faithful Letter. — Traits of Character. — Decline 
 of Health. — Last Visit to New-York. — Watch-night. — Protestant Missions in 
 France. — Centenary of Wesleyan Methodism. — Letters. — Oregon Mission. 
 
 Ox the first day of August was held the last Commence- 
 ment of the Wesleyan University that Dr. Fisk attended. 
 He was extremely feeble, and on the morning of Commence- 
 ment-day it was considered doubtful whether he would be 
 able to endure the fatigue incident to the ceremonies. It 
 would have been a sad drawback on the pleasure of the sea- 
 son to have had the president's chair filled by another. 
 Anxious himself, also, to meet the wishes of his friends, as 
 well as to see the performances, he exerted his utmost 
 strength, and went from his bed, on which he had reclined 
 after breakfast, to the procession. He passed through the day 
 better than was feared ; yet there were some eyes that look- 
 ed upon him in great doubt whether he would take part in 
 another. The event unhappily justified their melancholy 
 forebodings. In the evening, as usual, he entertained the 
 strangers at his own house, when more than eighty attended. 
 
 The following is Dr. Fisk's account of this anniversary. 
 It contains, also, an exhibition of the state and prospects of 
 the institution at that period. It was published in Zion's 
 Herald : 
 
 " THE WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY. 
 
 " Mr. Editor, 
 
 " Before I saw the notice of our Commencement in the 
 Herald, copied from the Advocate, I had intended to com- 
 municate a brief account of our literary anniversary, and, in 
 connexion, make some other remarks relating to the institu- 
 tion, which seemed to me at this time particularly appropri- 
 ate. The account already published, however, will preclude 
 the necessity of any farther notice of the Commencement 
 exercises. I will add my testimony, however, to what has 
 
COMMENCEMENT-DAY OF 1838. 
 
 417 
 
 already been published, to the superior merit of the oration 
 before the literary societies, by A. H. Everett, Esq., on the 
 literature of the Bible. It was an intellectual feast, and 
 rendered the more interesting to me by the pleasing thought 
 that scores of young men, who are destined to act a public 
 part in life, were imbibing sentiments in favour of the holy 
 oracles which could not fail deeply to interest them in these 
 fountains of truth. Professor Allen's oration before the Cu- 
 vierian Society was highly spoken of, although I had not the 
 pleasure of hearing it. These public occasions, in connex- 
 ion with our literary institutions, accomplish much for the 
 cause of education. They give a popular character and a 
 general interest to the subject, and invest our seminaries of 
 learning with a public sympathy which never could be secu- 
 red by the mere exercises of the cloister. 
 
 " We have examined and received more than sixty new 
 students for the present collegiate year, and our whole num- 
 ber on our next catalogue will be about one hundred and 
 fifty-two. Thus, it will be seen, we are still on the advance 
 as to numbers, having had a regular nett gain of from ten 
 to twenty every year since we opened the college in 1831. 
 I trust, too, we are advancing in all other respects, so far as 
 our internal arrangements and advantages are concerned. 
 We greatly need, however, increased accommodations, both 
 for public rooms and rooms for students. We have room 
 for one hundred and twenty-three in the college buildings, 
 and have hired a small house in which we room thirteen 
 more ; making provision, in the whole, for one hundred and 
 thirty-six. The remainder have, with difficulty, found rooms 
 in the neighbourhood. The question is soon to be decided, 
 it seems, whether our friends will furnish the means of en- 
 largement according to the probable advance of the Univer- 
 sity, or whether our indifference and parsimony shall stint 
 the growth and blast the prospects of this rising seminary. 
 I beg our friends to give this subject a thought, and inquire 
 what is duty in this matter. Next year a plan will be pre- 
 sented to them, according to the decision of the annual Con- 
 ference at its last session, which will enable them, if they 
 will, to do us great service in our pecuniary concerns. 
 
 G G G 
 
418 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 " The New-England Conference, to her praise be it spo- 
 ken, has been the first, I think, to lead the way in forming 
 education societies in our Church. On this subject I beg 
 the privilege of saying a few words to our brethren. The 
 greater portion, probably, of those who are going through 
 the University, are young men of straitened circumstances ; 
 many of them are getting an education in view of the minis- 
 try ; but, to get through, they are obliged to involve them- 
 selves in debt, and hence, after they graduate, they are com- 
 pelled to enlist in the work of teaching to discharge those 
 debts. For this purpose they emigrate to the West and 
 South ; and perhaps it oftener than otherwise happens that 
 they settle down in this or some other secular calling, and 
 the itinerant work is deprived of their needed services ; 
 whereas, if they were prepared to go into the field immedi- 
 ately, they would greatly strengthen the ministerial work. 
 This many would do if the Church should assist them in 
 their education. Two of the beneficiaries of the New-Eng- 
 land Education Society graduated this year, and with warm 
 and willing hearts they are already in the field, and are the 
 only ones out of a class of twenty-six, with one other excep- 
 tion, who are likely for the present, if at all, to join the trav- 
 elling ranks ; not because there were not several others who 
 were licensed preachers, but they were in debt, and must 
 earn money to discharge their obligations. I know it is 
 well to raise up teachers. Christian educators of youth are 
 greatly needed, and may do a vast amount of good ; but we 
 want at least a good proportion to enter the travelling con- 
 nexion. 
 
 " In addition, it ought now to be known, that the board 
 have found it necessary to curtail their credits. Heretofore 
 we have credited any student his board and term bills who 
 could give bonds for their payment in a reasonable time 
 after he should graduate ; but this has drawn so heavily upon 
 our limited funds, that it has been determined we can at 
 present give no man credit for board ; for the term bills we 
 still give credit, on good security. This curtailment of credit 
 urges an additional argument in favour of the Education So- 
 ciety. 
 
A FAITHFUL ADMONITION. 419 
 
 " What a favour would some wealthy man confer on the 
 Church and the country, if he would give now, or bequeath 
 at his death, the sum of ten thousand dollars as a loan fund, 
 to be devoted to the education of indigent young men, who 
 would give bonds to refund the money advanced, with in- 
 terest, in two or three years after they graduate. It would 
 be a perpetual charity. The interest would probably more 
 than cover any losses that might occur, and fifty young men 
 might in this way be kept continually at college. I know 
 of no way by which a greater amount of good could be ac- 
 complished by the same amount of means. 
 
 " Before closing, I will drop one word respecting the 
 comparative expense of our University. Some young men, 
 I understand, have declined coming here, because they think 
 our expenses are higher than at some other colleges. Now I 
 am satisfied that this is only true of a few of our interior colle- 
 ges ; and with these, taking everything into the account, the 
 difference is very small ; and, as an offset against this, indi- 
 gent young men who graduate with us have the almost cer- 
 tain prospect of getting employment immediately after they 
 graduate. I have such a correspondence on this subject 
 with all parts of the country, that all our graduates find prof- 
 itable employment. 
 
 " In conclusion, I would add, to the praise of God and 
 the encouragement of the Church, that we have in the Uni- 
 versity at this time a good state of religious feeling, and I 
 especially request the Church to remember in their prayers 
 their University, that converting and sanctifying grace may 
 rest upon these young men. W. Fisk. 
 
 " Wesleyan University, Sept. 12th, 1838." 
 
 " Copy of a letter, dated August 9th, 1838, and sent to , 
 
 a graduate of the Wesleyan University, whom, but a few 
 days before, I had seen rising from a drunkard's bed {the 
 ground), where for several hours he had lain insensible. 
 
 " My dear , 
 
 "Your note was duly received, and its contents were very 
 gratifying. 
 
 " You cannot well conceive of the distress I felt at seeing 
 
420 
 
 LIFE OP WILLBUR FISX. 
 
 one of the sons of the Wesleyan University rising up from 
 his bestial bed, and brushing the mud and dirt from his 
 clothes. I asked. Have I been the cause of this, either by 
 neglect or otherwise ? Is it possible we are toiling here to 
 educate young men for victims of intemperance ? Ruined ! 
 ruined ! ! thought I, forever ! And then I thought of the 
 feelings of the father ', after all his labour for his son. Ay ! 
 and I thought of an educated mind becoming first a brute, 
 and then a fiend ! The soul ! O ! the undying soul ! ! tor- 
 mented with a drunkard's thirst here, and with the unmiti- 
 gated thirst of a Dives hereafter ! ! O ! you are hanging 
 upon the verge of a bottomless abyss — and fiery billows roll 
 below ! Flee ! flee ! ! not merely to the strength of your 
 firm resolutions, but to God : give soul and body to him, and 
 he will take care of you. Trust nothing else. 
 
 " I said your letter was very gratifying. There was, how- 
 ever, one feature in it which led me to fear still, and that 
 was an attempt to palliate your case by calling it an acci- 
 dent and the ' first time.' I do not mean by this to question 
 your veracity ; but long observation has taught me that, 
 when a man begins to descend the rapids of intemperance, 
 he does not fully understand his own danger. To drink 
 morning bitters ! to have a breath tainted with alcohol ! and, 
 finally, to become entirely intoxicated — in the morning, too ! 
 O, my dear sir, your danger is great, very great. 
 
 " I should have written to you before I saw yours, but I 
 supposed you would call to get your diploma, and then I 
 could converse with you. I now write in grief but in love 
 and in hope. 
 
 " O, may God bless you and save you; so prays, and so 
 will ever pray, while there is hope, one who feels for you as 
 a father, and who is happy in being able still to subscribe 
 himself your affectionate friend, W. Fisk." 
 
 It is but just to add that, as this seemed the first offence of 
 the kind in the young man, so it was the only one. He 
 wrote an answer to Dr. Fisk's expostulation full of penitence 
 and promises, which, we believe, have been effectual. 
 
 Soon after Commencement, he went with Mrs. Fisk to the 
 seashore to enjoy a change of air and relaxation. But he 
 
TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 421 
 
 had only been there three days when he was recalled by an 
 invitation to preach a sermon in behalf of a benevolent so- 
 ciety. 
 
 A few observations, still farther illustrative of certain fea- 
 tures in our subject's character, will not, we trust, be inap- 
 propriate. 
 
 The reader will rightly judge that Dr. Fisk was a remark- 
 ably humble man ; but his humility did not assume any 
 equivocal shapes, or appear under any of those guises which 
 self-love often uses to solicit observation. He was attentive 
 to all the proprieties and decencies of life. He affected no 
 needless singularities. He never thought of showing his 
 humility. It appeared in his manner of receiving praise, or 
 censure, or opposition ; in the absence of all self-seeking, and 
 the insidious modifications of pride — envy, anger, contempt. 
 Though we have seen him in very various circumstances, we 
 never heard from him, for any human being, that sure indi- 
 cation of an inflated superiority, an expression of contempt. 
 This is no ordinary commendation. A certain writer has 
 well said, " The language of contempt is not to be found in 
 the vocabulary of a Christian ;" and the same philosophic 
 poet whose words we have before employed, observes, in one 
 of his sonnets, 
 
 " Know that pride, 
 Howe'er disguised in its own majesty, 
 Is littleness ; that he who feels contempt 
 For any living thing, hath faculties 
 Which he has never used ; that thought with him 
 Is in its infancy. The man whose eye 
 Is ever on himself, doth look on one, 
 The least of Nature's works ; one who might move 
 The wise man to that scorn which wisdom holds 
 Unlawful ever." — Wordsworth. 
 
 From this vice he was preserved by the equal development 
 of all his faculties, and by that deep spirit of Christianity 
 which presented all objects in their proper relations to each 
 other and to the Infinite Being above us. 
 
 It has sometimes been the wonder of persons at a distance, 
 that at home Dr. Fisk was always spoken of in terms of re- 
 spect and affection that seemed to border on idolatry. Per- 
 haps we have solved the enigma. It was owing to the over- 
 36 
 
422 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 flowing affection of his heart, governed in its utterance and 
 mode of expression by his superior mental endowments. 
 His own mind was always " kept in a just equipoise of 
 love," and thus, 
 
 " Rich in love 
 And sweet humanity, he was himself, 
 To the degree that he desired, beloved." 
 
 He used no other witchery ; but this alone secured the 
 spontaneous homage of the hearts around him. 
 
 The reader has no doubt seen, from the course of our his- 
 tory, that Dr. Fisk's mind was singularly fertile in tender sen- 
 timent. His thoughts moved with great alacrity within the 
 region of the sensibilities. This appeared both in his public 
 speaking and his social intercourse. Of the latter, the fol- 
 lowing illustration may be given : Some time the preceding 
 autumn, a kind and respected neighbour was in great afflic- 
 tion from successive bereavements. As Dr. and Mrs. Fisk, 
 after the funeral, sat in the room with their beloved friend, 
 the latter said to her husband, " Can you not speak a few 
 words to comfort Mr. W. ?" He replied, with his own ex- 
 pressive manner, " His grief is too deep to be reached by 
 human words. When you and I, dear R,., are parted, it 
 will not be the lopping off of a branch : it will be severing 
 the tree through its trunk, and leaving all the delicate fibres 
 exposed, out of which will ooze the very heart's blood. 
 Here the branches are lopped and the trunk is severed. 
 But is it not well that the sturdiest part remains, and that 
 the most tender have found rest in the bosom of their God, 
 who alone can bind up the wounded ? And he will do it." 
 
 We have already had occasion to notice Dr. Fisk's gen- 
 tleness of spirit in giving reproof. One feature in this part 
 of his character was particularly worthy of imitation, name- 
 ly, that after a reproof he always evinced more kindness 
 towards the offending party than before. This was the case 
 in his household as well as elsewhere, of which Mrs. Fisk 
 has given a pleasing illustration. " He was," she observes, 
 " a faithful pastor in his own family. When, at any time, I 
 had erred, he would convince me of it, and manifest so much 
 tenderness for me, that I would sometimes say to him, ' I 
 think you iove an erring being better than a perfect one.' 
 
TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 423 
 
 ( Not the error,' he would reply, ' but the grace that con- 
 vinced you of the error.' " 
 
 In the course of this autumn (1838), Dr. Fisk wrote an 
 appeal to the citizens of Connecticut in behalf of the Wes- 
 leyan University. This had no small influence in procuring 
 from the Legislature, at its next session, an appropriation 
 of ten thousand dollars. But it is only justice to say that 
 we are also greatly indebted for this enactment to the exer- 
 tions of Dr. Charles Woodward, of this city, who was that 
 year a member of the Assembly. 
 
 Dr. Fisk continued to be the admiration and delight of all 
 his associates and friends. We scarcely heard a whisper 
 to his disadvantage ; or if any trivial act appeared doubt- 
 ful, almost all would blame themselves rather than him. All 
 were sensible of his superiority : he alone seemed uncon- 
 scious of it. His simplicity was delightful. Perfectly nat- 
 ural and unaffected, he always seemed to act correctly, and 
 appeared equally in his place in every situation. Hence, 
 also, he would do with dignity and grace what inferior men 
 would hardly venture upon. He would interest himself in 
 the smallest affairs, where he saw that he could impart corn- 
 fort or gratification. We have seen him stop his horse in 
 the street for the sake of placing before him a little boy, 
 whose eyes told how he longed for a ride. He very often 
 put himself to great inconvenience to meet the wishes or 
 w r ants of the domestic circle, frequently performing those lit- 
 tle offices in which the intention dignifies the act, and the 
 spirit of kindness lends it a moral beauty. 
 
 His piety was deep, and vigorous, and uniform. It was 
 not assuming, officious, or cynical ; but natural, mild, and 
 cheerful. Perhaps it was not as diffusive or efficient in the 
 social circle as we have seen in some men of more forward- 
 ness and less discretion, but it was not the less apparent 
 and impressive. His conversation and sentiments were all 
 tinged with religious truth and Christian principles. His pi- 
 ety was deeply imbedded in his soul, and from it went out 
 an atmosphere that more or less impregnated all who came 
 within its influence. 
 
 The following simple stanzas are an indication of his ha- 
 
424 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 bitual regard of the Divine Being. He carried them for at 
 least twenty years in his pocket-book. As they possess 
 no great poetic merit, it must have been for the sentiment 
 alone that he valued them. 
 
 " OUR FATHER WHO ART IN HEAVEN. 
 
 " Art thou my Father 1 Then no more 
 My sins shall tempt me to despair ; 
 My Father pities and forgives, 
 And hears a child's repentant prayer. 
 
 Art thou my Father 1 Let me strive 
 With all my powers to learn thy will : 
 
 To make thy service all my care, 
 And all thy wise commands fulfil. 
 
 Art thou my Father 1 Teach my heart 
 
 Compassion for another's wo, 
 And ever to each child of thine 
 
 A brother's tenderness to show. 
 
 Art thou my Father ? Then I know, 
 When pain, or want, or griefs oppress, 
 
 They come but from a Father's hand, 
 Which wounds to heal, afflicts to bless. 
 
 Art thou my Father 1 Then in doubt 
 And darkness, when I grope my way, 
 
 Thy light shall shine upon my path, 
 And make my darkness like the day. 
 
 Art thou my Father 1 Then no more 
 
 Tremble my soul at Death's alarms ; 
 He comes, a messenger of love, 
 
 To bear me to a Father's arms." 
 
 Because it bears somewhat upon our present topic, I in- 
 troduce here an extract from a letter to the Rev. D. W. 
 Clark, principal of the Amenia Wesleyan Seminary. 
 
 " December 20. 
 
 *•# # * # * * * 
 
 " I have long felt that our graduates were not doing all 
 they ought to do for the ministry. They are, many of them, 
 filling stations of usefulness and honour, but too few give 
 themselves up entirely to the ministerial work. And yet 
 what is more important than the Christian ministry ? Per- 
 mit me, in this connexion, to suggest one thought to you ; 
 the thought is this : If nothing in the providence of God 
 
DECLINE OF HEALTH. 
 
 425 
 
 should foreclose it, may it not be your duty, before many 
 years, say after you have continued in your present situation 
 long enough to free yourself from pecuniary embarrassment, 
 to join Conference ? In the character of a minister of 
 Christ, you may do much for the cause of God ; and if, after 
 a few years, you should be called into some higher Metho- 
 dist seminary, or to take some important missionary super- 
 intendence, you will have had just such a training as would 
 best qualify you for the place. This is only a suggestion for 
 you to think of. I might enlarge upon it, but I forbear. 
 
 " We are in usual prosperity. My own health is poor. 
 My regards to your lady, although I have not the pleasure 
 of an acquaintance, and also to your assistant teachers. 
 With sincere desire for your usefulness in whatever station 
 you may be called to act in the Church of God, 
 
 " Affectionately yours, W. Fisk." 
 
 Dr. Fisk, while in Europe, after his attack at Pisa, was 
 troubled with a " peculiar numbness and dull sensation of 
 pain" in his lower extremities, "which," he observes, " was 
 not a little embarrassing in my subsequent sight-seeing." Du- 
 ring the present year (1838), this affection returned with great- 
 er violence, and was attended with swelling and stiffness of 
 the knee. Yet the cause not being fully understood, he did 
 not think it portended anything fatal. He continued the most 
 of his engagements, was always cheerful and ready to per- 
 form his various duties. As winter drew near, and the stiff- 
 ness and pain increased, he confined himself for some time 
 to the house, called a medical consultation, and used some 
 local applications. But he could not be entirely idle. His 
 pen was often used ; his mind was much occupied in study- 
 ing the present aspects of intellectual science in Europe. He 
 even meditated the preparation of a work on Mental and 
 Moral Philosophy, and another on the Philosophy of Theolo- 
 gy, and, indeed, went so far as to sketch a plan of these 
 works, which filled several sheets of paper. When it was 
 suggested to him that the study of metaphysics might cool 
 the fervour of his preaching, he replied, " Perhaps, then, it 
 is all right that I have not time ; for the heart needs reform- 
 36* H h h 
 
426 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 ing as much as the head needs instructing, and they ought 
 not to be separated." 
 
 Tired at length of confinement, he again ventured into 
 the pulpit, and preached two or three touching sermons 
 in his chair. He also went to New- York, by request of 
 the Missionary Board, on business relating to the Oregon 
 Mission. While in the city, he attended the missionary 
 meeting at Greene-street, at which the Rev. Messrs. John 
 Seys, William Stocker, and George Brown, with Messrs. 
 Jabez A. Burton, recently deceased, Walter P. Jayne, and 
 J. P. Barker, took their farewell of their friends previ- 
 ously to their departure for Liberia. Though not expect- 
 ing to speak, yet being called on, Dr. Fisk arose, and deliv- 
 ered one of his most splendid and stirring appeals. For vi- 
 vacity and power, it equalled, if it did not exceed, any former 
 effort. It completely thrilled his audience, and drew tears, 
 says an eyewitness, from " eyes unused to weep." He was 
 then so feeble that he had to sustain himself with his cane, 
 to which he alluded very affectingly in the course of his 
 address. 
 
 On the last night of the year, Dr. Fisk attended the Watch- 
 night in the Methodist Church in Middletown, and preached 
 the first sermon. His text was taken from the address of 
 the patriarch Jacob to Pharaoh : " Few and evil have the 
 days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto 
 the days of the years of the life of my fathers, in the days 
 of their pilgrimage." It was touching to see him upon his 
 elevated seat, for he was obliged to preach in a sitting pos- 
 ture, discoursing of life, death, and immortality. Many of 
 his thoughts and illustrations were striking and beautiful. 
 He compared man, in the current of life, to a vessel in a 
 whirlpool, borne round and round by the eddying current, 
 offering feeble resistance, until it reached the vortex and dis- 
 appeared. There was a remarkable appropriateness in the 
 subject, which would have made it still more affecting had 
 the event which soon followed been foreseen. But, though 
 some feared that it might not be far distant, neither Dr. Fisk 
 nor his friends expected it so soon. Next day he felt suffi- 
 ciently well to spend the whole of it in making calls in his 
 chaise on such of his friends as his pressure of duties had 
 
CONTINUES HIS LABOURS. 
 
 427 
 
 made him neglect through the year, saying, "I must exert 
 myself to meet the calls of friendship, or I never shall have 
 time to meet them. My duties only seem to increase with 
 my years." 
 
 After this he wrote his letters on Protestant Missions in 
 France. He retained a lively interest for this interesting 
 and mighty nation, and in the month of May, 1837, he moved 
 a resolution in the Board of Managers of the Methodist Mis- 
 sionary Society in New- York, recommending the appoint- 
 ment of an agent to visit some of the principal departments 
 of France, and " convey to evangelical Christians there our 
 friendly salutations, and assure them of our readiness to co- 
 operate with them in striving to promote pure and undefiled 
 religion among them." It is believed that this resolution 
 was presented in view of giving a special commission on the 
 business proposed to Dr. Olin, then just on the point of em- 
 barking for the Continent of Europe. Dr. Fisk continued 
 to entertain great hopes of the evangelization of France, and 
 thought that, as American Christians, we are under especial 
 obligations to use every feasible exertion to contribute to 
 that desirable object. 
 
 He also wrote various important private letters about this 
 time,* and, at the request of Dr. Luckey, then editor of the 
 Methodist Quarterly Eeview, he commenced a review of . 
 Dr. Bangs's History of the Methodist Episcopal Church ; 
 but he had only sketched out a rough plan of the article 
 when he was arrested by his final illness. 
 
 Another subject at this time awakened deep interest in 
 his mind : I mean the celebration of the centenary of Wes- 
 leyan Methodism. There is a wisely-provided tendency in 
 the human mind to hold periodical commemorations of im- 
 portant events. Witness the Jewish festivals and other cel- 
 ebrations in every age and country. So, also, the ancient 
 Romans celebrated their Ludi Cseculares, or Centennial 
 Games, when the herald went forth inviting the people to 
 come together to see " what no man had seen before, and 
 should never see again." 
 
 * Mrs. Fisk informs us that there are on file 725 letters all received and an- 
 swered since their return from Europe. " Some of the answers," she observes, 
 " covered more than one sheet of paper, while many unimportant letters he de- 
 stroyed, and I doubt not wrote many which I had not the means of knowing." 
 
428 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 Into this project Dr. Fisk entered with characteristic ar- 
 dour. The origin of the reformation of the eighteenth cen- 
 tury, the wonderful man and his coadjutors who were instru- 
 mental in it, and the astonishing effects that have followed, 
 without political power or adequate human elements, kin- 
 dled his imagination and fired his sensibilities. We insert 
 the following from his pen, annexed by Dr. Bangs to his an- 
 nouncement of the project : 
 
 " After the above was written," says Dr. Bangs, " I re- 
 ceived a communication from Dr. Fisk, in which, after al- 
 luding to what our brethren in England had done, he con- 
 cludes in the following language : 
 
 " ' Let the Conferences and the brethren generally deter- 
 mine that, so far as collections and contributions are con- 
 cerned, nothing of a local and a mere sectional interest shall 
 be admitted or thought of. It is not a centenary of Georgia 
 or Maine Methodism — of Methodism in the Atlantic or 
 Western States merely — but of Methodism ; anything less, 
 therefore, than a connexional object, is beneath the great oc- 
 casion. Let it be an object in which the ivhole Church has 
 a common interest. It pains me to hear a whisper of any- 
 thing short of this. I am sure all brethren, whatever may 
 be their territorial position, will, on reflection, say, " Give us 
 a connexional object ; present a case in which we have a 
 common interest." Among our brethren in England, it was 
 an assumed axiom, which became the basis of all their sub- 
 sequent arrangements, that whatever they did should be 
 " connexional." So it should be with us. 
 
 " ' Another principle which we all ought to adhere to, if 
 we do anything on this subject, is to determine to agree. 
 " It was not enough," says Dr. Bunting, in speaking of their 
 first deliberations about their plan, " to agree to disagree. 
 We felt that it was our bounden duty to agree to agree" 
 This also should be our course. It is true, for myself, I can 
 see nothing so important as the purchasing or building of 
 Mission premises in New- York. This is a common object, 
 an important object, and one dear to the breast of every 
 Methodist. It is, moreover, what is specially needed, and 
 its necessity will increase every year. This also will be 
 
CENTENARY OF METHODISM. 
 
 429 
 
 monumental. A substantial edifice, plain yet becoming, im- 
 posing and yet simple, with suitable apartments for the lodge- 
 ment of departing or returning missionaries ; with rooms for 
 the necessary offices ; for a missionary museum — library ; for 
 storage of mission goods, and for the residence of the mis- 
 sionary secretary and family. Such an edifice, erected in a 
 convenient and public part of the City of New- York, would 
 be a worthy memorial of the centenary of Methodism. It 
 would present to the world a noble monument of Methodist 
 faith, and zeal, and liberality, and would, at the same time, 
 increase the missionary facilities, and curtail the annual ex- 
 penditures to an extent not readily conceived of by those 
 who are not personally acquainted with the practical opera- 
 tion of this noble enterprise. You, my dear sir, know too 
 well, by daily experience, the inconveniences of our present 
 accommodations, or, rather, almost entire want of accommo- 
 dations. How great, then, must these embarrassments be, 
 as the missionary work increases. Give us, then, I would 
 say, as the fruit of our centennial celebration, a mission- 
 house, whose monumental walls shall proclaim to the world, 
 and to our children's children, how highly we prize that 
 Methodism which, under God, has imbodied in the Church 
 below more than a million of believers, and has doubtless 
 been instrumental in swelling the Church above by more 
 than double that number ; a mission-house which, moreover, 
 shall for centuries to come, perhaps, be the centre of opera- 
 tions for an enterprise that shall aid to send the Gospel all 
 over this wide earth. Such are my views. Nevertheless, 
 if the majority of voices are in favour of some other object, 
 I will not object — nay, I will co-operate ; only, I repeat, let 
 it be " connexional," and not sectional. 
 
 " 1 Finally, I would suggest that our periodicals should 
 all take up the subject, write upon it, and stir up the public 
 mind in reference to it ; that our experienced brethren and 
 fathers should especially take the lead in this interesting 
 movement ; and that preparations should everywhere be 
 made to celebrate it in a manner worthy of the occasion and 
 the cause. 
 
 M ' Such, reverend and dear sir, are some of my crude 
 
430 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 thoughts on this subject. If you think them worthy of be- 
 ing presented to the public, with any additional remarks or 
 any modifications you may judge proper, you are at liberty 
 to publish them. In the mean time, let us all remember that 
 none of us shall live to see another centenary of Methodism ; 
 that now, therefore, is our time to move, if we ever do any- 
 thing on such an occasion. Let us also remember that this 
 will be an appropriate time for reviewing the past ; to throw 
 ourselves upon our primitive principles ; to gird ourselves 
 for our great work in the coming Methodistical century ; to 
 call around the Church the reminiscence of the past, with a 
 view to gather motives and strength for the great and sub- 
 lime enterprise of the future. Let the entire Methodist 
 Church at this point pause, reflect, pray, and act, and who 
 can tell what an impetus such a general celebration may 
 give to the cause we love, and the cause that has blessed and 
 honoured us ! Let us also remember that what is done in 
 this matter must be done quickly. The year 1839 is already 
 commenced, and it will soon run out. 
 
 " i Yours in Gospel bonds, W. Fisk.' " 
 
 We need not relate in this place the results of this project ; 
 but we cannot forbear saying, that, had Dr. Fisk lived until 
 the 25th of October, 1839, how would his soul have dilated 
 amid the joyous solemnities of that day ! The prayer-meet- 
 ing at sunrise was peculiarly interesting in its associations. 
 There was much of inspiration in the thought that, as the sun 
 on that day gilded the mountain-tops of each portion of our 
 globe, the voice of devotion went up to Heaven. From 
 England to Nova Scotia and New-Brunswick, through the 
 United States, across the Rocky Mountains to Oregon, over 
 the gemmed Pacific to India, and thence, again, across the 
 Indian Ocean, and up the coast of Africa to Gibraltar, and 
 thence, through France and the isles of Jersey and Guern- 
 sey, back again to England ; in all these places the voice 
 of praise was heard. Cowper's day had arrived, for 
 
 "Mountain tops 
 From distant mountains caught the flying joy ; 
 Till, nation after nation taught the strain, 
 Earth roll'd the rapturous hosanna round." 
 
LETTER OF CONDOLENCE. 
 
 431 
 
 But, if Dr. Fisk did not join the scene on earth, no doubt 
 he beheld it with interest from the higher and purer regions 
 where he dwells ; for what refreshed the piety and animated 
 the faith of myriads on earth, could not but be interesting to 
 the redeemed in heaven. 
 
 We add a few private letters of this period : 
 
 To Captain Abraham G. Jennings, Fairfield, Conn. 
 
 " Wesleyan University, Jan. 26, 1839. 
 
 " My dear Sir, 
 
 " I learn, by a letter from your brother, the afflicting intel- 
 ligence of the death of your son and our late pupil. This 
 unexpected event has filled our hearts with sorrow. How 
 much more, then, must it pain you, whose relation to him 
 was so near, and whose loss is so irreparable. My own share 
 in this affliction, although not small, as your son stood in an 
 interesting relation to us, is lost sight of when I think of 
 your grief and that of your family. Fain would I, if possi- 
 ble, mitigate that grief; but what can I say ? I cannot make 
 up your loss : God alone can do that. I can, it is true, talk 
 to you of submission ; but this you have been taught long 
 since by our holy religion. You know it is God that has 
 done it, and thai; he does all things right. Here, therefore, 
 you must rest ; and while sorrow presses you down, feel that 
 it is the Lord. Oh, my dear sir, hide yourself under the 
 pavilion of his covert until these calamities are overpast. 
 Your son had been with us almost four years. In all this 
 time he has been an obedient and faithful pupil. I have 
 this evening been looking over the College records,* and I 
 find that, from the commencement of his membership in this 
 institution, he has rarely, if ever, been absent from any duty, 
 great or small, without rendering a reasonable excuse. His 
 scholarship was very respectable, and his deportment to- 
 wards his instructers was always respectful. 
 
 * Dr. Fisk had not, for some time, been out in the night air. Nevertheless, on 
 receiving information of the death of young Mr. Jennings, he went over to the 
 College in the evening, to ascertain with accuracy his relative standing in his 
 class, for his father's satisfaction. The same evening he wrote to Mr. Jennings's 
 room-mate a faithful letter on the importance of preparing for eternity, observ- 
 ing, " It must quicken my diligence in striving to be more faithful to those who 
 remain." 
 
432 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 " That David was faithful to all the duties of personal 
 piety, I could not say. Like too many students, he undoubt- 
 edly suffered his mind to be occupied with present scenes, 
 and with the ambitious prospects of life ; but he always ap- 
 peared to treat Divine worship and serious things not only 
 with respect, but with an attention that indicated thought- 
 fulness and interest in religious subjects. The latter part of 
 last term he devoted himself assiduously to nursing a sick 
 chum, and another fellow-student who was sick. They have 
 recovered, but he is gone ! How mysterious is the provi- 
 dence of God ! 
 
 " If I can afford you, sir, any aid in settling up any un- 
 settled affairs of your son here, it will afford me pleasure to 
 do it. 
 
 " Not knowing whether your son has a mother living, or 
 what may be the other branches of your family, I have only 
 to tender you and all my kind condolence, and commend 
 you to the mourner's friend. I much sympathize in your 
 affliction. I am yours sincerely, W. Fisk." 
 
 To his Parents, 
 
 " January 29, 1839. 
 
 " The winter, on the whole, has been favourable ; at least 
 it has been here, and I hope with you. If so, and your 
 house is comfortable, I trust you will get comfortably 
 through the winter ; at any rate, I hope your minds are re- 
 posing with confidence on an Almighty arm, and that your 
 faith penetrates to that world, where 
 
 ' Chilling winds and poisonous breath 
 **•*■*•** 
 
 Are felt and feared no more.' 
 Much, indeed, have you to comfort you. I would not, it is 
 true, direct your attention to any other support or ground of 
 hope than to Christ, the sinner's friend ; for, after all, the 
 best of us are sinners saved by grace. But it is some comfort 
 to me, if not to you, that you have for many years ' fought 
 the good fight of faith ;' that, like Samuel of old, you can 
 say to the people, ' Whose ox or ass have I taken V that 
 your house has been the home of the stranger, and the rest- 
 ing-place of the Christian pilgrim ; that the humble and the 
 
LETTER TO HIS PARENTS. OREGON MISSION. 433 
 
 oppressed, who have come to you for counsel and succour, 
 have not been sent sorrowful away ; that your house has 
 been a house of prayer, and that at the domestic altar your 
 children have been taught the principles of that devotion 
 which has been the comfort of their lives. That God whom 
 you have so long served, and taught your family to serve, 
 will not forsake you in your old age. Surely the evening of 
 your life should be joyous, for the day of a joyous eternity is 
 just beyond. Of my own health I have little good to say, 
 save to repeat the blessed promise, ' All things shall work to- 
 gether for good to them that love God.' I have been con- 
 fined partially for a great portion of the winter. My lame- 
 ness continues, though not so bad as it was at one time, and, 
 in addition, I have lately had a new symptom on my lungs : 
 a shortness of breath, and difficulty of breathing, which has 
 greatly disturbed my rest at night. It seems something like 
 the spasmodic asthma. The rest of our family are much as 
 usual." 
 
 One other subject must not be overlooked. Dr. Fisk 
 watched with great solicitude the progress and indications 
 of the Oregon Mission. He received various communica- 
 tions from the missionaries while on their route and after 
 their arrival, but there was nothing in the letters of suffi- 
 cient importance to find a place in these memoirs. They 
 found the representations made to them fully justified. The 
 natives were mild, comparatively moral, and accessible to 
 Christian instruction ; but, in the far-off wilderness, the mis- 
 sionaries were compelled to spend so much time in procu- 
 ring subsistence, that they could not pay the desired atten- 
 tion to their spiritual objects. Some progress, however, was 
 made. The Reverend Jason Lee, according to the testi- 
 mony of Governor M'Laughlin and others, conducted the 
 affairs of the mission very judiciously, and gained an exten- 
 sive influence in the territory, which promised well for the 
 success of the undertaking. The mission family was estab- 
 lished at Willamette. They had received considerable re- 
 enforcements in 1837, consisting of a physician, carpenter, 
 blacksmith, two clergymen (Messrs. Leslie and Perkins), 
 37 1 1 1 
 
434 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 with several ladies. These were busily engaged in their 
 respective spheres, in laying the foundation and preparing 
 the way for future operations. They had a prosperous 
 school of about thirty children, and spent all the time they 
 could in preaching to and otherwise instructing the natives. 
 Meantime, Messrs. Perkins and Daniel Lee formed another 
 station, about one hundred miles farther up the Columbia 
 River, near the Great Falls, usually called the Dalles, where 
 they found a people prepared to receive the Gospel. It was 
 here that the astonishing work broke out in 1839, whereby 
 more than five hundred souls were made subjects of saving 
 grace, as related in the tract since issued at the Book Room. 
 
 Affairs wearing this favourable aspect, the Reverend Ja- 
 son Lee resolved on a visit to the United States, with a view 
 to excite still greater interest in the mission, and to pro- 
 cure additional supplies. He brought with him five native 
 boys, of whom three were to be left in the states to be liber- 
 ally educated, and the other two were to return. But, alas ! 
 one of these, William Brooks, saw his home no more. Dr. 
 Fisk was greatly interested in this company, and they not 
 less so in him, regarding him as their parent and benefactor. 
 Three weeks before Dr. Fisk's decease, Mr. Lee visited 
 Middletown to confer with him on the interests of the mis- 
 sion, and while here held a public meeting in reference to it. 
 On the afternoon preceding the meeting, which was held in 
 the evening, they were several hours in consultation upon 
 the subject, the result of which was, that Dr. Fisk sketched a 
 plan for the employment and location of about thirty addi- 
 tional labourers in that field. This paper, in his own hand- 
 writing, is now before me. The re-enforcement sailed from 
 New- York the following September. 
 
 In the evening Dr. Fisk attended the meeting, which was 
 held in the Methodist Church, and took part in the exercises. . 
 It was his last appearance in an earthly sanctuary. Thus 1 
 his final labours in public were in behalf of the Oregon 
 Mission. 
 
RAPID DECLINE OF HEALTH. 
 
 435 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Rapid decline of Health. — Last Sickness. — Scenes in his Chamber. — Death. — 
 
 Conclusion. 
 
 As we now approach the close of our subject's life, we 
 are inclined to linger over our task, that we may prolong the 
 contemplation of the scene which it presents to view. We 
 love to stand in the evening amid the varied landscape, as 
 the sun retires from our gaze, to watch the mellowing tints 
 of light and shade which spread over the face of nature. 
 But how much more interesting is it to watch the departure 
 from its mortal sphere of some "bright particular star" of 
 our moral firmament ! 
 
 We have traced the progress of our subject's life from 
 
 his childhood, and have seen the gradual development of 
 
 his mental and moral powers, and the influence he exerted 
 
 on the world. The little boy that climbed the snow-clad 
 
 hills of Vermont on his way to the district school, has arisen 
 
 before our eyes into the man, exerted a powerful influence 
 
 on society, spread his name to distant regions, and become 
 
 " A kingly ruler in the realms of mind." 
 
 But his labours are now over, and there remains but a few 
 
 more days of suffering and triumph to him — of instruction 
 
 and sympathy to his friends. These days are bright with 
 
 no mortal radiance. In Dr. Fisk's closing hours we have a 
 
 striking illustration of the saying of an ancient philosopher, 
 
 that " the pure soul leaves the body as the lightning flits from 
 
 the cloud," shining brightest at the time of its departure. 
 
 " The body yields to death's all powerful summons, 
 While the bright image of eternity 
 Survives." 
 
 Nothing more clearly shows the adaptation of Christianity 
 to the wants and aspirations of the human spirit, than the 
 tranquillity with which it inspires its sincere votary in his 
 closing hours. It satisfies the most distressing doubts ; it 
 throws light upon the darkness of the future ; it gives the 
 
436 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 soul a sure foundation on which to construct its hopes of 
 immortality. The soul that assuredly relies on the atone- 
 ment of our Lord and Saviour has a life-buoy to bear it up 
 amid Death's dark billows. This is more than can be said 
 of the proudest systems of human philosophy. The dying 
 language of the greatest of the heathens, the immortal Sta- 
 girite, is well known to every scholar : " Fade hunc mun- 
 dum intravi, anxius vixi, perturbalus egredior, causa causa- 
 rum miserere mei." Meanly he had entered the world, anx- 
 iously he had lived, in disquietude he was departing. Piti- 
 ful result of this world's boastful philosophy ! Far different 
 is the spirit of that faith which says, " To die is gain." 
 " Thanks be unto God, who giveth us the victory through 
 our Lord Jesus Christ !" 
 
 We have already seen how much Dr. Fisk's health decli- 
 ned during the fall and winter of 1838. His limbs contin- 
 ued to swell, his expectoration was somewhat diminished, 
 and his breathing became more difficult. These symptoms 
 gradually advanced. On the 13th of January he preached 
 his last sermon, and on the 14th he was employed nearly 
 the whole day in sketching the plan of a new boarding hall 
 for the University. That night he was dreadfully distressed 
 with obstructed respiration, so that from two o'clock until 
 five in the morning he was obliged to sit up in his chair. 
 These turns came on subsequently every night, regularly in- 
 creasing in severity ; yet during the day, in pleasant weath- 
 er, he was able to ride or walk out. The last occasion of 
 his riding out was to visit a graduate of the University, who 
 was lying ill two or three miles distant. It was not until 
 the 31st of January that he confined himself to his room ; 
 and even then he retained strength to attend to business un- 
 til the 5th of February, when, in the evening, with Mrs. 
 Fisk's assistance, he sealed thirty letters, written for the 
 benefit of the institution. 
 
 But he was now evidently and rapidly sinking, so that, on 
 the 8th of February, a medical consultation was held upon 
 his case. The decision was unfavourable to any prospect 
 of his recovery or of his long continuance. On learning the 
 result, Professor Johnston, who was with him soon after, 
 
HIS FINAL SICKNESS. 
 
 437 
 
 says " that it surprised him, yet he was perfectly calm, and 
 began to arrange his affairs as though he was preparing for 
 a pleasant journey." Then, after making some disposition 
 of his papers with Professor Smith, his executor, he was as- 
 sisted to his chair, in order to rest from the fatigue which 
 his exertions had occasioned. Soon after being seated, he 
 remarked in a whisper, for he was too weak to converse 
 aloud, " What are all these things compared with the wel- 
 fare of an immortal soul !" On being asked how the pros- 
 pect of death now appeared to him, he immediately replied, 
 " Death has no terrors to me ; but I have not that open vis- 
 ion of Heaven I could desire. Pray for me, that the pros- 
 pect before me may brighten. I feel that my life has been a 
 series of imperfections, and there is nothing that I can rest 
 my hopes upon but the merits of Christ." Soon after, he 
 added, " There are a few things I would like to see done 
 before taken from this world ; but what am I, that I should 
 have a hand in those things ?" and, after another pause, he 
 proceeded, " There is the poor University ; but I hope you 
 (meaning the professors) will stand by it, and that God will 
 bless it." 
 
 The scene, or, rather, succession of scenes which took place 
 after this in his dying chamber were in the highest degree 
 instructive and elevating. It was almost an uninterrupted 
 exhibition of moral sublimity. Many received lessons of 
 wisdom and piety there which they will never forget. To 
 these a gentleman alluded who was in Paris in 1841, at the 
 re-interment of the bones of Napoleon, who, after descri- 
 bing that gorgeous but heartless pageantry, observes, " As I 
 looked upon the coffin, I could not feel veneration for Na- 
 poleon ; the halo of true glory shone not around it. The 
 chamber where I saw that good man, the late Dr. Willbur 
 Fisk, calmly and triumphantly meeting his fate, was to me 
 a scene of infinitely higher and more enviable glory." We 
 may be allowed, under such circumstances, to enter some- 
 what fully into the particulars. 
 
 To conceive properly of the situation of our sufferer, it 
 ought to be understood, that such was his difficulty of breath- 
 ing that he was obliged to keep his chest as nearly as possi- 
 37* 
 
438 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 ble in an erect posture. Though it was winter, but little fire 
 could be kept in the room ; the door was always partly open, 
 and then he required almost constant fanning to aid his 
 respiration. As he could not lay down more than one hour 
 in twenty-four, the pain and weariness he endured were in- 
 describable. Though his breathing was at all times labo- 
 rious, he had frequent paroxysms of extreme violence, du- 
 ring which it appeared as though each breath would be his 
 last. At these seasons he could only gasp out a word or a 
 syllable at a time. Much of what we shall record was ut- 
 tered in that manner. 
 
 As we were from home during the earlier part of his ill- 
 ness, we rely on accounts furnished us by Mrs. Fisk, and 
 several friends who took notes at the time ; and, as his ob- 
 servations were dispersed throughout the last fourteen days 
 of his illness, on a variety of topics, we have thought that, 
 instead of following the order of time, it would be more 
 agreeable to the reader, and make a more distinct impres- 
 sion on the mind, to have them arranged according to sub- 
 jects. We do not, however, profess to insert all that was 
 said at this mournfully interesting period ; we select such 
 passages as were thought most remarkable, and especially 
 illustrative of their author's character. 
 
 The reader will be struck with several peculiarities in these 
 observations. He will see at every turn our subject's dis- 
 tinctive characteristics, his prevailing sentiments, feelings, 
 and interests. He will not only observe the hallowing in- 
 fluence and out-beaming radiance of his piety, but his pe- 
 culiar humility, calmness, patience, consideration. Nothing 
 seemed to be forgotten by him in which he had before felt a 
 concern ; especially the interests of religion, education, his 
 family and friends, were all very nigh his heart, and were 
 thought of and cared for in the midst of his deepest agonies. 
 It was a frequent expression of those around him, " Dr. 
 Fisk is himself to the very last !" Surely those who had the 
 
 privilege of being in 
 
 " The chamber where the good man met his fate," 
 
 will never lose the salutary lessons there imbibed. 
 
 And, first, of his lowly views of himself and of his own 
 
HUMILITY. FAITH IN CHRIST. 439 
 
 labours, we have clear and strong testimony. Thus at one 
 time he said, 
 
 " When I look back, I wonder at the little I have done. 
 And what is rest to me" (he had just been speaking of rest 
 in Heaven), " that I should indulge anticipations of it, while 
 there are so many unconverted in the world, going down to 
 eternal wo ? I see much to be done ; but any active mind 
 can do it : and the work of God is in his own hands. He 
 can do without me. What am I, or my father's house, that 
 God should have honoured me to share in the ministry of 
 the Gospel ? I bless Him that He has made me the humble 
 instrument of doing anything — the least thing — for Him. It 
 is all of grace. Boasting is excluded. The glory is all his, 
 the shame all mine. I want a score of years more to do 
 anything like what a man ought to do in the course of his 
 life." 
 
 And again : " O, how little have I done ! O, the many 
 deficiencies ! I feel constrained to ask forgiveness of the 
 Church and of the world." * * "I shall be a star of small 
 magnitude, but it is a wonder that I shall get to Heaven at 
 all. It is because love works miracles that such a feeble, 
 sinful worm may be saved by grace. O, the mercy of God, 
 to put such comeliness on such a worm as I ! I am an un- 
 profitable servant. How little have I done of what I might 
 have done !" 
 
 When one remarked to him that he " knew of no one in 
 whose life there were fewer things to regret," he replied, 
 " I do not feel so at all. I feel full of imperfections and 
 frailties." 
 
 Thus, " having no confidence in the flesh," all his hope 
 
 OF SALVATION RESTED ON THE ATONEMENT OF THE LaMB. 
 
 " What a blessed state to be in," he observed, "to be any- 
 thing God pleases. The will of God appears unspeakably 
 beautiful to me ; but, alas ! I fail of fulfilling it in a great 
 many ways. But, for all this, I have thrown myself on the 
 mercy of God in Christ Jesus. O, yes ! I feel that my soul 
 is centred in the love of God in Christ Jesus." Thus, again, 
 M If I have been instrumental in a little good, I thank God 
 for it. I am an unprofitable servant. All my hope is in 
 
410 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 Christ." At another time, apparently at the close of some 
 train of silent thought, he said, " Rights ? I have no rights, 
 but my Saviour has rights ; and he bestows them on me. It 
 is all of grace." 
 
 Once only did he experience any peculiar temptation or 
 mental conflict. In the early part of his illness, he re- 
 marked that " the enemy was thrusting sore" at him, and 
 immediately said to the Rev. Horace Bartlett, " If you have 
 any faith, pray." When the prayer was closed, he express- 
 ed his deliverance from the gathering cloud, and from that 
 time nothing seemed to obstruct his view of his Saviour and 
 the better world. 
 
 His faith in the truths of Christianity never wavered. 
 When asked if he still believed the doctrines which he had 
 preached to others, he replied, with emphasis, " Yes ; they 
 are God's truths, and will bear the light of eternity." 
 
 He always entertained lofty views of the nature and 
 
 HOLY PRIVILEGES OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. Thus, when the 
 
 Rev. Messrs. Granger and Tyler, of the Congregational 
 Church, called to see him, " he immediately," says the for- 
 mer, " began to converse about the solemn responsibilities 
 of the ministry," observing, " I hope you will give the trump- 
 et a more certain sound than I have ever done." On Mr. 
 G,'s saying to him, u Our ; Lord had need of him' in the high- 
 er employments of Heaven," he replied, " It may be : I 
 have often thought, too, that the occupation in Heaven would 
 be to do God's will and promote his glory. When I sur- 
 rendered myself to the cause of God, it was a full surrender 
 to do his will, anywhere and anyhow, as he would please : 
 and perhaps I may be employed in some way to advance 
 the cause of redemption on earth." 
 
 To the Rev. Mr. Cookson, of the Baptist Church, he said, 
 i1 I am leaving the walls, but I leave you on them. God 
 bless you, and make you more faithful in sounding the Gos- 
 pel trumpet than I have been. O, the responsibilities of a 
 minister ! O, may not the blood of souls be found in our 
 skirts!" 
 
 Mr. Cookson inquired if he felt the expression of the ven- 
 erable Wesley, " The best of all is, God is with us." " O 
 
christian's triumph in death. 
 
 441 
 
 yes," he replied, " nature indeed is yielding, but God re- 
 mains." 
 
 He was always remarkably fond of singing, and often re- 
 quested that some of his favourite hymns might be sung. 
 Among these was the one in the Methodist Collection, com- 
 mencing, 
 
 " Jesus, the name high over all," 
 
 of the last stanza of which, 
 
 " Happy if with my latest breath 
 I may but gasp his name, 
 Preach him to all, and cry in death, 
 Behold, behold the Lamb !" 
 
 he was particularly fond, requesting that it might be sung 
 
 more than once. And when, at his request, Dr. Watts's 
 
 hymn was sung, commencing, 
 
 " Lord, in thy temple we appear," 
 
 he repeated the last stanzas distinctly in a whisper, thus : 
 
 " ' Jesus, the vision of thy face 
 Hath overpowering charms ; 
 Scarce shall I feel Death's cold embrace, 
 If thou be in my arms. 
 
 And while you hear my heartstrings break, 
 
 How sweet my moments roll ; 
 A mortal paleness on my cheek, 
 
 But glory in my soul.' " 
 
 Sunday, the 10th of February, was a day of uncommon in- 
 terest and solemnity. There was not the least prospect of 
 his recovery, so that it was not thought necessary to restrain 
 him from conversing ; and yet his strength was not so far 
 exhausted as to prevent the free play of his mind and feel- 
 ings. The scene in his chamber was transcendently eleva- 
 ting. In the morning he asked Mrs. Fisk what day it was. 
 On ascertaining, he observed, M This would be a good day 
 to die." " Perhaps," said Mrs. Fisk, " the Lord will take 
 you to his rest this day." " Then I can worship," was his 
 answer, " with the Sabbath-keeping band in Heaven ; but I 
 cannot here." On being told that he always loved the Sab- 
 bath, "Yes," he replied ; " and though it was a day of toil to 
 me, yet I loved my work. To me the Sabbath has been an 
 
 K K K 
 
442 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 emblem of that promised rest. Oh, that rest is sweet ! It 
 is glorious !" 
 
 He then beckoned Martha to him, saying, " Let us pray- 
 together ;" and, throwing an arm round each of them as they 
 knelt before him, he offered up a prayer, gasping it out 
 word by word, which seemed the very language of the spir- 
 itual world. It was deep, pathetic, powerful, sublime. 
 Then, as they arose from their knees, he said, " Vain human 
 reasoners often tell us that the soul and the body will go 
 down together to the dust, because the spirit is depressed 
 when the body is ; but it is not true. These clogs of earth 
 have often retarded the operations of my mind, and been as 
 so many barriers to its activity. But I now feel a strength 
 of soul and an energy of mind which this body, though 
 afflicted and pained, cannot impair. 
 
 " The soul has an energy of its own ; and so far from my 
 body pressing my soul down to the dust, I feel as if my soul 
 had almost power to raise the body upward and bear it 
 away ; and it will at last, by the power of God, effectually 
 draw it to Heaven, for its attractions are thitherward." Then, 
 turning to Mrs. Fisk, he said, " Think not, when you see 
 this poor feeble body stretched in death, that that is your 
 husband. O no ! your husband will have escaped free and 
 liberated from every clog ! He will have new-plumed his 
 glad wings, and soared away through the ethereal regions 
 to that celestial city of light and love ! What ! talk of bury- 
 ing your husband ! No, never. Your husband cannot be 
 buried ! he will be in Heaven. His body may be ; and let 
 it go, and mingle with its mother earth : why should you 
 lament ? And yet I love this body, notwithstanding it has 
 so often been a hinderance to the aspirations of my mind ; for 
 it has been an old companion of mine. It has cost me much 
 care and pain, its tendency being continually to decay; and 
 though it may lie long in the grave, it shall be raised, and I 
 shall see it again ; for I hope to be united with it, but with 
 none of its infirmities, with none of its moral deformities. 
 Yes, every particle of this dust shall be raised and changed, 
 in the twinkling of an eye, on the morning of the resurrec- 
 tion. ' Then it will be freed from all its infirmities. It will 
 
COMMUNICATIONS WITH HIS FAMILY* 
 
 443 
 
 have no lame limbs, no weak lungs. It will be refined from 
 all its gross particles. It will be buoyant and ethereal, glo- 
 rious and immortal ! It will be perfect, for it will be fash- 
 ioned like unto Christ's most glorious body, and united with 
 the soul forever !" 
 
 The above sublime sentiments were uttered with the great- 
 est difficulty, when almost every moment it appeared as 
 though the power of respiration must cease. 
 
 His last communications with his family were in keeping 
 with his character. Perceiving Mrs. Fisk's overwhelming 
 grief, on ascertaining the decision of the physicians in his 
 case, " My dear wife," he said, " I have always loved you ; 
 I have loved to love you ; and you were never dearer to me 
 than at this moment. But do not distress my dying moments 
 with your grief. This ought not so to be. I have a. great 
 work to do : you must help me by your prayers. I have 
 always thought I should outlive you, and have always pray- 
 ed that this cup might never be yours ; that it might be re- 
 served for me ; for I know how unable you are to bear it. 
 But God seems determining otherwise. Bear it ? You can- 
 not bear it ! But God will help you ; for he has promised 
 to be the widow's God and husband, and he will not fail !" 
 At this time also, beckoning Mrs. Fisk's mother and Martha 
 to him, he offered up, as they knelt around him, a prayer 
 most touching and beautiful. A competent judge who was 
 present remarked that, if Dr. Fisk had been in his study, in 
 his most favoured moments, he could scarcely have written 
 one more appropriate and eloquent. 
 
 At a later period of his illness, on Mrs. Fisk expressing 
 her grief, he said, " I fear you do not give me up. O, give 
 me up to God. Our tie will not be sundered ; it will only 
 be strengthened by a purer hope. God will be your hus- 
 band : rely on him in simple faith, and all shall be well." 
 
 At another time he said, " Our parting will not be long. 
 Time seems to me like a mere point. Eternity swallows up 
 all," # # # u Imagination's utmost stretch cannot measure 
 eternity. Oh, my dear, build your hopes on nothing but Je- 
 sus, and him crucified ! The doctrines of the cross only 
 have efficacy to raise you to Heaven, where I trust we shall 
 
444 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 soon meet. Oh, then shall we be in possession of those 
 beauties which charm the angels, and bind them to the throne 
 of God." 
 
 He felt great concern at the dependant condition in which 
 his wife and adopted daughter would be left. Having al- 
 ways had an impression that he should outlive Mrs. Fisk, 
 whose health was but feeble, he had made for her but a slen- 
 der provision. Hence, in an early part of his illness, when he 
 had signed his will, after a short pause, he said to Mrs. Fisk, 
 " There will be but little, nor can you expect much from the 
 New-England Conference."* Dr. Miner, his attendant phy- 
 sician, as if to relieve him of his anxiety, said, " The public 
 will expect a memoir. It may be written for Mrs. Fisk's 
 benefit." He replied, " Nothing can be said of me." " The 
 public will expect it ; will you please to name your biogra- 
 pher ?" After a pause, he replied, " Possibly ; then it is my 
 request that Professor Holdich should write it for Mrs. 
 Fisk's benefit, if sufficient papers can be found to justify it." 
 Turning to Mrs. F., he added, H You will furnish what you 
 have." He had previously made the same nomination. 
 
 A striking evidence of his affectionate and tender spirit 
 was given in the early part of his illness, but when he was 
 supposed to be very near his end. Recollecting that he had 
 not written Mrs. Fisk's name in a book which he had re- 
 cently given her, he called for it, and in his chair, with the 
 book on his knee, with a trembling hand he wrote, " From 
 her affectionate and dying husband to Mrs. Fisk. — W. Fisk." 
 
 The Wesleyan University lay very near the heart of 
 Dr. Fisk throughout his sickness. We have already had 
 some evidence of this. Afterward, when one spoke to him 
 of the loss it would sustain in his death, he said, " I think it 
 is of God, and if so, He will no doubt take care of it. If it 
 is not, certainly I have been connected with it long enough. 
 It has always been my aim, and, so far as I know the feelings 
 of the Faculty, it has been the aim of us all, to send young 
 men into the world to make it better." 
 
 Again, when one spoke to him of the difficulty of filling 
 
 * Alluding to the inadequacy of its funds to meet the demands of the several 
 claimants. 
 
UNIVERSITY. — PROFESSORS. STUDENTS. 
 
 445 
 
 his place in the Faculty, he observed, " It will be easy to 
 find another president, but not so easy to find another father." 
 
 Then, having requested the professors who were present 
 to come round him, he expressed his fear and regret that the 
 Church generally was not sufficiently alive to the interests 
 of the University ; when he observed to them, " On you, 
 therefore, will devolve a double duty. Oh, be faithful ! Hith- 
 erto you have been faithful." Then to Professor Smith he 
 said, "I thank you for the interest you have ever manifested 
 in relieving my burden. You and Professor Huber have been 
 associated with me the longest ; you have, therefore, shared 
 with me the deepest in the cares, the interests, and the 
 poverty of the University. But you will not lose your re- 
 ward. I would express my love and gratitude to you all 
 for your kindness to me. It gives me great pleasure to re- 
 flect how pleasantly we have always lived together, not only 
 in college, but in our little family circle. "We have shared 
 each other's joys and each other's sorrows." He then com- 
 mended his afflicted wife to their care and sympathy, observ- 
 ing, " I believe she has added years to my life by her con- 
 stant care and nursing. You will love her for my sake 
 when I am gone." The lady of one of the professors as- 
 sured him they had done so, and should do so still. 
 
 At another time, speaking of the professors, he observed, 
 "We all loved each other, and lived together in such harmo- 
 ny ;" when the lady of one of them replied, " Yes, doctor, 
 but you were the magnet that drew us all together. — We all 
 loved you." " Yes," was his characteristic answer, "but not 
 because I was worthy." 
 
 Speaking of the University and the professors leads us 
 naturally to speak of the students. We have had suffi- 
 cient proof, in the course of this memoir, of the reciprocal 
 affection existing between them and their president. Deep 
 was the sorrow which filled their hearts on learning his pres- 
 ent condition ; with earnestness they desired a parting inter- 
 view with their revered instructer and guardian. He de- 
 sired that they might all be admitted. On seeing them at the 
 door of his chamber, he beckoned them to approach, and, as 
 they came one by one, he gave each his feeble hand, and 
 38 
 
446 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 bade them an affectionate farewell, adapting his advice or 
 admonition to each with admirable discernment and propri- 
 ety. It was remarkable that, though not less than a hun- 
 dred — it was just the commencement of the term, and many 
 of the students had not yet arrived — received his dying coun- 
 sel, yet to no two did he speak alike. The impression on 
 the minds of the students was very deep. One of them, in 
 a letter to another, who was absent, says, " O ! what a scene 
 was this ! I may forget the name of my father, and know 
 not the mother who bore me, as soon as will the memory of 
 that day pass from me." 
 
 It will not be supposed that he overlooked or neglected 
 his parents in his final remembrances. At an early period 
 of his illness he remarked, " My dear aged parents, how will 
 they bear the stroke ? God will strengthen them for all his 
 will." Then looking at Mrs. F., he said, " Write to them, 
 as soon as you can, all the particulars of my sickness. Give 
 my best love to them. Tell them I have always hoped to 
 be permitted to close their eyes, and that they would be 
 spared the pain of weeping over me. But it is the will of 
 God, and it is all right. Wherein I have failed in duty, I 
 believe they will put it down to poor human nature. Give 
 my best love to all of them. Tell them (the whole family) 
 I believe I shall meet them all in Heaven, and in that I 
 greatly rejoice ; and that I die at peace with God and all 
 mankind." 
 
 He did not forget his English brethren. A letter, which 
 had for some time been expected from England, arrived on 
 the 12th, in which he evinced deep interest. When the 
 letter was read to him, he said, " Dear, dear brethren ! it is 
 so like them ! I shall meet them in Heaven." 
 
 When Dr. Fisk's illness became generally known, which 
 was very soon after his attack, it produced an uncommon 
 sensation in the public mind, especially in our own Church. 
 Immediately the Board of Managers of the Methodist Mis- 
 sionary Society in New- York held a special meeting upon 
 the subject, passed appropriate resolutions in reference to it, 
 and appointed a delegation of nine members " to repair 
 forthwith to Middletown," thus the resolution reads, " in to- 
 
NEW-YORK DELEGATION. 
 
 447 
 
 ken of the interest felt in the present season of alarm on ac- 
 count of our esteemed brother, and that they be authorized, 
 in the event of his death, to prepare and adopt, on behalf of 
 this board, such resolutions of condolence as the melancholy 
 occasion may require, and take such other measures as cir- 
 cumstances may call for." 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Bangs, the Rev. John Lindsey, and Gabriel 
 P. Disosway, Esq., being on the committee, fulfilled this 
 mournful office ; the others were not able to go. When Dr. 
 Fisk, at their introduction, was informed of the action of the 
 Board of Managers, he observed, " I feel very grateful, 
 though very unworthy of such attention. It is, however, 
 only an additional evidence of the Christian sympathy and 
 brotherly affection I have so long beheld among my breth- 
 ren." 
 
 One of the gentlemen spoke to him of his future prospects. 
 Among other remarks expressive of his Christian hopes, he 
 said, in allusion to the violent paroxysms he had passed 
 through, " I have been in sight of the port, and thought to 
 have entered it before now. But O ! what a rough sea I had 
 to contend with ! But I am driven back, and now feel my- 
 self in a calmer sea. What I may be called to contend with 
 before I enter the harbour of rest, I know not ; but all is 
 right which God orders. The distance between the two 
 worlds is exceedingly short. It is but a step from one to 
 the other." 
 
 To Dr. Bangs he gave a commission to say to the New- 
 York Conference, " That I give it as my dying request that 
 they nurse the Wesleyan University — that they must exert 
 themselves to sustain and carry it forward." 
 
 At an early period of his illness, when he had taken leave 
 of his friends and left some messages for the absent, Mrs. 
 Fisk asked him if he had any message for the New-England 
 Conference. He replied, " I have not strength to frame 
 one. Yet you may say to them, ' O, be faithful ! And 
 that, although we have had some difference of opinion, I die 
 at peace with them, and at peace with all mankind ; and I 
 hope they will strive to meet me in Heaven, where we shall 
 see eye to eye.' " 
 
448 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 The delegation, finding Dr. Fisk too low to converse, and 
 yet with no immediate prospect of a dissolution, returned 
 home the following day. On ascertaining their departure, 
 he expressed his regret, observing, " I have been trying to 
 save my strength to talk with Dr. Bangs. But I shall meet 
 them all in Heaven." Then turning to Mrs. Fisk, he said, 
 " Write to Dr. Bangs, and say that it is my request that my 
 writings which have been published may be collected into 
 one form, and published for your benefit, for you can expect 
 but little from the New-England Conference. Tell Dr. 
 Bangs to say to the brethren that I believe they would wish 
 to see you provided for, and if there should be more than 
 you need, let it go to the University : I think it will do more 
 good to the Church generally. If I had thousands to leave, 
 I should think I was benefiting the general Church most by 
 leaving it to the University ; for, I trust, streams will issue 
 from it which will greatly assist in fertilizing our whole 
 moral vineyard. Education must go hand in hand with re- 
 ligion, or the world will never be converted without a direct 
 miracle from God. Our people will take care of our other 
 institutions, but I fear they are not sufficiently awake to the 
 subject of education. O ! if I could only feel that our peo- 
 ple — our brethren in the ministry — were alive to the interests 
 of the University, how it would cheer my departure. But I 
 leave it in the hands of a good God, who has blessed it be- 
 yond our most sanguine expectations, and, I trust, will con- 
 tinue to bless it for the good of the Church and for his own 
 glory." 
 
 When he was asked his views of the Colonization Soci- 
 ety, he replied, " The same they have ever been. I regret 
 that I did not join that society sooner. I rejoice that I 
 joined it when I did. It is the cause of God, and will 
 prevail." 
 
 At a later period of his sickness, another asked him the 
 same question, not knowing that it had been asked before, 
 alluding also to the assertion of some, that he would change 
 his mind when he should come to die. He answered in 
 substance as before, but added, " I advocated that cause 
 from principle : it was not blind impulse or passion, though 
 
DISINTERESTEDNESS AND GRATITUDE. 
 
 449 
 
 I may sometimes have erred in spirit. But they have been 
 unbrotherly in imputing to me motives that were never in 
 my heart. " 
 
 To the Reverend Mr. Granger he spoke of the happiness 
 of the union of all real Christians of whatever name. 
 " Oh," said he, 14 the near prospect of Heaven seems to swal- 
 low up all these little distinctions which separate evangelical 
 Christians." 
 
 The reader has had ample proof of his love of labour, 
 and the following remarks show how he looked upon this 
 subject now. Hearing Mrs. Fisk say something about his 
 life being sacrificed, he looked up and said, 44 Sacrifice — 
 sacrifice — what did you say ?" and, on being asked if he did 
 not know what his physicians said of his case, he replied, 
 44 Yes ; they say my nervous system is prostrated ; and that, 
 to be sure, looks like it. But it is too late now." A few 
 minutes after, having been placed in his chair, he said, " I do 
 not know but my friends will think I have done wrong in ex- 
 erting myself so much — and I do not know but I have ; but 
 I have not intended it. It 'is, however, much more pleas- 
 ant to me now to look back, and feel that I have endeav- 
 oured to exert myself to the utmost of my strength — for you 
 know I could do but little at best — than it would be to look 
 back on a life of idleness. We were not placed here to be 
 idle ; no, nor shall we be idle in Heaven. I feel, indeed, 
 as if I should hardly want to go there if I thought I should 
 be idle. If the Lord take me away, he has something for me 
 to do ; for he never gave me such an energy of soul as I 
 now feel that I have, without designing to employ it." 
 
 Those who have followed our memoirs of this truly won- 
 derful and exalted man, have had repeated proofs of those 
 twin virtues, disinterestedness and gratitude. These shone 
 brightly in him to the last. We were struck with the for- 
 mer in a little incident which occurred on Monday, Febru- 
 ary the 11th. One of his attendant physicians, Dr. Wood- 
 ward, was sent for by another patient. As he was leaving 
 the room, Dr. Fisk said, " The doctor will not leave me 
 now. I feel that the paroxysm will be very severe." But 
 on being told that it was to a lady, who was very sick, he 
 38* Lll 
 
450 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 said, " Oh, then, let him go ;" and immediately said to Mrs. 
 Fisk, " We must pray for her," immediately closing his 
 eyes as if to engage in silent prayer. Thus, in his own 
 deepest agony, he had sympathy to bestow on others, and 
 was ready to part with assistance even which he needed for 
 himself. 
 
 In the same spirit he manifested the most lively gratitude 
 for even slight favours, and at the same time evinced the 
 greatest uneasiness at giving trouble. This he expressed to 
 those friends who, from time to time, came to watch with 
 him. To one he would say, " Have you left your own dear 
 homes?" to another, "your own sweet little flock?" to a 
 third, " your comfortable bed ?" to a fourth, " Have you cho- 
 sen the chamber of suffering to wait on me — poor unworthy 
 me ?" and at one time, when a friend attempted to support 
 him in an easier posture, he said, " It will not afford relief 
 enough to compensate you for your fatigue. I am sure I 
 do not know what I am spared for, unless to furnish an 
 opportunity of showing the patience of my friends. Sure 
 never man had such friends." At another time he ob- 
 served, " O that I could die in an obscure corner, rather 
 than give such trouble to my friends !" Indeed, through- 
 out his sickness he made innumerable observations of the 
 same nature, showing his gratitude, his care for others, and 
 his oblivion of self. 
 
 We have already observed that our patient sufferer, owing 
 to his difficulty in respiration, was unable to lie but an hour 
 or two in twenty-four, and that but for very brief periods. 
 He sat in his chair, supported by pillows, which needed to 
 be differently placed every few minutes, to change his posi- 
 tion and give him relief. His pain and weariness were un- 
 utterable. This fact gave rise to some painfully interesting 
 remarks. Thus, at one time, after he had lain on the bed a 
 few moments, he said, " I can find no rest — tried the bed, 
 but my body is sore all over. I cannot lie on it. What 
 must a man do when he can neither lie nor sit ? O weary, 
 weary me ! When shall I find rest — rest in the grave ?" 
 Again, after a fruitless effort to lie down, he said, " I have 
 always thought I should have a lingering sickness, but an 
 
PATIENCE. SELF-POSSESSION. 
 
 451 
 
 easy death. I would like to have my bed my dying pillow ; 
 but my Saviour died on the cross." He then repeated the 
 stanza commencing 
 
 " How bitter that cup," 
 
 and ending, 
 
 " Did Jesus thus suffer, and shall I repine 1" 
 
 At another time, when nature seemed exhausted and life 
 was fast ebbing out, as he was lifted from the bed to his 
 chair, he sighed forth, " From the chair to the throne !" 
 
 During the entire period of his unparalleled sufferings, his 
 patience was wonderful. No expression of dissatisfaction 
 escaped him, nor any appearance of peevishness or irrita- 
 tion, even under the greatest distress, nor when disappointed 
 of expected relief. Thus, on one occasion, after many in- 
 effectual attempts to ease his pain and weariness by chan- 
 ging his position, at length looking up, with one of his sweet 
 smiles, he said, " We will try to make it do. I hope you 
 will not think me impatient because I want moving so often." 
 At another time he remarked, "I hope I am not impatient; 
 I groan and sigh a great deal ; and I have, perhaps, been 
 in the habit of it all my life" (no one else thought so) ; "but 
 I hope it is not impatience ; and I think it is not. It is only 
 one of Nature's own methods of expressing her agony ; and 
 I do not know but she finds relief in that way." 
 
 After a season of intense anguish, he said, "All this and 
 not death ? I thought I was almost home ; but if the Lord 
 bid me suffer, I would say, 4 Thy will be done !' I would 
 have no will but his. Oh, it is sweet to sink into the will 
 of God, and feel that all is well !" 
 
 It was admirable to observe how, while consciousness re- 
 mained, Dr. Fisk maintained his individuality. He was him- 
 self throughout ; only each grace, each virtue, shining, if 
 possible, with increased radiance. For thus 
 
 " The unrobing spirit cast 
 Diviner glories to the last." 
 
 This was partly seen in his observations to the great variety 
 of persons who visited him in the chamber of death. He 
 had no stereotyped phrases, which retain their form when 
 their original import is evaporated. He uttered his own 
 
452 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 unpremeditated thoughts and feelings, addressing each one 
 with admirable judgment and adaptation, and wonderful 
 variety. Thus, to an aged physician, who called as a friend 
 to see him, he remarked, " You see, sir, this poor, suffering 
 body, fast wasting away : yes, it will soon see corruption. 
 But the kernel must decay, that the germe may come forth 
 in immortal beauty. The Saviour's love has purchased it 
 for sinful man !" And to a gentleman, with whom he had 
 been often engaged in transacting business for the Universi- 
 ty, he remarked, as he held out his feeble hand to greet him 
 on his entrance, " You see me here, sir, hovering between 
 two worlds :" " And fit for either," was the expressive answer. 
 
 Towards the close of his illness, Dr. Fisk gradually ap- 
 proached a state of lethargy or coma, from which, at times, 
 it was somewhat difficult to arouse him. But even then, 
 when brought to sensibility, he manifested his usual charac- 
 teristics ; and even in his wanderings his accustomed mental 
 tendencies were clearly discerned. His remarks were often, 
 apparently, detached from some intellectual process, like 
 shining particles broken off from a diamond. Thus, at one 
 time he said, " It has saved us from many absurdities ;" at 
 another, "We do not undertake to correct popular expres- 
 sions." At one time he seemed to be preaching a sermon; 
 at another time, arranging a class, when, apparently, after 
 several ineffectual attempts to regulate them, he said, in the 
 mildest manner, " Well, if you will not do it, I cannot help 
 it ; I cannot explain myself better." At another time he 
 called for a paper : " One with Hebrew letters, adapted to 
 this case." Yet, when roused from these reveries, he was 
 alive to the name of the Saviour, and to the voice of piety 
 and devotion. 
 
 Throughout his illness, the dying saint had been distin- 
 guished no less for coolness and self-possession, than for 
 the loftiness and power of Christian faith. He watched the 
 progress of his own symptoms ; from his skill in pathology, 
 he knew how to interpret his feelings, and remarked upon 
 them with the coolness of a spectator. In consequence of 
 a partial paralysis of the nerves connected with the organs 
 of respiration, he could not breathe but by a voluntary exer- 
 
DEATH. 
 
 453 
 
 tion. Observing this, he said, " I cannot endure long. Dif- 
 ficulty of breathing prevents sleep. Breathing is voluntary, 
 and requires effort. When I lay in a doze and forget my- 
 self, I cease to breathe, and then it wakes me." At another 
 time, on opening the door to give him air, he said, " It is of 
 no use. There is air enough, but I cannot inhale. There 
 is a want of energy in the respiratory nerves. They have 
 no power. I was perfectly sensible of it yesterday, and all 
 the physicians agree in that." 
 
 February 14th, as his regular physician, Dr. Miner, was 
 examining his pulse, he faintly said, " Why do you examine 
 the pulse without prescribing ? Is it low ?" " Yes, sir, 
 very low." "Is it fluttering?" " Not yet, sir." "Not 
 yetV he replied, faintly; and then sighed out, "The hour 
 of release is at hand." 
 
 On the 19th, as one came into the room, he said, " I am 
 going very fast — filling up with water — feet and hands swell- 
 ing more ;" at the same time rubbing his hands together. 
 At another time, as he extended his dying hand to greet a 
 friend who had been sent for, he said, " I believe I am go- 
 ing ;" and soon after broke out in a distinct though interrupt- 
 ed articulation, 
 
 " ' There is my house and portion fair, 
 My treasure and my friends are there 
 
 some of them, at least, and the rest are on their way." And 
 on being asked if he still believed in the doctrines which he 
 had preached, he answered, " I do. They are God's truths, 
 and will bear the light of eternity. I should be glad to be 
 favoured with more ecstatic joy. As I draw near the celes- 
 tial world, it seems desirable to have a bright view of its 
 glories." To the Rev. Heman Bangs, who came to see him 
 in his last moments, and said that he had " dreamed of see- 
 ing him in his sick chamber, and that the room seemed filled 
 with coruscations of glory," he replied, " I have not those 
 coruscations of glory — those bright visions of the heavenly 
 world, but I have a fixed peace." 
 
 Thus he continued, gradually sinking into unconscious- 
 ness, from which it became increasingly difficult to arouse 
 him ; nevertheless, when aroused, his mind seemed perfect- 
 ly clear. On the 20th, when articulation was rapidly failing 
 
454 
 
 LIFE OF WILLBUR FISK. 
 
 him, a friend said to him, " You suffer a great deal of dis» 
 tress, sir, from fatigue and exhaustion ; but it must be over 
 soon : and how sweet is rest to a weary man. There is a 
 place ' where the wicked cease from troubling, and the 
 weary are at rest.' " He responded distinctly, " Bless God 
 for that !" And on the 21st, when he was still farther sunk 
 into coma, the same friend coming into the room, said, " I 
 have come to see you again, sir ; do you know me ?" Press- 
 ing his hand, he said in a whisper, "Yes; glorious hope !" 
 After this, when Mrs. Fisk took his hand and inquired if he 
 knew her, he returned the pressure, saying, " Yes, love, 
 yes." These, we believe, were the last words he uttered. 
 He lingered on our mortal shores until the next day, when, 
 about ten o'clock in the forenoon, his redeemed and now 
 disenthralled spirit took its flight to its kindred skies, to min- 
 gle with the Church of the first-born, and join the anthems 
 of the celestial choir. Thus the anniversary of the day that 
 gave a hero and a patriot to the world, is the anniversary of 
 the day that gave another sanctified spirit to Paradise. Let 
 the names of Washington and Fisk, both great in their re- 
 spective departments, blend in future unison. Their happy 
 spirits have long since greeted each other in the plains of 
 the brighter world above. 
 
 As the body lay in the coffin, arrayed in the habiliments 
 of the grave, its appearance was singularly lovely. Every 
 trace of its past agonies had disappeared. The brow was 
 perfectly unwrinkled, and his own peculiar smile seemed to 
 be playing about the mouth. .The anticipations of the spirit 
 appeared to have left their influence on its former dwelling- 
 place ; for 
 
 " Living light had touched the brow of death." 
 As Dr. Fisk's illness had created a deep sensation in the 
 public mind, so his death drew together a vast concourse of 
 mourners. They came from far and near. Although the 
 weather was very unfavourable, yet the large church in which 
 the services were held could not accommodate the people. 
 The funeral address, delivered by the Rev. Dr. Means, of 
 Emory College, Georgia, was appropriate and eloquent, 
 leaving few dry eyes in the congregation. The perform- 
 ance by the choir of those beautiful pieces, 
 
CONCLUSION. 
 
 455 
 
 " Unveil thy bosom, faithful tomb," 
 
 and, 
 
 " Thou art gone to the grave, but we will not deplore thee," 
 will, by many who were present, never be forgotten. The 
 body was borne to the grave, at their especial request, by 
 the Middletown company of artillery, in which Dr. Fisk had 
 held the office of chaplain. His body reposes under the 
 green sod of the College Cemetery, near to those of Profess- 
 or John M. Smith, Aaron H. Hurd, and some others, with 
 whom he had held " sweet converse'' among the living. 
 Thus far not one has been interred in that ground but in a 
 bright hope of the glorious resurrection ; and when they shall 
 come forth, a radiant band, at the sound of the last trump, 
 then shall Fisk appear as the central star, and the brightest 
 in the constellation. A plain monumental shaft marks the 
 place of his repose, bearing in front the simple inscription, 
 
 "WILLBUR FISK, S.T.D., 
 
 " FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY :" 
 
 and on the reverse, the dates of his birth and death. 
 
 No monumental eulogy could enumerate his virtues, and 
 no other title was needed to secure his individuality. 
 
 His age was forty-seven years, five months, and twenty- 
 two days. 
 
 Having taken great pains, in the progress of this work, to 
 draw out and fairly exhibit the distinctive features of our 
 subject's character, we deem it unnecessary to append any 
 formal delineation. Besides, after the scenes just described, 
 we have no disposition to obtrude ourselves longer upon the 
 reader's attention. God grant that the perusal of these 
 memorials may awaken in many hearts ardent aspirations 
 after similar excellence. Our subject, as we infer from 
 one of his letters, set before himself the beautiful model of 
 the " heavenly Fletcher of Madely ;" we commend to imita- 
 tion the bright example of Willbur Fisk. May you, dear 
 reader, so " follow him as he followed Christ." 
 
 THE END. 
 
New-York. 1842. 
 
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 in Successive Ages, who have 
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 has been imputed by others, the 
 exercise of Magical Power. By 
 William Godwin. 
 
 LUCIEN BONAPARTE.—Memoirs 
 of Lucien Bonaparte (Prince of 
 Canino). 12mo. 
 
 EDMUND KE AN. — Life of Ed- 
 mund Kean. By Barry Cornwall 
 (B. W. Procter, Esq.). 12mo 
 
HEAVEN. 339 
 
 if°hc cannot have a 
 niM\ril, In- may have, 
 
 Columbus across ihe 
 sub. inlinat i< >n within 
 peetedlv wild waves 
 
 t so much conference concc: 
 Scripture, and am now best i 
 solve thee of any doubts C( 
 
 and feared not the iron-L 
 ingcd and ihe unknown ten 
 set foot? It was the hop< 
 
 it pnsMhle that thy understands* 
 ■mpivhend I ho least of those i'ivs." 
 2002. HEAVEN, Mansiona in. "T\ 
 
 2808. HEAVEN, Ideas , 
 mthev's view, the home 
 ift'cd spirits uf our ra 
 
 tl:r -il 
 
 lowshi, 
 fclndi spear 
 
 tli 1 1 h>- v. i. under r. -t i nut : that the :rcai hit 
 secrets of the spiritual universe were hid lion ' Tl 
 him; that death would break down th bafriab: 
 rier, and would give his spirit I'm- s< >pe t( wli 
 
 QtJ and Gondo: 
 Id for him a ma 
 i much gold ai 
 
 gleat p„. r( , 
 
 away the hoi 
 old apothegn 
 death-davof 
 
 jierfcct sense of it, which he co 
 
 2800. HEAVEN, Indescribable. 
 
 could comprehend or antieipati 
 majestic cloud, the oracular v 
 shadows which recede as we 
 the mind with amazement, bu 
 to approach, and examine wh; 
 wish, when I have climbed to t 
 nacle to which thought can m 
 railed to confess that I have r 
 
 th- 
 
 I'the 
 
 HEAVEN, Inheriting. As 
 
 soul inhet 
 
 2001. HEAVEN, Joya of. Sfc^AugUI 
 us, that one day he was about to wr 
 thing upon the ei-hth verse of the th 
 Psalm, " Thou shalt make them 
 
 ! have been in paradise; 
 . to me a wondrous p.il- 
 ■r and precious stones ; 
 .the palace that Thomas 
 It for thy brother King 
 lien the kili'j heard tlu-e 
 
 2003. HEAVEN, Mementoes in. As an illn-tra- 
 m how the spirit may eling to something we 
 ny have loved in this lite, permit ine to reler 
 a beautiful legend told in Danish poetry, 
 n angel has just been down to this world to 
 eompany the soul of a little -irl up to heav- 
 i. As they are going back, the child no- 
 es that the angel bears a ruse-tree in one of 
 , baud-, and asks the meaning of it. The 
 
IMPORTANT NOTICE. 
 
 We desire to call the especial attention of the Clergy and the religious public to 
 ou r new book, Trm History of the Gkeat Republic from toe Christian Stand- 
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 will give tme 1 
 
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 of style, which make it a favorite with the|]eople. Scores of competent reviewers, 
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 PETER THE GREAT.— Memoir of 
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Voyages, Travels, etc. 
 
 5 
 
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 By Alexander Slidell Mackenzie, 
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 By Rev. John Cormack. 18ino. 
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 BARON CUVIER.— Life of Baron 
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 vo 
 
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 SLIDELL'S SPAIN REVISITED. 
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 MARTYRS OF SCIENCE.— The 
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 TC. 
 
 REED AND MATHESON'S VIS- 
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6 
 
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 LIFE BEFORE THE MAST.— 
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 Narrative of Discovery and Ad- 
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 PARK'S TRAVELS. — Life and 
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 Engravings. [Fain. Lib., No. 105.] 
 
 LIVES OF TRAVELLERS.— 
 Lives of Celebrated Travellers. 
 Bv James Augustus St. John. 3 
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 57. — Mudie's Popular Guide to the 
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 59. — Dick on the Improvement of 
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 60. — James's History of Charle- 
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 61 . — Russell's History of Nubia and 
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14 
 
 Classical Library. — School District Library. 
 
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 77. — Ticknor's Philosophy of Living. 
 
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 94, 95. — Pursuit of Knowledge un- 
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 96, 97.— Paley's Natural Theology : 
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 103.— Lossing's History of the Fine 
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 104. — Natural History of Quadru- 
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 105. — Life and Travels of Mungo 
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 106. — Dana's Two Years before the 
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 107. 108. — Parry's Four Voyages for 
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 109, 110.— Life of Doctor Johnson; 
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 111. — Bryant's Selection from Amer- 
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 112, 113.— Halleck's Selection from 
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 114, 115, 116, 117, 118.— Keightley's 
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 119, 120.— Hale's History of the Uni- 
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 121, 122.— Irving's Life of Gold- 
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 123, 124.— Distinguished Men of 
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 125. — Renwick's Life of De Witt 
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 126, 127. — Mackenzie's Life of Com- 
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 129.— Life and Travels of Bruce : by 
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 132. — Manners and Customs of the 
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 133. — Dwight's History of Connec- 
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 134. 135.— Ruins of Ancient Cities: 
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 136, 137.— History of Denmark, Nor- 
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 138. — Camp on Democracy. 
 
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 141. 142.— Count Segur's History of 
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 143, 144.— History of Philosophy: 
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 145. — Bucke's Beauties, Harmonics, 
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 146. — Lieber's Essays on Property 
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 147. — White's Natural History of 
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 148. — Wrangell's Expedition to Si- 
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 149, 150.— Popular Technology ; or, 
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 151, 152, 153— Italy and the Italian 
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 Now comprising 36 vols. 18mo, embellished with Portraits. Bound uniformly, but each work sold separately 
 
 Nos. 1, 2. — Xenophon : translated 
 
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 3, 4. — Leland's Demosthenes. 
 
 5. — Rose's Sallust. 
 
 6, 7. — Duncan's Csesar. 
 
 8,9,10. — Cicero: translated by Dun- 
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 11, 12. — Virgil: translated by Wrang- 
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 13. — Potter's ^Eschylus. 
 
 14. — Francklin's Sophocles. 
 
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 22, 23.— Smith's Thucydides. 
 
 24, 25, 26, 27, 28.— Baker's Livy. 
 29, 30, 31.— Beloe's Herodotus. 
 32, 33, 34.— Pope's Homer. 
 
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 Poor Man : by Miss Sedgwick. 
 
 4, 5. The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 6, 7. Natural History of Insects. 
 
 8. The Son of a Genius : by Mrs. 
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 9, 10, 11. American History : by the 
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 13, 14. Life of Napoleon Bonaparte. 
 
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 16, 17. Thatcher's Indian Traits, 
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 18. Discovery and Adventure in Af- 
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 Murray. 
 
 19. Uncle Philip's Conversations 
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 20. Mudie's Popular Guide to the 
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 51, 52. Life of Franklin, by Him- 
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 Works. 
 
 53, 54. The Farmer's Instructer : by 
 
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 55, 56. Pursuit of Knowledge under 
 
 Difficulties : its Pleasures and 
 
 Rewards. 
 57. Griscom's Animal Mechanism 
 
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 FIRST SERIES. 
 
 21. Perils of the Sea. 
 
 22. Abercrombie's Inquiries concern- 
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 23. Montgomery's Lectures on Gen- 
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 24. Dick's Celestial Scenery. 
 
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 26. James's History of Chivalry and 
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 28. Live and let Live : by Miss Sedg- 
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 31. Circumnavigation of the Globe. 
 
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 35. Barrow's Life of Peter the Great. 
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 58. The Elephant, as he exists in a 
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 59. Vegetable Substances used for 
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 60. 61, 62, 63, 64, 65. Tytler's Uni- 
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 66. Moseley's Illustrations of Me- 
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 38. Dick on the Improvement of So- 
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 39. Physical Condition of the Earth : 
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 40. Abercrombie's Philosophy of the 
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 41. 42. Mrs. Jameson's Memoirs of 
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 43. Uncle Philip's History of Vir> 
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 44. The Ornaments discovered : by 
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 45. Uncle Philip's Conversations 
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 46. 47. Uncle Philip's Account of 
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 48. Lives and Voyages of Drake, 
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 49, 50. Dunlap's New-York. 
 
 67. Polar Seas and Regions. 
 
 68, 69. Paley's Natural Theology : 
 edited by Lord Brougham, Sir 
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 70-79. Sparks's American Biogra- 
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 70. Lives of Gen. Stark, by Everett 
 — Chas. Brockden Brown, by Pres- 
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 strong—Col. Allen, by "Spark*. 
 
School District Library. 15 
 
 71. Lives of Alex. Wilson, by Pea- 
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 72. Life and Treason of Arnold. 
 
 73. Lives of Gen. Wayne, by Arm- 
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 74. Francis's Life of John Eliot, the 
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 75. Lives of Pinkney, by Wheaton — 
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 76. Lives of Sir William Phips, by 
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 Miss Sedgwick — David Ritten- 
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 99. Renwick's Applications of Me- 
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 100. 101. Parry's Voyages for the 
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 102, 103, 104, 105, 106. Keightloy's 
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 107, 108. Mackenzie's Life of Com- 
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 109, 110. Irving's Life of Goldsmith, 
 and Selections from his Writings. 
 
 Ill, 112. Murray's Account of Brit- 
 ish America. 
 
 113. Upham on Imperfect and Disor- 
 dered Mental Action. 
 
 114. Bryant's Selections from Amer- 
 ican Poets. 
 
 146, 147, 148. Belknap's American 
 Biography ; with Additions, &c, 
 by F. M. Hubbard, Esq. 
 
 149. Manners and Customs of the 
 Japanese. 
 
 150, 151. Count Segur's History of 
 Napoleon's Expedition to Russia. 
 
 152. Brewster's Lives of Galileo, 
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 153, 154. American Adventure by 
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 Instances of Enterprise and For- 
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 155. History of Iceland, Greenland, 
 and the Faroe Islands. 
 
 156. Fenelon's Lives of the Ancient 
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 157. History of the Fine Arts. 
 
 158. Perilous Adventures ; remarka- 
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 159. Lanman's History of Michigan. 
 160, 161. Ruins of Ancient Cities, &c. 
 
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 History of Tom Jones : by Field- 
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 History of Amelia : by Fielding. 
 
 Expedition of Humphry Clinker: 
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 Adventures of Roderick Random : 
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 Adventures of Gil Bias : by Le 
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 78. Lives of Baron Steuben, by Bow- 
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 — General Eaton, by Felton. 
 
 79. Lives of Fulton, by Renwick — 
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 80. Humboldt's Travels and Re- 
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 81. Goldsmith's History of Greece : 
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 120. Nott's Counsels to Young Men. 
 
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 166. Natural History of Selborne : 
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 171, 172. The Landers' Travels in 
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 173. Memes's Memoirs of Josephine. 
 
 174, 175. History of Philosophy : 
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 176. James's History of Charlemagne. 
 
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 Richelieu : a Tale of France. 
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 Philip Augustus ; or, the Brothers 
 
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 Henry Masterton ; or, the Young 
 
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 Mary of Burgundy ; or, the Revolt 
 
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 John Marston Hall. 2 vols. 
 The Gipsy. 
 
 One in a Thousand ; or, the Days 
 
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 The Desultory Man. 2 vols. 
 • ♦til*, -aw. 
 
 86. Lee's Elements of Geology, for 
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 87. Goldsmith's History of Rome : 
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 88. Armstrong's Treatise on Agri- 
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 89. The Natural History of Quadru- 
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 90. Chaptal's Chemistry applied to 
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 91. Dwight's Lives of the Signers of 
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 other Objects connected with As- 
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 136. First Principles of Chemistry : 
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 138. The Family Instructer : aMan- 
 ual of the Duties, &c, of Domes- 
 tic Life. 
 
 139. History of Connecticut. 
 
 140. Stories for Young Persons : by 
 Miss Sedgwick. 
 
 141. 142, 143. History of France. 
 144, 145. Scott's History of Scotland. 
 
 177, 178. Popular Technology , or, 
 Professions and Trades. 
 
 179. Scott's Letters on Demonology 
 and Witchcraft. 
 
 180. Bunner's History of Louisiana. 
 
 181. Court and Camp of Bonaparte. 
 
 182. Fletcher's History of Poland. 
 
 183. Maury's Principles of Elo- 
 quence : edited by Rev. Dr. Potter. 
 
 184. Woman in America ; her Mor- 
 al and Intellectual Condition : by 
 Mrs. A. J. Graves. 
 
 185. Russell's Nubia and Abyssinia. 
 
 186. Description of Pitcairn's Island, 
 Mutiny of the Bounty, &c. 
 
 187. Fraser's History of Persia. 
 
 188. Xenophon's Cyropaedia ; or, In- 
 stitution of Cyrus : translated by 
 Cooper. 
 
 189. Sismondi's History of the Ital- 
 ian Republics. 
 
 190. History of Switzerland. 
 
 191. 192, 193, 194, 195. Dunham'0 
 History of Spain and Portugal. 
 
 The Robber. 2 vols. 
 
 The Huguenot ; a Tale of the 
 
 French Protestants. 2 vols. 
 Charles Tyrrell; or, the Bitter 
 
 Blood. 2 vols. 
 The Gentleman of the Old School. 
 Henry of Guise ; or, the States 
 
 of Blois. 2 vols. 
 The King's Highway. 2 vols. 
 The Man at Arms ; or, Henry de 
 
 Cerons. 2 vols. 
 Corse de Leon ; or, the Brigand, 
 The Ancient Regime. 2"vols. 
 The Jacquerie. 2 vols. 
 The above, bound in 42 volumes. 
 The String of Pearls. 
 Blanche of Navarre. 
 
 FIFTH SERIES IS IN PREPARATION. 
 
DATE DUE 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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