LIBRARY 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 SANTA BARBARA 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 MRS. MACKINLEY HELM
 
 JOHN COTTON BROOKS

 
 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 BY 
 JAMES CLEMENT SHARP 
 
 FORMERLY ASSISTANT MINISTER AT CHRIST CHURCH 
 SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS 
 
 CAMBRIDGE 
 
 PRINTED BY THE UNIVERSITY PRESS 
 MCMIX
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1909 
 BY JAMES C. SHARP
 
 
 S43 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 THIS book is an attempt to put in a 
 concrete and detailed form some facts of 
 an active and successful ministry. In the 
 midst of the changing religious thought 
 and conditions of his time John Cotton 
 Brooks exhibited a singleness of aim, 
 with a consecration and a devotion to 
 duty, that was as remarkable as it was 
 fruitful. The first chapter contains a 
 sketch of two Puritan families, the 
 Brooks and the Phillips, from the time 
 of their arrival on these New England 
 shores until they were united two hundred 
 years later by the marriage of William 
 Gray Brooks and Mary Ann Phillips, 
 the parents of Mr. Brooks. The second
 
 iv PREFACE 
 
 chapter is an account of the family in- 
 fluences of his early life. With these 
 facts in mind we can better understand 
 the forces which moulded his character 
 and set his face towards the work he was 
 to accomplish in later years. In the 
 remaining chapters the emphasis is upon 
 the Springfield ministry. 
 
 Mr. Brooks began his ministry at 
 Christ Church, Springfield, Massachu- 
 setts, when the financial difficulties of the 
 parish were very great. At the end of 
 his first four years, when the debt had 
 increased rather than diminished, he 
 declined a unanimous call to become 
 rector of the Church of the Intercession, 
 New York City. Duty bade him re- 
 main and work out the problem to which 
 he believed God had called him. For 
 nearly a quarter of a century he labored 
 to remove the debt. Meanwhile he
 
 PREFACE v 
 
 succeeded in building up Christ Church, 
 until it became at the time of his death 
 the second largest Episcopal parish in 
 New England. The secret of his suc- 
 cess was his pastoral love. He knew 
 his people, and he won their friend- 
 ship. He aimed to be with them in 
 the trials and sorrows of life. Above 
 all else his Church and his people came 
 first. 
 
 He served the city as effectively as he 
 did his parish. In his deep sense of 
 justice, and in his patriotic impulses 
 there glowed the fire which impelled him 
 in every effort for social reform and civic 
 betterment. In such work he was earnest, 
 intelligent, and practical. He sought to 
 ennoble and uplift the standard of living, 
 morally and spiritually in the city, as he 
 did in the Church. His self-sacrificing 
 spirit in helping humanity, both within
 
 vi PREFACE 
 
 and without his parish, stands conspicuous 
 as a witness to his simple but profound 
 faith in God and man. 
 
 He preached Jesus Christ with an 
 earnestness and conviction that brought 
 sure and lasting results. At times he was 
 eloquent, always persuasive, aiming to 
 lead his people to a spiritual outlook, that 
 they might see their own capacities for 
 higher and nobler living. His purpose 
 was to instruct in God's word, to arouse 
 the conscience, and to make real the 
 power of God and Christ. 
 
 In the hope that this book may be of 
 interest to his parishioners and friends, 
 and in some measure a source of help 
 and inspiration to others into whose 
 hands it may fall, perchance to young 
 men entering the ministry of Jesus Christ, 
 I send it forth as the record of the 
 life of a good and consecrated man.
 
 PREFACE vii 
 
 The materials for the making of this 
 brief biography have come from the 
 reminiscences of his parishioners and 
 friends, and from my own association 
 with Mr. Brooks for more than seven 
 years as assistant minister. To the late 
 Rev. A. V. G. Allen, D.D., of Cam- 
 bridge, I am indebted for advice and 
 encouragement in beginning this book, 
 and to the members of the family, Mrs. 
 John Cotton Brooks, and the Misses 
 Brooks, Mr. William Gray Brooks, and 
 Rev. Daniel Dulany Addison, D.D., for 
 their sympathy and assistance. To 
 Messrs. E. P. Dutton and Company, the 
 publishers of the life of Phillips Brooks, 
 I am indebted for the kind permission 
 to use some extracts from letters. To the 
 Rt. Rev. William Lawrence, D.D., 
 Bishop of Massachusetts, and to Rev. 
 George Hodges, D.D., Dean of the Epis-
 
 viii PREFACE 
 
 copal Theological School at Cambridge, 
 I am deeply grateful for generous help 
 
 and kind suggestions. 
 
 J. C. S. 
 
 WABAN (NEWTON), MASS., May, 1909.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. Two PURITAN FAMILIES 13 
 
 II. THE EARLY YEARS 26 
 
 III. THE BEGINNING OF THE SPRINGFIELD 
 
 MINISTRY 43 
 
 IV. THE GROWTH OF THE PARISH. . . 57 
 V. THE SUCCESS OF THE SOCIETIES . . 72 
 
 VI. TRAITS THAT HELPED 91 
 
 VII. BEYOND THE PARISH 101 
 
 VIII. THE PREACHER 120 
 
 IX. THE MINISTER OF CONSOLATION . . 140 
 
 X. Two MEMORABLE SERVICES . . . 158 
 
 XI. THE LAST VOYAGE 178
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 PORTRAIT OF THE REV. JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 Frontispiece 
 
 CHRIST CHURCH 50 
 
 THE PARISH HOUSE 50 
 
 THE RECTORY 92 
 
 MR. BROOKS IN HIS VESTMENTS .... 120
 
 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 TWO PURITAN FAMILIES 
 
 IN the year 1630 Thomas Brooks heard 
 the first sermon preached in Watertown, 
 Massachusetts. The Minister was Rev. 
 George Phillips. These two were the 
 first ancestors of John Cotton Brooks to 
 settle in this country, and they were also 
 among the first settlers of Watertown. A 
 family record tells us that in company 
 with Governor John Winthrop they ar- 
 rived at Salem Harbor in the ship "Ara- 
 bella," the twelfth of June, 1630. Thomas 
 Brooks lived a few years in Watertown, 
 and then moved to Concord. He was a 
 well-to-do farmer, as is evidenced by his
 
 14 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 purchase of a farm at Medford, on which 
 his son Caleb settled after his marriage, 
 and there two sons, Ebenezer and Sam- 
 uel, were born to him. From this time 
 the Brooks family is closely identified 
 with the history of Medford. 
 
 In the year 1635 Thomas Boylston 
 arrived at Boston. His son, Dr. Thomas 
 Boylston, had a family of twelve children, 
 of whom one, named Peter, was a direct 
 ancestor of John Adams, the second Presi- 
 dent of the United States. The name of 
 Boylston was to become conspicuous later 
 in the history of Boston and Harvard Col- 
 lege. Abigail, a daughter of Dr. Boyls- 
 ton, married Ebenezer Brooks, and their 
 grandson was John Brooks. At the out- 
 break of the Revolutionary War this John 
 Brooks led a company at the battle of Lex- 
 ington, fought at Bunker Hill and Sara- 
 toga, and step by step was raised in rank,
 
 TWO PURITAN FAMILIES 15 
 
 until at the battle of Monmouth he was 
 acting adjutant-general. As a confidant 
 and friend of Washington he attained a 
 high place in the councils of the nation. 
 After the Revolution he practised his 
 profession as a physician, keeping in 
 touch meanwhile with public life. He 
 was Governor of Massachusetts for seven 
 years, and died in 1825. 
 
 Through Samuel Brooks, the half- 
 brother of Ebenezer, came the direct line 
 of descent to John Cotton Brooks. He 
 married Sarah Boylston, a sister of Abi- 
 gail, and their son Samuel had a son of 
 the same name, who had four sons and 
 one daughter. It fell to Edward Brooks, 
 the second son, to be the first representa- 
 tive of his family in the ministry. He set- 
 tled at North Yarmouth, Maine, where 
 differences between him and his parishion- 
 ers arose, as to his theological doctrines.
 
 16 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 He was more liberal than his congrega- 
 tion, and his anti-Calvinistic tendencies 
 were to them a sore grievance. After 
 giving them his blessing, and expressing 
 the hope that "they may get another 
 pastor who shall feed them with spiritual 
 knowledge and understanding," he re- 
 signed his charge and returned to Med- 
 ford. Although out of health when the 
 call to arms came in 1775, but "with a 
 competent share of courage," he hurried 
 away from Medford to engage in the Con- 
 cord fight. Afterwards, as chaplain of the 
 frigate "Hancock," he was captured by 
 the British and carried to Halifax, where 
 he had the smallpox. He returned to 
 Medford and died soon after, in 1781. 
 
 Abigail Brown, his wife, the daughter 
 of Joanna Cotton of Haverhill, was the 
 great-granddaughter of Rev. John Cot- 
 ton, the first minister of Boston, and also
 
 TWO PURITAN FAMILIES 17 
 
 the great-grandmother of John Cotton 
 Brooks. Their son, Cotton Brown Brooks, 
 the grandfather of John Cotton Brooks, 
 settled in Portland, Maine, where he be- 
 came an honored citizen and a prosperous 
 business man. His son, William Gray 
 Brooks, at the age of nineteen came to 
 Boston to seek his fortunes. His father's 
 brother, Peter Chardon Brooks, lived 
 at Medford, and to his house William 
 went as a frequent visitor. Peter Chardon 
 Brooks was said to be the richest man in 
 Boston at the time of his death in 1849. 
 
 The members of the Brooks family 
 were thus typical New Englanders. In 
 early days they were tillers of the soil, 
 and were prosperous. As time went on 
 they came to the cities and were success- 
 ful in business life. In the words of the 
 family record, "Of the Brooks family who 
 came to Medford from the time of the 
 
 2
 
 18 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 first Caleb, they were worthy men in com- 
 fortable circumstances, rather rich for 
 farmers, men of influence in town affairs. 
 None except the Governor were men of 
 distinction as magistrates, except that 
 some of them were Justices of the Peace, 
 and representatives to the General Court." 
 When we turn to the Phillips family, we 
 find them graduates of Harvard, ministers 
 of great influence, men eminent in vari- 
 ous offices of State, founders of institu- 
 tions of learning, and men who showed by 
 their acts a reverence for the past, and a 
 deep responsibility as to the future. In 
 Church, and State, and in social life they 
 were conspicuous. 
 
 The Rev. George Phillips, who sailed 
 with Governor Winthrop for New Eng- 
 land in 1630, had been ordained in the 
 Church of England. He cast his lot with 
 the Puritans and came across the seas to
 
 TWO PURITAN FAMILIES 19 
 
 aid in establishing a new form of worship, 
 for fourteen years ministering to the little 
 settlement at Watertown. He died in 
 1644. Winthrop speaks well of him in 
 his journal, as a scholar of ability and a 
 good preacher. He was a lover of liberty, 
 both political and religious, and guarded 
 with a jealous eye any encroachments 
 upon his own church rights by other 
 churches or by the civil authorities. He 
 believed in independent church govern- 
 ment, and later his views were formulated 
 into Congregationalism. As to political 
 liberty, he remonstrated when the Gov- 
 ernor levied a tax without the consent of 
 the people, and before the next tax was 
 levied two representatives were appointed 
 from each plantation to consider the 
 question he had raised. 
 
 The Rev. Samuel Phillips, his son, was 
 graduated from Harvard College in 1650.
 
 20 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 For forty-five years he labored in his 
 parish at Rowley, until his death in 1696. 
 His son of the same name became a 
 goldsmith at Salem, and married Mary 
 Emerson of Gloucester, a clergyman's 
 daughter. Their son was the Rev. Sam- 
 uel Phillips, the third of that name. He 
 was graduated at Harvard and studied 
 for the ministry, and in 1711 was ordained 
 at the South Church, Andover. With his 
 ministry begins the association of the 
 Phillips family with the town of Andover. 
 He was a stern Puritan, and as such is 
 said to have been a representative spirit 
 of the eighteenth century. A strong 
 Calvinist, he preached with power, and 
 wielded a great influence over the lives 
 of his parishioners. An hour-glass upon 
 his pulpit desk measured the length of 
 his sermons. When family evening pray- 
 ers were said his sense of economy
 
 TWO PURITAN FAMILIES 21 
 
 prompted him to blow out his candle, but 
 he was able to send his sons to Harvard 
 College, and give away a tenth of his 
 income. 
 
 The Honorable Samuel Phillips, who 
 represented the next generation, instead 
 of entering the ministry chose a business 
 career. He accumulated wealth and be- 
 came active in political life. As a mem- 
 ber of the House of Representatives and 
 of the Council of the Commonwealth he 
 was respected for his ability and charac- 
 ter. He built the Phillips homestead at 
 North Andover. His son Samuel, known 
 as Judge Phillips, was the great-grand- 
 father of John Cotton Brooks. 
 
 Judge Phillips was born in 1752. While 
 at Harvard College he showed marked 
 ability and diligence, standing seventh in 
 his class, and he was the first president 
 of the "Institute of 1770," a society still
 
 22 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 popular at Harvard. It was in those 
 days that a romance began which was to 
 affect the future history of Andover. 
 Phoebe Foxcroft was of a prominent 
 Cambridge family, a woman of rare gifts 
 and of a vivacious nature, but Phoebe 
 happened to be nine years older than her 
 lover, and his parents objected to their 
 marriage. It was only Samuel's illness 
 after his graduation that gained him their 
 consent. They were married in 1773, and 
 took up their new life at the old Phillips 
 homestead in North Andover, and later, 
 upon his presidential tour in 1789, Wash- 
 ington visited them. Judge Phillips be- 
 came interested in many business enter- 
 prises, and during the Revolutionary War 
 manufactured gunpowder, digging salt- 
 petre out of his cellar. As owner of a 
 grist-mill, a sawmill, and of stores in 
 Andover and Methuen, he received a
 
 TWO PURITAN FAMILIES 23 
 
 large income. To his business ability 
 were added qualities of statesmanship. 
 For fifteen years he was President of the 
 State Senate, and for sixteen years Judge 
 of the Essex Court of Common Pleas. 
 He was an Overseer of Harvard College 
 for twenty years, and the year before his 
 death was elected Lieutenant- Governor 
 of Massachusetts. He won his greatest 
 distinction, however, as one of the found- 
 ers of Phillips Andover Academy, which 
 received more than one hundred thou- 
 sand dollars from different members of 
 his family. By his influence, his uncle, 
 John Phillips of Exeter, gave liberally to 
 its foundation, and at the same time 
 founded a similar academy at Exeter. 
 
 The religious spirit of his fathers was 
 strong in Judge Phillips and the ruling 
 motive of his life. With a profound sense 
 of his responsibility to God, he aimed to
 
 24 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 apply his wealth to the highest and noblest 
 ends. His sudden death in 1802, at the 
 age of fifty, however, left his long cher- 
 ished plans incomplete. His wife, Phoebe 
 Foxcroft, showed both strength of char- 
 acter and ability when she established in 
 1808, with the aid of her son, the Andover 
 Theological Seminary. 
 
 The son of Judge Phillips and Phcebe 
 Foxcroft was John Phillips, the grand- 
 father of John Cotton Brooks. After his 
 graduation from Harvard College he 
 studied law, but on account of ill health 
 gave up its practice. As an orator he 
 achieved distinction in public life. He 
 was a member of the State Senate, and a 
 Governor's Aid, but his part in the found- 
 ing of the Andover Theological Seminary 
 was considered the crowning achieve- 
 ment of his life. He married Lydia, the 
 daughter of Nathaniel Gorham of Charles-
 
 TWO PURITAN FAMILIES 25 
 
 town, and another daughter married Peter 
 Chardon Brooks of Medford. Thus John 
 Phillips and Peter Chardon Brooks were 
 brothers-in-law. It was at her uncle's 
 Medford home that Mary Ann Phillips 
 came from Andover to visit, and there she 
 met her future husband, William Gray 
 Brooks. They were the parents of John 
 Cotton Brooks. Thus in 1833, after a 
 period of a little more than two hundred 
 years, the direct descendants of Rev. 
 George Phillips, the first minister at 
 Watertown, and his parishioner, Thomas 
 Brooks, were joined together in marriage.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 THE EARLY YEARS 
 
 OF the six sons of William Gray Brooks 
 and his wife, Mary Ann Phillips, four en- 
 tered the ministry of the Episcopal Church. 
 John Cotton Brooks, the youngest, was 
 born at 3 Rowe Street (now a part of 
 Chauncy Street), Boston, August 29, 
 1849. On All Saints' Day of the same 
 year his parents took him to St. Paul's 
 Church, where he was baptized by the 
 Rev. Dr. Vinton. 
 
 His father, according to the custom of 
 the day, kept a diary, in which from the 
 time of their birth he recorded many facts 
 in the lives of his six sons. He tells us that 
 John weighed nine pounds at birth, and 
 walked at nineteen months. He gives us
 
 THE EARLY YEARS 27 
 
 the exact date of his inoculation and 
 states that it took well. He records the 
 diseases of his youth. Such trifling facts 
 were absurd to relate, did they not show a 
 devotion and interest which led the fond 
 father to chronicle in later years more im- 
 portant facts, such as how his sons pro- 
 gressed, and when and where they began 
 their life-work. Above all, such details tell 
 us of parental love and pride, and afford 
 us a glimpse of the close relationship 
 which existed in the Brooks' household. 
 At the age of six John was sent to a pri- 
 vate school kept by Miss Capen. As a 
 boy he was very shy, and on his first day 
 at school he remained under the table and 
 refused to come out, this was jokingly 
 referred to in after years by his brothers 
 as an instance of his youthful modesty. 
 It must be left for the reader to deter- 
 mine whether his presence at a school
 
 28 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 exhibition, where his father found him 
 sitting on the front settee,, contentedly 
 listening to the speaking, was due to the 
 passing of his shyness, or to his early thirst 
 for knowledge, for John had reached the 
 age of nine. 
 
 The fact that four of the sons chose the 
 ministry is evidence of the influence of 
 their home training, both secular and re- 
 ligious. Family prayers were said twice a 
 day, and on Sunday afternoons the Bible 
 was read aloud and each son recited a 
 hymn. The father kept in a little book a 
 list of the hymns learned by the boys. 
 John was very fond of being read to by 
 his parents. In later years, with his own 
 children about him, he read a story for 
 an hour each night, and if some duty in- 
 terrupted, they would eagerly await his 
 return. His love for children was re- 
 vealed in his fondness for juvenile books.
 
 THE EARLY YEARS 29 
 
 When Sunday came the Brooks family 
 went regularly to church, and in after 
 years John laid great emphasis upon the 
 church as a home. "Take such a pew as 
 you can always keep, " he said one day to 
 a woman who was selecting a pew; "it 
 will become a church home that your chil- 
 dren will always hold sacred after you 
 have passed away." Then his mind wan- 
 dered back to his youth, and he said 
 that it seemed but yesterday since his 
 own parents walked into St. Paul's 
 Church, Boston, with his brothers and 
 himself following them into the pew, 
 where during their boyhood years they 
 spent their Sunday mornings. 
 
 In 1839, ten years before John's birth, 
 his parents began to go to St. Paul's 
 Episcopal Church. For the six years pre- 
 ceding they had attended the First Church, 
 which had been the charge of their ances-
 
 30 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 tor, Rev. John Cotton, the first minister 
 of Boston. The pastor at that time, the 
 Rev. N. L. Frothingham, was a relative 
 of Mr. Brooks. 
 
 As her family increased Mrs. Brooks 
 became deeply solicitous about their re- 
 ligious training. The family traditions, 
 and the efforts of her father and her 
 grandmother, Phoebe Foxcroft, in the 
 founding of the Andover Theological 
 Seminary, made it difficult for her to 
 identify herself permanently with the Uni- 
 tarian church. Becoming dissatisfied, she 
 looked about for another place of worship. 
 At that time the rector of St. Paul's Church 
 was the Rev. Dr. Stone, a representative 
 low Churchman. To him Mrs. Brooks 
 went for counsel and advice, and in 1839 
 she was confirmed in the Episcopal 
 Church. When the Rev. Dr. Vinton, the 
 foremost preacher in Boston of his day,
 
 THE EARLY YEARS 31 
 
 became rector a few years later, there 
 began a pastoral relationship with the 
 Brooks family that was to exert for many 
 years a remarkable influence over the lives 
 of its members. In 1847, Mr. Brooks, 
 although at first indifferent to a change in 
 his church life, through the influence of his 
 wife and Doctor Vinton, was also con- 
 firmed. Thus the Brooks and the Phillips 
 families returned to the Church which 
 their ancestors had left over two cen- 
 turies before. 
 
 John Cotton Brooks strongly resembled 
 his mother, and from her he inherited a 
 passion for righteousness and a devotion 
 to duty which were the chief characteris- 
 tics of his ministry. Physically he resem- 
 bled her also, never robust nor strong, 
 but with a highly organized nervous tem- 
 perament which kept him working on, 
 often when the frailty of the body forbade
 
 32 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 it. His father was a practical man of 
 affairs, a strong character, interested 
 in the topics of the day. A devoted hus- 
 band and father, he gave of his means 
 unsparingly for the education of his sons. 
 He was patient and broad-minded, and 
 possessing the confidence of his sons, 
 he was always a wise counselor and a 
 most interested helper. 
 
 Thus John Cotton Brooks inherited 
 from his mother a desire to set the world 
 aright, and a devotion to Christ, which 
 made him a faithful shepherd of souls, 
 while from his father came "a gift for 
 the manifold detail of life," and that prac- 
 tical interest in civic affairs that won for 
 him in after years the name of "model 
 citizen." His mother's traits and charac- 
 teristics, however, predominated. 
 
 When his brothers grew up and left 
 home for college, John, as the youngest
 
 THE EARLY YEARS 33 
 
 of the family, became the special object 
 of his mother's watchfulness and care. 
 He went with her on errands and to mar- 
 ket, and theirs was a close companionship 
 which developed in him a regard for pa- 
 rental authority and a love for home. In 
 those early years he imbibed her love for 
 God and the Church. To a parishioner 
 he once said, when she worried over the 
 future of her boys and wished that they 
 might become better Churchmen, "Don't 
 be discouraged, it will come in good time, 
 the discipline of life will bring them to it. 
 Your example will not be lost, for there is 
 nothing lost in God's economy." Was he 
 not thinking then of his mother's influence 
 upon his own life ? 
 
 As the early years passed, the older 
 brothers left for college, and the family 
 circle became smaller. At vacation times, 
 however, when the boys came home, 
 
 3
 
 34 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 there was plenty of fun, and none of his 
 brothers had more humor than John. 
 The holidays were times of special gaiety. 
 Phillips Brooks wrote home one Thanks- 
 giving Day, "What a stunner of a fowl. 
 See John measuring it solemnly with his 
 eye, and trying to make out whether he 
 or it is the biggest. . . . Here comes the 
 pudding. . . . Well, dinner 's over and 
 John's jacket just covers the small of his 
 back." 1 
 
 The years of the Civil War were passed 
 by John in the pursuit of his studies and 
 preparation for college. Too young to 
 serve as a soldier, he invariably found 
 some place in the crowds where he could 
 stand and watch each regiment pass on to 
 the scenes of battle. So strong, however, 
 was his desire to take an active part, that 
 
 1 Dr. Allen's Life of Phillip Brooks, Vol. I, p. 
 343.
 
 THE EARLY YEARS 35 
 
 he went one day to Mrs. Harrison Gray 
 Otis, of the Committee on Military Dona- 
 tions, and asked her what he could do. 
 The position of errand boy was offered to 
 him and in that capacity he served faith- 
 fully. During these years came the first 
 break in the family circle, caused by the 
 death of his brother George from typhoid 
 fever, while in the service of his country. 
 In the year 1867 John was graduated 
 from the Latin School this was also the 
 year of his confirmation. In the fall he 
 entered Harvard College without condi- 
 tions with the Class of 1871. He studied 
 hard, and as his health gave out he was 
 obliged to obtain a leave of absence from 
 college. He spent the next few months 
 at a farm in Deerfield, Massachusetts, and 
 while there his devotion to the Church 
 was shown by his going several miles, lan- 
 tern in hand, to the evening services of
 
 36 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 the Episcopal Church in Greenfield. Ill 
 health thus caused the loss of a year at 
 college, and the following autumn he 
 began again with the Class of 1872. At 
 the end of his freshman year he stood 
 ninth in his class. In those days class 
 spirit at Harvard was different from what 
 it is now, and it was harder to make the 
 friendships which are so important to the 
 college youth, when one had made a break 
 with his class. But this did not prevent his 
 making good progress in the social life, 
 for he became a member of the "Institute 
 of 1770," of which his great-grand- 
 father was first president, and also of the 
 "O. K.," and the Society of Christian 
 Brethren. He was elected a member 
 of the "Phi Beta Kappa," and in his 
 sophomore year he received a detur. 
 
 The Churchmen of the College had 
 formed the St. Paul's Society, of which
 
 THE EARLY YEARS 37 
 
 he was elected a president. His older 
 brother, Phillips Brooks, then rector of 
 Trinity Church, Boston, held a Bible class 
 at Harvard, and often addressed the mem- 
 bers of the Society. John is described by 
 a classmate as being at this time "more 
 reserved and less of a boy than his brother 
 Phillips. He had the bearing of a man of 
 thirty odd, gravely assimilating an educa- 
 tion, rather than the reckless gaiety of the 
 boy. He ripened early, but mellowed as 
 he grew older." His ill health, and his 
 diligence in his studies no doubt account 
 for the air of seriousness and reserve and 
 lack of interest in athletics, in which he 
 took no part. 
 
 He was graduated in 1872, and when 
 an opportunity to teach was given him, 
 he accepted and became a tutor at St. 
 Mark's School, Southborough, Massachu- 
 setts. Here again his health obliged him
 
 38 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 to resign after a few months. He then 
 went West and spent some months in the 
 employ of the Lake Shore Railroad in the 
 woods of Michigan. 
 
 His brothers were now well settled in 
 various positions. William, the oldest, 
 was prospering in business in Boston. 
 Phillips was rector of Trinity Church, 
 Boston. Arthur was rector of St. James 
 Church, Chicago, and Frederick was fast 
 rising to a position of eminence in the 
 Church as rector of St. Paul's Church, 
 Cleveland, Ohio. In 1872 Frederick went 
 to Lowell to obtain a teacher for the re- 
 cently established Brooks School at Cleve- 
 land. On returning to Boston, his train 
 was delayed just before reaching the 
 Boston & Lowell station. He was anx- 
 ious to keep an appointment that evening, 
 and started to walk across the draw- 
 bridge. It was a dark and stormy night.
 
 THE EARLY YEARS 39 
 
 He was near-sighted, and failing to see 
 that the floor of the bridge had been re- 
 moved for repairs, he fell through the 
 bridge and was drowned. A week later 
 his body was found in Boston harbor. His 
 loss was greatly felt, for he was a man of 
 exceptional promise, and had already 
 made for himself a name in the Church as 
 a preacher of marked ability and as a 
 man endowed with the qualities of leader- 
 ship. 
 
 With the example of his brothers, the 
 family traditions, and his own home train- 
 ing, it seemed natural for John Brooks to 
 enter the ministry. As a leader of the St. 
 Paul's Society he had shown deep interest 
 in religious matters at college, and the 
 thought of entering the ministry had come 
 to him, but he needed time to consider it. 
 In the woods of Michigan he thought out 
 the problem by himself. There he be-
 
 40 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 came convinced that he would devote his 
 life to the service of Jesus Christ. De- 
 termined to enter the Seminary at the 
 beginning of the term, he walked many 
 miles alone, in spite of the protests of the 
 guide, through the Michigan woods, and 
 traveled home to prepare himself for the 
 work to which God had called him. 
 
 The Andover Theological Seminary 
 offered at that time exceptional advan- 
 tages to young men studying for the min- 
 istry. Although it was a Congregational 
 school, it was thought that a year spent 
 there would be a good foundation for the 
 work to be continued elsewhere. The 
 excellence of the course in Hebrew espe- 
 cially appealed to him. So John Brooks 
 went to the Seminary founded by his 
 grandfather to prepare himself for the 
 Episcopal Church. The following two 
 years after leaving Andover he spent at
 
 THE EARLY YEARS 41 
 
 the Philadelphia Divinity School, from 
 which he was graduated in 1876. 
 
 At the end of his seminary course, a 
 call coming to him from St. James Church, 
 Bristol, Pennsylvania, he accepted it and 
 was ordained as deacon, and later as 
 priest by the Bishop of Pennsylvania, the 
 Rt. Rev. William Bacon Stevens, D.D. 
 His father has recorded that his salary 
 consisted of fourteen hundred dollars and 
 a rectory. Soon after his graduation he 
 was married to Miss Harriette Hall Lovett 
 of Boston, the daughter of Charles Walley 
 Lovett and Josephine DeWolf Lovett. 
 His daughter Josephine DeWolf was born 
 at Bristol. 
 
 Here, by the banks of the Delaware, he 
 worked hard, early and late, calling upon 
 everybody interested in the Church. He 
 awakened a new life in the parish and his 
 sermons attracted many people to the
 
 42 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 Church. In the midst of his work, he and 
 his young bride having been attacked by 
 malaria, their physician said that it was 
 imperative for them to leave Bristol. - 
 This was a hard thing to do, for it was his 
 first parish and he was happy and success- 
 ful in his labors. The vestry accepted his 
 resignation with much regret. He went 
 from there to Providence, Rhode Island, 
 to regain his health, and later took tem- 
 porary charge of St. Gabriel's Church. 
 
 He was called to Christ Church, Spring- 
 field, Massachusetts, in the fall of 1878. 
 His brother, Phillips Brooks, on hearing 
 of his call, said, "Now John, go to Spring- 
 field. There is your life-work. You will 
 be Brooks of Springfield."
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 THE BEGINNING OF THE SPRINGFIELD 
 MINISTRY 
 
 WHEN John Cotton Brooks preached 
 his first sermon in Springfield he was 
 twenty-nine years of age, tall and thin, 
 and with features which bore a striking 
 resemblance to his ancestor, the Rev. 
 John Cotton, the first minister of Boston. 
 He entered the pulpit hurriedly and be- 
 gan to speak with eager and rapid utter- 
 ance; his text was given out, and the 
 sermon begun before the congregation 
 had time to settle itself. 
 
 The youngest of the Brooks boys was 
 now beginning his ministry over the larg- 
 est Episcopal church in western Massa- 
 chusetts. The reputation that his brothers
 
 44 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 had already made in the Church was well 
 known. It was natural that more would 
 be expected of him than of another man. 
 Influenced as he was by their example, 
 his work, however, was accomplished ac- 
 cording to his own ideals. Christ Church 
 was to become under his charge the sec- 
 ond largest Episcopal church in New Eng- 
 land, as his brother Phillips' church in 
 Boston, Trinity, was the largest. 
 
 The history of Christ Church up to this 
 time was a comparatively brief one. About 
 the year 1815, the Commandant of the 
 United States Armory was Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Roswell Lee. He was a devout 
 Churchman, and by his influence a few 
 families were gathered together in a room 
 of one of the Armory buildings, where 
 services were held. In a few years the 
 congregation increased. A parish was or- 
 ganized and in 1821 a minister was called.
 
 SPRINGFIELD MINISTRY 45 
 
 The Rev. Edward Rutledge, the first 
 rector, left after a year's stay, remarking 
 on leaving that his congregation, coming 
 as it did from various parts of the country 
 and also from different denominations, 
 did not show much harmony of sentiment. 
 Fourteen years later another attempt was 
 made. The Rev. Samuel McBurney was 
 sent as missionary, but not as rector. 
 His attempt to establish the Church 
 was unsuccessful. 
 
 In 1838 the Rev. Henry W. Lee came 
 to Springfield, and held services in the 
 Town Hall, at the corner of State and 
 Market Streets. The next year the par- 
 ish voted to erect a house of worship. A 
 long subscription list shows how nobly 
 the townspeople came to his support. 
 Churchmen in Boston, Hartford, and 
 Lowell made contributions. Five months 
 later the corner-stone of the old church
 
 46 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 on State Street was laid by the Rev. 
 Titus Strong, D.D., of Greenfield, who 
 had first ministered to the little flock in 
 the Armory room. "It was an interesting 
 occasion," said the young rector of twenty- 
 four, thinking no doubt of his father's 
 chapel in the Armory. Bishop Griswold 
 consecrated the church on April 1, 1840. 
 When Mr. Lee received a call from a 
 church in Worcester, in submitting his 
 offer to the vestry, it replied that it felt 
 "that his labors and services would be of 
 as much value to the great interests of 
 religion in this tract of our Lord's Vine- 
 yard as they could be in Worcester." He 
 declined the call. After a ministry of 
 nine years he went as rector to St. Luke's 
 Church, Rochester, New York, and later 
 he was elected and consecrated Bishop of 
 Iowa. He died in 1874. The Rev. 
 Henry W. Adams succeeded Mr. Lee.
 
 SPRINGFIELD MINISTRY 47 
 
 He was rector for eighteen months. His 
 successor, the Rev. A. N. Littlejohn, after 
 a year was called to St. Paul's Church, 
 New Haven, Connecticut. He was later 
 made Bishop of Long Island. 
 
 During the next two decades the parish 
 increased in strength under the Rev. 
 George H. McKnight (1851-1859) and the 
 Rev. W. S. Child (1859-1869). When 
 the Rev. Alexander Burgess became 
 rector in 1869, the parish was in a pros- 
 perous condition, and a new church 
 was built under his leadership. After 
 purchasing the present site of Christ 
 Church, a brown stone church was erected 
 at a cost of seventy thousand dollars. The 
 Rev. Mr. Burgess was elected Bishop of 
 the Diocese of Quincy, Illinois, in 1878. 
 Thus, in the short period of thirty years, 
 three of the rectors of Christ Church had 
 become bishops.
 
 48 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 When Mr. Brooks became rector in 
 December, 1878, the work before him 
 was a difficult one. A parishioner who 
 recalls those first years has said, "I be- 
 came so inspired by his sermons and his 
 courage in meeting the difficulties which 
 he encountered on every side that I felt I 
 must do all I could to help him, and as 
 long as he lived there was such confi- 
 dence between us that each one of his 
 parishioners knew that he had only to 
 ask any service and it would be given 
 gladly." 
 
 There was a debt of forty thousand 
 dollars upon the church building. The 
 financial panic of the seventies had limited 
 the resources of the parish, so that it was 
 difficult to meet running expenses. More- 
 over the people were wearied with efforts 
 at raising money. For four years Mr. 
 Brooks worked against great odds. There
 
 SPRINGFIELD MINISTRY 49 
 
 was no parish house, and the Sunday 
 school was held in the old church, 
 although the building was much out of 
 repair. The surroundings of the new 
 church were in marked contrast to their 
 present condition, with a broken fence 
 and an unroofed tower, the new tower, 
 defective in construction, having been 
 taken down. In those days the vestry- 
 room and the choir-room were soaked 
 through with each winter storm. It was 
 a period of discouragement for the first 
 four years. Mr. Brooks did little about 
 the debt, and by 1882 it had increased to 
 forty- three thousand dollars. Then he 
 made his first appeal to his parishioners. 
 The old church property was sold for 
 fifteen thousand dollars, and Mr. Brooks 
 raised fifteen thousand dollars more. 
 Thus thirty thousand dollars of the debt 
 was paid. In 1895 the debt had increased
 
 50 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 to twenty-five thousand dollars, but that 
 year it was reduced seven thousand dol- 
 lars. In 1899 a final appeal was made 
 and the debt was extinguished. 
 
 These figures represent a great amount 
 of labor. During the first ten years of 
 Mr. Brooks' ministry the parish house 
 was built at a cost of fourteen thousand 
 dollars. It was characteristic of Mr. 
 Brooks, while subscriptions were being 
 solicited for the parish house, to turn 
 from that work and give his attention to 
 the raising of money for the purchase of 
 the land adjoining the church for a park, 
 as it was proposed to erect buildings on 
 the land which would seriously injure the 
 property of the church. Five thousand 
 dollars was given by the members of 
 Christ Church. In this way Mr. Brooks 
 helped towards the amount necessary to 
 obtain the present public park, where
 
 CHRIST CHURCH 
 
 THE PARISH HOUSE
 
 SPRINGFIELD MINISTRY 51 
 
 Saint Gaudens' statue of that sturdy old 
 Puritan, Deacon Samuel Chapin, stands 
 with his back turned to the Episcopal 
 church, the church from which he had 
 departed to establish another in New 
 England. 
 
 The increasing burdens of parish work 
 now made necessary the services of an 
 assistant minister. By an increase of one 
 thousand dollars in the pew rentals the 
 salary was provided, and in 1886 the Rev. 
 Daniel Dulany Addison was called. On 
 his acceptance of the call Mr. Brooks 
 wrote him the following note: 
 
 CHBIST CHURCH RECTOBT, 
 AprU 1st, 1886. 
 
 DEAR Mr. ADDISON : I must write one word 
 to tell you of the great joy that your telegram has 
 brought into the Rectory just as I am leaving for 
 the funeral at Chicopee. 
 
 How delightful and bright my future work looks
 
 52 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 in having you with me. God has mercifully guided 
 us both in all this. That He may bless and sanc- 
 tify us for his service in all our work is the constant 
 prayer through these days of 
 
 Your affectionate brother, 
 
 J. C. BROOKS. 
 
 In raising money for the church, Mr. 
 Brooks seldom, if ever, went to a few rich 
 individuals. He appealed to all, both 
 rich and poor alike. "The welfare of our 
 loved Mother, our Church," were his 
 words when he made his final appeal. 
 The money would come in small sums; 
 the working girl and the poor man gave 
 what they could, influenced by the spirit 
 Mr. Brooks had instilled into their hearts. 
 A few dollars would be left at the rectory 
 door with a note expressive of the loving 
 heart back of the gift. One who heard the 
 last appeal has said: "His heroic efforts 
 to help in paying off the debt of Christ
 
 SPRINGFIELD MINISTRY 53 
 
 Church culminated in that powerful ad- 
 dress from the chancel. He used the most 
 powerful imagery, when he saw the de- 
 parted spirits, as it were, of those who 
 had sacrificed much in the past, walking 
 down the aisle. It was stirring and 
 telling, and showed him a master of elo- 
 quent pleading for the welfare of Christ 
 Church." 
 
 This account of the financial condition 
 of Christ Church is interesting, as it af- 
 fords us an insight into the material diffi- 
 culties that burdened nearly all the years 
 of his ministry, but particularly the first 
 years. It tells us why it was so necessary 
 to centralize his efforts on Christ Church. 
 It tells us why his ministry was an inten- 
 sive one. To the building up of Christ 
 Church he devoted his life. He subordi- 
 nated everything else to that. As his own 
 bishop said, "I have never known any
 
 54 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 clergyman who gave himself so completely 
 and intensely to a parish." 
 
 During the summer of 1880 Mr. Brooks 
 traveled abroad with his brother Phillips. 
 While in England he preached from the 
 pulpit of his ancestor, the Rev. John 
 Cotton, in old St. Botolph's Church. 
 While in Scotland, Phillips Brooks wrote 
 a letter home to his brother, of which the 
 following is an extract. 1 
 
 DEAR ARTHUR: Here are John and I, way 
 up in the Highlands, with everything redolent of 
 heather and broom and gillies and pibrochs and 
 burns and tarns and the "Princess of Thule," and 
 that sort of thing. ... In London everything was 
 very pleasant. Stanley was very devoted, and put 
 us in the way of seeing lots of pleasant sights and 
 people. I preached for him in the Abbey on the 
 Fourth of July, and was quite shamed with the 
 
 1 Dr. Allen's Life of Phillips Brooks, Vol. II, 
 p. 272.
 
 SPRINGFIELD MINISTRY 55 
 
 way in which Farrar in the afternoon outsaid 
 everything that I possibly could have said about 
 America. Then I went down to Windsor and 
 preached. . . . Last Sunday we spent in Edinburgh 
 and heard their great man there, a certain Dr. 
 MacGregor. . . . John spent at Boston the Sunday 
 which I spent at Windsor, and preached in old 
 St. Botolph's there." 
 
 The early years of his ministry in 
 Springfield were saddened by the death 
 of his mother, and of his second child, 
 who had been named after her grand- 
 mother, Mary Ann Phillips. At this time 
 his brother Phillips wrote : 
 
 December 2, 1880. 
 
 DEAR JOHNNY : I hope that you will feel 
 like coming down on Monday. I am sure that it 
 will do you good ; you know what a simple, quiet 
 time it is. All the fellows will be glad to see you, 
 and you know what a treat it will be to me. 
 
 I have been thinking of you all the time, and 
 hoping that you were happy, and that everything
 
 56 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 was going well with you and H . The Sundays 
 
 must have been hard enough, and yet I know the 
 work has helped you. I am sure it is a blessing to 
 a minister that the work to which he has to go 
 when he is in sorrow is not a foreign thing which 
 vexes and chafes him, but he is busied with the 
 thoughts which he needs most, and which bring 
 him into the presence of God where he most wants 
 to be. 
 
 I am so glad that I was with you those two days, 
 and that I had part in choosing the pleasant spot 
 where the body of your little child and my god- 
 child was to be laid. I shall always be thankful 
 for it. How beautiful it must be out there this 
 bright winter morning." * 
 
 1 Dr. Allen's Life of Phillips Brooks, Vol. n, 
 p. 274.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE GROWTH OF THE PARISH 
 
 ONE day in his early ministry as Mr. 
 Brooks was making parish calls, another 
 minister sat beside him in a horse-car and 
 remarked that the burden of a large parish 
 must be great. To this Mr. Brooks 
 replied, "It is all practicable for the 
 man who does not take up too much 
 outside work." Throughout his ministry 
 in Springfield he lived up to the thought 
 expressed that day. For this reason he 
 did not give the Bohlen Lectures, when 
 invited to do so in 1902. He refused in- 
 vitations so constantly to preach else- 
 where that his friends in Boston said, 
 "He was always on the point of catching 
 a train for Springfield." His brother,
 
 58 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 Phillips Brooks, used to say of him, 
 "John is a great parish priest." 
 
 His methods of work were along the 
 same lines throughout the whole of his 
 ministry. In the beginning he revised the 
 parish lists. He endeavored to account 
 for every name associated with the church ; 
 he divided the parish into sections, 
 and found those who would help in the 
 work of calling. He always carried in 
 his pocket a book with the names and 
 addresses of every family and individual, 
 and he revised this list at least once a 
 year. When he produced a fresh list of 
 his parishioners one day, he remarked, 
 "My assistant brought this to me saying 
 it is all done, and I said, 'Yes, to-morrow 
 they '11 begin to move.' ' 
 
 Sunday mornings and evenings, if 
 strangers happened into the church, he 
 always met them. Sometimes a visitor
 
 GROWTH OF PARISH 59 
 
 would remark, "I always try to get back 
 here on Sunday, so as to get your wel- 
 come." Actors and actresses frequently 
 came, appreciating his greeting Occa- 
 sionally a letter from a distance would be 
 received, beginning, "You don't know 
 me, but I feel I know you, for I never 
 shall forget that hand-shake you gave 
 me one night in your church." This 
 custom, which he practiced for years, 
 aided remarkably in the growth of the 
 parish. With pencil and note-book in 
 hand he obtained the new names and ad- 
 dresses, and the following week, he, or 
 his assistant, would make the first call. 
 If possible, he made the first call himself. 
 Before the beginning of each service he 
 went about the church from pew to pew, 
 seeking these new-comers. He did not 
 meet them at the church door. "There 
 would be weeks at a time," said one of
 
 60 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 his parishioners, "when he would pass 
 my pew without looking my way, intent 
 upon the stranger who was in danger of 
 getting out of his reach. Then he would 
 meet me with both hands outstretched, 
 and a cordial greeting which showed 
 that his mind was free for old friends, 
 but at all times I knew that I could call 
 upon him if I needed him." The results 
 of this personal work added many new 
 families and individuals to the parish 
 every year. 
 
 "I will find a niche for you here, 
 somewhere in the church," he said to 
 one who had recently come to the city. 
 From that moment the man felt at home. 
 " I came to the city a complete stranger," 
 said another man, "and was not an 
 Episcopalian (though for some time gravi- 
 tating in that direction), and I shall never 
 forget also that when I was a candidate
 
 GROWTH OF PARISH 61 
 
 for confirmation, he, and this shows his 
 breadth of view, asked for and received 
 my letter of dismissal from a Congrega- 
 tional church, treating it with Christian 
 courtesy." The words of another will 
 show his helpfulness to one on coming 
 into the Episcopal Church: "Under his 
 wise and sympathetic guidance I took 
 the step which severed my connection 
 with the denomination in which I was 
 born, and came into the Church where 
 I have found my real home. It was for 
 me a great wrench, and I shall never 
 forget the gentle, wise, and patient help- 
 fulness of my dear friend and rector, 
 never hurrying or urging me until the 
 time came when it was right and best." 
 These words express his manner of deal- 
 ing with a delicate question. He did not 
 urge any one to attend his church unless 
 he felt that he had a perfect right to do so.
 
 62 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 He never forgot that in every call there 
 was a purpose. He impressed this fact 
 upon his assistants, and also that the 
 value of a call is not in its length. In a 
 large parish there must be economy in 
 regard to time. New families are to be 
 called upon and unbaptized children are 
 to be looked after, "no man could 
 impress upon a mother the importance 
 of baptism as he could," said one of his 
 assistants. At Easter and Christmas it 
 was no unusual sight to see from fifteen 
 to twenty baptisms at one service. He 
 was particular about sponsors, and was 
 willing to accept the sponsorship him- 
 self. 
 
 To his assistant he gave the work of 
 calling upon delinquent Sunday school 
 children. Every child absent for three 
 Sundays had to be called upon, and the 
 reason of their absence discovered. By
 
 GROWTH OF PARISH 63 
 
 consistent and continued calling people 
 became interested in the church, and 
 learned to realize that the church needed 
 them. Mr. Brooks would quickly retire 
 from a house when he found on calling 
 that the family were attendants elsewhere. 
 He respected the domain of other churches, 
 and if he erred it was from ignorance of 
 the situation. When people showed an 
 inclination towards the church, he was 
 always ready to meet them. 
 
 The Bishop visited Christ Church for 
 confirmation once a year, always on a 
 Sunday morning. Three months before 
 the time for confirmation a systematic 
 interviewing of certain people was be- 
 gun, and from time to time Mr. Brooks 
 put down in a book kept for the purpose 
 the names of persons who were possible 
 candidates. The classes were invariably 
 large, in the last ten years numbering
 
 64 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 from forty-five to seventy-four. No one 
 who attended these services during Mr. 
 Brooks' ministry would soon forget them. 
 To sit in one's pew and see so many 
 men and women arising from their seats 
 in different parts of the church and go- 
 ing forward to the chancel was inspiring. 
 Mr. Brooks considered sixteen years of 
 age early enough for confirmation. He 
 had an intimate acquaintance with each 
 member of his confirmation classes, and 
 his lectures were well attended. After 
 their confirmation many people attended 
 these lectures in subsequent years, for in 
 these talks they said he was often at his 
 best. He visited those who were not 
 able to attend the lectures, or he had 
 them come to the rectory study for in- 
 struction. He never waited for people 
 to speak to him about confirmation. 
 He rarely wrote a letter on the subject,
 
 GROWTH OF PARISH 65 
 
 preferring a personal talk. During a 
 pastoral call, a chance meeting at some 
 social occasion, or elsewhere, a mere 
 word dropped by chance would prompt 
 Mr. Brooks on returning home to jot 
 down a name in his little book of possible 
 candidates for confirmation, and months 
 later this was used to bring up the sub- 
 ject. At the end of his first ten years in 
 Christ Church, four hundred and seventy- 
 five souls had been confirmed. The com- 
 municants numbered six hundred and 
 forty-three. 
 
 In all his work Mr. Brooks was search- 
 ing for the individual soul. Pastoral work 
 means sacred and confidential relation- 
 ships; by its nature it oftentimes lies 
 unrecognized and hidden in a large 
 parish, and yet this is the work that 
 counts. It made Mr. Brooks a real 
 power, not only in his own parish, but
 
 66 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 also in the city of Springfield. People 
 knew that he was a faithful pastor; they 
 respected his care for the needy, and 
 the cheer he gave to the sorrowing and 
 afflicted. One summer a person inter- 
 ested in a certain worthy family came to 
 see him about sending them away for the 
 summer months. The mother was ill 
 and needed rest, while the father had been 
 unable to find employment. It was sug- 
 gested that if he could go with his family 
 he might find employment in the country, 
 and not return to require further aid from 
 the parish. "But," said Mr. Brooks with 
 warmth, "we want them to come back, 
 they are just the kind of people we want 
 in our church." Later that family no 
 longer needed aid. 
 
 Of the limits of his parish he was ever 
 watchful. No person lived too far away 
 to receive a call from him. Some of the
 
 GROWTH OF PARISH 67 
 
 most constant attendants lived farthest 
 from the church. He was careful about 
 absenting himself from the parish, lest 
 perchance he might be needed. How 
 he kept up this work year in and year 
 out was a puzzle to many. It was devo- 
 tion, the devoted spirit of the man. 
 A minister who knew him well, said, that 
 after making a friendly call upon Mr. 
 Brooks he came away feeling humbled 
 and inspired from listening to his talk of 
 parish work. Another said that his work 
 was always in the essentials, with no waste 
 on the mere machinery. To him, the 
 best method was personal relationship. 
 
 Instances of his helpfulness could be 
 shown in various ways. They all show 
 how the growth of the parish was helped. 
 During the early days of his ministry, a 
 certain church family, living at a distance, 
 had permitted their children to attend
 
 68 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 another Sunday school. During an epi- 
 demic of diphtheria, before anti-toxin 
 days, several of the family were stricken 
 with the disease. No nurse could be 
 found. The neighbors were afraid to 
 venture near. The only person beside 
 the physician who entered the house 
 was Mr. Brooks. Although he had 
 children of his own, he was most faithful 
 in his visits and aid, and when they re- 
 covered, the distance to Christ Church 
 was not too great for them to attend. 
 
 He was ever on the alert to help those 
 in sickness or distress, and he was prompt 
 to relieve. He would consult a doctor at 
 once, procure a nurse and buy medicines, 
 or he would assume the responsibility 
 himself, if necessary in some cases, and 
 take a child or adult direct to the hospital. 
 Nothing was too trivial to escape his 
 attention if it would aid the suffering.
 
 GROWTH OF PARISH 69 
 
 It was his genius for detail, expressed in 
 what he felt was the Master's work. 
 
 The same spirit of helpfulness was 
 shown in his relations with young men. 
 He invited them to his study and talked 
 over their aims and ambitions. He found 
 money to help some to go to college, and 
 while at college he made it his own busi- 
 ness to help others to employment. One 
 whom he helped has written, "He was 
 of great assistance to me. When I left 
 the Springfield High School I applied for 
 a position. Among my references I gave 
 the name of Mr. Brooks. The firm 
 decided that I could not have the position 
 because of my handwriting, which was 
 then very poor. When I told Mr. Brooks 
 of this, he called at the place, and prom- 
 ised on my behalf, although I knew 
 nothing about it, that if they would give 
 me a trial, he would see that I took writing
 
 70 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 lessons in the Springfield Business School. 
 As a result of the efforts of Mr. Brooks I 
 obtained the position. Without his assist- 
 ance I know that I would not have had 
 the opportunity." He went from store 
 to store sometimes, seeking a position 
 for one of his parishioners. 
 
 In these practical ways throughout his 
 ministry he aided many people, and as 
 the years went by many of them pros- 
 pered, and by their loyalty to the church 
 and their respect for him they made it 
 possible for him to help others as he had 
 helped them. His parishioners never 
 failed to give him their loyal and liberal 
 support when money or other means 
 were needed in any work he undertook 
 for the welfare of others. They knew 
 that he was wise in his judgment, and 
 instead of eliciting criticism, he inspired 
 them with confidence.
 
 GROWTH OF PARISH 71 
 
 Thus he became a refuge for many a 
 man and many a woman when in trouble 
 or distress. "Unconsciously he became 
 my pattern, for if he could bear the 
 anxieties and sorrows of life, he must be 
 sustained by some power which I must 
 gain to help me in my despair. No 
 wonder I became a faithful attendant 
 upon the church services, when I de- 
 pended upon them for comfort," were the 
 words of one of the many who recognized 
 the spiritual power which was in John 
 Brooks.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 THE SUCCESS OF THE SOCIETIES 
 
 THE building of the parish house 
 proved to be a wise move on the part of 
 Mr. Brooks. It became the center of the 
 parish activities, and was admirably fitted 
 for the work of the church organizations. 
 On the first floor was a capacious room, 
 readily divided by glass partitions into 
 smaller rooms, in which a fireplace ad- 
 ded an atmosphere of hospitality. Here 
 the various societies met, the Girls' 
 Friendly Society, the Woman's Auxiliary, 
 and Junior Branch, the Mother's Club, 
 the Men's Club, the Young Communi- 
 cant's Society, the Parish Aid, and other 
 organizations from time to time. Above 
 was the chapel, where the Sunday school
 
 SUCCESS OF SOCIETIES 73 
 
 met each Sunday, and where all the early 
 communion services were held. A well- 
 furnished chancel, a pipe-organ, and 
 memorial windows by LaFarge made the 
 chapel a place of worship exceptional in 
 the quality of its furnishings, while the 
 memorial windows made it an object of 
 pride to the people of the parish. In these 
 things Mr. Brooks showed his artistic 
 taste, as he did in later years, when by 
 the approval of the donors he planned the 
 subjects for five memorial windows in the 
 chancel of the church. 
 
 It was in this parish house that the first 
 convention of the new Diocese of Western 
 Massachusetts was held, and here the 
 first bishop, the Rt. Rev. Alexander H. 
 Vinton, D. D., was elected. Here also 
 the hospitality of Christ Church was 
 shown to the ministers of other churches 
 as they each month assembled as the
 
 74 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 Ministers' Association of the City of 
 Springfield. 
 
 After Mr. Brooks' death every society 
 claimed that it was his special favorite, 
 thus showing that the members of each 
 organization considered their society a 
 successful one. The success of these 
 societies was due to three facts, first, 
 the careful selection of leaders in the 
 work, second, Mr. Brooks' knowledge of 
 the details of the work of each organiza- 
 tion, and third, his ability to impart to 
 others his own enthusiasm and spirit, and 
 a sense of their individual responsibility. 
 
 Mr. Brooks was one of the first to 
 recognize the value of the Girls' Friendly 
 Society, and to form a branch in Massa- 
 chusetts, which from its inception in 
 Christ Church, July 3, 1888, proved a 
 success. Young women, not only of the 
 parish but also of other churches, were
 
 SUCCESS OF SOCIETIES 75 
 
 eligible to membership, and in a few 
 years the enrollment was over a hundred. 
 In this society might be found on Tuesday 
 evenings during the winter months classes 
 pursuing work of various kinds, such as 
 basket-making, millinery, and cooking, 
 and study on current events, literature, 
 and travel. One evening a month was 
 observed as a social meeting. Mr. Brooks 
 always kept a part of Tuesday evening 
 free, in order to attend the meetings of 
 the society, and the members appreciated 
 his interest in them. "How could we 
 help it?" said one of the members. "At 
 our socials he was ever ready to tell stories 
 at a moment's notice. I recall in parti- 
 cular a ghost story which he told at one 
 of our Hallowe'en parties, and it was 
 thoroughly appreciated by all." 
 
 While spending his vacation at Andover 
 one summer, he was invited by the
 
 76 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 rector of Christ Church of that town to 
 his summer home at Boxford. The Rev. 
 Mr. Palmer tells the following incident: 
 "I had invited the Girls' Friendly Society 
 of my parish to Boxford, and also Mr. 
 Brooks, to take tea with us. After tea 
 some of the girls came to me and said 
 that they were desirous to have Mr. 
 Brooks tell them something about his 
 brother, the late Bishop. When I carried 
 the request, he refused. He said that 
 there was nothing to be said in public, 
 which the public did not already know. 
 But when I urged, he finally consented to 
 say just a few words. We had meantime 
 gone into the dining-room of the old 
 house, with its low, beam-crossed ceiling 
 and large fireplace. The girls sat on the 
 floor while he stood in front of the fire 
 and began to tell us about the life of the 
 home, where he and his brother were
 
 SUCCESS OF SOCIETIES 77 
 
 children. Soon he became rapid : and 
 for nearly an hour he went on, recalling 
 incidents of that early life in Boston, 
 which was so like my own there that I 
 could see again the center-table of an 
 evening with its astral lamp, and the 
 father reading aloud, while mother and 
 the children sat looking and listening. 
 The big fire threw flickering lights about 
 the otherwise unlighted room. The girls 
 sat rapt in attention, with hardly a rustle. 
 His tall figure, his earnestness, his quick 
 utterance, his face strongly lighted on 
 one side and thrown into shadow on the 
 other, it all stamped itself on my 
 mind, and has remained as a clear-cut 
 picture. No one can interpret the per- 
 sonality of another without revealing his 
 own, and in the description of Phillips 
 Brooks we saw John Brooks." 
 
 It was this ability to adapt himself to
 
 78 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 various occasions and his ease of manner 
 at such times that always made his per- 
 sonality felt, whether in the business or 
 the social meetings of the parish. When 
 a visiting member of the Girls' Friendly 
 Society was suddenly taken ill, he became 
 at once "a help and benefactor." A 
 letter came soon after from a member of 
 the visiting society saying, "I do not 
 wonder at the success of your branch 
 with such a chaplain and rector. I was 
 charmed with him all the evening, until 
 his tenderness with poor Ruth capped the 
 climax, and made me for always his ardent 
 admirer." She called the conference most 
 successful, and said, :< Christ Church 
 people have a genius for conferences." 
 
 When the admission services to the 
 Girls' Friendly Society were held, his 
 aim was to make them impressive and 
 helpful, and he talked to the girls as if
 
 SUCCESS OF SOCIETIES 79 
 
 they were his own children. It was then 
 that many have said he was of the most 
 assistance to them. He seemed to see the 
 world as it looked to the schoolgirl, the 
 girl at home, and the girl at work. At 
 other times he would be ready with some 
 suggestion for better carrying out the 
 Society's motto, "Bear ye one another's 
 burdens." He helped every girl that 
 needed help, and when one was ill he 
 provided a bed at the hospital, if neces- 
 sary, and made sure that she was well 
 cared for; he noticed the careworn and 
 tired faces of those who needed a vacation, 
 and made it possible for them to go away 
 during the summer months. 
 
 One who was active in the Society for 
 years comments upon his efforts to make it 
 a success: "He would come to see me 
 and always give me something to do. To 
 call on this one and to ksk that one to
 
 80 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 attend the Monday afternoon society. 
 And when next we met, he would remem- 
 ber to ask about these people. I used to 
 be astonished to know that he held so 
 many details in his mind. He told me 
 that he had very little time to call upon 
 the regular attendants at church. He 
 said that he needed to devote himself to 
 the new-comers, and those who could not 
 or did not attend church regularly, and 
 that he thought of each member of the 
 church in their relation to others, and 
 what he might do to help them. So when 
 he came to see me, I knew that he had 
 something for me to do. The Society 
 was very dear to him, and if possible he 
 was present at some time in the evening. 
 I have heard him say that he was proud 
 of being the only man allowed to be a mem- 
 ber. The girls always felt that a meeting 
 was more enjoyable for his presence.'*
 
 SUCCESS OF SOCIETIES 81 
 
 An instance of how he encouraged 
 others, and planned during the summer 
 for the winter work is shown by this 
 quotation: "I am exceeding glad to 
 think about the Girls' Friendly Society, 
 as your welcome letter calls me to do. I 
 like your circular about the conferences in 
 all respects and have nothing to alter or 
 add. It is full and explicit but has 
 not Northampton a right to be included 
 in the list of parishes having Branches? 
 And now send it out early, and do not be 
 discouraged if but a very small propor- 
 tion of parishes respond cordially, for it 
 is the first approach, and I shall count on 
 a few earnest and devout women, enough 
 to hope for now am looking forward 
 to all the privileges of the winter work. 
 I shall be back Sept. 3rd. Have many 
 plans to tell you." 
 
 He became so interested in the work 
 
 6
 
 82 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 of each society, that when the leaders or 
 members came to him they were always 
 sure to find a ready listener to all matters 
 pertaining to their work, and the hearty 
 support he gave to each one made it the 
 most natural thing to appeal to him. "I 
 felt that he left me alone almost too 
 much," said one of the leading workers. 
 "I always had to go to him, but when I 
 sat down in the study for a talk he always 
 made me feel that there was no work in 
 the world so well worth the doing as this 
 work. And that a little part of that work 
 was for me to do. He gave me fresh in- 
 spiration." 
 
 He selected the leaders for different 
 organizations with great care. Once he 
 asked a certain person to undertake a 
 particular work for which he felt that she 
 was especially fitted. "I never shall 
 forget," she said, "what a real help he
 
 SUCCESS OF SOCIETIES 83 
 
 was to me. I used to go to the rectory 
 study with correspondence which troubled 
 me, questions which worried me, and 
 never was he too tired or busy to hear 
 and counsel. I do not think I would have 
 had the courage to undertake or the per- 
 severance to continue during those years 
 if it had not been for him. I remember 
 how he used to lift me out of the nervous 
 depression following those first public 
 meetings, when it seemed sometimes as 
 though I could never face another, and 
 even inspire me with a faint reflection of 
 his own indomitable courage. He always 
 seemed to grasp quickly the highest signifi- 
 cance of things ; he rose to the occasion 
 invariably, and in times of special need 
 we were never disappointed." From an- 
 other comes the same note of his ability 
 to inspire others, "I would go from his 
 study walking on air, feeling that there
 
 84 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 was not anything I might not accom- 
 plish of God's work for me." He tried to 
 make others realize that it was their in- 
 dividual work that counted, and he did 
 not fail to let such people know that their 
 efforts were appreciated. 
 
 On Wednesdays for a number of years 
 a company of forty or more women would 
 assemble at the parish house. This was 
 called the Mother's Meeting, practical 
 talks were given each week, sometimes 
 a short business meeting was held, and 
 afterward there was a social tea. Mr. 
 Brooks usually appeared towards the 
 end of the afternoon. One might think 
 that this gathering of women, represent- 
 ing the different families of the parish, 
 came together as a matter of course. It 
 is easy for an outsider to get the idea that 
 church organizations grow without par- 
 ticular effort. Those who have attended
 
 SUCCESS OF SOCIETIES 85 
 
 church for years on Sunday mornings, 
 and have heard the notices given out for 
 the various meetings of the week, often 
 think that that is enough to bring people 
 together. But church societies seldom 
 grow in that way, notices are evidences 
 of their existence, and that is all. People 
 who come from different parts of a city, 
 who are unlikely to meet in their own 
 neighborhood circles, must be drawn to 
 the church by some personal influence; 
 they must be invited again and again. 
 For years Mr. Brooks and his assistant 
 worked along this line, until one by one 
 the meetings grew. Here, as well as in the 
 other societies, were persons to be con- 
 sidered when confirmation came. Every 
 year each society was represented in the 
 confirmation class. 
 
 The influence of the missionary map 
 on the wall of the nursery in his early
 
 86 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 Boston home never ceased to be felt dur- 
 ing his life. He had the true missionary 
 spirit, and instilled it into the missionary 
 societies of the church. "He was always 
 interested," said a member of the 
 Woman's Auxiliary, "always inspiring, 
 always lifting things to a higher plane of 
 thought, a higher level of service. He 
 would throw a society on its own resources, 
 ever desirous that the members should be 
 aware of his unchanging interest." To 
 another member he said one day, "Don't 
 let them think that Mr. Brooks is all ab- 
 sorbed in the new things. Tell them I 
 am just as interested as ever, though I 
 am not always able to attend the meet- 
 ings." How well he succeeded from year 
 to year in work for missions is evidenced 
 by the quality and quantity of materials 
 that were sent away, and by the money 
 that was raised. It is not too much to
 
 SUCCESS OF SOCIETIES 87 
 
 say that few ministers have had a more 
 loyal and indefatigable band of workers 
 in missionary work than he. 
 
 During the latter years of Mr. Brooks' 
 ministry a Men's Club was formed, and at 
 its meetings, which were attended some- 
 times by a hundred men from the parish, 
 men of note addressed it. Among these 
 were Richard H. Dana, Talcott Williams, 
 Evarts Wendell, R. Fulton Cutting, and 
 Charles S. Hamlin. While the work of 
 the Club was carried on by the members, 
 Mr. Brooks was always much interested 
 in procuring the speakers. 
 
 Mr. Brooks gave such loyal support to 
 his assistants that it was a delight to 
 work with him, and because of his ap- 
 preciation of every honest effort, and his 
 own example and optimism, they were 
 spurred on to better work. It was a 
 work together, and not in different direc-
 
 88 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 tions. Every morning he met his assist- 
 ant and talked over with him the plans 
 for the afternoon, as well as the work of 
 the preceding day. What one had ex- 
 perienced, the other learned; there was 
 none of the superior's air about Mr. 
 Brooks in these interviews; his frank 
 criticisms and words of encouragement 
 were helpful and often inspiring. Fol- 
 lowing the Rev. Daniel Dulany Addison, 
 his first assistant, came the Rev. Newton 
 Black, the Rev. William E. Hayes, the 
 Rev. Edward L. Atkinson, the Rev. James 
 DeW. Perry, Jr., the Rev. James C. Sharp, 
 the Rev. Edmund J. Cleveland, and the 
 Rev. Donald N. Alexander. 
 
 Mr. Brooks always kept in the closest 
 touch with the Sunday school organiza- 
 tion. In later years he seldom taught 
 a class himself, but devoted some of 
 his time to hearing the catechism, class
 
 SUCCESS OF SOCIETIES 89 
 
 by class. Every Monday morning he 
 went over the class lists of the Sunday 
 school, learning thus the names of every 
 scholar and interesting himself in their 
 progress from year to year. When it 
 came time for confirmation, he would 
 often consult the teachers in the day 
 schools as well as the parents. In con- 
 nection with the Sunday school, the in- 
 terest which he took at Easter and 
 Christmas in the music was shown by his 
 efforts to procure the best of carols. One 
 of his unique methods to obtain these 
 was to write to his clerical friends, asking 
 for a copy of the carol which was his Sun- 
 day school's favorite. In that way he 
 obtained the best from other churches. 
 
 After returning from his summer vaca- 
 tion one year he was met by his new 
 assistant, who declared that he did n't 
 know what was going to be done about
 
 90 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 the Sunday school, as more than half of 
 the thirty teachers had signified their in- 
 tention not to come back. Mr. Brooks 
 was amazed at this, and when he asked 
 the assistant what he had done, was an- 
 swered, "I thought I would find out if 
 they were intending to return, so I wrote 
 to each of them a letter." "No wonder 
 you are discouraged," said Mr. Brooks, 
 "you have made them suspect that they 
 are not wanted by your letters." The 
 next week Mr. Brooks called upon each 
 one personally and explained the error of 
 his new assistant. They all returned.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 TRAITS THAT HELPED 
 
 ONE September evening Mr. Brooks 
 stood upon the rectory steps, saying good- 
 by to a parishioner who had called to ob- 
 tain a letter of introduction to the rector 
 of another parish. "At this time of the 
 year," said Mr. Brooks, "I too receive 
 letters from other clergymen, saying, 
 * Dear brother, the star of my parish has 
 set." Then, with a whimsical smile he 
 turned, and presenting a letter that he 
 had just written, jokingly said, "I copied 
 one of those.'* 
 
 He was a man of rare humor and wit, 
 and it was a blending of humor and ten- 
 derness that sweetened his friendships.
 
 92 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 Some, who regarded him only as a most 
 faithful and devoted minister, could have 
 had no suspicion of this trait, for in no 
 sermon or public address did he ever in- 
 troduce a touch of it: in them he spoke 
 with the deep earnestness which he 
 thought the pressing things of God's 
 Kingdom required. But those who knew 
 him as a man learned to appreciate with 
 delight his rich vein of wit and humor. 
 To a friend who had known him from 
 college days, "he bubbled over with 
 bright remarks, seeing the attractive and 
 droll side of events and people, without 
 one suspicion of malice. It was a joy to 
 sit with him for hours and enjoy his point 
 of view, so pat and illuminating when our 
 own was prosaic." A clergyman, an old 
 college friend, said of him, "I remember 
 on a visit to preach for me how our chil- 
 dren, usually shy of a visiting parson, and
 
 .S S 
 
 w * 
 
 
 o 
 
 1 1 
 
 '
 
 TRAITS THAT HELPED 93 
 
 deeming his coming somewhat of an afflic- 
 tion, were eager to sit in the study and 
 hear John talk. To this day my daughter 
 remembers the joy and laughter of that 
 visit." 
 
 His sense of humor was never studied 
 or for effect; it was natural and sponta- 
 neous. He did not try to preserve stories 
 for particular occasions, but always had 
 one that was a propos when the time came. 
 He passed easily from the lighter to the 
 more serious side of things, and was always 
 ready to treat serious matters seriously, 
 no one more so than he. By his sense of 
 humor, he would in a light, but merciless, 
 manner, ridicule sham and sentimental- 
 ity, for which he had no sympathy. To 
 tell how this trait entered into all the rela- 
 tionships of his daily life would be to reveal 
 how he won the lifelong friendships of his 
 people; how they learned to know him
 
 94 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 and love him as a man; how he helped 
 and comforted them in the sorrows and 
 anxieties of life. He who possessed such 
 a keen knowledge of care and trouble 
 likewise had a keen sense of joy and 
 humor. Like Abraham Lincoln, a hearty 
 laugh would rest him and relieve the 
 strain. It refreshed John Brooks amid 
 the cares of his own life, and enabled him 
 to bring to others a courage and an op- 
 timism that often seemed impossible. 
 
 "How much he enjoyed my eightieth 
 birthday, when he came with others to 
 celebrate it," said one of his parishioners, 
 "and when Dr. Tomkins was here, Mr. 
 Brooks introduced me as belonging to his 
 infant class." It was a rare nature that 
 could joke in such a light manner, and 
 yet be for years a respected and honored 
 spiritual guide. 
 
 "I love to remember him at the Christ-
 
 TRAITS THAT HELPED 95 
 
 mas tree exercises," said one who grew 
 up in the parish, and had attended them 
 for years. "His jocularity and wit al- 
 ways captivated the children, and grown- 
 up people as well. He entered so heartily 
 into the evening's fun. No one laughed 
 with more glee than he, and no one had 
 a better time." The next moment on 
 such occasions he might be found inter- 
 viewing some boys who had invited them- 
 selves to the festivities, regardless of their 
 non-union with the Sunday school of Christ 
 Church, or he might be found lecturing a 
 disorderly boy who knew in his heart that 
 he deserved the correction. Then he was 
 stern. There was little humor at such 
 times. His strong sense of what was right, 
 and his high idea of what right conduct 
 should be in Sunday school and choir, 
 made many a youth fear him at times. 
 But they would always find in him a friend.
 
 96 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 In after years they realized that he had 
 acted for their best good and interests, 
 stern and unjust though they may have 
 thought him at the time. 
 
 He said one day to a small boy as he 
 stood beside his mother at a church picnic, 
 "Well, I suppose I have got you to 
 bring up, but after bringing up your father 
 it looks like a hard job"; and then said 
 the mother, "He was so funny with his 
 witty remarks that every one was con- 
 vulsed with laughter." The two traits 
 that struck the mother who related the 
 story were his keen wit, and his fatherly 
 tenderness when one was in trouble. " I 
 shall never forget," she said, "how he 
 came here a sick man himself, when my 
 mother lay dying, and how he talked to 
 me. One sentence stands out clearly. 
 'The same Jesus I have told you about 
 will help you to bear this.' ' Thus, those
 
 TRAITS THAT HELPED 97 
 
 who knew the man saw how transparent 
 and frank were his motives and how 
 lovable his nature. 
 
 One summer while spending his vaca- 
 tion in Maine, he stopped for a few days 
 at a boarding-house. A young couple re- 
 cently married was present at the table. 
 Mr. Brooks kept the company in good 
 spirits, and when the young couple was 
 about to leave, the young man said to 
 Miss Brooks, "You don't know what it 
 has been to me to meet your father. It 
 has been a perfect revelation to see what 
 a minister can be. Ever since I was a boy 
 I have been frightened to death of them. 
 I have felt that they could have nothing 
 in common with me." 
 
 It was this trait that made his compan- 
 ionship a delight, and in his home it en- 
 riched the spirit of his hospitality. To 
 sit at his table after a Sunday morning
 
 98 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 service was to find him not self-conscious, 
 and ill at ease, thinking over his work of 
 the morning, he would dismiss all that 
 and his witticisms would come forth, mak- 
 ing the hour a most joyous one. One day 
 he invited a young man, who was a 
 stranger in the city, to dine with him. 
 With embarrassment he accepted, expect- 
 ing a rather somber and dreary visit. 
 When at table Mr. Brooks began a humor- 
 ous story, a relief came to his embarrass- 
 ment, and he had an exceedingly enjoyable 
 time. To this young man Mr. Brooks be- 
 came a help in finding a way for him to 
 enter college. His friendship began that 
 day at dinner. 
 
 With his love of fun and buoyancy of 
 spirits one could discern that he was a man 
 of much nicety of feeling, of high in- 
 stincts. Nothing aroused him to protest 
 more quickly than some low or base
 
 TRAITS THAT HELPED 99 
 
 standard. In everything he was the 
 high-minded Christian man. 
 
 Another of his characteristics was his 
 love for children. He saw to it himself 
 that every detail for the Christmas enter- 
 tainments was carried out to the letter. 
 Each year he sent a little letter to some 
 two hundred children in the parish asking 
 them to attend the special Christmas 
 entertainment provided for the kinder- 
 garten department of the Sunday school. 
 The following is one of them : 
 
 MY DEAR EUNICE : Christmas is coming 
 next Thursday, and Santa Claus says he is coming 
 to the Parish House on Saturday the 27th, at two 
 o'clock, with lots of presents for all the little girls 
 and boys of our Church. So I want you and your 
 mama surely to come, and have a Christmas party 
 with him just as you did last year. 
 
 I shall look for a little letter telling me that you 
 will come, and I hope that you can, for we will all 
 have a real nice time, and I will be awfully dis-
 
 100 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 appointed if you don't come. With a Merry 
 Christmas and a Happy New Year, 
 I am, Your loving friend, 
 
 JOHN COTTON BROOKS. 
 
 The replies to these letters Mr. Brooks 
 treasured and put carefully away. Each 
 one he would read himself, thus showing 
 his delight in the joy of the child. So in 
 their earliest years the children of his par- 
 ish learned to know that he was a joyous 
 man, as well as a faithful minister. It 
 was one way of teaching them the idea he 
 preached upon and talked about as he 
 went from family to family in his pastoral 
 calls, that is, the church as a home, the 
 parish as a family. "In my great big 
 family of Christ Church," he wrote in a 
 letter one year to the children.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 BEYOND THE PARISH 
 
 JOHN COTTON BROOKS was more than 
 a parish priest. As Archdeacon, and 
 Dean of the Convocation of Springfield, 
 as President of the Union Relief Associa- 
 tion, and President of the Ministers' 
 Association of the City of Springfield, as 
 one of the founders of the Springfield 
 Hospital, and in various charitable in- 
 stitutions of the city he proved himself 
 able and efficient. He gave himself with- 
 out stint to the city as well as to his 
 parish. 
 
 As Archdeacon he was untiring in 
 his efforts to promote the interests of 
 the Church in Western Massachusetts.
 
 102 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 "Nothing kept him back, nothing was to 
 him impossible. As like nothing so 
 much as a great wheel-horse to some 
 diligence on an Alpine road. It was 
 up-hill strain and struggle, with tense 
 nerve, with masterful perseverance and 
 resolution coming at last to the top of the 
 difficult pass." In this manner spoke 
 one who was associated with him for 
 years, the Rev. William Wilberforce 
 Newton, D.D., then rector of St. Stephens 
 Church, Pittsfield. Mr. Brooks became 
 for a time a rural missionary, traveling 
 over the Berkshire country and exploring 
 the needs and possibilities of the Church. 
 At Williamstown he aided the church 
 committee in making a strong parish out 
 of a struggling mission. A church was 
 built and a rector called. He went to 
 Mt. Holyoke College to conduct services, 
 and to administer Holy Communion to
 
 BEYOND THE PARISH 103 
 
 the Episcopalians, and as a result of his 
 visits a number of the students came to 
 Springfield and were confirmed at Christ 
 Church. As they were not able to attend 
 the evening confirmation lectures, they 
 went to the rectory study to receive in- 
 struction. To one girl he wrote, "This 
 is a Congregational school, but give of 
 your very best, and especially do not 
 absent yourself from Communion." 
 When he preached there during one of his 
 last visits on the subject, "Harmony and 
 peace with activity and work," it ex- 
 pressed what his own life had been. 
 
 In the Convocation meetings of the 
 Diocese Mr. Brooks is described as the 
 life of the meetings. "He was enthusi- 
 astic about the Convocation of the western 
 part of the state, and how many con- 
 ferences he and I have had," said Dr. 
 Lawrence of Stockbridge. "He brought
 
 104 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 into the meetings," said another, "his 
 enthusiasm, and light-heartedness, and 
 would pass on the contagion until every- 
 body was in the best of spirits. He never 
 seemed to think that religious matters as 
 such called for the long face and tired 
 expression." His genius for details was 
 shown by the study he gave to the reli- 
 gious statistics and geography of the 
 western part of Massachusetts, for none 
 could talk more intelligently about the 
 conditions in the remote towns of the 
 Diocese than he. Some years later he 
 preached before the clergy at All Saints 
 Church, Worcester, and those who heard 
 him were impressed with his detailed 
 knowledge of the Diocese. It was more 
 than a mere collection of data from pre- 
 pared statistics, for it showed that he had 
 been over the country, studied its pos- 
 sibilities, observed the weakness and fail-
 
 BEYOND THE PARISH 105 
 
 ure of other churches, and had studied 
 their causes. He made an eager plea for 
 the Church to carry the Gospel to these 
 people. With a reverence for the soil of 
 his native state he recognized the part 
 that missions played in determining the 
 character of the commonwealth. In re- 
 gard to diocesan missions he once said, 
 "When we go on to remember whose 
 presence has filled these fair regions, 
 whose holy lives were lived in them, and 
 whose graves yet hallow them in every 
 ancient graveyard in country and city, 
 we feel more intensely still the need of 
 hastening to cleanse and preserve our 
 beautiful state as a fit legacy to bequeath 
 to the future." 
 
 After the death of Bishop Brooks in 
 1893 the question of the division of the 
 Diocese of Massachusetts arose, for the 
 impression prevailed that the burden
 
 106 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 of the administration was too great for 
 one man. A committee was appointed 
 by the Diocesan Convention to report 
 upon the question of this division. But 
 ancient and beloved associations were 
 strong. The way did not seem clear to 
 accomplish it, and the question rested 
 until 1900. Mr. Brooks, during these 
 years, as a Massachusetts man, was 
 frank to confess, as did his Bishop, that 
 he did not want the Church in Massachu- 
 setts to be divided. Yet he recognized 
 the necessity for division, and gave his 
 hearty support to the cause. He was 
 appointed a member of a committee 
 consisting of the Rector of Trinity Church, 
 Boston, Dr. E. Winchester Donald, the 
 Rev. William B. Frisby from the Church 
 of the Advent, Boston, and Dr. Arthur 
 Lawrence of Stockbridge, and the follow- 
 ing laymen, Messrs. Bent, Choate, Paine,
 
 BEYOND THE PARISH 107 
 
 and Saunders, to consider the detailed 
 plan of the division of the Diocese. Mr. 
 Brooks' part in the division of the Diocese 
 was a conspicuous one. After the organi- 
 zation of the Diocese of Western Massa- 
 chusetts he was elected president of the 
 Standing Committee, an office which he 
 held until his death. 
 
 Mr. Brooks was often a presiding 
 officer, and as such he knew the work 
 down to the minutest details, the intri- 
 cate questions of debate that frequently 
 call for a presiding officer's ruling never 
 confusing him. " His mind was as clear 
 as a bell on the questions at issue. There 
 was a constructive and orderly aspect of 
 his mind that always revealed itself when 
 necessary," said the Rev. Henry B. 
 Washburn, Secretary of the Standing 
 Committee. When he was put on a 
 special committee to report, he returned
 
 108 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 a report worthy of acceptance. His 
 familiarity with the details and condi- 
 tions of the Church in Western Massa- 
 chusetts made his opinion valuable. 
 
 For some years Mr. Brooks was Presi- 
 dent of the Union Relief Association of 
 Springfield, an organization which was 
 one of the first of the kind to be estab- 
 lished in Massachusetts for the purpose 
 of systematizing the charitable work of a 
 city and helping the ministers as well as 
 private individuals by furnishing facts 
 concerning persons who needed aid and 
 support. It applied itself to the preven- 
 tion of outdoor begging, and as a great 
 deal of the work of the Overseers of the 
 Poor was given into its hands, it eventually 
 meant a saving to the city. It was a new 
 departure for Springfield. Mr. Brooks 
 became interested in it from the begin- 
 ning, realizing that with so many churches
 
 BEYOND THE PARISH 109 
 
 there was need for a central bureau of 
 information. He saw in this association 
 that united work was possible, and to its 
 success he gave his best efforts, until it 
 became a help to his parish. To his 
 assistant he wrote one summer, pointing 
 out the value of the Union Relief, "Be 
 sure and consult the secretary, for she is 
 invaluable in guarding you from im- 
 postors who endeavor to take ad- 
 vantage of a new man." The assistant 
 was new, but a few weeks out of the the- 
 ological school, and he certainly needed 
 advice, for strange and unknown faces 
 appeared at the rectory door continu- 
 ally. He wrote to the rector for ad- 
 vice, and received the following reply, 
 "I see that your tramps are like all the 
 rest, and you will find them less encourag- 
 ing to aid than our resident people." 
 The place for them was the Union Relief
 
 110 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 Association. When the rector returned 
 from his vacation the tramps ceased their 
 visits. The new minister's methods had 
 been tested. Thus the work of looking 
 after strangers was greatly lightened. A 
 large parish situated in the center of a 
 city is bound to be a refuge for people 
 of different kinds; some should be as- 
 sisted by the Union Relief Association, 
 and others should be taken care of by the 
 church. The minister must use his 
 judgment and discretion; in either case 
 the minister notifies the Association, and 
 the Association notifies the minister. In- 
 dividuals and families are not able then 
 to get help from different churches at the 
 same time. Of every case that came to 
 the secretary of the Association a record 
 was kept. Thus the sifting process 
 went on, and vagrants and impostors 
 ceased to be a care and problem to the
 
 BEYOND THE PARISH 111 
 
 ministers of the city. To the building up 
 of this work Mr. Brooks gave his time 
 and best efforts, and the Association 
 became of value to the community as 
 well as to the clergy. 
 
 With the ministers of the city Mr. 
 Brooks held a very cordial relationship. 
 He was President of the Ministers' Asso- 
 ciation of Springfield for many years, and 
 during the last few years of his life the 
 monthly meetings were held in the parish 
 house of Christ Church. All the clergy 
 of the city were eligible for membership. 
 The attendance at the meetings averaged 
 from fifteen to twenty. Mr. Brooks took 
 pride in the fact that they were willing 
 to accept his hospitality, and the meetings 
 were a delight to him. Theological dif- 
 ferences were barred out, and the sub- 
 jects for discussion were generally upon 
 municipal and civic questions. One year,
 
 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 each member contributed a paper, but 
 Mr. Brooks was urged to talk on his 
 brother, the Bishop. "One might have 
 listened to it all without suspecting that 
 there was any relationship between them," 
 declared one of the clergy. "He spoke of 
 him as you or I might have done. I have 
 never heard him say * Phillips/ and very 
 seldom 'my brother,' but almost always 
 'Phillips Brooks' or 'that man.' " 
 
 Mr. Brooks' readiness and fluency in 
 speech made him often of great service 
 in public meetings. His own people took 
 pride in the fact that when he spoke he 
 would honor them, as he did himself. 
 He had ability in grasping a situation in 
 any public meeting, and he would strike 
 the right note when others were at sea. 
 
 He favored high license as the wisest 
 way to deal with the liquor problem in 
 the city of Springfield. He was chal-
 
 BEYOND THE PARISH 113 
 
 lenged to a debate on the subject, but his 
 opponent failed to appear. At that time 
 it took courage to take the stand he did, 
 as the ministers, and many of the people 
 of the city, were opposed to his views. 
 His standard was thus sometimes mis- 
 understood, but people soon learned to 
 respect him for the strength he showed in 
 standing up for his own convictions. He 
 was never weak or vacillating in regard to 
 questions of civic or social life. As the 
 Rev. Dr. Moxom said of him after his 
 death, "He was a sound man, and the 
 citizens of Springfield could always count 
 on his support of any enterprise which 
 would promote righteousness." In re- 
 gard to temperance, he said, "The word 
 has been, and is abused. It is a larger 
 question than it looks to be, not political 
 at all. It is the question of moderation 
 in all life." He approached the question
 
 114 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 from the point where he said "we may 
 see the whole of it at once." He treated 
 the subject from this standpoint, "A 
 prohibitionist on the lower ground will 
 become fanatical, and sadly misjudge 
 his fellow-men of other names. The 
 man favoring high license will, if he 
 remains on that same lower ground, but 
 consult for an increase in the city's 
 treasury. One advocating low license 
 will yield to outside pressure and political 
 ambition. Hence it is faith in our own 
 true worth, ... it 's something alto- 
 gether inward, nothing outward," he 
 declared, "and our methods by law are 
 necessary only because we have not yet 
 done our full duty. This legislation of 
 ours is but the temporary measure to 
 hold the evil in check lest it overwhelm 
 us before we have provided the true way 
 for its removal. Beware lest the
 
 BEYOND THE PARISH 115 
 
 dam we put up cannot hold back the 
 flood permanently." From these words 
 we see his high stand in regard to this 
 question. Any lower ground than that 
 of the Bible he would not take, for it is 
 God's ground, and every other is man's, 
 and temporary. He therefore said, "It 
 is not fair to look to our city government 
 to do our work for us." 
 
 For many years he was a member of a 
 small coterie of literary and professional 
 men who styled themselves "the Club." 
 In later years, the pressure of his parish 
 duties made it possible for him to attend 
 but seldom, yet his absence was com- 
 mented upon as eloquent. In the dis- 
 cussions of "the Club," it is said that he 
 appeared oftentimes as a zealous cham- 
 pion of the faith, which was his power and 
 strength. At one of the meetings the 
 observance of Sunday was being dis-
 
 116 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 cussed from a variety of standpoints : its 
 social utility, its occasional exaggeration, 
 and so on. Mr. Brooks, coming at the 
 end, it is said, "gave a most heartfelt 
 tribute to the joy Sunday had been to 
 him. Such a source of happiness and 
 power, that to weigh and measure its 
 utility was almost impossible for him. 
 The effect was as though an academic 
 debate on marriage were closed by a 
 happy husband speaking out of his 
 experience." 
 
 As the years passed, and the parish 
 became larger, Mr. Brooks found his 
 time filled with parochial duties, yet his 
 interest did not lag in regard to diocesan 
 or city affairs. It has been said of him 
 that he was "abreast with the forces that 
 would set the crooked straight and estab- 
 lish righteousness." He did not fail to 
 recognize the importance of the great
 
 BEYOND THE PARISH 117 
 
 moral issues of the day, and the leading 
 newspaper of his own city said of him, 
 "He was his own man, and although the 
 last to bring politics into the pulpit, he 
 felt bound to bring there great moral 
 issues affecting the nation. One of his 
 notable sermons was preached to give 
 Christian judgment against the republic's 
 drift into imperialism. It was indeed 
 never a matter of doubt where John 
 Brooks stood, if the occasion called for 
 utterance. And it gave his opinion 
 weight that it was never lightly given, 
 and that it was felt to be the conscience 
 of a Christian minister that spoke. Never 
 man more unmistakably wore the mark 
 of his calling, or less obtrusively. His 
 manner was simple, and sincere, and his 
 conversation happy and humorous, as 
 often as it was grave and noble. . . . 
 Withal, no man knew him well who did
 
 118 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 not feel the depth and height of his serene 
 spiritual life.'* 
 
 A fitting tribute to his influence beyond 
 his own parish has been made by one who 
 knew him for many years, Mr. Edward 
 A. Hall, President of the Society of St. 
 Vincent de Paul, of the Roman Catholic 
 Church of Springfield. He said, "I think 
 that it has been given to few men to 
 command the opportunity and power, and 
 at the same time to feel the inspiring and 
 dominating purpose to do good in the 
 world that distinguished his career. He 
 had a genius for sympathy and com- 
 passion that was not limited to feeling or 
 verbal expressions, but manifested itself 
 in helpful actions. He labored to make 
 others happy, and his fine, warm Christian 
 enthusiasm, his high ideals, broad culture, 
 and ardent, charming personality were 
 in themselves a blessing and joy to all
 
 BEYOND THE PARISH 119 
 
 who came within range of their influence. 
 He was a strong and valiant soldier of the 
 Lord, and did noble service in the cause 
 of humanity. He taught by precept and 
 example the spirit of the Fatherhood of 
 God, and the brotherhood of man, by 
 sincere faith and the helpfulness of ser- 
 vice, so that his whole life was an in- 
 spiration to all fortunate enough to come 
 within its glorious influence. His charity 
 was as broad as his faith in God, and he 
 gave the energy of his soul in an earnest 
 effort to improve the religious, moral, and 
 temporal conditions of all the people of 
 Springfield and western Massachusetts."
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE PREACHER 
 
 WITH the exception of his speeches at 
 the Church Congress, some anniversary 
 sermons, and various newspaper reports, 
 none of Mr. Brooks' work was published. 
 After the death of Bishop Brooks he pre- 
 pared for the "Century Magazine" some 
 of the Bishop's letters, and later a volume 
 of his sermons and addresses. 
 
 When after his Sunday work, Mr. 
 Brooks returned to his study, and re- 
 marked, "Well, I wonder if anybody was 
 helped to-day. If I can only make Christ 
 real," he made plain the aim of his preach- 
 ing. He once said, "If I could lead each 
 young life of our parish to Christ, the long-
 
 MR. BROOKS IN HIS VESTMENTS
 
 THE PREACHER 121 
 
 ing of every day of my life would be satis- 
 fied." His passion to bring others to 
 Christ explains his devotion to the Church, 
 his consecration to his work, and his inten- 
 sity as a preacher. The range of his feel- 
 ings was remarkable. It has been said of 
 him, "He could go away down into the 
 depths of the valley with a sufferer, and was 
 able to interpret the sympathy he really felt 
 in a voice and manner that were a part 
 of his rich spiritual self." This faculty, 
 which he showed in his pastoral relations, 
 he revealed also in his preaching. He 
 was able to touch, and quicken, and make 
 real the spiritual force in others. He be- 
 came himself the embodiment of a spirit- 
 ual life, the expression of a spiritual 
 force. He was persuasive and uplifting, 
 and possessed an emotional nature, but 
 his thought was the product of his reason 
 as well as of his heart. The moral im-
 
 122 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 pulse often remained after the matter of 
 the sermon had evaporated. 
 
 For several years Mr. Brooks preached 
 extempore, at least once, and sometimes 
 twice a Sunday, and these sermons were 
 considered by many more effective than 
 his written work. Likewise in his Lenten 
 talks, confirmation lectures, and addresses 
 from the chancel there was a freshness and 
 spontaneity which preaching from the 
 written sermon does not always possess. 
 It has been said of him as a preacher, 
 "He came very near to the hearts of his 
 people, and my life will always be the 
 richer for having been one of the number." 
 Another said, "In the pulpit he seemed 
 to me to be the true artist. I could un- 
 derstand and appreciate the real soul of 
 the man." It was his ability to impart to 
 others a sense of spiritual life and strength 
 that called forth such words.
 
 THE PREACHER 123 
 
 He once related the following incident 
 of Phillips Brooks : A minister was ques- 
 tioning him about his preaching, when he 
 said, "You can never preach with any 
 hope of lasting impression or sure results, 
 unless you hold fast to Christ as the Incar- 
 nate Son of God." This was the thought 
 that pervaded and dominated the preach- 
 ing of John Brooks. His ideal was rooted 
 in the Incarnate Christ. He said, "the 
 revelation of God in Christ is the power 
 that will lead men to salvation, to a higher 
 conception of life." From his earliest 
 years, even to the end of his ministry, he 
 talked of perfection, "it is an instinc- 
 tive desire implanted in every life." 
 Humanity hungers for righteousness, and 
 Christ alone can satisfy. It was his be- 
 lief in the efficacy of this ideal which gave 
 conviction and persuasion to his preach- 
 ing, and brought the "sure results."
 
 124 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 His preaching never left a question as 
 to where he stood on the fundamental 
 ideas of the Christian faith. To him, 
 God was a loving Father, and religion 
 meant the gaining of loving help and 
 strength. He told from his pulpit the 
 love of his heavenly Father with as much 
 faith and conviction as he did when he 
 knelt by the bedside of a dying loved one, 
 and said so tenderly, "Our Father who 
 art in Heaven, . . . ' In Christ he found 
 his Father's love, in Christ he saw the 
 perfect life, and in Christ too, he saw the 
 possibility of a nobler life for every man. 
 To follow this thought in his preaching 
 would be to show how he emphasized the 
 spiritual worth of the individual. Listen 
 to his words on social relations, "It is 
 with the mother and the child in the home, 
 with friend and friend in personal inter- 
 course, and man with man in the close re-
 
 THE PREACHER 125 
 
 lationship of life that this world is to be 
 saved and evil conquered." In speaking 
 of the work of missions, he said, "It is 
 always the individual life and character 
 and consecration which wins the battles 
 for humanity and carries the race onward." 
 Again, "Oh, how the Jerusalems of our 
 life of to-day, the possible cities of the great 
 King, need to discover the larger Christ. 
 Our theology must find Him. Our Church 
 needs to rediscover Him." 
 
 Some of the subjects of his sermons 
 suggest the character of his preaching: 
 "Personal knowledge of Christ necessary 
 to withstand argument," "The power of 
 individual goodness," "The contrast be- 
 tween the Church and the world," "The 
 ideal of the Christian, and the assurance 
 of attaining it," "The danger lest the 
 Christian life become an unsympathetic 
 doing of duties for low ends," "The essen-
 
 126 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 tials of true family life." During the 
 Lenten season he made addresses upon 
 such subjects as, "The glory of God in 
 the face of Jesus Christ," "Examples of 
 heroism in the Christian life," and "The 
 soul of man in its relationship to God as 
 expressed in the Psalms of David." 
 
 His talks to children, which he gave 
 each year during Lent, were along similar 
 lines of thought; for instance, "Jesus the 
 children's Savior" and "What men and 
 women have borne for the Christian faith." 
 
 Memories of his early years, when in 
 the family circle the Bible was read, were 
 ever with him. When we think of his 
 ancestors, of those men who loved and 
 revered God's word, and shaped their 
 lives and conduct according to its precepts, 
 it is natural to find in him a profound re- 
 gard and love for the Scriptures. Here 
 was God's great storehouse of spiritual
 
 THE PREACHER 127 
 
 .facts, which he studied diligently, and 
 used for the purpose of character building. 
 He tried to have his people see their own 
 lives reflected in familiar biblical scenes. 
 The Bible was his proving ground for all 
 questions of social, moral, and intellectual 
 life. "Each word seems as real and as 
 necessary for us as though our ears were 
 the first to hear them," he said. 
 
 No man welcomed with more joy and 
 gladness than Mr. Brooks the advance 
 that had been made out of the old theology 
 of his fathers, but it troubled him when 
 he saw the tendency of men to mistake 
 carelessness and indifference to God for 
 freedom from fear. He saw men calling 
 themselves Christians, but ceasing to 
 learn more of the character of God. 
 Speaking of the influence of the Calvin- 
 istic theology upon the Puritans, he said: 
 "To Him and to His laws they bowed in
 
 128 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 perfect loyalty in every relationship of 
 life. They were proud to be led captive 
 at His chariot-wheels, and felt no hum- 
 bling or shame, but peace and rest in 
 union with the Almighty. Herein sprang 
 surely the sweetest, noblest virtues of 
 right-doing, purity, constancy, fearless- 
 ness, patience, shall we forget these, and 
 let their misjudgment as to God's law 
 oftentimes, shut out the vision of those 
 sweet-faced women, and strong, grave, 
 earnest men of conviction which they have 
 left behind them for us to wonder at, and 
 envy in these days ? That is what loyalty, 
 and obedience to the will of God, and 
 right-doing, as they thought that they 
 knew His law, brought forth. It does not 
 seem altogether strange and absurd when 
 we regard them thus, that John Cotton 
 said that he loved to have a taste of John 
 Calvin before he went to bed at night.
 
 THE PREACHER 129 
 
 It assured him of safety, we may believe, 
 in the arms of the great and mighty God, 
 to whose service he had given his life. 
 Would we not all like to have such a feel- 
 ing about God, whose we are, and whom 
 we serve?" 
 
 This picture is interesting, for it affords 
 us a glimpse of Mr. Brooks' spiritual na- 
 ture, his regard for conduct, and his rev- 
 erence for the past. The Puritan influence 
 upon him is shown in his unceasing regard 
 for God's will, "the Law," obedience, 
 and kindred themes, subjects upon 
 which he preached many sermons. 
 
 Such thoughts as these were charac- 
 teristic of him: "To love the law and 
 to rejoice in it is the true aim, otherwise 
 it is not a true vision of God," and "the 
 insistence of every life ought to consist in 
 this, that I do my duty, and not only do it, 
 but in my sentiments become like the law.
 
 130 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 I am not only to do good, but to be good." 
 He endeavored to learn the character of 
 God, as he followed His will and His law. 
 The manner in which he connected the- 
 ology with life prompted a Congregational 
 clergyman to remark that Mr. Brooks 
 "was a little strenuous in his theology." 
 It was, however, his profound sense of duty 
 and responsibility to God and Christ that 
 often gave to his sermons this doctrinal 
 aspect. He aimed, not to entertain or 
 make his preaching popular, but to in- 
 struct in God's word, to arouse the con- 
 science, and to make real God and Christ 
 to men. 
 
 Mr. Brooks was called upon at one time 
 to read before the literary club of which he 
 was a member, an essay on the subject of 
 the Church and the Sacraments. He en- 
 deavored to present the "simplest com- 
 plete idea of the Church.'* He quoted one
 
 THE PREACHER 131 
 
 verse which seemed to convey concisely 
 the whole story of how the Church came 
 into being, "Because I live, ye shall 
 live also." He said, "The Church was, 
 and is, and ever shall be a natural conse- 
 quence of Christ's Incarnation, it was 
 something grown out of his previous ex- 
 istence. It became a brotherhood of men 
 worshiping Christ as their revelation of 
 the Highest, that is God." Of the Sacra- 
 ments, he said, "Christ needed to establish 
 but two forms to sustain the Church's 
 healthful life. One should establish fit- 
 ness for entrance into the Church by a 
 confession of faith in Father, Son, and 
 Holy Ghost, and therefore acceptance of 
 relation with Him. The other should 
 supply a never-ceasing source of com- 
 munion with the brethren and the As- 
 cended Lord. These two sacraments link 
 the person partaking of them with the per-
 
 132 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 sonal Christ, and with Him alone, bap- 
 tism with Him as an historical existence in 
 Whom he believes and the Lord's Supper 
 with Him as a spiritual existence with 
 Whom he daily lives." 
 
 More and more in later years the mys- 
 tery of the Holy Eucharist occupied the 
 central place in his preaching. In it he 
 found a strength and power ; Christ was 
 present, real and living, and he sought to 
 impart to others the truth of this sustaining 
 spiritual help, as those who listened to him 
 bear witness. He said, "God comes to us 
 in Christ in this Sacrament. He enters 
 into our imperfect life. He accepts the 
 dwelling place which we have to offer. 
 The dear Lord answers our prayer, and 
 comes, almighty to deliver. He occupies 
 our life by satisfying its standards and 
 wants, and makes of it a spiritual place 
 once more. Christ becomes present by
 
 THE PREACHER 133 
 
 an invisible though most real communion 
 with Him. He communicates Himself 
 to His faithful people in the closest of 
 all unions." 
 
 His views on the services of the Church 
 were what might be expected from an 
 evangelical training. He loved the ser- 
 vice, simple and free from ritual. The 
 Prayer Book, with its emphasis upon wor- 
 ship, he treasured, and he followed its 
 rubrics faithfully; so great was his love 
 for it that he disliked to shorten the ser- 
 vices, even when the Prayer Book itself 
 permitted him to do so. 
 
 Naturalness, simplicity, and stability 
 were to Mr. Brooks the glory of the 
 Church. He felt that man's needs for 
 orderly government were fulfilled in her 
 threefold ministry. "It is that body 
 handed down by the Apostles, and which 
 has so remained to the present day," he
 
 134 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 said ; and to him she was the guardian of 
 the Scriptures, while in her creeds were 
 preserved the records of a loving God, 
 with which she defends the truth as it is 
 in Christ Jesus. 
 
 In the following extract from a sermon 
 on the Church, Mr. Brooks tells of his 
 ideals of the ministry, and the relation of 
 minister and people. His text is from the 
 tenth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, 
 the twenty-first verse, "Then Peter 
 went down to the men which were sent 
 unto him from Cornelius; and said, * Be- 
 hold, I am he whom ye seek : what is the 
 cause wherefore ye are come ? ' ' 
 
 In the course of his sermon, he said : 
 "Now all this scene as it unfolds itself 
 before my mind, my people, images for 
 me the Christian Church in its simplicity, 
 and its fullness. Here we find the begin- 
 ning of the great Church of the world.
 
 THE PREACHER 135 
 
 Here is a congregation, a meeting of 
 minister and people, a coming together 
 just as you and I have come together 
 this morning. In Simon Peter's position 
 in that meeting I feel that we should find 
 very grave lessons as to the Christian 
 ministry, lessons which we need to learn 
 over again in every new age. A minister 
 should come to his people straight from 
 the presence of God, with one simple 
 thing to offer, and that one of which his 
 whole being is full, namely, the story of 
 the life and death of Jesus Christ. His 
 one work should be to tell that over and 
 over to men, in whatever form he can 
 find expression for it. And also, the true 
 minister comes with the grand respect for 
 man, and as man which Simon brought 
 from the presence of God to Cornelius. 
 Unless I feel the intrinsic worth of every 
 human life to which I speak, based upon
 
 136 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 its right and ability to hear and make its 
 own the simple story of the Son of God, 
 I am on a low plane indeed of the ministry. 
 My friends, you will understand me when 
 I say that I sometimes feel that you do 
 not allow me to be all that my holiest 
 ambition would have me be in this respect. 
 "Each year, and peculiarly at the con- 
 firmation season, I feel the dread creep 
 over me that I am losing my high estimate 
 of the worth of man as man lying in his 
 title to take the knowledge of Jesus 
 Christ into his life. Like Simon Peter, I 
 go to God, and hear the blessed truth 
 from the divine lips, that all men are 
 worthy of the privilege, and then I put 
 the question with more and more of 
 trembling as my ministry advances, * What 
 is the cause wherefore ye are come?' 
 longing for the answer from your lips 
 that you have come to receive from
 
 THE PREACHER 137 
 
 your minister and to acknowledge as 
 your own henceforth that which alone it 
 is my honor and privilege to give you. 
 There have come from time to time 
 responses from some which have cheered 
 my faith in my high ideal of the ministry, 
 but too often the cause wherefore ye have 
 come has been a lower one than your 
 dignity entitled you to seek, and some- 
 thing which it was not the glory of my 
 Christian ministry to provide. Often as 
 I say to my parishioners, man or woman, 
 young or old, 'what is the cause wherefore 
 ye are come to the Church ? ' hoping 
 eagerly to hear, 'because I would learn 
 of and become a disciple of Jesus Christ,' 
 I have heard instead the life declare 
 itself unworthy of assuming its only real 
 dignity of confessing a knowledge of Him, 
 and say that music or family connection, 
 or sociability, or even convenience was
 
 138 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 the cause. Can you not see, now at least, 
 what I mean when I say that you sadly 
 lower sometimes the ideal ministry of 
 your rector ? The Church in the thought 
 of your minister is intended for only one 
 thing, the giving of the Gospel to every 
 man. Would you have him exchange 
 that conception of his calling for a lower 
 one, and do you think that this change 
 would elevate or degrade his ministering 
 among you ? . . . 
 
 "I rejoice in all that you have so richly 
 given me, your loving friendship, your 
 respect, and loyal confidence, your sym- 
 pathy and support in the affairs of the 
 church. But are there not those here, 
 who, in their own lives or in those of their 
 families, might assign to me a nobler 
 position as their minister by seeking to 
 meet me, and have their children meet 
 me as Cornelius sought Simon Peter,
 
 THE PREACHER 139 
 
 saying, 'Now, therefore, are we all here 
 present before God, to hear all things 
 that are commanded thee of God ' ? 
 Such uniting of parishioners and minister 
 can only come about by each starting 
 from the presence of the angel of God, 
 whispering to each the message of in- 
 completeness of life, however devout, 
 God-fearing, generous, and prayerful it 
 may be, without the simple story of 
 Christ's life and death heard and accepted 
 in it. ... 
 
 "My people, I believe and feel sure 
 that we have come to make our whole 
 church relation too confused and too low. 
 The church is one where minister and 
 people come together for no other reason 
 save the highest, and the simplest, because 
 Jesus Christ has lived, and died, and 
 risen again. . . . Such I would have my 
 church to be. "
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE MINISTER OF CONSOLATION 
 
 IN the time of death and affliction the 
 arrival of Mr. Brooks was anxiously 
 awaited. It was his rule to drop every- 
 thing else, and go at once to a bereaved 
 family. He possessed a remarkable abil- 
 ity to say the right word and he was strong 
 in bringing comfort to others. It always 
 grieved him when people did not let him 
 know of their troubles at once, but there 
 are some in every parish who expect the 
 minister to know of their troubles by 
 some indirect means. Thus he was 
 sometimes unjustly blamed for his un- 
 conscious remissness, but John Brooks 
 expected that, and it did not deter him 
 from doing his best to bring help and
 
 MINISTER OF CONSOLATION 141 
 
 courage to others. He once said that he 
 was almost sorry when people got well, 
 or out of their troubles, because he was 
 then not so free to speak to them of higher 
 things and of God. "During our time of 
 sorrow and sadness, he was always com- 
 ing to help us," said one of his parishion- 
 ers. "I remember one thing that stands 
 out clearly as illustrative of his faith, 
 it was after our dear mother's death, and 
 he was telling me that I must not grieve. 
 'Why,' said he, 'so many of my family 
 have gone that I feel exactly as if they 
 had gone to a new country, and I am sim- 
 ply staying behind a little while to pack up 
 the last luggage, and follow after them.' 
 So often have I recalled that speech, and 
 the glad light in his eyes that told it would 
 be really a welcome moment when it 
 came time to start." So John Brooks 
 went to the sorrowing homes of his peo-
 
 142 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 pie, and gave out of his own experience, 
 and the faith of his fathers, a strength and 
 courage in words that were convincing 
 and comforting. 
 
 The manner in which he endured sor- 
 rows in his own family life is shown by 
 some of his letters. Like his mother, when 
 greatly moved, he would often put his 
 feelings on paper. After the death of his 
 brother Phillips, he wrote the following : 
 
 CHRIST CHURCH RECTORY, 
 January 31, 1893. 
 
 MY DEAR MRS. : I am so grateful to you 
 
 for your dear and loving words of comfort and 
 strength, which I found waiting for me as the mes- 
 sage of remembrance from you and your husband, 
 when I returned Friday night. They did bring me 
 great strength, for all this mysterious, and at first 
 remarkable experience of loss has gradually been 
 growing clearer to me, and is showing me the glory 
 of life as manifested in this life that is gone. 
 
 I find myself longing to reach men more closely,
 
 MINISTER OF CONSOLATION 143 
 
 and bring to them more than ever his one great 
 message, now that his lips are closed, the mes- 
 sage of their sonship to God, which he learned 
 from Christ as the truth which belongs to every 
 man. You can see therefore how welcome was 
 the voice of a friend just then to tell me of my own 
 peculiar privileges, and opportunities with the 
 lives of my own dear people, and precious as the 
 letters of my other friends have been, yet those 
 of my parishioners have been so far more than 
 all others as bringing, it seemed, God's voice 
 telling me that what I longed to be and do, now 
 I had the chance to be and do. 
 
 How good it is to feel that that life, whose work 
 we have now to take up, and do our share of, was 
 so grandly simple that it is no hard study for us to 
 find its secret It was just living loyal to the truth 
 about himself, and about all other men which God 
 in Christ revealed to him. 
 
 I cannot but think how that missionary meet- 
 ing of yours next week is going to be just what 
 we need at this time to emphasize that one 
 thought.
 
 144 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 Again with warmest thanks to you both for all 
 that you are to me, and allow me to be to you. 
 
 How impersonal is his allusion to his 
 brother, he does not mention his name, 
 simply "that life" ! The secret of Phillips 
 Brooks' life he tells us is "just living the 
 truth about himself and about all other 
 men which God in Christ revealed to 
 him." And so he went on in his parish 
 being and doing for "my own dear 
 people." His mention of the missionary 
 meeting shows his deep desire to bring 
 all the work of the parish into harmony 
 with his own love for Christ, and for 
 "this life that is gone." The death of 
 his brother was a great loss to him. He 
 said at that time, "I have been doubly 
 bereaved, I have lost my brother and my 
 Bishop, and one who was like a father to 
 me. Seventeen years my senior, he was 
 my authority in all things, and my truest
 
 MINISTER OF CONSOLATION 145 
 
 friend." In the early years Phillips as 
 a schoolboy would return from school 
 and call for the baby, or Johnny, as he 
 called him even when he became a man. 
 Throughout his life Phillips had been 
 his counselor and guide. He had advised 
 him in his college days, had gone to Eu- 
 rope with him, and had come to Spring- 
 field to preach for him. All those years 
 he had taken great pride in "Johnny's" 
 ministry and successes. 
 
 Two years later, in the summer of 
 1895, his brother Arthur died. He was 
 rector of the Church of the Incarnation 
 in New York City, and is remembered 
 by his work for the education of women, 
 as it was largely through his efforts that 
 Barnard College was placed on a success- 
 ful footing. He was an able preacher and 
 a leader in diocesan affairs. After the 
 
 death of Phillips Brooks he undertook 
 10
 
 146 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 the work of writing his life, but his health 
 failed, and going abroad he died on the 
 return voyage. As the steamer bearing 
 his body approached the dock, John 
 Brooks called out to the captain, "Is all 
 well," and he replied, "All is well." But 
 the tone of the captain's voice told him 
 that his brother Arthur was dead. Thus 
 three of the Brooks brothers had died in 
 the service of the Master. John was the 
 only one of the four ministers of that 
 noble group left to carry on the work and 
 preach the message they had lived to 
 bear to men. 
 
 A letter written shortly after his brother 
 Arthur's death reads as follows: 
 
 MABION, MASSACHUSETTS, 
 July 31, 1895. 
 
 DEAR MRS. : I thank you and your hus- 
 band most warmly for your kind and sympathizing 
 words in the great affliction which has come to me,
 
 MINISTER OF CONSOLATION 147 
 
 telling how much you were thinking of me during 
 those long days of suspense and sorrow. 
 
 It was comforting to know of human love spring- 
 ing so quickly to cheer and help, and then the 
 thought came, if such was human love, what must 
 God's love be in it all ? It has been very, very hard 
 to understand all that God has been revealing to 
 us in these sad days, but I do not expect to do so 
 now. I am sure that He wants all life for his ser- 
 vice, and so there must be some far greater work 
 somewhere for which He has wanted my brother 
 as He did the three others, but that He wants me 
 to stay here and finish the work that He has given 
 me to do. 
 
 After his brothers' deaths Mr. Brooks 
 each time settled down to his work with 
 a renewed earnestness and power, which 
 showed in his preaching, which became 
 more eager, and full of passion for Christ. 
 From his parishioners came a love and 
 sympathy that only tended to endear 
 them more and more to him. In all his
 
 148 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 sorrow he retained his marvelous op- 
 timism and cheer. He seemed to be 
 spurred on to higher and better service. 
 One evening after the Bishop's death, 
 two of his parishioners went to his study 
 to express their sympathy. "Not once 
 did he strike the note of personal loss," 
 one said. "How uplifted, how even 
 cheery he was, and the burden of his 
 talk was 'Now that he is gone there is 
 all the more for the rest of us to do. We 
 must all work as hard as we can to make 
 up for losing him.' ' Thus it was for 
 him a lesson of greater and nobler service. 
 During these years his wife was an 
 invalid, and to her he was most devoted. 
 He once said to one who spoke of missing 
 her in the life of the parish, "No one 
 knows what my wife has been to me. 
 She has been my inspiration since the 
 first day I met her, and always will be as
 
 MINISTER OF CONSOLATION 149 
 
 long as we live, whether she is ill or well. 
 She is that unique combination of gentle- 
 ness and strength which produces a 
 character of rare beauty and power. It 
 seems a pity that the world should lose 
 her influence for so many years." 
 
 After the death of his brother Arthur, 
 his health was not good; he had worked 
 along for years with an energy and force 
 that were remarkable for a man of his 
 frail physique. During the winter of 
 1895-96, while spending a number of 
 months abroad with his family, he wrote 
 the following letter from Naples to one 
 of his parishioners, which shows his 
 humor, his tenderness to his wife, and his 
 love for his parish: 
 
 PARKER'S HOTEL, LAKE TRAMONTANO, NAPLES, 
 February 27, 1896. 
 
 MY DEAR R : So we have called you and 
 
 thought of you ever since we turned our sea-
 
 150 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 tossed brains into the mouth of the mysterious 
 bag on the "Furst Bismarck" directed to the 
 
 Brooks from the R 's. 
 
 So I must address the family as a whole, and 
 thank you all most heartily in the name of all the 
 Brooks, for many delightful hours of much needed 
 self-forgetfulness. Indeed you were good more 
 than you realized in "directing his attention " as 
 they told Mulvaney to do with my lord the ele- 
 phant, and we have the precious bag stored away 
 with our steamer things to serve us again on our 
 return voyage. . . . Our stay in lovely Sorrento was 
 charming among the donkeys and oranges, and 
 then came heavenly Capri for two blissful days, 
 fascinating veins of mingled mountains and sea 
 everywhere. We do not know another place as 
 beautiful, unless it be little Ravello perched up 
 above old Amalfi with its ruined palaces, and con- 
 vents, and churches, a town in its prime in the tenth 
 century, and dead now for a hundred years. 
 We stopped there three weeks, but at last the cold 
 drove us to Naples at Christmas, where we happily 
 found the Brewers. After that time we went to 
 Sicily to spend the month of January at Palermo.
 
 MINISTER OF CONSOLATION 151 
 
 In spite of bad, rainy weather we delighted in the 
 wonderful architecture and rare old mosaics in 
 such profusion there, but after a time, Mrs. Brooks, 
 who had come away from home greatly exhausted 
 and careworn, came down with her old enemy 
 the rheumatism. ... It has been very hard to feel 
 her deprived of so much enjoyment for a time, 
 and in such suffering and weakness, but we are re- 
 joicing to feel that the worst is now over, and that 
 the doctor assures us of her going on to Rome next 
 week some time. . . . We have about four months 
 more to enjoy, and then shall sail from Genoa for 
 the dear old home, full to overflowing with what 
 we have seen and done, but oh, so happy in what 
 is our daily thought, the taking up next September 
 of the blessed old life in the midst of all the dear, 
 loving hearts. It is with me night and day, and 
 sometimes it seems as if I could not wait to feel 
 myself hi the old study and church once more, 
 but yet what a lovely experience lies before us 
 here in these coming weeks. Rome, Florence, 
 Venice, Milan, and all the lesser places. How we 
 will talk together next winter ! How I wish that
 
 152 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 you could see wonderful Pompeii, and then the 
 treasures of fresco and bronze and marble from 
 it stored in the Museum. I am so glad that Mrs. 
 Brooks was able to go and see it with us. The 
 girls went first with me, and then another day she 
 went, so that by having a chair for her we could 
 show her all that we had enjoyed. . . . The spirit of 
 old Roman life and mythology is everywhere, and 
 you seem to live the very life. How splendidly all 
 is going in parish life, and what a noble fellow Mr. 
 
 P is. How I long to be at his ordination, 
 
 but I must n't do so, it is all right. How is the 
 St. Andrew's, and G. F. S., and the Trinity Club, 
 Sunday school, and all the rest ? . . . I am thinking 
 of you all these Lenten days in the chapel, and 
 shall be with you at Easter. Think of us some- 
 where between Rome and Florence. . . . 
 
 The "mysterious bag" alluded to at 
 the beginning of the letter was sent to 
 them as they were about to leave America, 
 filled with puzzles, games, riddles, verses, 
 and such things, to help them pass the
 
 MINISTER OF CONSOLATION 153 
 
 time on shipboard. Mr. Brooks returned 
 from his trip abroad refreshed and 
 strengthened for his work. During those 
 months of absence, however, it was dif- 
 ficult for him to throw off the thought of 
 his people. In truth, there was no time 
 in his life at Springfield when he could 
 free himself from it on account of the 
 intensity of his nature. When death en- 
 tered the home of one of his families 
 during his summer vacations he would 
 return to Springfield without being asked 
 to do so, for he felt that he was then most 
 needed, and he longed to be a comfort and 
 help. The following letter written while 
 abroad is significant in this connection: 
 
 57 VIA SISTINA, ROME, 
 March 19, 1896. 
 
 MY DEAR : I have read in the paper with 
 
 very great pain of the sorrow which has come to 
 you in the death of your mother, and so long to be
 
 154 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 with you and bring you some words of comfort 
 and strength during these days of bereavement. 
 
 The greatest deprivation of this long time of 
 separation is the loss of the precious privilege of 
 sharing the burdens of those I love so dearly, but 
 God knows what is best, and I can at least send 
 you my message of tenderest sympathy in this 
 great loss. For I remember so well from your 
 talks how you have dreaded it, and not for your- 
 self alone, but even more for the lonely life which 
 it would bring to the last days of your dear father. 
 But now that it has come, I am sure that there will 
 also come to you, as always in the loss of such a 
 pure and holy life, a spiritual power which will 
 help you to see God's love, and to understand 
 something even now of the meaning of it. 
 
 And then I know too, what a calm and strong 
 teaching is coming to you daily from your father's 
 Christian trust and patience. I love to feel the 
 connection between your mother's earthly life, and 
 that of my dear brother Arthur's, and how his 
 prayers were offered once, as you told me, for her. 
 Now that the work of each is done here, they are
 
 MINISTER OF CONSOLATION 155 
 
 living the immortal life together, until we join 
 them above. 
 
 How all our thoughts are turned to Christ, as 
 we think of these earthly servants of his. I am so 
 glad that you have had these sad but blessed days 
 of Lent to comfort you with the daily thought of 
 Christ's sharing our human weakness and pain 
 and death with us. And how I shall think of you 
 all on Easter morning as Christ brings forth our 
 life immortal from the conquered grave. 
 
 May God be with you in all your sorrow, my 
 very dear friend, and sanctify it richly to you and 
 your dear father. 
 
 It was but natural for John Brooks to 
 deem it a precious privilege to be with his 
 people at such times. When the news 
 came that a loved one had died, he went 
 at once to the home. Sometimes he would 
 sit quietly in the house, letting his pres- 
 ence be what comfort it could. Once at 
 the bed of a dying child he knelt, and said, 
 "Let us pray," and the prayer was "Our
 
 156 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 Father who art in Heaven." For years 
 after that, when even deeper sorrow came 
 to that home, the mother said that "Our 
 Father," to whom he always referred, 
 took on a different meaning. "He was to 
 my family a sincere and precious friend, 
 and minister." He did not confine the 
 expression of his sympathy, however, to 
 members of his own parish, for the ruling 
 motive of his life was very strong, it 
 was simply service for others. In that 
 work he found a joy and happiness which 
 surpassed that of other men who were 
 prospering in the business world. To 
 him no business in the world equaled 
 that of the Christian ministry. It was 
 this point of view that made him con- 
 sider his work a privilege, made his 
 efforts a success, and his own faith serene 
 and strong. 
 
 The words of the Burial Service he
 
 MINISTER OF CONSOLATION 157 
 
 read in a subdued and reverent tone, 
 which showed the depth of his feelings. 
 In the sick-room his reading of a simple 
 hymn would often infuse it with a new 
 meaning. Sometimes at a funeral, when 
 circumstances made a few words advisa- 
 ble, he did not touch upon personalities, 
 but spoke of Christ, and the joy and hope 
 of the Life Immortal.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 / 
 
 TWO MEMORABLE SERVICES 
 
 THE two services in Mr. Brooks' min- 
 istry deserving special mention were the 
 consecration of the church in 1900, and 
 the twenty-fifth anniversary of his minis- 
 try in Christ Church in 1903. 
 
 Twice during the year 1899 he appealed 
 to the parish for money. During the first 
 six months of the year he paid off ten 
 thousand dollars of a debt of fourteen 
 thousand dollars. This he accomplished, 
 not only by his talks from the chancel on 
 Sunday mornings, but also by sending a 
 personal letter to every communicant of 
 the church. In the fall he began again 
 and wrote another letter with the result 
 that on Christmas Day the debt was
 
 MEMORABLE SERVICES 159 
 
 cleared. In all his talks and letters upon 
 the subject there was never a note of dis- 
 couragement ; he was always hopeful and 
 optimistic. While these letters contained 
 business-like statements, they ended, as 
 did the last one, in this manner: "I beg 
 you most earnestly and affectionately, my 
 dear parishioners, to sacrifice to your ut- 
 most for your church's need, that by your 
 generous offerings this may be memorable 
 as the last call for a debt on Christ Church 
 in its history." The letter was a loving 
 appeal. He never forced his people, or 
 scolded, or found fault when things were 
 going wrong. He attained his ends by 
 persuasion, and by the confidence that 
 his sincerity and honesty inspired. 
 
 On the tenth of October the next year, 
 1900, the consecration service was held 
 in Christ Church. Bishop Lawrence at 
 the beginning of his sermon turned to Mr.
 
 160 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 Brooks, and said, "On you, my dear 
 brother, has rested the heaviest part of 
 the burden, which, I know, you would now 
 call a privilege. With what supreme de- 
 votion and courage you have carried it 
 through deep trials, and many joys, your 
 people well know ; to you belongs a large 
 share of the joy of this day. I cannot 
 begin this sermon without recalling your 
 three brothers who have been called from 
 this ministry to a higher service, and real- 
 izing the sympathy and gratitude with 
 which they would have joined in this con- 
 secration. With what words of burning 
 eloquence would your brother, the great 
 bishop, have illumined the whole occa- 
 sion. The privilege of preaching the ser- 
 mon which would have been his, has 
 fallen to me, and I gratefully, yet humbly, 
 accept it. As Bishop, and in behalf of 
 this Diocese, I congratulate you. I can-
 
 MEMORABLE SERVICES 161 
 
 not, however, speak simply as your 
 Bishop; for over thirty years we have 
 been bound together by ties of friendship ; 
 together we entered college; together we 
 studied for the ministry ; together we did 
 our first work, in common charge of the 
 little mission in Philadelphia. It was 
 your voice that in convention commended 
 me for the office of Bishop : to you I first 
 turned to be my helper as archdeacon in 
 the mission work of Western Massachu- 
 setts. These personal words are not out 
 of place even in this public service, for 
 the commendation and congratulation of 
 friend by friend are a part of the happiest 
 and richest rewards of this busy age." 
 
 As the long procession of bishops, 
 clergy, and guests passed up the aisle, 
 singing the hymn, "Ancient of Days," a 
 crowded church bore witness to a noble 
 
 and devoted ministry. After the reading 
 11
 
 162 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 of the Instrument of Donation, the sen- 
 tence of Consecration was pronounced by 
 Bishop Lawrence. 
 
 On December the sixteenth, three years 
 later, the twenty-fifth anniversary of Mr. 
 Brooks' ministry was celebrated. At this 
 service Bishop Vinton, assisted by Bishop 
 McVickar of Rhode Island, Bishop Law- 
 rence of Massachusetts, and Bishop Bur- 
 gess of Long Island, administered Holy 
 Communion. Brief addresses were made 
 by the bishops present and a few of the 
 clergy, bearing witness to the achieve- 
 ments of Mr. Brooks' ministry. 
 
 The Rt. Rev. Alexander H. Vin- 
 ton, D.D., of Western Massachusetts, was 
 the first to speak. He said, "Twenty-five 
 years of a man's mature life spent in one 
 congregation ! What chords of love are 
 wound about the hearts of a people in 
 that time ! There are undertones of feel-
 
 MEMORABLE SERVICES 163 
 
 ing beneath the articulate expressions of 
 affection and esteem which will be spoken 
 to-day. You can only know the place 
 which your rector holds in your hearts. 
 No occasion could more beautifully re- 
 flect the relations between you and him 
 than this celebration which you are car- 
 rying out to-day. No more devoted rector 
 ever served a church: all he is, and all 
 he has been, he has given freely to you 
 through these long years. He has sanc- 
 tified your sorrows, shared your joys, and 
 lent his helpful presence to the vicissi- 
 tudes of your daily life. I cannot but feel 
 that those of our number who have 
 passed on to their reward are looking 
 down upon us in sympathy and rejoicing 
 this day." 
 
 Bishop McVickar of Rhode Island, 
 who was closely associated with Phillips 
 Brooks, said, "Give us a man for twenty-
 
 164 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 five years, and we know him pretty well, 
 and yet you who have known him so long 
 will want to know more of the man. You 
 want to go back to that beautiful home 
 where he was bred. I wish I could do 
 justice to this family. We would like 
 once more to see the sweet, strong face 
 of the mother, the manly face of the head 
 of the family, noted for his methodical 
 habits in all things, and the six sons. 
 One thing we know, the strong family 
 life that was there, each one of the mem- 
 bers feeling the other's influence. The 
 world is grateful for such a family." 
 
 The Rev. Arthur Lawrence, D.D., 
 rector of St. Paul's Church, Stockbridge, 
 Massachusetts, then said, "It is rarely 
 that we can celebrate a twenty-fifth anni- 
 versary in a church. In the old days a 
 parish was like a wife, and the minister 
 took it for life. A strong ministry is a
 
 MEMORABLE SERVICES 165 
 
 long one, and we must protest against the 
 modern idea that a man wears out in the 
 ministry. It is but the unrest of our 
 present-day demand for changes. The 
 greatest honor is one which time alone 
 can give. A man may leap to military 
 fame in a day, or be raised up to be a 
 bishop of a diocese in an hour, but neither 
 can rank beside him who wears the chev- 
 rons of service. Whether it is a patrolman 
 or a car-conductor, the bars on his sleeve 
 mean years of service and duty per- 
 formed. We are here to-day to place the 
 bars of service on the rector of this church. 
 He has been with you in confirmation, in 
 marriage, and in every other great occa- 
 sion in your lives, and a tenderness exists 
 between you which only long time and 
 faithful service can bring. We meet to- 
 day to bid godspeed to the cause of the 
 Church, and to give a vital expression of
 
 166 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 our hope that he may be with you with 
 unfailing strength and vigor in the years 
 to come." 
 
 The Rev. Leighton Parks, D.D., then 
 rector of Emmanuel Church, Boston, 
 speaking on "Life in the Undivided 
 Diocese," said in part: "In the old dio- 
 cese there is only one thing to tell in brief 
 time, and that is the influence of Phillips 
 Brooks. I remember the first time I met 
 John Brooks was when he was with 
 Phillips Brooks. I knew Phillips, but I 
 did n't know John ; I saw Phillips snap 
 off his eye-glasses and I heard him say, 
 'That is Parks.' John said, 'You don't 
 mean it.' They came across the street 
 and Phillips looked at me with that 
 amused interest which seemed to say, 'It 
 seems impossible that anybody so little 
 can live.' So the first time I ever saw 
 John Brooks he was with his brother,
 
 MEMORABLE SERVICES 167 
 
 and I have never been able to think of 
 one without the other since. All these 
 years he and those of us who knew his 
 brother have been obliged to measure 
 ourselves by that majestic figure of the 
 Christian minister. But the old diocese 
 has done for John Brooks even more, it 
 has given him also the inspiration that 
 came through that friendship, through 
 that brotherhood, through that example; 
 for no man ever drew near Phillips Brooks 
 who did not come out of his presence with 
 a feeling of his own unworthiness, but as 
 well with a sublime hope for what he was 
 to do in the future, a belief that in him, 
 poor as he was, there was something that 
 God had made which He had given to no 
 other man. And that, I know, has been 
 the glory and the joy of these twenty-five 
 years, that even the great brother did not 
 exhaust all of God's gifts to the ministry.
 
 168 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 And so I come to bring the greeting of the 
 old, undivided diocese, and to remind you 
 of what no man needs to be reminded of, 
 that the glory of the diocese was Phillips 
 Brooks." 
 
 Two classmates of Mr. Brooks while 
 at Harvard and the Seminary spoke 
 next. The Rev. Floyd Tomkins, rector of 
 Holy Trinity Church, Philadelphia, said: 
 "When I came back from the mission 
 field I met Mr. Brooks with the same 
 spirit in which we would have met soon 
 after graduation. It has been so all 
 through these long years; whenever we 
 come together, we go back to the dear 
 college days and privileges. Then, the 
 graduation of Phillips Brooks in 1855 
 seemed an age ago, but now our own is 
 still further in the past. But our enthu- 
 siasm is still young, and those blessed days 
 return to us with perennial freshness and
 
 MEMORABLE SERVICES 169 
 
 vigor. This is not a day of obituaries ; we 
 are still active young men, and we will 
 work for many years yet and carry through 
 them the spirit of youth and of hope. And 
 on some distant day there will be a re- 
 union of all colleges where we shall again 
 feel the thrill of our entrance enthusiasm 
 and youthful hopes." 
 
 His other classmate, the Rev. Harry P. 
 Nichols, D.D., rector of Holy Trinity 
 Church, New York City, referred to the 
 seminary days at Andover, saying, "It 
 was good for us to be amongst those 
 distinguished men, for though we have 
 outgrown the education we received, we 
 have been left the splendid heritage of 
 character. We were glad to sit at the 
 feet of the great teachers, just because 
 they were great. And from those days 
 we brought away a sense of good-fellow- 
 ship, which is one of the strongest char-
 
 170 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 acteristics of John Brooks, he has still 
 the same breeziness and open-hearted- 
 ness that made him so dear to all men." 
 
 Two of Mr. Brooks' former assistants 
 followed Dr. Nichols. His first assistant 
 minister, the Rev. Daniel Dulany Addi- 
 son, D.D., rector of All Saints' Church, 
 Brookline, Massachusetts, spoke as fol- 
 lows : "The keynote to the success of Mr. 
 Brooks is his singleness of purpose in up- 
 building the parish. He has entertained 
 no other ambition, and vague ideas of 
 establishing the kingdom of God in dis- 
 tant lands have had little weight with 
 him as compared with the work in his 
 home city and his church. Again, his 
 success is largely due to his skillful gen- 
 eralship in laying large plans and policies, 
 and watching carefully over the details. 
 Mr. Brooks felt that if work was to be 
 done it was for him to lead and for the
 
 MEMORABLE SERVICES 171 
 
 parish to follow. His knowledge of the 
 people was also a large factor. Parish 
 visiting has almost passed away in large 
 mart churches, but not in Christ Church. 
 He has carried his spirit of loving cheer 
 into thousands of homes in his friendly 
 visitations, and it has borne fruit in the 
 affection you have for him to-day. He 
 has also taken an active part in civic 
 affairs, and his work as exemplified in the 
 Union Relief Association stands for the 
 latest ideal in modern charity. He in- 
 vestigates every case and always rules 
 his charity by his judgment. . . . Last of 
 all, let me testify to the vitality of his 
 preaching. You all will bear witness 
 that many of his sermons are not un- 
 worthy of the mind of his brother, 
 Phillips Brooks. There is a quiet elo- 
 quence and a loving spirit of Christ in 
 them; he has brought new thought from
 
 172 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 his very soul and shared it with you for 
 the last twenty-five years. He is truly 
 your minister, for he is your servant in 
 the church and home. He who truly 
 serves is the greatest among you all." 
 
 Then the Rev. James DeWolf Perry, Jr., 
 rector of St. Paul's Church, New Haven, 
 Connecticut, said: "He has united the 
 inspiration of his earlier experiences with 
 the reflection of his maturer years, and 
 has concentrated his whole energy on 
 building up a strong parish. In it the 
 family life predominated; Christ Church 
 is like one great family. The youth of 
 the church turn to their rector as they 
 would to an elder brother, and always 
 find his heart attuned for loving sym- 
 pathy in their troubles and ambitious. I 
 have often had reason to congratulate 
 myself that I had his strong example 
 before me in the first years of my min-
 
 MEMORABLE SERVICES 173 
 
 istry, but sometimes I have envied the 
 young man who could settle in this city 
 and become a worker and a companion 
 for life of Mr. Brooks." 
 
 The Rt. Rev. Frederick Burgess, D.D., 
 Bishop of Long Island, said: "As I 
 stand here to-day it seems as though 
 there must be some mistake in celebrating 
 this as the twenty-fifth anniversary of the 
 coming of my friend to this church, for 
 it seems to me that it was only the other 
 day or the othor year that I was rector 
 of Grace Church, Amherst, and as neigh- 
 bors in the diocese, we often exchanged 
 pulpits and ideas. Youth has the ad- 
 vantage that it makes friends easily, and 
 our common tastes and ideals soon ce- 
 mented a lifelong friendship. The man 
 whom we honor to-day has a genius for 
 friendship. He has gone among the 
 people of the city, laughing, enjoying,
 
 174 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 weeping, as they did, and his friendships 
 have always been deep, true, and tender. 
 The clergy of the vicinity used to gather in 
 a kind of a club, and I well remember 
 how often the deepest, truest convictions 
 of our hearts flashed out in sparks of 
 truth at these gatherings. The laity do 
 not always truly know their rector, for 
 they cannot see these brightest lights of 
 his character which only shine in clerical 
 meetings. Such a day as this is a protest 
 in forgetting the past. The emphasis is 
 laid to-day on the value of a close friend- 
 ship between the church and the minister. 
 With such a gathering as this to look 
 back upon we can defy the heart of care 
 which so often rides with those who sit in 
 clerical saddles. We can defy the world- 
 weariness which is the greatest tempta- 
 tion of the aging clergyman." 
 
 The closing address was made by the
 
 MEMORABLE SERVICES 175 
 
 Rt. Rev. William Lawrence, D.D., the 
 Bishop of Massachusetts, a part of which 
 was as follows : "It was in the old college 
 days in Harvard that first we became in- 
 timate. We entered college together, 
 and studied and worshiped under the 
 same inspiration. Later in Andover 
 Theological School we lived, thought, 
 breathed, and ate theology together. We 
 both worked in small struggling parishes 
 for a time after graduation and kept in 
 close touch with each other, and when he 
 came to Springfield twenty-five years 
 ago we were still one in thought and 
 aspiration. Devotion, devotion, and yet 
 again devotion, is the basis on which 
 the work of my friend has always stood. 
 His persistent devotion through these 
 long years has found a rich reward in the 
 grateful hearts of his church and the com- 
 munity. For twenty-five years he has
 
 176 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 been going in and out of the houses in 
 Springfield, tracing out men, women, and 
 children in their joys and sorrows, and 
 bringing them home. The limitation 
 and glory of his life has been that he has 
 done the hardest of the work himself. 
 Grateful, loving assistance he has had in 
 great store, but he has been the leader, 
 and by the very force of his ideal has 
 drawn his followers after him. Through 
 all trouble and loss he has walked with 
 serenity, cheerfulness, and peace, and 
 never in the most trying times given up 
 his work among the people. No man 
 could be what he has been to the church 
 and the city unless he was sound in 
 heart and character to the very core." 
 
 At a reception in the evening, Mr. 
 Brooks was presented by his parishioners 
 with a purse of one thousand dollars. 
 His response was a fitting close to the
 
 MEMORABLE SERVICES 177 
 
 day: "I cannot express," he said, "the 
 stimulus and the exhilaration which this 
 day has given me. The central part of 
 my life is finished. And I have in some 
 degree seen the far-away hopes and 
 dreams of my earlier service in Christ 
 Church realized in the desire of my 
 fellow-men, as expressed to-day. I ac- 
 cept this gift as an outer and visible sign 
 of that intangible devotion, loyalty, and 
 love which is in your hearts toward me. 
 What shall I do with such a gift as repre- 
 sents the heart of a parish ? My service 
 with you has not been a duty, but a glad, 
 bright service in living in you and making 
 Christ live in your hearts. May Christ 
 at last show us that larger service, and 
 bring us all into the common service 
 of mankind." 
 
 12
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE LAST VOYAGE 
 
 THE year following the twenty-fifth 
 anniversary of Mr. Brooks' ministry he 
 began to show signs of failing health. In 
 the fall he attended the General Conven- 
 tion at Boston, as a delegate. Returning 
 to Springfield he was unable to work, and 
 spent a few weeks at Atlantic City. The 
 following year he was obliged to cease 
 his former activity in parish work, and 
 remained some time away from Spring- 
 field. He passed the summer of 1906 
 at Camden, Maine, and while there he 
 underwent a slight operation, from which 
 he seemed to recuperate. He spent the 
 days out of doors, rowing and taking 
 long walks, yet when the time came for
 
 THE LAST VOYAGE 179 
 
 him to return to Springfield he had lost 
 rather than gained in health. One of his 
 vestrymen, Mr. Henry H. Skinner, went 
 to Camden to find out about his health, 
 with the result that a six months' vaca- 
 tion was offered him. Mr. Brooks ac- 
 cepted the offer and prepared at once for a 
 winter abroad with his younger daughter, 
 Harriette. Before he returned to Spring- 
 field, he wrote the following letter. 
 
 CAMDEN, MAINE. 
 
 DEAR MRS. : I am going to ask you a 
 
 question, to which I want a good, honest, unusu- 
 ally honest, answer. You are always very good in 
 being willing to entertain stray clergymen, even 
 Congregationalists, I remember, and I wonder, 
 therefore, whether you would be willing to take 
 one in for a few days this week. He is one in 
 whom I am specially interested, namely myself. 
 
 You have heard already, I presume, of the very 
 kind offer of a vacation of six months from the 
 vestry to me, and I am coming home to arrange
 
 180 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 to sail for Europe, and the rectory is closed to me. 
 Now I do not often write this kind of a letter, and 
 it is very rare and valuable, and you must appre- 
 ciate it very much, and not be offended with me 
 for presuming to write it. 
 
 His request was quickly granted, and 
 he came back to spend the last few days 
 in Springfield. On Sunday he did not 
 preach, but made a short address from 
 the chancel. The visit with his friends 
 was a bright and happy one. The last 
 evening, his last in America, he sat about 
 the fireplace, talking and laughing with 
 his usual interest. He talked of the 
 parish, how proud he was of it, and what 
 noble men made up the vestry, for this 
 had always been a matter of pride with 
 him, to his vestrymen he had been 
 loyal, as they had been to him. On the 
 following day, as he was about to sail, 
 his affection for them was revealed, when
 
 THE LAST VOYAGE 181 
 
 he spoke again of their goodness in al- 
 lowing him to take such a long vacation. 
 So he spent his last evening in Spring- 
 field, talking to and of his people, how 
 much they had been to him and what he 
 thought of them. "We have the very 
 finest poor in the parish that there are in 
 town," he said. "And to think that 
 there is n't anybody I have to explain or 
 make apologies for in all the parish." 
 There is a depth of satisfaction in know- 
 ing that his last days in America were 
 spent so happily among his own people. 
 So he left his parish, after assuring him- 
 self that his new assistant would continue 
 in charge until he returned. 
 
 Christ Church was now a parish num- 
 bering over twelve hundred communi- 
 cants and free from debt. The in- 
 vested funds amounted to over fifty-five 
 thousand dollars, and the annual ex-
 
 182 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 penditures exceeded fifteen thousand 
 dollars. Financially he was leaving his 
 house in order. 
 
 On the twenty -fourth day of September, 
 1906, a few of his friends came to the " S. S. 
 Winifredian," at East Boston, to bid him 
 good-by. He left America that afternoon, 
 cheerful and happy, feeling that the trip 
 would restore his health. His physician 
 had told him that he might live for 
 twenty years if he would take a com- 
 plete rest and travel leisurely. After 
 arriving in England he spent a number 
 of weeks in some of the smaller towns 
 and visited a few of the English cathe- 
 drals. From the little town of Ross he 
 sent two picture postals home to Spring- 
 field. Twenty years before he had visited 
 the same town, and after his return he 
 called one afternoon on a parishioner, the 
 wife of a gardener, who had originally
 
 THE LAST VOYAGE 183 
 
 come from there. After all those twenty 
 years no reference was made to the place, 
 but he remembered his call that after- 
 noon, and sent the postals. On one he 
 wrote: "I have thought of you here in 
 this dear old town; spent afternoon at 
 Gloucester Cathedral," and on the other, 
 "For Auld Lang Syne, enjoying England 
 very much." The family to whom these 
 were sent was amazed at his remarkable 
 memory, but it was only an illustration 
 of his knowledge of his people and of his 
 interest in their lives. 
 
 Arriving at Paris the last of November, 
 he became rapidly worse from the illness 
 which for several years had been gradu- 
 ally sapping his strength. He was taken 
 to the private hospital of one of the most 
 skilled surgeons in Paris, and operated 
 upon. After the operation it was thought 
 that he would recover, and soon be able
 
 184 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 to return to America. On hearing of 
 his illness some of his old friends in 
 Boston and Philadelphia desired to show 
 their appreciation of his work and de- 
 votion to the Church. Thirteen thou- 
 sand dollars were to be presented to him 
 as an expression of friendship for him- 
 self and his brother Phillips. As such, 
 it was a rather remarkable token. But 
 Mr. Brooks never lived to know of this 
 tribute from his old friends. A few 
 weeks later a cable message from Paris 
 from his nephew, Mr. Charles Dana 
 Gibson, said: "End came this morning 
 most peacefully." This was on January 
 3d, 1907. 
 
 When the news of his death reached 
 Springfield, many were the homes that 
 mourned his loss. "The story of these 
 years will be told so far as their bare 
 facts are concerned," one of the Spring-
 
 THE LAST VOYAGE 185 
 
 field papers stated that day, "but the in- 
 spiration of John Brooks to young men 
 and women, and the strength his very 
 presence gave to those who really sought 
 to know him, that is a greater matter 
 of which scarce enough can be said." It 
 was true, the outward facts could be told, 
 but not the influence and inspiration 
 that he had made upon his people dur- 
 ing all those years. And beyond the re- 
 markable personal influence upon the 
 lives of his own, the people realized 
 that one of their leaders had gone. No 
 man had more closely in his heart the 
 interests of his city. He had helped to 
 establish and build up the philanthropic 
 and charitable institutions of Springfield ; 
 he had the power of awakening the pub- 
 lic conscience, and he had built up the 
 people's faith; he had succored and 
 comforted the needy and dying; he had
 
 186 JOHN COTTON BROOKS 
 
 been Christ's faithful soldier and servant 
 unto his life's end ; he had fulfilled the 
 words of his brother, made over a quarter 
 of a century before, he was now Brooks 
 of Springfield in the highest and noblest 
 sense. 
 
 It was nearly a month later that his 
 body was brought to New York, where 
 it rested over night in the chancel of the 
 Church of the Incarnation, of which his 
 brother Arthur was once rector. The 
 funeral services were held in Christ 
 Church, Springfield, on January 23d. 
 The Rt. Rev. Alexander H. Vinton, D.D., 
 his own Bishop, officiated, while the Rev. 
 Donald N. Alexander, the Rev. Henry 
 B. Washburn, the Rev. Edmund J. Cleve- 
 land, and the Rev. Thomas W. Nicker- 
 son, Jr., assisted in the service. 
 
 That night his body rested in the chan- 
 cel of Trinity Church, Boston, the church
 
 THE LAST VOYAGE 187 
 
 of which his brother, Phillips Brooks, 
 had been for so many years the rector. 
 The following morning a little company 
 of his friends and members of his family 
 went to Mount Auburn, where, in the 
 family lot, beside his mother and father, 
 and four brothers, they laid him to rest. 
 Bishop McVickar of Rhode Island read 
 the service, and then they went away. 
 
 " Now the laborer's task is o'er ; 
 
 Now the battle day is past; 
 Now upon the farther shore 
 
 Lands the voyager at last. 
 Father, in Thy gracious keeping 
 
 Leave we now Thy servant sleeping."
 
 5 
 
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 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
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