. "(gefouefc anfc Smf0fuf." /Ifoemorial Sermon ON THE LIFE AND CHARACTER LATE BISHOP OF MASSACHUSETTS. PKEACHED AT THE OPENING SERVICES OF THE DIOCESAN CONVENTION, IN TBINITY CHUBCH, BOSTON, ON THE 29TH OF APBIL, 1891. BY THE RT. REV. THOMAS MARCH CLARK, D.D., LL.D., BISHOP OF RHODE ISLAND. PUBLISHED BY REQUEST OF THE CONVENTION. BOSTON: DAMRELL AND UPHAM, (SUCCESSORS TO CUPPLES, UPHAM & COMPANY,) $e fef5 Corner (gloofttore^ 283 WASHINGTON STBEET. 1891. UUSB L1BRARX LIFE AND CHARACTER Li U I J. 1 17 1 i LATE BISHOP OF MASSACHUSETTS. I'KE ACHED AT THE OPENING SERVICES OF THE DIOCESAN CONVENTION, IN TRINITY CHURCH, BOSTON, ON THE 29TH OF APRIL, 1891. BY THE RT. REV. THOMAS MARCH CLARK, D.D., LL.D., BISHOP OF RHODE ISLAND. PUBLISHED BY REQUEST OF THE CONVENTION. BOSTON: DAMRELL AND UPHAM, (SUCCESSOBS TO CUPPLES, UPHAM & COMPANY,) Z$t &(b Cornet QBooftotore, 283 WASHINGTON STREET. 1891. DIOCESE OF MASSACHUSETTS. OFFICE OF THE SECRETAUY OF THE CONVENTION, ST. ANDREW'S HOUSE, 18 CHAMBERS STKEKT, BOSTON, May 4, 1891. REVEREND FATHER IN GOD : I have the honor of transmitting to you the following Resolution passed at the One Hundred and Sixth Annual Meeting of the Convention of the Diocese of Massachusetts on the second day of its Session, Thursday, April 30, 1891. " On motion of the Rev. Thomas F. Fales, it was " Resolved, That thanks be extended to the Bishop of Rhode Island for his excellent discourse in memory of our lamented Bishop, and that he be requested to allow its publication and distribution by the Secretary of this Convention." Hoping to receive from you a favorable reply, I am Faithfully yours, WM. HENRY BROOKS, Secretary of the Convention of the Diocese of Massachusetts. The Rt. Rev. THOMAS M. CLARK, D.D., LL.D. PROVIDENCE, R. I., May 5th, 1891. REVEREND AND DEAR DOCTOR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communication of the4thinst., and thanking the Convention of Massachusetts for their kind reception of my Memorial Sermon, I submit the manuscript to you for publication. Very sincerely yours, THOMAS M. CLARK. The Rev. WM. HENRY BROOKS, D.D., Secretary of the Convention of the Diocese of Massachusetts. T. R. MARVIN & SON, CHURCH PRESS, 73 FEDERAL STREET, BOSTON. MEMORIAL DISCOURSE. EPHESIANS VI. 21. " A BELOVED BROTHER AND FAITHFUL MINISTER IN THE LORD." Apostle Paul, while imprisoned at Rome, I appears to have found there a disciple of Christ, with whom he established a special inti- macy, and he sends him to the Church at Ephesus as the bearer of a message of counsel, and also with directions to inform the Ephesians of his pri- vate affairs, in order that he might comfort their hearts; and this man he designates as "A beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord." The terms in which he speaks of his friend are very suggestive, and they must have already called to mind one who was for some years in very intimate relations with you, and who has lately gone to his rest. Beloved and faithful: a per- son may be loved in a certain way because of his amiable temper and unwillingness to give offence, while perhaps he is defective in many of those traits of character which go to form a useful, strong, trustworthy man. Or, again, one may be faithful in the discharge of his duties, rigid in his judgments, prompt to rebuke, and still there may be nothing very attractive about him, nothing to win our love, or incline us to lean upon him as a friend. It is the combination of gentleness with force, of grace with vigor, of beauty with strength, that makes the complete man. Throughout the New Testament the quality of faithfulness is that which is most dwelt upon in connection with the Christian Ministry. It is not so much the man's gifts, his learning and eloquence, his zeal and fervor, his influence and success, that determines his fitness for the position of a Minister in the Church, but his faithfulness, his willingness to use all the powers that he has in the service of Christ, his implicit trust in the Master whom he serves, and his entire confidence in the truth he is sent to proclaim. This assumes the possession of a faith that is sustained by the testimony of the man's religious sense, and the results of his own experiences, a faith which he knows to be true, because it has lifted him out of the mire and dark- ness, and set his feet upon a rock, and brought him near to God, a faith that is not to be disturbed by any difficulties of science, or questions of biblical criticism, or theories of inspiration ; all those mat- ters belong to another department, and he can put them all aside by saying, " I know that I live, because I exercise the functions of life ; I know that I have been transformed, renewed, regener- ated, born again into a new life by the movement of a higher Spirit than my own, and therefore I believe." Of course it does not follow that science, and criticism, and philosophy, are of no account, but only that there is a profounder region of spiritual rest which they cannot penetrate. Such a faithful Minister will be earnest, active, persistent in the dis- charge of his duties, appreciating their importance and enjoying their exercise. He will never shrink from toil, even though he may not be able to reap those abundant fruits from his labor which he had hoped for and expected. Many a servant of Christ is called to do his work under very unpropitious circumstances, where there is little to stimulate his mind, little opportunity for culture, little appreci- ation of any thing that is really 'great, very little exhilarating companionship perhaps none at all very likely with an insufficient and uncertain sti- pend ; and here he is obliged to labor on, year after year, alt the bright visions that cheered him in his younger days gradually fading away, until 6 at last the fatal time comes when it is too late to look for any change, the sad climacteric after which a Clergyman ceases to be in demand, and there is nothing left for him but to make the best of things as they are, and try to do his duty as well as he can. Well, it might be a great deal worse. If he were in a high position, and -not trying to do his duty there, preaching an elaborate and high-flown sermon on Sunday morning to a cultivated and appreciative congregation, enjoying his books and comforts and some of the luxuries of life, but with no higher aspiration than the advancement of his own interests, it would be a great deal worse for him than it is now. He that is faithful over the least shall have the same honor at last with him who was faithful over many. Our recompense will be awarded, not according to the size of the har- vest we have reaped, but according to its quality, and the amount of honest labor that has been ex- pended in producing it. There is many a servant of the Lord in Paradise, unknown to fame while he lived here, who looks down from a great height upon row after row of mitred Abbots, and Bishops, and Popes, men with historic names, if indeed they are to be seen in Paradise at all. Let the humblest Minister of Christ remember that, if he is a faithful servant, he is doing the grandest and most enduring work assigned by Almighty God to any of the creatures He has made, and take com- fort in that ; and he can never tell how much he has accomplished until he has ceased from his labor, and entered into his rest. The power of a faithful life cannot be readily appreciated. It works without observation. There is nothing startling about it, nothing to attract attention, nothing that is considered very grand or sublime; and yet the man's work may be grander in the sight of God than the mightiest deeds which distinguish the lives of those who live in marble after they are dead. It is very certain that in the Christian Ministry no other attainments are of much account if the element of faithful work is wanting. The man who builds a ship may have the greatest skill as to design, the best of tools, and the best possible materials, but if he does not drive his bolts up to the mark, or if he leaves one loose-jointed piece of timber in the ship, the first great storm may send the vessel to the bottom of the deep. It is wonderful to see how much may be accom- plished by quiet, faithful persistence in well-doing. In nature the greatest and most permanent results are effected slowly and without much noise. Things fall with a crash, but when the rebuilding comes, it is a still, slow, imperceptible process. It is thus 8 that the rock is converted into fertile soil, and the acorn is changed into an oak, and the waters of the ocean are lifted into the air to form the clouds and the dew. Brilliant work may attract and daz- zle us for the moment, but sometimes it leaves very little behind. The quiet stars keep on shin- ing after the gold and silver and crimson streams of artificial light have all goite out, and it is only that which abides that has any real value. Then it is to be observed that a faithful life and faithful teaching reach all classes alike, the high and the low, the rich and the poor, the learned and the ignorant. They all have the same nature, the same weaknesses, the same wants, the same cravings. They all need the same help, the same guidance, the same enlightenment. They are all children of the same God, and need to learn the same things about Him, about His love and mercy, and His desire to save them all. Jesus died for them all, and they must cling to Him if they would be lifted up out of the darkness. It is the same Gospel for all. One great secret of the power of a* faithful life lies in the fact that it inspires confidence. It is not so much the eminent person, the man of mighty words, upon whom the world leans in the hour of extremity, whom it trusts most implicitly, and to whom it looks for comfort as well as help, for 9 direction as well as support, but it is the trust- worthy man, the man whom nobody doubts, the man we are sure of, this is the man to whom we cling when everything seems to be sinking around us. " A faithful Minister in the Lord," that is the one to whom we would go when we are weighed down by the burden of sin, or- tossed on the sea of dismal doubt, or perplexed as to the way of duty, or anxious about the future ; then we go instinctively to the man who comes nearest the ideal of Christ, because we have confidence in him. If God has also endowed His Minister with gigantic powers, with that real gift of eloquence which reaches men's souls, and fills them with new life, and drives out of their hearts all the mean and sordid things that had found refuge there, then are we thankful for such a man, and pray God to send into the field many more like him ; but such men are rare, and the ordinary labor in the Lord's vineyard must for the most part be done by those who are content with the fruits that come as the reward of quiet, earnest, honest, con- tinuous toil. The Minister of Christ, who is truly faithful, must be conscious of the fact, and though this would never fill him with any conceit of goodness, it will impart strength to his soul, inspire him with noble impulse, and lift him out of the reach of 10 every form of trickery and meanness. It will make him bold, daring to say what it is in his heart to say, whether the world is ready to hear him or not. It will extricate him from the entanglement of vain and trifling disputations, contentions about words, devotion to solemn trifles, fighting over dead issues, and trying to bring back that which would be of no use if it could be brought to life again. It will lift him up into a serener atmosphere, which the pestilent vapors of earth never reach, and where the clouds have all vanished, and the horizon ex- pands into infinity, where silence reigns, and the uproar of the world is not heard. Thank God, the saints are not all dead. There is in the Church to-day as large a proportion of holy, self-sacrificing, faithful Christians ready to go to the stake if the truth should demand it,- men who are going about doing good, bending all their energies to the lifting of the world out of its low estate, and establishing the kingdom of heaven here as there ever were. Strange would it be if, after an experience of nearly nineteen hundred years, with all the lessons it has taught, and all the knowledge that has been acquired, and all the warnings we have had, and all the illustrious ex- amples which that long period has furnished, strange, indeed, would it be if it were not so. Strange would it be if in an age which is so evi- 11 dently moving on to some grand result, and at a time when science and art and humanity are on the alert as they never were before, and men are grappling with moral evils that have always been the despair of the world, and pulling down weather- beaten idols that have always been the shame of the world ; strange would it be if the Church were not on the advance, clearing herself of incum- brances that have for ages blocked her way; taking down decayed old defences which have now be- come the vantage-ground of attack ; searching to find the Rock, the one only true Foundation, Jesus Christ the righteous, the sum and substance of our faith, who authenticates Himself, and needs no en- dorser ; trying to get a clearer view of the pur- pose for which He established His kingdom, and then to carry out the work which the Saviour left for His Church to complete, but which, in her great zeal for other things, the Church has sadly neg- lected, so that when the disciples of the Agnostic come to us, saying, " Have you found the Christ, or must we look for another ? '' we may be able to reply, " Go, tell your master, the deaf hear, the dumb speak, the eyes of the blind are opened, the sick are healed, the prisoner is visited, the desti- tute are cared for, the ignorant are instructed, the bonds of the oppressed are broken, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them." 12 No one would hesitate to say that the late Bishop of Massachusetts was " A beloved brother and faithful Minister in the Lord." The elements of tenderness and truthfulness were very intimately blended in him. If he had any failing, it was in the direction of excessive scrupulousness in the discharge of his duties. No detail escaped his ob- servation, and no pressure oY time could induce him to slight his work. He turned no one away unheard who wished to consult him, and rarely, if ever, hurried his visitors to a conclusion. What- ever he might have to do for himself, he was very ready to help others in doing their work. I can testify to this from some personal experience, for in the House of Bishops, as Chairman of an im- portant Committee of which he was a member, I always found him ready to relieve me of a kind of work for which I had little taste, and long after we had adjourned he would remain at his desk preparing the reports that were to be presented the next morning, and which I presume I had the credit of writing. It is impossible to conceive of Bishop Paddock's ever doing anything in direct violation of his con- science. He probably had his frailties in common with the rest of us, but they were not apparent. It seems as if it must have cost him as great an effort to do wrong as it does for most people to 13 do right. At the same time there was nothing of- fensive or intrusive in his goodness. " His virtues did not by excess reverse their very nature." He was not much given to censorship, and spoke as kindly as he could of those whom he had least occasion to love. Under due provocation he was capable of indulging in a little wholesome sharp- ness, but the touch of quiet humor that accom- panied the rebuke took all the venom out of the sting. There was a singular outspokenness and truth- fulness about the man ; you feel that he said just what he meant, nothing less and nothing more, nothing concealed that ought to be uttered, and nothing uttered that would better have been con- cealed. I think that, although he talked much, he said very few imprudent things, very few that he had reason to be sorry for having said. His am- plitude of utterance seemed to grow out of his in- stinctive desire to be thorough, so that when he spoke he usually made a clean breast of it, which, unlike some others, he could do with safety. I have never known a more transparent man, and you could see through him, without seeing any thing to offend you. It would have been hard work for Bishop Paddock to play the hypocrite ; he would certainly have betrayed himself in the effort. 14 Singleness of purpose was one of the most prom- inent traits in this good man's character. He never appeared to have any selfish ends in view, or to do anything merely for the sake of advancing his own reputation. It is this that makes it so easy to de- pict the man, that there are no contradictory ele- ments to be harmonized, no inconsistencies to be reconciled or apologized for, no tortuous ways to be straightened out, no hidden passages, no ob- scure retreats to be penetrated. In the best sense, his character lies on the surface, because of its simplicity known and read of all with whom he came in contact. If he raised no very high ex- pectations, he never disappointed you, because he made no extravagant pretensions. He had a just and becoming self-respect, and a clear sense of what was due to him and his office, but he had no arrogance of speech nor arrogance of manner; he was modest, because he was single-eyed and unselfish. There was no indirection about him ; it was not his habit to depreciate himself in order to elicit praise. He lived for the work which he was appointed to do, and this absorbed him, filled up the full measure of his powers, and consumed all his time. This singleness of purpose led him to confine himself strictly to the work of his ministry, so that he was not much known in other relations. It 15 might have been desired by some that he should identify himself more actively with certain things that were going on outside of the Church, but he probably knew his own limits better than other people. Certainly his influence was felt in society at large as much as that of any of his predecessors had been. The intellectual and theological peculiarities of the region in which he was called to minister did not matter much with him, and if he had been asked to meet those who diifered from him for a conference on the plain, as Nehemiah was, he would probably have answered with that stern old war- rior, " I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down : why should the work cease, while I leave it and come down to you ? " Abstaining as he did from any familiar contact with persons of a diiferent faith, or of no faith at all, and reading very little, perhaps nothing of what they wrote, he was little disturbed by modern controversies, and his faith was never in the slight- est degree affected by critical, or scientific, or philo- sophical difficulties. His mind was not of a specu- lative turn, and he needed no formidable bulwarks to support his faith. He believed, because he knew; and he knew, because he believed. For this reason he moved on a very even keel, and no ordinary breeze could disturb his balance. I doubt whether 1(5 he ever changed an important opinion in the whole course of his life. He saw very clearly as far as he could see, and beyond that it did not concern him. He was content to leave the mysterious un- solved. He left all that he could not comprehend with God. He never allowed what he did know to be disturbed by what he did not know. Such men as these are needed in a tempestuous age like ours. Other kinds of men are also needed, but we cannot afford to dispense with the calm, undisturbed, steady, implicit believer. Amid the gloom and the storm we need the lights on the shore, always in the same place, and burning on with the same steady flame, to let us know where we are, and where the reefs and the rocks lie, and how we may find a harbor. A man of Bishop Paddock's temperament could not be an extreme man, and, as you all know, he was noted for his moderation. He could never be made to identify himself with a party until he could see that some practical good was to be derived from the peculiar views of the party. He believed in the Church, as well as in the Gospel, with all his heart, and mind, and soul, and nothing could induce him to be disloyal to her doctrines, her con- stitution, her usages, or her rubrics; but this loyalty rested upon reasonable grounds, such as could be verified by Scripture, history, and the teachings of 17 experience. Theologically he would be character- ized as a perfectly sound man, with no eccentrici- ties of belief, no extravagant views, and no novel theories. He preached the Gospel as he had re- ceived it from those who went before him, only with a little more fervor, and breadth. He never sought after popularity, and, in his own opinion, could not have attained it if he had tried. He had something better in view than that. It was his great desire to bring men to Christ, and up- hold the truth as it is in Jesus. In every emergency he was a courageous man, and always true to his convictions. I have been more than once struck with this in the debates of the House of Bishops. He was not easily carried away with the tide, if there could be said to be such a thing as a tide in that quiet and peaceful body, he always had his own views on every im- portant subject, and stated them without reserve. On several contested questions of a somewhat deli- cate nature he has stood almost, if not absolutely, alone. I have often heard it said that no one could preside in Convention more admirably than Bishop Paddock. He kept his eye on every thing that was going on, and was not easily confused by the entanglement in which ecclesiastical legislators are so apt to ensnare themselves. He was fair to all, 18 and took no advantage of his position to carry a point as he might wish it to be carried. In the general administration of Diocesan affairs he neg- lected nothing, slighted nothing, and might be said to have kept a microscopic watch over the flock. At the same time he did not lord it over God's heritage, nor magnify his office in any unseemly way. He was not in the habit of interfering with his Clergy when he had no business to interfere, neither did he make his own personal opinion the law by which they were to be guided. While he demanded, of course, that his own rights should be respected, he also respected the rights of the Clergy and Laity ; for this reason he was able to secure by his influence that which another might fail to ac- complish by the exercise of authority. As great outward success has attended the ad- ministration of your lamented Bishop, so the gen- eral influence of his policy and temper has been to soften asperities, and reconcile those who in main respects differed in sentiment. The large liberty that he has allowed, and the abstaining from in- terference in all cases where it was possible to do so without occasioning mischief, have tended to this result. Nothing helps a cause, right or wrong, in these days, so much as persecution, and in default of this the reputation of being persecuted is a great aid, which some persons know very well how 19 to improve; and Bishop Paddock, understanding all this, never went about as a heresy hunter, or a rubrical inspector, or in search of innovations. I think that all parties will bear witness to this. If essential truth, or essential order, or essential con- formity to law and usage were the matter at issue, no one could be firmer than he, or more out-spoken; but he had the good sense to remember that " There are so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification." The growth of this Diocese is, in a great measure, attributable to the interest manifested by Bishop Paddock in watching over the infant Missions which have come into being so rapidly in Massa- chusetts under his administration. Neither was his Missionary zeal confined to this department of work ; he took an active part in all the great Missionary enterprises of the Church at home and abroad, his counsels were sought for in the con- duct of affairs, and he never shrank from any duty that was laid upon him by the Church. lie was equally conspicuous for his interest in the work of education in connection with the Church. There was no Alumnus of Trinity Col- lege who took a more active part in promoting its welfare; no Bishop outside of the Diocese of Con- necticut was more frequently found in attendance at its public exercises, or so intimately identified 20 with its operations. A similar interest was shown in the General Theological Seminary, and the Cam- bridge Theological School ; and, in fact, wherever there was any good work going on, which he re- garded as corning fairly within his sphere, whether it related to temperance, or charitable work, or social reforms, he was ready to give his time and his best efforts for its advancement. He was not confined to any narrow circle, but his heart went out towards every great movement that seemed likely to help on the world. In this respect he was in full accord with the temper of the times, and recognized most thoroughly the obligations de- manded of him by the age in which he lived. Of what he was in the home circle, and in general intercourse with his friends, I do not feel prepared to speak as intelligently as I could wish. I can only .infer, from the little that I knew of him in this relation, that, wherever he might be, he must have lighted up the room with sunshine, and that, in his own household, he must have been the pattern of all that is kind, and lovely, and affectionate, a loving husband, a gentle father, a genial compan- ion, never losing his dignity, but without any show of sternness, a companion as well as a guide, a friend as well as a counsellor. How he must be missed there ! In his more general inter- course with others, Bishop Paddock might be said 21 to have been, in the best sense of the term, good company, he always had something pleasant to say, and was never wanting in material for con- versation, and without the slightest tendency to frivolity, almost always having some bright and cheerful thing to tell you ; and, if one were in trouble, he would feel sure of his sympathy. It would be hard to conceive of his ever having had an enemy, or knowingly doing an injustice to an- other. He had a well-rounded character, and was not a man who needed watching, or needed to be apologized for. Nobody ever said that Bishop Paddock was not a good man. BENJAMIN HENRY PADDOCK was born in Nor- wich, Conn., on the 29th of February, 1828. He is said to have been a sedate and quiet boy, but not much interested in study until he reached the age of fourteen, when he was confirmed, and de- cided to become a Minister of the Church. What his general character must have been may be in- ferred from the fact of his being called to become the Rector of Trinity Church in his own native town, the offspring of Christ Church, his father's former parish. He graduated at Trinity College, Hartford, in 1848, and at the General Theological Seminary, New York, in 1852. He was admitted to Deacon's Orders in Christ Church, Stratford, 22 Conn., on the 29th day of June, 1852, by the ven- erable Bishop Brownell, and on the 27th day of September, 1853, he was ordained Priest in Trinity Church, Norwich, Conn., by the Rt. Rev. Dr. John Williams, Bishop of the Diocese. During 1 a por- tion of his Diaconate he officiated as the Assistant Minister in the Church of the Epiphany, New York City, and in the spring of 1853 he became the Rector of St. Luke's Church, Portland, Maine, but was unable to resist the rigors of the climate, and soon returned to Connecticut. In the autumn of 1853, he became the Rector of Trinity Church, Nor- wich, and after a residence in Norwich of nearly seven years, he removed to Michigan, and became the Rector of Christ Church, Detroit. In May, 1869, he removed to New York, and became the Rector of Grace Church, Brooklyn, and there he remained until his election to the Episcopate. The degree of Doctor of Sacred Theology was conferred upon him by Trinity College, Hartford, in 1867. The record of his life, which was scrupulously kept during this entire period, and the printed papers of various sorts, carefully preserved in a well bound scrap-book, give abundant evidence of his patient and indefatigable labors. With the exception of his Convention Reports, Pastoral Letters, and Official Charges, he published comparatively little. I find among his productions a few funeral discourses, always touching and ap- propriate; a spirited and patriotic sermon preached before one of the Michigan Regiments in 1861 ; a sermon before the Convention of the Diocese of Michigan, published by special request, and well de- serving the honor, the text of which is suggestive : "Who, then, is that faithful and wise steward?"; an address to the students of Trinity College, and another at De Yeaux College ; a Missionary ad- dress delivered in Providence, R. I., and which I had the pleasure of hearing ; a Missionary sermon preached in Calvary Church, ^Tew York, and a Magazine review of a book on Sacred Oratory, which is full of humor and lively sarcasm. So far as I have been able to ascertain, this is all that he left behind him in print. He had not much leisure for miscellaneous writing, and the marks of what he accomplished must be looked for in other places than in books. His consecration as Bishop of Massachusetts took place in Grace Church, Brooklyn, on the 17th day of September, 1873, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Benjamin Bos- worth Smith officiating as consecrator, assisted by five other Bishops. It cannot be said that he had sought the eleva- tion which now came to him, for no one could be more surprised than he was, when, on one quiet night in May, as he so pleasantly has described the 24 scene, after a beautiful sunset, and the prayers of the evening had been said, a dispatch arrived an- nouncing his election as the Bishop of Massachu- setts. With his retiring and unambitious spirit, it came to him both as a shock and a surprise ; and if he had not felt that the path of duty was clear he would hardly have ventured to accept the office. The circumstances of his election are familiar to many of you, and need not be dwelt upon now. To be the choice of such a body of Clergy and Laity as were represented in the Diocese of Mass- achusetts, and after men of such distinguished power and elevated character on both sides had failed of an election, was in itself a singular mark of confidence and respect ; but it was no slight matter to enter upon a field, where for a time such serious differences of opinion had existed, with the hope of bringing about harmony and peace, and a general co-operation in carrying on the work of the Church. To what extent Bishop Paddock suc- ceeded in doing this, appears in the fact that, dur- ing his Episcopate of seventeen years, the number of Clergy increased from 129 to 192, and the number of Communicants from 11,551 to 27,118. Meanwhile the Episcopal Church has obtained such a hold in this Commonwealth as it never had be- fore ; it is beginning to be felt as an actual power in society ; its existence is recognized by the secu- lar press, and from almost every quarter there is a drift in our direction. In order to illustrate the changes which I have lived to see, will you allow me for a moment to recur to a more remote period in the history of the Diocese. I was a member of the Massachu- setts Church Convention that met in Boston in the year 1836. It was not a Diocese then, it being one of the members of the old Eastern Diocese, which originally embraced all of ^N"ew England, except Connecticut. In that Convention, fifty-five years ago, there were present thirty-one Clergy- men, forty-three being entitled to seats, of whom there are but two living beside myself, Bishop Howe, of Central Pennsylvania, and the Rev. Dr. Leach, of Providence, now near his end.* Twenty- one Parishes were represented, and of the Laity present on that occasion, so far as I know, .but onef survives. He is now the Warden of St. Paul's Church, ^ewburyport, and although he is 95 years old, I had hoped that he would be present here to- day, but he writes me that he does not expect to be with us. The period of which I speak was the day of small things. The Parochial Reports in 1836 showed that there had been 118 persons confirmed during * Died May 16, 1891. f Mr - Nathanael Foster. the year, and that the whole number of communi- cants was 1,913. The contributions for Missions and other religious purposes, irrespective of Parish expenses, was $8,724. The Bishop made no reports to the State Convention, and on this occasion, after attending the opening religious services, he retired, and a Presbyter was called to the chair, the Bishop's presence being expected only at his own convenience. From the time of his consecration as Bishop of the Eastern Diocese in 1811, until the year 1835, Bishop Griswold was entirely dependent upon a Parish for his support ; but, at last, the hearts of the good people of the Diocese were softened, and an assessment of $500 per annum was levied in order to provide him with assistance in administer- ing his Parish, when he was occupied with his visitations. It was characteristic of the man, that he used this money to sustain a Missionary in the wilds of Maine. At the time of which I speak, many of the great centres of population in Massachusetts had never known what it was to have an Episcopal service. There were four Churches in Boston, all of respectable size, and one small Parish struggling into existence in South Boston. Within a radius of fifteen or twenty miles there were eight Churches, 27 and north-east of Boston only three no new Parish having been established in that direction for more than a century. On the line from Boston to Pittsfield, through the centre of the State, after passing ]STewton Lower Falls, there were only three very feeble Churches. West of the Connecticut river, there were five or six Churches, not over- strong St. James', Greenfield ; St. Thomas', Taun- ton ; and Grace Church, ~New Bedford, complete the list. What a different spectacle this good old Commonwealth presents to-day ! It does not seem as if this could be the same assembly with that in which I sat so many years ago. In one sense it is, it represents the same principles, it meets for the same purposes, it is governed by the same laws ; but every thing else is new. It is a new generation that is sitting here to-day, and every new generation brings with it new issues. In those old days there were but few of us, and we knew each other well ; and at this hour I can see forms that you do not see, and I hear voices that you cannot hear. How natural and familiar the past seems, and how strange the present! If the old roll had been called this morning, who would there have been to answer to their names ? 28 And so we are all moving on to the end. The places which knew us will soon know us no more forever. Whatever we do, is it not well for us to consider how we shall be likely to regard our work when the end comes ? Brethren of the Clergy and Laity, you are now called upon to discharge a most responsible duty, in the election of one to fill the place of that faithful Minister in the Lord whose loss we all so deeply mourn. It would be unbecoming for me to say anything that would give reasonable offence to any member of this Convention, or that would be likely to bias the mind of any one in opposition to his individual convictions. It is to be assumed that you all have one end in view, and that is the advancement of Christ's kingdom on earth, and the securing of one to guide your counsels, who will be fettered by no narrow party lines, and ready to accord to all the same liberty in the Gospel that he claims for himself. You all want, if possible, to find one who is competent to be a leader of men, sound in all the essentials of the faith, evermore ready to spread abroad the Gospel of Christ the glad tidings of reconcili- ation, to use the authority given him, not to de- struction, but to salvation; not to hurt, but to help; 29 one earnest to reprove, beseech, and rebuke, with all patience and doctrine, and a wholesome example in word, in conversation, in love, in faith, in chastity, and in purity ; one who will be to the flock of Christ a shepherd, not a wolf; holding up the weak, bind- ing up the broken, bringing again the outcast, and seeking the lost. This is the kind of man whom you all want, and however you may differ in your estimates of the men whose names may now be presented to you, be careful to say nothing and to do nothing that might tend to weaken the bonds of Christian love, or bring discredit upon the Church which you love so well. Before the Saviour sent out His Apostles to the discharge of their great commission, He continued all night in prayer. Would it not be better if the time that is sometimes spent in discussion on such occasions as the present were passed in nets of humble devotion ? I did not intend to make the slightest allusion to the approaching election, but there is something so impressive in the solemnity of the present crisis, and such tremendous results are dependent upon your present action, that I found it impossible to resist the impulse which has led me to utter these few simple words of counsel. I have lived to attend the funerals of three Bishops of Massachusetts, that of the sainted and gentle-minded Bishop Griswold, the honest and out-spoken Bishop Eastburn, and now the sainted and honest and faithful Bishop Paddock has gone. His work is done, and he is at rest. How patiently he endured the bitter pains that came upon him before his release you all well know. How persis- tently he tried to perform the little duties which it was possible for him to discharge you also know. It was touching to see with what characteristic punctiliousness he prepared the programme of the Diocesan work which he was obliged to devolve upon others ; and one brief postscript attached to the programme, " Please do not vary from this arrangement any more than you can help, for it has been prepared with great labor and care,"- was so like him. What a change in his own household, now that he has departed ! There is only one Hand that can stay the bereaved ones in their sorrow, only one Voice that can comfort them, only one Presence that can bring the light back to their dwelling. Neither can we forget to-day the far-off brother in the West, toiling in a wider and rougher field, and who, in more respects than one, is left to labor alone. 31 But then we must remember the infinite gain that has come to him, who has now exchanged his armor for the palm ; has laid down the cross to put on the crown ; has been called in from the toil of the road to enjoy the sweet repose of Paradise, and sit down with Jesus at the mar- riage supper of the Lamb, and hear from His lips the blessed words, "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." UCSB LIBRARY UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY A 000 654 575