THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 ht^l/ff^st^
 
 a-fh^ 
 
 LIFE 
 
 THE RIGHT REVHRHND 
 WILLIAM PINKNEY, D. D. LL D, 
 
 Klh'TH BISHOI' OF MARYLAND. 
 
 O. /HUTTON, 1). I). 
 
 WASHINO'I^ON, D. C. : 
 C.IBSON BROS.. I>RINTKRS AND BOOKBINDHRS. 
 
 iSqo.
 
 THE MEMORY OF 
 
 WILLIAM W. CORCORAN, 
 
 DISXINCiUISHEl) NO LESS BY HIS ABOUNDING GENERAL PHILANTHROPY 
 
 THAN BY HIS 
 
 APPRECIATIVE AND AFFECTIONATE DEVOTION 
 
 TO THE 
 
 PERSON AND CHAKACTEF. 
 
 OF 
 
 THE SUBJECT 
 
 OF 
 
 THESE PAGES, 
 
 MAINLY DUE FOR THEIR PREPARATION TO HIS SOLICITOUS 
 
 INTEREST A^ n GENEROUS ENCOURAGEMENT, 
 
 THEY ARE 
 
 RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED 
 
 BY 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 550223
 
 PREFACE 
 
 The Avork of writiug this Bio^ra[)liy of tlic lato Bisliop Pinknby 
 very uuex})ectedly devolved u])()ii nie. Shortly Jifter the Jiisliop's 
 decease a number of the clergy and laity united in a letter to the 
 late Rev. Dr. Meyer Lewin, requesting- him to prepare such a 
 Memoir. He consented to do so, l)ut while engaged in gathering 
 materials for the work, he was suddenly (tailed to his rest before 
 he had written a line or made a single note. Thereui)on, I was 
 solicited by the family and personal friends of the Bisliop to 
 undertake the work. Among those specially urgent that I shoidd 
 do so w^as the late Mr. W. W. Corcoran, whose aifection for the 
 person and devotion to the memory of Bishop Pinkney w^ere of 
 the most ardent character. So emphatic were Mr. Corcoran's 
 expressed wishes upon the subject, and so generous his projxjsals 
 with regard to the expenses of the preparation and i)ublicati(m of 
 the Life, that I felt constrained to sul)ordinate all other (-(msidera- 
 tions and assume the task. Owing to the pressure of other cares 
 and duties, which I could not wholly neglect, the task is only 
 now accomplished. 
 
 Mr. Corcoran did not live to see the work completed and to 
 carry out personally his intentions respecting its publication : but 
 in pursuance of his request and dii'ection the entire expense of 
 the preparation and j)ublication of this work has been borne by 
 his executors. 
 
 As Bishop Pinkney kept no diary except of strictly ofl&cial acts, 
 used no care in filing letters received, and made no copies of his 
 own letters except in some rare instances, the difficulty of placing 
 in consecutive order and with desired completeness the records 
 and incidents of his life has l)een very great. Most consistently 
 with his nature, it seems never to have occurred to him that occa- 
 sion would arise for the use of such materials in a Biograjihy of 
 himself. I have endeavored to give from those materials that I 
 could secure a fair detail of the incidents and exi)eriences of liis 
 life. 
 
 Ordained to the sacred ministry at an earl}- age, and not called 
 to the Episcopate until he had fully reached his threescore years, 
 his pastoral life, which, under the Divine Spirit, he was able to 
 make so effectual in good for the Church, claims a large share 
 of attention ; and his subsequent labors, first as the Assistant, 
 and afterwards as sole Bishoj), only tended to bring out the more 
 conspicuously the qualities of heart, mind, and fervent zeal which
 
 vi Preface. 
 
 had rendered that pastorate so rich in its fruits of good and 
 blessing- to his people. And on his personal side, all who were 
 brought into close contact or intimate association with Bishop 
 PiNKNEY could not but feel the sweet j^otency of his Christian 
 character and the winning- influence of the graces that adorned 
 his Hfe. So it may be that having, both as fellow-priest and 
 friend, shared his confidence and love for so many years I have 
 given a too partial coloring to his portraiture. If so, it may not 
 be unpardonable under the cii-cumstances. 
 
 O. HUTTON.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 Chapter I. 
 
 Birtli and rarciitaire. IHIO, 1 
 
 Chapter II. 
 
 The Family Iluiiu' in Aniiaimlis. ISTi, ..... 5 
 
 Chapter III. 
 
 Education— St. John's Coll.'ge. 1822-'27, 13 
 
 Chapter IV. 
 
 Studies iu the Law — Connection with the Methodists — Entrance 
 on Preparation for the Ministry at Princeton. 1827- '31. . I'J 
 
 Chapter V. 
 
 Princeton — Ketnrn to the Church — Admission to the Ministry. 
 1H31 '34 • ■ . 24 
 
 Chapter VI. 
 
 His Charge iu Prince George's, and Marriage. 1830- '38, . . 30 
 
 Chapter VII. 
 
 Ministry in Prince George's Coianty — Erection of Churches at ]>la- 
 
 denslmrg and Beltsville. 1838-'4(), 37 
 
 Chapter VIII. 
 
 Election of Dr. Whit tingham— Death of Kev. Dr. McElhiney— 
 
 Associaticnis. 1840-'44, 44 
 
 Chapter IX. 
 
 Visit to Virginia — Illness of his mother — Call to St. Anne's Parish, 
 
 Annapolis. 1830-'44, HI 
 
 Chapter X. 
 
 Ministry in Prince George's — Visit to Portsmouth and Boston. 
 l^'lfi-V,!, . . .^.8 
 
 Chapter XI. 
 
 Life of his Uncle — Visits to Niagara and the St. Lawrence — 
 Efforts in behalf of Colored Peojjle — Call to the Epiphany. 
 
 1853-'56, ' . '''<l 
 
 Chapter XII. 
 
 Call to Ascension Parish, Washington, D. C. — Death of his Mother. 
 
 18.57 '58 80 
 
 Chapter XIII. 
 
 The War Troubles. 18C)0-'r)l, 1»3 
 
 Chapter XIV. 
 
 The War Troubles Continued— The Episcopate of Alabama — 
 Political Prayers — Military Occupation of the Ascension — Pre- 
 sentment by "the Bishop. ' 18(;i '(!2 103 
 
 Chapter XV. 
 
 Standing dmimittee — General Conyention. 1862, . . . 11"> 
 
 Chapter XVI. 
 
 Bishop Whittingham declines to yisit his Church— Worship in the 
 Medical College — Return to his Church — Lenten Seryices. 18(13, 121 
 
 Chapter XVII. 
 
 His Poetry. 18(;4-'66, l'^7 
 
 7
 
 ^4ii Contents. 
 
 Chapter XVIII. 
 
 Mr. W. W. Corcorau— Death of Dr. J. H. Alexander. 1866-'68, 150 
 
 Chaptek XIX. 
 
 Visit to Europe. 1869, 161 
 
 Chapter XX. 
 
 Review of his Rectorsliip iu the Ascension from 1857 to 1870, . 172 
 
 Chapter XXI. 
 
 Election and Consecration. 1869-'70. 188 
 
 Chapter XXII. 
 
 Proposed Assii>;nment of Work and Jurisdiction — Apiioiutinents 
 for Visitation. 1870 206 
 
 Chapter XXIIl. 
 
 His Work as Assistant Bishop. 1870-'71, 21S 
 
 Chapter XXIV. 
 
 His Visitations— General Convention. 1871-'72, . . .226 
 
 Chapter XXV. 
 
 Letters to Judge Huntington — Burial of Confederate Dead. 
 1873-'74 236 
 
 Chapter XXVI. 
 
 Erection of the New Church of the Ascension. 1873. . . 242 
 
 Ch.\pter XXVII. 
 
 Church School for Girls. Washington, D. C. 1873-'76, . . 253 
 Chapter XXVIII. 
 
 Death of Mrs. Pinkuey— Letters to Mr. Corcoran. 1879-'80, . 258 
 
 Chapter XXIX. 
 
 Death of Bishop Whittingham— The Episcopal Librar^^ 1879-'80, 265 
 
 Chapter XXX. 
 
 Kitualism in Marvland and the Contests growing out of it. 
 
 1879 '80. . '. 270 
 
 Chapter XXXI. 
 
 Episcopal Labors — Bishop's Missions — Failing Health — Death of 
 
 his Brother. 1877-'80, 278 
 
 Chapter XXXII. 
 
 Convention of 1880, 289 
 
 Chapter XXXIII. 
 
 Inhibition of Rev. Mr. Mortimer— Case of Mr. W. R. Webb. 
 
 18(Sl-'82 300 
 
 Chapter XXXIV. 
 
 Convention. 1881-'S2, 306 
 
 Chapter XXXV. 
 
 The C:,'utenary ('ounnemoration. 1883, ..... 320 
 Chapter XXXVI. 
 
 His Death. 1883, 336 
 
 Chapter XXXVII. 
 
 Tlie Funeral Solemnities, ........ 341 
 
 Chapter XXXVIII. 
 
 Conclusion, ........... 355 
 
 Api-i,ni.i\ 363
 
 LIFE OF RISTTO]^ PTNKNEY, 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Birth and Pahentage. IHIO. 
 
 "\Vilija:\i Pinkney, the Fiftli Bislioi) of jVIaryland, was born on 
 the 17th of Apiil, 1810, in the city of Annapolis, Maryland, in 
 the house afterwards owned by the Loockerman family, located 
 directly opposite to the Lloyd, mansion. He was baptized by the 
 Rev. Mr. Judd, Rector of St. Ann's Parish. 
 
 The ancestors of the family came over from Normandy to 'Eng- 
 land with William the Conqueror.* His paternal grandfather, 
 Jonathan Pinkney. immig'rated to this country at an early period, 
 before the Revolutionary War and settled in Anna])olis. He was 
 a sturdy Englishman — a man of great courage and high integrity. 
 " He adhered with a mistaken but honest tirmness to the cause of 
 the mother country, and sufitered severely the consecpiences of his 
 conscientiousness."! All his property was confiscated by the 
 Government. Upon the restoration of peace and the establish- 
 ment of the Independence of the United States the family meas- 
 lu-ably recovered from the disasters of the Revolution. 
 
 The grandfather was twice married, the second wife being the 
 sister of the first. The children of the first marriage were two 
 daughters, Margaret and Nancy, X and those of the second were 
 Jonathan, William, and Ninian. The first of these three children 
 was for many years and up to the close of his life the cashier of 
 the "Farmers' Bank of Marj^land," an old banking institution in 
 Annapolis of standard repute for its sta1)ility and wise manage- 
 ment. He left a large family of children, scms and daughters, 
 known and honored in Annapolis and throughout the State. 
 
 The second son, William, became the great lawyer and states- 
 man, celebrated for his ability and eloquejice. As jurist, diplo- 
 matist, and orator he acquired a European as well as a national 
 reijutation. The descendants of this son have established for 
 themselves a reputation worthy of their distinguished father. 
 
 ) 
 
 *See Life of William Pinkney, by his nephew, jia^e 12. 
 t See idem, page VS. 
 
 X Margaret became the wife of Samuel Hutton, of Annapolis. Naney nevt»r 
 married.
 
 2 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 The thii-tl son, Ninian, the father of the subject of this memoir, 
 was born in Annapolis on the 25th of December, 1771. He was 
 twice married, his lirst wife being Miss Mary Gassaway, sister of 
 Louis Gassaway, who for many years hekl important offices under 
 the State : she died two years after her marriage and left no child. 
 In 1806 Mr. Ninian Pinkney married Mrs. Amelia Grason Hobbs, 
 a widow with three children, Louisa, Henrietta, and Heni-y.* She 
 Avas the daughter of Richard Grason, of Talbot county, Md., and 
 the sister of WilHam Grason, the first Governor of Maryland elected 
 by the people under the amended constitution of the State, in 1838. 
 Her paternal uncle was a Revolutionai'y officer and was killed at 
 the Tangier Island, off the coast of Africa. 
 
 The children of this second marriage were Amelia, William, and 
 Ninian. t 
 
 Mr. Ninian Pinkney, the father, held, up to the close of his 
 Hfe, an important official position in the State. Under the con- 
 stitution of Maryland, prior to the amended constitution of 1838, 
 the Executive Department of the State consisted of the " Gov- 
 ernor," chosen by the two houses of the Legislatiu-e, and of a 
 *' Council to the Governor," similarly chosen and designated as 
 the " Executive Council." For this Executive branch of the State 
 Government there was appointed a '' Clerk of the Council,'' cor- 
 responding to the office now held by the Secretary of State. All 
 official documents emanating from the Executive Department 
 were designated as by " the Governor and Council," and were 
 attested by the " Clerk of the Council." It was this office which 
 Mr. Ninian Pinkney filled for thii'ty years — his discharge of its 
 responsible duties being so exact, efficient, and acceptable that he 
 was constantly retained in the position and continued to enjoy 
 the confidence of all parties through the entire period and to the 
 close of his life. The pubhshed notices of his death, at the time 
 of its occurrence in 1821, refer to the high estimate in which his 
 character was held in the community, to his valued pubUc serv- 
 ices in the office he filled, and to the indefatigable labor and 
 marked ability with which he discharged its duties. Under the 
 old constitution of Maryland the Governor was only resident in 
 Annapolis for a brief period during the annual sessions of the 
 Legislature, so that there devolved upon the '' Clerk of the Coun- 
 cil ■" very grave and important duties. For the greater part of 
 the year the trusted department of the Executive, in its acts, 
 records, and ministrations, were under his special charge. To 
 have so honoral>ly and faithfully filled the position during the 
 whole period of his official trust was alike creditable to his 
 
 * Louisii became the wife of Dr. Gwyun, of : Henrietta died in early 
 
 childhood : Henry never Tnarried. and died in 184-1. 
 
 + The eldest, the daughter, still survives (1890). The youngest, Ninian, 
 Ix-eanie a distinguished surgeon in the U. S. Navy, and died in 1877.
 
 LIFE OF IJISHdl' I'INKNEY. .3 
 
 capacity, to Lis stcrliiif^- woi'tli, and to his patriutit- devotion to 
 the welfare of his native State. He sou-^ht no pul)licity or dis- 
 tinction beyond the assiduous discharge of his official <luties. 
 Cultivated in mind and refined in his tastes, he found his chief 
 enjoyment in the liapjiy circle of the home with his wife and the 
 children of their household. 
 
 His brother, William, then the United States Minister at the 
 Court of St. James, writing to him from London in 1808, says : 
 
 "I am half iuoliiied to envy you the smooth, even tenor of your lift-. 
 You are every way hapjjy — at home, abroad. Nothiu}^ disturbs your tran- 
 quillity farther than to show you the value of it. Beloved by your family, 
 respertt'd and esteemed everywhere, your otticial eapaeity acknowledged, 
 your official exertions siiceessful, what have you to desire ?" 
 
 Although there were two sets of children in the one family, yet 
 all lived hajjpily together and shared alike the fond care and 
 impartial love of the husband and the wife. The bond that held 
 them all together Avas as strong and tender as that which could 
 exist in any one household where all the children were the 
 offspring of the same parents. There was no difference in the 
 domestic treatment, none in the proAdsions made for the comfort, 
 training, and happiness of all. While in such cases much must be 
 due to the father, very much more depends upon the wife and 
 mother, from whom emanate the influences that sweeten, hallow, 
 and elevate all domestic life. 
 
 It w^as the haj^py fortune of Willi.\m Pinkney, the subject of 
 this memoir — as it had been that of his great predecessor in the 
 Ej^iscopate of Maryland, Whittingham — to be blessed with a 
 mother of rare intellectual gifts and of qualities of character 
 eminently fitting her to be the faithful and loving guardian of her 
 children. Next to her own duty to God, the whole purpose of 
 her married, and afterwards of her widowed life, seemed to con- 
 centrate itself in their welfare and happiness. She was a woman 
 of singular endowments of grace and intelligence. Without being 
 specially attractive in person, there was a beaming benevolence 
 from her countenance, great gentleness and charm in manner, 
 and a voice so peculiarly melodious and silvery in its tones that 
 once heard it was not easily forgotten. She combined with a deep 
 religious devotion a fine poetic fancy, which she often indulged, 
 producing poems not characterized indeed by the highest de- 
 grees of inspu-ation, but which were yet singularly i)eautiful 
 and touching in thought and exi)ressi(m. She has left many such 
 poems, some of considerable length, as " Pictures from ^Memory," 
 '* Incidents of the War of 1812," and some interesting descrii)tions 
 in verse of her early and married life. All her poetic com2)ositions 
 were replete with deep and tender feeling and rich in their sweet 
 unfoldings of a heart purified and sanctified by Divine grace. It 
 was only occasionally that any of her verses appeared in piiut,
 
 4 LIFE OF BISHOr TINKNEY. 
 
 auil those very brief, as some special incidents called tliem forth. 
 From her AVilliam Pinkxey inherited much of his own poetic 
 power and inspiration. 
 
 Mrs. Amelia Pinkney was born on the 24:th of June, 1770, on a 
 farm now forming- part of the " Wye " estate in Talbot county of 
 the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and all her early life was passed 
 amid rural surroundings. In one of her poetic pieces she gives 
 graphic account of the farm home, the servants, the domestic occu- 
 pations, and tlic changes which time brings about in all human 
 experiences. Her literary taste and culture made her a delight- 
 ful correspondent : and subsequently, when her children grew to 
 maturity and were separated from the home, her letters, esjjecially 
 those to her son, "\Villi.\m, are full not only of the tenderest moth- 
 erly affection, l^ut of counsels of wisdom and duty drawn from 
 the highest soiu'ces of truth in the Word of God and from the 
 deep experiences of her own heart and life. Throughout that 
 correspondence of many years we find the free unburdening of 
 heart to heart in all that touches life's dearest interests, whether 
 it be in the claims of earthly duty or of the higher matters of the 
 spiritual life. Mother and son write to each other in the perfect 
 confidence of their mutual love and sympathy. One feels in read- 
 ing those letters the sacredness of the tie that binds together the 
 parent and the child. 
 
 She was emmently pious. Her early religious training had 
 been in the communion of the Protestant Episcopal Church, 
 which was the Church of her fathers. For a considerable period 
 of her hfe she was connected with the Methodists, to whom she 
 had been drawn and won by their early spirituality and Godly 
 zeal. Subsequently, when recurring to that connection, she 
 wrote : 
 
 " Dt'iirly ilo I love the CUiircli of my futhevs. Dearly did I love it even in 
 childhood. Dearly have I ever loved and prized its holy doctrines. My 
 sainted mother, who died in its full eommnnion. early brotight her children 
 to the baptismal font, and by her i)recepts and example proved to me what 
 a true difeciple could and <mght to be. The doctrines of the Chiirch were 
 ever to me al)ove all others, even while I was a Methodist. I knew they 
 were held by that body even as I held and still hold them. Satisfied as 1 
 myself am that the form of sound words contained in the Liturgy furnish a 
 guard from error and fence the Church from the changes to which hitman 
 nature is prone, yet never have I douljted, nor can I ever doiiVit, the good 
 that has been effected by the Methodists." 
 
 The circumstances relating to Mrs. Pinkuey's return to the full 
 communion of the church will be stated in a subsequent portion 
 of tliis ^Memoir.
 
 LIFE OF J'.ISlKtp riNKNKV. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 The Family Home in Annapolis. l.Sl'2. 
 
 In 1812, while William was yet an infant of two years, his 
 father's family removed from their residence in the large lirick 
 house opposite the Lloyd mansion. The house to which tliey 
 removed was a plain fraiue cottage, situated on a lot of ground 
 comprising a large portion of the square in which it was located. 
 It adjoined the old Fort Severn and was directlj^ opposite the 
 Governor's house. The mother, as was most natural, felt the 
 change from the spacious and substantial old-time structure, more 
 roomy than their needs called for, to this smaller and plainer 
 abode. 
 
 Writing of this changed residence she says : 
 
 " The lociitioii is far better tliau I could have hoped for. I .soon ^ot over 
 my gloom. I had a dear and interesting family aroTind me; and love can 
 make the wilderness blossom as the rose. Indeed we soon had roses Ijloom- 
 ing around ns. The needful alterations and additions were made to the 
 house before we moved into it, which was a lovely June day. It had assumed 
 a very sweet appearance. jVo/r, I prefer a small house. Well I it matters 
 little where we spend our days if we spend them in the service of Him who 
 has a mansion in the skies prepared for all who love Him." 
 
 Very soon after the removal of the family to their cottage home 
 the war of 1812 broke out. The city of Annapolis, with the State 
 buildings and archives, was in perpetual danger of destruction by 
 the British forces : for. from some strange predilection for the 
 Chesapeake, the British officers, during the greater period of the 
 war, kept their fleets and forces upon its waters, and constant 
 depredaticms were made on both sides of the l)ay. For a long- 
 time and at frequent intervals the British sl)i])s were anchored oil' 
 the Annapolis harbor. Great anxiety and alarm were experienced 
 by the citizens. The city was without any defences, and no 
 military preparations were made for the protection of the inhabi- 
 tants. Sir. Ninian Pinkney realized the responsibility of his 
 official position and could not but feel uneasiness and fear for the 
 safety of his wife and children. 
 
 In some reminiscences of this period, written by Mrs. Pinkney 
 during the latter portion of her life, she gives a graphic descrii)tion 
 of the consternation and excitement produced in the city by the 
 appearance and long stay of the British fleet in the Chesapeake, 
 near Annapolis. She writes : 
 
 " Well do I remember the day when the tidings that our Natitmal Govern- 
 ment had declared war against Great Britain reached our city. Soon after-
 
 6 LIFE OF BISHOP TINKNEY. 
 
 wards came the uigbt alarm that the British fleet was in the bay and 
 ai)iJroac'hin<^ our harbor. There was at that time no means of defence in 
 this place : neither was any effort made for that purpose. All seemed blank 
 confusion, except on the score for personal safety and personal interest, 
 which are the last things forgotten in this selfish world. It was tacitly 
 admitted that Annapolis must be given up on demand and no show of resist- 
 ance be made. How sad it was to think that our habitations would be laid 
 in ruins by a merciless foe. On two occasions it was deemed necessary tliat 
 the women and children should take refuge for safety in the neighboring 
 country, lly husl)and's first care was to secure the public papers belonging 
 to his "department in the State House and then prepare The children and 
 myself for flight. I had been previously kindly invited by one of the Gov- 
 ernors of the State. Gov. Robert Bowie, residing in another county, to take 
 refuge at his residence, near the village of Nottingham, which I then grate- 
 ftdly declined to do, but now we gladly accepted the hospitality of his home. 
 AVchad been neighbors through one term of his office as Governor. As soon 
 as we arrived my host was at the door of the carriage to meet me and greet 
 me with welcome smiles. There I did feel myself at home ; and it was well 
 for me that I did, for circumstances compelled me to remain there a month. 
 Never during that period did the cordiality with which I was first received 
 lose its warmth, and never was I permitted to feel myself a stranger. As 
 soon as I could do so with safety to my childreia I returned home. The 
 British, however, at that time scarcely looked in upon Annapolis ; and in a 
 few hours after I had left the city the fleet shifted sail and coursed down 
 the Chesaijcake. It seems a little remarkable that the very place to which I 
 had gone for safety was afterwards visited by the enemy and suffered more 
 than we did. Some of the inhabitants were made prisoners and threatened 
 with a visit to Halifax, yet they were in reality generously treated and ex- 
 changed as prisoners of war." 
 
 ^Irs. Piukney writes in her reminiscences of still another visit to 
 Prince Georg-e"s. made under different circumstances, to a special 
 friend of her husband. She says : 
 
 " The last time I went to Prince George's was on account of my own deli- 
 cate health. I was not too languid to enj<jy the kind attentions there lavished 
 upon me, but sufficiently delicate to call forth the sympathy and tenderness 
 of all ar(mnd me, for I was surrounded by the kind and benevolent, who felt 
 for the sufferings of their felhnv-creatures. I have never seen that house or its 
 owner since : but I think it is in my son's parish and that some of that family 
 are his parishioners. How little did I think then that the little child I had 
 witli me, just beginning to lisp in infant prattle, was to be in after years the 
 spiritual director oi that family and the recipient of their kindness, and that 
 I, tlu' feeble, delicate mother, should live to see it. Much pleasure has he 
 had in his irtcrcourse with that family and in the consciousness of their 
 regard and affection. Many sad scenes has he witnessed in that household, 
 but through all Christian resignation has sustained the sufferers." 
 
 A<,'ain, tor the second time, after the battle of Bladensburg and 
 the burning of the Capitol, when it was thought that the British 
 would ud\ance upon Annapolis, it was deemed advisable for the 
 safety of the family that she should leave the city. She accord- 
 inf,'ly availed herself of the kind offer of a friend of her husband 
 to make his house, some miles distant in the country, her abode 
 for an indefinite period. She writes :
 
 IS 
 
 LIFE OF ]5ISII(»1' I'INKNEY. Y 
 
 " I felt at lust that it was my tluty to take advaiitat^c of tlio faoilitirs a kind 
 ProvidencH' offered iiie to take my young family out of tlie way. It was with 
 a heavy heart I left my home. My husband's duty preeluded thepossihilitv 
 of his being the e(mi|)anion of my flight. We remained at the house of this 
 friend for about three weeks, and then returned to our cottage h(Mne. After 
 that nothing eould induce me to leave it. 
 
 " How well I remember the burning of the Cajjitol I We could see the 
 light of the consuming Humes from our dwelling, but, although all went out to 
 look at it, none imagined whence it i)rocei'dcd. It did not enter the mind of 
 any one that so daring an outrage could be couimitted. It threw the whole 
 coimtry into astonishment, and the Nation, like a lion roused from his lair, 
 was roused with indignation. When the truth was ascertained we expected 
 that the next attack by the enemy would be tipon Annapolis in their way to 
 Baltimore. We quietly waited their approach. That was the most we could 
 do. The most difficult part of <ml-' task was to keep the body quiet while 
 the mind was full of excitement. Once or twice we thought we could dis 
 tinctly hear the Ijeating of the drums, and jitdged that the van-guard wa: 
 entering the city. The key of the Government House was ready for them 
 Once I took it in my hand, that it might not be to look for when demanded. 
 Still they came not." 
 
 Mr. Niuian Pinkney's position as au officer of the State govern- 
 ment was, durino- this whole period of the war of 1812, one of 
 very grave respousibiUty. He was the cliief State official resident 
 ill Annapolis, and had the charge of all the valuable State docu- 
 ments of the Executive, the Governor being resident there only 
 for a short time while the Legislature was in session. Happily, 
 however, the unprotected " Ancient City " was saved from ])om- 
 bardment. It may have been in part from its insignilicance as a 
 commercial city, and because not a strategic point, l)ut chietly, one 
 ma}^ believe, from that veneration which the English Admiral and 
 officers may have felt for a city which, in its colonial history, had 
 been so closely associated Avith the mother country. 
 
 Such, during his early childhood, were some of the incidents, 
 the anxieties, and civil troubles experienced by the parents of 
 young PiNKXEY. "\Mien these State and local disturbances, caused 
 by the war. ceased upon the declaration of peace in 1815, the 
 citizens of Annapolis resumed their wonted quiet avocations, and 
 the parents of the Pinkney fjunily settled down in their peaceful 
 cottage home. 
 
 This property had been purchased by Mr. Ninian Pinkney to 
 be the permanent residence of the family. As it was the home 
 associated with all young Pinkney's early life, and contuiued to 
 be the home of his revered mother until her death, it may l)e well 
 to recur to some interesting cii'cumstances connected with the 
 locality and the subsequent disposal of the property to the Navy 
 Department of the United States. 
 
 The lot on which the house stood was separated on the north- 
 east side by a narrow street from the old " Fort Severn." a 
 military post established by the General Government in 180S. 
 This fort was located on the banks of the Severn, where tlie nvi^r
 
 8 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 makes a junction ^^'itll an inlet of the Chesapeake Bay that forms 
 the harbor of AnnapoHs. The grounds comprised about ten 
 acres, and were enclosed on two sides with a high brick wall, and 
 on the other sides were open to the waters of the Severn and 
 the harbor. Here were posted officers of the army with their 
 quarters, and a military force sufficient to man the battery at the 
 outermost i)oint. 
 
 Just outside of this National foi't, oji the street leading to its 
 guarded entrance, stood, on the one side, the " Governor's House,"* 
 an old and spacious mansion, solid in structure and antique in 
 style, and on the other side of the street, immediately opposite 
 the Governor's house and near the gate of the fort, stood the 
 uni^retending frame cottage of the Pinkuey family. 
 
 In 184o the old Fort Severn, with all its buildings and grounds, 
 was transferred to the Navy Department.! The position, by its 
 location and healthfulness, was deemed admirably adapted for all 
 the jjurposes of a Naval School. The beautiful Severn flowing on 
 the one side, the Chesaj^eake bay, with its deep waters ojjen to 
 full A-iew at the one extremity, the city of Annapolis immediately 
 contiguous, and Washington City, the Capital, of easy access, it 
 filled all the reciuisites for such an institution of thorough educa- 
 tion and complete practical training in naval studies and exercises 
 as a great country would provide for those who were to be the 
 future officers and guardians of her navy. Since then the grounds 
 of the Naval School have been enlarged to the full extent of more 
 than fifty acres b}^ increasing the water frontage, and by taking 
 in, by purchase, several squares of the city. Large additions, 
 also, of landed property across the College Creek have been pur- 
 chased for a Naval Hospital and a cemetery. These enlarged 
 grounds with their numerous and costly buildings have been so 
 improved and adorned that they have become as beautiful as any 
 within the National domain. 
 
 These measures for the enlargement of the grounds of the 
 Naval Academy made it necessary that the Pinkney lot should be 
 included in the plans. It was accordingly purchased by the 
 
 * This house, supposed to have been built with brick brought fi-om 
 Englaud, with all its extensive outbuildings and grovinds, became the 
 Ijroperty of the Government, by confiscation, after the Revolutionary War. 
 It had been erected, probably some forty years before the declaration of 
 Independence, by the Hon. Edmund Jennings, of Lincoln's Inn, Secretary 
 of the Province of Maryland, and Judge of the Land Office. It was occupied, 
 if not f>\vned, at the breaking out of the Revolutionary war, by the Colonial 
 Governxr, Governor Eden, who took the Tory side, and in 177() sailed from 
 Aunaix.lis, in H. B. M. Frigate /'"/rr/-^. for Englaud. In this way the house 
 came into the possession of the State, and was thenceforth lised as the 
 residence of the Governor, until its purchase by the United States for the 
 Naval Academy. (See Hiistonj of the Naval Acadeniu, hij PrnfeKHor Sulev, p. 
 132-3. j • y J J y,i' 
 
 '+ See History of the Naval Academy, by Prof. Soley, p. CO, itdlicK.
 
 LIFK OF lUSIIol' I'INKNKY. 9 
 
 'Government in 1853 ;* but out of the most considerate re^^iinl for 
 its then aged occupant, Mrs. Pinkney, she was j)erniitt('d to 
 reiujiin in undisturbed possession to the close of lier life in 1858. 
 The old Pinkney cottaj^e itself was not removed until I8(i(). In 
 some of Mrs. Pinkney's meditations at this period, she writes : 
 
 " Eiifh (lay I tukc my stand at tlu' window iiiid look at the chanyes aud 
 iinprovements that arc f^oing on ai-ouiid nii> — still li'aviiig me unrestrained 
 and free. My pro])erty, the possession of which I havt- had for so many 
 years, will soon ehange its eharaeter to me. It is my own — and yet not my 
 own — mine to live in as long as I live, bnt yet not mine iu reality. This is 
 something similar to my own existence. I am not my own, for I ' was honght 
 with a price,' and yet in many things I do as I list with myself, but I can- 
 not transfer my right in my own existence to another. The true oirucr will 
 call for it one day, and then it must be surrendered. May that day find me 
 so i)uritie(l by Divine grace as to be meet for the inheritance of the saints 
 iu light." 
 
 The " Governors House "' still stands and is to be found within 
 the enclosures of the Academy, near the southwest entrance. It 
 has been converted into the library buildin<>' for the Naval School. 
 On the gTound opposite, where once stood the cottage home of 
 the Pinkney family, there now stands the beautiful chapel f of the 
 Academy, in which for years the services of the church have been 
 conducted, and where, afterw^ards, wdien he became a clergyman 
 of the Church and was subsequently called to the Episcopate, Wil- 
 liam Pinkney, on his visits to Annapolis, was wont to officiate. 
 
 How strangely the most unexpected changes come about as we 
 are led along through life's pathways under a Providence that 
 guides us we know not how or whither ! 
 
 The surroundings of one's birth place and the personal and 
 historic associations connected with it have an undoubted and 
 sometimes jjowerful influence in the formation of character and 
 in the direction of the development of the whole subsequent life. 
 Those of Annapolis Avere peculiarly calculated to inake a deep and 
 permanent imjiress upon the mind of an ardent and ambitious 
 youth. The young Pinkney could not look out of the windows 
 of his home or from the grounds about it without seeing on the 
 one hand the stately building representing to him the gul)erna- 
 torial authority of his native State, and on the other the military 
 forces guarding the National fortress, with its waving banner of 
 the stars and stripes representing to him as well the dignity and 
 jDOwer of the National Government ; and, by a singular coinci- 
 dence, his life was passed, the first i)art of it wholly, between the 
 two capitals, Annapolis and Washingtim ; and when he assumed 
 the rectorship of a church in the latter city, and afterwards, when 
 
 * See History of the Naval Academy, by Prof. Soley, page i:}'2. lu^te. 
 + This chapel was built under the superintendence of Admiral Porter, iu 
 18()8.
 
 10 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 raised to the Episcopate, he retained his residence within the 
 borders of Maryland to the close of his days. 
 
 Young PiXKXEY was i)owerfiilly influenced by these early asso- 
 ciations connected with his l)irth-place, with its college, and with 
 the State. His heart welled up with gratitude and pleasure as 
 such thoughts and memories were kindled in his soul. Often 
 and again, in verse and letters, it is seen through all his subse- 
 quent life with what enthusiastic ardor his affections clustered 
 around the •• Ancient City." 
 
 Annapolis became the seat of government of the Province 
 of Maryland in 1695. As early as 1650 settlements by Puritan 
 refugees from Virginia had been made upon the lands con- 
 tiguous to the Severn and the Chesapeake, but it was not until 
 after more than forty years of disturbances in the colony that 
 the capital was transferred from St. Marys City to Annapolis. 
 The locality had passed under several previous names, as " Pro- 
 ■\-idence," '' Proctor's Town," "Anne Ai-undel Town." before the 
 present designation, fixed upon in 1695, was given in honor of 
 Queen Anne, by whom, in 1708, the city charter was granted 
 and executed. The city in time came to be known and desig- 
 nated as the "Ancient City," in part, perhaps, from its very 
 early settlement and importance in the colony, but chiefly, it is 
 supposed, because after the Revolution it ceased to be a place of 
 any commercial importance and lapsed into a condition of stag- 
 nation as respects growth, wealth, and enterprise ; from which 
 condition, however, it is gradually and steadily recovering, and 
 bids fair at the close of the nineteenth centui'y to reach its ancient 
 prestige. 
 
 At the i^eriod of which we write Annapolis was noted as the 
 seat and centre of a high degree of intellectual culture and social 
 refinement. Here were laeld the annual meetmgs of the 
 Governor and Council, and of the General Assembly of the State 
 Legislature, and the almost constant sessions of the Court of 
 Appeals. Historically the cit^^ possessed peculiar interest. 
 
 Stu-ring. events in both Church and State occurred here. It 
 was here that the celebrated commissary. Dr. Bray, acting under 
 the Bishop of London, held his visitation in the month of May, 
 1700. Here the grave questions of civil and ecclesiastical trouble 
 were considered and determined by the colonial representatives. 
 It was here that patriotic resistance to the encroachments of the 
 parent country upon the rights and liberties of the people very 
 early manifested itself, and culminated in the burning of a vessel 
 and its cargo of tea in the harbor of the city in October. 1771, 
 nearly two years before the signing of the Declaration of Inde- 
 liendcnce. In fine it was here that, at the close of the Revolu- 
 tiouai-y wai-, General Washington, in the Senate Chamber of the 
 Staff H(nise, on the 23d of December, 1783, resigned his commis-
 
 LIFE OF IMSIlol' I'INKNFV. 11 
 
 sion as commancler-m-chief of the army of the United Colouiew 
 to retire to liis rural home in Virginia, bearinof with him the 
 gratitude and the phuidits of a eountrj' whose freedom and inde- 
 pendence he had been so instrumentid in achieving. 
 
 It may be said of this ancient city, as was spoken of Sion by 
 the Psahnist, that it is beautiful tor situation. The jjrospect 
 frojn the dome of the State House shows that it is almost an 
 island city, nearly encircled by two rivers, the one making u]» 
 from the Severn, the other winding round from the harl)oi-. 
 Woodlands, cultured fields, farm houses, fruit and flower gardens 
 are seen near and far off as the eye can reach. The Severn is 
 seen stretching up for six miles till it opens itself into the 
 picturesque Round bay. The blue and broad waters of the 
 Chesapeake Bay are in ^iew for many miles, bearing on their bosom 
 ships, steamers, and smaller craft as they pass to and from the 
 commercial metropolis of the State. 
 
 In his youthful days, as Pinkney walked to and fro in the streets 
 of the Ancient City, streets then only partially Ijuilt up, he would 
 see here and there over the cit}^ venerable and antique buildings, 
 with their ajjpeudages of brick walls and stal)les, erected in 
 colonial days, once the residences of old English families and 
 subsecjuently occupied mostly l)y their descendants. 
 
 Not only so, wherever he might be in the city or in tlie viciiiity 
 he would see the beautiful dome of the State House rising far 
 above all other buildings and forming against the blue sk}^ a never- 
 ceasing object of State pride and joy. Standing upon an elevated 
 mound in the heart of the city, and having been founded and 
 erected before the Revolution to supplant a still older State 
 building that occupied the site, this venerable State House was 
 fraught with associations that closely connected it with legislation 
 under the mother country, with the War of the Revolution, with 
 the Congress of the United Colonies and Avith the government 
 and the judicature of the State smce the ratification of the Con- 
 stitution of the United States. 
 
 Then too, near by, in the centre of a large campus, or, as it has 
 always been called, " The College Green,"' extending along nearly 
 one side of the city and reaching to the waters of the Severn and 
 the creek flowing into it, stood St. John's College, then alone in 
 its solitary isolation, quaint in its architectiu-e. and even then 
 venerable in age and of great repute for the noble sons she had 
 nurtured. It was at this college, as we shall see, that Pinkney 
 received his education. 
 
 Two squares distant from " The College Green " was the old 
 St. Anne's Church,, a spacious brick structure of the Colonial 
 l)eriod, with its huge square tower and the great bell wliich every 
 citizen of Annapolis loved to hear, as not for church only but as 
 well for college hours and for municipal regulations, and for the
 
 12 LIFE OF BISHOr PINKNEY. 
 
 evening curfew, it was rung and tolled by the old church sexton.* 
 "When long years after, on a cold, tempestuous winter's night, this 
 old church was burned to the ground, the flames illuminating the 
 whole city and surrounding country and seen far out on the 
 Chesapeake Bay. this bell gave out its parting toll, as with tower 
 it fell into the fiery mass below. The building stood on the 
 very site of the present noble church, in the middle of a large 
 oval space, surrounded with tall Lombardy poplars, the ornamental 
 and shade trees so common in those days, and to be seen long 
 afterwards upon the State House hill, the College Green, and 
 about many of the old mansions of the city. 
 
 The inspirations arising from these associations and scenes and 
 suiToundings. amidst which young Pinkney grew up to manhood, 
 greatly tended not only to intensify his patriotic feelings for his 
 native city and State, but also to foster and develop those powers 
 of imagination and poetic fancy in which, with an exuberant dic- 
 tion, he delighted to indulge and never wholly relinquished in his 
 niatiu'est years. 
 
 Strong and tender to the day of his death were his recollections 
 of the Ancient City of his birth and of the family home. The last 
 letter that he wrote was. it is believed, the one addi'essed to two 
 young college friends in Annapolis, graduating in 1883 at his Alma 
 Mater. 
 
 * One <jf the most noted of the old-time characters in Annapolis was Mr. 
 •Joseph Simmons, commonly called '' Joe Moi'gue," or " Old Joe Mogg," the 
 very terror of the children and the women. He was sexton of the parish 
 church, grave-digger, and bell-ringer. He died in 1836, the oldest inhab- 
 itant of the city, being abont one hundred years of age. He was exact to 
 the very miuiite in ringing the church bell for service hours, for corporation 
 and college hours, iisually at 8 and 9 o'clock A. M., and at 1, and 3, and 9 
 P. M. As sexton he kept all things in order in his department, and seemed 
 to take a strange pleasure in digging, preparing, and rounding up the graves. 
 No one dared to disturl) or oifend him for fear of the threat, " I want you," 
 •which was superstitiously regarded as prophetic of a speedy death. 
 
 " When he had reached a centenarian's age, he was an object of interest 
 to all. With his white hair flt)wing over his shoulders, his aged form tottering 
 with the weight of years, liis xliackliiiff stej), and the sombreuess of his occu- 
 pati(m, he presented to the mind the ai>pariti<m of Old Time himself , lacking 
 -only the emblematic scythe to make the picture complete. "+ 
 
 t See '• The Anci.Mit flity." by Mr. Elihu S. Riley, pages 250-3.
 
 LIFE OF lUSirol' I'lNKNKV. 15 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Education — St. John's Collkoe. Ib"i2 '27. 
 
 The early education of Willi.\m Pinknev, like that of liis younger 
 hrother, Niniaii, was for the most part received at home under 
 the careful instructions of his parents. There was only the differ- 
 ence of a sing'le year in the ag'es of the two lu'others. They could 
 both recur, in after-life, with self-gratulation and an honorable 
 pride, to those liapin' formative influences and principles received 
 and imbibed during childhood and youth under their wise and 
 loving Christian parents. 
 
 Willi.\:m, without being specially precocious, was apt to learn, 
 studious, fond of books, and aml)itious to excel. He gave early 
 indications of his predilection for religious worship and for oratory. 
 
 In reminiscences written by his mother in 1850 she recalls some 
 interesting incidents of his childhood and early youth, as follows : 
 
 ■' William was quick, ami at a very early afje (nmld road. When called to 
 show his qnalitications he would jfo on with his readiiii; as flTieiitly as if be 
 could master every word, wlieu he was only suljstitutinj^ his own : iniaj^ina- 
 tiou and fancy supplying him with all that was wanted if the printed word 
 was diflticult. The Lancasterian School was first got into operation when he 
 was three years old. He was sent there to learn the alphabet, after which 
 he waS for some years taught at home. How pleasant it is to me now in my 
 <jld age to see my dear sons still meeting, after their frequent sc])arations, in 
 the unsubdued warmth of fraternal love and mingling thought with thought 
 in social converse. Then I recollect the days of their happy and innocent 
 childhood, when they sported together beneath one roof. It was the custom 
 of their father, when the toils of the day were over, to call his children 
 aroxuid him and in pleasant chat l)eguile the evening hours, and, after their 
 scli(K)l-days commenced, those same ho\;rs were spent in preparing for the 
 studies of the coming day. William was devoted to his father. I never 
 saw at his age a deeper tilial devotion. When he was about eleven years old 
 he accompanied his father to the York Springs as my substitute. He went 
 freighted with my instructions, and faithfully fultillcd the part assigned him. 
 So assiduously did he watch his father, that he should not eat the forbidden 
 viand, that he became the admiration of the guests at the establishment and 
 won their praise. Ever after he continued those attentions, accomjianying 
 his father to his room, assisting him to undress, ;ind lixing everything for 
 his comfort, until death de])rived him of that beloved parent. Long before 
 that time his attention seemed turned to the office he is now filling. I think 
 V)ef()re he was seven years <jld he was the embryo jireachcr. Whenever his 
 father and I went out, leaving him at home, his operations began. He w«mld 
 gather his congregation around him, tix the chairs, mount one of them as a 
 tt'uqjorary jjulpit, and, with book in hand, go through the mimic process 
 of public worship. The voice was strong and powerful, and often as we 
 returned home its tones would reach us as we passed the garden fence. We 
 sometimes entered unobserved and witnessed the uplifted eyes of the future
 
 1-i LIFE OF BISHOP PIXKNEY. 
 
 orator as he stood pouring forth words full of love and devotion. * * * 
 Back to my heart comes the recollection of these early scenes in our home- 
 stead and of those evening and morning prayers which were lisped to me in 
 the accents of infancy." 
 
 Very soon, aud at an unusual early age, William was prej^ared 
 to enter college. The selection of a college for the liberal educa- 
 tion of a youth is always a grave question with Christian and 
 thoughtful jiarents : for, along with the knowledge to be gained 
 and the intellectual training to be secured, there should be com- 
 bined the culture of the soul in the principles and habits of a 
 true morality, which recognizes and inculcates responsibility to 
 God and the obligations of Christian vii-tue. 
 
 Naturally the parents of young Pinkney would select the Col- 
 lege of St. John's, which stood almost at the doors of his home, 
 and wliere. under the influences and watchful care of that home, 
 the advantages of a liberal education could be secui^ed. 
 
 As in after-life Pinkney became one of the governors and 
 ■visitors of the college, and was much identified with the efforts 
 made for its pei-manent endowment and success, it may be well 
 to give some account of the institution. 
 
 Measures looking to the establishment by the State of a Col- 
 legiate Institution of a high grade were taken, on several successive 
 occasions, before the Revolution : and in all of them the city of An- 
 napolis was designated as the location, and " the building on the 
 ])aiiks of the Severn, formerly designed for the Governor's Man- 
 sion, ' ' was to be set apart for the purposes of the contemplated 
 college. " This building is now McDowell Hall, the central one 
 of the numerous buildings constituting St. John's College. "* 
 But all these educational measures failed; and it was not until 
 1784 that the college was chartered, nor did it go into operation 
 until 17S9, when under its first President, John McDowell, D. D., 
 the college entered upon what promised to be a successful and 
 brilliant career. In the act of its establishment the Legislature 
 of the State guaranteed, " annually and forever, " a liberal sum 
 for its support. Large private subscrijitions were also received. 
 Unfortunately for the college the State's annuity was withdrawn 
 in 1H0() : and from that period to the present, with only occasion- 
 ally and very inadequate relief from the State, the college has 
 had to struggle on as best it could in its educational work. 
 Great as were the disadvantages, there' annually went forth from 
 its halls, graduates eminent in the history and the councils of the 
 >)tate and of tlie General Government. 
 
 It was during the years from 1822 to 1827 that young Pinkney 
 was a student in the college. For a short time in the earlier 
 j)art of this period, the Rev. Dr. Hem-y Lyon Davis, the father 
 
 * See Catalogue of St. John's for 187i, p. 5.
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 15 
 
 of tile distiii^uislied Heiirv AViuter Davis, was President — a mail 
 who ill bis day stood forth as cue of the ablest divines and ripest 
 scholars of his age.* Dr. Davis was succeeded in the i)residency 
 by the Rev. Dr. Wm. Ratlerty. who brou{>-ht to the position the 
 characteristic ardor, if not impetuosity, of his Irish descent. It 
 was under his presidency that young Pixkney com])leted his 
 collegiate course, graduating at the early age of seventeen yeai's 
 at the commencement held the 22d February, 1S27. 
 
 It may be proper to add in this connection that the college did 
 not begin to emerge from its long depression until the- accession 
 to the presidency of the Eev. Dr. Hector Humphreys, in 1H81, a 
 man of marked ability, of most varied attainments, and of much 
 experience in academic administration. 
 
 Tall and commanding in person, his countenance highly Intel 
 lectual, his dark eyes gleaming through gold spectacles, a voice 
 almost sepulchi'al in its tones, he presided over the college ^N'ith 
 marked digTiitj- and success. And yet Avithal he was so kindly 
 and considerate that the dutiful aft'ection of the students equalled 
 theu" veneration for his character. Diu'ing his administi'ation 
 there was Httle occasion for the exercise of collegiate discipline. 
 Dr. Humphi-eys made very large and important additions to the 
 curriculum of the college studies, especially in the varied depart- 
 ments of the sciences, of history, philosophy, and literatiu-e.t 
 By his persevering efforts active measures were taken to promie 
 adequate college buildings and to estabhsh the institution upon a 
 permanent basis of prosperity. He appealed to the Legislature 
 of the State to fullil the contract made when the college was 
 chartered, and he personally canvassed the State to solicit con- 
 tributions. In these efforts he was partially successful, and if 
 they had been actively seconded and promoted by the Legislatvu'e 
 and citizens of the State St. John's would now stand among the 
 foremost institutions of learning in the country. It is at length, 
 1890, under its present able President. Dr. Thomas Fell, begin- 
 ning to emerge from its long depression. As on the day when 
 
 * The writer here desires to record his youthful recollectious of this 
 venerable man. Owing to certain troiibles in the college, he ceased to 
 be connected with its administration, and established a private school of 
 his own in the parsonage of St. Ann's Church, of which he was Rector. To 
 that school it was the writer's i^rivilege to go in his early school-days: and 
 he well remembers one so majestic in his physical j)roportions and so great 
 and lofty in his mental endowments. He was wont, with staff in hand, to 
 enter the school-room and take his chair at the master's desk, where always 
 laid the long birchen rod. then an essential part and aid in all effectual 
 teaching. 
 
 + In addition to what is stated in the te.xt, the writer wishes here to record 
 his own personal sense of the many kindnesses of Dr. Htimplu'eys t»)ward 
 him while a student of the college, and his gratitude for the wise counsels 
 and aids which he received fi-om one who was to him as a father and the 
 sruide of his vouth.
 
 1(> LIFE OF BISHOP PINKXEY. 
 
 the college first went into operation, in 1789, there was an 
 assemblage, one hundred years after, on the 2Gth of June, 1889, 
 of the president and faculty, of the governors and visitors, of 
 alumni and of students, as cadets, before the front portico of the 
 State House to j^roceed in orderly procession to the college 
 grounds for the centennial celebration. There under a spacious 
 canopy erected beneath the over-arching branches of the famous 
 old poplar tree in the campus the commemoration proceedings 
 were held, consisting of music, with prayer, an ode, an historical 
 address, and an oration, in the presence of a large concourse of 
 friends of the college and citizens of Annapolis. On the next day 
 the annual commencement exercises took place. The interest 
 and enthusiasm manifested on this occasion give presage of a 
 future that will place St. John's in just and honorable position.* 
 
 It would have filled the soul of William Pinkney with pride and 
 joy had his life been spared to witness and join in this centennial 
 commemoration of his Alma Mater. 
 
 "While yovmg Pinkxey was yet a student at college, and only in 
 his fourteenth year, his father died. Mr. Ninian Pinkney had been 
 in failing health for several years. He is described by the sorrow- 
 ing widow "as a husband most devoted and a father most tender 
 and judicious." His last moments were soothed with the consola- 
 tions of religion. Taking his last farewell from all the members 
 of his family and the nearest relatives gathered around his dying 
 bed, he departed, expressing his " confidence still strong in the 
 Lord." 
 
 The death of the father, occurring in the maturity of his years, 
 devolved upon the widowed mother the temporal care of the family 
 and the grave responsibility of providing for the education of the 
 children and their preparation for active and responsible work in 
 life. In both respects she proved herself fully equal to the charge. 
 
 After his father's death young Pinkney continued at college and 
 remained until he graduated, in 1827. being then only seventeen 
 yeai"s of age. 
 
 He was the youngest meml)er of a class noted for ability and 
 scholarship ; and, m (U'der to maintain an honorable standing, he 
 had to lal^or most arduously at his studies. As an e-sidence that 
 he succeeded in attaining a high jDOsition in his collegiate course 
 he was chosen by his class-mates, with the approbation of the 
 professors, to deliver the valedictory at the commencement. That 
 valedictory has been preserved, and is marked by unusual richness 
 of thouglit and beauty of expression for one so young in years. 
 
 * It is interesting to churchmen to note that while the college, by its 
 charter and throughout its whole administration, was in no ways .sectarian, 
 " l)i'iiig fouiidfd and maintained for the l)enetit of the youth of every 
 religious denomination," no less than .>«-i-f/i of its eleven pre.sidents have been 
 eminent divines of the Church.
 
 LIFE OF lilSHOl' I'lNKNEY. l7 
 
 In those days it was customary to hold the college commence- 
 ments in the i)aiish church of St. Ann's cm the 2'2d of February, 
 being Washington's l)irt]iday, and during the session of the Legis- 
 lature. This practice contiTuied until the year 1H84. after which 
 they were held in the hall of the college, now called McDowell 
 Hall. "When held in the church a lai-ge i)latforni was erected over 
 the pews that surrounded the reading-desk and the i)ulpit, which 
 then stood out in the nave of the church. On this platform were 
 assembled the faculty of the college, the visitors and governors, 
 members of the Legislature, judges of the Court of Appeals, with 
 distinguished guests, the body of the church being tilled with 
 citizens and friends of the college. It was a severe ordeal through 
 which the yoiithful graduate had to pass. 
 
 Of the members of his graduating class, six in all, only one 
 sur^ives. They were all worthy and hcmored sons of the college.* 
 Of these it will not be invidious to mention John Henry Alexander, 
 with whom Pinkney maintained uj) to the time of his death intimate 
 and tender association. Dr. Alexander was a man of most diversi- 
 fied accomplishments. Learned in all departments of science and 
 civil engineering, a thorough scholar in the classics and modern lan- 
 guages, possessed of a high poetic genius and capacity, skilled in 
 architecture and the ai'ts. he combined in himself the most remark- 
 able attainments. A sincere and earnest piety in the communion 
 of the Church adorned his life. In him Pinkney found a wise 
 counsellor and a most congenial and loving friend. A life-long, 
 through not frequent, correspondence was carried on between 
 them — the lettei's of Dr. Alexander being as beautiful in their 
 penmanship as minute copper-plate engraving, and so perfect as 
 to bear the test of the microscope. 
 
 It is impossible at this period to ascertain the exact curriculum 
 of the college. It was, no doubt, founded on that pursued at 
 the English universities, and was confined almost exclusively 
 to the classics, mathematics, and philosophy. It was. however, 
 in these branches, so discij)hnary and thorough as to lay the 
 
 * William Harwood, M. A. ; late State librarian, professor at the U. S. 
 Naval Academy, orator before the Alumni, visitor and governor, and sec- 
 retary to the board. Mr. Harwood is the only surviving member of the 
 class '(1890). 
 
 John Henry Alexander, M. A., LL. D. ; late chief of the Topograph- 
 ical Survey of" Maryland, professor of natural history in the College of St. 
 James, professor of mining and civil engineering in the University of Penn- 
 sylvania, and professor of natural philosophy in the School of Letters in the 
 University of Maryland. 
 
 Thomas Archer, M. A. 
 
 Ezekiel Hughes, M. A. 
 
 William H. Tuck. M. A.: Speaker of the Hou.se of Delegates, member 
 of the State convention of IS.'iO-'l, judge of the Court of Appeals, orator 
 before the Alumni, jiidge of the second judicial district, Senator of Mary- 
 land, and visitor and governor.
 
 18 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 foundations of sound scholarship and varied attainments in all 
 •suhstantial, liberal, and j^ractical knowledge. Modem science, 
 as we now designate it. was, in its comprehensive departments, 
 just then beginning to enter upon those jDrofound researches 
 and make those wonderful discoveries in the constitution and 
 order of the natural world, its forces and its laws, which have 
 rendered the last half-century the most noted era, scientifically, 
 in the world's history. A marked change has now come over the 
 whole system of college and university instruction : and it is 
 feared by many that these modern scientific, hterary, and historic 
 studies, valuable as they are in beneficent results, may altogether 
 supersede the old and time-honored studies that gave such 
 grandeur and lustre to the learned, and yet practical and progres- 
 sive, men of the past generations. Perhaps our present advanced 
 science and criticism could never have laid theii' sure foundations 
 or made theii* marvellously rapid progress, if they had not been 
 in-eceded by those classical and philosophic studies which gave 
 to the powers of mind the highest discipline and fittest prepara- 
 tion to master knowledge in any and all departments. 
 
 Young PiNKXEY came forth from college with a mind well 
 trained and well stored for so youthful a graduate. He retained 
 through life the habits of study thus early formed and a fondness 
 for all literary pursuits that steadily increased with his years. 
 There was nothing in his college career that marked him out as 
 one of an over-eager ambition for distinction. The humility that 
 so beautifully adorned his later life was not wanting in his j'outhful 
 days. He claimed nothing on the score of special scholarship or 
 brilliancy. He knew that he was only laying fovmdations for 
 f utui-e usefulness and honorable position. The best education is 
 that which, without undue stimulus or rivalry, fits a youth for 
 after-work and after-progress in the sphere which he is to fill in 
 the maturity of manhood.
 
 LIFE OF IJIHHOl' I'lNKNEY. !'.> 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Studies in the Law ; Connection with the Methodists ; Entrance on 
 Peepaeation fok the Ministry at Princeton. 1827-'3L 
 
 Whatever may have been Pinkey's early predilections for the 
 ministry, they had not at this period of his life any determinative 
 influence upon him. Although he had been piously brought up 
 and was most exemi^lary in his conduct, it does not ap})ear that 
 at this time he gave any special evidences of religious impressions 
 and convictions. 
 
 Soon after graduating he commenced the study of the law in 
 the ofHce of his cousin, Mr. Somerville Pinkney. Having completed 
 these studies through the usual course, he was regularly ad 
 mitted to the Inir. He did not, however, enter upon the i)ractice 
 of the i)rofession. His heart was never fully in it, tdthough then 
 and ever afterwards he held in highest admiration the profession 
 of the law, which he regarded as presenting a grand and noble 
 field for all forensic eloquence and public distinction and for the 
 profoundest researches into the principles that govern all social 
 and civil life. 
 
 It was during the prosecution of his legal studies that he be- 
 came deeply impressed with religious convictions and feelings ; 
 and the views, hitherto vague and unsettled, which he had 
 entertained in regard to the sacred ministry, became intensilied 
 and permanently fixed. This was brought about by his at- 
 tendance upon the preachings and revivals of the Methodists, 
 which were then attracting great attention and interest in 
 Annapolis. His mother had sometime before connected herself 
 with that religious body, and with her husband and the children 
 attended upon the Methodist ministrations. 
 
 From the first settlement of Annapolis the only recognized and 
 the generally professed religion in the city was that of the Church 
 of England. St. Anne's parish was established in 1(592. Up to 
 1771 the only church in the city was the parish church. Dui'ing 
 the Revolution, and for a numl)er of years after, the parish was 
 in a very depressed condition. The ministrations of religion were 
 kept up, but owing in part to the evils of the times and in part to 
 the fact that some of the Rectors were men, not of good character 
 and wanting- in Godly zeal, such coldness and formality prevailed 
 that many of the older members of the parish and their families
 
 20 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 were cai-ried away by the religious excitemeuts that bad tbeii- orioin 
 in Weslev and were greatly increased under the eloquent preach 
 ings of AYhitlield and others. Methodism soon became a powerful 
 religious element and agency in the city. The first " Meeting 
 House." for it was then so called, was a plain and rude frame 
 building, having the steps leading to the gallery on the outside. 
 It was located on an open space east of the State House cu'cle 
 and opposite the record office.* Thither jDreachers of enthusiastic 
 ardor and much pulpit power were sent. Frequent revival meet- 
 ings were held, and it seemed at one time that some of the best 
 and strongest elements in the parish would be drawn aAvay from 
 the church. It is not surprising, therefore, that one so ardent in 
 temperament and so susceptible in nature to the emotional in 
 religion, as Pinkney, should under the circumstances and by the 
 infiuences that surrounded him have yielded himself to what then 
 seemed to him the realization of the power of true Christianity. 
 He became a Methodist. His conversion excited no little interest 
 and comment in the Ancient City, as he was known to possess 
 such culture and gifts as would put him at once into prominent 
 position as preacher among the Methodists. He Mas soon called 
 upon to take his })lace as one of their exhorters and speakers. He 
 was not long in determining to enter into the ministry. This 
 determination forced upon his consideration a matter of the 
 gravest moment. He felt moved and called in his inmost soul to 
 become a preacher of the Gospel. ' His convictions upon this 
 subject were intense and strong. But he felt at the same time 
 that he was unfitted without previous study and prejiaration for 
 so sacred and awful a work. He felt then, as he afterwards more 
 fully realized, that no man, whatever his gifts and religious 
 enthusiasm, should dare to enter upon so sacred a calling without 
 the most studious prei)aration in Biblical and ecclesiastical learn- 
 ing. He determined, therefore, that he would enter upon a course 
 of jjreparatory ministerial study and not seek any ordination until 
 he had completed such course. "NVlien this determuiation became 
 known it caused no little uneasiness and distrust among the 
 Methodist brethren, especially among the old meml^ers, who 
 protested a{,fainst all theological studies preparatory to the sacred 
 ministry, insisting that whenever there was the true inner call of 
 the Holy Spiiit to go and j^reach the Gospel, the inspiring gifts 
 and (jualifications would go along with that call to fit the preacher 
 
 * This building was supplanted by a neat brick house of worship, erected 
 about 1820, near the original site, and that in its tiirn was f(>llowe<l by the 
 j)n-si-nt more ornate strnetnr*', on the same spot. About IKM) a small Roman 
 Catholic chapel was erected on tlie <.;rouuds of the Carroll estate. Since 
 then tlie Presbyterians, other branches of the Methodists, Baptists, and 
 others, have erected church Imildings, so that now, ISitO, in Annajiolis, 
 are to be found all the <livers sorts of religious denominations.
 
 LIFE OF mSHOl' PINKNEY. "il 
 
 for bis work.* But Pinkney was not to be moved or turned away 
 from bis purpose by any fears, or suspicions, or ar^nimcntutions 
 by otbers in regard to bis future course. He intbcated tlius ciirly 
 his determination to tbink and act intb'pendeiitly in matters tli.it 
 toucbed bis conscience and duty, liis bcbef and combict. 
 
 His mind turned to tbe Tbe()b)gical Seminary at Princeton, New 
 Jersey, as tlie institution wbere be eoiibl l)est jjrosecute liis })re- 
 piu-at(n-y studies in tbeology. It is not known tbat be bad any 
 iucbnati(m toward tbe Presbyterian s^'stem of (b)ctrine and cbuicli 
 government. Tbere were at tbe time no ^Vletbocbst tbeob)gical 
 scbools ; and tbere seem to bave l)een no intimations or sugges 
 tions given to bim as to tbe General Tbeological Seminary in New 
 York or to tbe Episco})al Tbeok)gical Seminary of Virginia, near 
 Alexandria. Tbese institutions of tbe Cburcli were not tben mucb 
 known outside of ber own communion. It is quite probal)le tbat 
 bis attention was directed to tbe Princeton Seminary l)y tbe Rev. 
 John Decker, a Presbyterian clergyman, at tbat time professor of 
 tbe Grammar Scbool in St. Jobn's College, witb wbom be bad 
 formed quite an intimate acquaintance and for wlnnn be ever 
 entertained warm regard and friendsbip. 
 
 As illustrative of tbe religious interest and excitement among 
 tbe Metbotbsts in Annapolis dui'ing tbe period tbat jjreceded 
 Pinkney's connection witb tbat body — to wbicb reference above 
 has been made — tbere are some reminiscences by bis mother, 
 "written in 1851, of visits to the city by several of their most dis- 
 tinguished preachers and pulpit orators — to Pitt, to llyland, and 
 Bascom, and more particularly to Summerfield, of whom, as to 
 his person and preaching, she thus writes : 
 
 " I liavf not forgotten the excitement that jji-cvailed in our city whi'U the 
 youthful, the ehxjuent, the admired Sununerfiehl ])aid us a passinj^ visit. Like 
 Jeuny Lind, his fame had preceded him in this country, and everywhere he 
 was met, ap))reciated, and applauded hy listeninj^ thousands. The weajxins 
 of his warfare were spiritual and not carnal, and to the lovers of pleasure 
 more than the lovers of God he did not hold as attractive a sjjell as tin- 
 Swedish niii;htiniiale. Yet even the lovers of pleasure flocked to listen ti> the 
 youthful saint. The young, the beautiful, the gifted listened witli lireath- 
 less attention to the warnings and the encouragements which Howed sweetly 
 from a tongue that seemed to have been touched with Heaveidy inspiration. 
 Houses were tilled almost to suffocation where he was expected to preach. 
 His apijearanee was very interesting — handsome in face and iierson, his eyes 
 of a dark bhxi' and of very sweet expression, his countenance intellectual, 
 and his voice full of fascination. Of all the ])uli)it orators I have ever 
 listened to he excelled in the power to charm : for in him all the graces of 
 
 * Since then a great change in their views and in their policy of adminis- 
 tration has taken phu-e among the Methodists. They have become sn 
 numerous and powerful that they have erected and largely endowed very 
 many colleges, theological seminaries, and universities. Tliey are now 
 among the foremost advocates and promoters of all secular and ecclesiastical 
 learniniT.
 
 22 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKXEY. 
 
 delivery au<l all the resources of a richly-gifted mind were united with and 
 ruled l)y the ardent spirit of ])iety. and all were laid a willing sacrifice on 
 the Altar of his Lnrd. I saw him several times in the private circle, and I 
 listened to three of his discoiirses from the pulpit. His visit here made a 
 deej) impression, and we indiilged the hope that it might be repeated, but 
 his davs were numbered, and a few months afterward he was in the silent 
 grave, and his light was withdrawn from the children of men.* Summerfield 
 was no common man. His speech did distil as the dew upon the mown grass. 
 There was a i)eculiar pathos in his voice and manner when he addressed the 
 children of the congregation. Every little eye was turned to him in an 
 instant, V)eaming with aflfection and interest, and his words to them were 
 breathed out so sweetly that one would be induced to believe his mission 
 was jjarticularly intended for that class. The name of John Summerfield 
 will live in affectionate remembrance in all places where his speech has 
 been heard. He was a burning and a shining light, and the intensity of the 
 flame soon consumed the fi'ame which held it. His was a spirit of love, and 
 he ai)peared literally to behold a brother in every child of Adam." 
 
 While William Pinkney was gi\'iiig his thoughts to ministerial 
 studies and prei:)aiing to go to the Theological Seminary at 
 Princeton, his younger brother, Ninian. was preparing at the 
 same time to go to Philadelphia to attend the lectures at the 
 Jefferson Medical College in that city. His medical stutlies had 
 been prosecuted in the office of Dr. Edward Sparks, a success- 
 ful practising physician in AnnajDolis, and at the same time and 
 for many years the Professor of Ancient Languages in St. John's 
 College. Young Ninian was seeking admission into the Medical 
 Corps of the United States Navy ; and upon his admission sub- 
 sequently mto that corjjs he became one of the most distin- 
 guished surgeons in the Navy. The mutvial attachment between 
 these two brothers, and theii* fond and almost excessive admira^ 
 tion for each other was in the case of both of them a life-long 
 characteristic. From childhood till death parted them they were 
 as loving and dear to each other as any kindred souls could be. 
 Whenever in after-life, the one or the other was sick, the well 
 one. if it were possible, was sj^eedily by the bedside of the 
 sufferer — the surgeon with his great skill in medical practice 
 and the clergyman with his especial gifts for tender nursing. 
 
 The departure of these, her two sons, for the first time from 
 the parental home to cities which then seemed far more distant 
 than in these days of rapid railroad travel, is very touchingly 
 described by then- mother in her reminiscences of the parting 
 scene. It was in October, 1831. — 
 
 " The youngest and the gayest (Ninian) first went forth. His destination. 
 wa.s to a sister city CPhiladelphia), to attend lectures in the healing art, 
 in the practise of which I have in these latter days the pleasiue of regard- 
 ing him as a proficient. We felt in this parting that he would come again 
 in spring to cheer his widowed mother and his only sister. "' 
 
 * Kummerfield died in 1824.
 
 MFF. OF liisilol' I'lNKNKY. 23 
 
 '• But when I parted from Wh.i.iam a week or ten days later, the Htroke 
 was more heavy, the effect more histinj^. I have not for;i;otten it. I do 
 not feel as if I ever could forj^et it, for he was ^^oin;^ forth to enter ujkhi a 
 new life amid scenes and trials to which he had hitherto Ijeen a stranger. 
 We sat in silence and unocciipicfl, scarcely able to control our fcelini^s. 
 The picture of that scene is present now to my imai^ination. His slij,'ht 
 li<^ure, st) unlike the full pro])ortions it has since assumed, his heamin^^ 
 countenance expressive of sorrowful affection — but uothin^^ paxises hm^ in 
 this stirring and exciting world — delay was painful. Once more he stooil 
 erect, drew on his gloves, and bade the sad, fond farewell to mothi-r and 
 sister, and passed from our sight — the Jirnt to go alone from my little family 
 torcturn no more as an abidin<r member."
 
 24: LIFE OF BISHOr PINKXEY. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Pkinceton — Return to the Church — Admission to the Ministry. 
 
 1831-'34. 
 
 Mr. Pixkxey entered the Princeton Theological Seminary in 
 October. 1831, being then just j^ast the twenty-tirst year of his 
 age. Very naturally, on this the first instance of his leaving 
 home for a prolonged absence, he felt depressed and almost 
 desi)ondent, but the natural buoyancy of his temperament and 
 the noble purposes that actuated him soon lifted him out of this 
 condition. In his first letter home to his mother he writes : 
 
 " With a feeble constitution what can I accomplish ? Comparatively noth- 
 ing. However. I am determined to do the best I can and leave the success 
 to God. The passion of emulation once urged me onward in a course of 
 vigorous exertion and painful solicitude ; but the dreams of ambition have 
 vanished, the spell has been broken, and my soul has been brought to con- 
 template itself in the muTor of truth and taught to glory in nothing but the 
 Cross of CHRIST and Him crucified. On Saturday last I got possession of 
 my room, and am u< )w comfortably fixed. I have enough to do at all times and 
 can euj(jy many religious privileges, and. when inclined, I can associate with 
 those who, like myself, are preparing, by the assistance of God, for greater 
 usefulness. Truly I am favored ; and yet I am often cast down in spirit. 
 At twilight I feel pensive and sigh for home. The remembrance of past 
 scenes, in which I have mingled and from which I derived not only pleasure, 
 but instruction, casts a shade of melancholy over me which I cannot shake 
 off — a stranger, though in my native laud, sighing for the enjoyments of 
 home, striving to prepare myself for the ministry of the LORD JESUS. If 
 I am qualilied, may the LORD permit me to go forth, I care not where, if He 
 go with me." 
 
 He remained at Princeton for two years, passing the intervals 
 between the sessions at the home in Annapolis. He would prob- 
 ably have continued at the seminary for the third year had his 
 health and the circumstances of the family permitted. His mother 
 in her letters had frequently expostulated with him about his too 
 assiduous prosecution of studies and the neglect of j^roper care 
 of his health. At the end of the second year it became necessary 
 for him to temi^orarily susi)end his studies. He remained at home 
 during the succeeding winter. This gave him the rest and the 
 recuperation he so much needed. Happy Avere the hours passed 
 in that sweet cottage home with his mother and sister. 
 
 As frequent mention is made in this Memoir of his mother, and 
 extracts given from her reminiscences and papers, it may be well 
 to (piote some passages from his letters, showing with what tender 
 and full-hcaitcd love he reciprocated her affection, how he revered
 
 LIFE OF lUSKOl' PINKNEV. 25 
 
 her character aud i)rize(l her counsels, and with wliat filial juidc 
 iiud admiration he regarded her. 
 
 In one of his letters to her from Piinceton lie wiote : 
 
 .. * * « f ^^> persuiil of Your hi^'hly interostiii^' lettvriiffordrd mo iinicli 
 enjoymciit iind nuic-li solid iinprovcnicut. Weill I kin'w that iiotliiii;^ l)Ut 
 streams of pleasure and instruction could flow from so rich a fountain. 
 
 .i « « i< Truly I have been blessed of (rod in such a mother — and while I 
 can boast of a mother from whom I can at all times learn wisdom and ])iety, 
 I can with equal exultation recur to the memory of a father, who was 
 tenderly alive to all my infant desires, aud to whom I clung as the ivy to 
 the protecting oak, till by the stroke of Heaven I was severed from bis side." 
 
 And again, writing to his sister, he says : 
 
 " I was much relieved when I heard that our dear mother was convalescing, 
 that her disease was averted, and her valuable, or rather invahiable, life 
 was spared. I fear I shall never appreciate the worth of such a blessing 
 until I am deprived of it. " 
 
 Hence he was accustomed to counsel with his mother in all 
 matters that touched his interest, his welfare, his duty, and the 
 future course of his life. He always found in her sym])athiziiig 
 heart the fulness of a mother's love and in her well-matured mind 
 the ability to give wise and judicious counsels. 
 
 His studies at Princeton seem to have been principally, almost 
 exclusively, given to the exegesis and interpretation of the 
 Scriptures under its able professors. In his letters while at the 
 institution thei'e are no inamaticms that his attenti(m was in any 
 way specially directed to Church organization and gcnernment, 
 or to early ecclesiastical history. At that period, as indeed too 
 much so since, young and ardent minds full of earnestness 
 and zeal, looking to the great work of 2)reaching CHEIST to a 
 sinful world, failed to discern the sore evils of schisms in the 
 Church of CHRIST and regarded all forms of Church government 
 as matters of human arrangement and as having no specific divine 
 authority and obligation. So his mind during this period seems 
 not to have been exercised on these subjects. 
 
 There was one matter, however, that for a while gave him 
 much anxious thought — it w'as that of becoming a missionary to 
 the heathen in foreign lands. 
 
 Theological schools are for the most j^art the sources whence 
 come the supplies for the mission tielrls, both at home and abroad. 
 Thither are sent the varied missicm j)ublications. full of facts and 
 persuasives, to the work. Thither go the officers and agents of 
 missionary boards to lay before the students the necessities and 
 claims of their respective fields. Thither, too, re.sort the niissicm- 
 aries as they return, temporarily or permanently, from their tields 
 of labor. And among themselves the students hold missionary 
 meetings for prayers and addresses, so that a tjuickened zeal in
 
 26 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 behalf of the cause is kept up. Stii-red by these feelings young 
 PiNKXEY began seriously' to think it his duty to enter the foreign 
 mission tiekl. without havmg smj definite purjoose as to the 
 religious body under Avhose auspices and protection he would go. 
 He accordingly wrote to his mother upon the subject. She 
 writes as follows : 
 
 "I want you to be intcifsU'd, deeply interested, for the salvation of the 
 heathen, hut I am not able to say that I woiald willingly give yon up for that 
 service. Much. I Hatter myself, it may be in your power to do for the 
 inhabitants of our own highly-favored country, and much, through them, 
 may you do for the spiritual benefit of those who are sitting in darkness. 
 Yoi; may by prudence and judicious treatment of yourself live long and use- 
 fully in tlu' country of your birth. Yours is not a eonstitiition or a frame to 
 bear the hardships and fatigues of a missionary's life, neither is yours a spirit 
 to bear uninjured the loss of religious society and the final separation from 
 ende;ired friends. I have studied your character well, and this is my candid 
 oi)inion. Nothing but a belief that a necessity was laid upon you from on 
 high could reconcile me to it. Then, indeed, submission would become my 
 duty, and my efforts to acquiesce in it would not be wanting." 
 
 These wise counsels and his own further reflections determined 
 him to abandon all idea of gomg into the foreign missionary field, 
 but in all his subsequent life he continued to be actuated by a mis- 
 sionary spirit. 
 
 In his letter to his mother, he says : 
 
 *' Your reasons I weighed well, and I believe them to be most powerful. 
 It is a hard question to decide. There are many considerations for and 
 against such a step. Every man who loves the Lord must feel deeply for 
 the i)oor heathen, and this very feeling in the bosom of a minister of Christ, 
 which he must cherish, will render him desirous to go. On the other hand 
 ease, comfort, country, and home may unduly influence him. "When I think 
 of my natural disjiosition I see none of the qualifications for a missionary. 
 It is peculiarly adapted to a home station. When I look at my health and 
 bodily frame I am convinced it will not stand a foreign climate. Great care 
 will only jtreserve it a little while, in my opinion, in a land like this where I 
 have every comfort. When I look at you and my sister I feel bound to 
 remain. I may safely rely upon your wisdom and judgment as far as I can 
 rely upon any human judgment." 
 
 Ill her reply she expresses herself as follows : 
 
 "I feel thankful that you agree with me as to the duty of devoting your 
 ministerial labors, whatever they may be, to the good of your own country- 
 men, and in that way do all that you can to further the interests of the 
 heathen. You are right, my child, in saying that I would not raise my voice 
 against the jilain indications of duty. In the present instance I can thank 
 (iOl) that duty and inclination are not at variance." 
 
 At the close of the winter (1833-4) succeeding his second 
 year at Princeton, there was ofi'ered to him the situation of 
 ]n-i\ate tutor in the family of Mr. John Nevett Steele, near Vienna, 
 Dorchester county, on the Eastern Shore. This situation, while
 
 LIFE OF IJISnor riNKNEY. 27 
 
 l)r()vi(lino- a sufficient support aud }^iviii<^- him some occupiition in 
 teaching: the throe ehiklren of the faniiW, woukl enable him to 
 continue the prosecution of his theoh)oical studies. He accepted 
 the 2)osition. It gave him a deh<>htful home in one of the okl 
 families of Maryland, so noted for all the refined amenities of 
 life. Fortunately for Mr. Pinkney, it was a Church fiimily. 
 
 This hapi)eued to be, as is not unusual in the occurrences 
 of life, the turniiig-})oint of Mr. Pinkney's Avhole future career. 
 It was in this family that his attention was tirst seriously 
 tlirected to the claims of the Church in her Apostolic Ministry. He 
 had not previously t!onsidered or duly weij^hed them. Conversa- 
 tions upon ]-elioi()us subjects with Mrs. Steele, who was a cultivated 
 and devout mend)er of the Cluirch, may have had some influence 
 hi turning- his mind to the ministry of the Church — which Avas 
 indeed the Church of his fathers, and from which he had been 
 separated, not alienated, by his connection with the Methodists. 
 It was uncertain, as far as we have any means of knowing, 
 whether at this time, in his studies, his mind was turning to the 
 Methodist or the Presbyterian ministry. It seems that he must 
 have been undecided as to his course. Under God, his happy 
 domicile in a devout and earnest Church family had its intliience 
 up(m him. With Mrs. Steele's assistance and co-operation, he 
 estal)lished a Sunday-school in the public school-house, near the 
 family residence ; and there are those yet living who i)leasantly 
 remember those early Sunday-school days. While in this family, 
 a new direction seems to have been given to his studies. His 
 mind became much interested on the subject of church govern- 
 ment. He entered upon a careful and thorough investigation 
 into the scriptural and apostolic constitution of the Church in 
 the three orders of the sacred ministry. The standard authors 
 of the Church upon these questions w'ere carefully and thoroughly 
 studied, and the result w'as a decided conviction that it was his 
 dutj^ to return to the communion of the Church of his fathers. 
 
 So soon as this determination was formed he severed his con- 
 nection wdth the Methodists. Very happily his change of \dews 
 and his determination to enter the ministry of the Church did not 
 alienate from him his Methodist friends. They believed that his 
 motives and i)urposes were of the most sincere and exalted char- 
 acter. He had been an exhorter among them, and uiuler the 
 license of their presiding elder had been a probationary preacher, 
 and they had learned to apjjreciate the man and respect the 
 honesty of his convictions and actions. 
 
 His mother cordially acquiesced in his determination to seek 
 admission into the ministry of the Church. 
 
 He was not long in putting himself in communication with the 
 Bishop of the Diocese and in seeking counsel with some of the 
 clergy, especially the Rev. Georg-e McElhiney. at that time rector
 
 28 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKXEY. 
 
 of the parish at Priuoess Auiie, in Somerset county. He was 
 iiccordingiy received as a candidate for orders. After a candi- 
 dateship of six months, and passing his examinations, which one 
 of his examiners pronounced '• the most satisfactory that he had 
 ever witnessed." he was ordained to the Diaconate on Sunday, the 
 12th of April. 1835. in the church at Cambridge, Dorchester county, 
 by the Rt. Rev. "NVm. M. Stone. A short time before his ordina- 
 tion Somerset and Coventry Parishes became vacant by the 
 removal of the Rector, the Rev. George McElhiney to St. Anne's 
 Parish, Annapolis — to these vacant parishes he was sent by the 
 bishop, and in June following entered upon active ministerial 
 duty in the Diaconate. being licensed by the Bishop to preach. 
 Physicall}' he was not strong, never robust : though, as the sequel 
 of his life proved, he had great powers of endurance and of labor. 
 But at this period, slender in person and delicate in structure, 
 lie seemed not equal in bodily strength to the arduous duties of 
 large rural parishes. And so it proved. Under his labors and 
 the influence of the climate his health soon broke down. A serious 
 illness followed. He was compelled for a season to give up all 
 ministerial work. He returned to Annapolis to recuperate, and 
 remained there until he was well enough to think of resuming 
 his pastoral charge. He returned to it in November, 1835. 
 
 The following letter to his mother expresses his feelings and 
 <3ondition at this period: 
 
 *' To Mrs. Amelia Pixkxey, Annapoliit, Md. 
 
 " Pkincess Anne, November 28, 183.5. 
 
 "My Dear Mother: I ueed not say tliat I was delighted with your last 
 letter. It contaiued so much tenderness of feeling and maturity of judg- 
 ment that cold would be the heart and dull the understanding that could 
 Dot be affected by such a letter. 
 
 '• H(jwever. you very much overrate my obedience, Ac. Somehow or other 
 it seems to me that I am constrained to act a false part on the stage of life. 
 I have credit for a thousand virtues I do not possess, and scarcely any of the 
 numberless fi-ailties and imperfections. I might say faults, that are exhibited 
 in my daily conduct. . I only wish I better deserved the character I bear. 
 The consciousness that I fall so far behind it pains me much, and I feel and 
 I trust it may be blessed t<j the good of my soul. Enough of this — let us to 
 more important business. 
 
 " I feel pretty well. I have not been troubled with a cough since I was in 
 Baltimore, although I am still a little hoarse. I i)reached on last Sunday in 
 the morning, although the day was bad, in order that I might test my own 
 strength, and I am happy to inform you that I experienced no inconvenience 
 from it. Indeed, on the whole, I am inclined to think that probably I had 
 Letter remain during the winter, as it would l)e almost impossible for the 
 vestry to secure any one to take my place until the sjjring. I believe I can 
 j^et along by the exercise of a little prudence. If I remain I shall not expose 
 myself. I will expect you and my sister to be as ])rudcnt as I am. You are 
 Tight in saying this is a laborious charge. I am very kindly attended to, and 
 find the people, if anything, more solicitous about my health than I am 
 and willing in any way to gratify my wishes. If your next letter does not
 
 LIFE OF ]!ISM()1' I'INKNEY. 21> 
 
 (■li!iu<,'e my mintl I tbiuk I shall stay. I wish I could sjjeud my leisure time 
 with you and my sister — it is at such times I feel lonely. Love to all. 
 " Your art'ectionate sou. 
 
 •• WM. PINKNEY." 
 
 It soon became evident, however, that he could not ieniiii)i in 
 the chai-o-e for the winter, and he was constrained to resion the 
 rectorshi]) and return to Annapolis. 
 
 The followino- extracts from a letter of his mother to one of hi« 
 Eastern Shore friends very fully explains his condition of health, 
 at the time : 
 
 " After enteriu<^ ui)ou the duties of the ministry in Somerset and findiuj^ 
 himself among afl'ectionatt' iiud attentive people, who were satisfied with his 
 services and desirous to retain him. he would not have thought of removing 
 had not a severe and protracted bilious fever warned him that his constitu- 
 tion could not probably stand the effects of the climate. From his illness 
 he has but recently recovered, and its effects are still visible. He labored 
 under st)me debility and a troublesome cough when he left us, which was not 
 until last week. I believe myself that if he could have been satisfied to 
 remain at home, his cure might soon have been effected, but his mind could 
 not be kept easy while the people of his charge were without parochial 
 instructions and services, and could not feel at liberty to sup})ly themselves 
 by choosing another minister. He left me, therefore, with a promise that 
 if his health did not improve and his cough continued, he woiUd give up 
 his charge after the trial of a few weeks and retiirn home, })articularly iU4 
 he had determined, under the advice of his i)hysieians and friends, not to 
 contiinie another summer on the Eastern Shore. * * * j cannot close 
 withwut thanking you for your interest in this sid)ject, and without assuring 
 yon that it would be a pleasant reflection to me to think that, in the discharge 
 of the arduous and responsil)le duties of a minister of the Gospel of Christ, 
 my son shoi;ld be favored with so kind and judicious a counsellor as yourself. " 
 
 This enforced rest and sojourn in Annapolis during the winter, 
 while it conduced to the restoration of his health, was of immense 
 advantage to Mr. Pinkxey from the intimacy and close friendshij) 
 which he formed with the Rev. Dr. George McElhiney. the then 
 rector of St. Anne's parish. Dr. ]\IcElhiney was a ripe scholar, well 
 read in all the old English divines and English literature, a strong 
 and able preacher, a decided clutrchman of the High Church school, 
 faithful and energetic as a pastor, somewhat blunt in manner, l)tifc 
 full of heart-warmth and genial kindness. The affectionate inti- 
 macy thus formed continued till the sudden and early death of 
 the rector of St. Anne's deprived Pinkney of that valued friend.
 
 30 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 CHAPTEK YI. 
 
 His Charge in Prince George, and Marriage. 1836-'38. 
 
 By the early spring of 1836 Mr. Pinkney had sufficiently recov- 
 ered bis health to resume ministerial duty. Just then there came 
 to him the call to the t\vo united parishes. St. Matthew's and Zion, 
 in Prince George" s county. Before entering upon this new field 
 of parochial duty he was obliged to consider, and, in obedience 
 to the dictates of his conscience, to refuse a most tempting offer 
 made him at the time to enter the U. S. Navy as a chaplain. A 
 friend of the family. Commodore Ballard, was about to sail with 
 his squadron to the Pacific coast of South America. IMi*. Pink- 
 ney's half brother, Mr. Henry Hobbs, had already been engaged 
 as the Commodore's private secretary. The Commodore was 
 urgent that Mr. Pixkney should apply to the Navy Dejiartment 
 to be commissioned as chaplain and sail with him in his ship, the 
 JVofth (Jarolina. There were many inducements for him to 
 accept the position. A sea voyage, residence in a genial tropical 
 climate, adec^uate support, travel under the protection of the U. S. 
 Government, the companionship of educated naval officers, opjior- 
 tunities for study and for the exercise of his ministerial offices — 
 all these conspired to render the proffered position most advan- 
 tageous and desu'able. After well weighing the matter he con- 
 cluded to decline the offer and to devote his life to the work of 
 the ministry' in the Church in his native land. 
 
 In tracing out the incidents of this life there come up from its 
 beginning those frequent e^■idences of self-abnegation in all mat- 
 ters tending to perscmal comfort and advantage which were so 
 conspicuous in the latter part of his life. No tempting advantages 
 of ease or emolument could turn him aside from what he regarded 
 as his high duty to GOD and the Church. 
 
 Declining this tempting offer of a chaplaincy in the Navy, he 
 acce2:)ted the charge of the two parishes in Prince George's county. 
 
 It was with some doubt and hesitancy on the score of health 
 that Mr. Pinkney accepted the rectorship of these two parishes. 
 Young in years, not physically strong, and only recently ordained 
 to the priesthood, and so without much experience in pastoral 
 work, it could not but occasion some anxiety on his part as to 
 his ability to endure the labors and meet the responsibilities of 
 such a charge. The same spirit of self-devotion, however, Avhich 
 had prompted him to decline a position of comi^f^'ative ease and 
 comfort upheld him in the resolution not to shrink from the task 
 set before him, but to give to it the whole energies of his soul.
 
 LIFE OF I'.ISHOP PINKNEY. 31 
 
 He eutciod u])Oii the tlutifs of tlie rectorsliip on tlu' first Sim- 
 Jay ill May, 188(j, having- l)e('ii onlaiiiod to the priesthood a short 
 time l)efore, in Caml)ridge, Md., l)y the Rt. Rev. William Murray 
 Stone, D. D.. the Bishop of the Diocese. 
 
 It was, in fact, upon a mission-tield of very large extent that Mr. 
 PiNKNEV was entering. It called for the most active and encr 
 geti(r labors. The territory to which he was to give his pastoral 
 care comprised a large portion of the northern part of Prince 
 George's county and of the southern part of Montgomery county. 
 It extended from Bhidensburg northwestwardly towai'ds Rock- 
 ville in the latter county some sixteen miles, northerly towards 
 Mechanicsville about the same distance, and a1)out the same dis- 
 tance also towards Laurel, and thence southwards through Pi'ince 
 Georges for some six or eight miles, or more, Ijelow Bladensl)urg. 
 In all that extensive region there Avere at the time only the two 
 l)arisli churches, St. Matthew's, four miles Ijelow Bladensburg, and 
 St. Marks, eight miles above Bladensburg, in the opposite direc- 
 tion. There were no pastors of the church in the whole region to 
 seek out the lost sheep and gather them into the fold of the Re- 
 deemer. The territory embraced within Prince George's did not 
 include those richer portions of the county which, for generations, 
 have l)een celebrated for their productiveness and for the wealth 
 of the inhabitants. In some sections the poi^ulaticm was sparse, 
 and the people for the most part were in moderate circumstances, 
 but they were noted, as in all tlie older agricultural settlements 
 of Maryland, for intelligence, hospitality, and reverent regard 
 for the sanctities and institutions of religion. It will subse(piently 
 be seen tliat. besides the regular ministrations in his parish 
 churches. Mi-. Pinkney was wont to go from time to time into the 
 different parts of this large region to hold divme services and 
 preach the Gospel, sometimes as it might be in school-house, at 
 other times in some used or unused Methodist house of worship. 
 
 He was, as yet, unmarried. Bladensburg, the town situated 
 between the two parish churches, wjis to be the place of his res- 
 idence. He found there a rectory, which Avas a commodious frame 
 building of two stories with a basement. It stood upon a lot of 
 three acres donated by the Lowndes family to the two j)arish 
 churches and was within a few rods of •• Blenheim, " the family 
 residence. Uj^on moving to Bladensburg Mr. Pinkney made 
 arrangements to occupy the rectory for a sleeping ajjartment 
 and for a stud}^ and office, where he might meet his piirislii(niers on 
 business or for pastoral counsels. The furniture needed was pro- 
 vided by the ladies of the parish. A servant was secured to live 
 in the basement and take care of the property. Mr. Pinkney was 
 to take his meals with the Lowndes family at Blenheim. He was 
 at all times cordially received there as one of its own members. 
 The arrangement was very convenient, for the Blenheim residence 
 was only a few paces distant from the rectoiy. It was also most
 
 32 LIFE OF BISHOP TINKNEY. 
 
 agreeable, because there had been long friendship and intimacy 
 between the Lowndes family and that of his mother.' Moderate 
 in his desires and simple in his habits, he was easily satisfied in^ 
 respect to domestic accommodations. He found his association, 
 with the Blenheim family most congenial and delightful. 
 He writes to his mother : 
 
 •' Should my life be spared I hope to get along in a plain, quiet way. If I 
 can only do liiy work faithfully I shall be satisfied. My study is nicely- 
 furnished— a handsome study-lamp, a circular table of pretty dimensions- 
 in the middle of the room, six nice chairs, a carpet in readiness, a rocking- 
 chair to loll in : I am really very comfortable." 
 
 The parish churches were too far apart for services in both on 
 tlie same day. A second serAice was held in the afternoon of one 
 Sunday in a very small plain building in Bladensburg, which had 
 been erected by his predecessor in the parish, the Rev. ISih: Small- 
 wood, and afterwards given by him to the parish. This room was 
 used by Mr. Pinkney for the sacred services until he succeeded in 
 building the present church, St. Luke's. In the afternoon of the 
 next Sunday he held services at Vansville, about a mile distant 
 from Beltsville, in a very small building which had been erected 
 for the purpose by the family of the late John C. Herbert, and 
 continued to be so used until the present church at Belts\alle was 
 erected. On alternate Sundays three services were usually held. 
 During the week cottage services, with lectures, were conducted 
 in chfterent parts of the parishes. 
 
 To these duties in ministrations, preachings, and lecturing Mr. 
 Pinkney assiduously and energetically devoted himself. 
 
 Upon assuming the rectorship of these parishes, in 1836, Mr. 
 Pinkney fovmd both churches much out of repau", and his first 
 efforts were du'ected towards leaving them put in good condition 
 for the divine ser^Hces. Money was not plentiftil in those days, 
 and it was not easy to raise sums sufficient for church improve- 
 ments and accommodations on the most moderate scale. The 
 Wews of both rector and people were very moderate toiiching 
 church architecture and ecclesiastical arrangements in matters of 
 taste and adornment. Many of the rtiral churches had no robing 
 or vestry-rooms or vestibules, were without ba}itismal fonts, were 
 not supplied with organs, and had only common plain glass win- 
 dows. Very often there would be found a large pitlpit, spacious 
 enough for several clergymen, with the reading-desk and the com- 
 munion table attached, placed below and in front of the pulpit. 
 The chancel, in many churches, was scarcely large enough for a 
 single officiating priest. In nearly all the country churches the 
 sur])lice was unknown, the black gown with the clerical bands 
 l)eing the only vestment used. There was no chanting of anthems 
 or canticles, and the singing was of the plainest sort, but heartily 
 joined iu by minister and people. Fifty years have wrought great
 
 LIFE OF UISHOl' PINKNKY. 33 
 
 cliaii<;es ill all these respects. WDiiilciful indeed Ims Ix-eii the 
 progress and development, as well in the rural districts as in the 
 cities, ill all matters of church architecture, of interior arran^'e- 
 nients for comfort and beauty, and for the more reverential con- 
 duct of the divine services. Great, however, as have been the 
 improvements in these respects, it may not be doubted that the 
 worship rendered in those early days of greater simi)licity was as 
 hearty and fervent as though attended with all the accompani- 
 ments of an ornate ritual in costly and highh'-adorned church 
 buildings. Certainly there was far less to distract the attention 
 of the worshijipers and draw off the mind from the deep spirit- 
 uality of the prayer-book and the great truths of the Gosjtel. 
 
 St. Matthew's Church, commcmh' called "Addison's Chapel," 
 was a substantial brick Imildiiig and ^\as soon put into good and 
 servicea))le condition. It was situated about four miles south of 
 Bladensburg, from which the travel M'as over sandy roads, then 
 much obstructed by rude gates. The other church, St. Mark's, 
 which usually went by the name of " The Paint Chapel," not 
 1)ecause it was ^;a/»^ef/ — which it was not, either on outside or 
 inside — but because located near a small river of that name, was 
 distant some eight miles from Bladensburg : so that the distance 
 between the two churches was fully twelve miles. This latter 
 church stood within or near the borders of Montgomery county. 
 The population in the vicinity M'as sparse. "Within a radius of 
 several miles there was scarcely a single family residence. But 
 small and homely as it was in its structure and furniture, it 
 served for most faithful preaching and ministrations to the little 
 flock there assembled. Mr. Pinknky continued to minister in this 
 church until the new church at Beltsville was erected, wht^n it 
 was abandoned and suffered to go to decay. It is an interesting 
 fact in the history of this church that it was consecrated by the 
 Rt. Rev. Bishop Doane, of New Jersey, on Thursday, the 28th 
 February. 1888, acting provisionally for the then vacant Diocese 
 of Maryland. 
 
 Wide was the fleld and arduous were the labors that lay before 
 Mr. PiNKNEY in this pastoral charge of two i)arishes of such large 
 extent, wdth ccmtiguous territory outside their bounds unprovided 
 with the Church ministrations. He entered upon his pastoral 
 work with great alacrity and zeal. 
 
 His Marriage. 1838. 
 
 Not long, however, after his settlement in these parishes, there 
 came about an important change in his domestic relations, which 
 affected his whole after-life, but which, while it added to his per- 
 sonal happiness, did not in any way impede the activity or lessen 
 the zeal of his efficient labors. It was his marriage, towiu'ds the 
 close of the second year of his parochial ministry, with ^Nliss Eliza- 
 beth Lloyd Lowndes.
 
 34 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 His intimacy and associations with tlie Lowndes family bad 
 proved peculiarly interesting and attractive to him. In its genial 
 and retiued circle lie found refreshment and enjoyment after 
 study and active work. The father of the family, Avho is described 
 as an accomplished gentleman of the old school, was Eicbai'd 
 Tasker Lowndes, Esq.. the son of Christopher Lowndes, who 
 came from Cheshire in England and settled in Bladensburg. The 
 mother, who was noted for her piety as a noble Christian lady, 
 was Mrs. Anne Lloyd Lowndes, daughter of Edward Lloyd, who 
 was at one time Territoriid Governor of Maryland. 
 
 The children of the family were two daughters, Elizabeth Lloj^d 
 and Anne Lloyd, who died m 1850, and a son, the youngest, still 
 survi\-ing,* Benjamin Ogle Lowndes — two sons having previ- 
 ously died, one aged about twelve years — the other, a physician, 
 after reaching manhood. 
 
 The landed estate of the family, with its commodious mansion, 
 " Blenheim," was located, as has been said, in the immediate 
 vicinity of Bladensburg, upon the elevated grounds northeast of 
 the town, and commanded an extensive -^dew of the country lying 
 towards the west and south. 
 
 Very soon the heart of Mr. Pinkney was won by the winning 
 graces and loving qualities of the elder sister, and he felt that he 
 had found the chosen one, to become the future solace and coni- 
 23anion of his life. The disparity in age, the lady being much 
 older than himself, seemed not at all to have entered into his 
 "sdews as in any way calculated to lessen the fulness and happiness 
 of his wedded life. His ardent affection was reciprocated by the 
 lady, and on the 2d of October, 1838, he was married to Miss 
 EHzabeth Lloyd Lowndes. For nearly forty years, till death 
 severed the sacred tie that bound him to his beloved partner, it 
 was a happy married hfe, unmarred by a single incident or instance 
 to interrupt its peaceful felicity. Nothing could exceed the 
 delicacy and the tenderness of his wife's devotion to the comfort 
 and happiness of her husband. Bright, cheerful, of a peculiarly 
 sweet disposition, and possessed of manners most winning and 
 refined, she threw an exquisite charm for her life long around his 
 hearth of home. 
 
 Two other attachments had been previously formed by Mr. 
 Pinkney, the one in early life, Avhile yet a student of theology, the 
 other later, when he had entered upcm his ministry : but in both 
 cases circumstances arose which led, by a mutual consent, to the 
 severance of the engagements. As the parties subsequently 
 manied, it is believed that there was nothing to mar the pleasant- 
 ness of their future relations. So warm and tender were Mr. 
 Pinkney's affections that he could not live without those associa- 
 
 * 1890.
 
 LIFE OF BIRHOr I'INKNEY. 35 
 
 "tious and ties in maiTioil life wliicli a loviiio- Jioirt iniist liud aiid 
 luust have for its consolation and liai)piness. 
 
 "While he had been left entirely untrannnelled by his revered 
 mother as to all matters touchiii<^- affairs of the heart and of a 
 mfU'riage union, it was gratif jang to him to know that his proposed 
 and at'tiial marriage with Miss Lowndes met her most cordial 
 api)roval and received her maternal congratulations. Beyond an 
 ■early counsel given to him when he was yet a student of divinity, 
 not to entangle himself with any affections or engagements that 
 would involve distractions from study or cause future eml)arrass- 
 ment, she had in no way interposed. Her counsel to him at that 
 time is worthy of record : 
 
 " I cannot retViiin from saying that it is gratifying to nio that yovi will enter 
 the course you havt^ adopted free. Yon have it in yoiir power to guard 
 against any attachments calculated to draw your attention from that holy 
 vocation to which yovi have devoted yourself. It nuist always be painful to 
 a man of your feelings to have the happiness of any one in his keeping until 
 he hiLS it in his power to watch over it personally and constantly." 
 
 A\Tiatever in the years following maj' have been his heart expe- 
 riences touching matters so delicate and so peculiarly sacred to 
 one's self, his heart's love and his life's union in holy matrimony 
 were now settled. 
 
 His mother accordingly wrote : 
 
 '■ I congratulate you, my dear son, in y(^ur prospects of conjugal felicity. 
 May Heaven's rich blessings rest upon you and your better-half." 
 
 And immediately afterwards she wrote to his wife in terms full 
 of cordiality and affection, and in anticipation of much pleasure 
 from their projDosed visit to Annapolis. 
 
 To these letters he replied : 
 
 *'• To Mrs. Amelia Pinkney, AnnapoliH. 
 
 '" Bladensburg, October U;. ls:W. 
 
 "My Dear Mother : Yotir kind and affectionate letter was read with much 
 interest liy myself and my dear wife. I can assure you that your tender re- 
 gard and solicitiide for the partner of my joys, so feelingly and beautifully 
 expressed, will always be remembered with tilial gratitude, and cherished 
 among the thousand exhibitions of the excellence of the mother on whose 
 bosom I was pillowed in infancy. Ytni will love each other, I am satistied. 
 more and more as the moral and intellectiial beauties of your characters are 
 more intimately developed. As soon as it is possiljle I will i)ay my Inug. 
 expected and long-delayed but ardently desired visit.* 
 
 " We are in hopes of getting everything ready for lK)Usekeeping in the 
 «o\irse of a few weeks. I feel very anxious about it, for cold weather is 
 coming upon us very rapidly, and there is a strong natural (h'sire in us all 
 to be prepared to give it welcome. A comfortable house, neat furniture, 
 good wood, and a plain fare is the sum of my earthly desires. As soon a.s 
 our furniture is pixrchased and arranged we will give you a very flourishing 
 description of our sweet little residence. 
 
 * At that time and up to 1840, there was no railroad communication with 
 Annapolis, and his occasional visits to his mother were made on horseljack — 
 the distance being nearly forty miles.
 
 36 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 '■ My plaus for the improvement of my mind are very much enlarged since 
 my marriage. I always desired to be usefvil. and I trust that my desires 
 were not nugatory anil void, but now they are much more grand and com- 
 prehensive. I intend to labor .with iiuprecedented zeal, and by God's grace 
 I contidently ex])ect to be blessed in my efforts. You see I am full of hopes 
 and bright anticipations. Now, my dear mother, I am not Tinmindfiil that 
 these noble resolves will be weak without a spirit of meek dependence upon 
 the si)irit of grace. I hope, therefore, that I shall always be kept in a spirit 
 of prayer, that my zeal nuiy be increased, my love augmented, and that my 
 dear wife and myself may be aids to each other in rcUgiun as well as in 
 things of time. Love to my sister, love to Amelia Gwinn when you write to 
 her. 
 
 '• Your afl'ectionate son, 
 
 "WM. PINKNEY." 
 
 After his marriage it was arranged for liim and his wife to 
 oecuiiy the rectory near by for theii- residence, and as soon as it 
 was fitted \x\) they moved into it. The furniture was simple and 
 plain. The Blenheim family was thus divided into two families ; 
 but, closely contiguous in location, continued one^ and so united in 
 mutital love and intercoiu'se that we may regard it as one. 
 
 At this period occurred also the marriage of his younger 
 brother, Dr. Nmian Pmkuey, of the U. S. Navy, to Miss Mary 
 8. Haml)leton. daughter of Edward N. Haml)leton, and sister 
 of the Hon. Samuel Hambleton, of Talbot county, Md. For 
 that brother, as has been said, Mr. William Pinkney felt an 
 extraordinary affection and an almost unbounded admii'ation, 
 and deservedly so, for in talents, in noble qualities of heart, and 
 in pre-eminence in his profession. Surgeon Ninian Pinkney 
 merited both the affection and the admiration. As a surgeon, 
 he had already attained, at the time of his marriage, distinction 
 in the Xavj^ and continued ever afterwards to advance in reinita- 
 tion until, under the law of Congress, he was placed, at the 
 age of 62 years, ui)on the retired list. After his retirement he 
 passed the remainder of his life on the estate near Easton, Md., 
 where he had erected " a noble granite mansion," and was accus- 
 tomed to dispense his genial h()S2:)itality. 
 
 This marriage of his brother Ninian was almost simultaneous 
 with his own, having preceded it by only a few months, and drew 
 from him one of those delightful congratulatory letters to the 
 bride that he was so hapjiy ia inditing. The mother, thus 
 fuvoied in seeing both of her sons hapjoily married, was spared, 
 tliough always in feeble health, to a venerable age, and was 
 privileged to rejoice in theii' noble and honorable careers of 
 usefulness in their respective professions, and to receive from 
 them the unfailing tokens of their filial devotion. 
 
 It may be here added that this brother died in 1877, in the 
 (i7th year of his age, leaving the widow with an only child, a 
 daughter, both now resident in Annapolis, Md.
 
 LIFE OF JJISHOP I'INKNEY. 37 
 
 CHAPTER YII. 
 
 Ministry in Prince George's County — Erection of Churches at Ulauenh- 
 BURG AND Beltsville. 1H38-'4(). 
 
 The iiicidents and experiences of a country pastor's life are not 
 usnally im})ortant or interesting enoii<^'li to c^all for specitie i-ecord. 
 They make up a routine Avliich, from year to year, is almost the 
 same — varied, as all life is, by circumstances that stir our grati- 
 tude for mercies and blessings received and call for patience and 
 submissi(m under trials to be borne. So the years roll on with- 
 out any marked changes. The study, the home, the parish, the 
 welfare of the Church at large become in their due ])roporti(^n 
 and relations the all-engrossing objects of a life that has for its 
 su])reme and ultimate piirpose the highest and noblest ends to 
 -which human effort can be devoted. 
 
 So it was iu Mr. Pinkney's experience during his long })astorate 
 in Prince George's county. 
 
 The improvement of his health and the felicity of his domestic 
 relations enabled him to engage in a series of ministerial labors, 
 within and beyond the bounds of his i)arishes, that for twenty 
 years were marked with great efficiency and with unusual evi- 
 dences of good and blessing to his people. It became, in fact, 
 one of the most beautiful pastoral lives that the writer, who had 
 frequent and close opportunities of seing it, has ever knt)wn. Its 
 minute details need not be entered into or described, although, 
 for faithful labors and noble devotion to duty for so many years, 
 it would deserve such record and furnish a happy illustration of 
 the closeness and sacredness of that pastoral tie which existed 
 between himself and his people — a tie in these days too often of 
 short duration, and sometimes j^ainfully severed in consequence 
 of contests between rectors and vestries of congregations. 
 
 During his whole ministerial life, as a rector for more than fifty 
 years, he never had a single instance of troul)lc or difficulty with 
 his vestries or parishioners. 
 
 At any time during this long period one might have gone to 
 him in his study to there find him with pen in hand for letter, 
 essay, or sermon, or else absoi'bed in study over some book for 
 his greater fitness in dispensing the Divine "NVcn-d l)y preaching, 
 or for wise coiuiselling to those seeking spiritual help and guid- 
 ance ; or, have seen him bright, cheerful, and lia})py in the family 
 circle, with its sim])le fare and sweet content ; or have gone foi'th 
 to foUow him in his daily goings-forth alone and on his favorite
 
 38 . LIFE OF BISHOP TINKNEY. 
 
 liorse to seek out the members of his flock one by one and give to 
 both sick and needy counsel and help, and, if occasion requii-ed, 
 as was not infrequently the case, to stay and be the nurse through 
 the night hours. Nor could one find a house or a hovel in that 
 wide range of country where he was not wont to go in minister- 
 ing offices. Even outside of his own parishes would he go to 
 hold, in some out-of-the-way school-house, services for those else 
 unprovided with the Gospel ministrations — rides which sometimes 
 took him long distances from his home. He soon penetrated all 
 parts of his parishes and became acquainted personally with all 
 his parishioners and with those who were not strictly of his own 
 congregations. At this time and throughout the whole period of 
 his country charges he travelled altogether on horseback, equipped 
 with his saddle-bags, as was the custom, born of necessity, among 
 the early Methodist preachers. 
 
 Long years afterwards when Dr. Pinkney had become the ven- 
 erated Bishop of Maryland, and when he was presiding at the 
 centennial commemoration of the oi'ganization of the Diocese held 
 in Baltimore in 1883, only one short month before his sudden 
 decease, the Rev. Dr. Charles H. Hall, of Brooklyn, Long Island, 
 one of the speakers on the occasion, thus referred to this pastoral 
 life of the Bishop, while rector of those parishes in Prince George's 
 county : 
 
 " While I was a rector iu Washington, I never went into a farm house or 
 a hut in any part of Prince George's covinty without finding a certain pho- 
 tograph, and when asking the father or mother ' Whose picture was that? ' 
 a well of gratitude arose, and expressions of affection were uttered that 
 taught me what it was to be a faithful clergyman of the Chiircjh, and how 
 grand was the work of the man,* who. for twenty years before he became a 
 rector in Washington, had been the servant of four parishes, t in that county 
 which required a railroad speed of voice and an exhaustless mine of energy 
 to begin to visit and to serve." 
 
 One might have gone at any time within the last fifty years 
 into ajaj family that had been under his pastoral care, and he 
 would have foimd that the memory of the beloved Pinkney was. 
 as fresh as a fragrant ointment in that homestead. 
 
 The following extracts from a letter to his sister, who was on 
 a visit to Baltimore, in April, 1840, shows how constantly he was. 
 engaged in his ministerial work : 
 
 " To Miss Amelia Pinkney. 
 
 " Bladensbcrg, April 20, 1840. 
 " My Deab Sisteu : I did not receive j'our welcome letter until late on 
 Saturday, and would have replied to it without a moment's delay if I had not 
 
 * Rt. Rev. Dr. Pinkney presiding on this occasion as Bishop of the Dio- 
 cese. 
 
 t 7Vf> j)arishes with fvti?' churches.
 
 LIFE OF BISIIOI- riNKNEV. 39 
 
 l)fi-ii cuiuix'llid to ridi' nine niilcs in tlic cKUiitiy to visit a siok parishioner. 
 I started at nine o'clock at nij^'lit and r«'a<'licd tln-rf past cli-vcn, and did not 
 f^ct to Ix'd till after one. Y»'sti'rday I had a very fati^'uinj^ day- rode seven- 
 teen miles and preached two sermons, administered the Holy Communion 
 and delivered an exhortation. So that y<m will i)erceive that I have not 
 ne<{lccted you vohrutarily. To-day I have a long ride to take and a Uibh' 
 Class to meet. Three days last week I was preaching in Georgetown at an 
 association, and to-morrow it is likely I shall return. There was a very en- 
 couraging state of feeling in the congregation pnjduced thrtjugh the aid of 
 the Spirit by the simijle preaching of the cross. 
 
 " I was glad to hear that the pieces I wrote were well received. I did not 
 anticipate a very favoi'able impression because I knew that they jjossessed 
 no great merit. They were favorably noticed in a hotter to the editor (jf a 
 Soixthern paper. * * * 
 
 " It was to me an interesting thought that on my birthday (the 17th) the 
 church was commemorating the most solemn and awful mystery of our 
 blessed religion. God grant that I may feel as much gratitude as I ought tor 
 the consolatory hope which that mystery authorizes every humble and peni- 
 tent sinner to indulge. I suppose you hear many tine sermons. Dr. Wyatt, 
 it is reported, has excelled himself in the last few months. 
 " Your afl'ectionate brother, 
 
 •' WM. PINKNEY." 
 
 Next to the repairing and improvement of Lis two i)arisli 
 c'liurcLes and his own well arranged system of study and pjistoral 
 work, Mr. Pixkney's special attention was given to the erection of 
 two new church buildings, one at Bladensl)urg and one at Belts- 
 ville. He early felt the importance of having a church at both 
 jilaces. The people of Bladensburg, with some exceptions, could 
 not attend the parish church, St. Matthew's, and could only be 
 reached by having church ministrations in the town ; and as 
 respects BeltsWlle, it was there and in its immediate vicinity that 
 the greater part of the parishioners of St. Mark's resided, and the 
 church was too remote and too isolated in its location for them 
 to conveniently or regularly attend. The initial steps in these 
 works Avere soon taken, but it was not until after the lapse of 
 several years that they were fully completed and so entirely paid 
 for as to be ready for ctmsecration. His parisliioners, generally, 
 were not wealthy ; very many of them, indeed, were in humble 
 cu'cumstances ; and it was no light matter at that period to raise 
 funds for church building in the rural districts. 
 
 Although the consecration of these two churches took place 
 somewhat' later, a brief account of the circumstances may be here 
 given. 
 
 The church at Bladensburg, St. Luke's, was consecrated l)y the 
 Rt. Rev. Bishop Whittingham, on Tuesday, August 2(5, 1850. The 
 occasion was one of peculiar interest. In a letter of his wife to 
 Mr. Pinkney's mother, she gives some account of the services : 
 
 " Last Tuesday the church in Bladensburg was consecrated. You know 
 the Eishoi) will not consecrate while there is a shadow of a debt on the 
 church. Well: it was a proud day for Bladensburg. I went early, but
 
 40 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 found it difficult to get a seat, though I learued afterwards that one had been 
 reserved for me. Long before the time for the Bishop and the Rev. clergy 
 to enter every avenue seemed filled up — pews, aisles, vestry room — and still 
 they came. Then entered the Bishop and nine clergymen. William pre- 
 sented twenty candidates for contirnuitiou, and there were more than a 
 huntb-ed communicants." 
 
 Bishoj) "NMiittingham. in his adch'ess to the convention, speaking 
 of this %-isitation and the consecration, says : * 
 
 '• Never before had I seen or heard of what took place on that occasion — 
 the approach to the table of the Lord of a number of communicants, greater 
 than the house would seat, so that in the offertory, the collectors of alms 
 were coniiielled to go without the walls to make their round among the 
 standing crowd of silent jind reverent worshippers. After this proof of the 
 interest in this parish, called forth by the solemnization of the completion 
 of their faithful, self-denying, untiring rector's enterprise. I cannot wonder 
 at being informed, as I have been recently, that since that day the parish- 
 ioners of our brother have enabled him to begin and nearly finish another 
 church in a neighborhood within his charge that sorely wanted it. Over- 
 worked as he is, with three already to supply, I am sure there will be no 
 lack of service in the fourth, if ability be granted him commensurate with 
 the willingness in him." 
 
 It was to the new church at Beltsville, then in process of 
 erection, St. John's, in Zion parish (to take the place of St. Mark's, 
 that was to be given up), that Bishop "Whittingham referred. It 
 was comjileted and consecrated in 1857, before Dr. Pinkney's 
 resignation to take charge of the Parish of the Ascension, in 
 "Washington city. In his parochial report to the Bishop for that 
 year, he says : 
 
 '•With the most jiraiseworthy zeal and enlarged liberality a handful of 
 churchmen have in the course of erection, under the superintendence of an 
 experienced architect of Baltimore, a handsome church edifice near Belts- 
 ville, to which is attached a cemetery ; all neatly and substantially fenced 
 in. The building, which we supposed would cost i|l,500. and so reported to 
 a late conventitm. will cost (together with the enclosures) #2,300, or tliere- 
 aVjouts. It will be finished by the first of June, and be ready for consecra- 
 tion, at the Bishop's convenience, about the middle of that month. The 
 building will be free from all incumbrances, and insured. This is truly a 
 great work, if we take into consideration the number and ability of those 
 who have conducted the enterprise to so blessed a consummation. And 
 when we remem1)er that it is the fruit of a small gathering for the public 
 instruction of the lambs of the parish, we may hope that under GOD it is 
 the first fruits of a harvest, yet to be gathered in, of glory to GOD in the 
 highest and gcjod to men." 
 
 The Bishop refers to the consecration as follows : 
 
 "On Thursday, the 6th of August, St. John's Church. Beltsville, with the 
 burial-ground adjoining, were consecrated with the presence and assistance 
 of a large assemblage of the clergy and laity, rejoicing together with the 
 rector and his parishioners in the occupation (^f this new ground under cir- 
 cumstances of much promise for the future." 
 
 * Con. Journal. lHr,7, j). '28.
 
 LIFE OF lUSllol- I'INKNKV. 41 
 
 Tlie Bishop preuclu'd from the text. Psjihu 1:52, S, '.> : "Arise, 
 (), LORD, into Thy rest : Thou ami the nrk of Thy streii^dh. 
 Let Thy priests be ('h)the(l witli righteousness, uiid h't Thy saints 
 shout for joy." Seventeen persons were confirmed, and as many 
 as sixteen clergymen, besides the rector, were })resent on tlie 
 occasion. 
 
 Dr. PiNKNEY, having soon after accepted the rectoishi]) of the 
 Church of the Ascension, refers, in his parochial report of the 
 next year, to this clnu-ch at Beltsville and to the severance of the 
 pastoral ties that had so long bound him to his Prince George's 
 parishes : 
 
 '* Since my last report the cliiirch at Beltsville has been completed, paid 
 for. iind consecrated. It is a monument worthy of the zeal of the little band 
 who toiled on, amid discourai^emeut and difficulty, until the topmost stone 
 was placed upon it : and we hope soon to hear of its enlarj^ement. My min- 
 istry in this beloved field of official duty, where twenty-one years and a half 
 of my life >T;lided by so swiftly and so happily, was brouf^ht to a close on the 
 11th of October last. The severance of the ties cost me more than I can 
 express, and now, that I may no lonj^er lead the lambs and sheep of these 
 precious folds by the green pastures of Zion, I can rejoice that my loss is 
 their rich gain, for already the jiurishcs are dixidcd, and two cffii-iciit. zealous, 
 and able ministers are called to cultivate the field 1 coiild not half till. No 
 more will a weekly famine of the word and sacraments be proclaimed : but 
 on every Lord's Day the sacrifices of prayer and praise will be oflered up 
 from each altar. A grateful recollection of the many kind deeds I experi- 
 enced during all that long ministry will follow me through life. My heart's 
 desire is for their growth, jirosperity, and happiness." 
 
 The subsecjuent history of this church is so interesting and of 
 so marked a character as to call for special record. For ten years 
 after its erection vmder Dr. Pinkney it had stood and been open 
 for the sacred services of the sanctuary, when suddeidy. on the 
 morning of Good Friday, 18(57, it was destroyed by tire. The 
 then rector of the church, the Rev. J. Earnest, gives the followmg 
 account of the conflagration : 
 
 " On Good Friday last, our neat and c(miely House of Worship (St. John's, 
 Beltsville), which was erected but a few years since by the vestry of Zion 
 parish, then in charge of Rev. Dr. Pinknky, was suddenly destroyed by fire. 
 This sad occurrence took place while the congregation were assembling for 
 worship on this holy day. The fire was the result of accident and not of 
 design. Although aid was speedily at hand, yet no eifort could arrest the 
 progr(>ss of the fiames. In less than an hour the beautiful little edifice was 
 in ashes. By dint of great exertion, amidst smoke and fiames, the gentlemen 
 I)resent succeeded in saving all the furniture, including the organ. The loss 
 falls heavily upon a small and by no means wealthy congregation. With com- 
 mendable zeal and energy they are making an effort to repair their loss with 
 as little delay as possible". After doing what they can for themselves within 
 the ])arish, they will, however, be cinnpcUed to seek aid beyond it, and they 
 are confident, from the sympathy so widely nniuifested for them in their 
 trouble, that their appeal will not be in vain. ' May GOD, even our GOD, 
 give us His blessing.' "
 
 42 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 Unfortunately there was no insurance on the building. With 
 commendahle zeal and energy efforts were made by the congre- 
 gation to rei)au- theii' loss with as little delay as jjossible. 
 
 A Second church, on the same spot, w'as soon erected by the 
 united energies of the few, but not disheartened, members. This 
 building was insured against ^fire^ but could not be against the 
 iri/u/s of heareii, and under a mysterious providence, on July 4, 
 1874:. it was levelled to the ground by a violent tornado. To add 
 to the distress of the congregation there was a considerable 
 mortgage on the building, and nothing could be done towards 
 rebuilding until the claim had been met. Nothing daunted, these 
 sorely-tried and faithful church people went to work to rebuild 
 on the same spot. 
 
 For this third church Bishop Pinkney laid the corner-stone, on 
 the 20th of July, 1877, and the building was comjjleted the next 
 year. 
 
 As the traveller passes along on the great railroad thoroughfare 
 between the Capital of the Nation and the city of Baltimore, he 
 will see upon the heights to the west of Beltsville a beautiful 
 brick church with its cemetery and surrounding shrubbery and 
 evergreens. It stands as a watness and a memorial of the unfailing 
 faith and enduring courage of the parishioners, who had been 
 taught and trained under the loving care and pastoral guidance 
 of Dr. Pinkney. About six months before his sudden decease 
 Bishop Pinkney had the satisfaction of consecrating the chiu'ch 
 to the worship of Almighty GOD. 
 
 In his last address to the convention he spoke of it as •' a grand 
 work ; no debt on the church and nothing due to any one. I had 
 laid the foundation of the first tem})le and served it for some 
 years, the child of my first love." 
 
 By the gift of one of the communicants of the church a beautiful 
 triple window of stained glass has been placed in the chancel in 
 memory of Bishop Pinkney. 
 
 To complete this narrative it may be added that a rectory, Avith 
 one and a half acres of land attached, has been built, the estimated 
 value of which is $2,500. Ui^on the erection of the church at 
 Beltsville the old parish church, St. Mark's — "• The Paint '" —was 
 abandoned. It had become dilapidated, and the location did not 
 justify its reconstruction. But, w'hile the new church at Belts- 
 \ille met the w^ants of the people living in the southeast portion 
 of the parish, those living in the northwest portion, near Coles- 
 ville, Montgomery county, were for a long time without church 
 accommodations. Their gi-eat want was hai)i)ily met afterwards 
 by the zealous efforts of that indefatigaljle lal^orer in the ministry, 
 the Kev. J. B. Avirett, rector of the Silver Spring parish, in the 
 same cf>unty. He secui'ed a desirable lot for a church and burial- 
 gi'ound, near Colesville, and was able in due time to report the
 
 LIFE OF lUSlIOl' I'INKNEY. 43. 
 
 coinpletiou of a buildiuf^- to be culled "St. Mark's Memorial 
 Chapel," it beiuy the tliird chapel whieli this faithful worker built 
 in connection with Silver Sprin'^ jiarish. 
 
 At the beginning- of Mr. Pinkney's i)astorate in Pruice Geor^'c's 
 county (188G), and for a number of years later, there was no church 
 at Mechanicsville,* M<)nt<4<)mery county ; none at Laurehf and 
 none at Beltsville4 in Prince George's county : none at Silver 
 Spring-,? and no chapels at Colesville, Norwood, and Norbeck, || in 
 Montgomery county. 
 
 Over this entire region, partly within and contiguous to his 
 parishes, Mr. Pinkney was wont to go from time to time in minis- 
 tering offices. They were the waste 2)laces then unoccupied by 
 the Church. They are now tilled with flouiishing churches and 
 chapels. Though not personally engaged in founding and organ- 
 izing- them, Mr. Pinkney was the early jjioneer who went forth 
 to prepare the way for the laborers, who were afterwards to come 
 to build them and gather the people into the fold of the Church. 
 
 The work of the clergy, especially in the country settlements, 
 was far less concentrated and much more extended at the time of 
 Mr. Pinkney's ordinaticm — more than fifty years ago — than it is 
 at the present time. When he was ordained, and for some years 
 later, there were only about forty-eight clergymen in the whole 
 Diocese, comprising, as it then did. both the Eastern and the 
 Western Shores, and including, as it now does, the District of 
 Columbia. Since then so great and ra})id has been the progress 
 of the Church that many parishes have been divided and subdi- 
 vided, and many separate congregations have been organized. 
 There are now (1888) within the geographical limits of Maryland, 
 including- the Eastern Shore (Easton) and the Western Shore and 
 the District of Columbia, no less than two hundred and four 
 clergymen, with the Bishops included. 
 
 An earnest worker of the Church, therefore, at that early period, 
 feeling the immeasurable interests involved in the sacred steward- 
 ship of his ministry, sought to give full proof of that ministry by 
 extending his labors as far as possible. The Church of the pres- 
 ent day cannot easily measure her indebtedness to those early 
 ministers, and there were many of the same spu-it and zeal wht). 
 like Dr. Pinkney, strove, while caring for their immediate tlocks, 
 to kindle up and give impetus to church-feeling and life beyond 
 the limits of theii* large parishes. 
 
 * St. Johu's : or^iiuized in 1845. 
 ■^ St. Philip's : organized in 1848. 
 X St. John's : erected in 18.")rj. 
 § Grace Church ; in 186.5. 
 
 II These three chapels — St. Johu's. Norwood : St. .Mary's, Norbeck : and St. 
 Mark's, Colesville, were erected under the miuistrv of the Kev. J. 13. .\virett.
 
 44 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 CHAPTER YIII. 
 
 Election of Dr. Whittixgham — Dzath of Ret. Dk. McElhinet — Associa- 
 tions. 1840-'44. 
 
 Although as yet young in the ministry, ]\Ii\ Pixkxey took deep 
 interest in the proceedings of the Diocesan conventions that were 
 hekl during the exciting and memorable contests from 1838 to 
 184:0. for the election of a Bishop, and was on some of the 
 committees that were raised to secure unanimity in an election. 
 In 1889 he was on one such committee that unanimously recom- 
 mended the Rev. Dr. "NYhittingham as one of two clergymen to be 
 voted for by the clergy as Bishop. He was then, as ever after- 
 wards, most decided in his chiu'chmanship, without being at all 
 partisan in his \'iews or feelings. Along with his strong con\ic- 
 tions as a churchman he united the kindliest feelings towards those 
 less tenacious than himself, respecting the distinctive features of 
 the Church, in matters of doctrine, order, and ecclesiastical polity. 
 For those outside of her fold, whom he deemed in error, yet 
 seeking to be followers of Christ, he had all due consideration 
 and sympathy. 
 
 No man rejoiced more than himself in the happy election of Dr. 
 "NYhittingham to the Episcopate of Maryland, in 1810. He gave 
 to the new Bishop a most cordial welcome, and was accustomed 
 to accompany him on some of his visitations. He held in highest 
 admiration the Bishop's great talents and learning, his extraor- 
 dinary powers as a preacher, and his eminent sjiii'ltuality of 
 character and life. And, although, at a much later period, he was 
 conscientiously constrained to differ from the Bishop, most 
 seriously and painfully, on many grave matters touching the 
 Episcopal prerogative and the rights of the clergy, he never failed 
 in the respect and reverence due from him as a presbyter to his 
 superior in office, nor afterwards, when he became the Assistant 
 Bishop of the Diocese, was he ever wanting in the most cordial 
 and self-sacrificing efforts for the rehef of the Bishop and for the 
 work of the Episcopate in the Diocese. 
 
 In close connection with, and almost immediately following 
 upon. Dr. "NYhittingham's consecration as Bishop, was the melan- 
 <-holy death of the Rev. Dr. George McElhiney, rector of St. 
 Anne's Parish, Annapolis, which occurred m the early spring of 
 1841. Tlie loss which the Church in Maryland thus sustained 
 was felt by Mr. Pixkney as a great personal bereavement. Dr. 
 McElhiney had been associated with those studies and counsels
 
 LIFE OF lilSlIOI' riNKNKY. 45^ 
 
 that led to Mr. Pinknev's entrance into the miniHtrj' of the Church 
 and to his subsequent studies and examinations for the ]inest- 
 hood. He had been Mr. Pinkney's predecessor in the parishes in 
 Somerset county. He was the i>astor of his mother's family. 
 He became (me of Mr. Pinkneys nearest and dearest friends in 
 the ministrj^, and freciueut correspondence was kept u\) Ix'iween 
 them. 
 
 Dr. McElhiney's character and position have been already 
 noted. The occasion and the circumstances of his death were 
 such as to excite the profoundest sympathy and touch all hearts. 
 During the vacancy in the I'lpiscopate he was a})pointed by the 
 Diocesan Convention to solicit subscriptions to the permanent fund 
 for the support of the Bishop. The sum pro})osed to be raised 
 was ;^G0,000. Up to the time of Dr. Whittingham's election, in 
 
 1840, little progress had been made in raisuig the amount. Upon 
 the happy termination of the c(mtest for the election of a Bishop, 
 Dr. McElhiney, full of the zeal and determuiation that character- 
 ized him, started forth to the work in the latter part of April, 
 
 1841. Leaving his parish in the care of the Rev. Dr. Humphreys, 
 of St. John's College, and accomi»inied l)y Mr. Pixkxey from 
 AnnapoKs as far as Blenlieim, w-here he stopped for the night, 
 he proceeded on his way to the southern counties of the Western 
 Shore of the State. As the weather was extremely inclement for 
 the season, and as he performed liis journeys on hor.selxick, he 
 was much exposed. "While prosecuting this work and Hearing 
 Leonardtown, in St. Mary's county, he was suddenly' seized with 
 an alarming illness that terminated fatally in the course of a few- 
 days. He was lovingly cared for in the family of Mr. Sf)utheron 
 Key, and kindly attended by the rector of the parish, Rev. Mr. 
 Claxton. His brother clergyman, seeing how greatly he was 
 suffering in his last moments, said to him : " You have much to 
 comfort you in the recollection of your services to the Church, and 
 in the good work for the Church you have just been doing." To 
 which, in his characteristic manner. Dr. ]McElhiney replied : " It 
 does not comfort me at all. I look to a higher source. I look to 
 our LORD and Saviour, Jesus CHRIST, and ^//f/v I rA> find com- 
 fort." So saying he soon breathed his last, calm and resigned. 
 In that section of the country, and at that period, thei-e were no 
 telegi'aphs and no lailroads, and while his sorrowing wife, Avho 
 had been summoned by a special messenger on horsebiick to come 
 to him, was on her way, and still twenty miles h\nn Mr. Key's 
 residence, other messengers came to her with the tidings that her 
 husband was dead and buried. The sorrowing widow, thus sud- 
 denly bereaved, was forced to turn back to her desolate home 
 in the rectory of St. Anne's. 
 
 So pass away from earth's labors to then- rest in Paradise 
 some of the noblest servants of GOD in the ministry of the
 
 4G LIFE OF IBISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 Chiu-cb. ere yet they have reached the full maturity of tlieu- years 
 and their- usefidness. 
 
 A glowing tribute to the memory of this able and zealous 
 clergyman was paid by Bishop "Whittingham. in his first address 
 to the convention of the Diocese, in May, 1841. The Bishop said : 
 
 •' For the noble-hearted, liouest. upright mau : the humble siugle- 
 
 niiuiled Christian : the ardeut. zealously devoted minister of the Gospel of 
 salvation, and servant (jf the Church of his Redeemer .- how shall I express 
 the sense of bereavement with which all the diocese (for the whole diocese 
 knew, and, for good reason, loved him) is yet smarting? A truer soldier 
 never bore the banner of the cross, a steadier servant never ministered in 
 the Saviour's household. He died a martyr to his zeal, in the proseciition 
 of the task committed to him, as agent for the collection of a fund for the sup- 
 port of the Episcopate by the Diocesan conventions of 1839 and 1840." * 
 
 Touching the same sad bereavement Mr. Pinkxey thus ^vi-ites 
 to his mother : 
 
 " I read your letter containing a particular account of the late illness and 
 -death of my dear friend, with a sad, sad heart. I was joyously anticipating 
 the pleasure of seeing him at convention. GOD grant that, in his sudden 
 removal fi-om the scenes of his stewardship, I may be aroused to a more 
 faithful prosecution of mine. Give my love and offer my kind sympathy to 
 his afflicted family. * * * My sister will feel the death of Dr."McElhiney 
 <leeply. Who will not that knew him, and had a heart to feel ? How 
 beautifully characteristic was that allusion of his to the services he was 
 rendering the Church." 
 
 Upon the death of Dr. McElhiney many of 'Mx. Pinkney's early 
 friends in Annapolis were urgent that he should be called to the 
 vacant rectorship : and while it would have been most agreeable 
 to him to be near his mother's family, he gave it to be understood 
 that he did not wish to be considered in that connection, and 
 could not accept the charge if elected. 
 
 In 1842 he received a very unexpected call to the rectorship of 
 the church in Tallahassee, Florida, which, after due consideration, 
 he declined. The call was renewed with pressing urgency and 
 the needs of that church clearly presented. The salary was 
 liberal, the rectorj' commodious, and the sphere of usefulness 
 inviting. The Bishop Avas also written to for his favorable inter- 
 position, yiv. PiXKNEY himself thought that he ought to refer the 
 matter to the Bishop for counsel. He did so, fuUy stating the 
 ciicumstances. Under the Bishop's advice he again, and definitely, 
 declined the call. 
 
 * A very just and V)eantiful tribute to the memory of Dr. McElhiney, with 
 some a(;count of his life and eminent services in the Church, was prepared by 
 Dr. PiNKNKY. and pul)lished in the series of volumes that the Rev. Dr. 
 Sprague, of Albany, N. Y., was issuing from the press, in 1852, " commem- 
 orative of all the prominent deceased clei'gymen of every communion in this 
 <.'Ountrv." " ■
 
 LIFE OF lUSIIOl' I'INKNEY. 47 
 
 Bishop "\Vhittii]gL;im's letter, witli the exeeption of a piiriifcraph 
 not luaterial to the main (jiiestion in the decision, was as foUows. 
 It shows at this early period how true was the Bishop's estimate 
 of the man. The iUilicn are his own : 
 
 •• JiAi/riMoicK. Ortohn- 2'2, lh-1'2. 
 
 " My Dear Brother : I have given twenty-four hours' careful thouf^ht to 
 the subject of your letter and its enclosure. The result is that I see no 
 reason to advise you to go. (I put the result in that shape because it is 
 obvious that if my advice is asked in the matter, it must at onr^he given for 
 your stay, unless reasoris to the contrary ])resent themselves.) That the 
 congregation at Tallahassee is in urgent need I cannot doubt : but thi'y liave 
 failed, as it seems to me, to substantiate any claim njxm you to su])))ly that 
 need. There mail be ])r()vidential circumstances connected with their choice 
 of you that indicate an overruling direction of your step: if there l)e, they 
 do not appear in the papers sent me. 
 
 " You are usefiil where you are. You are happy. You are loved by your 
 people, by yoi;r Ijrethren, by your Bishop. You are, in a (juiet way, serving 
 the dio('ese while you serve your parishes, and I speak with no exaggeration 
 when I say that I fear most the result of your loss to the (Vorese than that of 
 your removal from y<nir parhhen. There ought to be xtroiif/ and rlfar rcasi>ns 
 to counter-balance these. If ycni perceive such : if you know circumstances 
 attending your introduction to the notice of the Tallahasseeans of which I am 
 ignorant ; if you draw from their letter to you, and that to myself, an inference 
 that duty to Christ, whoso famishing sheep they are, require you to leave the 
 less needy portion of this flock to which you now minister, I am not the one 
 to let seltish considerations of my own loss, »)rof that of the flock of which I 
 have the oversight, prevad with me to gainsay your conclusions. All I have 
 to say is. that they are not mine. It tnay be your duty to go. You may 
 rightly deem it so. I am far ft-om undertaking to say that such cannot be 
 the case. But if it be, i)rejudices (so natural, in behalf of mine order; or 
 want of information hinder me from perceiving it. * * * 
 
 '' You see I -pwi the considerations of risk of health, separation from 
 friends, itc, out of the question, as I am sure they are with you. and this 
 they always ought to be. If it he your duty to go to Tallahassee, it is your 
 duty to go at whatever risk or cost. If it be not, there is no need of taking 
 into account considerations which are unnecessary to the decision. 
 
 " Finally, if'xt rests with me, because you have no choice (or because your 
 view of duty inclines against change, unless I advise it), then yon xtay. 
 But if apart from any decision of mine you think that you ought to go, then 
 must I submit you to the guidance of ycmr own conscience taught and over- 
 ruled by the blessed Spirit of light and truth. To His most gracious 
 influences I heartily commend you, now, in your time of need. 
 " Most affectionately yours, wherever you mav be, 
 
 '" W. U. WHITTINGH.VM." 
 
 Mr. PiNKNEY was not long in f(wmiiig acHiiKiintance. more or less 
 intimate, with the clergy in Prince George's and the adjoining 
 counties. Among these were the two AVilmers (Simon and Lem- 
 uel), Marbury, McKenney, Chesley, Gillis, Trajjuell, Nelson, Buck, 
 Harris, Stanley, and others. He united with these brethren in 
 holding " Association " services in their churches, and annually 
 in his o^\'n parishes. 
 
 Long before the present or any organized system of " Convo- 
 cations '' was established in Maryland, it was usual in ]iarts of
 
 48 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 the State, specially in Prince George's and the adjacent counties- 
 and the District of Columbia, for the clergy to unite in holding 
 in their resj)ective churches what were then called "Associations." 
 They were for a number of years marked featm-es in the clerical 
 and parochial life of these sections. Some three and four, or 
 live and six rectors within a district, not too large to preclude 
 interchange of visits, would associate together, not by any written 
 forms, but by simple verbal agreement, to meet at conveniently 
 ap})ointed times, at each other's churches for di\dne services, and 
 continued preachings and exhortations, to be kept up for several 
 successive days — always veek-days, as each rector had to be at 
 his own church on Sunday. These associations were usually 
 held duruig the months of August and September, as the seasons 
 most convenient to people engaged in agriculture and most suita- 
 ble on account of the weather. They generally lasted from two 
 to thi'ee days, and sometimes longer. 
 
 The people assemljled in great numbers, some coming from 
 long (hstauces, and not a few of them members of the surround- 
 ing denominations, and they came in all sorts of vehicles. These 
 associations were conducted in a churchl}^ ^'^y- The prayer book 
 services, for morning and evening prayer, were regularly said, 
 and were followed hy sermons and exhortations of a direct, 
 practical, and evangelic character, sometimes very awakening and 
 stirring. After the morning services came the recess, which 
 lasted about an hour, and was passed by the congregation under 
 the shade of the trees and in partaking of refreshments brought 
 by them from their homes, the solemnity of the preceding services 
 giving a subdued tone to the social converse. 
 
 Some of the more staid and strict of the High Church clergy 
 may have regarded them as tending too dangerously towards a 
 departure from the old and settled ways of the Chin'ch. They 
 grew out of the necessity which was felt by the clergy for closer 
 fraternal union among themselves, for mutual counsellings touch- 
 ing their great work of preachmg the Gospel, and for gi^^.ng more 
 s})u-itu;dity and eflectiveness to their ministi-y. It was felt that a 
 series of serAices and j^reachings for several sviccessive days in a 
 church would tend greatly to rouse up church members to more 
 of quickened life and zeal, and at the same time to produce deep 
 and permanent rehgious impressions on the hearts of those 
 negligent and careless about all religion. It was reaUy an effort 
 on the i^art of faithful and earnest clergymen to show that, while 
 the Church has her laws and ordinances which are to be duly 
 obeyed and observed, she is, at the same time, so all-comi)rehensive 
 in her provisions for the extension of CHRIST'S kingdom that her 
 dci-gy, under tlieir divine commission, can go forth to preach 
 CHRIST, and gather into the true fold of the Church the lost and 
 the erring everywhere surrounding her in this sinful world. It.
 
 LIFE OF IJISHOr I'INKNEY. 49 
 
 served to awaken si^ecial interest in the Kubjeet of reli<j^ioii in tlic 
 sections where they were held, and to brinjj^ the Church more 
 prominently before the peojile, as a great preaching, as well 
 as worshipping. Church. It served also to correct and counteract 
 that tendency which every parish clergyman exi)eriences, of con- 
 tiniiig his thoughts, his sympathies, and the responsibilities of his 
 ministry too exclusively to the wants and needs of his own 
 pai'oehial cure. 
 
 It was for no partisan purposes that these associations were 
 originated and conducted, for those known as High Clunvlimen 
 fraternized with their Low-Church ])rethren in holding them ; and 
 rarely, if ever, did iuiy unpleasant issues arise respecting the 
 doctrines preached and the counsels given. 
 
 They were, indeed, similar to, and in the mode of conducting 
 them almost identical with, what are now called " Parish Mis- 
 sions," with this difference, that there were no j^rofessed or 
 recognized " Missioners." Of course some of the clerg-y were 
 found to be more gifted than others in the special powers and 
 qualifications which such meetings called for on the i)art of the 
 preachers and leaders, and such would naturally be sought out 
 and secured when possible. 
 
 It is with some a question whether the present organized sys- 
 tem of "• Convocations," or the more recent j^lan of holding 
 '' Parish Missions," is as effective for the extension of the Kmg- 
 dom of Christ and for quidvening the spiritual and mission life 
 in the Church, as the old and now disused system of voluntar}' 
 Associations. 
 
 AVhile one of these Associations was in progress at St. Barthol- 
 omew's Church,* Montgomery county, in 1846, the late Dean of 
 the Washington Convocation, the Rev. Dr. Meyer Lewin, hap- 
 pened by an accidental coincidence to be passing through the 
 neighborhood in company with a friend. He saw from the public 
 road the hill on which the church stood crowded with all sorts of 
 vehicles, and curiosity promj^ted him to stop for a while to see 
 Mhat it all meant. Comiug to the church door and peering in, 
 great was his amazement to see the Rev. Mr. Pinkney preaching 
 aAvay with all his force from the pul2)it, then so large as to hold 
 the preacher and several of the brethren. It was both a surjiiise 
 and a sort of revelation to him. Forthwith he was constrained 
 to remain and take part in the services, lenving the companion 
 of his journey to dej^art without him. That may be said to have 
 been the beginning of a friendship and an intimacy that lasted 
 with an ever-increasing mutual love and confidence between Dr. 
 Pinkney, afterwards bishoj), and Dr. Lewin, afterwards dean, as 
 it was also the beginning of a very dear friendship between the 
 
 *0f wbicli thf> -wTiter was tlu-u tlio KcctDr.
 
 50 LIFE OF BISHOr PINKNEY. 
 
 latter and the writer. Dr. Lewin was very fond of recurring to 
 this casual meeting and to the long and delightful converse held 
 afterwards at the rectory and prolonged into the small hours of 
 the night. 
 
 Mr. PiNKXEY, in one of his letters to his mother referring to 
 these Associations, says : 
 
 "I am very well, though I was never more busy. I have attended seven 
 Associations, the most of which lasted three or four days. I have preached 
 and conducted prayers a number of times. These labors I have shared with 
 live or six of the surrounding clergy, so that I am not peculiarly imprudent. 
 I intend to spare myself in order that I may devote more time to my study 
 and the closet." , 
 
 Of the seven associations two no doubt were held in his own 
 cures, as it was his practice to hold them annually, one in each 
 church : and he writes as if these labors for the season were over. 
 
 He adds in this same letter : 
 
 " I expect to start very early to-morrow for a distant part of the parish, 
 where I shall remain until Sunday evening. I have just finished a lecture, 
 and yet my hands are full. If I could find time I would like to write some- 
 thing on the cause of " Missions " for the i^ress. Mrs. W.. who promised to 
 adopt my plan last year, gave me as the product of it, a few days ago, eleven 
 dollars, which she raised with little inconvenience to herself.* This letter 
 is not worth sending, but when you know it is written after a day of close 
 study, you will pardon it. My love to my dear sister and the family, and to 
 all friends." 
 
 Again, in another letter, which shows how busily occupied he 
 was, he says : 
 
 " I seize the opportiinity of writing you a few lines. Since I have com- 
 menced a series of lectures on Romans — all of which I write — my time is 
 very much occupied. The unavoidable interruptions, occasioned by the 
 long rides I am compelled to take, interfere amazingly with my habits and 
 disposition : however, I hope I shall be able to get along to the satisfaction 
 of the people — of succeeding to my own satisfaction I have long since de- 
 spaired." 
 
 * He reports in the Convention Journal of May, 1838, the completion of 
 the 2d year of his rectorship, the sum of ^:'202.;>0," as i-aised in his parishes, 
 for Misdonary jyuriwsex — a large sum for that period.
 
 LIFK OF lilSIlol' I'lNKNEV. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Visit to Virginia — Illness of His Mother — Call to St. Anne's Parish, 
 Annapolis. 183'.)-'44. 
 
 Mr. Pinkney very rarely left his parishes for any recreation. He 
 never desired or accepted any re^-ular \acations. Fortunately, 
 after reaching- full maturity, his health did not require any cessa- 
 tion from parish work, or even temiK)rary relinquishment of duty 
 for recuperation. In youth and early manhood he was delicate 
 in health and seemed to have a frail and feeble constitution. In 
 the begin nin<;- of his ministry and for some years after, he was 
 under medical treatment for sore throat and feebleness of voice, 
 compelling at times cessation from preaching. He suffered also 
 from chronic inflammation of the eyes, which for many years occa- 
 sioned him much inconvenience and pain, aggravated no doubt 
 by his close study at nights under the feeble and flickering light 
 of the candles and lamps then in use. As j^ears advanced the 
 innate soundness and vigor of his physical system became appar- 
 ent and his powers of endurance under exhausting laljors very 
 remarkable. It was the more remarkable because he paid very 
 little attention to matters of personal ease and comfort. He was 
 strictly temperate and even a])stemious in his li^'ing, never taking 
 more than a single cup of cofitee at meals, and very rarely at any 
 time, and never at all in later life, could he be persuaded to take 
 even a single glass of wine for refreshment. He was very ob- 
 servant of the Church fasts. He had no dietetic system of li^•ing, 
 and was very iiTegular in his hours of work and rest. Just on- 
 ward from day to day would he go, meeting the duties of each 
 day as they came before him and taking his rest as opj:)ortunity 
 afforded, or absolute need required, and yet with all this apparent 
 irregularity he was strictly exact and conscientious in keeping 
 all appointments in his ministry for service, for visits, or for any 
 Church business. So punctual was he in all his engagements 
 that he never failed to be j^resent unless hindered, which rarely 
 happened, by some power that he could not control. His only 
 indulgence was that of his favorite cigar ; and he always gave 
 to his friends more than he himself used. For their benefit he 
 generally carried with him a goodly supply, and sometimes he 
 would surprise a brother clergyman with the present of a whole 
 box. Under advice and from his own experience he found relief 
 in smoking, and continued the practice, after the necessity which 
 fii'st occasioned it ceased : but lie never indulged at unseemly
 
 52 LIFE OF BISHOP riXKXEY. 
 
 times, or fell under slavish bondage to the lialiit. In dress he 
 was very simple and plain, sometimes almost nt-iilhj!' in apparel, 
 though one could never fail to see beneath the attire the clergy- 
 man and the gentleman. He rarely wore an overcoat, or used 
 gloves, or carried an umbrella, and he would go in all sorts of 
 weather. 
 
 His long life of activity and toil, both physical and mental, 
 with no serious or permanent disability of body or mind, shows 
 what innate strength and soundness there was in his native con- 
 stitution. 
 
 No doubt, as allusions in his correspondence indicate, he was 
 often weary and way^vorn — anxious almost to distress about some 
 sick ])arishioner. or dear friend, whom he would so much desire 
 to win to Chiist for f>afety and consolation to the soul. No doubt 
 at times heartsore and sad. as the ministers of Christ must some- 
 times be, under toilsome labors that seem to have so little present 
 fruitage of good to souls. No doubt, too, he was often disheartened 
 and perplexed at seeing, as he once said in unburdening his glow- 
 ing heart m a letter to Bishop WTiittingham. so much coldness 
 and worldliness in the Chui'ch in some quarters, and in others the 
 distractions introduced by men of restless minds and strange 
 obliquities, whose chief vocation in the ministry seemed to be to 
 create disturbance by introducing novelties and extravagances in 
 the settled worship and well-ordered ministrations of the Church. 
 But in patience he possessed his soul, and went on in his earnest, 
 loving, and useful work. 
 
 In a letter to his mother, in March, 1839, he says : 
 
 ' ' I am most worn out with a case tliat for one liixndred days and more lias 
 occupied my time— the lady is still ill, and every two or three days I have to 
 ride and see her. I have two or three other cases on hand." 
 
 Again he writes : 
 
 " I steal a moment from my sermon to write a line to yon and my dear 
 sister. I wish it was in my power to ride up and see you. I will try to do 
 so before lone;. My time is fully occupied : indeed. I am always behind my 
 work. This parish, you know, is large. There seems to be a good state of 
 feeling among the pef)pl('. and if I only had a few zealous and active co- 
 adjutors :iinong my laymen, I would be able to do a good deal for the benefit 
 of the church. As it is, I trust my labors will be crowned with some suc- 
 cess. The people are very kind. * * * i must say good-bye. I am very 
 tired or I would keep on. My sermon is not completed. Will you send me 
 a piece <jf your poetry which begins somehow in this way : 'Oh I seek not 
 earth's pleasures' — you will know which I mean. By no means forget it." 
 
 Filial duty and his affection for his mother and sister reciiiii-ed 
 him to make occasional A'isits to Annapolis. These journeys in the 
 early period of his ministry, before the Annapolis Kailroad was 
 constructed, were always made on horseback — the distance nearly 
 forty miles. Thus, in 1831). on his return from one of those visits, 
 he writes to his mother :
 
 LIFE OF lUslIoi' IMNKNFV. 53 
 
 " I kuow you will be iiuxi<jus to lu-ar of luy safe arrival, and I then-'forc 
 write you a few lines, with which yon must be satistied. 1 have been on the 
 road almost ever since I reached Bladeiisbnrs^. The roads were in a most 
 shockin<i condition the day I left Annaimlis. I had to walk my horse the 
 better ])art of the way, and when I i,'ot to the en<l of my journey I was very 
 uiueh fatigued. All were well. The ladies were in the city anil had a fine, 
 beautiful day to transact business. "While I was anxiously waiting th<'ii' return 
 my dear Betsey stole iu the room where I was resting myself, smilin<i and 
 cheerful as any truant ever was before. She often si)eaks of you and Amelia. 
 I was i)leased to see the deep sympathy which all the membei's of this dear 
 family manifest for my sister. Give my love to her. I hope sheis l)etter. I 
 think she will be a long time confined to her room, although I have m < di ml it 
 of her ultimate recovery. The Paint Chuvch is to be consecrated." 
 
 One of his favorite respites was to steal away at times from his 
 .study and parishes to g-o to the Capitol to listen to the Cono-res- 
 sioual debates. He delighted in the exhibitions of elo(|uenee and 
 oratorical powers. He was almost carried away with his enthusi- 
 astic admiration of Clay. "Webster, Preston, and others, and would 
 return from the Capitol full of the glow of his excited feeling. 
 
 In a letter to his mother he describes one of those \'isits : 
 
 " I went over to Congress to-day (January, 1H42). and, after walking live 
 miles, stood until four o'clock, during the delivery of two very eloquent and 
 aide speeches, and then walked Ijuck again : so that you may perceive I am 
 well. Mr. Clay delivered a great speech upon the veto i)ower. It was not 
 equal to his other speeches. It was, however, bold, eloquent, and able, full 
 of his characteristic ardor, iudepeudeuce, and tire. He was not well. I 
 could not help admiring the maidy and oiten countenance and the indications 
 of a sincere and patriotic heart. I do not agree with him in o])inion, but I 
 do sympathize iu the wane of his influence. Mr. Preston folh )wed in a speech 
 of unequalled power. He is impetuous, but in the beauty, brilliancy, and 
 correctness of his style, the ease, grace, and tire of his manner, he is emi- 
 nently to be admired. It is the most brilliant effort I have heard in the hall 
 of Congress." 
 
 Some relaxation he found in pleasant social converse and in 
 correspondence with intimate friends. He was by no means a 
 recluse. He delighted in the society of uitelligent and cultured 
 persons of both sexes. He entered with eagerness into the dis- 
 cussion of all topics relating to Church iind public aftairs. AVith- 
 out lieing a controversialist, and always true as he was for life- 
 long to the old and sure standards oi the Church in doctrine and 
 jtolity. he took part in the various controversies that came up 
 in the Church, or bore upon the relations of the Church to the 
 surrounding religious denominations. He was very tluent in 
 conversation, and often indulged in pleasant and sprightly humor. 
 Along with a certain repose, not reserre, of manner, there was a win- 
 ning sympathy and cordiality most refined and attractive, giving the 
 charm of ease and freedom to social intercourse. Hence he was 
 ever a delightful companion, free from all conventionalities and 
 affectations, and his presence in any social cii'de was always gladly 
 welcomed.
 
 54 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 On one occasion, in the summer of 184:3, with his brother-in-law, 
 Mr. B. O. Lowndes, he made an excursion into Vu-ginia, partly to 
 visit his wife's relations, but chiefly that each might purchase for 
 himself a riding-horse. The expedition was a very pleasant and 
 successful one. Going thither by the railroad, they returned on 
 horseback with the ponies jDurchased. The one Mr. Pixknet 
 bought, a sorrel that he called '• Pacey,'' served him for many 
 years in his j^astoral rides. His experiences of anxiety and uncer- 
 tainty were such as all undergo in the matter of procuring a safe 
 and j^leasant ridiug-horse. but in tliis case the result Avas very 
 satisfactory. He gives an interesting account of this visit in 
 letters to his wife. Writiug in August, 1843, he says : 
 
 " We had a very pleasant passage in the ears after our hurried departure 
 from the parsonage. At the relay I was accosted in a very warm and pleasant 
 manner by a young gentleman, who turned out to be Mrs. V.'s brother. He 
 asked for you. We had a good nap the tirst part of the journey in those 
 delightful cars to Harper's Ferry. The country is beautiful, though the 
 Aiew is narrow and confined. As you approach Harper's Ferry and catch 
 the first glimpse of the beautiful mountains and go on until you reach their 
 noble base, you want words to express and almost ideas to conceive the full 
 grandeur and magnificence of the scene. Mountain scenery is to me strik- 
 ingly and powerfully impressive. I feel impatient of restraint, and long to 
 roam through the fastnesses where no mortal foot has trod. At Harper's 
 Ferry I promised myself a break of my fast, but when I saw the general 
 aspect of things. I and my appetite parted company ; it was a miserable 
 concern. The country, after you leave the Ferry, is beautiful indeed. 
 Close by the Shenandoah, as it rushes through the large jutting rocks in a 
 boiling, dashing cvirrent, or else lies as passive as an infant in its slumbers, 
 you pursue your rapid way, then you see fields of luxuriant wheat. 
 
 " When we reached the depot we put our baggage in safe-keeping, and 
 urged on our way to your uncle's in the heat of the day: for. sti'ange to 
 relate, we breakfasted at home and found ourselves, about half-past one or 
 two. 130 miles distant. We took him by sui'prise, although he had sent the 
 carriage, which passed us by on the road. Your uncle looks very well and is 
 strikingly like your dear father — like him in appearance, voice, and manner — 
 so like him that for a long time I could hardly realize it was not he. He 
 recalls the image of your father perpetually — has that same significant shake 
 of the forefinger, nod of the head, puts his hand iinder his coat, stops as he 
 paces the floor, turns and looks upon you with the same beautiful smiles, 
 and says ' Sir ' in the same tone. I have left no room to tell you more. 
 For my sake be careful of yourself and your sister. How I wish you were 
 both with ua." 
 
 In another letter he writes : 
 
 " I had almost resolved to start in the morning train, but as Ogle seems to 
 be anxious for me to remain I will wait until Tuesday or Wednesday. Dr. 
 S. has a very fine horse, and it is possible I may i)urchase him. The 'A.sso- 
 ciation' will be held to-morrow. I shall hear Bishop Meade. We went 
 home with F. to B. . and found it a beautiful retreat. It is a loveh' residence, 
 the house and grounds all imposing. To-day we rode to Dr. S.'s. The horse 
 goes uoljly. I think it probalile I shall buy him. I do not think it safe or 
 prudent to ride Jesse. Others have thought so long ago. Mrs. Dr. S. has 
 been very kind and attentive. She invited us to stay with her during the 
 Association. The little girls are sweet, interesting children.
 
 LIFE OF liisiioi' riNKNEY. DO 
 
 "I do all I can to amuse your unole. How I succeecl I cannot tvU. Aj^'o 
 is peculiarly venerable, and I love to do it homaj^e. I expect lie will miss 
 VIS very much, for we cheer him without in the least trespassing upon his 
 .)ld-t"stal>lished habits. I hope you are careful. I long to see you. I wish 
 your sister Nannie could breathe awhile the free mountain air, and .yw, 
 too. I do not feel improved — home is my best medicine." 
 
 He made occasional visits to Lis mother and relatives in Annaj)- 
 olis, and during- the years 1843 and 1844 these visits were especially 
 called for by serious illness and death in his mother's immediate 
 family and by the death of his cousin, Mr. Somerville Pinkney, to 
 whom he was much attached and in whose office he had prose- 
 cuted his law stutlies. In a letter to his wife he gives a touching 
 descrij^tion of the last moments of his cousin. He writes : 
 
 "Poor Somerville is no niorc. I saw hi;n breathe his last. He knew me 
 and shook me warmly by the hand. I asked him if he did not feel the salva- 
 tion of JESUS precious. He replied, •Oh, yes : it is a great, a great salvation I ' 
 I sat by his dying couch, and, as I looked upon his heaving chest and heard 
 his difficult respiration, I thought of the great change that would sorm take 
 place. It is a fearful thing to die- — the agonies of death are fearful. For 
 two long hours or more we were in that still chamber of death, watching the 
 egress of the spirit from its tabernacle of clay. At about twenty minutes 
 past two o'clock I knelt down and offered up the i)rayer of the Church for a 
 ileparting soul. While I i)rayed not a sound was heard from that bed of the 
 dying one, and we thought all was over, but one breath more was drawn. 
 
 * * * He is now cold, and in a short time no eye will see him — he will 
 be covered by the clods of the valley and slumber on until the resurrection. 
 
 * * * I tried to console my afflicted cousin. Oh, let us bear in mind this 
 parting hour I Let its recollections soothe oi;r feelings into deepest tender- 
 ness. How strange it is that we live so miich for time, so little for eternity. 
 I think that as I am here, and as I could not in my i)resent feelings bear 
 company, I will remain until Tuesday or to-morrow week. Will Ogle oblige 
 me by going to the Paint and take the collection and make my apology to 
 the congregation ? I will not officiate there until the next Sunday in course. 
 Take care of yourself, and let me know if you are at all sick." 
 
 Ill close connection with this bereavement followed another, 
 the death of his half-brother, Mr. Henry Hol)bs,* a most attractive 
 man and much beloved, especially by his many youthful compan- 
 ions. He was full of life and joyous spirits, tender and devoted 
 to his mother. His death caused a sad vacancy in the cottage 
 home of the family in Annapolis. ]Mr. Pinkney did not reach the 
 city in time for the funeral. He was deeply moved by this death. 
 Writing to his wife after his arrival, he says : 
 
 '•I found my dear mother quite composed, full of the sweetest religious 
 resignation and dwelling vipon the niimberless tokens of dear Harry's love, 
 for he was ever-mindful and attentive. I had a very gl< >omy .iourney : indeed, 
 I felt wretchedlv. I could not weej) save a few tears when ahme in the 
 dining-room, hist night, and yet there was a sad aching in my heart more 
 painful than tears. I did not" get in time for the funeral. My dear brother 
 is before me in everything, and yet not present in anything— strange asser. 
 
 * He died November 20, 1844.
 
 56 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKXEY. 
 
 tion.aud full as true as strange. * * * Dr. R. and Dr. S. were kind 
 indeed. They prepared him for the grave with their own hands, for they 
 loved him. I cannot write save in th(jse few broken sentences. Take care 
 of yourself. I must now try to make up in some degree the loss, and come 
 as often this winter as possible, if I stay but two or three days." 
 
 The serious and alarming- illness of his mother about this time 
 requu-ed his presence in Annapolis, and caused him great anxiety 
 and distress. Happil}' she recovered : and to his great comfort 
 and joy her life was prolonged, ns we nhall see, until towards the 
 close of the year 1858. In writing to his wife concerning her 
 illness, he states what was to him a source of pecidiar happiness 
 — it was the retm-n of his mother into full communion with the 
 Church of her fathers. It has been ah-eady stated that in early 
 life she had connected herself with the Methodists, and that while 
 a most devout and earnest member of that religious body, she 
 had never lost her love and veneration for the Church. Although 
 writing to her with utmost freedom on all religious and Church 
 subjects, Mr. Pixkxey had never sought or used any special efforts 
 to bring about this happy consummation. She had never given 
 much thought and study to the distinctive claims of the Church 
 respecting unity and organization as taught in the Holy Script- 
 ures, and witnessed for from the Apostles' daja. Her ardent 
 mind seized hold of the great and blessed truths of redemption 
 in CHRIST JESUS, and of the quickening and sanctif jang influen- 
 ces of the Holy Spiiit, with such tenacity and earnestness of both 
 conviction and feeling, that the matters pertaining specially to 
 the form, order, constitution and authority of the Church seemed 
 to her to be of no essential importance. Gradually, perhaps 
 unconsciously, these ^iews were undergoing change. Certain it 
 is. that about this period her mind had reached the definite con- 
 clusion that it was her duty to return to the communion of the 
 Church. And it was so that the son, while suffering deep 
 anxiety and distress, on account of her illness, could at the same 
 time rejoice m this hajipy retui'n of his mother to the fold and 
 bosom of the Church. He exj^resses his feelings in a letter written 
 to his wife at the time : and later on in this Memoii' there will be 
 occasion to recur to the interesting circumstances. He writes : 
 
 " I found my dear mother easier, though sadly altered for the worse. She 
 has been extremely ill, more so on Saturday than at any time previous. She 
 takes a g<j(>d deal of nourishing food to sustain her under these awful attacks 
 of palpitation. Her spirits are as g<iod as could be expected. 
 
 " What rejoices my heart above measure in this dreadful visitation is her 
 return to the bosom of the Church. W(juld you lielieve that two of my 
 letters had set her to investigate the claims of "the Church, and an old V)ook 
 in my possession, accidentally left here, had under GOD accomplished this 
 Idessed result ■* She felt that in leaving the Church she had committed the 
 sin of schism, or at all events feared it, and desired to die in the bosom of 
 the Church in which she had been baptized. She is now where I wished her 
 to be.
 
 LIFE or ]{IS1I()P I'INKNKV. 57 
 
 '• I think I had better reiiuiiutintil the middle of next week. It isvij,dit that 
 I shoiihl. Dr. K. says she becomes worse in eai'h attack. Everybody is 
 kind and attentive. * * ♦ Recall my appointment at the chapel : e.\j)laiu 
 the cause of my absence. Also recall my appointment for the colored 
 people." 
 
 About this period the vacancy iu the rectorship of St. Anne's 
 parish, Annapolis, occurred by the resignation of the Rev. Gor(h)n 
 Winslow. and very unexpectedly to himself Mr. Pixknev. o)i the 
 21st of jMarcli. IH-t-l, was called to the charge of the parish. 
 "While it was gratifying- to him to know that this call came to him 
 " unanimously l)y people and vestry." yet at the same time he 
 considered it his duty to decline the call. Although a residence 
 in Annai)olis near to his mother in her declining age and to his 
 only sister would have been jjeculiarly gratifying to him. and 
 although the parish of St. Anne's, fraught with so many hallowed 
 associations in the city that he loved l)eyond all other places, 
 would have opened to him a most interesting and imjiortant lield 
 of labor, yet, under the circumstances, his determination Avas, no 
 doubt, wise and judicious. His reluctance to change of location 
 and s^jhere of duty was characteristic of his whole ministerial life. 
 
 In a letter to his friend. Dr. Alexander, he very fully states his 
 reasons for declining the call. He says : 
 
 " I refused the call to Annapolis, as yoit have heard ere this. It was a 
 flattering mark of the confidence and respect of the place of my birth. I 
 felt it to be such. It was the more gratifying because it was unanimous on 
 the part of the people and the vestry. On the former occasion there was 
 opposition* from two or three members of the vestry. I knew not the 
 cause, although from my high regard for the parties I respected it. 
 
 " I deemed it my duty to decline the honor. My reasons were few and 
 simple, and my action iu direct collision with my interest. To you I will 
 state my reasons. I did not feel at all afraid of opposition, for I believe that 
 the same spirit of tirmness and conciliation which had enaViled me to triumph 
 over Low-Church prejudices here would carry me through there. Neither 
 did I fear the critical ])ropensities of the people : for. in my judgment, they 
 are less so than their ueighViors. But I was afraid that I might not do justly 
 by those who were matured in intellect and fijrmed in hal)it when / irnx a 
 boy. I would wot that their Ijlocjd should be on me in the last great day. 
 And the younfj, who knew me when a boy, I was fearful would merge the 
 priest in the recollecti(m of the boy. I could not endanger their welfare 
 and my peace. Besides there were some who thought I was anxious for the 
 situation, and iu all probability did injustice to me and themselves by the 
 unkind suspici(3n. I wished to undeceive them. H<iw long I shall remain 
 where I am is very doubtful. I am not supported and have very laborious 
 outdoor work." 
 
 * Referring to the vacancy iu St. Anne's, occasioned by the death of the 
 Rev. Dr. McElhiney, in 1841, when his name, by some friends, was brought 
 before the vestry for the rectorship.
 
 58 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Ministry in Prince George's. Visit to Portsmouth and Boston. — 1846-51. 
 
 During the next six yeaa-s of bis ministry iu Piince George's 
 county, there are not many incidents to record. It was a con- 
 tinuously busy life. Of his strictly official and ministerial acts 
 he made brief record ; but as he kept no private diary or mem- 
 oranda of the incidents of his life, it is only here and there that 
 any marked or interesting occurrences come up for notice. He 
 seems never to have thought that any future occasion -would aiise 
 for this detail in connection with a biography of himself. He 
 made no copy of his letters, except in cases where official duty or 
 important business requu-ed it. Those to his friends were never 
 of an elaborate character. They were very numerous and were 
 written currente calamo, in easy and glowing terms, full of senti- 
 ment and feeling, and always rich and beautiful in then* diction. 
 He was ever alert to think and feel for others, especially when 
 any good fortune befell them, or any sorrow caused by sickness 
 or bereavement overshadowed them. At such times he would 
 promptly send to them the tokens of his love and remembrance in 
 some short letter of congratulation or condolence often accom- 
 panied with some Uttle book or memento. Many such letters, 
 dearly prized by those who received them, have come to hand, 
 and might be here copied. Some of these, later on, will be given 
 in then- appropriate connection. 
 
 When occasions arose calling for any grave ministerial counsel, 
 or for declaiing his judgment and opinion touching any imj^or- 
 tant doctrine or requh'ement of the Church, or for vindicating 
 any course of official action or determination, his letters are 
 marked with force, clearness, and decision. Such occasions not 
 infrequently did arise in his later experience in the ministry and 
 afterwards very seriously in his Ei:)iscoiiate. 
 
 Sometimes when indulging himself in poetic comjDOsition for 
 recreation, he would send coj^ies of his verses to his mother, for 
 her inspection and criticism. At the beginning of the year 1849 
 he wrote some verses on " The Old Year," of which the closing 
 stanza is here given, liecause his mother ventured to make ujDon 
 it a criticism which illustrated her cultured and discriminative 
 poetic taste : 
 
 "A ^,'iirlan(l iiiatle \\\> of the evt'r<,'reen leaf 
 And snow-flakes that ^'listen in softest relief. 
 Where the diamonds that sparkle, not dug from the mine. 
 Are dew-drops all frozen by the breath of the wind."
 
 LIFE OF ItlSHoi' IMNKNEY. 51) 
 
 His luotlier's letter is as follows : 
 
 "AxNAroLis, .Itinuiiri/, iHt'.l. 
 
 " My Dear Son : I aiu writing this letter pretty much us a joint eonecrn ; 
 the fact is, I am too siek to write. Imt enter ui)on it in the hope that it may 
 rouse me. I have had a long and depressing sickness — nothing to excitti 
 apprehension, but enough to keep me from enjoyment myselt or from min- 
 istering to the enjoyment of others. Your sister keeps up wonderfully, and 
 was very glad to get such kind and prompt answers to her letters. Your 
 letters have been comforting to us. 
 
 •'Now for your poetry, dear William. It is very pretty, and the piece 
 which you say is prosy I cannot criticise. I see no change wanting in it. 
 
 "In "The Old Year,' which is a beautiful piece, the two last lines of the 
 sixth verse do not harmonize. Do not think I am for sacriticing sense to 
 sound, but still I must have harmony, and if I cannot blend that with sense 
 I give up the idea. I suggest an alteration. I e.xpect you will prefer your 
 own, and I shall not wonder if you do; at any rate, I shall not a<lopt an 
 alteration until the motion is seconded. 
 
 " Now for yours — 
 
 " ' Where the diamonds that sparkle, not <lug from the mine, 
 Are dew-drops all frozen by the l)reath of the wind.' 
 
 " I should say. still preserving your meaning : 
 
 '' ' For the diamonds that sparkle and glitter and shine 
 Are dew-drops fast fi'ozen, not gems from the mine.' 
 
 '• I have written but little since I saw' you — little pieces for the child. My 
 situation has not admitted of it : but I have written one piece which I myself 
 like. This piece I wish much to retid to you. because its subject was the 
 object of your love. It is the history of little Henrietta Gwiun. written in 
 the ballad style, simple as it can possibly be. full of feeling — feeling as deep 
 as that font in my own heart, which age has never chilled. How fresh and 
 fragrant in memory is the image of that dear little grandchild. The one we 
 have noir is lovely, intellectual, gifted : but the positif)n in which they stand 
 is different. 
 
 •• The piece in which Fanny N. is alluded to is addressed to your sister, 
 on ' The Cemetery.' She had been walking there late in November, and 
 found the heart's-ease blooming on Fanny's grave. A white rose was planted 
 there. I sent a coiJy to her mother. 
 
 •• I am better, but still feel weak. How glad I should have been if you 
 'ould have seen how hajipy little Amelia is with tis and how obedient she is 
 to every direction. She is full of life and sjjirits. Slic did not expei-t any 
 answer, and was delighted to get one. 
 
 " Your affectionate mother. 
 
 ■AMELIA PINKNEY." 
 
 The auuiversary of his 38th birthday, on the 17th of April, 18-4S» 
 elicited from his mother a very touchiiio- cono-ratiilatory letter in 
 verse, from which some of the stanzas may be given : 
 
 " Priest of the living GOD. my son. thou art ; 
 I trust His seal is stamped tii)on thy heart : 
 Fearless go on, whatever ills appear. 
 Thy aid is ready, thy Deliverer near. 
 
 Silver and gold thou niayst not have to give. 
 On frugal means thou mayst be doomed to live : 
 But thy allegiance to the King of Kings 
 Secures thv title to all needful things.
 
 60 LIFE OF BISHOP PIXKNEY. 
 
 Earthly distinctions thou hast set at naught, 
 • Or hjn'g ere this thou hadst in cities tauglit : 
 But where thou hiborest many })hiuts of grace. 
 I trust, are fitting for a Heavenly place. 
 
 Some trials every faithfiil soul must find, 
 'Till the pure gold is from all dross refined : 
 But all those trials coming from above, 
 The soul receives them as the pledge of love. 
 
 Your mother's heart rejoices to-day, 
 That you were early led in wisdom's way ; 
 Spurned in your youth the blandishments of sin. 
 That you the priceless pearl of peace might win. 
 
 As death draws near, the hopes of earth decline, 
 The Christian's prospects then more clearly shine ; 
 Delusive pleasure drops her mask and flies, 
 The Christian's hope is anchored in the skies. 
 
 Then thou art wise, my Willie, tho' thy name 
 May ne'er be heralded by trump or fame. 
 Let but thy hands be clean, thy heart be pure. 
 Constant in duty, thy reward is sure. 
 
 Be thou obedient to thy heavenly call — 
 
 A day is coming, when the Lord of all 
 
 Shall place the crown upon thy favor'd brow, 
 
 And say, ' Thou hast been faithful ; enter thou.' 
 
 Birthday of yours I look no more to see ; * 
 
 Then oft in thy petitions, ask for me. 
 
 That on my spirit, as my days decline. 
 
 The rays of faith and hojje may brightly shine." 
 
 In 1849 lie published a small tract, " A Plain Appeal," addressed 
 to members of the Methodist communion. Having- been con- 
 nected with that body of Christians for a season before his admis- 
 sion to the ministry of the Church and being much thrown with 
 the people of that persuasion in his pastorate, he hoped by an 
 earaest and affectionate " Appeal "' to win them back, or at least 
 some of them, to the fold of the mother Church they had forsaken. 
 He took for his text on which he based his appeal, the well-known 
 declaration of "Wesley, " It cannot be lawful to separate from the 
 Church of England, unless it be unlawful to continue in it." It is 
 not known that the appeal produced any desired results : and the 
 })ul)lication is here referred to as illustrative of the vigilance with 
 which he was seeking to do the Master's work on any line where 
 be could hope to tlo good. 
 
 In June, 1840. an accident, occasioned by a fall from his horse, 
 was serious enough to cause dislocation of some of the bones of 
 his right hand. It made it necessary for him to go to Easton, to 
 be under the surgical care of his brother. Dr. Ninian Pinkney, 
 
 * Mrs. Amelia Pinkney was then in her 70th year, and lived ten years 
 longer, dying in the SOth yi-ar of her age.
 
 LIFE OP BISHor riXKNF.Y. HI 
 
 at that time not ou dut}' in the Navy. He <,nveK some account of 
 its treatment, by his brother, in a letter to his wife. Fortunately 
 he was double-haucled ; that is, he could use and write with his 
 left hand almost as w(>ll as with his ri^-ht : 
 
 ■• My liiuiil is \vt'llnii,'li usilcss. It was a sovovi' dislocation. The swcUiii^^ 
 slowly subsides, and the l)out's art- gradually di'Vt'lopcd. The pain, from 
 which I suffered a good deal until I reached Easton. has been almost dissi- 
 l)ated under the action of the shower bath, applied three times a day, and 
 the use of the ointment. But for the splints l)y whi<'h my hand is guarded 
 on ])oth sides, I think it not improbable that ere this a fresh dislocation 
 would have taken place, for it is impossible to guard against involuntary 
 motion of the arm. It will be some time before I am totally relieved. Niu- 
 ian is all attention. Night and morning he comes up to do the duty of 
 nurse, is so gentle in wiping the hand after the application of the bath, and 
 in e.\amining the bones as the swelling subsides. * * * jj,. thinks my 
 hand will not be in a state to use for some time, and will require close at- 
 tention. Still, it is slowly getting better. He says the Ijones at my time of 
 life knit slowly." 
 
 This accident compelled an absence from his parishes of several 
 weeks. It g-ave him opportunity, however, for pleasant visits to 
 his friends, in Easton, and Talbot county, and to his wife's rela- 
 tives, the Lowndes, at Miles river, and the Lloyds, at Wye. 
 
 On July 18, 184:9, he was called to the rectorship of Rock 
 Creek Parish, in the District of Columbia ; but deemed it his 
 duty to decline the call. 
 
 In February, 1850, his brother. Surgeon Ninian Pinkney, Avas 
 ordered to the United States ship Saramic, about to sail from 
 Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Mr. Pinkney was persuaded to 
 accompany his brother, to be present at the departure of the 
 vessel from the port. So strong- were his local and home attach- 
 ments, that he needed at times to be almost forced away into new 
 scenes and associations. He was absent from home three weeks. 
 Of this visit he wrote a very full account in a journal — quite an 
 unusual thing for him to do — and he wrote also frequent letters 
 to his wife. Both the journal and the letters show how thoroughly 
 he enjoyed the change on this his first excursion into the New 
 England States. The novelty of the scenes and places he \isited 
 greatly interested him. He was much im2:)ressed with the rapid 
 advances which those States were making in wealth, commerce, 
 culture, and social progress. Upon his arrival in Portsmouth, he 
 was the recipient of many attentions and courtesies from officers 
 of the Navy, and particularly from the Rev. Dr. Burroughs, by 
 whom he and his brother were most hosi:>itably entertained. The 
 acquaintance thus formed with Dr. Burroughs was the l)eginning 
 of a very endearing friendship between them. He had o])por- 
 tunity, also, of meeting qtiite a number of the more jirominent 
 clergy of the Church in New England, and on several occasions, 
 by invitation, preached in their churches.
 
 62 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 During- his sojourn in Portsmouth he made several visits to 
 Boston. His letters to his wife from both cities are full of o-raphic, 
 and even minute, description of all that he saw, and of the persons 
 with whom he became acquainted. He tells of " the kindness 
 received above anything he ever expected North, and fully equal 
 to the most cordial and warm-hearted Southern refinement." He 
 even o-ives her an accoimt of the menu at the houses where he 
 Avas hospitalily entertained : and he quite elaborately describes 
 all the apartments, with their furniture, from the kitchen and the 
 laundry to the attic, of the great hotel where he was stopping. 
 
 Immediately upon his arrival at Portsmouth, Mr. Pixkney wrote 
 
 to his wife as foUows : 
 
 "Portsmouth. Fehriuiry 25, 1850. 
 
 "My Dear Betsey : I seem to be a great way off from my sweet home and 
 its many invaluable privileges. We have just reached our destination, and 
 I hasten to tell you that through the blessing of Providence we arrived in 
 safety, after a very jjleasaut and delightful journey. I will leave the recital 
 of all the incident's of the journey until I retiirn and read you my journal. 
 "SVe spent Sunday in Boston and were c^uartered at the most magniticent 
 hotel I ever entered : nothing in the United States to surpass it. I heard 
 Eev. Wm. Woart in the morning and Kev. Wm. Adams in the afternoon, and 
 was heard myself in the evening : lights so dim from some derangement in 
 the gas that I had to guess my way a good part of the time. I really fear 
 that I shall disgrace Maryland, though Ninian sayshenever heard me preach 
 better, and Dr. D. also ex^Dressed himself pleased — in all probability the too 
 jjartial judgment of brotherly affection and loyal regard. I felt very much 
 embarrassed, although the congregation was very still and attentive. * * * 
 
 "We have a very pleasant room, and I hope my sojourn here will be not 
 withoiit interest and instruction. Ninian enjoys my being with him. and 
 that adds unspeakaljly to the pleasure. Mr. Woart gave me a kind letter of 
 introduction to Dr. Burroughs, and I shall call upon him with Xiniaii in the 
 coi;rse of the day. The ship's crew are not yet in attendance, so that in all 
 probability his return to Washington will be delayed toy some weeks. On 
 my return I shall stop in Boston long enoiigh to see everything of interest, 
 and Mr. Woart will accompany me. The weather has been uncommonly 
 fine. To-day there was every appearance of a snow-storm, but it is now 
 breaking off. It is as mild in Boston as in Washington : there is, however, 
 a great deal of ice here. 
 
 " I hope you all continue well. Take good care of yourself, as I am not 
 present to whisper in your ear a kindly warning. O, how I wished for you 
 in Boston I It is a grand city, with the exception of narrow streets. You 
 would be delighted with the l)eautiful country, showing everywhere the 
 triumphs of art and industry. There is but one exception to my pleasure 
 (mooting your absence), and that is, that I am compelled to keep Lent as I 
 would not wish : travelling and fasting do not suit well together. Tell Miss 
 F. I am much comforted by the rctlectiou that she is with you to share your 
 solitude and watch over you, as I know her affection prompts her to do with 
 gi-eat care. 
 
 " There is more beauty in Boston than any other city I ever visited — real, 
 rich beauty meeting you in almost every direction : more politeness in chiirch 
 than I ever experienced elsewhere : so much refinement in the mode of 
 exhibiting it. It is a vigorous and healthy beauty, the result of much exer- 
 cise and proper clothing in the open air. Give my love to our Sister N. and 
 to O. : also to Miss T. Love to the servants. I hope they will all be mind- 
 ful of your comfort. Tell L. and S. they must be very good and attentive
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKXEY. 03 
 
 to yoix till I get back. Pay my respect to Wye, the nol)le Ne\vf<nin<lliiii<l 
 (log. I have seen nothing like him since I left. He is the Daniel Wehsti-r of 
 his species. I am looking for ii letter from you with great anxiety uiul ph-as- 
 ure. Write, and direct to Portsmouth for the present. 
 "Atfectionatelv. 
 
 " W. P." 
 
 While it is quite interesting- to read tliese details as given in his 
 letters and more fully in his journal, it is unnecessary to introduce 
 here any copious extracts. Since then so familiar have we Ijecome 
 by facilities of travel and frequent intercommunication witli the 
 progressive develoj^ment in wealth and luxury of every part of the 
 Union, that we can hardly enter into the feelings with which, 
 near forty years ago, a Southern gentleman of culture would view 
 the great commercial metropolis of the country and \'isit the city 
 of Boston, then, as uow, boasting of itself to be the seat and centre 
 of our highest intelligence and civilization. His views and reflec- 
 tions would seem almost too vi^^.d and intense to us in our larger 
 experience in these days of over-much travel. Thoroughly South- 
 ern in his feelings and sti'ong in his devotion to his native State, 
 he was at the same time broad and national in his sympathies, 
 and proud to call himself a citizen of the one common country 
 under the Union of the States. He was prepared, therefore, to 
 gather both pleasure and instruction from his visit. 
 
 Two extracts, however, from his journal may he given, because 
 so happily expressive of his ardent patriotism and devotion to the 
 Union of the States. 
 
 The spirit of abolition wafi then raging with more or less of 
 fierce vindictiveness in the New England States : and while 3Ir. 
 PixKNEY reprobated it in the strong terms he uses, he could not 
 but see that it was straining to their utmost tension the Ijonds of 
 the one national life, and might ultimately result in rending 
 asunder the Union of the States. 
 
 While in Boston he visited Faneuil Hall, and in the intensity 
 and ardor of his patriotic feelings, he writes : 
 
 " As I stood npon the spot where the first and greatest men have spoken 
 in defence of freedom's noblest cause, I could not but wish that the dis- 
 unionists, JSforth and South, who are madly seeking to dim the stars of our 
 American galaxy, or sever the Ijond which by uniting constitutes them the 
 milky way of the world's freedom, could but catch the s))irit that animated the 
 elder statesmen of the Kepublic and is now blazing forth with such over- 
 powering splendor from New England's greatest oivator in the councils of the 
 nation. I never felt more fitUy the enlargement of this true American feel- 
 ing, which knows no sectional limits and recognizes no ])arty banners, but 
 takes in the whole Union, than when I stood in Faneuil Hall and at the l)ase of 
 Bunker Hill. We may weakly attempt to weigh the value of that I'nion, the 
 North against the South, btit we shall never be able to compute the loss. 
 Once Ijreak the bond and there is no power left to construct the homogenity 
 of Confederated States. I loathe the principles of the man who can hazard 
 the expression of a thoitght or feeling adverse to the ITnion. I distrust his 
 capacity for the nice an(l delicate duties of a statesman of the present times,
 
 64 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKXEY. 
 
 aud would send bim back to tbe study of the moderation and patriotism of 
 the early founders of our Government." 
 
 During his sojourn in Boston he visited all the public buildings, 
 the State House, and the General Assembly then in session, the 
 old State House, and the Exchange, Cambridge, Harvard Uni- 
 versity, and the environs of Boston, of all which he gives graphic 
 descriptions. He was singularly impressed with the sight of the 
 very tree lieneath whose shadow Washington first unsheathed 
 his SAvord for the liberty of the colonies. He thus describes his 
 imiiressions : 
 
 '•We saw on our way to the cemetery, as on our return, the very tree 
 where 'NVashinLCtou first unsheathed his sword in defence of his country's 
 liberty. It is a noble Amerlcfui elm. Was it a mere accident that, in the 
 multitude of trees that offered to the illustrious patriot soldier a sheltering 
 shade, he sliould have selected tbe proud American elm as the one for tbe 
 first unsheathing of his sword : or. was it not rather the type aud pledge of 
 his country's emancipation from the thraldom of foreign misrule V I cannot 
 easily descrilie my feelings when I thought of the signal event which this 
 tree commemorates. There is a strange and indescribable thrill that shoots 
 through the heart whenever yow gaze upon nature's attestation to the spirit- 
 stirring events of the past. It sjjeaks more eloquently than marble. The 
 very winds seem to whisper it forth through the rustling leaves, aud each 
 giant limb and delicate tendril appear to be living witnesses. In Annapolis, 
 tbe place of my birth, was the sword, thus boldly drawn, sheathed as soon 
 as the liberty of the land was fully vindicated and established : aud here, a 
 stranger in Boston, I am gazing upon the very spot where it was drawn forth 
 to wave over fields drenched with blood and red with clotted gore. Old 
 Annapolis is not behind Boston in the thrilling scenes of the Revolution. 
 If tbe tea burning in the latter gave the first impetus to that bravest and 
 greatest struggle iuv freedom, it miist not be forgotten that tbe patriots of 
 Annapolis had anticij^ated tbe stirring event by consigning to the waves the 
 same luxury, and burning the vessel in which it was imported : and if Wash- 
 ington blew on Boston heights tbe first bugle blast of freedom, in Annapolis 
 he laid down his military command, and gave to tbe world the first most 
 perfect picture of pure and disinterested patriotic devotion." 
 
 The like patriotic sentiments were even more strongly expressed 
 in the " Thanksgiving Sermon " which Mr. Pinkney preached in 
 Bladenslntrg on the 28tli of November of this year. The sermon 
 was published, largely circulated, and much admu-ed for its force 
 and eloquence. The following extracts are given : 
 
 '• I will not attemi)t to draw the picture of the scene that would follow 
 uiion the bn-aking \\\\ and disruption of tbe Union. I have no pen or taste 
 for the odious ;ind distasteful task. I would rather exi)atiate, on this bright 
 Thanksgiving festival, upon its past wonderful achievements for good, aud 
 tbe still more wonderful achievements it promises for the future ; tbe elements 
 of power it possesses, together with its wonderfully rajjid growth; and, for 
 what it has d<me and is still capable of doing, I would implore you to trea.siii-e 
 it. Never sufler its advantages to be canvassed in your presence, or its value 
 to Ijf weighed. He must lie an unsafe and dangerous counsellor who would 
 TiiWy xerU'iiiutl feelings against the harmony of the system and call up tbe 
 evil passions and prejudices of the North and South to jircy upon the vitals 
 of tbe country. The United States is our blood-bought heritage. It was 
 ours from the beginning. It is ours still ; and GOD has confirmed tlie gift
 
 LIFE OF lUSHOl' I'INKNEY. (i;> 
 
 by deeds of power aud almost inivaeles of lucrcy. There was no North, no 
 South, when our patriot forefathers sat in sweet brotherhood by the couiicil 
 fires of freedom. Every heart was large enough to embrace the whoh-, and 
 contented with nothing less." 
 
 A^ain he says : 
 
 " He that has read the past with the eye of intelligent forecast must know 
 that this Union of States has a mission to fullil — a mission co-e.\tensive with 
 the world and coeval with time. She is a sort of irorld-triinU'e, not nn-rely 
 charged with tlic tilling up the measure of her own individual glory, but the 
 diffusing and spreading iibroad of her enlightened principles the world over. 
 Thesparkdf freedom tliat hud wellnigh gone out in the tyranny and oppres- 
 sion of the Old World was wafted across the Ocean to this Western wilder- 
 ness ; and, thanks to a kind Providence, it found its way without difficulty to 
 our shores, fanned into increasing brightness by the very breezes that seenied 
 to threaten its extinction. And shall we, the degenerate sons of an illustrious 
 race, put it out ere half itx niixulini ix (imompUshed ? Shall we suffer the night 
 of disunion to envelop in horrible darkness, the very darkness of desjjair, 
 this In'ight inheritance':' N(j, never I Love of our common country, forbid 
 it I Hope and harbinger of the world's peace and glory forbid it I " 
 
 Nor did Mr. Pinkney ever afterwards change or abandon these 
 views of the inestimable vahie and the supreme mission of the Union 
 of the States. "When the terrible Civil War came on, ten years 
 later, no man de})lored its occurrence more than he ; for, at the 
 time, he and many others thought and Ijelieved, however the con- 
 flict might terminate, there could no more be in the future such 
 Union of the States as had existed in the past under the provis- 
 ions of the Constitution. 
 
 Mr. Pinkney returned in March of this year, 1850, from his trip 
 to the New England States, to renew with fresh ^•igor and ardor, 
 his domestic and parochial duties. Very soon after his return, 
 the shadow of a deep grief fell upon the hai^py household at 
 Blenheim. Miss Anne Lloyd Lowndes, the only sister of his wife, 
 and her life-long companion, was called, in the early summer of 
 this year, to her rest in Paradise. She was a lady of singular 
 attractions in person, manners, and character, devotedly pious, 
 and as gentle and lovable as any human being could be. The 
 affliction was peculiarly distressing to Mrs. Pinkney, for there 
 were no children in the family, and her husband was much 
 away in pastoral duty and when at home much absorbed in his 
 studies. She had ever found in this sister, from whom she had 
 never been separated, the loving and congenial companion in 
 all her duties and pleasures. 
 
 However, ever buoyant in his happy temperament, Mr. Pinkney 
 went on as usual in his studies and parish ministrations. 
 
 One of the most touching incidents of his pastoral life in 
 Prince George's county occurred in 1851. It was occasioned l)y 
 an accident that happened a few years before to a dear young 
 member of his Bible class, at Beltsville,* and which brought on 
 
 * Emma Ordella Holtzman.
 
 66 LIFE OF BISHOP PIXKXEY. 
 
 au illness, that lasted for five long years, of great and prostrate 
 suftering, terminating at last in the death of the sufferer. During 
 this whole period Mr. Pinkney watched over her and cared for 
 her as tenderly as if she had been his own dear child. It is but 
 one instance, out of many, to show with what unwearjdng love he 
 devoted himself in pastoral ministrations to the sick and the 
 suffering under his charge. 
 
 After her decease, Mr. Pinkney i:»ublished a brief memoir- of this 
 dear child of the Chiu'ch, and graphicallj' described her sufferings, 
 and beautifully portrayed her character and piety. The volume 
 was entitled " A Flower of Faith : " 
 
 " On Sunday, the 17th August, 18.51, the Bishop of the Diocese was ex- 
 pected to administer the Apostolic rite of confirmation, and her name was 
 enrolled on the list. Although not more than thirteen summers had passed 
 over her, I felt that she would, if spared, adorn the doctrine she professed. 
 On that day, however, she was doomed to disappointment, for the Bishop 
 was confined by indisposition, and coiild not come. I continued my care 
 of her, and multiplied my earnest covmsels, until the 2()th of October, when 
 this precious lainb renewed her baptismal vow, and received the blessing of 
 the laying on of hands. The day was inclement — it rained : and never shall 
 I forget the sweet expression of her countenance, as she informed me she 
 was going to church ; for in my solicitude I called by her residence, fearing 
 lest the weather would prevent her attendance, and yet trembling lest she 
 should enjoy no other opportunity, if this were lost. It was a most interest- 
 ing and solemn service. The congregation was small, but there was not one 
 listless soul in the midst. All hearts were absorbed in the deed that was 
 to be then and there transacted. Fathers and mothers, with their beloved 
 children, were grotiped in prayer near the holy altar. Three little girls, the 
 oldest not less than fourteen, the youngest not less than thirteen, stood 
 up to renew their baptismal vow, and profess allegiance to the reeking cross 
 — companions in age, in near neighborhood, in kindred associations, in rec- 
 iprocity of pious feeling : my little helpless suffei-er was one of the three 
 Dressed in white, leaning upon her staff, she came meekly forward, and by 
 the side of her mother and grandmother she stood, for she could not kneel. 
 and was with them there confirmed. At the same time she ate of the bread 
 and wine, the Body and Blood, in the Holy Eucharist : and O. who will 
 doubt, that He who took little children in His arms, and blessed them, and 
 who took this little girl at seven years of age, and blessed her, throt;gh stif- 
 feriug : took her at fotirteen, when His work of suffering was accomplisheil. 
 and gave her to eat the bread of eternal life. It was a day ever to be remem- 
 bered by me. Many eyelids were bathed in tears. A solemn awe filled the 
 house. The place and the season were both peculiarly calculated to excite 
 our interest. The sere and yellow leaf, and the deeji stillness of a sjjot 
 consecrated to prayer, in the densest solitudes of Nature,* were types of the 
 flower that was even fading on our sight ; and the holy rite and the blessed 
 coninmnion of the Body and Blood were eloquent pleaders of a life beyond 
 death — the only one that deserves to be called life." 
 
 To complete this interesting sketch it may be added that very 
 soon the end came. It is thus described by Mr. Pinkney : 
 
 " I sat by her to the last, commended her soul to GOD in the hour of her 
 
 ♦This service was held in the old " Piunt Church," located in dense 
 woods, and some miles fi-om Beltsville.
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PIXKNEY. (>l 
 
 departure, saw her last soft, deep-ilrawu breath, and then chised her i-yes 
 with my owu hands." 
 
 He was never deterretl from such pastoral offices to the sick 
 by any fears of contagious en- infectious tlisease. He bad Httle 
 tbougbt of self in bis niiuistcrial labors. He bad acquired so 
 mucb practical experience in attendance upon tbe sick tliat be 
 became quite a skilful nurse, and was always ready to render 
 serxice in tbat cai)acity to a sick parisbioner. At tbe bedside be 
 was as patient, attentive, and gentle as a woman. 
 
 Wben not engaged in study or active pastoral work, Dr. Pinkxey 
 was ever busy witb bis i>en. preparing sermons, of wbicb be 
 always bad several fresb ones ready for use : or writmg letters, 
 and sometimes seeking relaxation in writing minor poems, to 
 wbicb from bis li\ely fancy be was mucb inclined. 
 
 During tbe same vear, ISol. be publisbed a pampblet, entitled 
 " A Letter to tbe Rev. Clement M. Butler, D. D., liector of Trinity 
 Cburcb, "NVasbingtou. D. C, in review of • Old Trutbs and New 
 Errors," publisbed l)y Dr. Butler, in part, ' to commend tbe Cburcb 
 to tbe consitleration of persons wbo come to tbe Capital from 
 remote parts of tbe country.' " Dr. Pinkney tbougbt tbat tbe 
 tendency and eftect of tbe book would be to weaken public confi- 
 dence in tbe cbaracter and claims of tbe Apostolic mmistry of tbe 
 Cburcb. His object was to vindicate tbese claims by a calm and 
 logical argument. His pampblet was written in no controversial 
 spmt, and is tbrougbout fair and dignified in tone and expression. 
 He firmly and tborougbly believed in wbat is termed " Tbe 
 Apostolic Succession." It was under tbe conviction tbat sucb 
 was tbe divinely constituted order of tbe ministry tbat first led 
 bim to seek orders under tbe Episcopate of tbe Cburcb : and be 
 never afterwards wavered in tbat conviction. An extract from 
 bis publisbed letter to Dr. Butler is bere given : 
 
 " Allow me now to ask why the Apostolic office should be deemed incapable 
 of transmission by descent ? What is there to show that it was desiijned t<> 
 be merely perscjual and temporary ? I propound these ()uestions the more 
 confidently, because I am satisfied that upon investigation it will Ije found 
 that, so far from being incapable of lieing transmitted as you imagine, it was 
 upon its very face designed to be perpetuated, and not intended to expire 
 with the first chosen depositories. In St. Matthew, x.xviii : 18, 19, we 
 have the great Apostolic commission, expressed in language perfectly free 
 from ambiguity, as it fell from the lips of the ascending Saviour. It was 
 delivered at a moment of thrilling interest, when the liishop of Sovds was 
 about to leave bodily His Diocese, the world, in charge of those who untler 
 Him shoiild feed it with food convenient, and rule it with Godly discipline : 
 ' All power is given unto me in heaven and earth. Go ye, therefore, and 
 teach all nations, l)aptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, 
 and of the Holy Ghost : teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I 
 have commanded you ; and, lo, I am with you alway. even to the end of the 
 world.' It was to the eleven that these words were spoken by our Li)rd. 
 There is much significance and emphasis in the words that preceded His gift 
 of authority and grace, 'AH power is given unto me in heaven and earth."
 
 68 LIFE OF BISHOP TINKXEY. 
 
 He was just sending t\>rth Apostles to rule in, aud govern, aud feed His 
 clnirch : aud He recalls to their recolleetiou the fact that, iu so doing. He 
 was biit exercising the unlimited jxjwer vested iu Him as the Head of the 
 Church. ' Go ye. therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them, «fcc., aud, 
 li«, I am with you alway. even to the end of the world.' Here is a gift of 
 power not iiersonal, but from the very nature of the promise that accom- 
 panied it. designed to be perpetuated. The Apostles soon died : and. of 
 course, the pledged i)resence of the Lord Jesus with them in the executiou 
 of their great Apostolic commission, could be realized bnt by those to whom 
 they should entrust the same high and dreadful function. There is, also, a 
 pregnant significance in those other words. ' As my Father sent me. m send 
 I you.' Our Saviour was sent with power to commission and send others ; 
 and .w irith like jnnrer to perpetuate did he send forth the Twelve. May I 
 not then sum up all iu the language of the admiralile Bishops Potter and 
 Taylor, and say, ' that the offices Apostolic consisted in preaching the Gospel, 
 administering the sacraments, maintaining the order and discipline, peace 
 and unity.' True it is, there were some things extraordinary which belonged 
 to the Apostles, viz.. immediate mission and miraculous operation. But 
 these were rather qualiticatious that the better fitted them for the ofifice. 
 They were not even exclusively Apostolic jirivileges. The Apostolate was 
 called a bishopric. The ordinary Apostolic offices were of standing itse, as 
 needful now as when St. Paul and St. Peter moved among men. And these 
 have been perpetuated, transmitted to our day, to be handed down to the 
 latest generation." 
 
 Ten years later, in 1861, Dr. Pinkney felt called upon to address 
 another published letter to the Rev. Dr. Butler, under the title 
 of " The Road to Rome." in revieAv of a sermon by Dr. Butler, 
 preached before the students of the Theological Seminary of 
 Yii'ginia, and subsequently published. In his letter Dr. Pinkxey 
 vindicates liimself aud those in the Church occupying- like ground 
 with himself from any •' Romanizing tendency "" in teachings, which 
 he shows to be consonant with the Church standards and offices 
 and in harmony with those of the oldest and ablest defenders of 
 the Church. His letter very ably points out the Scriptural and 
 primitive character of the Church in her Apostolic ministry, in 
 the sacraments, and in the liturgic and standard offices of the 
 Church. 
 
 These and similar tracts and pamphlets, which he occasionally 
 published in defence of Church doctrine and order, were not con- 
 troversia), and. although fresh, able, aud i)ertinent, did not attract 
 much attention and ceased to be of permanent interest or value.
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP I'lNKNEY. (')!» 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Life of His Uncle — Visits to Niaoara and the St. Lawrence — Efforts 
 IN Behalf of the Colored People — Call to the Epiphany. lH53-'5(i. 
 
 AVhile cBgaged in his active ministerial duties. Dr. Pinkxey 
 found time to write and prepare for publication the life of his 
 distinguished uncle and namesake. This work he accomplished 
 in 1858. Under the impression that full justice had not Ijeen 
 done to his uncle's character and memory, he undertook the work 
 of writing' the life for the purpose of supplementing defects in all 
 previous memoirs and of giving to the pul)lic what he conceived 
 to he juster and fairer views of William Pinkncys eminent services 
 in the profession of the law and m the high offices of state he was 
 called to fill. In the judgment of some this may have seemed an 
 unnecessary woi-k, for it was universally admitted that his luicle 
 stood forth before the world as one of the most distinguished of 
 our American jurists and orators, and eminent for the ability and 
 success with which he had tilled the high positions of ^Minister 
 Plenipotentiary in the courts of Great Britain and Russia. The 
 life written by "Wheat on, the records of our American jurispru- 
 dence, and the popular estimate and verdict of the country had 
 established the reputation of Pinkuey upon a durable basis of 
 honor and renown. Still Dr. Pixkxey believed that there were 
 parts of his uncle's life not fully understood and not duly appre- 
 ciated, and that in justice to his memory he ought to pre})are tlie 
 work. He may have felt that in the fervor and on-rush of our 
 American thought and life it might be difficult to awaken inter- 
 est in the character and ser^"ices even of one who had been so 
 distinguished as his uncle, at a period when both the men and the 
 doings had passed into the settled history of the country. But 
 he determined to undertake the work, and he prosecuted it with 
 great care and vigor in the midst of his active parochial duties. 
 He used well the materials at his command, and by diligent 
 research he brought out facts in his uncle's life and services to 
 the country hitherto little known, or not fairly presented. What- 
 ever mayl)e the estimate by the present or any future generation 
 of the work, it will l)e regarded as a just and lieautiful tril)ute l)y 
 the nephew to the memory of an inicle in whose reputation he 
 felt an honorable and conimenda1)le pride. 
 
 The work was well received l)y the public and conuuended by 
 the press generally. In only one instance, it is l)elieve(l. were any 
 severe strictures passed upon it : and these were at once met by a
 
 70 LIFE OF BISHOP PIXKNEY. 
 
 letter to the publisher, entitled *• The Reviewer Reviewed,'' in 
 which Dr. Pinkney vindicated himself by referring to the paucity 
 of his materials and by setting forth the grounds of his just 
 eulogy of the subject of the memoir. 
 
 Upon its publication he received many very commendatory 
 letters from distinguished persons, clergymen, lawyers, and states- 
 men. It was peculiarly gratifpng to him to know that in his 
 estimate and portraiture of the life and services of his uncle he 
 was fully sustained by the judgment of such eminent jurists as 
 Chief-Justice Marshall and Justice Story. 
 
 "When afterAvards. in 1878, Bishop Pixkxey's attention was 
 drawn to some strictures upon his uncle's memory, contained in 
 anecdotes related by Harvey, in his •• Reminiscences of AVebster," 
 respecting some differences of a personal and professional char- 
 acter alleged to have taken place between Webster and his uncle — 
 to the great disparagement of the latter — he showed in a pamphlet 
 of remarkable vigor and power that the incidents related could 
 not have occurred and were utterly unfounded and unworthy of 
 belief. This pamphlet attracted considerable attention. 
 
 The publication of the Ufe of his vmcle. and of this pamphlet, 
 subsequently Avritten, brought him into very pleasant acquaints 
 ance, and occasional correspondence, with such prominent persons 
 as Charles O'Conor. Esq., of New York, and the Hon. Robert C. 
 Winthrop. of Massachusetts — from both of whom he received 
 marked attentions and most flattering commendations. 
 
 After the comj^letion of this work, comprising a volume of moi"e 
 than 400 pages, and requiring much labor and research, he felt 
 the need of change and recreation, which were hapj^ily secured, 
 during the summer of 1853. by a risit, in companionship with his 
 brother. Surgeon Ninian Pinkney, and their- little niece, to the 
 cities of Buffalo and Albany, to Niagara Falls, and on the Hudson 
 and St. Lawrence rivers. 
 
 His letters to his wife' are full of the tenderest home-feeling, 
 and are. graphically descriptive of the emotions which the novel 
 sights and scenes, with then- historic associations, kindled up in 
 his soul. So familiar, since then, has the whole region travelled 
 over become, that it is unnecessary to give any copious extracts 
 from those letters. Being at Albany on Simday, he preached in 
 the morning, at the invitation of the Rev., now Bishop, Kipp. 
 He had also the pleasure of meeting the Rev. Dr. Sprague, of the 
 Presljyterian church, with whom he had held previous corresj^ond- 
 ence, and with whom he maintained very pleasant relations to 
 the close of Dr. Sprague's life. So impressed was he with the 
 beauty, grandeur, and sublimity of Niagara, and so thrilled was 
 he with the emotions and historic associations which travel 
 on the St. Lawrence, and over the rapids, and among the Thou- 
 sand Isles excited, that language seems almost to fail him in his 
 descriptions.
 
 LIFE ol' lUSHdl' liNKNFA'. 71 
 
 Upon his return home he wrote a descriptive 2)oeni. of some 
 stanzas, on '' The St. Lawrence," and a shorter one on " Niagara."' 
 This hist is here f^iveu : 
 
 NIAGARA. 
 
 I've heard the mighty thuiuleis roll 
 
 Across the angry sky : 
 I've seen the over-iirchiug bow 
 
 As swept the storm-cloud by. 
 
 But ne'er before did deafening roar 
 
 My weary senses drown, 
 As downward rushed Niagara's flood, 
 
 The terrible, j^rofouud. 
 
 I stood l)eside the frenzied wave. 
 
 Absorbed with wondrous awe, 
 And 3i;st above the rising spray 
 
 A beauteous rainbow saw. 
 
 Here was a temple fit indeed 
 
 His burning shrine to be. 
 Whose praises never cease to ring 
 
 Throughout immensity. 
 
 Above, the shining, silvery cloud, 
 
 Below, the quaking ground. 
 While poured the pealing organ forth 
 
 Its music tones around. 
 
 The burning bush that Moses saw 
 
 Mount Sinai's brow of flame. 
 Did scarce more vividly reveal 
 
 Jehovah's might and name. 
 
 That burning bush tho' not consumed, 
 
 Shall meet the eye no more ; 
 And Sinai's thunders cease to roll 
 
 Its flaming summit o'er. 
 
 But still the bold Niagara 
 
 With tierce, impetuous swell. 
 Does lift its voice to God on High, 
 
 And of His glory tell. 
 
 And as I stood beside that flood 
 
 Which nothing can withstand, 
 I felt the power of Him who holds 
 
 That flood within His hand. 
 
 The river glides in beauty on 
 
 From Erie's swollen tide, 
 'Mid banks of green and jetting rocks 
 
 Our uirn and Britain's pride. 
 
 Till drawing near the dread abj'ss 
 
 In raging tempest tost, 
 'Mid wreaths of foam and eddies wild. 
 
 It is in darkness lost.
 
 72 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKXEY. 
 
 Just oil the verge of leaping o'er 
 
 The massive wall of rock, 
 And as you gaze in silent dread 
 
 To feel the fearful shock. 
 
 It falls ill grandeur, and in grace 
 
 On Britain's rocky shore, 
 'Tis there the beautiful and grand 
 
 Do side by side repose : 
 The two conimiugled to the view 
 
 Their wondrous charms disclose. 
 
 lu 1855 there appears to have been a movement in Prince 
 George's county to pro-vide a missionary for the colored people 
 of the county. It was a measure which many had much at heart, 
 and the prosecution of which, it was thought, was seriously called 
 for by the spiritually neglected condition of those people. 
 
 The movement, if it did not originate with the late Dr. Harvey 
 Stanley, of Holy Trinity Parish, was actively promoted by him in 
 the hope of its ultimate success. The committee charged with the 
 matter appointed Dr. Pinkxey the missionary, and requested him 
 to undertake the work. 
 
 The clergy of the Church in the county, in the absence of any 
 organized system by the Church in her corporate caj^acity, felt 
 called upon to do something within the borders of their own 
 county in behalf of the colored people. 
 
 The servants immediately connected with the households of the 
 farmers and planters were not only kindly treated and trained in 
 all good domestic service, but enjoyed, with rare excej^tions, some 
 advantages of religious instruction, especially in those households 
 where the heads and members were earnest and devout Christians ; 
 and there were many such households connected with the Church. 
 But for the great body of the slaves, who lived in separate quar- 
 ters on the plantations, and by whom all the agricultural work 
 was performed, there were no systematic and efficient measures 
 adopted for then- religious care and instruction. Instances of 
 severe and cruel treatment were rare : and when they did occur 
 it was, perhaps with some exceptions, without the knowledge or 
 api)roval of the masters and mistresses. It is true that in all the 
 churches there were some portions of the buildiiig set apart, 
 either in the gallery or ui seats near the entrance, for the colored 
 people, but the provisions were not adequate to the needs, nor 
 were the slaves generally, though permitted and invited, much 
 disposed to avail themselves of the pri^'ilege. 
 
 To initiate and make effective some measures for their religious 
 instruction was a work of great difficulty and delicacy, rendered 
 the more so by the fact that the growing abolition agitations at 
 the North, attended more or less with dh-ect or indirect interfer- 
 ences with the institution of slavery at the South, were creating
 
 LIFE OF lilsiKil' I'INKNFY. 73 
 
 uneasiness on the ])Ri-t of the slaveholders, iiiid occasioning- 
 embairassments to the clergy in their efforts for the i-eli}^'iou8 
 welfare of the slaves. 
 
 In its early days something'- in this behalf, and i)rol)al)ly as much 
 as the then existing- state of things pei-niitted. had been acconi- 
 ])lished by the Methodist movement. The intense convictions of 
 the eai-ly Methodists led them to such efforts as were practicable 
 and allowable in l)ehalf of the slaves ; and although there was 
 nnich excitement and even extravagance in their exposition of 
 religion, it was yet on the whole salutary in its effects upon their 
 characters and lives. No one could listen to their fervent pray- 
 ings and singing in their meetings without having his heart 
 touched with a deep religious sym])athy. 
 
 Dr. Pixkney's mother, in her ]\IS. reminiscences of her early 
 life, gives some account of the labors of those early ^Methodists 
 among the slaves on her father's farm on the Eastern Shore. As 
 descri])tive of a state of things long passed away and no more to 
 recur in our land, the following passages are given : 
 
 " I have a picture before ray raiucVs eye of the quarter where our shvves 
 lived, and of the scenes presented there. We had an okl cohered woman who 
 hehl a place in our faraily like that of the Virijinia Mammy, and to i)ay 
 ' Mammy Charity ' a visit was always considered a privilege by the children 
 of the family. Her husband belonged to a neighlior (jf my father's, and they 
 had a fine set of children. Regularly she had her dinner-table set for the 
 Sunday re])ast, at which time her husband was her guest. She was cjuite in 
 advance of her age. Many a glass of ])ersinnn<m beer have I drank from the 
 hand of that old woman. Around this quarter were little gardens or truck 
 patches for each family, and there they might be seen working their vege- 
 tables every Sabbath morning, and in the afternoon dressed in their Sunday 
 clothes before the open doors. 
 
 " None but those who, like myself, have witnessed it can imagine the 
 change effected in the actions and haliits of these ignorant people after the 
 Methodists entered the neighborhood on their errand of love. Soon from 
 those humble dwellings came the voice of prayer and the hymn of praise. 
 True it was that, mixed with their religious exercises, was a wildness and 
 excess which startled the sober Christian, but still it gave them a higher 
 stand in the scale of existence. They learned the blessed truth that JESl'S, 
 the Saviour of sinners, died for the bond-slave and the untutored African as 
 well as for the wise and the noble ones of earth ; and they rejoiced in the 
 hope of everlasting life. Hove the Church of my fathers, in whose doctrines 
 are embodied the faith once delivered to the saints. I love lier time- 
 honored services, whose beauty and appropriateness none need deny, and 
 therefore T would be found iinder what I consider the safe shelter of her 
 wings ; but it does not, therefore, follow that I must underrate the s»'rvices of 
 those who, differing from me, are still seeking to save souls and worshii)i)ing 
 according to the dictates of their conscience. I speak what I know, and I 
 testify what I have seen, when I say that I have heard the voice of prayer 
 and of singing sounding from the huts of our servants, who had hitherto been 
 living without GOT) in the world, and with uo more thought for their souls 
 than the beasts that perish." 
 
 Dr. PiNKNEY. after due consideration, declined to assume the 
 responsible and difficult charge to which he was invited by his
 
 74 LIFE OF BISHOr TINKNEY. 
 
 clerical bretlireu iu the county : and tlie whole measure fell 
 throu^rh. owing- chiefly to the want of the needful unanimity of 
 co-ojieration iu the several parishes. 
 
 While the matter was pending Dr. Pinkxey wrote to his friend, 
 Dr. J. H. Alexander, asking- his advice. The whole letter is here 
 given, because it indicates how much interest was felt at that 
 jieriod in the religious welfare of the colored people, and also 
 l)ecause it shows how warm were his own feelings and how just 
 and discrimmating- were his views in regard to the measure. The 
 fact that he always had in his own churches some colored com- 
 mvmicants shows his concern for the spu'itual -welfare of those 
 people. His letter is as follows : 
 
 • -June 30, 1855. 
 
 " Dz.iK Alex.\xdek : I am iu need of c-uimsel, aud therefore naturally turn 
 to you, the earliest and wisest of my friends. The committee of missions 
 for Prince George's coimty very unexpectedly appointed me to take charge 
 of the cok)red pet>2)le of the eoiinty. Iu order to put you in full possession 
 of the case it will be necessary to state that the clergy and laity were unau- 
 imoias in the opinion that the mission, which is one of difficulty and extreme 
 delicacy, could be entrusted to me. The former extended the fresh ingress 
 and egress within their parochial cin-es, and the latter their entire and fullest 
 confidence. I assure you I was never more taken by surprise and never felt 
 more mortified in my life, because of the painful consciousness of my utter 
 unworthiness of any such proof and exjDression of confidence and respect. 
 The Bishop, to add to my embarrassment, said as much as any other in 
 approval of the selection. I told them I was not at all fit for the place : that 
 I felt I was not : that I possessed not the qualities which they in their kind- 
 ness had imputed to me : but that I would consider the matter, and if I 
 dared to assume the position I could not dare declining it. I feel so now ; 
 and I want your counsel, removed, as you are, from the circumstances that 
 are calculated to bias my judgment and that of my brethren. 
 
 " For my own part, I am free to confess that I do not believe that I possess 
 that peculiar adai^tatioii to the work which is necessary to any considerable 
 success. In iinion with my professional studies I have cultivated as much 
 ^s I cotild literary pursuits, and twenty years' exercise of such a ministry 
 would not be the best school for acquiring the skill to conduct a work like 
 this. Their insti-uction could be efficiently carried on in but one way — 
 earnest, animated, extempore catechetical teaching, in which the first prin- 
 ciples of the Gospel would be brought out, expounded, and unfolded in a 
 manner to interest the heart and instriict the mind. They are a peculiar 
 race, and require a jieculiar training. There must V»e food for the imagination, 
 excitement for the feelings : at the same time that there must be solid, and 
 substantial, and continuous church teaching. It seems to me that the man 
 to suit them should not be possessed of too much refinement of feeling or 
 delicacy of sentiment. He should he a bold, ga-(the(id. impetuous, glowing 
 speaker, who withal was prudent, self-possessed, and patient in both investi- 
 gation and the power to explain his thoughts to others. The physical 
 exercise would be very severe. To travel a large county iu all kinds of 
 weather on horseback would call for stout powers i>f endurance. On the 
 other hand, it is all important to interest the lay influence in favor of the 
 work and to keep the clergy free from suspicion and distrust, which any but 
 a jiidicious man, who po.ssessed their fullest confidence, would be likely to 
 excite. Y(m would Ije surprised at the interest manifested in my decision 
 of the matter : and yet it is, I fear, more fi-om personal regard than a sober 
 judgment of qualifications, though there are several most able to counsel and
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP liNKNKV. 75 
 
 wise to determine. The Bishop has his heart deeply set uijou it. Mrs. P. 
 
 and Dr. P n are as much opposed to it. The Doctor thiuks it the most 
 
 iucoiif^ruoiis idea iniaginahle. 
 
 " I have thus, dear Ah'.xander, argued both sides, aud put you in po.ssessiou 
 of all the facts essential to a sound judj^ment of the case. What do you 
 think it best for me to <lo ? Give nie your opinion dispassionately. You know 
 me, perhai)s, as well as any one on earth, save my weakness and worthless- 
 ness, which, I fear, few know but myself, and even many of them you know ; 
 and you, of all others, ])erliaps. are qualilied to help me to a safe and sound 
 conclusion. Let mc hear from yoii at your earliest convenience. * ♦ ♦ 
 
 " ]Mr. L. is very grateful to you for your kindness to him, and really, if 
 you could see the pleasure your mode of doing thinfix afl'ords him, you wt)uld 
 be more than rejjaid for your troixble. Love to all from all. 
 " Y()\ir friend, 
 
 ••W. PINKNEY. 
 
 ".John H. Alex.\nder, LL. D." 
 
 It is not known what counsel Dr. Alexander gave to his friend 
 in this case ; but, as Dr. Pinkney declined to accept the position, 
 it is to be presumed that the advice given was against its assump- 
 tion. 
 
 In 1856, for the first time, he was elected by the convention of 
 the Diocese as one of the clerical delegates to the General Con- 
 vention which met that year. He duly attended its sessions in Phila- 
 delphia, and was much interested in its proceedings. In one of 
 his letters to his wife he says of himself : '• I never felt how 
 insignificant I was before — a total stranger in the midst of the 
 distinguished sons of the Church." 
 
 He continued to be sent as a delegate to all subsequent meet-- 
 ings of the General Convention, up to the time when, b}' his con- 
 secration to the Episcopate, he became permanently a member of 
 the Hovise of Bishops. He rarely took part in the debates of the 
 body ; and was one of those whose influence is oftentimes more 
 felt for their little sj^eaking. 
 
 It appears that on the KJth of October, 185G, Dr. Pinknky was 
 called to the rectorship of the parish of the Epiphany, Washing- 
 ton city, vacated hj the resignation of the Eev. J. "W. French, 
 D. D., who had been appointed professor and chaplain at the 
 United States Military Academy at West Point. The parish of 
 the Epiphany had been organized under the ministrations of the 
 Rev. Dr. French. Starting at first in lS-42 as a mission church, it 
 grew so rapidly under his able and faithful labors, that in the 
 year following it was duly organized as a ]iarish, and received into 
 the union by the Diocesan Convention. Since then its steady 
 growth has been such as to give it the prominent distinction of 
 being the foremost parish in the diocese. The committee of the 
 vestry, appointed to inform Dr. Pinkney of his election to the 
 rectorship, say : 
 
 "The position to which you are invited offers, it is believed, a wide mid 
 inviting field of usefulness as well as an agreeable association with a liar-
 
 76 LIFE OF BISHOP TINKNEY. 
 
 monious and united congregation. The rector's salary is two thousand 
 dollars a year, i^ayable in advance." 
 
 Dr. PiNKXEY had concluded to accept the call to this important 
 city charge, and was on the eve of writing his letter of acceptance, 
 when at the last moment he changed his purpose. He little 
 thought at the time that in a year or so later he would be called 
 upon to assume, and be led to accept, another rectorship in the 
 same city, far less inciting and important. 
 
 He refers to this call to the Epiphany, and his final action in 
 the matter, somewhat at length in the letter following : 
 
 " Hev. Dr. Pinkney to Dr. J. H. Alexander. 
 
 " "VV.vsHiNGTON, D. C, Jnnwiry 12, 1857. 
 
 " Dear Alexander : I must begin my letter by wishing you and yours a 
 Happy New Year and many, many returns of it : and when I think of the 
 promising groujD of bright ones around you, making your hearth-stone the 
 scene of the softest and sweetest affection of the heart, I can but congratu- 
 late you upon the goodness of GOD in the years that are past, and in the 
 swiftly passing hours of the present. You have much cause for gi'atitude. 
 
 " That I have not written before is attributable in part to a more than ordi- 
 nary press of duty, and in part to the fear that you in common with some 
 other of my friends might be disposed to censure my judgment and condemn 
 my decision in the case of the E])iphany, Washington city. When I parted 
 from you I considered the matter tixed, and so it was. I had taken leave of 
 my congregation nearest home, and was on the eve of writing my letter of 
 acceptance, biit when the earnest request of the yoiinger portion of my little 
 fold, that I would not desert them, was made, and the request was pressed 
 home by the elder and more exjDerienced, my heart was touched and my 
 resolution shaken. I saw the sacritice I must make as clearly as any one 
 could do ; but I thought that perhaps in this age of changes, when the pas- 
 toral tie is not so duly considered as it should be, I could do as much, if not 
 more, good by deciding against my interest, than in any other way. So I 
 resolved to stay a little while longer. I have a very laborious field to culti- 
 vate, with but little of the outward stimulus which so lightens labor and 
 cheers one on. But still the care of a few souls is a burden that may tax the 
 energies of the strongest, and is far above any claim I have to the high office 
 I bear. The good old fathers of the Church seem to stimulate me in my 
 studies, and more than repay me for the privations I endure. Quiet and 
 harmony are with me where I am. When I sat a few days ago in St. Paul's 
 and saw the meagre attendance upon one of the high week-day festivals, I 
 felt more reconciled to my lot. But enough of this, lest I weary you with 
 what is personal to myself and not of any manner of moment to you." 
 
 Writing to his mother on the same subject, he says : 
 
 " In reference to the call to Washington, my dear mother, I desire to say 
 one word. I saw as clearly as any one the worldly sacritice it would require 
 in declining it : and although I acted for the best" I am not so wedded to my 
 own views as to repudiate altogether the idea that I may have erred. One 
 thing I was well aware of, and that is, that my decision was against the 
 interests that for the most part sway us in such decisions. I was in the midst 
 of a community whose love and confidence I possess. The expressions of 
 concern from all classes and shades of opinion, as well as from my own 
 peculiar flock, were such as to gratify me exceedingly. Twenty years had 
 not exhausted my hold upon this people. They are" kind and considerate, 
 and in the last year we have been more than usually blessed. They are
 
 LIFE OF lUSHOP riNKNEY. 77 
 
 poor, weak in numbers, iiml cainiot offer any inducements to stran^jers to 
 come amon^^ them. The tiehl otters labor, hard hibor, and but little else. 
 I thouj^ht I could do more j^ood by an act of disinterested attachment to 
 this i)astoral connection. Two thousand ilollars * a year decline<l I I hope 
 I am fully equal to my jjresent field. Whether I should be for one all unlike 
 it, is not so evident. Where I am I have concord and peace. As for 
 influence I have more than I deserve. With nothing to commend me but the 
 desire to do my iluty, and with talents more hii^hly thou^lit of than tliey 
 merit, without effort of mine I have been selected for the most imi)ortan't 
 positions in the Church. To say that this call wa.s not most gratifyint^, 
 coming as it did, would be foreign to the truth. At one time I had deter- 
 mined to go. 
 
 " Afl'ectionatelv, vour son. 
 
 "WILLIAM PINKNEY." 
 
 Experience shows how perplexinf,' aiKl difficult it ofttiines is 
 in such cases to determine as to the hne of duty. The j^astoral 
 relation is of too sacred a character to be either hastilj'^ formed or 
 severed. 'WTien the call to a new charge came, as it always did 
 in Dr. Pixkney's case, without any agency, direct or indirect, of 
 his own, the question with him assumed a gravity which caused 
 him great anxiety and embarrassment. Frequent were the occa- 
 sions when he had to consider and determine, in these respects, 
 the matter of his duty to the Church. 
 
 At the Diocesan Convention of 1856 Dr. Pinkxey was appointed 
 chairman of the committee " on the state of the Church," with 
 du-ections to report at the next convention. This arrangement 
 gave the committee time for a full examination of the impor- 
 tant matters that properly come before it for consideration, and 
 for the presentation of views and recommendations as to the 
 condition and welfare of the Church. Heretofore this committee 
 had been expected and called upon to report to the convention 
 at which it was appointed before its adjournment. Hence there 
 were only a few hours out of the three busy days of the session to 
 examine the parochial reports and make suggestions bearing iqion 
 the practical work of the Church in the diocese. A V)rief and 
 partial report was presented by the chairman to the convention 
 of 1856, but the more complete report was to be made and was 
 made to the convention of the next year, 1857. It is to be found 
 in the Journal of the Diocese for that year. As the rejiort was 
 signed only b}' the chairman and was presented by him. with the 
 concuri'ence of the other members, it is believed to have been 
 entirely his. 
 
 *In 1856, !|2,000 was a sum the magnitude of which we fail to realize in 
 these days of vast fortunes and high salaries. To a man of a generous 
 nature, whose chief luxury was giving, it was a tempting prospect : and J)r. 
 PiNKNEY mi;st have had many a pleasant vision of what he could do for 
 others and the Church with such a magnificent income. No increase of 
 income in later years seems to have enlarged the very limited scale of his 
 expenditures upon himself.
 
 78 LIFE OF 15ISH0P PINKNEY. 
 
 It is one of the most exliaustive and elaborate reports ever 
 made to the Convention of the Diocese by •' the committee on 
 the state of the Church," and covers nine closely-printed pages 
 of the journal of the convention. It is too long to be introduced 
 into this biography, nor can an}' portions of it be here inserted 
 to sufticiently indicate its character and value. Special pains were 
 taken to collect all statistical facts bearing upon' the condition and 
 work of the Church. And the report accordingly covers the eccle- 
 siastical movement of the diocese for the year past ; j^resents the 
 EiDiscopal acts ; states the clergy and lay movement ; gives the 
 statistics of baptisms, confirmations, communicants, marriages, 
 and burials ; enumerates the parochial and Sunday schools ; states 
 the contributions for all chui-ch purposes, the church edifices, 
 with their chai^els, the families, the real estate in glebes and 
 parsonages, the revenues, and clerical salaries ; and is replete 
 throughout with reflections and suggestions of great value. 
 
 At this same convention of 1857 he offered a resolution which, 
 with its preamble, deplored " the feeble development of the pas- 
 toral office as greatly detrimental to the growth of the Church,'" 
 and aimed to secure relief " by the reduction of the size of 
 parishes."' The resolution, with its preamble, was referred to a 
 special committee, of which he was named as the chaii'man, to 
 consider and report upon the subject. He had evidently pre- 
 pared beforehand an elaborate report upon the matter of his 
 resolution. The report was read and ordered by the convention to 
 be printed in the jovu-nal. No action was taken upon the matter, 
 and could not weU be, because the Church in the diocese could not, 
 without a large increase in the number of pastors, a more liberal 
 jjro^asion for their support, and a change in the law of parochial 
 organization, hoj^e at all to reach the desu'ed end. 
 
 His rei)ort. however, showed how deep and strong were his 
 convictions that the pastor should be brought nearer to his people 
 in aU those sacred offices which, outside of the pulpit and the 
 public ministrations, can be made so influential for their good. 
 He was himself one of the most exemplary and faithful pastors ; 
 and his twenty j'ears" experience in the charge of two large rural 
 l^arishes had taught him what a powerful influence for good the 
 pastoral office can be made in the work of the ministr}"-, in con- 
 nection with the earnest and faithful preaching of the Gospel. 
 He deemed it important that the pastor should be brought into 
 close touch with, especially, the younger members of his flock. 
 Hence he was usually present, for at least a brief while, in the 
 Sunday-school, would go from class to class with some kindly 
 words, and at times take part in the closing exercises. Years 
 afterwards letters came to him from those who in youth had been 
 under his pastoral guidance, gratefully expressive of their appre- 
 ciation of the instructions and loving counsels they had received 
 from him.
 
 LIFE 01'' lllSIKH' riNKNEY. 7'.> 
 
 He was sometimes consulted by persons outside of his s])iiitii!il 
 cure, upon questions of religious fiiitli, or of duty under doii]»tfMl 
 or trying circumstances. To a youujj^ friend wlio seemed to feel 
 constraint and eml)arrassment in consultin<>' witli her rector upon 
 subjects of personal religion, he sends the following letter : 
 
 " BlaPENSBUIUJ. IX'i't. 
 
 '•To Miss C. J. 
 
 " Dear C : You may think I luivr made hut a jxidi- icturn t'<>r the conlidfiu-e 
 expressed in your last swH'et and interestinLC letter : hut then yours is not 
 the spirit to ,iudi:;e harshly of the motives or deeds of others, especially 
 where their time is not always at their eommand. 
 
 "To hegiu : You should resolve and strive to (jverc<jme your feelini^ of 
 eniharrassmeut and eonstraiut in reference to your most excellent and dev(jted 
 pastor. He is GOD'S own chosen and commissioned shepherd to you. He 
 hreaks to you the bread of eternal life, and to him you must look with all 
 the confidence and affection of a lamb of the fold for <,'uidance in ditticulty, 
 and comfort in sickness and doubt. Y'ou must express to him all you feel, 
 and you will meet with abundant sympathy and judicious counsel.. 
 
 " i was delii,dited to find that your thoUi,dits were so much occupied with 
 the subject of your soul's welfare, and I hope you will keep alive your 
 solicitude on this the most vital and important of all subjects. There is no 
 dani^er of our permitting it to absorb too much of our time or thouirhts. 
 The danger lies all the other way. Devotion, by which I mean the concen- 
 tration of all our powers and faculties in the service of our Divine LOlil), is 
 a rare attainment in the experience of our day : and sad for us that it is so. 
 The idea that religion thus made the object of our ceaseless and absorbing 
 interest is calculated to banish the sunshine from our path and cast gloomy 
 shadows around lis is practical unV)elief. Peace in its jiurest and fairest form, 
 joy in its highest perfection, and bliss in its flood-tide are all to be found 
 in the pathway of those who are the true children of GOD in Christ Jesus 
 our LORD. * * * The hymn yoii mentioned in your letter to my mother 
 is ever the appropriate expression of the heart's yearning as it pants after 
 light and knowledge. There is one passage of the Word of GOD to which 
 I would direct your attention : Ephesians, 3d chap., verses 10-20. It is all 
 yours, if by meditation and prayer you seek to make it yoiirs. In the bread 
 imd wine, the body and blood of tlie Last Supper, as you eat and drink in 
 faith, it will break upon you a new light and unfold to your wistful gaze 
 your own ever-extending view of glory. Study it, over and over again : and 
 i mistake greatly if it does not sweeten the days of your ))ilgriniage, and light 
 you across the valley, and constitute the music strain of your future and 
 eternal song, when with the Heavenly harpers you begin to continue forever 
 your praise to Him who hath redeemed you with His hlood and sanctified 
 you by His spirit to be the temple of His holiness /''/v/v/'. 
 " Y'oiir friend, 
 
 •AVILLIAM I'INKNEY."
 
 80 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKXEY. 
 
 CHAPTEE XII. 
 
 Call to Ascension Parish. Washington. D. C— Death of His Mother. 
 
 18.57-*58. 
 
 Ix the early summer of the year 1857 the parish of the Ascen- 
 sion in Washington city became vacant ; and the Rev. Dr. Pink- 
 NEY was unanimously called by the vestry to the rectorship. 
 
 This parish had been organized and received into union with 
 the Convention of the Diocese in 1845, under the mission labors 
 of the Rev. L. I. Gillis, who, having ministered for a number of 
 years in parochial charges in Montgomery county, Md., removed 
 to "Washington : and. acting under the ecclesiastical authority and 
 with the approval of the city clergy, he very soon succeeded in 
 gathering a congregation and in preparing for the erection of a 
 church builthng. A large and valuable lot of ground on H street, 
 between Xinth and Tenth streets, adjoining the Van Ness mauso- 
 leum and the then Protestant Orphan Asylum, was generously 
 donated by the Van Xess family. Funds were soon raised for 
 the erection of a commodious but very plain brick chvirch : for 
 the aims, the resoui'ces, and the tastes of church people had not 
 reached then* present development in matters of ecclesiastical 
 architecture and ornamentation. The location, though not in 
 one of the wealthy, and at that period growing, jDarts of the city, 
 was happily suited to provide church accommodation for the large 
 section lying between the distant church of Trinity on the east 
 and the new church of the Epiphany on the west. The Rev. Mr. 
 Gniis Avas most efficient and successful in his labors, and contin- 
 ued in charge of the parish until his decline in health required 
 first the aid of an assistant minister, and ultimately led to his 
 withdrawal from the rectorshij). Pre\"iously, however, to his 
 resignation and sultseqviently, under the assistant who succeeded 
 him, serious troubles arose in the parish. Into the nature and 
 causes of those troubles, even if they were fairly and fully known, 
 it would be unnecessary to enter. The results, after prolonged 
 dissensions, were that in 1857 the rectorsliiji was vacated and the 
 congregation left in an almost disrupted state. 
 
 Very soon the eyes of all. with a happy unanimity, were turned 
 to Dr. PiNKNEY as the one person best fitted and most likely to 
 heal the existing dissensions and restore to the parish unity and 
 l^rosperity. By his near residence at Bladensburg and his suc- 
 cessful ministry in the county of Prince George's, adjoining the 
 District of Columbia, Dr. Pixkxey had become most favorably 
 
 i
 
 LIFE OF JilSllol' I'INKNKV. 81 
 
 known in AVasliinyton for liis talentK and ])ic'ty, for his arduous 
 ministerial labors, bis <i[-enial and loving ((ualitics of heart and 
 soul, and for his powers as a persuasive and elo(|uent preacher. 
 
 Dr. PiNKNFA- at lirst positively declined the call. It was after- 
 wards twice renewed with great urgency.* A prominent clergy- 
 man of the Church in Washington ap})ealed in most earnest terms 
 to the Bishop of the Diocese to use his Episcopal interposition in 
 securing Dr. Pinkney's acceptance of the charge. This letter the 
 Bishop sent to Dr. Pinkney, and wrote upon the blank page of 
 it, in his own chai'acteristic style, as follows : 
 
 " To the llev. Dr. Pinkney. 
 
 " B.VLTIMORE, Tuenday, 18 A>ifj., T)?. 
 
 " My De.\r Brother : I have this monit'iit received the enclosed. I feel it 
 to be luy duty to send it to yon — though not meant for your eye — and, in 
 doing so, to say to you most seriously and solemnly — 
 
 " 1. That tny judfjment has at no time changed or wavered, but has been 
 steadily and increasingly that, so far as I can know or judge of your duty, 
 that duty is to r/o to Wiishinnton. 
 
 " 2. That every mention of this subject has elicited the same judgment 
 from others, and that I have not heard one expression of opinion justifying 
 your course. Men have praised your motiveif, but uniformly condemned 
 your course. 
 
 " With those considerations I leave you. I will not p)'es.s them, but beg 
 yiiu to believe that they are not lightly presented. 
 " Your loving brother, 
 
 "W. E. WHITTINGHAM." 
 
 Under these cu'cunistances Dr. Pinkney yielded and accepted 
 the charge ; for in all matters where duty was involved he hesi- 
 tated not to make the sacrifices and assume the resjjonsibilities 
 which duty demanded. It was the ruling principle of his life 
 from its beginning to its close. But while in this case the indi- 
 cations of duty may have been very clear, he could not but feel 
 that it was a very grave jDersonal matter for a clergyman who had 
 l)assed the twenty years of his ministerial life in rural parishes, 
 to undertake in the city of JVashinytoti the charge of a parish 
 which could promise but little in way of support, and was so 
 reduced by internal strife as to make doubtful its resuscitation, 
 even under the most faithful labors and earnest preaching. How 
 natural, therefore, was it that he should hesitate. His aversion 
 to cliange, and his steady refusal to accei)t other charges which 
 promised large stipport, and opened up to him wide ojiportmiities 
 of usefulness and prominence in the Church, were marked features 
 in his whole ministerial career, and caused much surprise and 
 comment indeed among his friends. It is very possible that iii 
 
 * The following are the names of church wardens and vestrymen signed 
 to the call, July 14th, 1857 : Gustavus Waters, C. F. Perrie. church wardens ; 
 D. McCarty, J. T. Stevens, Jf)hn C. Bowyer, Chs. F. Hullburt, C. W. Ben- 
 nett, Gustavus Waters, John Guest, Ezra Williams, vestrymen.
 
 82 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 some instances he may have been unconsciously swayed by the 
 domestic ties and affections that ckistered around his homestead, 
 and by those tender sympathies and associations that bound him 
 so lomigly to those to whom, for many years, he had ministered 
 in the sacred offices of pastor and priest. It was certainly a 
 beautiful feature in his character. His self-consciousness of 
 power was subdued by his deep humility, and all the promptings 
 of Jiatural and even laudable ambition were controlled by the one 
 absorbing thought, that he could only live and work as GOD 
 should lead him on. Some incidental references to this call to 
 the Ascension, which are found in his notes, show how deeply 
 and almost painfully his mind was exercised on the subject. 
 
 Thus, on the 28th August he has this brief note : " Much dis- 
 turbed by the call to Washington, and heart sad ; Oh ! how sad ! 
 But GOD'S wHl be done." 
 
 In a letter about the same time to a very dear young friend 
 and parishioner, to whom he was devotedly attached, he writes as 
 follows : 
 
 '• ToL.^ M. . 
 
 ** My Dearest L. — : I fear the decree has passed which must sever the 
 tie that has bound me in so many living links to this much-loved parish. 
 GOD knows that nothing but a sense of duty, forced upon me by the strongly 
 ex^jressed opinion of the Bishop and a number of other clergymen and 
 friends, could have wrung from me the consent to abide by their judgment. 
 My heart has been too full for utterances for the last three lon^g, Ic/iff days, as 
 the chain of circumstances was being gradually drawn around me. * * * 
 My people cannot love me as I love them. Thrice did I say no to the voice 
 that called me hence. Thrice did I rejoice to be able to say it. But now the 
 decree is isassed, I fear, and all that is left to me is to turn my face from the 
 paths I have travelled for years, take my staff, and travel on. But I will not 
 pursue the theme. Less I could not say to the adopted daughter of my 
 most valued, most cherished friend, my own child in the Church. 
 
 " Your attached pastor, now as ever, 
 " Aug. 4, 18.57. W. PINKNEY." 
 
 The parting letters that passed between himself and the vestries 
 of his piirishes were beautiful and touching in their expressions 
 of mutual love and mutual sorrow, under the severance of the 
 pastoral tie that had so long held them together. 
 
 So strong and ardent were his personal and local attachments, 
 and his emotional nature was so susceptible to every tender feel- 
 ing and impulse of the heart, that his expressions called forth by 
 his own experiences, or by his sympathy with others in their 
 experiences, seem sometimes to be of an almost over-wrought 
 character ; but those who knew him well, and therefore loved him 
 dearly, felt that his words were no mere common-place utterances, 
 but the expression of his hearts deep and sincere feeling, and 
 that when he liestowed on friends and others the most glowing 
 commendations they were no flattering praises, but the genuine 
 outflowings of his own appreciative spu-it. In the charity that
 
 LIFE OF lilSllol- I'lNKNEY. S3 
 
 "tliinketli no evil" lie loved to see that only which was j^ood in 
 others, not because he wanted the penetration and discrimination 
 to discern defects in character and errors in life, l)ut from the 
 evident desii'e of his heart to seize and maj^nify whatever there 
 was in another to claim fail' and generous consideration. On any 
 occasion that touched his close relations with others every sym]»a 
 thetic emoticm of his soul was moved. Hence it was that he felt 
 so keenly this se})aration from his pjirishes — parishes that he had 
 so lon<;' and lovin>;iy served as a pastor l)eloved and revered. 
 
 When he became satisfied that it was his dutu to accept the 
 cliar<4'e of the Ascension he no lonj^'er hesitated. He entei-ed upon 
 the rectorship in the autumn of 1S57. 
 
 Whether the condition of continuing- to hold his family resi- 
 dence at Blenheim was expressed in his letter of acceptance, or 
 left entirely to his own judgment and discretion, it is imjjossible 
 to say. The fact is, that he did not remove his family to Wash- 
 ington. The nearness of Blenheim to the city — distant about 
 live miles — the frequent and easy intercourse by railroad between 
 the two places, the life-long associations of his wife and her only 
 surviving brother, unmarried, with the old family homestead, 
 together wdth the fact that there was no rectory in the parish, 
 must all have mHueiu^ed his determination. 
 
 By this arrangement, to one so tenderly appreciative of the 
 sweet endearments of home, the sejjaration from the family, 
 though only partial, must have been peculiarly trying. It neces- 
 sitated much going to and fro, and that ofttiines at unseasonable 
 hours and with much personal exposure : for, w^hen the railroad 
 was used, his residence was still upwards of a mile from the 
 station, and he had either to be sent for, which could not always 
 be done under the uncertainty of his return, or he had to trudge 
 his way on foot, sometimes it might be — as the writer well knows — 
 through darkness, or in storm, in deep sand and mud, and over 
 streams, which by their overflow sometimes prevented his return. 
 Weaiy and painful as must have been very often these walks on 
 foot or rides in open vehicle, in heat and cold, he was never known 
 to complain. When using a vehicle he always took the reins 
 himself, rarely w^earing gloves, and only in extreme weather an 
 overcoat. This, year after year, and at all seasons of the year, 
 he continued to do through the whole of his rectorshi}) of the 
 Ascension parish, and ever afterwards during his Episcopate until 
 the close of his life. 
 
 For nearly fifty years Blenheim was his happy home, though 
 only at intervals could he be there. He eagerly sought its rural 
 quiet for rest and study. The mansion stood in elevated position 
 near the crest of the hill east of Bladensburg and commanded an 
 extended landscape view of the surrounding country. There he
 
 84 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 was always free frdm those manifold interruptions, often needless 
 and sometimes annoyin<>-, to which he would have been subjected 
 by a city residence. And yet, even when there, he was always 
 near enough for any demands or emergencies in the pastoral life. 
 He had no set times for going thither. If he could fix ujion a 
 railroad hour at which to be met, he would write home to be sent 
 for : if not, he would go without any notice to the family and 
 make his way on foot. A sweet and joyous greeting always 
 aM-aited him. Servants would show theii- gladness and his favorite 
 dog run forth to meet him with mute caress. When he could be 
 at home of evenings, after the plain and simple repast of the 
 family was over, if no friend or guest were present, he would 
 hasten to his study, there to pass the hom-s in work till long, after 
 midnight. Fresh and early the next morn would he go forth to 
 his well-planned work in the city. 
 
 Though thus retaining his domicile at Blenheim he managed 
 well and wisely respecting his pastoral work in the city. He 
 made the vestry-room of the chui'ch his study : and it was there 
 that he could be found for counsel or official business, when not 
 engaged in active pastoral duty, or when, for brief intervals, he 
 was at his home in Bladensburg. He had not for the first few 
 years of his pastorate in the Ascension any settled domicile. He 
 secured a room for his personal accommodation : but he often 
 partook of the social meal with some of his parishioners, and not 
 infrequently passed his nights at some of their houses. After- 
 wards, in 1866, he became permanently domiciled with one of the 
 families of his congregation, the Misses Burgess,* at first resident 
 on H street, and afterwards successively on New York and Con- 
 necticut avenues. These ladies were engaged in conducting a 
 school for girls and young ladies, which acquu'ed a high reputation 
 for thorough instruction, and admirable management. They sub- 
 se(]uently named theii- school '• The Pinkney Institute.'" In this 
 family Dr. Pinkxey found so much loving sj^mpathy. true piety, 
 and cultured refinement, as to reconcile him to absences from his 
 own home, which the system he had adopted made unavoidable. 
 In this family he continued to make his city home during his long- 
 pastorate in the parish, and subsequently during the whole j^eriod 
 of his Episcopate. It was the cUy home till he passed to the 
 blessed Paradise home. 
 
 Dr. Pinkney entered with zeal and alacrity ujDon his new duties 
 as a city rector. He felt that he had an arduous and responsible 
 work devolved upon him, and he devoted to it his best energies. 
 He had not only to heal the internal dissensions of the congre- 
 
 * These ladies were Miss Anne. Miss Alice, and ]Miss Kate Burgess. Their 
 brother, Mr. K. W. Burgess, with his wife and daughter, resided near them. 
 Mr. B. was one of Dr. Pinkney's warmest friends, and for many years a 
 vestrymau of the Ascension parish.
 
 LIFE OF r.lSllol' ri.NKNEY. 85 
 
 f^atioii, iuul oiganize the materials at his disposal for eftectivc i)ariHh 
 work, l)ut also to meet the pressin<^ demaiul for a strong ehurch 
 organization midway between the ehnrehes of Trinity and 
 the Epii)liany. Dr. Cummins was at that time the p<)])ular 
 preat'lie)', drawing crowds to Trinity Church on the east side ; 
 and the Rev. Dr. Charles H.Hall was the able reetoi' of the Ei)ij)h- 
 auy cm the west side, attracting to that churcli much of the 
 cultivated intelligence and earnest chiirchmansliip of the central 
 parts of the city. Farther to the west end, and near the Presi- 
 dential mansion, the Rev. Dr. Smith Pyne, a clergyman of 
 marked ability and eloquence, was tilling the j)ulpit of the vener- 
 able church of St. John's parish. 
 
 These parishes had their sei)arate " metes and bounds,"" as 
 they were organized under the Church provisions and the civil 
 law for their incorporation ; but in the actual working out of 
 ministerial and j^astoral life in the city, the rectors could not 
 possibly confine their S2)iritual cures and ministrations to those 
 only Avho lived within the certain geographical limits of the 
 respective jiarishes. Persons from all ].)arts of the cit^^ sought 
 and held their church connection, irrespective of the locality of 
 their domicile. It could not be otherwise. Hence the pastoral 
 work of the city rector extended sometimes to great distances 
 from the parish church, and was on that account the more ardu- 
 ous. Some of the members of the Ascension lived in extreme 
 parts of the city, and some even outside the city limits. This 
 same state of things respecting the residence of church-members 
 under the care of the rector, existed, and still holds in all the 
 jjarishes of Washington city. Whatever in some instances may 
 be the advantages of strict territorial limits in a rector's charge, 
 there cannot be, under the voluntary system necessarily followed 
 in oiu' American land, a rigid observance of these limits in a city 
 jmstor's work ; * nor ahvays, indeed, in the rui'al settlements. 
 
 The parish proper is in no essential way ccmnected with the 
 spiritual cure of souls. 
 
 According to Su- Roundell Palmer (Lord Selborne).t the 
 parochial system did not become any part of Church organiza- 
 tion in England, either universally or nearly so, before the twelfth 
 century, and even then it grew not out of any ideas of 
 sjyirltual cure for a one pastor, but was simply a seeidar ari-ange- 
 ment to secure the Church revenues of tithes to a certain incumbent, 
 either placed there by the founder, or otherwise instituted, in 
 order that he miiiiit receive the tithes of a certain district. The 
 
 * It is a singular fact in the history of the parish of the Ascension, that 
 when, in the year 1873, the i)rcs('nt new and costly church was to be erected, 
 the vestry went outride of the limits of their own j)arish for its location. 
 
 t See Lord SelV)orne"s "Defence of the Church of England a^'ainst Dis- 
 establishment" (part ii, chap, viii, p. 138).
 
 86 LIFE OF BISHOr PINKXEY. 
 
 parochia gi*ew- out of secular aiTaugements for the titlie support 
 of rectors or incumbents within certain Hmits, and had no special 
 or ecclesiastical regard to the spiritual cure of the inhabitants 
 within the district where exacted and collected. 
 
 Surveying the field that was before him in this city charge, 
 and clearly comprehending the work he had to do. Dr. Pinkney 
 resolved to meet the responsibility of the position to the full 
 extent of his ability. Ignoring all the occasions and causes of 
 past trouble in the parish, he devoted himself to most earnest 
 and faithful gospel preaching, and to unremitting labors in joas- 
 toral visiting-. 
 
 At the time of entering upon the rectorship of the Ascension 
 he was in the 4:5th year of his age. He was in the full maturity 
 of his physical and intellectual powers. In his early ministry, 
 and for some j'ears later, he suffered from a chronic throat dis- 
 ease, then very common among the clergy, and from a troublesome 
 affection of the eyes, in granulation of the lids, much interfering 
 with closeness and continuity of stvidy. Under the active duties 
 of his country parishes his health had become \'igorous, and the 
 apparently delicate and slender form of his earlier years assumed 
 a fuller physical development, which added to the dignity of his 
 presence and bearing. Not above the ordinary height, he was 
 well proportioned in person, and although not robust, yet capable 
 of great endurance. He bore in his features, in his dark hair and 
 eyes, and in the contour of his face, the characteristic marks of 
 the Pinkney family. In personal appearance he was singularly 
 pre^jossessing. Intelligence mingled with placidity beamed from 
 his countenance. His manners were those of the cultui"ed and 
 refined Christian gentleman, blending the dignity wath the suavity 
 of the Christian priest. Hence he became a great favorite with 
 his 2:)eople in his ministrations from altar and pulpit, and in all 
 social and pastoral intercourse. He soon came to know closely 
 and endearingly every member of his flock, from the little child to 
 the aged one. Even those in the lowliest walks of life found in 
 him the true pastor and a loving friend. In a word, the results of 
 his election to the parish of the Ascension more than realized the 
 anticipations of the vestry, and all those friends w^ho had urged 
 \x\)0\\ him its acceptance. New elements of strength and growth 
 were gnaduaU}' brought into the parish. Men of influence and 
 standing in the city, families of high social position, and many 
 from all classes of society, were attracted by his ministrj-, and 
 connected themselves with the Church. 
 
 Some estimate of his labors, and of the Divine blessing attend- 
 ing them, may be formed from the jiarochial report which he 
 made to the Bishop at the succeeding Diocesan Convention. In 
 that report he saj's :
 
 LIFE OF P.ISllol' I'lNKNEY. S7 
 
 •'In this new ticld of lalxir 1 have met with a (.•ordial j^rt-ctiii^,'. tliat has 
 tar exft't'dfd my most saii<,'iiiii<' exiit-i-tatioiis. Our work is carried on in thu 
 cahn, earnest, ordi'rly method of the C'hnreh, and it j^rows upon our hands. 
 Morning' prayer, on every nK)rniug of the week but one, is said at (i.ao 
 o'ck)ek. and evening prayer on every evening at (i o'ch)ek. All the Festivals 
 are duly celebrated with early communion. A class of twenty-four (jr 
 twenty-tive is now Wiiiting for contirmation. The finances are in a healthy 
 condition, and the rector's salary, increased from twelve to fifteen hundred 
 dollars, is pxinctually paid. With (tOD'S blessing upon our efforts we hope 
 to realize more decided results in time to come. The llev. Mr. Christian is 
 acting as my assistant." 
 
 This report, covering little more than seven months, indicates 
 remarkable success in ministerial labors. 
 
 In entering U]ion bis duties as a city rector, Dr. Pinknev not 
 only observed all the Cburcli Festivals with an early communion 
 on these days, but he also introduced the ])aUy Service in morn- 
 ing and evening piayei- — at that time verj' unusual, even in the 
 city churches, and of which his church was the only instance in 
 Washington city. 
 
 So arduous and jH'essing became the Avork that, after a few 
 months of such labors, he found it necessary to seek the aid of an 
 assistant minister. He was fortunate in securing the services of 
 the Rev. William Christian, a young deacon just ordained, one like- 
 minded with himself, and a most efficient helper. The ministerial 
 career of this promising young clergyman was comprised within 
 six brief years ; of which about two were passed in assisting Dr. 
 PiNKNEY, and the remaining years, after his ordination to the 
 priesthood, in charge of a parish. He died while the rector of 8t. 
 Alban's parish, District of Columbia. The close of his life was 
 marked by many months of most ])ainful sniiering, '' endured,"' 
 as Bishoj) Whittingham, in the notice of his death, speaks, " with 
 a patience worthy of the bright energy of his j^revious course." 
 
 It was only in one or two instances that Dr. Pinkney sought 
 the aid of an assistant minister ; and in this case it was only for 
 a few years at the beginning of his ministry in the Ascension. So 
 great became the demand for pews that it was soon necessary to 
 consider the matter of enlarging the church, and also of making 
 such alterations and improvements in the structure as would 
 conduce to the greater comfort of the worshippers and the more 
 becoming celebration of the Divine services. 
 
 There were peculiar dilticulties in accomplishing this desired 
 work. The enlargement and improvements were necessarily 
 restricted by the condition of the original structure, which ren- 
 dered it impossible to give to the e.vterior any architectiu'al beauty 
 without a reconstruction of the whole building. 
 
 The building was of two stories, having a basement on a level 
 with the street, used for a Sunday-school and lecture-room, the 
 upper portion serving for the pubhc worshij) of the chuich by 
 the conoreoation. The entrance was through a vestibule in the
 
 88 LIFK OF l;l.HFIOI' I'lNKXEY. 
 
 baHerneiit, witli broad wtepH on either Hide leadinpf up into thf- 
 Jiftve of tlif cliurcli. Tbe intwior whh bare and j)lairi, and tlif- 
 chancel nndinrchly and entirely without omanif^ntation. The 
 enlar^'enient eonld only }>e in tlie direction of the chancel at the 
 rear of the church, and Huch alterations were to be made in tlie 
 nave as U> render the whole interior more churchly. 
 
 These changes were in due time effected. The ceiling of the 
 church was arched. A HpaciouH and well-ari'anged chancel was 
 erected, a 1>eautiful Htained-glaHs window was placed over the altar. 
 handHonie arid mansive walnut furniture was provided for the 
 chancel, new pews were made, stained-glaHH windows were sub- 
 stituted for the j)lain ones in the body of the chiu"ch, the whole 
 fl*>or was carpeted, and a new and excellent organ erected in the 
 end gallery. 
 
 Hf» great were these iniproverneTitw in the interior of the church 
 that one ff>r the first time entering into the nave, through the plain 
 and winding stairs of the vestibule, would be struck with tlie 
 spaciousness and churchly beauty of the whole inteiior ; capabh- 
 of seating some six or eight hundred people. Adjoining tlu 
 chancel was the rector's study, and beneath it a commodious 
 room for the meetings of the vestry and the church societies. 
 
 These improvements were made as soon as the resources of the 
 parish became equal tf) the expenditure. While there were some 
 who ha<l abundant worldly means, the congregation for the most 
 j)ajt was largely composed of jiersons in moderate cii'cumstances 
 of life, though of great substantial woitli in all the elements of 
 true church life and growtli. In all church (;fl"e)Tngs for " liome 
 and abroad," the ])arish sof)n liecame well known for its liberality : 
 and it is matter of record that when the vestry desired from time 
 to time to increase their rector's salary, he steatlily declined to 
 accede tf> the proposal. His wants were few and simple, and 
 beyond his own immediate personal necessities and those of hiH 
 family, he disjjensed of what he had for the good of others : and 
 it may l>e here added that afterwards, when he became Bishoj) 
 with larger income, he reserved only a small part for himself, and 
 apjdied the rewt in the manifold ways in which he loved tf) express 
 his syiiijiathy and benevolence. 
 
 Towai-dw the close of the year, 1858, the children of Mis. 
 Anielid I'inkney were called to mourn the loss, by death, of tlieii 
 liejoved and revered mother. The event occurre<l at her home iu 
 AiinapoliM, oil the 4tli of November of that year. ^Irs. Pinkncy 
 had icHclicd tlie venerable age of eighty years. Slie had been 
 failing in health for a long jieriod, and for some time previous to 
 the decease it was ajijxirent that she was steadily declining. 
 Much physical weakness and occasional Mufl'eriug attended her 
 closing days. SIh- retained, however, her mental faculties in full 
 vigor to the last, her affections as warm as ever in theii' ten-
 
 LIFE (»r I'.lsinU' riNKNKY. Hi) 
 
 dvv ^'low, and lu'V (Ifvotioii ^row iii;^- nioic sjiiiit luil ns tlic riid 
 approiifluHl. By an aniiii^ciiu'iit, us we have sc«ii, willi tlir 
 Unitcil States Govenmit'iit. to wliicli \\rr lioiiu'. with tin- atljoiiiiii';- 
 j»Touiuls, had hwu sohl tor the iicrt'ssarv uses of the Naval Acad 
 emy, shr was j)ii\ilt'o;od to muain in undisturht'd possession ot" 
 her house as h)n'4- as slie should live. She looked out from In r 
 windows upon the ehanyes that were j^(»in]^' on around her witiiout 
 a sif,'h or a nuirniur. f«)r she telt that soon she was to enter ujton 
 " a lunise not made with hands eternal in the heavens." She little 
 dreamed, however, as she breathed her last, that on the sjtot 
 where the t)ld homestead stood would, ere lon^-, arise a beautifnl 
 sanetuary lor jirayer and praise, to whieh her st)n, raised to be a 
 ]5ishop in the Church of (tOD, wotdd sometimes come for holy 
 ministrations. 
 
 Her last illness was of short iluration, so short that her son, 
 the Kev. Dr. AVilliam Pinknky. could not reach her bedside in tinu' 
 for the sad farewell. The rector of the })arish was with her for 
 the sacred and comforting' ministrations of the Church, into which 
 in early lit\> she had been ba})ti/ed. and from which, by her con 
 uection with the Methodists, she had been foi' a season separated ; 
 but to which she had some time before hai)pily rt'turned. Her 
 return to the Church had been, tVn- herself and for her children, a 
 Itlessed reunion. Not that she had ever been alieiuited in sjnrit 
 from the Church, from the doctrinal teachinj^s and sacred services 
 of the ]uayei-book. It has been stated in a i)recedin<;' chajiter 
 that Mrs. Pinkney had, in early life, connected herself with the 
 tirst Methodists, so noted for spirituality, earnestness, and zeal. 
 She ct)ntinued in that connection for a luimber of years ; but 
 happily, under circumstances nicest c(msolatorv and ^natifyinjj;- to 
 her children, she hail leturiu'd to the communion of the Church. 
 
 In the last address which, as liishoji. Dr. Pinknky delivered to 
 the Convention of the Diocese, in May, ISSM, at the centennial 
 commemoratiim of the organization of tlu' Chuich in ^biryland, 
 only one short month before his own sndden decease, he thus 
 si)eaks of the circumstances attending- the return of his mother 
 to the communion of the Church : 
 
 "Sweet lueinories are floating all aiouiiil as, the sweetest of wliieh is the 
 uifiiiory of Bray, the greatest man England sent out to i)lant the hanner of 
 the Cross in these Western wilds. He was a man of profound rrinlitioii ami 
 spotless })urity. He has left behinil him, in the tew remaining works of the 
 nohle libraries he founded, unmistakalile proi.fs of his taste, and familiarity 
 with the ln'st sourees of knowh'dgi' which the Old World has ojimid up 
 before the earnest searchers after truth in the New. Mis own work on the 
 eathechism i.s most able and learned. It floated into my hands many years 
 ago in a very remarkable way. A Presbyterian minister gave it to me. 
 Removing to "the Western Shore. I left it at Annapolis. Strange to say, this 
 fragment of a work, east on the waters long years gone by, was the meaiiH, 
 under (lOl), of bringing back to the fold one <)f the most gifted daughters of 
 the Church, who had. in an unguanled hour, and at a time when the tire
 
 90 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 was burning very dimly on the altar beside which she knelt, wandered off ; 
 and that daughter was the mother of your Bishop. Wonderful are the ways 
 of Providence : A seed of life, cast by the hands of a true-hearted missionary 
 of England's noble Church, floated on until it found a lodgement in a heart 
 prepared for it by GOD in His mercy ; and I am here to-day, myself very 
 near the water's edge, to express my gratitude to England's noble son. I 
 drop a tear to his memory, and pray that we may catch the mantle of the 
 sainted Bray, and so love and labor that we may hand over to others, day 
 by day, the rich blessings we have received from the Mother Church of 
 England." 
 
 Mrs. Pinkney kept up. even to the last month of her life, a fre- 
 quent and regular correspondence with both of her sons. She 
 was a charming letter-writer, unconsciously touching everything 
 that she wrote with the sweetness, the beauty, the tenderness, 
 and the love that tilled to overflowing her own cultured mind 
 and chastened heart. From her sons she received a filial devotion 
 that never faltered, and became more hallowed as the end di-ew 
 near. Her daughter was never sejiarated from her, and was 
 always near in all dutiful and loving offices for the comfort, the 
 solace, and the joy of the aged mother. 
 
 Life is beautiful when it can be so lived and so closed on earth, 
 preparatory to the entrance of the soul upon the fulness of its 
 blessedness in. the life immortal. 
 
 A few extracts from letters to her sons will form a fitting close 
 to this brief memorial notice. Thus at one time she writes to 
 her son. Dr. Niniau, then abroad in the IT. S. squadron : 
 
 " Old age is over me now. and the tenderness and affection of my children 
 are necessary to me. I have no fear that I shall ever be without their love. 
 * * * Mrs. L. was here Su.nday night. She is the only neighbor that 
 comes in at night. It is company to watch the sunseU.^ Last night there 
 was a pile of roseate-colored clouds in the south, as if reflected from a bril- 
 liant sunset, but it was some time after the sun had gone down. Through 
 the opening in the foliage of the trees, in the government lot, came pictures 
 of gay rose-color mingling with the green leaves, while jiast at the top of one 
 of these trees came forth the moon like a ball of glittering silver, while the 
 tremulous motion of the leaves gave it the apjieai-ance of throwing out sparks. 
 I gazed upon the scene and thought yoii might be looking vipon that same 
 moon rising, near the full, on the distant ocean. If this world, marred by 
 sin as it is, be so beautiful, what must Heaven be ? " 
 
 Only about two months before her decease she wrote to her 
 son William as follows : 
 
 '' August 2\, 18.58. 
 " Mv Dkar Son : I received your letter in due time, but having written 
 myself on Saturday. I thought it best to wait until to-day. I thank you for 
 the letter. Write when you can, and come when you can. It is always 
 soothing, 'mid age and infirmity, to see you or to hear from you. * * * 
 I am really better. I did not expect ever to be able to say so again. I am 
 better, suffer less, have a good appetite, and gain a little more strength. 
 Thank (JOl) for this great mercy. Dr. Kidout comes as often as he can. and 
 always by his sweet examjile gives me lessons of siibmission. * * * If 
 it should please our Heavenly Father to keep me as I am now, I shall be 
 .very thankful, but I do not look for it."
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 'Jl 
 
 "Writing to bis wife after the Ijurial services. Di\ Pinkxky sent 
 the following letter : 
 
 " Annapolih, November H. 1858. 
 
 " My Dkau Betsey : I hud a sad, sail ride to Aiiiiajjolis. and a still sadder 
 evi'iiiiij^ after I j^'ot there — everything so vividly brought before me the 
 extent of our loss. However, GOl^ does all things well, and our loss is our 
 dear mother's gain. Her faculties werego<id to the last- -everything arranged 
 by her for her own funeral, as ire would plan a journey to Washington : and 
 yet humility in every word and look. I was deprived the comf(jrt of seeing 
 the close — a sad affliction to this cu]) of bitterness. How one verse in the 
 Psalms for the day (the 7th) ajjplies to my heart. My sister bears uj) with 
 great fortitude. She has to comfort her the recollection of unfailing and 
 cheerful waiting \\\un\ our dear mother through long days and niglits of 
 sorrow. She and cousin Ann will remain here until the sj)ring, when she 
 will spend the spring and summer months with Ninian and the other six 
 months with me. I know that you will do all you can to nnike her happy. 
 I shall return on Wednesdav. Affectionatelv, 
 
 •W. P." 
 
 Upou his return home Dr. Pinkney immediately wrote to his 
 sister these brief lines : 
 
 '* November 7, 18r)8. 
 " I left you with a very heavy heart, my dear sister, and hope GOD will 
 sustain you in our present deep trial. Our loss is Ma's infinite and eternal 
 gain. Her life was redolent of heaven, her heart too fresh and sensitive 
 for earth. Few lived as she did — indeed I know of no one who did; but 
 still the heart will grieve in its selfish longings. 
 
 •'Affectionately, 
 
 "W. P." 
 
 The following is a coi:»y of the epitajih inscribed upon Mrs. 
 Pinkney" s tomb : 
 
 " Gifted with a mind admirably harmonious in its attribiites, a retentive 
 memory, brilliant imagination, solid judgment, exquisite taste, and en- 
 riched by careful and varied culture — a heart of the softest texture, as warm 
 and fresh amid the snows of 80 winters as in its early spring-time — she lived 
 in the fear of GOD I In prosperity hajjpy, in adversity nu-ekly jiatient, she 
 smiled in her teai's and was contented and thankful. Humility was the 
 crowning characteristic of her life, and peace the solace of its close. Dis- 
 trustful of self, she clung with childlike confidence to the Crt)SS; and in the 
 bosom of the Church, in the hoju' of a blissful immortality and a glorious 
 resurrection, she fell asleep in JESUS. This tribute is by us inscribed on 
 marble solely because it was transcribed in the daily life as we saw it. Her 
 memory may jjass away from earth, like all else that is human, but her record 
 is on high. From other hearts that memory may fade ; from ouv.t, never. 
 GOD'S free gift in love to her, it is oi;rrich inheritance, her parting blessing 
 in CHRIST to us. Near the city she loved, on the banks of the river where 
 she laid down one by one the jjrized jewels of her heart's afl"ectioiis in sub- 
 mission to her Father's will, ire laid her down to rest, to wait the sounding 
 of the archangel's trump, knowing that those who sleep in JESUS, GOI> will 
 bring with Him. May, 1860." 
 
 Dr. Pinkney's report to the Bishop, at the Diocesan Convention 
 of the succeeding year, 1859, contains statements still further 
 illustrative of the vigor and success of his rectorship in the parish
 
 92 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 of the Ascension. He records for the year the large addition of 
 sixty-five communicants, and forty-tbree as the number of the 
 confirmed. The total amoimt of contributions reached $5,741.10. 
 He adds in that report : 
 
 "With a chiireh edifice thoroughly renewed, beautiful in its simplicity, 
 and chiirch-like in its arrangements : with a congregation regular and atten- 
 tive ; with a Sunday-school well ordered and steadily increasing, we feel 
 encouraged, and trust that the past will only be a greater incentive to future 
 exertion." 
 
 At the Diocesan Convention of that year, Dr. Pixkney was 
 elected for the second time a delegate to the General Convention, 
 which was to meet in the ensuing October in the city of Rich- 
 mond, Va. It was a period of intense anxiety throughout the 
 country, touching the political aspects of the times. The feeling 
 both North and South, growing out of the recent John Brown raid 
 into Virginia, was so great as to forebode coming troubles in the 
 country, and in the counsels of the Church. Happily, while the 
 former became intensified, the latter were kept free from agita- 
 tions. That General Convention was one of the most peaceful 
 and harmonious that was ever held in the Church. Strong and 
 deep as may have been the troubled undercurrents, they created 
 no disturbance on the placid waters over which the Church was 
 moving. The great religious denommations of the country had 
 already been severed into oj^posing bodies : and no little anxiety 
 was felt for the peace and unity of the Church. 
 
 To the Diocesan Convention of the next year, Bishop Whitting- 
 ham was able in his addi-ess to say : 
 
 " I think I should fall short of duty, were I to withhold expression of the 
 deep gratitude we all owe to the Giver of every good and perfect gift for 
 the remarkable degree of cordiality and ituauimity with which otir great 
 representative body was so largely blessed in the discussion and transaction 
 of business of the most delicate claaracter and extreme importance." 
 
 Dr. PiNKNEY was in constant attendance upon the deliberations 
 of the body, although he took no part in the discussions. In 
 one of his letters to his wife he says : 
 
 " All our debates have been eminently conservative and very moderate in 
 tone. One pressing discussion was of the most thrilling kind. Tell Capt. 
 H. that Capt. Duptnit has won golden opinions. He speaks with so much 
 candor and is so earnest. Every word is emphatic and effective. 
 
 " I cannot find time to write much. I shall get one or two sermons writ- 
 ten. I write from seven to half-past nine, «n- thereabouts. Then I go to 
 convention; remain there until three; then back again at five: then at 
 eight. I heard Dr. Hawks yesterday. He is every incli an orator. I heard 
 Dr. Coxe i)i the afternoon. I heard Bishop "Whipple (the new Bishop), and 
 was much jilensed."
 
 LIFE OF IJISIIOP I'INKNEY. 03 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 TiiK Wai! Tkoubleh. 1K(;(» 'CI. 
 
 Whii-e this })astoral work was going on quietly and steadily in 
 tlie Church of the Ascension the political agitations in the country 
 were daily increasing, and n2«)n the issue of the Presidential 
 election in 18G0 they became so alarming as to cause throughout 
 the whole land the most anxious apprehensions as to the stal)ility 
 and perpetuity of the Union of the States. On the Thanksgiving- 
 Day for that 3'ear, and on the day of fasting and prayer recom- 
 mended by the civil authority for the ■4th of January following, 
 the condition of the country, in its blessings and in its perils, verj 
 natui'ally became the suljject-niatter of discourse in all iniljDits. 
 On both occasions Dr. Pixkney spoke most feelingly touching the 
 state of the country, and uttered counsels of moderation and of 
 broad patriotic devotion to the National Union. Some extracts 
 from his sermon on the Fast Day, afterward published, will show 
 how poignantly he deplored the evils of the times and how hope- 
 ful he was even then that the threatened disasters of disunion and 
 civil war would be averted. In this hope he was doomed to dis- 
 appointment, and both he himself and his church were called to 
 bear their share very grievously in the troubles of the times for 
 the next four years. In his sermon on the Thanksgi\'ing Day he 
 said: 
 
 " I rejM'at it, if the North and South, forgetful of these ties, separate, 
 they will light up the way to semi-barbarism by the lurid flames that will, 
 in all probability, not be fiueuc-hi'd, save in the extermination of one or the 
 other and the sure degradation of both — I say, if they divide and separate 
 the two great integral i)arts of this once glorious Union. I have a lingering 
 hope. I love my country, my whole country. North and South, East and 
 West. I dej^recate its dismemberment. I shudder when I think that the 
 dispute over its body is in danger of being settled by the dividing sword ; 
 or the partition of it witlumt the sword, if tliat be a possibility of a year's 
 continuance." 
 
 '' Our ijrayer, beloved, is for the restoration of peace and good fellowship. 
 Believing that it is GOD who maketh men to be of one mind in a liousi' ; 
 believing that we .are now in chastisement for our sins, sins that soil the 
 escutcheon of the whole nation, we are in sackcloth and ashes. Oh I that 
 He who rocked the cradle of our infancy in miracle, saved us in the dawn of 
 manhood from the crumbling timbers of the rotten confederation and Ijlessed 
 us with the good old Constitution, from whose (piarter-deck the majestic 
 tones of a Washington, the wise and gentle tones of a Madison, the thunder
 
 94 LIFE OF BISHOP PIXKNEY. 
 
 tones of a "Webster, the clarion trumpet tones of a Clay, and tlie tones of 
 matchless and resistless will of a Jackson have been heard urging fealty to 
 the Government, Oh '. that He in the way that seems good to Him, in "this 
 the hour of our necessitv. mav bring us once more into unity in the house- 
 hold." 
 
 Dr. PixKNEY writing- to Dr. J. H. Alexander early in April of 
 this year, when the sounds of the coming strife were ringing in 
 his ears and warlike preparations going on all around him m 
 "Washington city, writes to his friend with sadness and bodings 
 of e%-il for the country. His letter, though dated the 9th of April, 
 was not received, owing to some delay in posting it. until the 15th. 
 and elicited from Dr. Alexander, on the 20th. the day after the 
 memorable outbreak and collision in Baltimore with troops of the 
 United States from Massachusetts summoned by President Lin- 
 coln's proclamation, a reply which is here inserted. 
 
 Dr. Pinkney's letter is as follows : 
 
 ^'Rec. Dr. Pinkney to I)r. J. H. Alexander. 
 
 '' Washington, April 9, 1861. 
 
 " Mv Deab Alexander: Either my eyes deceived me, or your card, for 
 one thing is sure, I made all possible haste to the cars the evening you were 
 at church to meet you. in the fond hope that perhaps you might be induced 
 to stop at Bladensburg and cheer Mrs. Pinkney with your presence and 
 illuminate Mr. Lowndes, for, you know, he thinks, and justly, that you can 
 enlighten any subject. I reached there just as they were starting out. but 
 you were nowhere to be found. I returned ue.xt day, bitt only to work, as 
 I concluded that you had gone to Baltimore. I have been all the while with 
 the sick and afflicted, so that of late I have seen but little of home. I sup- 
 pose this terrible Northeast storm will prevent your coming to "Washington. 
 When you do I will try to save you such perplexity by becoming myself 
 the seeker of a fi'iend whose converse always revives a heart that is much 
 oppressed. 
 
 "I was delighted when I heard that you had made yourself at home in 
 my ro(mi, and only wish you had been with me at Blenheim. The Judge is 
 always pleased with you. and has learned from me to regard you as one of 
 the few whose mind is thoroughly furnished at every point, and whose heart 
 is in the right place. 
 
 " Otir poor distracted country seems to be drifting on I know not where. 
 "W^ise counsellors she has not. Patriotism is at a low ebb. Party spirit is 
 in the ascendant. I almost de.spair. Coercion must phmge tis in the horrors 
 of civil war, and end in mutual degradation and ruin. The Church will 
 suifer considerably. She grows most rapidly in a time of peace. She is not 
 a gainer by agitation : and, what is most .sad to think upon, her rulers are 
 far too prone to plunge into fever of excitement, and themselves become the 
 agitators of others. 
 
 " It seems to be the madness of folly to so mystify the condition of thirty 
 millions of people. Oi'ders that are flooding the country with ai)in'ehension 
 of war. the nature of which no one can penetrate, accumulating f)u the 
 hands of those who are the subjects of them : marching and counter-march- 
 ing of troops : vessels of war with steam all up: and a corps of carpenters 
 for rough work, to be done we know not where : and all this while business 
 stagnating, and real estate reduced to the mere value of brick and mortar, while 
 the politicians are the only jjcople clothed in purple. It occtirs to me that
 
 LIFE OF lUSIIOl- I'lNKNKY. *}5 
 
 our rulers forj^et that the patieuec of a peoph- may he worn out, and the day 
 of resistance eonie. If it were not that (iOD sitteth ahove the water-Hoods, 
 Kintj; forever, I should l>e without hope. As it is, I seem to feel that the 
 scourj^e is near us. You are more calm and hopeful. I trust that you may 
 he ri',dit. (rive my love to Mrs. A. and Miss A. and E., the y(mn^i ^'entle- 
 men, and the boys. You have a noble <,n-oup around you, antl if there were 
 more such households, there wfiuld be more hojie for the country. * * * 
 '• Tlie perusal of some of the KnL,dish journals makes me not a little appre- 
 ht'usive for the Church in Entcland. Those shocking,' essays strike at the 
 very root of all that is precious in the faith of our fathers. The very activity 
 of the at,'e seems to be not the least of the disturbim^ influences at "work. I 
 tind refreshment in the calm, deep, thoufi;htful spirit of her older divines. 
 and sometimes fancy that they have left us but little to do. save to 
 copy after their noble conservative sjjirit, and real heart-grasp of the 
 unclian<,'in,<,f mysteries of Godliness. I must be<^ pardon for thi.s e.xteni- 
 porizinii; letter on subjects that are much above my reach. 
 " Yours affectionately, 
 
 " W. riXKNEY." 
 
 Dr. Alexander, in his reply, after toucliiiig upon some other 
 matters, refers to the occurrences that took i)lace on the 19th of 
 April, in Baltimore, and to tlie fearful issues tliat were then coming- 
 up before the c()untr3\ His letter is as follows : 
 
 ''Dr. J. II. Alexander to liev. Dr. Plnkney: 
 
 '' B.\LTiMoi!E, 20 April, 1«<".1. 
 
 " Deak PiNKNEY : Your favor of the '.itli was not posted until the 14th, 
 and reached me next day. I hope ne.vt time we shall be more fortunate in 
 meeting ; for to me it is a great refreshment. When the servant came up 
 last evening and brought me Dr. Pinkney's name, I was tilled with delight, 
 for I thought it was yourself. It tiirned out to be Ninian, whom I was also 
 unfeignedly glad to see : but honestly not near as much as if it had l)een you 
 in one of those sudden little escapades of yours, which are so pleasant to us. 
 N. came, among other things, to talk about his Chiciigo business. He wanted 
 to see Thomas, who was, however, absent, and he left the pajiers with me to 
 be delivered. T. has not yet returned, but will l)e here this evening. I 
 had seen B.'s death notice in the papers. I do not know what substantial 
 difference it will make in the title of the tenancy in common. It certainly 
 makes a formal one. I will ask T. S. about that. I understood from N. 
 that the affair had been all arranged between yourself and him. When the 
 time comes to hand over the certificates which you deposited with me, pray 
 give me a written order to that effect, if you do not receive them in jjerson. 
 I have old-fashioned ideas about deposits, and never take a verbal or<ler as 
 sufficient to replace a written document. I hope, however, you will run uj) 
 yourself and let me see yoii. I am always at home from 11 A. M. to M 
 P. M. : an<l very often even during that interval. 
 
 '■ We had a very disagreeable time here yesterday, during which Baltimore 
 fully maintained her reputation as a mob-town. I am inclined to regard the 
 whole thing as preconcerted, with a view to driving us into secession, whether 
 we like it or not. Certainly the feeling in the State is that of the Union ; 
 though each man liolils that feeling upon such independent grounds that it 
 is difficult to rely u])on any organized expression or on action under it. 
 
 '■ The fact is that the radical evil of our form of government and phase of 
 society is the predominance of and exaggeration of the indiridiidl elements; 
 each man and boy considers the Inisincss and function of every other man 
 or bov to be their own. Everv one hears continuallv that the barefooted
 
 06 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 •,'aiuiu of the streets may be the Presidt-ut of the Uuited States some day . 
 and he ac-ts every day as if. he was President. Private jiidgment is held to 
 be essential to the independence of the citizen : and a contempt for all avithor- 
 ity is the necessary consecjueuce. and mobs the natural result. Now this is 
 all wTong. The catechism which you and I have repeated for forty years 
 says, amon^' other things, that we are to do our duty in that station in which 
 it has pleased GOD to call us : but we act just as if it was to do the duty to 
 which (iOD has n»t called us. I do not think the apjjarent p(jlicy of the 
 present I'nited States Government wise, and have tried by decent repre- 
 sentations to amend it. But, if it is persisted in, my duty as a good citizen 
 is clear, viz.. to obey the constituted authorities with whcmi is the responsi- 
 bility both here and "hereafter. And these constituted authorities are entitled 
 to respect just in proportion to the magnitude of their scope and the conse- 
 quent weight of their responsibility. The United States Government goes 
 above a State : the State above a town : a town above its wards. Ac. It is 
 only by some principle of this sort that we can avoid perpetual collisions 
 which "we have only escaped hitherto in the sparseness of our population. 
 Wherever that population is dense we have realized ever and anon the mob 
 spirit and practice. Hence I am a Union man unconditionally as long as 
 there is a shred of a government de jure. "When there comes to be nothing 
 but a government de facto, and only then, shall I think myself thrown 
 upon my private judgment and individual res])onsibility, and will then 
 tight like Harry of the Wynd on my own hand. It is only thus by placing 
 the responsibility where it properly and providentially belongs that I can 
 relieve my C(niscience in being a participator, however involiintarily, in 
 the deeds of violence and bloodshed which are being inaugiirated. I wish 
 you woirld think over the subject and compose a sermon on the limits of 
 iiumau responsibility, taking St. Paul's words, " not going beyond my own 
 line." &c.. or some other of the numerous texts which teach the same doc- 
 trine. I think such a discourse would be eminently appropriate and exceed- 
 ingly valuable. 
 
 •• Pray give my love at home, and believe me alway, dear Pinkne}^, 
 •' Your all'ectionate 
 
 "J. H. A. ." 
 
 While cleiDrecating c-ivil war. iu l)otli its secular and religious 
 aspects. Dr. Pixkney still clierished, as late as May the -Ith, the 
 liope of amicable settlement upon some basis of mutual satisfac- 
 tion for the contending sections of the country. These hoj^es, 
 and his views touching the question at issue between the North 
 and the South, he very freely exi:)ressed in a letter of that date, 
 and in sul)sequent letters, to a Northern friend, with whom he 
 was in the closest intimacy and in a very loving friendship, and 
 in doing so he expressed his determiiiation, as a minister of the 
 Church of Chi'ist, in the words following : 
 
 "As for myself. I have determined, not to disciiss the matter, but shall 
 content myself with the ])lain, ])ractical teachings of the Gospel; believing 
 that in that way most eliectuahy. as far as my limited influence extends, I 
 shall jjromote the great object all good men must have in view — the avoid- 
 ance of war on any honorable terms." 
 
 Again, in the same letter, he says : 
 
 ■' My thoughts are turned on peace. I shall continue to hope for it and 
 pray for it. I shall strive to preach the Gosjiel of peace while I have the 
 privilege. I shall inHame no man's love of blood and carnage."
 
 lifp: of liisiioi- l■IM^M;^. 97 
 
 The Northeni friend above refeneil to wns the Hon. Sniuiitl 
 H. Huntingtou, of Hartford, Conn. Jud-^e Huntington held an 
 official iK)sition iu the Court of Chdms and was renident in ^Vahh- 
 ington city during the greater part of eac-h year for a period of 
 more thtui fourteen years. Ui)ou coming to the city he connected 
 himself -with the Church of the Ascension, of which Di'. Pi.nk.nky 
 had recently become the rector. A very warm ami congenial 
 friendship grew uj) between them. For a jjcriod the two friendrt 
 had adjoining rooms in the same Iniilding. often taking their mealn 
 together, discussing the topics of the day in Chin-ch and State, and 
 conducting mutual readings in literature and theology. During 
 the absence of the Judge from "Washington, on his vacations, a 
 close and frequent correspondence, to whicli there will be occiv- 
 sional reference in this biography, w^as kejit up between them. 
 Long years after, Bishop Pinkney, in one of his letters, WTites : 
 
 " From the day I iirst met you, I was drawn to you : and every day's sub- 
 sequent intercourse has only strengthened the hohl you have upon niyheart.'* 
 
 When death separated them, in 1870. Bishoj) Pinkney paid a just 
 and beautiful tribute to his memory in a published obituary, iuid 
 in his addi-ess at the Convention of the Diocese ha IHHO he referred 
 very fully to the eminent character and services of this beloved 
 and valued friend and churchman. 
 
 Judge Huntington was a man of intellectual culture, of manners, 
 and tastes most refined, of devoted attachment to the Church iu 
 all her sacred ordinances, free from all tendency to extremes in 
 doctrinal teaching or ritual observance. In his own diocese of 
 Connecticut he was an active jiromoter of Church work, occupy- 
 ing important positions as a layman and delegate in the Diocesan 
 and General Conventions. For a number of years he was a mem- 
 ber of the Board of Missions of the General Church. In his 
 political sentiments Judge Huntington was a decided Union nnui. 
 He did not think, however, that he was compromising his jirinci- 
 ples, or acting inconsistently with his duty in the official ])osition 
 he held under the Federal Government, by his close intimacy with 
 Dr. Pinkney and his attendance upon his ministrations in the 
 Church of the Ascension. And on Dr. Pinkneys part, there was. 
 nothing in his principles and in the views which he entertained of 
 the war and of the measures of the Federal Government for its 
 prosecution, that precluded him from the most tender association 
 with his friend. It was alike creditable to them both that they 
 could rise above the prejudices, the party strifes, and the ranc-t)r- 
 ous feelings of the times, and hold themselves mutually dear to 
 each other in the bonds of a loving friendship. 
 
 Dr. Pinkney shared in the dismal apprehensions, then so largely 
 felt by many of the most thoughtful and patriotic in the country, 
 that the internecine strife once commenced would result in noth-
 
 98 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 iug but exterminatiou ou the one side or the other, or woiikl 
 l)rodure such tierce aud vindictive hatred between the sections as 
 to render hopeless any future restoration of the Union on a solid 
 and enduring- liasis of mutual and recognized rights in the States. 
 These apprehensions, happily, were not realized to the extent 
 anticipated, as the restored Union and the return of amity and con- 
 cord between the North and the South has proven — a restoration 
 which can surely be made j^erpetual if the old, dead issues of the 
 War and the old strifes are not revived by self-aggrandizing poli- 
 ticians. 
 
 These troubles, civil and ecclesiastical, growing out of the 
 War, are here only so far referred to as the}^ bore upon the sub- 
 ject of this biography, Avho, with his Church and peoj)le, was 
 under the immediate and exclusive government, civilly, of the 
 Federal power, and at the same time ecclesiastically under the 
 S2)iritual jurisdiction of the Bishop of Maryland, within whose 
 diocese the District of Columbia was included. 
 
 While Dr. Pixkney ^delded to none in his devotion to the Union 
 of the whole country' under the Constitution, he at the same time 
 maintained the rights of the States under the compact of the 
 Constitution, and believed that a coercive war by the Federal 
 Government to subdue the Southern States was unconstitutional. 
 
 Born and reared under the insignia of the National Union, and 
 of the State sovereignty, he felt that his allegiance Avas alike 
 due to both in theu- respective spheres ; that no encroachments 
 by the one upon the prerogatives of the other could, under theii" 
 Constitutions, be justified. Hence while he was not an " uncon- 
 ditional' Unionist," so neither was he a "secessionist" in the 
 sense in which that term was apj^lied to stigmatize many of the 
 truest friends of the Union and the noblest champions of the 
 rights of the States under the Federal Constitution. That Con- 
 stitution was a compromise in its spirit and letter, and coiild not 
 otherwise have been adopted. It was based upon mutual con- 
 cessions by the several States that became jjarties to it. While 
 it stood unchanged in its integrity, it was to l^e observed under 
 the strictest limitations. To Dr. Pinkney, as to many others in 
 Maryland and throughout the Southern States, the political 
 movements in 1860 which culminated in the election of a Presi- 
 dent by a sectional party of known and avowed hostility to the 
 institution of slavery, as it existed at the South, under the pro- 
 tection of the shield of the Federal Constitution, seemed to 
 threaten the destruction of the whole system of social, domestic, 
 and industrial organizatioii in the Southern States. It was the 
 foreshadowing of a war between the States, North and South, the 
 very idea of which was repugnant to every loyal and patriotic 
 feeling of Dr. Pinkney's heart. 
 
 The people of Maryland for the most i:)art Avere warm and out-
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 99 
 
 spoken in their sympiithy with the South. ]\rjiny of their youthful 
 sons hastened to eross the hnes uud join the Confederate forces. 
 Of the permanent residents hi Washington, many individuals and 
 families were closely allied by domestic ties and lovin<,' associations 
 with Virginians and the people of the South. These Southern 
 sympathizers, both in Maryland and in the District of Coluinl)ia, 
 were, with some excepticms, quiescent, saying and doing nothing 
 to make themselves obnoxious to the Goverinnent ; but f(jr that 
 very reason they were suspected as disloyal and were stigmatized 
 as secessionists. They were accordingly watched by detectives, 
 their premises searched by otttcials for evidence of disloyalty, and 
 in many instances they were arbitrarily arrested, and, without legal 
 process or opportunity for trial, incarcerated in Government fort- 
 resses. 
 
 The rector of the Ascension in AVashington, with a large pro- 
 portion of his parishioners, and very many of the leading clergy 
 in Maryland, with their wealthy congregations, found themselves 
 in this position — made the more painful and embarrassing because 
 it brought them into conflict with the Bishop of the Diocese. 
 Bishop Whittiugham from the beginning threw all the influence 
 of his marked personality and the weight of his high office on the 
 side of the Federal Government in its prosecution of the War. 
 The Bishop, thoroughly sincere, strong in his convictions, deter- 
 mined in his actions, felt that the ol)ligations of his office and of 
 his loyalty to the General Government re(pau-ed him to use the 
 full force of his Episcopal influence and power in sustaiiung the 
 w^arHke measures of the Government, and in seeking to secure for 
 those measures the apj)roval and co-operation of his clergy and 
 theii' congregations. As the War progressed the ecclesiastical 
 troubles in the diocese increased. 
 
 There were two things that rendered the position of very man}- 
 in the diocese jDectiliarly trying, and caused troubles in some of 
 the chiu-ches, not felt to the same extent and in like ways by the 
 other religious bodies. 
 
 The one arose from the use of the " prayer for the President of 
 the United States and all in civil authority," which prayer being 
 incorporated in the daily service of the Church was obligatory m 
 its use on all occasions of public worship. It embodied petitions, 
 however, w-hich could not be conscientiously united in bj- many 
 in the churches, and therefore led, in some instances, to absences 
 from the public worship, and in others to some significant acts 
 expressive of refusal to join in the petition. Still the prayer was 
 used by the clergy in the churches, with perhai)s some exceptional 
 cases, when, in anticipation of the passage of an act of secession 
 by the Legislature of the State, the Bishop, in April, 18C1, issued 
 a private and confidential circular to the clergy, stating it to be 
 his intention in that contingfencv to issue his authorization for the
 
 100 LIFE OF BISHOP FINKNEY. 
 
 omission of tlie words " President of the United States," and the 
 substitution therefor of the phrase " Thy servants in ci^dl author- 
 ity." The contingency, however, did not occur ; and the Bishop, 
 in a subsecjuent circular, severely censured those who, from his 
 anticipated action, or from their own judgment as to the expedi- 
 ency of such a course, may have, in some instances, omitted the 
 prayer. He also in that cii'cular declared his pm-pose to be, on 
 evidence of any such omissions in the service, to present the 
 clergyman •' for the violation of his ordination vow by the mutila- 
 tion^of the worship of the Church."' * It is not known that Dr. 
 PiNKXEY, in any single instance, omitted the prayer for the Presi- 
 dent in the public ser\dces of his church. 
 
 The other source of trouble to many of the clergy and churches 
 in Maryland and the District of Columbia grew out of the pos- 
 session and exercise of the power lodged in the Bishop, of 
 setting forth, for use by all the clergy and congregations in his 
 diocese, certain special prayers or thanksgi\T.ngs and forms of 
 devotion for " extraordinary occasions." It rested with the 
 Bishoi), in his sole discretion and judgment, to determine whether 
 the '• occasions " were such as to call for the issue of any special 
 forms of devotion ; which, however, when set forth by him were 
 to be " transmitted to each clergyman within his diocese." 
 
 The language of the clause of the canon is as follows : 
 
 "Digest, title i, canon 15, § xiii. The Bishop of each diocese may com- 
 pose forms of praj-er or thanksgiving, as the case may require, for extra- 
 ordinary occasions, and transmit them to each clergyman within his diocese, 
 whose duty it shall be to use such forms in his church on such occasions." 
 
 It may be an open or debatable question whether, under our 
 civil government, and the separation of Church and State in 
 their distinct and unconnected spheres, any religious bodies in 
 their officials or members are so bound as to regard days 
 appointed or recommended by the civil authority as of obligation 
 for religious service. There are certain religious bodies in the 
 land, as the Quakers or Friends, and some others, who do not 
 hold themselves under conscience and due allegiance to the Gov- 
 ernment bound to observe such days ; and yet they are not on 
 that account obnoxious to any charge of disloyalty. While in 
 many instances it may be eminently proper to observe such 
 recommendations of the civil authority, and they can never be 
 anything more than recommendations, there is a certain and 
 inherent power in the Church, as separate from the State, to 
 determine for herself, in her officials and members, as to her own 
 observance of them. The Government does not recognize the 
 Church in any way or sense. What the Government does is 
 simply to protect certain persons or classes of persons, not as 
 
 ♦See Dr. Brand's Life of Bishop Wliittingham, vol. ii. pp. 17-li). 
 
 J
 
 LIFE OF I'.ISHOI' I'lNKNFA'. 101 
 
 cliurolimen or roligionists of uiiy sect, but as oitizons or nu'iiilK-rK 
 of tlie body politic, in tlie ijrojjorty which us Kuch citizens tlicy 
 may have in trust, though for rcHgious euds and uses, and in the 
 exercise of such rehgious offices and duties as they may hohl and 
 perform, provided always they do not trench upon the rij^'hts (jf 
 others or violate the civil enactments. 
 
 In the beginning of the great civil struggle it was almost 
 universally recognized by the difterent religious bodies as a most 
 needful and dutiful thing under such ti'ials to make s])ecial suj)- 
 plications and prayers to Almighty GOD to turn away from us the 
 calamities we had justly incurred for our sins as a peo2)le, and to 
 restore to us peace, unity, and concord. 
 
 Frequent were the occasions during the war when the civil 
 authority in Washington issued proclamations recommending the 
 observance of certain days of fasting, prayer, and humiliation, 
 for which Bishop "NVhittingham set forth special forms to be used 
 in all the churches of the diocese. There is no doubt that the 
 Bishop, with his strong and determined Union feelings, sought 
 to make them as little oftensive as he could to those who differed 
 from him. This was especially true of the first prayers issued by 
 him, in April, 1861 : which were generallj' accepted throughout 
 the diocese. 
 
 These prayers * were as follows : 
 
 " Pkayers for the Country. 
 
 " O UKJst powerful aud glorious Lord God 1 the Lord of Hosts that rulest 
 and commandest all things: Thou sittest on the throne judgihg right, aud 
 therefore we naake our address to Thy Divine Majesty in this our necessity, 
 that Thou wouldst take the cause into Thine own hands, and judge between 
 those who are engaged in the miserable strife which now distracts our land. 
 Stir up Thy strength. U Lord ! and come and help us : for Thou givest not 
 the battle to the strong, but canst save by many or by few. Oh. let not nur 
 sins now cry against lis for vengeance: but hear us. Thy poor servants, 
 begging mercy and imploring Thy help that Th<ni woiildst be a defence unto 
 us, against the face of every one who would do us wrong. Make it appear 
 that Thou art our Saviour and Mighty Deliverer, through Jesus Christ our 
 Lord. Amen. 
 
 " O Almighty Godl the Supreme Governor of all things, whose power no 
 creature is able to resist, to whom it belongeth justly to punish sinners, 
 and to be merciful to those who truly repent, save us now. we humbly 
 beseech Thee, aud assiiage the tumult by which this people is rent and torn: 
 that we, being armed with Thy defence, may be preserved evermore from 
 all peril to glorify Thee, who art the giver of all victory, through the merits 
 of Thy Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen." 
 
 Along with the prayers the Bishop issued a circular. 
 
 These first prayers issued by the Bishop Dr. PiXKNEVused, and, 
 it is believed, continued to use, in his church during the whole 
 j)eriod of the AYar. By adhering strictly and constantly to the 
 
 *See Dr. Brand's Life of Bishop Whittingham. vol. ii. p. U'k
 
 102 LIFE OF BISHOP riNKNEY. 
 
 prayers first set fortli by the Bishop, aud heediug the counsels of 
 l)eace contained in the circuhar of the Bishop sent out with them, 
 Dr. PiXKXEY thought that he fully met the canonical requirements. 
 His connection -with these AVar troubles is thus fully stated, 
 because it brought out that independence of mind and character 
 ■which was a part of his very nature as a man and a true priest in 
 the Church of GOD. "\Miile he religiously revered and consci- 
 entioush'^ obeyed his superiors in both Church and State, in the 
 exercise of then- canonical and legallj^ constituted powers, he 
 recognized and adhered to the rights of his citizenship in the State 
 and of his priesthood in the Church. In this he showed his man- 
 liness, his courage, and his readiness to meet any consecpiences 
 that mio-ht result from his course.
 
 LIFE OF J'.ISIIOP ITNKNKV. l(i:; 
 
 CHAPTER XIY. 
 
 The War Tkoubles Continukd — The Episcopate of Alabama— Political 
 Prayers — Military Occupation of the Ascension — Presentment by 
 THE Bishop. 18(!1-'62. 
 
 During these political excitements in Washinf^^ton, and wliile 
 warlike measures for the coercion of the Southern States wcrc( 
 being prepared and taken, the Convention of the Diocese of Ala- 
 bama met in jMontg-omery to fill the vacancy in the Ejjiscopate 
 caused by the death of the Rt. Rev. Bishop Cobbs. The conven- 
 tion met in May, 18(51. Rev. Dr. Pinknev's name was brought 
 before the convention to be voted for as Bishoj:). He was nomi- 
 nated, or elected, by the votes of the clergy : but the nomination 
 was not confirmed by the laity. There was no fm'ther voting for 
 Bishop at that session, and the ccmventiou adjourned to meet in 
 special session in. October following, when the present Bishop, 
 Dr. R. H. Wilmer, was elected by the votes of both orders. 
 
 The rejection or failure on the part of the laity to confirm Dr. 
 PiNKNEY as the choice of the clergy is supposed to have arisen 
 either from a previous determination by the laity to confirm no 
 other election of Bishop of the Diocese than that of a certain 
 person whom they wanted for their Bishop, and whom the clergy 
 were not willing to nommate or vote for ; or, it may have arisen 
 from the belief that a clergyman who, under the political excite- 
 ments of the time could reconcile himself to remain in Washing- 
 ton, the seat of hostilities against the South, could hardly be 
 sufficiently sympathetic with Southern interests and feelings to be 
 the Bishop of Alabama. 
 
 It would seem from the following letter of Dr. Pinknev, written 
 some time after the adjournment of the convention in May, that 
 his name had been brought before the convention without his 
 concurrence or approval. The letter, though it is not certain 
 that it was sent, is here given, because it so fully and strongly 
 expresses Dr. Pinkney's sentiments and views touching all matters 
 of change of pastoral relations, and particularly in that most 
 solemn of all matters, the choice or selection of a Bishop in the 
 Church of GOD. 
 
 " Rev. Br. Pinkney to the Rev. J. J. N. 
 
 " Rev. and Dear Brother : Yours of the 24tli is just received ; aud as it is 
 altogether too late for any answer of mine to reach Montgomery at the time 
 you desire it, I have only to e.xpress to you. and through you to those who 
 shared your confidence in me, ray thanks "for the honor which that contidence 
 expresses. It is the more gratifying because it was altogetlicr unexpected.
 
 104 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 I did not suppose there was any one in Alabama whose thoughts were seri- 
 ously turned on me. Now that the (question is settled, and there is no 
 possibility ot auythin<; that I may say influencing in the slightest degree 
 your decision, I would observe that no one in Maryland was authorized to 
 speak for me ; no, not the nearest and dearest friend I have. For this is a 
 subject which I have never dared to entertain for a moment. I would not. 
 for worlds, influence a single vote in a convention assembled to choose a 
 Bishop over the Hoiise of GOD. 
 
 " I have a deep and abiding conviction that the Providence of GOD should 
 he left to the undisturbed settlement of such a question : not that I doubt 
 that it is the bounden duty of every diocese to make the most careful and 
 diligent search into the private character, the personal bearing, the mental 
 and moral qualifications of all those whose names are placed before them, in 
 connection with so fearful an oflBce. They should be satisfied upon every 
 point of doctrine and of practice, as well as such coincidedness of views in 
 all their internal institutions as would secure their harmony and peace. _ But 
 it does not seem to me that any expression of opinion should be called for 
 from one whose name is brought forward without his knowledge, which 
 would make him, even in appearance, directly or indirectly, an actor in so 
 stupendous a deed. I appreciate the beautiful and touching delicacy of the 
 letter you wrote. It speaks volumes for the noble-hearted clergy of Alabama. 
 And yet, even to the simple question you ask, that same sense of delicacy 
 Tvhich animated your bosom would, it seems to me, commend my silence. 
 
 " My rule of life, since I assumed the ofiice of a Priest of GOD, has been 
 never to consider any question of magnitude until it is. in the Providence of 
 GOD, fairly and fully presented. I have a horror of becoming the carver-out 
 ■of my own destiny. For twenty years Providence left me to toil on in a small 
 and obscure, though very laborious and dear, field of labor, and I was con- 
 tented and happy. When I cut the cable in the midocean of life, I did it 
 nnder the wellnigh fatherly command of my Bishop. To go where GOD 
 calls, I hold to be a duty fi'om which no true minister should shrink. But 
 it must be irfiere GOD calln ; therefore there can be no consideration of the 
 subject until it is presented in tangible form, and no intimation of jjurpose 
 nntil after such full and prayerful consideration. I have an awful dread of 
 the office. I feel fully conscious that I have nothing but the kind judgment 
 of the fi'iends GOD has given me to recommend me to the confidence 
 you have rejjosed in me. And above all, to follow in the footprints of the 
 sainted Cobbs, the man whose zeal and consiimmate wisdom and Apostolic 
 simplicity have won for him the love and reverence of all the Church, might 
 well cause the strongest of us to pause and hesitate, much more the weakest 
 of us all. 
 
 "I trust that Providence will send you a true Bishoji, one equal to the 
 crisis : and no one in the list of the clergy will more cordially congratulate 
 you upon the choice you may make. A much wiser and better man is, I 
 trust, in store for you. And before this reaches you, sitch a man will be 
 placed over you by your own fi'ee choice. To you, my dear brother, and to 
 those who united with you in the sentiments expressed in your letter, I am 
 much indebted. The love and respect of the good and the gifted we all 
 prize, h(jwever painfully we may be impressed with the couscioitsness that 
 they sadly overrate us. Providence has decided for lis, and I am glad it is 
 So. You are saved fi"om the selection of a Bishop, with the possibility of his 
 non-acceptance, and I from the consequences of responsibility which my 
 decision of the qiiestion must have involved. 
 
 Wishing y<m and the dear brethren who were willing to take a stranger to 
 your hearts, not from the sphere of a previous Vn-illiant success, but from 
 the ranks of an humble and obsciu-e parish life. Godspeed, 
 
 " I am, vours aflectionatelv, 
 "Rev. J. J. N. * WILLIAM PINKNEY."
 
 LIFE OF ISISHOl' l-INKNFY. lOf) 
 
 The above lotter is witliout dato ; but the contents show that 
 it must have been written while the matter of an eh^-tion of 
 Bishop for Alal)ama * was pending, and that so far as he hinjself 
 was concerned Dr. Pinkney had no desire, or aspiration, or expec- 
 tation in rehition to it. Hapijily it was that, in the then distressing 
 state of the poHtical affairs of the country, he was not calk-d to 
 decide upon his course in this important matter. 
 
 As the Civil War progressed, in its changing fortunes and with 
 its increasing excitements, Preside}it Lincoln issued, from time 
 to time, prochimations calling upon the Christian l)odies in the 
 land for religious ol^servances of prayers and tlianksgi\ings. For 
 these occasions extraordinary, as they arose, Bishoj) Whit ting- 
 ham issued special forms of praj^ers to be used by the clergy of 
 the diocese, and sometimes accompanied them with a pastoral 
 letter. 
 
 In the meantime there had grown up among very many of the 
 clergy and laity in the diocese, a strong feeling of disapproval 
 and even of hostility, resj^ecting the Bishop's course, so that the 
 Church in Maryland was thrown into a most calamitous state of 
 agitation. 
 
 It is well known that early in April, 1862, the Standing Com- 
 mittee, acting on their own movement as " a council of adWce,'' 
 addressed to the Bishop a communication, most respectful, 
 dutiful, and even affectionate in its terms, touching the political 
 troubles of the times in their bearing upon the mterests and 
 welftu'e of the Church. They counselled, under the exigencies of 
 the Church, an abstentation from all official acts in the issuing of 
 si:)ecial prayers and thanksgivings, that would tend, under the 
 excitements of the jjeriod, to disturb the peace of the Church, 
 and bring about collisions of the clergy and their congregations 
 with the Bishop of the diocese, for whose person tliej' expressed 
 the highest veneration, and for wdaose peac^eful and happy 
 administration in his Episcopate they felt profound concern. 
 
 From the beginning to the close of the Civil War the city of 
 Washington became the seat and centre of most intense excite 
 ment, and of most active measures foi- the prosecution of the 
 War. The excitement pervaded all classes. Families were 
 divided. Kelations and friends were alienated. Suspicions were 
 everywhere awakened. No one dared to express any sentiments 
 that were not in full unison with those of the Federal Goveru- 
 
 *It is well known that after the War, when the matter of reunion came 
 before the Church, this question of the election and ecjnsecration of Dr. 
 Wilmer, in the Confederate States, without the knowled'^e and concurrence 
 of the Church in the non-seceding States, as provided for in the canons of 
 the General Church, occasioned some anxiety as to a satisfactory and complete 
 reunion of the Church throuudiout the United States. The ditticulties in 
 this case were, however, all liappilv removed. (See the Kev. Dr. brand's 
 Life of Bishop Whittingham. vol. ii,' ])]). Od, W).)
 
 106 LIFE OF BISHOP PIXKNEY. 
 
 ment. The eburches in the city covilcl not but feel and be 
 disturbed b}- these troubles. Because the rector of the Ascension 
 and his congregation did not profess to favor the war measures 
 of the Government, and were supposed to be in sympathy with 
 the South, they were early considered as disloyalists, and were 
 stigmatized as' secessionists. No word was uttered by him, and 
 no single thing done to make him and his congregation obnoxious 
 to the Government. His preaching during the entire period was 
 free from all political allusions, and was characterized by even 
 more than his usual evangelic fervency. Some of the Church 
 clergy were wont to preach what he termed " strong Government 
 sermons,'' but for himself he never introduced the subject into his 
 pulpit. Some who held office under Government withdrew 
 from his church, not from dissatisfaction with the rector, but 
 because by their connection with the Ascension they became 
 marked men, and were in danger of losing theii- offices. But theii' 
 places were more than supplied by others, who in their admu-ation 
 of Dr. Pixkxey's course of manly independence, sought to be 
 under his ministrations. His calm, steady adherence to what he 
 believed to be his high and holy duty as a minister of Christ in 
 times when men's passions are roused by the fierce conflicts of 
 war, secured for him the respect even of Government officials ; a 
 noted instance of which occurred later on, in the very midst of 
 the civil contest, when the great war secretary Stanton, not a 
 member of Dr. Pinkney's congregation, sent for him to come and 
 officiate at the funeral of his son. In the solemn hour of his 
 bereavement. Secretary Stanton sought the ministrations of the 
 rector of the Ascension. Hence Dr. Pinkney was able to go on, 
 undistiu'bed and uninterrupted, in all his ministerial duties. Nor 
 was he subjected to any special annoyances in going to and from 
 his home in Bladensburg, surrounded as it then was with soldiers 
 and fortifications. And so doubtless it would have continued to 
 be, so far as the rector of the Ascension and the church building- 
 were concerned, but for unhappy occurrences that followed the 
 16th of March, 1862. 
 
 The successes of the Federal arms early in March of that year, 
 and the subsecpient evacuation of Manassas by the Confederate 
 forces, relieved Washington city from apprehension of siege and 
 occupancy by the Confederates. Bishop Whittingham was Aviit- 
 ten to at the time by certain persons and requested to set forth 
 a special " prayer of thanksgiving for the late victories," to be 
 used only in Washington and the District of Columbia,. The 
 Bishop promptly yielded to the request, and immediately issued 
 by rescript such " prayer of thanksgiving for late victories," and 
 for " deliverance of Washington city and District from the terrors 
 of blockade and siege." As the day of its mailing was Saturday, 
 the Bishop sent to the clergy notification by telegraj^h of the
 
 LIFE OF lUSIIOl- riNKNKV. 1()7 
 
 tiansinissioii of the prayer whicli was required to be used on 
 the next day, " Sunday, and within eight days after its receijit."" 
 
 As this form was intended solely and exclusively for use within 
 the limits of Washington city and the District of Columbia, it 
 was not sent to any of the other clergy of the Diocese of ^lary 
 land. The time for any consideration was sliort, but Dr. Pinknky 
 ui)on examination of the canon * became satisfied that the Bishop's 
 act in issuing the pi-ayer for only paiiial and local use in the 
 diocese was extra-canonical and unauthorized. He therefore 
 declined to use it, and did not use it in his church. It ajjpears 
 also not to have been used in Trinity Church, in consequence of 
 the correspondence, relating to the (]uestionaV)le authority of its 
 issue, between the Bishop and the then rectcn- of the parish, the 
 Rev. Mr. Syle, which correspondence absorbed the time limited 
 for the use of the prayer. Apart from the feeling of rei)Ugnance 
 which Dr. Pinkney might have had, as to offering up in his church 
 jDublic thanksgiving for the shedding of fraternal blood on either 
 side of the contest, he placed his abstaining from the use of the 
 prayer on the ground that, under a strict construction of the 
 canon authorizing the issue of " prayers, &c., for extraordiiuiry 
 occasions,"' no single church, or any several churches in a si)ecial 
 locality, in the one diocese, could be selected by the Bishop for 
 ohlif/atory services to the exclusion or non-inclusion of the other 
 churches of the diocese : for the canon expressly declares that 
 whenever prayers or thanksgivings for extraordinary occasions 
 are prepared by the Bishop, they are to be " transmitted to each 
 clergyman within his diocese, whose duty it shall l)e to use such 
 forms in his church on such occasions." In his construction of 
 the canon, Dr. Pinkney was confirmed by the written opinions of 
 lawyers eminent as well in the councils of the Church as in theii- 
 own profession. 
 
 That an individual clergyman, or some associating clergymen, 
 may address their Bishop and hj their own request seek from him 
 any special forms, which under their peculiar circumstances or 
 in their localities may be desired by them, may be not inconsis- 
 tent with the canon ; but this is a very different thing from the 
 Bishop's selecting, of his own mind or by Avhatever considerations 
 influenced, certain churches and localities for the issue of prayers 
 to be used solely therein. 
 
 Dr. Pinkney, in letters to his friend. Judge Huntington, written 
 at the time, very fully and frankly states the course he felt bound 
 to pursue under the circumstances in which he was placed, and 
 also the grounds and reasons for that course. Judge Huntington, 
 as has been stated, was a Union man, but he could fairly ai)pre- 
 ciate Dr. Pinkney's position, although he might not in all respects 
 aofree with him. 
 
 * Digest, title i, canon 15, § 13.
 
 108 LIFE OF BISHOP PIXKNEY. 
 
 Two of those letters are given as sufficiently explanatory of 
 Dr. Pixkney"s views and of bis action in the matter that brought 
 him so reluctantly into conflict with the ecclesiastical authority 
 of the diocese : 
 
 Di'. Pinkney to Judge Huntington. 
 
 March 25. 18rD2. 
 
 ' ' My Deab Judge : I hope yoii reached home safely and found all well : 
 ;as glad to see you as I am sorry to lose for the time being your pleasant com- 
 panionship, wiiich other duties compel me so frequently to forego. I always 
 look forward to the time when your face is turned toward your home in Hart- 
 ford with pleasure, because I know of few jjersons who are so well qualified 
 to enjoy the sweets of a happy homestead : and I trust that the absent one 
 may be kept fi-om harm, and that you may all once more be permitted to 
 meet around one board, and weave over again the links of love so firmly 
 soldered in days that are past. 
 
 •• Your letter is just put into my hands. l"ou do me injustice in supposing 
 that it was any want of confidence in either your judgment or impartiality 
 that kept me from naming to you the Bishop's communication. I did not 
 do it simply because I did not wish to burden you with a matter that could 
 give you no pleasure, and might be iinpleasant. My owu mind was clear. 
 I did not consult Alexander. I felt it was due to the position I held to 
 consult two lawyers, one in Baltimore and one in Washington, because it 
 was proper that I should act calmly, and with the best legal aid at my com- 
 mand. I made the point myself, first to Mr. Stone and then to a gentleman 
 •of the bar in Baltimore : and both of them sustained me in my construction 
 of the law, and Mr. Carlisle sent me word that he considered it impregnable. 
 I read the canon, and then asked myself the question : Whose duty is it to 
 read the prayer put forth by the Bishop under the canon ? Clearly the duty 
 of each clergyman in the diocese ; and that by the very terms of the canon. 
 To whom is it to be transmitted ? As clearly to each clergyman in the dinrexe. 
 The jjower to transmit is derived fi'om the canon, and the canon directs that 
 it shall be transmitted to each clergyman in the diocene. The Bishop may 
 compose and transmit, or not. Biit the may refers solely and exchisively to 
 the act of composing and transmitting. Ife is the Bishop's choice to deter- 
 mine the occasion as an extraordinary occasion. Exercising the right of 
 <;hoice, his discretion ends .- and he must be guided by the canon in all that 
 he does afterwards. If he transmits it otherwise than as the canon directs. 
 he becomes himself a violatcjr of the very law he would bind on others. In 
 one word the canon was framed for diocemn prayers. The Church is a 7in>X, 
 and when (me member suffers, all the members suffer with it, and the 
 endeavor to segregate is as antagonistic to every true idea of the Church as 
 it is to the terms of the canon. The evils of the opposite construction an- 
 too mischievous and manifest to need enumeration. I have not a doubt on 
 the subject, and have acted on the construction without hesitation. Alex- 
 ander, vithout consultati(jn with me, expresses his view totidem rerhix. 
 It was this view I submitted to ^Mr. Stone. Ac. Had th»' terms of the canon, 
 quoad hoc Ijeen complied with, I still think the canon gives no xuch power an 
 tlie Jiixhop exfrcixes ; but my opinion and the grounds of it occupy too mtich 
 .space to be incorporated in a letter, so that I must wait until T see you, when I 
 will read it to you. It hax aUo been submitted to counsel, from whom I havn 
 not yet heard. I regret exceedingly the position I am compelled to occupy. 
 I shall patiently hold my peace, until I am forced to speak oiit : and then I 
 -shall make a clean breast of it. and review the past and the present of tin- 
 Bishop's course. And I can assure you that these circumstances connecte<l 
 with this rescEipt that give it, to say the least, an unsavory look. I havi
 
 LIFE OF BISHOl' I'INKNEY. Id*.) 
 
 never disobeyed liuv knowiiit^ly. and I hope I never shall. But my rij^hts I 
 will and must defend at all hazards. I have esehewed from principle every- 
 thing biit the G()spel in my nnnistrations. I have labored imperf't-etly but 
 sincerely to do my dnty by all. If I am to be sacritieed by the strong arm 
 of power, so be it. I shall not swerve an inch from what I believe to be my 
 duty : and to (tOD I leave the rest. 
 
 •' "With kindest regards to all, I am, my dear Judge, notwithstanding our 
 differences of opinion, as ])rofoundly sensible of all that consecrates your 
 character as a just man and a friend. I shall continue to love and trust, 
 because I believe vou to be worthv of it. 
 
 " Yours attectionutely, \V. I'INKNEY. 
 
 " Judge Huntington." 
 
 Late on the Saturday evening followinj^- the Sunday on wliicli 
 the Bisho2)'s prayer of thanksoivino- for hite victories was to have 
 been used, Dr. Pinkney received from the Provost Marshal a 
 military order to the effect that the Church of the Ascension 
 would be taken possession of by the Government on the follow- 
 ing- morning. What necessity, if any actually existed, for such a 
 procedure is not known. One grovmd of its seizure and occupancy 
 was, strangely enough, assumed to be apprehensions of public dis- 
 turbances in the church. Considerable notoriety had been given 
 to the fact that Dr. Pinkney declined to use, and did not use, the 
 prayer in his church, and the news- writers in Washington had 
 sent abroad to the public press throughout the North the most 
 injurious, wrongful, and inflammatory statements with regard to 
 his course. He was branded w'ith opprobrious epithets and 
 denounced as a " Secessionist," and his church designated as the 
 " Secesh " church. 
 
 To the Provost Marshal's military order Dr. Pinkney sent a 
 respectful answer, and whilst averring that there were no grounds 
 whatever for apprehending any disturbances in his church, and 
 protesting against the order for the seizure of his church, he said 
 that the order, if not revoked, would be obeyed. 
 
 The military order was not revoked, and on the next morning 
 as Sundaj'-school teachers and pupils came to the doors of the 
 church, and as the congregation were assembling, they found the 
 building in possession of the soldiers, with carpenters tearing to 
 jjieces the interior of the building — and so rector and people were 
 shut out of the house of GOD. 
 
 Dr. Pinkney's next letter to Judge Huntington is still further 
 explanatory of his views and position, and refers also to the seizure 
 and occupancy of his church l)y the military authority. The entire 
 letter is given, with the exception of some references to-his Lenten 
 services : 
 
 " Dr. Pinkney to Judge Huntington.. 
 
 •• Ajrril 7, 1H(;2. 
 
 •' My Deak Judge : T thank \o\\ for the kind interest you take in the affairs 
 of the Ascension, and the frank expression of your fears and opinion. I 
 acted on mv own Inniest convictions of di;tv, and while I have no overbeai'-
 
 110 LIFE OF BISHOr FIXKNEY. 
 
 inii conceit of the wisdom of the course I pursued. I was never more thor- 
 ou'ghly satisfied th:it I was ritrht. Ou the interpretation of the canon and 
 the uiicanonical act of the Bishop, notwithstanding you think it susceptible 
 of doubt, I have the satisfaction of knowing that I am sustained not only by 
 the three first lawyers of Washington, one of whom is the strongest of 
 Union men, but by Alexander, of Baltimore, and Dr. Coxe, and I believe the 
 whole of the Standing Committee, not, however, as a Standing Committee, 
 for the case was not presented to them. So far, I stand rectus in curia. 
 Law is law, and when summoned to obey it I cannot consent to its infraction. 
 But if the prayer had been diocesan, I still think the power is wanting to the 
 Bishop to put forth such a prayer and that on tiro grounds, both of which 
 are supported by high legal authority, one of them at least entertained by 
 Dr. Coxe. I was told by a prominent clergyman in Baltimore that the prayer 
 would not have been used by any of the clergymen there, with the possible 
 exception of one, and in his case' the doubt only existed because he had not 
 expressed an opinion. The Standing Committee held a meeting and unani- 
 mously prepared an address to the Bishop, as council of advice, which is 
 courteously but strongly worded, and which I believe will meet the approval 
 of the diocese, should it ever meet their eye. Your idea of praying by proxy 
 is so foreign from every idea I have of the duty of prayer that I could not 
 entertain it for a moment. There must be concurrence of thought and will 
 and desire, between the Bishop and presbyter and people, before there can 
 be anything like an honest engagement in prayer. I have ignored all political 
 questions in my ministrations, and I cannot consistently depart fi'om my 
 well-weighed jirinciples. 
 
 " There are many people in this horrid Civil War as loyal as their neigh- 
 bors in doing nothing against the Constitution and the laws, which they 
 know to be against it. who do not believe coercion right. And whenever a 
 Bishop calls upon them in prayer to give utterances to feelings they do not 
 entertain he impinges upon conscience, and, in my opinion, is justified 
 neither by the law of God or man. In the very prayer the Bishop had 
 fi-amed for the Fast Day service he appealed to GOD as the arbiter, and 
 prayed Him to defend the right : and that prayer was used in simple obedi- 
 ence to his mandate. Can he make me ignore his own prayer and belie my 
 own solemn convictions at the footstool of grace — or pray under protest? 
 
 '• The day I omitted the prayer, which it was well known I did not mean 
 to use, my church was filled both morning and night, and in the night ser- 
 vices there were several officers of the Government. A more orderly, atten- 
 tive, and respectful audience were never gathered within the walls of the 
 church. The Saturday following I received, at 2 o'clock, a military order 
 taking possession of my church for the Sunday following, and closing it on the 
 alleged ground of disturbances apprehended. I sent an answer stating that 
 I had the most perfect confidence that the apprehension was totally without 
 foundation, and that the services of my church had hitherto been conducted 
 in the manner pointed out by the canons of the diocese, and that there had 
 been no intimation of disturbances. I stated further that if I had appre- 
 hended* disturbance I should have felt authorized to apply to the Provost 
 Marshal inx .such a gtiard an \\o\il\(}l protect a congregation of Christians in 
 their religioux duties. If. however. I received no revocation of the military 
 order it would be obeyed. My church was closed and a guard stationedj 
 there who shut oiit the congregation from their own altar. That is al 
 that did occur. * * * Several have given up their pews : one of them 
 vestryman, who l>y solemn vote endorsed my correspondence with the Pro-^ 
 vost Marshal, and consequently my course in acting according to the canoi 
 law of the di<icese. I l)elieve that the pews are in demand if given up, for ' 
 .speak from rumor and aljsences on Sunday. I do not pause to enquire what 
 the result may be. llight, I leave the rest with GOD. If men want politics ' 
 in the pulpit <jr the desk they cannot have it from me. I am ready to gc
 
 LIFE OF lilSIIOl' I'INKNEY. Ill 
 
 and abide the time when the Gospel can he jji-fiiehed and the chnreli l)ecniii«' 
 the ark of repose to tlie tried and weary souls of men. I look forward witli 
 dread to the ecmveution. The (Mmnselling of the outh to bi- aj))ilied to tin- 
 clergy voluntarily given by the Bishoj), and the prayer, have thrown the 
 diocese into the utmost agitation. I hope for the best. 
 
 "And now, my dt'ur Jiidge, I shall not trouble you again upon this vexed 
 question. I feel no way aggrieved liy those who leave us. Kespeeting their 
 honest scruples, I can bid them Godsjieed 1 and only i)ray that a better 
 .shei)herd may be given them. Some of them I have watched daily for 
 weeks, in sickness, in summer's heat and winter's cold. Love to all. 
 '• Yours affectionately, 
 
 "W. p . 
 
 '* Bettie and her brother desire their love to you. This sunnner you must 
 
 go out witli nie at least twice a week." 
 
 So general in the Diocese of Maryland had been the disregard 
 of the da3's of prayer and hnmiliatiou fre(|uently proelaimed by 
 President Lincoln during the War ; and so general, too, had 
 been the non-use by the clergy of prayers issued for such occa- 
 sions by the Bisho}), that any attempt, even if there were just 
 grounds for ecclesiastical jn'ocednre, to ])rosecute for such omis- 
 sions could not liut utterly fail, and would onl}- have served to 
 intensify the increasing discords and troul>les in the diocese. 
 The misfortunes of the times were sorely felt for serious hurt 
 to the peace and progress of the Church. Had wiser and more 
 moderate counsels prevailed the evils would have been greatly 
 lessened. 
 
 Bishop "VVhittingham became aware, through the i:)ublic piints, 
 of the fact that Dr. Pinkney had not used the prayer of thanks- 
 gi%'ing for late victories as required by the rescript of the loth of 
 March, 1862, and also that the Church of the Ascension had l)een 
 seized by the military authorities for a hospital. It seems that a 
 communication of like purpose to that sent to the Provost Mar- 
 shal was transmitted also to the Bishop. 
 
 No official action, however, was taken by the Bishoj) until 
 several months later, when, by an order of the vestry, a commu- 
 nication was sent to the Bishop by the register of the parish, 
 containing a copy of the jirotest which the vestry had passed 
 against the seizure of this church by the military power, and also 
 containing the following statements : 
 
 " Our worship has been conducted in all respects according to the usages 
 and rubrics of the Church and the canons by her enacted. Igntiring every 
 other thing, we have kept it free from political taint." 
 
 The Bishop in acknowledging the receipt of this communica 
 tion took exception to the statement in regard to the Church 
 services in the Ascension, as not warranted by the fact, which he 
 had learned, that Dr. Pinkney had failed to comply Avith the 
 Bishop's requisition for the use on a certain occasion in his 
 church of the form of jjrayer which he had issued. The Bishoi)"s
 
 112 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 letter to the register of the parish of the Ascension seemed to 
 call for some answer by the rector, and it was accordingly- 
 answered. Hence followed a series of letters * — the Bishop 
 writLiig with his characteristic force and in the strong terms he 
 was accustomed to use when referring to those engaged in the 
 AVar against the Federal Government, or to those sympathizing- 
 with the South — and Dr. Pixkxey stating and vindicating his 
 course respectfully, but with manly vigor and decision. 
 
 Finally, on the 16th of September, 1862, the Bishop addressed 
 a communication to the Standing Committee in which he formally 
 charged that he had reason to believe that there were grounds 
 for an investigation into the conduct of the Rev. Dr. William 
 PiNKNEY. in that the said Dr. Pinkxey had disobeyed the four- 
 teenth section of the first canon of the first title of the Digest of 
 the canons for the government of the Protestant Episcopal Church 
 in the Fuited States of America, and that the act of disobedience 
 consisted in the refusal and failure by Dr. Pinkney to use a certain 
 form of thanksgiving which, as Bishop, acting under the authority 
 of the canons of the digest, he had set forth for use on a certain 
 occasion in the chiu'ch under Dr. Pixkxey's rectorship. 
 
 Along with this communication the Bishop sent a copy of the 
 correspondence between himself and Dr. Pinkney. 
 
 The Bishop also addressed a letter to Dr. Pinkney enclosing a 
 copy of the communication which he had addi-essed to the Standing 
 Committee, and adding therein as follows : 
 
 " — that should the Standing Committee fas the action of that body in 
 certain cases in the year 1861 has given me reason to think it possibly might) 
 be swayed by reasons of expedience or otherwise to decide that it is not proper 
 to iustitiite a judicial investigation of your case, such decision is not to be 
 regarded as any settlement of the question raised by you, and cannot be so 
 accepted by me. 
 
 •' I shall in that event hold myself at liberty to resort to any other available 
 means of establishing the official right which I conceive to have been set 
 aside. 
 
 " Verv respectfuUv, vour friend and brother. 
 
 "WILLIAM KOLLINSON WHITTINGHAM. 
 
 "Baltimoke, September 16, 1862. Bishop of Mdryland." 
 
 Dr. PiNKNEY thereupon addi'essed a communication to the 
 Standing Committee submitting his case to theii- consideration and 
 action : and <it the same time expressing in strong language his 
 indignant protestation against the claim of the Bishop that in a 
 cei-tain contingency he, the Bishop, would not regard the decision 
 of the Standing Committee as any settlement of the question, and 
 
 ♦This correspondence is too long to be here introduced. It will be found 
 in the Appendix. It is due to all who were concerned in, or affected by, 
 these issues that the whole correspondence should be published. All history, 
 as it bears upon acts and movements, both personal and official, is valuable 
 just in proporti<jn as it fairly and fully brings out the facts.
 
 LIFE OF IJISHOP I'INKNKV. lllj 
 
 would " resort to any otlier available means of establisliinj^ the 
 official right which he, the Bisliop. conccivod to hiivr- hccii set 
 aside." 
 
 At a meeting of the Standing C'onnnittece, liehl on tlie 24tli of 
 September, 1862, the action of the body in the case of Dr. Pinkney 
 was us follows : 
 
 " The cominittec haviuLt ciirefuUy omisidered the presentment by the 
 Bishop of the Rev. William Pinkney, D. D., togethei- with the aecompanying 
 correspondence — 
 
 "Rcxolcfd, unanimously, forasmuch as in their judgment the grounds 
 assigned by the Kev. Dr. Pinkney for declining to comply with the Bishop's 
 mandate are in strict correspondence with section 14, canon xiii, title i, of 
 the Digest, the committee do not think it ' proper that a judicial investiga- 
 tion of the conduct ' of the Rev. Dr. Pinkney shoidd take place." 
 
 Official notice of their action in the case was duly transmitted 
 to the Bishop and to the Rev. Dr. Pinkney. 
 
 The general Church having made no provisions for the trial of 
 presbyters and deacons, the right of establishing ecclesiastical 
 tribunals for the trial of offences (enumerated in title ii, canon 
 2, ? 1 of the Digest) is devolved by the sixth article of the con- 
 stitution upon the several dioceses. 
 
 In Maryland the canons of the diocese provide for the estab- 
 Hshment of a standing ecclesiastical court, and set forth the forms 
 of procedure to be taken in all cases of trial ; but before any 
 clergyman can be brought before the ecclesiastical coui-t for trial 
 there must first, as an essential preliminary to any action, be laitl 
 before the Standing Committee by the Bishop '' the information 
 in his (the Bishop's) possession '' touching the matters charged, 
 to enable the committee to determine whether it is '' 2:)roper that 
 a judicial investigation of the conduct of any priest or deacon 
 should take place ; '' or, they themselves must have such •' infor- 
 mation, worthy of notice," as to warrant action on their part in 
 the premises. 
 
 The Standing Committee therefore stands as the grand inc[uest 
 of the Church in the diocese, and must determine in every case 
 whether a presentment for trial shall be made. And, if upon 
 careful examination of the information laid before them they 
 deliberately conclude that there are no grounds for judicial pro- 
 cedure in that particular case, the person accused stands ac{|uitted 
 touching the matters of which he was charged, and occupies the 
 same status in the Church as before the accusation was made. 
 It is, in a word, the absolute and final disposition of the matter ; 
 and there is no court of ai)peal or board of supervisors in the 
 Church to examine into or overrule this action ; so carefully and 
 wisely does the Church in Maryland jn-ovide for the i)rotection of 
 her clergy in all matters of procedure touching ecclesiastical 
 charges and trials.
 
 11-i LIFE OF BISHOP PINKXEY. 
 
 The actiou, therefore, of the Standing- Committee in Dr. Pink- 
 ijet's case was a complete and tinal determination respecting the 
 matter charged : nor does the Church know of any means by which 
 theu' action coukl be nullified or overridden. 
 
 It is not asserted or claimed that the Standing Committee will 
 "be so free from error, mistake, possible prejudice, or undue influ- 
 ence, as to be necessarily always right and just in theii- conclusions 
 and action : l)ut it is affirmed that theu- decisions are under the 
 l^rotection of the law of the Church in all matters committed to 
 them and concerning which they are held responsible by the 
 Church. Of their official acts the Church in the diocese is to 
 judge : but. as many things may and do come before them for 
 determination, it may not in all cases be necessary or expedient 
 that the grounds or reasons of their action or non-action should 
 be spread liefore the public. 
 
 There have been times, as we shall see, when their acts have 
 heen gravely questioned and serious wrongs supposed or believed 
 to have been inflicted. But it is no part of this biography to enter 
 upon that wide, perplexing, and unhappy discussion as it turned 
 out to be. All that is here asserted is that, as the ecclesiastic 
 authority in and for all matters and cases canonically committed 
 to theii' cognizance 'and action, the Standing Committee act under 
 theu- solemn responsibility to the Church for the preservation of 
 the truth, the order, and the discipline of the Church so far as 
 these matters come within their pro^ince.
 
 LIFE OF I'.ISHOr I'lNKXEY. 115 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Standin(; Committee — General Convention. 1802. 
 
 Antecedent, by several months, to the proceedings in the case 
 of Dr. PiNKNEY, the Convention of the Diocese had met at the usual 
 time in May of the year 1S(j2. In 18()1, owing to the great civil 
 perturbations caused by the occupancy of the State by the military 
 forces of the Federal Government, no diocesan convention was 
 held. As the time approached for the convention of 1802 grave 
 fears were entertained by many that increased trouble for the 
 Chiu'ch would arise from its meeting. Happily these fears were 
 not realized to the extent anticipated. The convention met as 
 usual. The Bishop of the diocese presided and delivered his 
 address, making but slight reference to the evils of the times and 
 the agitations in the Chui'ch — somewhat saddened in tone, yet 
 hopeful for the future. He was, however, much grieved and 
 disapj^ointed at two imjjortant acts of the body — the one in 
 clianging to some extent the 2)e)\sonnel of the Standing Committee, 
 and the other in making a like change m the delegation to the 
 General Convention, which was to meet in New York in October 
 of that year. The movement to effect both ol)jects was successful. 
 
 AVithout the concurrence and co-operation of the Standing Com- 
 mittee no action looking to the judicial investigation of the conduct 
 of any clergyman could be taken by the Bishop. The majority 
 of the convention, in order to i^rotect themselves against present- 
 ments for trial resi:)ecting the non-use of sj^ecial prayers and 
 thanksgi\'ings issued by the Bishop during the War, elected only 
 those clergymen Avho could be relied upon for such protection. 
 The Rev. Dr. Wyatt, Dr. Pinkney, and the Rev. Messrs. Crosdale 
 and Barber, of the old committee, were retained ; and the Rev. Dr. 
 Nelson, Dr. McKenuey, and Rev. IMejer Lewis were added. By 
 this action the Bishop was much aggrieved, and gave strong 
 expression to his feeling. 
 
 In the matter of the delegation to the General Convention the 
 change consisted in leaving out of the old delegation one of the 
 clerical and two of the lay deputies, and the substituticm of others 
 to bring it into accord with the prevalent feeling of the diocese 
 respecting the matters then agitating the public mind. Tlicre 
 was but one ballot : and there is no record in the journal of the 
 votes cast for the different persons voted for. There was no 
 hesitation or opposition, however, in any quarter, to the nomina- 
 tion and election of the venerable Dr. Wyatt, who had been for
 
 116 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 many years an houoied representative of the diocese, and had at 
 successive general conventions tilled the chaii- of president of the 
 house of clerical and lay deputies. With hke unanimity the Rev. 
 Dr. Henry M. Mason, of Easton, so noted for his learning, his 
 thorough churchmanship, and his genial quaUties, was elected. 
 Nor was it less so in the case of the Rev. Dr. Pinkney, for whom 
 much symjDathy was felt and warm admiration expressed, touch- 
 ing his conflict with the ordinary in the matter of the special 
 prayers set forth for use in the Church on divers occasions during 
 the "War. and in the recent appropriation by the Government of 
 his parish church for the uses of a mihtary hospital. At the same 
 ballot the Rev. Mr. Hutton was elected as the fourth clerical 
 deputy. 
 
 The lay delegation as elected was composed of the Messrs. 
 E. F. Chambers, I. Mason Campbell, James Carroll, and J. M. Car- 
 lisle. Much to the mortification and chagrin of Bishop Whitting- 
 ham. Dr. Hugh Davy Evans, who for many years had been 
 prominent in the councils of the diocese and of the General 
 Church and who was j^re-eminent as a layman for his learning in 
 all theological and ecclesiastical matters, was left out.* By this 
 action Bishop A\liittingham was intensely grieved and disap- 
 pointed and did not hesitate to express, in his own strong way, 
 disj^leasure. But such was the state of feeling and of determina- 
 tion on the part of the great majority of the diocese touching the 
 C[uestions then forcing themselves out of the political arena into 
 the councils of the Church, that the convention would not send to 
 the General Convention one who had already avowed sentiments 
 and advocated measures antagonistic to those held by three-f oiu'ths 
 or five-sixths of the clergy and laity of the diocese. 
 
 The four clerical deputies attended throughout the meetings of 
 the General Convention, which in that year was held in New York, 
 They were quiescent and took no part in the proceedings beyond 
 casting their votes upon the measui'es that came before the body,, 
 and the discharge of such duties as in committees devolved upon 
 them. It is not remembered that any one of the clerical deputies 
 took part in the discussions. 
 
 Judge Chambers was the only lay delegate that attended from 
 the begiiming to the close of the sessions of the body,! and, for 
 one usually so active and prominent in all important discussions, 
 he was very quiescent. He sought, however, by his counsels in 
 committees, and by his speeches on several occasions before the 
 house, to stave oft" legislation and measures upon matters which 
 he thought to be outside of the province, and, under the political 
 excitement of the times, detrimental to the work and the welfare 
 
 ♦See Dr. Brand's Life of Bishop Wliittiughiim, vol. ii, pp. 30-31. 
 + Mr. Carlisk' was present at, the opening of the convention, but Messrs 
 Campbell and Carroll did not attend any of the sessions of the body. 
 
 i
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP I'lNKNEY. 117 
 
 of the Cliurfh. In these efforts lie failed ; iiiul it was jxilnips tin' 
 first ami most signal instance in which that distingtiislicd layman, 
 so consummate in his ability to control the action of jxihlic 
 bodies, was known to fail. Towards the close of the convention 
 he presented a protest against the action of the house in regard 
 to the Civil War, but his protest was not received l)y the body. 
 
 The results of that General Convention are well known. They 
 were not, on the one hand, as serviceable to the country, or on the 
 other, as detrimental to the Church as by many had been antici- 
 pated. The rulers and the people throughout the North, in the 
 Middle States, and in the Northwest, were so absorbed in the 
 prosecution of the War and so concerned as to its fearful issues 
 that they cared little for the acts of the Church so long as thej' 
 were not avowedly or oj^euly hostile to the Government and the 
 War. And besides there is really so much conservatism thor- 
 oughly ingrained into the whole sj^stem and practical movements 
 of the Church that nothing short of the most extreme or radical 
 measures would turn her away from her usual steady course, or 
 elicit much outside attention. Hence the pastoral letter which 
 was issued by the House of Bishojis, sustaining the measures of 
 the Government in the prosecution of the War for the preserva- 
 tion of the Union, and most loyal in its sentiments and counsels, 
 did no harm, and it is not known that it accomplished any special 
 good. 
 
 By precedent and usage the preparation of the pastoral letter 
 was the privilege and duty of the presiding Bishop, the Rt. Rev. 
 John Henry Hopkins, of Vermont. In the discharge of this 
 function the Bishoj) of Vermont prepared and submitted to the 
 House of Bishops a pastoral letter which, w^iile true in loyalty to 
 the Government, deprecated the introduction of any State or civil 
 matters into the councils of the Church. But by an action which 
 though strange and unusual, was still intelligible enough under 
 the cii'cumstances, the House of Bishops, on the motion of the 
 Bishop of Maryland, set aside this pastoral letter, and substituted 
 ior it a letter prejiared by Bishop Mcllvaiu, of Ohio ; against 
 which proceeding, however, the Bishop of Vermont presented a 
 foi-mal protest, and " requested that it might be entered upon the 
 minutes." The protest was " received," but by a motion of the 
 Bishop of Maryland it was only " placed on tile among the docu- 
 ments of this House." Bishop Hopkins also indicated his pur- 
 pose not to be present at the reading of the i)astoral before the 
 two assembled houses of the convention ; and on the solemn 
 occasion of its reading at the close of the session, the vacant 
 chair in the centre of the apsis of the Church marked in most 
 emphatic way the absence and the disapproval of the presiding 
 Bishop. "After all," as one of the Bishops subsequently 
 remarked to Dr. Pinkney, " the Bishop of Vermont is the l)ravest 
 juan amongst us all."
 
 118 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKXEY. 
 
 Extracts from some of his letters to bis wife during the session 
 of the coiiventiou will indicate how great were Dr. Pixkney's fears 
 and anxieties touching the jDeace and welfare of the Church at. 
 that great crisis. 
 
 On the Dth of October he writes : 
 
 ' ' We do not see daylight yet in our conventional proceedings. To-morrow 
 is the day for the report of the especial committee ; and for one I do not 
 anticipate anything that is calculated to give quietude to the Chm-ch. It is 
 strange that there should be a diversity of opinion on a subject where reason 
 and Scripture are on one side. The Church's mission is peace and good- 
 will. The kingdom of our LORD is not of this world. Our business is with 
 the ark of GOD. Any departure from her proper mission is an element of 
 weakness and sure to be j^rodiictive of ill. Any attempt to mingle in 
 the least degree in the fierce struggles of earth is a diminution of her moral 
 power for good in her divine mission. So I think. Fixture ages are deeply 
 and vitally concerned in the line of conduct we pursue. There is a radical 
 element in the body, a wild, fanatical spirit, that I fear nothing will satisfy 
 but the prostitution of the Church to the most ultra-partisan future. With 
 GOD is the result. I hope we may be safely piloted through our present diffi- 
 culties. On Him alone we can depend. We can neither hasten His piirposes 
 nor friistrate them : and it would be well indeed if we could only rest con- 
 tented to leave the Church to her own legitimate business and allow her to 
 work out those great ends of her being and wait to see the salvation of GOD. 
 So much for the convention." 
 
 In his next letter he writes quite despondingly : 
 
 " To-day we had the report of the select committee, and, so far as I can 
 see, all hope is gone for the present of the wise withdrawal of the Church 
 from the stormy arena of political excitement. Some still entertain a hope 
 that the fanatical spirit will work out redemption for us at last. Biit this is 
 not my opinion. If the preamble and resolutions are all that the (conserva- 
 tive spirit of the North can secure us, we have nothing left. For those 
 resolutions are framed in sympathy with the outside pressure, and, though 
 coiiched in the soft, persuasive language of Mr. Wiuthrop, they are such as 
 we cannot accept, at least if the impression produced by the first reading 
 should continue after a more careful perusal." 
 
 Again, still later in October, he writes : 
 
 " To-morrow the debate goes on. I am compelled to be silent, and yet I 
 am prepared for action when the proper time comes. I do not regret that 
 I came. I only regret that our delegation is not full. * * * Speech would 
 accomplish nothing, and might do harm. By to-morrow night we shall draw 
 nearer the end. How strange it is that churchmen cannot see that the power 
 of the Church is to keep herself aloof from the political agitations of the day 
 and wait to see the purposes of GOD as they are developed. We can neither 
 retard or hinder. Bvi't I fear that this is a wisdom above and beyond our times. 
 I shall rejoice if these prognostications are without foundation." 
 
 It is cause for special thankfulness to GOD that the American 
 Church, under the peculiar trials of the period, kept herself as 
 free as she did from political entanglements. The denominations 
 around had thrown themselves with vindictive zeal into advocacy 
 of the War, and had sought in varied ways to ally themselves with
 
 LIFE OF P.ISIIOl' I'lXKNr.V. 11 'J 
 
 the Government in its prosecution. An outside pressure was 
 brought to bear upon the Church to lead to a like course. Happy 
 it was that so little was done by the Church in her corporate capac- 
 ity to compromise her true position oi separation from the State 
 and to commit herself to positive acts, that upon the termination 
 of the War would have precluded her from an easy and peaceful 
 reunion with the Church in the seceded States. Hence, uptm the 
 conclusi(m of the War, by the trium])!! of the Federal arms over 
 the South, there were no formidable ditiiculties in the way of the 
 restoration of the union of the Church in tbe opjjosing sections 
 of the country. 
 
 Accordingly, when the General Convention met in Philadel])liia, 
 in October, 18G5, all obstructions to a full and happy reunion of 
 the Church, North and South, were gradually removed : and from 
 that convention dates the re-identification of the Church in all 
 parts of the country in her one faith, one worship, and one polity. 
 Dr. PixKXEY. as one of the clerical deputies from Maryland, was 
 l)resent at its sessions. It was a memorable occasion. The whole 
 Church, North and South, was looking- with intense interest and 
 anxiety to the j^roceedings of the body. Dr. Pixkxey took no 
 active part in the discussions relative to the admission of the 
 Southern dioceses into full reunion. 
 
 He refers to them in his letters to his wife. In the early stage 
 of the session he writes : 
 
 " So far as we have progressed all is going on nobly. We signed the 
 lestimouials of Dr. Qiiiutard, Bishop-elect of Tennessee, and he will be 
 consecrated to-morrow or ne.xt day. The House of Bishops have already 
 acted, and most wisely. A storm is threatened in ours, but I still think 
 there is not vigor enough in the men to wake it up. The house is conserva- 
 tive, and that will be the antidote." 
 
 Again he writes : 
 
 "We still have a quiet time — much discussion, but little acting. Our 
 legislation is so far conservative. A resolution was oifered to add to the 
 Litany the siiffrage asking the LORD to send forth laborers into the harvest. 
 Judge Chambers opposed it in a very impressive speech, and advised caution 
 in changes affecting the book of Common Prayer. I thought and felt that 
 the warning, good in ordinary times, was needless in this particular : and, 
 for the first time, I ventvired to express what I thought. I reminded the 
 Judge and the convention that it was no strange thing — that additions had 
 been made by single Bishops for extraordinary occasions — and thiit nothing 
 could exceed' the beauty of the introduction of the Saviour's words of prayer 
 into the Litany. I argued that we were competent in this case to act for 
 oui-selves. * * * It is terril)le to speak l)efore these reporters, for they 
 never get you right. I dislike so much to take up the time of the convention 
 that I can'never do the subject or myself the justice that I should. I shall 
 never overcome the diffidence under which, in all my ministry, I have labored. 
 But, fortunately for myself and the Church. I have no wish to particijjate in 
 debate. I like this convention as well as any I have attended. But yet I 
 love my own study and quiei home more. All that gives me uneasiness i& 
 the inability to meet the demands upon my time and responsibility."
 
 120 LIFE OF BISHOP FIXKNEY. 
 
 Towai'ds the close of the convention he writes : 
 
 " The last rock is passed, I hope, and the sea is calm, and the good ship 
 is on her way. sails all set, and the crew one in aim and effort. Mr. B. threw 
 a firebrand into onr midst to-day, bi;t the couventiou. North, South, East, 
 and West, extinguished it with a determination and spirit that he must have 
 felt. How strange it is that great men are so deficient in large-hearted 
 charity." 
 
 Dr. PixKNEYS reference in this paragraph of his letter is to the 
 resolution introduced into the House of Deputies by Mr. Horace 
 Binney, a distmguished deputy from Pennsylvania. The reader 
 is referred to the Life of JBishop Kerfoot, by the Rev. Dr. Hall 
 Hariison,* for a very interesting account of the circumstances 
 under which Mr. Binney's resolution was brought before the 
 house, of the action of the body upon it, and specially of the 
 agency of Dr. Kerfoot, then of Connecticut, in securing by a bold 
 and manly speech its rejection by a large majority — a most happy 
 cii'cumstance for the futui'e peace and reunion of the Chui'ch. 
 
 Vol. ii. pp. 390-'95.
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP I'INKNEY. 121 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 BiSHor Whittingham Declines to Visit His Chuuch — WoKSHir in the 
 Medical College — Return to His Church — Lenten Services. 18(»3. 
 
 To ADD to the trials and embarrassments of the rector of the 
 Ascension, and to those of his parishioners, a still further diffi- 
 culty arose in the spring" of 18(33. Dr. Pinkney, ui:)on learning 
 that the Bishop of the diocese was to make Ei)iscopal visitation 
 to the churches in Washington cit}' early in May of that year, 
 addressed a I'espectful recpiest to the Bishop that the parish of the 
 Ascension might be included in the visitation. To this lettei- the 
 Bishop replied, dechning to make an a].)pointment for visitation 
 to the parish of the Ascension ; and he requested Dr. Pinkney to 
 take his candidates for confirmation to the Church of the Ei)i})hany 
 or to St. John's Church. The Bishop based his request on the 
 gi'ound of his " bodily condition " and " courtesy to himself," 
 significantly adding that " such a course would not only suit his 
 (the Bishop's) limited convenience," but would " also obviate other 
 difficulties which might arise on his (the Bishop's) part." 
 
 Under the circumstances the rector of the Ascension declined 
 to comply with the request, and fully anc^ frankly stated his rea- 
 sons. In reply to this letter the Bishop, on the Dtli of May, 1863, 
 expresses his regret that Dr. Pinkney did not think it best to 
 present his candidates to either of the other churches that had 
 been named, and then adds : " I find that a visitation is not canon- 
 ically due to Ascension parish until September next. Before the 
 fixed limit of previous notice of a visit at that period I shall have 
 had timq for consideration whether the existing relations of the 
 rector and vestry of Ascension parish with the Bishop of the 
 diocese are such as to allow of my making the desu-ed appoint- 
 ment, with due regard to the requirements of my office." 
 
 To this communication Dr. Pinkney replied at length. He 
 deemed it due to himself and to his official position as a Presbyter 
 of the Church in parochial cure to vindicate himself from the 
 seeming imjjutation or charge that his canonical ''relations," as 
 the rector of his parish, towards his diocesan, were any other 
 than those of all rectors in fair standmg before the Church, and 
 that in so far as those relations were altered it was not the result 
 of any uncanonical action on his part ; that in fact the whole 
 matter touching his relations with the Bishoj) of the diocese in 
 certain recent occurrences had been before the Standing Com- 
 mittee under formal presentment by the Bishop, and that the
 
 122 LIFE OF BISHOP TINKNEY. 
 
 Standing Committee, by tbeii' unanimous action, had declared 
 that there were no grounds for trial or action in the matters 
 complained of, and that he stood fully acquitted and without 
 offence : and that where the principle, touching the rights of 
 himself as rector and of his parish, in regard to Episcopal visita- 
 tion was involved, there was no ground or claim for courtesy ; in 
 fine that he "' i^rotested, not agamst the postponement of the 
 visitation, but against the reason assigned for it." 
 
 To this communication the Bishop made no reply, and the 
 correspondence closed. 
 
 These facts are recorded because it is due to the truth of history 
 that they should be presented. There are many trying expe- 
 riences that enter into an earnest life where that life is brought 
 into contact and collision with other lives. However much it is 
 to be deplored, it will be found that men of sterling worth and of 
 great piety will sometimes differ essentially as to the lines of theii- 
 respective responsibility and duty, and so be forced by their con- 
 victions into positions of painful controversy and into dii'ectly 
 opposing courses of action. It is no part of a true and faithful 
 biography to ignore or conceal such facts as they come up in the 
 lives of the best of men. 
 
 No one doubts the thorough sincerity and earnestness of BishojD 
 ^Vhittingham in the determinations and acts that marked his 
 course, and gave to his Episcopate such prominence during the 
 Civil AVar, and which also brought to the Bishop himself so many 
 personal and official trgubles. In the intensity of his convictions 
 of loyalty to the Government he deemed obedience to the call of 
 the civil authority for religious services to be a duty, to be 
 enforced ujjon the clergy by ecclesiastical penalties. He was 
 conscientious in the coui'se he pursued, however unfortunate for 
 himself and the Church were the results. 
 
 Xor can any one fail to see that the rector of the Ascension, 
 who by his life-long residence and faithful ministry in the diocese, 
 had established for himself a name and a character of most loyal 
 devotion to truth and duty, was, on his part, only acting out his 
 firm and honest convictions in maintaining under the most trying 
 circumstances the rights and privileges of his priesthood and 
 pastorate in the Church of GOD. 
 
 The candidates for confirmation in the parish of the Ascension 
 were afterwards confirmed by one of the Bishops of the Church 
 acting under the request of the Bishop of the diocese, whose 
 increasing infirmities precluded him from any visitations beyond 
 the city of Baltimore and its immediate vicinity. And so all 
 further conflict between the Bishop of the diocese and the rector 
 of the Ascension respecting the canonical requirements of Epis- 
 copal visitations was happily avoided. 
 
 The seizure and occupancy of their chm-ch by the military
 
 LIFE OF msilOl' IMNKNKV. 12:{ 
 
 power made it necessary that the rector and vestry of the Ascen- 
 sion shoukl seek out some buikling where the divine services C(jukl 
 be conducted. Very soon there came to their help one who then 
 and ever afterwards proved himself to be one of the dearest and 
 most lo\Tag- of Dr. Pinkney's friends, and who also in subsecpient 
 years became noted for his large and lil)eral Ijenefactions to the 
 Church. This friend was Mr. W. W. Corcoran. At tliat time 
 owning- a commodious building on H street, Ijetween Thirteenth 
 and Fourteenth streets, which was used for medical lectures in 
 connection with the Columbian University, Mr. Corcoran gener- 
 ously proffered its use to the rector and congregation so long as 
 they should need it for the church services. To this building 
 the congregation repaii'ed, and continued to worship there until 
 their own parish church was restored to them and could be suffi- 
 ciently cleansed and repaired for occujjancy. 
 
 The church building was surrendered by the Government 
 towards the close of April, 1863. A rental was paid to the vestry 
 for the period of its occvipancy, and also a special sum of about 
 §500 for repairs ; neither of which sums, however, was half suffi- 
 cient for its restoration. The church, when vacated by the military, 
 was left in a horribly filthy condition ; the furniture desti'oyed ; 
 the sash and windows broken out ; the walls defiled with obscene 
 pictures : and the very chancel made a })lace for refuse. 
 
 It involved, besides the allowance made by the Government, 
 heavy expenditures for the repairs : and, in his convention report 
 of the next year. Dr. Pinkney reported the sum of $3,000 as raised 
 for the church purposes. • The work of restoration went on as fast 
 as possible : and after Easter, of the year 18()3, the rector and 
 his congregation were able to reoccupy the church for the divine 
 ministrations. 
 
 Allusion is made in the following letters to the usual Lenten 
 services which he had held during the season, and to the reoecu- 
 pancy of the church ; and, in reading them, one cannot fail to 
 note how^ uncomplainingly and cheerfully Dr. Pinkney went on in 
 his ministerial duties and in literary studies. 
 
 It had been his wont from the beginning of his rectorship in 
 the Ascension to hold, during the forty days of Lent, a daily ser- 
 vice of morning and evening prayer, and once or twice on each 
 day during the whole season he would deliver a lecture, usually 
 extempore. The morning prayer, held at noon, could not be 
 largely attended ; but the evening service, held at the hour of 
 twilight, found every day a large congregation present to engage 
 in the service and hear the lecture. These lectures were deeply 
 interesting, full of spiritual unction, and most searching to the 
 conscience. When the joyous festival of Easter was come and 
 gone ills friends could see from the pallid countenance and the 
 w^earied look how exhaustive had been the fasts and lalwrs of the 
 precedent Lent.
 
 124 LIFE OF BISHOP PIXKNEY. 
 
 Ami yet a letter written to bis wife after the Easter of 1861, 
 when the political skies were so clouded, shows the relief and the 
 joy that came to his heart from the sacred services : 
 
 •'Washington, 18G1. 
 '■ My Dear Betty : I have been overwhelmed with duty, and have dehiyed 
 writiui,' each day as I thought I shouki be able to go out in the afternoon. 
 "We had a glorious Easter service— flowers most exquisitely grouped and of 
 the most exquisite texture and fragrance : music remarkably line : an over- 
 flowing congregation : the largest communion I ever had. Everything went 
 off beautifully, and I hope the sermons were not altogether unworthy of the 
 occasion. The day was beautiful. The only thing wanting to my enjoy- 
 ment was the consciousness that no familiar face from Bladensburg cheered 
 me. However, this must be so, and I submit. I receive much kindness from 
 the people here, and much consideration : and I ought to be thankful. I 
 have had some very ill people, and could not leave, and may not be able to 
 do so to-morrow. 1 will if I can. I have not stopped to dinner until Mon- 
 day. I asked Captain Hunter to ride from the depot in my buggy and to let 
 you know whv it was that I could not get out." 
 
 But while under the glow of this Easter jo}^ he could add in 
 the same letter, rather plaintively : 
 
 " I sometimes think that I must give up this sort of life — on my feet all 
 day and at work the rest of the time — or else trudging down to the cars and 
 then to Bladensburg : so tired that sometimes I feel as though my back would 
 give way. However, it is for the best. I go to officiate in part at the wed- 
 ding to-night. I wish you could have seen the flowers. Give my love to 
 Ogle and Amelia. Afl'ectionatelv, 
 
 " W. P." 
 
 The following letters to Judge Huntington refer to his Leiiten 
 services, studies, and the restoration of his church by the mili- 
 tary authorities : 
 
 •• April 14, ISfiS. 
 
 " Dear Judge : I sui^iDOse you are enjoying this fine weather and regaling 
 yourself with the beauty of Hartford, and preparing yourself for the rough 
 w'ear and tear of Washington. I have just emerged from the labors of Lent, 
 and, strange to say, none the w'orse for the severe labors of the season. I 
 delivered one lecture on two days, and two lectures on the other four days : 
 congregations uncommonly good. The services in Passion Week were 
 peculiarly well attended and interesting. I drew my lectures from the 
 Gospel Lessons and Psalter for each day as they seemed to be most appro- 
 priate. It is remarkable how admirably they harmonized with the season. 
 One difficulty I had to encounter was the presence of a professor of theology, 
 who held out to the last. Y. attended several. He urged me to lay aside 
 manuscript sermons, but in this I do not agree with him. For, it seems to 
 me, writing is essential. On extra occasions, such as daily lectures during 
 Lent. I think it is perfectly legitimate to fall back on extempore talk, taking 
 care to give as careftil preparation as possible : but no wise man will, I 
 think, f(n-ego the labor of careful composition. In laying out the sixbject- 
 niatter of the Lent lectures, I went through a good deal of hard study, 
 especially of the exegetical kind, and thus accomplished more for myself 
 than I proliably would have done without such stimulus. We are a strange 
 order f)f beings. We work best under the spur. 
 
 " I have been relieving myself of the weariness of study in one particular 
 line by perusing some of the speeches of Burke, Pitt, Fox, and Erskine ; and 
 
 1 
 J
 
 LIFE OF BISHOl' I'lXKXEY. 1*25 
 
 really it is a wouderhil study to trace out the skill of the nioile of foiistruetiug 
 a sjieec'li displuyod by those masters, to say nothing,' of the breadth and seope 
 of thought that pervade all they uttered. I do not know how it is with others, 
 but I have always found <,'reiit sharpening of such faeulties as we have in an 
 occasional stepping aside from the beaten path. Eut a truce to this personal 
 disquisition. I always feel, when writing or talking to you, that I am jiriv- 
 ileged to write and talk just as the spirit proni])ts nie. There is a jjeaceful- 
 ness in the })aths of literature, an elevation in the companionship of those 
 who have most excelled, that is ])eculiarly refreshing in times like these. 
 There is a freshness in investigation of the truth that falls like the early dew 
 on the soul. I was particularly interested in the discussion of the 4th verse 
 of the 24th of St. Luke, a passage that I have often read, but never before 
 fully realized, and yet I sometimes shudder wheu I think of the feeble grasp 
 of truth we have. 
 
 " The church is given up. The worst abuse is in the chaucel, of which a 
 bath and water-closet were made. How strange it is that there should be 
 so little revereuce in the minds of men. The railing was thrown out as 
 common lumber. However, I hope we shall be in it soon. Love to all. 
 Believe me, dear Judge, 
 
 " Your attached friend, 
 
 " W. PINKNEY." 
 
 To the same : 
 
 "April. 24, 18fi3. 
 
 " My Dear Judge: Feeling like holding a sort of familiar talk with you, 
 I will not pause to inquire whether the forms of good breeding conqiel me 
 to wait until my last is answered, or indulge myself in the fashionable habit 
 of complaining that it has not been, but sit down in my chair and begin 
 without regard to the method of my talk : trusting that you will give it 
 shape wheu you come to supply your part of it. Well, to begin. The 
 church is restored at last and five hundred and seventy dollars awarded for 
 repairs. Mr. Brown says it is about one-half of what it will cost to place the 
 church as it was when it was taken. The Epiphany had no basement and they 
 received .f 500. However, we are compelled to take this or nothing. We 
 shall cleanse the church and then go into it, leaving repairs for the future. 
 
 " To pass from this to a more agreeable topic. I have just arisen from the 
 perusal of the last nuiuber of the licvieir which I supposed had died of 
 plethora long time ago. You know that as a Uevieir I was of opinion that 
 it had of late years signally failed. Occasionally there was a bright spray — 
 a very racy and well-executed article. But a view of some able and 
 ingenious book, good or bad, there was none. I think the reviem'tuj char- 
 acter of the work the most valualde feature in the enterprise. * * * j 
 have read Dr. Mahan's reply to the heretical bislioj) (Colenso), and it does 
 not exactly jjlease me. It is written with vigor, andexhil)its much skill both 
 in the use of argument and of satire. But still it does not meet my expecta- 
 tions. I think it is wiinting in the gravity and solemnity that the subject 
 demands. I do not at times altogether like the line of the argument. I 
 think that some inlidels would not be impressed by it, and that some, who 
 would fain find excuse for their sins, would be, in all probability, not 
 stayed in their downward course by some things that are said in it. It 
 smacks a little too much of the German for my ta;;te. But observe, this is 
 only in reference to a part, and of that I would speak modestly. For Dr. 
 Maiiau is a ripe scholar, a profound thinker, a bold, original, and elocpieut 
 writer. I much question whether such books are worth answering at all. 
 They had better be left to their own speedy decomponitioii. * * * 
 
 " i got through Lent very well — lectured twice a day on four days, and once 
 a day the balance. I am occupied now with two lectures a week on con- 
 firmation. So it goes. I have written two sermons this week, and delivered 
 one lecture and prepared to deliver another, but am weather-bound — the
 
 126 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 waters* bein^ too liiLrli to admit of travel. Mrs. P. says she has had a 
 delightful time with me to-day ; not being alile to satisfy me that it was a 
 providential interposition, whereby I was made the gainer of her fascinating 
 company, and to be therefore hailed with something of transi^ort, and that 
 her peace began when I began this to you. To tell yf)u the truth, the idea 
 of being behind an appointment is really a sort of torture to me. I could 
 walk if I could cross the water ; but that is impossible. Dear Judge, I must 
 now bid you good-bye. When will you show us the light of your face ? 
 Love to ail. Have tlie absent ones returned y 
 
 '' Yours affectionatelv, 
 " The Hon. S. H. Huntington. " W. PINKNEY." 
 
 Thus hopefully and uncomplainingly tlid the rector of the 
 Ascension bear up and work on, under the trials of his position 
 durmg- the prosecution of the Civil War. While he abstained in 
 public from all reference to, and discussion of, the warlike move- 
 ments and agitations that Avere going on all around him in the 
 city of Washuigton, he felt very deeply the evils of the times, 
 esjiecially as they bore upon the work of his ministry. He 
 exjiressed his thoughts and feelings very freely to his friend, 
 Judge Huntington : and in July, 1864, deprecating the act of the 
 Cxovernmeut in drafting clergymen for the War, he thus wrote : 
 
 '• With you I feel that the judgment of GOD is now producing its proper 
 frviit ; and that darkens the cloud to my view. I see unmistakable signs 
 of a hardening process, not only in the careless and worldly-minded, but 
 in the pr(jfessed children of the kingdom : and that makes me tremble for 
 the future. And one sign of the degeneracy of the age, which has jjassed 
 without comment, so far as I know, in any quarter, is to me alarmingly por- 
 tentous. I mean the drafting of the clergy for war. 
 
 " David was not permitted to put his hand to the Temple because he was 
 ' a man of war,' and here in a Christian land the ministers of Christ's 
 Gospel are embraced in the drafting system of the Government, and liable 
 to be called from their only legitimate work to a work oi blood. What 
 must GOD think of this endeavor to secularize His clergy, and how must it 
 react fen- evil on the misguided policy ? I deny the right. Our calling is 
 spiritual, unearthly, and no act of Government can secularize it. In mj' 
 own State we are pronounced incapable of holding office, and, I think, wisely. 
 ' Let the dead bury their dead.' Upon what principle then can we be made 
 to mingle in the wars of earth '/ I only wonder that a Christian laity can 
 can stand by and see this wanton degradation of the ministry and not utter 
 their protest in thunder tones. I judge not others : biit no power on earth 
 <-ould make me do what I conscientiously believe is inconsistent with my 
 calling. I do not know that you agree with me. I write freely because I 
 write to you in the saeredness of Christian friendship and seek no disguises. 
 
 " I am delighted to think that you are in the Ciuiet enjoyment of home, 
 and trust it will conduce to your health as well as happiness. As for myself, 
 my life is a constant whirl. Duty rising higher than performance every day 
 and wants ever demanding, biit never receiving siipply. I see but little of 
 home, iuid that little is sadly occupied with professional duty in the study. 
 But I must be content. I have had two very interesting cases of sickness, 
 which have occupied liours of the day. Sunday week, after preaching twice 
 and attending a funeral, I undertookto sit up "at night, and was taken very 
 sick about four o'clock, having' ten or twelve attacks between that and 
 twelve. I have been feeling badly ever since ; but I am better to-day." 
 
 * The Nortliwest Uranch empties into the Eastern Branch of the Potomac 
 just at Bladensburg, and the waters are sometimes too high for crossing, 
 ^ven over the bridges.
 
 LIFE OF ]USH01> I'INKNKV. 1 'J' 
 
 CHAPTEE XYII. 
 
 His Poetry. iHOi 'OG. 
 
 From earlj' life Dr. Pinkney evinced a peculiar talent and a 
 sjiecial fondness for poetic composition. His vivid and ])ictur- 
 es(pie imagination led liim irresistibly to seek expression for liis 
 thoughts and feelings in the forms of verse. "NVliile he laid no 
 claim to the higher order of poetic power and inspiration, he yet 
 possessed in his soul such fulness of thought and wealth of 
 imagery that he was able with ease and great Hueney to embody 
 in the forms of verse the spirit and the language of true jioetry. 
 His versification is so simple in diction, clear in thought, and 
 smooth in rhythm that no labored effort is requisite to understand 
 him. Simplicity and melody were the characteristics of all his 
 poetical compositions, which were for the most part upon subjects 
 and on occasions that did not call for any elaborate or higlily- 
 wrought expression of poetic power and gifts. They were written 
 chiefly for his own recreation : and whenever he gave them to the 
 press for publication it was with the hoj^e that they would serve 
 to enkindle in the minds of others the same glowing thoughts and 
 feelings that tilled his own soul. He wrote from time to time a 
 considerable number of fugitive pieces, many of which he did not 
 preserve and of which he made no record, and some of them were 
 strikingly beautiful in their simplicity and pathos. Sometimes in 
 writing to a friend he would append to his letter a few impromptu 
 verses ; and he has been known, when on a visitation, to go quietly 
 to the rector's desk and throw off some appropriate verses, full of 
 tender thought. Besides the two small volumes of poems which 
 he issued from the press, he wrote very carefully some Ijrief poems 
 which he caused to be beautifully printed on sheets. These he 
 sent to some particular friends, from whom he was always glad 
 to receive expression of approval or any criticism they w-ere minded 
 to offer as touching either the versiflcation or the sentiment. In 
 order to preserve them they are incorporated in this work, and, 
 it is thought, will be found very beautifully illustrative of the 
 sweetness and purity of his sentiments and style. 
 
 There Avere not infrequent interchanges of poetic compositions 
 between his mother and himself. The early death of a favorite 
 child of one of his parishioners in Prince George's county, of 
 whom, as has been previously stated, he published a brief memoir,
 
 128 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 "A Flower of Faith," elicited from his mother some touching 
 verses, which were shown to the parents and afterwards published 
 with an obituary by Dr. Pixkney. In response he writes to his 
 mother : 
 
 '• I thank you for the beautiful lines you sent me as well as for the feeling 
 that dictated them. They were admired by the afflicted friends of the dear 
 departed child. I will copy off a few verses written on the receipt of the 
 daguerrotype sent me l)y the parents of my dear little girl. They were, like 
 all my other pieces, hurriedly written. You can show them to my cousin E., 
 not for what they are, but for what they describe. I merely send them to 
 amuse you for the passing moment, i cannot write poetry, and yet the 
 fever of rhyming is not so easily broken as some would imagine. The meas- 
 ure is «Mtr/e/if?"is." 
 
 Written in 18.50. 
 
 I beauteous skill (jf human art 
 I price thee well : 
 
 Thou art a cordial to the heart 
 And mystic sj^ell : 
 
 1 gaze upon those features fair 
 By sunbeam painted there. 
 
 The eye, the lip, the soft brown hair 
 
 Are all thine own, 
 The sw'eet angelic look is thine, 
 
 ^Vhich brightly shone 
 When loving accents breathed to thee 
 The heart's true melody 
 
 I look and fancy I can see 
 
 That deep blue eye 
 Still fix its loving gaze on me 
 
 In sympathy, 
 Until, the strange delusion gone, 
 I find myself alone. 
 
 Sweet image of my Emma, dear, 
 
 I prize thee well ; 
 For though I gaze with falling tear, 
 
 No tongue can tell 
 Thy soothing, soft, consoling power 
 In this affliction's hour. 
 
 I thank the love that thought of me, 
 
 My darling child : 
 And by an image true of thee, 
 
 My lieart beguiled 
 Of those lone hours of deep distress 
 In this bleak wilderness. 
 
 And O : I trust that GOD will heal 
 
 Our own deep grief. 
 And condescend His love to seal 
 
 Which brings relief ; 
 That we may meet upon that shore 
 Where tear-drops fall no more.
 
 LIFE OF IJISIIOI' I'INKNEV. \-J,\i 
 
 His liist published volume of poems. " Soii^s for the Seasons," 
 waswiittou and issued during- tlie troubles of the ^Teat ('ivil Wur. 
 Amidst the exeitements and the })eiils of the period and during'- 
 his ^oinj^s to and from his home in Bladensbur^;-, then sui-rounded 
 Ijy sentinels and ])iekets and overlooked by frowning- foititieations, 
 his mind turned to the poetic strains of devotion as they centred 
 around the hallowed days and seasons of the Church-j'ear. 
 When not engaged in preparing- sermons and lectures or occu- 
 pied with pastoral work he embodied his thoughts in the little 
 volume of " Songs for the Seasons," which he published in 1864. 
 His modesty restrained him from issuing a large editif)n of the 
 work. Its circulation was intended to be confined mostly to the 
 members of his congregation, to whom it was dedicated, and to 
 some particulai- friends to wlionj he sent copies. Hence it never 
 had any large circulation, was never brought prominently l)ef(jre 
 the Church at large and the public, and so never attracted much 
 attention, and yet he felt that his Avork was supplying a very mani- 
 fest need in the poetic teachings for the Church seasons. 
 
 In his preface to the work he says : 
 
 •' lu committing this little book to tlie press. I feel that I am only exer- 
 cising the in-ivilege of a long-tried and cherished friendshij) : for it is designed 
 for my own spiritual charge, and a few who are not of this fold, endeared 
 to me by ties that can never be broken and enshrined in memoi-ies tliat are 
 too sweet to be f(jrgotten. I have revelled in the beanties of the " Chris- 
 tian Year," and, in common with yourselves, I have pondered with delight 
 the sweet and soothing strains of Heber, who has illustrated the same rich 
 Held of thought with the genius of a true poet. 
 
 " It occurred to nie that it was desirable to bring out more fully the dis- 
 tinctive teachings of the Church in her Holy Seasons ; and I have made the 
 attempt. * * * It is needless to say that I lay no claim to originality, 
 for that would be simply absurd. The Chiirch herself is not original. It 
 is her Ijoast and gh^ry that she treads in the footprints of the elder age. 
 All that any writer, in either prose or poetry, can accomplish, or Ije ration- 
 ally expected to accomplish, is fidelity. There is a rich continuity in the 
 Church's teaching which is truly wonderful ; and those only can comprehend 
 the excpiisite beauty of the system who are careful to keep this continuity 
 befo;-e them. One Siinday leans upon another, and derives support and 
 adornment from the happy dependence : while altogether they present that 
 niagnihcent and gorgeous concatenation of truths which, originating from 
 the cross, tind therein their grandest culmination. I have, therefore, woven 
 the Lesson, Epistle, and Gospel into the verse, and made them the chief 
 fiiuntains of illustration." 
 
 A\liile preparing the work he writes to his friend. Judge Hunt- 
 ington, as follows : 
 
 " I have not yet my full consent to the plan, which I think is l'fasi1)le, 
 and which, without any cajjtious cavilling, I feel deeply persuaded Kel)le's 
 Year has left to Ije devoutly desired. The more I examine him the more 
 am I persuaded that on many of the days he does not bring out fully and 
 distinctly the Church's teaching. Had it not been for the opinion of two 
 or three laymen whose taste and judgment I rely ujion, and two of our 
 Maryland clergy of decided ability and taste, one of whom the Bishop de-
 
 130 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 clared to be equal to anything. I should have left the pieces on my table 
 where many other things lie. Dr. Huntington's* opinion is worth thinking 
 about and so is Dr. Co.xe's.t I have no doubt that his criticism of the 
 language is well foimded. and when I hear the particulars I shall be better 
 able to judge. But how to remedy the evil will be a question not easily 
 solved. No man has a richer vocalnilary than Dr. H. : biit it would be like 
 Saul's armour on David. Occasionally I had to select a word for the rhyme 
 not because I preferred it ; and then again I selected a word with a view to 
 popular effect. I think Keble erred on this point, or rather that he rendered 
 his volume more fit for such men as Dr. Huntington than for the mass of 
 readers. I am curious to see the strictures and to profit by them, if they 
 should prove as reasonable as the one you made. Of course I shall tell you 
 frankly what I think of the criticisms. I sometimes regret that I have 
 \nit you to this trouble, because after all I may be contented with the mere 
 personal amusement the work has afforded me. Since I ^Tote to you I 
 have received letters from both of the clergymen which urge strongly the 
 publication without delay. * * * j can see many things which I would 
 wish altered — if mj- power of execution were equal to my conception of what 
 is needed. Indeed that is the case with everything that I write, and I sup- 
 pose will be until I cease to write altogether." 
 
 Upon the publication of tlie volume, Dr. Pinkney received very 
 gratifying letters from friends to whom he had sent copies. The 
 following extract is from a letter received from his special friend, 
 Chancellor S. Corning Judd, LL. D., of Chicago : 
 
 ' ' I cannot tell you how highly I appreciate and how much I thank you 
 for not only the kindly feeling evinced towards me, but also for the token 
 itself. Its words of erudition, its boldness in the truth, the sweetness of 
 its song, its true poetic ring, its Christian fervor, its soul-inspiring verse, 
 its melting pleadings for Christ, cannot fail to reach the iinderstanding and 
 the heart, and to elevate the very soul. You must not consider me as over- 
 drawing the picture when I say that in my opinion the work places its 
 author in front ranks among the WTiters of sacred song." 
 
 Among the letters acknowledging the receipt of a copy of the 
 ^' Songs for the Seasons," there was, probably, not one more 
 pleasing to Dr. Pinkney than that which came from the Rev. Dr. 
 W. B. Sprague, a distinguished clergyman of the Presbyterian 
 Chiu'ch in Albany, N. Y. The circumstances that first led to an 
 epistolary correspondence between them, kept up with occasional 
 intervals for many years and even to the close of Dr. Sprague"s 
 life, were somewhat remarkable. They became subsequently per- 
 sonally acquainted and the acquaintance ripened into a warm and 
 lasting friendship. It seems that in 1851, while Dr. Pinkney was 
 rector of his parishes in Prmce George's county, Dr. Sprague 
 had heard of a pviblished " ThanksgiA'ing Sermon " entitled " The 
 Nation's Truest Shield," which Dr. Pinkney had preached in 
 Bladensburg in November of the preceding year. Desuing to 
 secui'e a copy and without knowing who Dr. Pixkney was, or 
 
 * Afterwards Bishop of Central New York, 
 t Afterwards Bishop of Western New York.
 
 LIFE OF I'.ISHOl' I'INKNEY. 131 
 
 what Lis cliurch coiiiiection, lie addrcssod to him a Icttt-r rcujuest- 
 iiig a copy of the senuoii. The following is the letter : 
 
 " Ai.UANY, Maif i:j. 18.")!. 
 " Rev. and Dear Sir: Thoutfli I liavi' not tbt- lntiior of Ix-iiij^r pcrsuimlly 
 ac'(i\iaint<'(l with you, I hopi' you will ])ar(lou the lihcrty I take in asking; 
 you to send nie a t-opy of your late sermon cntitli'd " The Nation's TriU'st 
 Shield." The favorable aecouuts that have reaehed luc coneerniiij^ it make 
 me very desirous of obtaining it : and I can think of no way by whii'h I 
 can aceomidish my object (for I do not know even where it was jjrintcd) 
 but by making direct ai)plication to the author. I need not say that I should 
 be glad to reciprocate the favor hy any means in my power. 
 " I am, my dear sir, faithfully vours, 
 
 '• W. ]}. SPKAGUE. 
 " Rev. Wm. Pinkxey." 
 
 The published sermon was promptly sent with a courteous 
 letter, which elicited from Dr. Sprague this jileasant response : 
 
 " Albany. May 2!). IHTA. 
 " My Dear Sir : I thank you most sincerely for your kind letter and for 
 your admirable sermon. I know not what relation you sustain to your name- 
 sake, the late Attorney-General of the United States, but if you are his sou, 
 your sermon wovild indicate that his mantle had fallen upon you. I have 
 rarely seen a specimen of such glowing and effective eloquence as it con- 
 tains. * * * 
 
 " If you ever come North I need not say how glad I sh(mld be to welcome 
 you to my domicile and my pulpit. 
 " Very truly, vour obliged, 
 
 " W. B. SPRAGUE. 
 
 " Rev. W. PiNKNEY." 
 
 It was not until August in the next year that Dr. Sjirague 
 found that Dr. Pinkney was an Episcopal clergyman. In acknowl- 
 edging the receipt of the little volume a " Flower of Faith,"' a brief 
 memoir of Emma O. Holtzman, which Dr. Pinkney sent to him, 
 he writes very handsomely as follows : 
 
 " Will you forgive me for not knowing, until I received the lieautiful little 
 memoir you have just sent me, that you are not a Presbyterian ? I know not 
 liow I fell into this mistake ; but I had never even had a doubt on the subject. 
 It is no matter ; your Episcopacy does not lessen my interest either in you or 
 your productions." 
 
 Dr. Sprague was, at this period, 1852, engaged in jireparing for 
 publication a series of volumes containing biograjihical and com- 
 memorative notices " of all the prominent deceased clergymen of 
 every communion in this country.'' He requested Dr. Pinknkv to 
 prepare, for insertion in the work, the memoir of some recently 
 deceased prominent clergyman of the Episcopal Church. This 
 gave Dr. Pinkney the opportunity of paying a very just and 
 beautiful tribute to the memory of the late Rev. Dr. George 
 McElhiney, of St. Anne's Church, Annapolis, to Avhose emuient 
 character and services in the Church reference has already been 
 made.
 
 13'2 LIFE OF lUSHOr riNKNEY. 
 
 From bis coiTespondence with Dr. Sprague, Dr. Pinkxey formed 
 so high an estimate of his literary culture that, when about to 
 issue the " Songs for the Seasons," in 1864, he sent to him some 
 of the M'S. sheets for examination and criticism ; to which Dr. 
 Sj^rague felt forced to reply : 
 
 " I am not a poet, and if I were to attempt anythiu},' like criticism upou 
 auy i)oetical ])r()duction I .should know beforoliaud that it would be worth 
 nothing. And now having made this frank avowal, I have no hesitation in 
 saying that the two jneces you have sent me seem to me uncommonly beau- 
 tiful. * * * If I had read these pieces without knowing who was the 
 author, I am siire that I should have pronounced theui the productions of a 
 superior poetical genius. I shall look for the volume with great interest. 
 * * * I do not expect to like it any the less on account of its being dis- 
 tinctly Episcopal : for I have long since so far schooled down my sectarian 
 prejiulices, if I ever had auy, that I can enjoy the services or the literature 
 of any evangelical communion." 
 
 And again, upon the receipt of the volume, be writes : 
 
 ' ' I congratulate you that yoii were made — which I was not — a poet : and as 
 long as you are able to write such books as this, I am sure the world will 
 thank you for keeping at it." 
 
 Strong and decided us were Dr. Pinkney's Church principles 
 and convictions, they in no way interfered with most pleasant 
 association with the members and the ministers of other religious 
 communions. His own convictions were well know^n and respected, 
 his character so transparent, his deportment so courteous, and 
 his geniality so attractive, that all to whom he was known could 
 appreciate and love him. Some of bis warmest friends and 
 udmu-ers were found outside of the fold of his own Church. 
 
 Dr. PixKNEY took special pleasure in recurring to his intercourse 
 with Dr. Sprague, from whom, after he had been for more than 
 fifty years a minister of the Presbyterian Church, and the editor 
 of many imjoortant publications, and was retii'ed, he received in 
 Jul}-^, 1870, a letter, saying : 
 
 " Here I have been with my family in this beautiful town of Flushing for 
 neai'ly two months ; and here I expect to be during the residue of my life. 
 Our place, including its surroundings, is almost imparalleled in beauty ; and 
 the people, as far as we have seen them, seem very kind and friendly, and 
 many of them highly intelligent." 
 
 He then adds the congratulatory words : 
 
 '• Allow me to say that I was not a little gratified to hear of your elevation 
 to the Episcopate ; partly because I am interested in whatever has a bearing 
 upon your comf(jrt and usefulness, and partly because I cannot doubt that 
 the appointment is favorable to the l)est interests of our common Christian- 
 ity. May you long be sjiared to discharge the duties and wear the honors 
 of the office 1 " 
 
 As further illustrative of his diffidence and hesitancy about 
 publishing any of his jjoems, the following extracts from a letter
 
 LIFE OF r.lSllol' nNKNKV. i:{3 
 
 of his to his friend. Dr. J. H. Alexander, are here jnriven. The 
 letter is dated Octol)er 17, iSfU. The reference is to '• Tin- Sonj^K 
 for the Seasons : " 
 
 ■• I am about (loiu.4 a very questionable tliiiii^, iiiul if it was not fur tin* 
 many i-arcs you have, and the calls upon yonr time, I would have troubled 
 you with a partial inspection of the work. It occurred to nie that I w>mid 
 have some recreation the past summer, and seek repose from the unhealthful 
 excitement of the times in an attempted versification of the seasons from 
 Advent to Trinity on the basis of the Church's teaching's, which on a study 
 of Keble I foiind had n(^t been attempted. Your work was before ]ne, but 
 that was on the ' Introits,' and ilid not pre-occupy the ijround. Ami here 
 you will permit me to say, that I have been more forcildy struck witli the 
 singular beauty of that work upon a second review. It is indeed a ^;em. 
 And if you had traversed the path, I should not have attempted to amuse 
 myself in that line of thought. I wrote for my own amusement, and with 
 no intention to submit it even to a partial i)ultlicati<jn. Lewin and several 
 of the clergy strongly pressed me to put it in print, and I have partially 
 consented. It is a ventiare and may l)e ill advised. Dr. Sprague, of Albany, 
 has also urged me to go on. As I said, I did not trouble you because you 
 have really so much that is luore weighty uj)on your hands, so much i>n 
 which the Church's welfare iu our midst depends, that I did not think it 
 woiild be right. Besides, your friendshij) for me would have made it sad for 
 you to have said, pause, where they counselled, go forward. I shall be iu 
 Baltimore on the 27th ; and perhaps I may still submit some one jxa-tion to 
 yo^^ perusal : say, Epiphany and its successive Siindays, or the Holy Week. 
 Love to all. 
 
 " Yours affectionately and faithfnlly, 
 'MoHN H. Alexander, LL. D. W. PINKNEY." 
 
 About fourteen years after the pnl)lieation of " The Sonp's for 
 the Seasons,'' Dr. Pinkxey. then Bishop, sent to IVIiss Eleanor 
 Lewin, eldest daughter of his dear friend, Eev. Dr. Meyer Lewin. 
 as a memento, a copy of the volume with interlinear and marguial 
 emendations written with his own hand in hik — alterations which 
 he thought would improve the versitication, if they did not add 
 to the sentiment. He accompanied the gift with the followuig 
 letter : 
 
 " Ja Hilar 1/ 3, 187'.t. 
 
 " My Dear Nellie : There were defects in the rhyme and the metre which 
 escaped my notice at the time. Such defects occasionally occur in scnne of 
 our most admired hymns, and in some of the best productions of our best 
 poets, as in the hymn 'Hark 1 the herald angels sing,' where ' Bt'thleln-m ' 
 rhymes 'proclaim.' 
 
 ''But thev are blemishes, and I wish to remove them while I live. No 
 other edition will ever ai)pcar. If I could roll l)ack the tide of time or 
 obliterate its traces, this would soon disappear. As I cannot, I desire to leave 
 this edition as correct as possible even though I run the risk of taking out the 
 nerve of the expression in homage to the rhyme. Y'ou have one thought to 
 abide with you when I am g(me.'and that is', that my <>\vn hand is mingled 
 with the printer's type. 
 
 " A Happy New Year to you. Time flies. The shailows are beginning to 
 fall thickly \m my itath. My work is nearly done. Poorly I know it tn lie. 
 Y'ou are iii the early dawn. With a mind richly stored, and a heart fresh 
 as the lily cup with "the dew on it, and bright as the bird of hopf just from
 
 134 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 his softest nest can make it, yoii do well to be glad and lift up your soul in 
 praise. 
 
 ••I have been occupied the last two days in getting my papers in order. 
 This is now finished. It grieves me that much wiser, stronger, better men 
 than I were not called to the seat of power I hold. But there is a touching- 
 mystery in this. They are reserved for the higher service in the bright 
 Upper "Kingdom. They are waiting noic to reign as kings then. 
 
 " Your dear father and mother have great cause to be thankful to GOD 
 for their children : all of them well and doing well. Willie, if he lives, will 
 till up the measure of his father's brain, and I hope he may live to take up 
 his staif , for I think the father, great as he was, will be honored in the son. 
 A Happy New Year to you all. 
 
 " Affectionately, 
 " Miss Nellie Lewin. W. PINKNEY. 
 
 " I'ou are one of three or four for whom I have done this. I flattered 
 myself that the handwriting would atone to you for the blotting of the 
 sheets." 
 
 A few years before the above letter was written, Bishop Pinknet 
 had sent to the same young friend, as a bii-thday gift, a copy of 
 a collection of j)oems entitled " The Songs of the 8j)irit," which 
 contained one of his own poems taken from the " Songs for the 
 Seasons." Miss Lewin. in thanking him for the gift, expressed 
 her gratification in finding in the collection one of his own 
 poems. 
 
 To this the Bishop replied : 
 
 " Bishop Pliikney to Miss Eleanor Le\mi. 
 
 ''November 2^, 1873. 
 
 ' ' My Dear Nellie : I thank you for your very sweet letter. So you. 
 passed over the rich, rare gems in the collection, with centuries of polish 
 up<jn them, to take tip a poor pebble that was washed on the shore only a 
 few years gone bj*. Y'ou passed by the diamond thoughts that were flashing 
 from every page, to look at a little dew-drop that dissolves at the touch, and 
 that, too, a dew-drop not distilled from the skies, but born of earth. Well I 
 so it is, my child. Affection ofteii blinds us to the beautiful, and magnifies 
 a trifle into something of value. 
 
 " The volume has poetry in it, and you will not fail to find it out. Already 
 you have given good promise of a skill in poesy, which will develop, I 
 doubt not, in something that may be gathered up by and by more akin to- 
 the diamond than the pebble. Love to all. 
 " l''ours affectionately, 
 
 "W. PINKNEY." 
 
 In 1869 Dr. Pinkney issued from the press another small 
 volume of poems, entitled " Ernest Murray : or a dream of life," 
 with numerous " sonnets "' appended. Like '■ The Songs for the 
 Seasons '" it was dedicated to his parishioners, but in this case '' to 
 the young members of Ascension parish,'" with the purpose that 
 the proceeds of sale should be given to " The Ladies" Association 
 for the Ijenefit of the church."' Only a limited edition was pub- 
 lished, and no special efforts were made to promote its sale. Iil 
 his dedication of the work he says : 
 
 1
 
 LIFE OF BISHOr I'lXKNEY. l.*!;"* 
 
 " I have iudulf^ed myself in a dream of life. Some may think it too hit^hly 
 colored, but still it is life as it should be, and as, ])y the ^Tuce of (JOD. it 
 may become. If I should, in this little, uniJicttMidinu vohiiiif. tuui'li one 
 chord of feeling in your bosimi, or communicate to yoii one thou;,dit worthy 
 <if being remembered, or be able to add a mite to the fund now in the hand's 
 of the working ladies oi the parish, whose self-sacriticing labors liave been 
 my solace and my joy, I shall have attained all that I ecuild desire. 
 
 " You will accept the ofl'ering as a pledge of no common love ft. r those 
 who have never failed in tender love to me." 
 
 The i^oem, in blank verse, is a smgulaiiy toucliiug and beautiful 
 story of early love and wedded life, at first full of domestic l^liss 
 and hallowed joys; then of woman's uufailino^ devotion in holy 
 trust, and prayer, and wifely love, under and all through the 
 change that passed for a season over " love's young dream ; " and 
 finally of the sweet return of tender love and wedded joy in a 
 happy Christian home sanctified by deeds of piety and charity 
 in the communion of the Church. 
 
 The concluding- paragraph gives its moral : 
 
 '* A moral learn. How potent is the spell 
 Of woman's faith in this dark, fitful hour I 
 How vigils kept, and words of silent praver. 
 Are blessed of GOD the ills of life to heal ! 
 They are so like the secret, subtle powers 
 That rule the air and mould the earth at will ; 
 The all-jjervadiug light, the pearly dew. 
 That one can scarcely tell the force he feels. 
 And still another moral lies concealed 
 Beneath the web unw'oven of a life 
 Which all who on it gaze may emulate. 
 It is, how sweet a homestead may be made 
 By unpretending, meekest deeds of love ; 
 HoW' much of music may be w^afted o'er 
 The social board where, each returning eve, 
 The loved ones gather to disport in smiles, 
 And every string to melody is tuned 
 By those who skilful are in the great art." 
 
 The '• sonnets," fifty-two in number, apj^ended to this poem, 
 are upon a variety of subjects, some addressed to persons, some 
 " in memoriam," and some on reminiscences of places ; and in all 
 of them there is the same sweet flow of thought, feeling, and 
 diction that characterizes all his poetry. 
 
 The brief lyrics, already referred to, which he wrote at inter- 
 vals, and later in life, and were printed on leaflets, are here 
 introduced in ftdl, as printed. 
 
 In 1880, he"wrote and had so printed "The Old Clock." The 
 Bishop's preparatory note, and the monogram itself, sufliciently 
 explain the circumstances. " The Old Clock " was an heirloom 
 in his wife's family, and as it stood upon the mantel in his Blen- 
 heim home, and was daily looked up to in noting the hours as 
 they passed, his thoughts clustered aroimd the history and asso
 
 136 LIFE OF BISHOr riNKXEY. 
 
 ciatious connected with '' The Old Clock." In fancy he makes it 
 tell its own history : 
 
 THE OLD CLOCK. 
 
 This old clock was imi^orted from England by Edward Lloyd, whose son 
 was governor, and taken to his beautiful estate. Wye, in Talbot county, 
 Maryland. On his death it was removed to Annapolis, where it stood for 
 years in the old Lloyd mansion. It was then removed to Blenheim, near 
 IBladeusburg, Prince George's county, where it still is. This was the family 
 residence of Richard T. Lowndes, Esq. 
 
 It rests on two marble pillar, and is surmoiinted by a large brass eagle, 
 with outstretched wings. The mechanism is antique, dating back over one 
 hundred years. 
 
 W. P. 
 An old-time clock essayed to tell 
 
 Its history to me ; 
 A strange and checkered tale it is, 
 Of sorrow and of glee. 
 
 My first sweet home beyond the seas 
 
 Was England, free and grand. 
 Whose palaces and castle towers 
 O'erlooked the rock-girt strand. 
 
 But of those early sunny hours 
 
 'Tis little I can glean. 
 Save that in gallant ship I roA'ed 
 
 O'er ocean's silvery sheen. 
 
 I listened to the pf[3ing breeze 
 
 Which filled the flowing sail ; 
 I heard the tempest's deafening roar 
 
 Which made the stout heart qiiail : 
 
 I gazed upon the foaming deep. 
 
 The waste of waters 'roimd : 
 And revelled in the beautiful 
 
 And terrible profound. 
 
 "There is a nameless majesty, 
 
 A secret, potent spell 
 In ocean, when at rest it lies. 
 
 As in its wildest swell. 
 
 Old ocean passed, we neared the capes 
 
 Which stood out from the shore : 
 And thou I felt that I should rove 
 
 That heaviu" sea no more. 
 
 Erom this time forth the Western world, 
 
 A land surpassing fair. 
 Became my happy, bright abode, 
 
 Happy beyond compare. 
 
 'Twas on a sweet, autumnal morn. 
 
 This old clock said to me, 
 "When first I saw the l)auks of Wye, J 
 
 Mv rest bevond the sea. {
 
 LIFE OF lilSlloi' I'INKM'.V. 137 
 
 A resting-i)liU'(' most fit it was. 
 
 Emblem of Eiij^land's jiridc ; 
 For, tlioiij^h uo massivf fortress fi'owiu'd 
 
 Across 8t. George's tide. 
 
 There was euough of wealth ami jiower 
 
 On beauteous bunks of Wve. 
 The England I had left behind 
 
 To i3ich;re to the eye. 
 
 A lawn of velvet, fresh and green. 
 
 Lay stretched serenely there. 
 While feathered songsters trilled their notes 
 
 All blithely on the air. 
 
 The owner of that lordly place. 
 
 Of English birth and name. 
 Though not a subject of the realm. 
 
 Sustained its ancient fame. 
 
 How long I stayed, or what I saw, 
 
 While resident at Wye 
 Is living now in echoes soft, 
 
 Enshrined in memory. 
 * * * * 
 
 Next I was called to chime the hours 
 
 Near Chesapeake's blue wave. 
 Where Severn rolls its silver tide 
 
 And Anne's town is laid. 
 
 They placed me on an antique board, 
 
 To tick the lapse of time. 
 And all within the mansion heard 
 
 Kich miasic in my chime. 
 
 The lady * I remember well. 
 
 Who graced the parlor where 
 I stood ; the chronicler of .ioys 
 
 That bloomed and blossomed there. 
 
 She was the paragon of all 
 
 That constitutes the power 
 Of woman in her fairest form. 
 
 The gem of Eden's bower. 
 
 The young and beautiful and gay 
 
 Disported in her smile ; 
 The old, whose locks were turned to gray. 
 
 E'er tiirned to her the while. 
 
 A clust'ring band of maidens fair. 
 
 Like dewy buds in May, 
 By many winning arts conspired 
 
 To lengthen out the day. 
 
 Or in the quiet hours of eve. 
 
 When shadows near are cast. 
 With smile and joyovis laughter made 
 
 The minutes fly too fast. 
 
 * Mrs. Lloyd.
 
 138 LIFE OF UISHOr riXKNEY. 
 
 A poet's eye * oft looked on me ; 
 
 And yet. 'tis strange to tell. 
 He never with his tunet'nl lyre 
 
 Once thanked me for the spell 
 
 With which I soothed the passing hours. 
 
 As swiftly as they flew, 
 Turning their leaden wings to joy, 
 
 And o'er them drojjping dew. 
 
 That poet there a maiden sought, 
 
 A queenly maid w'as she. 
 Of eyes of blue and flaxen locks, 
 
 And air of witchery. 
 
 He wooed, and won the heart he wooed. 
 
 A prize of golden hue, 
 Yet not one song did he indite 
 
 The old clock fair and true. 
 
 He sung of freedom, and the cause 
 
 Bj' freemen held so dear. 
 Whose banner waved triumphantly 
 
 When freedom's foes were near. 
 
 'Tis true a soaring eagle perched 
 
 UlJon my head to rest. 
 And yet I failed one chord to touch 
 
 Within his tuneful breast. 
 
 * * * * 
 
 A custom from the land I left. 
 Old England true and brave. 
 
 O'er which St. Geoi-ge's cross doth still 
 In holy triumph wave. 
 
 The custom, I remember well, 
 Was practised here as there : 
 
 'Twas at the chime of nine to sit. 
 The gallant and the fair. 
 
 By board with rarest dainties spread, 
 And sparkling cup of wine : 
 
 With flash of wit to season well 
 That thrilling chime at nine. 
 
 Long years flew' by, but still I gazed 
 On many a blissful scene : 
 
 And tick, tick, tick, I chimed the hours 
 Which fled like fancy's dream. 
 
 * * * * 
 
 They took me to an inland home, 
 'Mid fields and forest trees, 
 
 Where flowers their sweetest odors flung 
 Out on the truant breeze. 
 
 It was to me a happy home. 
 The days flew swift and fast ; 
 
 And hai^pier hearts rich incense breathed 
 Upon them as they passed. 
 
 * F. S. Key.
 
 LIFE OF BISHOl' rrXKNEY. 13<J' 
 
 'Twas not the wealth that charnu-d me ikpw, 
 
 Those acres broad and },'raud ; 
 A mirror of St. Geor^'e's cross, 
 
 My own sweet fatherland. 
 
 Oh. no 1 it was the blending there 
 
 Of lovinf,' lieart with heart ; 
 It was the t,'rasp which fondly clings 
 
 "NVitli hooks no force can ])art. 
 
 The owner * of that inland home, 
 
 Of noblest fonn and mould, 
 A gentleman he was ' ' who>ie like 
 
 We'll ne'er again beliold." 
 
 There was a native dignity, 
 
 A matchless power and grace 
 In all the deeds his life displayed, 
 
 And beamings of his face. 
 
 Uusnllied from his childhood hours, 
 
 Untouched by taint of earth, 
 A diamond of the brightest ray 
 
 Could scarce reflect his worth. 
 
 Well read in England's classic lore, 
 
 Endowed with native wit ; 
 The very realm of dulness he 
 
 With beams of gladness lit. 
 
 Britannia's list of lordly knights 
 
 No nobler name displayed ; 
 The green sod, let it lightly pres."* 
 
 Where his fair form is laid. 
 
 The lady + of that mansion, too. 
 
 Of gentleness made up ; 
 Her voice was feeling's magic tone. 
 
 Her heart was feeling's cup. 
 
 Though reared in stateliness and i:)omp, 
 
 With every want supplied. 
 She meekly bowed her head, and smiled 
 
 When blessings were denied. 
 
 To cheer the path by sorrow trod. 
 
 To smooth the rugged way, 
 She labored on in cheerfulness 
 
 And sped the passing day. 
 
 The i30or ne'er envied her her lot, 
 
 For sure they always felt 
 That as a steward of her Lord, 
 
 She with them fairly dealt. 
 
 * E. T. Lowndes. 
 
 + Mrs. R. T. Lowndes.
 
 140 LIFE OF BISHOP PIXKNEY. 
 
 The life which sweetly passed below 
 In iDrayfulness and love, 
 
 Melted into the l)ri<j;hter life 
 That culminates above. 
 
 One maid there was. of dtirk brown hair. 
 
 And one of lighter hue. 
 Unlike in form, in features fair, 
 
 Each * had an eye of blue. 
 
 They grew together on one stem, 
 
 They drank of common dew : 
 Their hearts were blended closer still. 
 
 If e'en their hearts were two. 
 
 Two youths + there were in that bright throng 
 
 The one of sjiarkling wit. 
 The other pure as drop of dew 
 
 With morning sunbeam lit. 
 
 But still one other change came o'er 
 
 My life's poetic dream : 
 I see it now. I feel it. too, 
 
 A fitful, changeful stream. 
 
 Two links are all that now are left 
 
 Upon that golden chftin : 
 The other links, I trust, repose 
 
 Where loves eternal reign. 
 
 Tick, tick, tick, I note the hours, 
 
 A solitary thing : 
 Myself alone, unchanged as yet. 
 
 Of changeful time I sing. 
 
 Tick, tick. tick. I count the hours. 
 
 From sunrise to sunset : 
 And all through life's declining years 
 
 To tick I'll ne'er forget. 
 
 I know 'tis sad alone to be. 
 
 Survivor of our joys. 
 Where but an echo of the past 
 
 Our sympathy employs. 
 
 But still a solace sweet there is. 
 
 A rich consoling power. 
 In thought that sorrows all will cease 
 
 With life's fast fleeting hour. 
 
 In thought that as the moments fly. 
 
 And time grows daily less. 
 My tick proclaims the end of all 
 
 In this bleak wilderness. 
 
 And when all chime of hour is o'er. 
 
 And time itself shall die, 
 Immeasureless, in waves of light. 
 
 Shall flow eternity. 
 
 * Misses A. and E. L. Lowndes. 
 + Edward and B. O. Lowndes.
 
 LIFE OF JMSIIOI' I'INKNEY. I II 
 
 " The Soiig- of the Aiio-t'ls," a Christmiis lyric, whk written iit 
 the close of the year 1882. and a hmited muuhci- was jjrinted on 
 a beautiful leaflet, copies of which he sent to his friends. It is 
 here ^-iven : 
 
 THE SONG OF THE ANGELS. 
 
 The sdiiL^ of tlu- iinj,'t'ls. 
 
 How smoothly it j^liih-s 
 Over moiiutain and viiUey 
 
 Aud swift-rolliug tides, 
 
 To the meek ear of faith, 
 
 Whifh drinks in the note, 
 Surpassing, in sweetness. 
 
 All echoes that flout ; 
 
 From the whisper of pines 
 
 And hill (if the waves. 
 To the night bird, that warbles 
 
 On trees amid graves. 
 
 The song of the angels, 
 
 O let it sweep on, 
 Thongh mute be their harp-strings, 
 
 The minstrelsy gone. 
 
 For how can a music. 
 
 So marvellous, die. 
 If faith be the hearer. 
 
 With star in the sky ? 
 
 The D(mie is still lighted 
 
 By lamps hung on high : 
 The" ladder, not lifted, " 
 
 Is linked to the sky. 
 
 Why may not the angels 
 
 Still hover on wing. 
 Ascending, descending, 
 
 Glad tidings to bring ? 
 
 In cathedrals of old 
 
 The song is still heard. 
 Proclaiming the story 
 
 Of Jesus the Word. 
 
 The song of the angels 
 
 Is ever the same ; 
 The spark it enkindles 
 
 Of love into flame. 
 
 For while shepherds no more 
 
 Their vigils may keep 
 O'er flocks in the starlight. 
 
 The lambs, and the sheep, 
 
 While all may be silent 
 
 And hushed in the sky. 
 There's music still floating 
 L As angels sweep by.
 
 142 LIFE or BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 I will uot, I will not 
 
 Give up my fond dream, 
 
 However unlikely 
 
 To sense it may seem, 
 
 That I, a lone pil,i2;rim. 
 Those angels still hear, 
 
 Who see a bris^ht diamond 
 In each falling tear. 
 
 Give the glory to God, 
 The song is the same. 
 
 The harps are all golden. 
 The wings are all flame. 
 
 The ages roll by me, 
 I muse by the way. 
 
 Each sweep of the billow 
 Commands me to pray. 
 
 ' The manger still greets me, 
 
 The sweet babe within, 
 The love to redeem me. 
 From bondage and sin. 
 
 No flow in the river 
 
 Those marks can erase ; 
 
 They'll stand there forever, 
 Bright symbols of grace. 
 
 AVho then can imagine 
 That angels no more 
 
 Will waft their hosannas 
 From mountain to shore ? 
 
 Ascending, descending. 
 That ladder of gold. 
 
 Was not this the bright dream 
 To Jacob of old ? 
 
 And when they stood over 
 The manger that night, 
 
 And i^oured on the chill ah- 
 Their song of delight. 
 
 Was not that sweet echo 
 E'er destined to be 
 
 The music to linger 
 O'er highland and sea. 
 
 Till Ifjst in the anthem 
 Of glory and praise, 
 
 When the new song is sung 
 To th' ancient of days ? 
 
 For one I believe it, 
 'Tis sweeter to me 
 
 Than fdl below heaven. 
 Or aught else I see. 
 
 I sit by the wayside 
 With tear in the eye. 
 
 My heart, it is heavy, 
 My burden a sigh.
 
 LIFE OF r.ISIlol' riNKNEY. 143 
 
 But in mv depressiou 
 
 I list to the lay 
 Wliifli angels of glory 
 
 Made tuneful that day. 
 
 As I listen, I hear 
 
 The harpings of old. 
 The bright angels I see, 
 
 Yon ladder of gold. 
 
 — "William Pinkney. 
 
 Perhaps the most highly prized of the letters that came to him 
 iu relation to his poetical compositions was that received at a later 
 period from his valued friend, Dr. J. C. "Welling, President of 
 Columbian University, who upon the receipt of " The Songs of 
 the Angels," at the Christmastide of 1882, sent the following- 
 letter : 
 
 " V,y.iO lilTH St., Washington. January 2-i, iHs:}. 
 
 " My Deae Bishop : I have very sincerely to thank you for your kind note, 
 and for the beantiful Christmas lyrie with which it is acc(Mnpauied. And 
 this time I have had the ' (lentle shepherdess' to share with me the i)leas- 
 iire of reading your tiineful measures. What a fou-ntain of i)oetic ins})iratiou 
 has been opened in the Christian castaly I A thonsand poets have dropped 
 their golden urns into its crystal de])ths, and yet your ' Songs of the Angels ' 
 comes to remind us that we can still write ' labitur et labctur ' in praise of 
 the waters which are as perennial as they are pure and sjjarkling. 
 
 " The old critics seem to have suspected that tliere was something factitious 
 in the supernatin-alism of the classic mythology, and hence they gave to it 
 the name of ' machinery,' when it was applied in the poetic art, and the 
 deua ex machina became a sort of byword. 
 
 " You have made a high poetical use of the mystic ladder which meets us 
 in Genesis and in St. John's Gospel. One of the old Latin hymnologists, 
 Adam of St. Victor, has seen in that ladder a type of Christ : its base rests 
 on earth, in Christ's humanity ; its top ' is linked to the sky ' because it 
 rests against Christ's Divinity. 
 
 " We hope soon to see yoir iu our new home, where I need not say for the 
 gentle shepherdess or myself, that yoii will always find a cordial greeting, 
 and wishing you all happiness for the New Y'ear, I am, my dear Bishop, 
 
 " Most affectionately vours, 
 ••Bishop Pinkney. * J. C. WELLING." 
 
 Dr. Pinkney in his earlier or later life never sought and coveted 
 praise, flattery or compliments, hut with the instincts of a true 
 and noble man, earnestly aiming to do what lay within his power 
 towards all things good and useful, and even Ijeautiful, he 
 thoroughly appreciated such unsought commendations as came 
 to him from those in whose sincerity and judgment he coutided. 
 Nor had these the effect of producing in him vanity and self- 
 elation. They rather tended to deepen his Christian humility 
 and his sense of the need of a self-poised character to withstand 
 the allm-ements of popularity and applause. It has fallen to the 
 lot of few men to receive, as he did, so many strong expressions 
 and tokens of regard and admiration : and yet one could never 
 have known, from anvthino- that he said or did. that he was the
 
 144 ■ LIFE OF BISHOP TINKNEY. 
 
 favored recipient of such liiofh laudations. Humility was the 
 beautiful featiu'e in his Christian character. 
 
 His last two poems were ''A Little While "" and '• The Old Ai'm- 
 Chair : "" the first written some time before, and the latter after, 
 the death of his wife, probably not long before his own decease. 
 
 A feeling of sadness and chastened sorrow pervades them both, 
 but it was mingled with a sweet and holy resignation, and with 
 even joyful anticipations of the glory to be revealed. He felt 
 that he was nearing the end of his own working' time : and in 
 the few biief hours for self-musings that he could secure from 
 the active duties of the Episcopate, his thoughts dwelt much on 
 the blessed rest of the faithful departed, into which he was 
 ti'ustiug. and even longing, soon to enter to be forever with the 
 LORD, and in blissful reunion with the loved ones gone before. 
 It is thus that we see somewhat of the inner life of the soul. 
 
 He had •' A Little "WTiile '" printed in a leaflet. It is here given : 
 
 A LITTLE Y\'HILE. 
 
 'Tis but a little while 
 
 I toil below : 
 The foam is on the sea. 
 
 Winds jfiereely blow. 
 One star of silver sheen 
 
 Bedecks the sky : 
 It glimmers o'er the waste, 
 
 Afar and nigh. 
 
 It is the sjTnbol of 
 
 Repose and peace : 
 It points me to the time 
 
 When storm-winds cease. 
 I hail it in the dawn 
 
 And dewy eve : 
 Sweet harbinger of hope. 
 
 The sonl's reprieve. 
 
 For though that star may fade, 
 
 It is the sign 
 Of brighter joys in store, 
 
 A golden shrine. 
 Where hearts may Ijreathe once more 
 
 Sweet incense there. 
 Or bathe in ocean dejiths. 
 
 Or lisp in prayer. 
 
 Oh I sweet and happy thought I 
 
 Oh I bliss complete I 
 'Mid smiles and tears to bow 
 
 At Jesus' feet ; 
 Then soar on viewless wing 
 
 " 'Mid worlds unknown," 
 And gaze enrapt upon 
 
 The great white throne :
 
 LIFE OF 15ISII0I' riNKNEY, MJ 
 
 And drink the liini)i(l stivain 
 
 That flows l)t'sidf 
 The New Jenisalfiii, 
 
 The Lanil)'s pure Bride ; 
 And walk the golden streets, 
 
 And ever sing 
 Hosannas to the Lord, 
 
 Onr Priest and King. 
 
 Glide on ye languid hours, 
 
 Take swifter wing : 
 I count the moments o'er, 
 
 A weary thing 
 To this ])oor. helpless soul 
 
 That longs to see 
 The marvels of God's grace 
 
 Revealed in me, 
 
 As they will soon apjjear 
 
 The other side 
 Of life's dee]) mysteries 
 
 And turbid ti(le ; 
 When every deed is done, 
 
 And sorrow past, 
 I stand within my lot. 
 
 Complete at last. 
 
 A while to linger here, 
 
 To fast and pray ; 
 A little while to sow 
 
 Beside the way ; 
 While tears my spirit feed,. 
 
 And darkness lowers, 
 With here and there a ray 
 
 To kiss the flowers. 
 
 A little while, and then, 
 
 The palm in hand, 
 The river in its flow. 
 
 And golden strand, 
 The smile of God within, 
 
 The sweet repose, 
 The heart from sin set free. 
 
 As free from woes. 
 
 Oh ! sweet and happy day ! 
 
 I wish thee near : 
 " No wrinkle on thy brow,"' 
 
 No briny tear ; 
 All hail I a thrice all hail ! 
 
 I sigh for rest, 
 I long to lay me down 
 
 Upon His breast, 
 
 Who died that we might live. 
 
 Forever more, 
 And sweep a golden harp 
 
 On Beulah's shore. 
 He still in pity waits, 
 
 Locks wet with dew. 
 Each spot of sin to cleanse,. 
 
 Each soul renew.
 
 146 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 I do uot dare repine 
 
 At His decree. 
 "Who has ordained that I 
 
 Should roam a sea 
 So swept by angry storms 
 
 And tossed at will : 
 Por I can see the bow 
 
 Bent o'er it still. 
 
 I do not ask to go 
 
 Before the time : 
 I only ask that I 
 
 May hear the chime 
 Of bells within the heart, 
 
 Sweet hope and love, 
 AVhich ever music wake 
 
 Like that above. 
 
 I only ask for faith 
 
 To keep me pure — 
 To nerve me for the ills 
 
 That I endure — 
 The star of hope to see 
 
 That glimmers on ; 
 Till I above it soar. 
 
 All duty done. 
 
 — William Pixkxey. 
 
 " The Old-Ai-m Chair " was found among his 3IS. jDapers. It is 
 not known that it was ever printed. The original is marked with 
 his interhneations and corrections, and seems to have been left 
 in a complete state. It is here given : 
 
 'Tis passing strange, the old arm-chair. 
 
 Deserted now I see ; 
 No more those tender eyes of blue 
 
 Look up in love on me. : 
 
 I look, but still I look in vain. 
 
 No form is resting there. 
 The smile is gone, the music note ! 
 
 All but that old arm-chair. 
 
 And yet it hath a tuneful tongue, 
 
 Sweeter than organ tone. 
 Which rings in echoes on my soul. 
 
 Though I am left alone. 
 
 I sit beside it as of old, 
 
 I see the image still. 
 Which made the valleys smile with joy, 
 
 And each meandering rill. 
 
 It breathes on me and oft repeats 
 
 The tale of ceaseless love : 
 And o'er the desert waste of life, 
 
 In whispers of the Dove
 
 LIFE OF insnol' I'INKNHV. 1-17 
 
 Who hovers o'er the chirk abyss. 
 
 Ami turns my ui<^'ht to ihiy. 
 Recalling to my iingnished heart 
 
 Its sure, abiding stay. 
 
 It tells mo she hath gone befor<> 
 
 To wait in patience tliere. 
 Where hope is swallowed np in bliss. 
 
 A bliss beyond compare. 
 
 And as on bended knee I bow 
 
 Beside that old arm-chair. 
 I feel the hallowed touch of love, 
 
 While I kneel meekly there. 
 
 I would not give the thoughts that burn 
 
 Those pledges sweet of love. 
 For all that earth can yield to me. 
 
 As I through desert rove. 
 
 That old arm-chair, I hail it still, 
 
 So sweet in its re])()se ; 
 The ladder on it laid, I see. 
 
 With scent of Sharon's rose. 
 
 I see her still, as oft before. 
 
 Serenely seated there ; 
 Or else in lowliness and faith. 
 
 Kneeling in act of prayer. 
 
 I wander on in solitude, 
 
 A pilgrim here below. 
 In hope that I at last may see 
 
 The laud of golden glow. 
 
 And as I sit in silence there, 
 
 Or kneeling down I pray, 
 I catch by faith the angel song 
 
 Which speeds the coming day 
 
 When tears shall be to diamonds turned. 
 
 Those diamond drops of dew ; 
 And every sigh be lu;shed in joy, 
 
 " All rapture through and through." 
 
 These musings on the happy past. 
 
 So full of cheer to me. 
 Appear as angels, sent in love, 
 
 To bear my soul to thee. 
 
 The LORD of life incarnate word. 
 
 Who leads Thy children home ; 
 And o'er each troubled soul of thine 
 
 Whispers the welcome, come, 
 
 I'll give you rest, the endless rest, 
 
 To burdened souls so sweet. 
 On Beulah's shore where sorrow cease 
 
 And all is love complete.
 
 148 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 By faith I see the image still 
 Which loves to linger there ; 
 
 The touch I feel that thrills me now 
 Of that dear old arm-chair. 
 
 It is the soother of the heart, 
 Link on the mystic chain, 
 
 I love it still. It bids me hope, 
 Nor evermore complain. 
 
 'Tis passing strange and wonderful I 
 
 No changes do I see. 
 Save that one loved one less remains 
 
 To look in love on me. 
 
 I cross the threshhold of the room, 
 Where all that meets my eye 
 
 Keflects the joy that once was mine 
 When not a cloud was nigh. 
 
 I pause to catch the music tone, 
 
 I fancy I can hear 
 Those accents soft, that woke a smile, 
 
 Or brushed away a tear. 
 
 But this I know may never be. 
 
 My lot in life is cast ; 
 It is to watch, and work, and weep. 
 
 Till Jordan's waves are passed. 
 
 I would not have the cross removed, 
 It is the LORD'S decree ; 
 
 Enough it is to know and feel 
 The cross is best for me. 
 
 It is a cross beside the crown. 
 My SAVIOR laid it there ; 
 
 LORD, give me grace to welcome it. 
 Till I its jewels wear. 
 
 Farewell to all the joys of yore. 
 Farewell, a sad farewell ; 
 
 The golden gates I they stand ajar, 
 Where souls in CHRIST shall dwell. 
 
 My harp is on the willows hung, 
 
 I sit beside the stream ; 
 ■'Tis not the stream of Babylon, 
 
 Where hope sheds not one beam. 
 
 My seat is by Siloam's brook. 
 Which softly glides along 
 
 Through gardens, where the bird of hope 
 Pours forth its matin song. 
 
 One other * now is bowed in grief, 
 He sighs in silence here ; 
 
 Yet none there are who know so well 
 The blessing of a tear. 
 
 *Mr. B. O. Lowndes.
 
 LIFE OF KISHOl' PINKNEY. 149 
 
 Her lidurs of life hi' lived to soothe, 
 
 To duty ever true ; 
 O'er her he shed the heart's warm light, 
 
 Or radiant drops of dew. 
 
 They lived together, and in peace 
 
 Tliey sped the passing hour ; 
 While eaeh into the other grew 
 
 Like leaflets on one flower. 
 
 His faith looks iip, and on this cross 
 
 He sees his Father's will ; 
 The end of all he waits to see 
 
 Kevealed on Zion's hill. 
 
 One link is all that now is left 
 
 On Blenheim's golden chain ; 
 I pray that GOD may reunite 
 
 Those links, in one, again.
 
 160 LIFE OF BISHOP TINKNEY. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Mr. W. W. Corcoran— Death of Dk. J. H. Alexander. 1866-'67-'G8. 
 
 The circumstaBces which led to Dr. Pinkney's first acquamtance- 
 with Mr. W. W. Corcoran, so far as Imown, are of a very interest- 
 ing character. The generous proffer by the latter of the use of 
 the building on H street for the j^ublic services, after the Church 
 of the Ascension, in 1862, had been taken possession of by the 
 military authority for the uses of a hospital, naturally di-ew the 
 attention of Dr. Pinkney and his congregation to one who so 
 kindly came forward at a critical juncture for theii- relief. It is 
 likely that Mr. Corcoran, Avith his well-known sympathy for the 
 South, may have had his attention specially du-ected to Dr. Pink- 
 ney, also noted for similar views. However that may have been, 
 a subsequent mutual acquaintance was formed, which ripened 
 into a very strong and enduring friendship, marked throughout 
 its life-long continuance with the most tender evidences and 
 jDroofs of then- mutual love. 
 
 The munificent gift by Mr. Corcoran of a costly marble font to 
 the Church of the Ascension was received in 1866 and called for 
 acknowledgment. Dr. Pinkney, in his letter, while expressing his 
 thanks for the gift, took occasion to speak of the place and need 
 of baptism in the Church of CHRIST, as symbolized by the bap- 
 tismal font. 
 
 Mr. Corcoran had been all along an attendant upon Church 
 ministi"ations in one of the city churches, but he was still unbap- 
 tized and with no personal interest in the subject of religion. 
 Although not a jirofessor of religion, he was a man of large and 
 generous sj^mpathies and of most liberal benefactions for everj'- 
 thiug that was true and noble and tended to the good of his 
 fellow-creatures. What he needed was the recognition and ex- 
 perience in his own case of his personal need of a Saviour and of 
 the obligations of high and holy service to GOD in the communion 
 of the Church. Dr. Pinkney was blessed in being the instrument 
 under GOD of bringing that noble man and eminent philanthropist 
 into the communion of the Church : and it is striking to note with 
 what plainness of speech and Christian boldness in all dehcate 
 and persuasive, and yet direct and pungent, ways he brought the 
 matter of his duty before the great banker. 
 
 Dr. Pinkney's letter, in acknowledging the receipt of the font., 
 was as follows :
 
 LIFE OF mSHOI' I'lNKNKV. 1 Tj 1 
 
 •• Dr. Pinkiuy t» Mr. \V. W. ('»ri->,i;iu. 
 
 •• .J II HUH rn IH. IHC.C. 
 " Dear Sir : I have been waitiiat,' for the ivrrival of the font to ueknowh'd^'c 
 your kind thoughts of me and the chiueh at whose altar it in my f<'arful 
 responsibility to minister : but an act of kindness so nnlooked for <lemands 
 an early acknowlcd'^ment, and I now write to thank yon for it. You have 
 many friends of lon^r standin<^ who are far more eajiable of ajtpreciatinj^ 
 your _i;reat liljerality of spirit, and from whom the exprt-ssion of what they 
 feel eould not l)ut be most welcome ; but not one of them has vit>wed with 
 more pride and pleasure your noble acts, and that more nol.)le sjnrit that 
 prompts to noble acts than myself. I value the gift not so much for its 
 intrinsic value (and it is t'xquisitely beautiful and rich) as for the sympathy 
 it exi)resses, and the good feeling of the giver to one who hail no claim 
 whatever on your beneticence. While you were abroad I often thought of 
 you, and trusted you woiild be watched over and guarded until your return, 
 and now that you are at home again, and in view of your liberal gifts to the 
 city where you reside, I trust you may find all of heart happiness that is 
 deemed to be good for you by Him from whom all your good things come. 
 Your gift to the Ascension is a most invaluable gift to us, and, my dear sir, 
 would it be transcending the boiands of propriety for one who does not sus- 
 tain to you the relation of pastor to suggest that it calls ujj for review the 
 tirst and highest duty we owe to GOD in CHIUST '/ You have wealth, a host 
 of friends, a career of usefulness already past, full of kind deeds to others, 
 all that heart could covet here Ijelow : but, without faith in something 
 higher — the meek following in the footprints of CHRIST, which the holy 
 font pledges us to — you know that all is emptiness and vanity. And now. if 
 one who has no right to obtrude his thoughts ujjon you but the right that 
 one dying fellow-being has to say to another who has bestowed on him a 
 kindness, may, without offence, ask yoii to look upon that font and all it 
 symbolizes of love and mercy in an earnest spirit, that seeks a divine guide 
 and would tind rest for an imprisoned soul, I would affectionately whisper 
 just that one word in your ear to-day. If in this letter there is anything 
 that you would have erased, Just run your pen across it ; and for the font, 
 and the feeling that dictated the gift, all so unsolicited and unexpected by 
 me, accept mv sincere thanks. 
 
 •' Yours truly, " WM. PINKNEY. 
 
 " W. W. COKCOEAN, ESCI." 
 
 In April following- of this same year, 18G6, Dr. Pinkxey sent to 
 Mr. Corcoran a little work, the title of which is not know^n, but 
 from the tenor of his letter accompanying- it, it is sni^posed to 
 have contained a very clear and strong- elucidation of Christian 
 truth and of the sacred ordinances of the Church. 
 
 Dr. PiNKNEY begs his careful perusal of the work. His letter 
 is as follows : 
 
 '- April Ti. 1S(){;. 
 
 " Will my much-esteemed friend. Mr. Corcoran, excuse the liljerty I have 
 taken of asking his acceptance of a little work, as a slight token of friendship 
 from one who often thinks of him, and covets for him, in the midst of the 
 muuiticent gifts of Providence, that higher gift which sanctities and sweetens 
 the rest? It is written with wonderful beauty of style, and illustrated with 
 the most attractive imagery. I know of no work which occupies the ground 
 it takes, and I am fully persuaded that, in those calm, quiet moments, when 
 free from the cares of "business and the pleasure of the social cii-cle, you will
 
 152 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 find its perusal an intellectual treat and a great practical blessing. It is not 
 possible, my dear sir, for any of us to lose sight of the stewardship we fill, 
 or of the vanity of everything below the skies : and, although it may seem 
 to be presumptuous in one who is so full of infirmity to proffer either advice 
 or counsel to you, there is that in the office I bear which justifies my prof- 
 fering to you a book so full of touching beauty and tenderness rrf appeal. 
 
 " "With the monuments of your munificence scattered all around you in the 
 beautiful retreat pro^-ided for those who know nothing of the pleasures of 
 the homestead, and the thousand other objects you have patronized, you 
 must still feel that your work is not begun, much less completed, so long as 
 the gift of that noblest of all your possessions — yourself — is withheld from 
 GOD. The Scriptures tell us of those who gave themselves first, and then 
 offered up their memorial of prayers and alms to GOD : and now, my dear 
 sir, is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation — the day and the hour 
 in which you may follow their bright example. 
 
 "If, iu'thus obtruding upon your time unasked, I should seem to tran- 
 scend the privilege of a friend or the legitimate province of a minister of 
 Christ who is only your fellow-sinner, you will, I am sure, in respect to the 
 motive, overlook "the presvimption of the act. I might have talked- to you 
 face to face, but there is something in the written expression of the feelings 
 of a friend which remains with us. and appeals to us more powerfully still. 
 For that I have a predilection. All that I ask is that you will take this little 
 work and give it a thoughtful and prayerfiil perusal. Head it when alone. 
 It is full of unction : the sweetest spirit pervades it ; it speaks right home 
 to the heart. Its beauty of style and richness of thought will command the 
 respect of your intellect, and the sifting power of the truth it inculcates, and 
 the satisfactory exposition it makes of the great scheme of redemption, w'ill 
 commend it to the heart. The world you have ' weighed in the balances,' 
 and I am sure you have found it wanting. The other world is near at hand. 
 My desire is to see you in earnest preparation for it in the use of the 
 ajipointed means : and if this little book, which is offered to you in the spirit 
 of unfeigned humility and true friendship, shoiild be blessed of GOD to your 
 assumption of the vows it is your privilege to make as a sinner before GOD, 
 I shall be devoutly thankful. It is as ' bread cast upon the waters.' Once 
 more I miast claim your indulgence, and close by signing myself, 
 
 " Yours truly, 
 
 •' W. W. CoECOHAN, Esq. ' WM. PINKNEY." 
 
 Towards the close of the ensuing year^ — that is, in 1867, Mr. 
 Corcoran experienced a most distressing domestic bereavement 
 in the death of his only daughter, Mrs. Louise Morris Eustis, wife 
 of Hon. George Eustis, who died in Cannes, France, on the 4th 
 of December in that year. Dying at an early age, before reaching 
 her 30th year, under a lingering attack of consumption, from 
 which relief had been sought by temporary residence in tbe south 
 of France, her death was mourned b}'^ a very large cii'cle of friends 
 and acquaintances, and was full of the most poignant grief to the 
 father. Mr. Corcoran had been summoned to Cannes by the 
 increasing illness of his daughter, and was privileged to be 
 with her during the closing days of her life. 
 
 While this great affliction excited profound sympathy and grief 
 on the part of Mr. Corcoran's many friends, there was no oneAvho 
 more deeply and tenderly felt it than Dr. Pinkney, as is evidenced 
 by the following letter of condolence, which he addi'essed to Mr.
 
 LIFE OF IJISHor riNKNKV. 15;j 
 
 Corcorau in Cannes very soon after the intelli<ifence of the deatli 
 had reached him : 
 
 ^^Eev. Dr. Pinkney to Mr. 11'. IT. Corcurdn. 
 
 ''December 23, IBfw. 
 
 " My Dear Sir : I was ^'veutly sliockt'd iiiid ^n-ievcd to heiir of the dt'iith 
 of your lamented dauj,diter: for, although I had only heard of her by the 
 hearing of the ear, I felt as though I had seen the loveliness of her oharaeter, 
 her extreme gentleness, and charming unselfishness. It is almost an intru- 
 sion of one who has not walked through the liery furnace that tries you to 
 l)rofifer words of comfort or offer the poverty of human sympathy ; and yet 
 I am sure you will not desijise this poor offering from one of the least valued 
 of your many friends. 
 
 " I have thoiight of you, all through this heart-rending trial, from the day 
 yow. left, amid the gleamings of hope and the dread of impending ill, to this 
 hour, when you are lonely and sad. GOD has ordered, in His mysterious but 
 all-wise Providence, that you who have so often wiped the tear from the eye 
 (jf ori)hanage, and soothed so many hearts in their hour of distress ])y your 
 munificent gifts, should feel the bitterness of the greatest loss that could 
 befall you. You must accept it as His app(;iiitment : and, oh I with the 
 many assurances that the death of those we love is a blessing on their souls 
 or ours, and that if we will it, these light afHictions will work for (jur g<Jod, 
 you cannot but rejoice to believe it true. Her very loveliness, the memory 
 of her still more lovely deeds of kindness and mercy to others, her strong 
 hold upon the heart affection of all who knew her, give you comfort in this 
 sad, sad hour. You know that to make her happy, and strew the pathway of 
 her young life with flowers, was the single aim and oliject of your life : and 
 that is an eloquent soother of the heart. You were with her, and, by a 
 thousand loving offices, you did all you could to win her back to life : and 
 that, too, is a source of sweetest soothing. There is, however, one s<mrce 
 of comfort — the great, the only sure source — and that is the cross of Christ. 
 There is one feeling above all the wealth of the chiefest human comfort, 
 and that is, that the sublime belief that GOD gives our loved ones sleep, and 
 that He waits to till the void which this Providence occasions. That cross 
 is accessible to you; that feeling may be yours. Shall I presume too much 
 on the claims of friendship if I venture to suggest the wisdom of casting 
 your care on Him who careth for you V 
 
 " You may plant one flower on her new-made grave which will adorn it 
 more beautifully than the costliest nuu-ble wroiight by the most cunning 
 artisan, and that is the flower of faith, which is moistened by the tear-drop 
 of patience and is redolent of Heaven. All below the bending l>lue is 
 vanitv and vexation of spirit, and voii must now realize it in its full force. 
 None' l)ut GOD can fill the void.' He can, if the jewel of faith takes the 
 place of the jewel removed from the golden casket of the heart. The tear 
 may gather on our eyelid, and we may grow weary (jf watching for the 
 returning footsteps of a loved one gone from us which shall nevermore echo 
 on our eager ear, but faith gives us back our dead and reconciles us to our 
 lot. This is not cold philosophy, the counselling of an unfeeling stoicism. 
 Oh, no! It is the sublimest philosophy: the very prompting of keenest, 
 truest sensibility. It is GOD'S own voice to us, ' Come unto Me, all ye 
 that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest : ' ' Cast your care 
 on Me, for I care tor you.' 
 
 •'You may, perhaps, think it strange that my thoughts are turned to you ; 
 but it is not strange. I have seen the granite* of your character tested and 
 proved, and, in sweetest i)roximity with it, I have seen the heart touched by 
 the sorrows you could not ward off : and that alone has nnide me feel that in
 
 154 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 this (lark hour, whik' the memory of the loved one departed is so fresh. 1 
 should like to say, if I may do so without ol)trusiou, that I mcjst deeply 
 sympathize with you in your great sorrow. 
 " Yoiirs truly, 
 
 •• W. PINKNEY." 
 
 The remains of Mrs. Louise Morris Eustis were subsequently 
 brought to this cotmtry, and on the 17th of February, 1868, the 
 funeral solemnities, attended by a large concourse of sympathiz- 
 ing- friends, were conducted by the Kev. Dr. Pinkney in the Cor- 
 coran mansion, who delivered a very impressive and appropriate 
 addi'ess on the occasion, from which the following extract is 
 taken : 
 
 ''From what I have seen of letters descriptive of the close of her fair young 
 life, I am satisfied that her thoughts had been much exercised about the 
 fiiture of the state beyond us : for such a death scene could not have crowned 
 any but a prayerful life. When told that her end was near, while she clung 
 to home and home endearments with all the instincts of her loving nature, 
 she received the communion, gave her parting counsels to all ai'ound her, 
 and sent her farewell greetings to loved ones absent, with an eloquence that 
 no words of mine can portray. With the father on one side of her and her 
 husband on the other, shfe fell asleep, while the kiss of love was still fresh, 
 and the last heart-throb told how deep and true that love was. Beloved, 
 you knew her better than I did. You knew her, many of you, in the bright, 
 sunny hour of childhood, the dawn of early womanhood, the blossoming of 
 riper years : and you know that this is no highly-colored portraiture. A 
 vision of loveliness '. she lingered for a little while on this earth, and then 
 faded away, like the glow of the golden sky w'hen night is upon us." 
 
 " The remains," as stated in one of the printed accounts of the 
 funeral, "were taken to Oak Hill Cemetery, Georgetown, and 
 placed in the mausoleum. The funeral cortege was one of the 
 largest ever seen in Washington. Every rank in our society was 
 represented on this mournful occasion. The Diplomatic Corps, 
 the Aa-my. Navy, Executive Departments, Corporate Authorities, 
 and citizens gathered to testify their regard to one so universally 
 esteemed in this his hour of affliction." 
 
 Oak Hill, upon the heights of Georgetown, stands unrivalled 
 among suburban cemeteries for its natural beauty and the density 
 of the line forest oaks that adorn the hillsides of its varied and 
 extensive grounds. It is thus described iu one of the issues of 
 the 2^atlonal Intelligence)' of Washington city : 
 
 ' ' The grand and delightful location of Oak Hill on the heights of George- 
 town, commanding a full and splendid view of the National Capital, of the 
 Potomac for many miles, and a wide and picturesque view of the country 
 in every direction, cannot be described: and the bold, beautiful, diversi- 
 fied conformations of the grounds, sloping, with their riigged oiitlines, down- 
 wards to the miiruiuring stream, iind shadowed with magnificent primitive 
 forest trees, complete the natural charms of the hallowed spot where the 
 high and holy sentiment of death, with so much taste and tenderness, is 
 consecrating its symbols, guarding its relics, and keeping fresh and sacred 
 its memories.
 
 LIFE OF lilSllol- I'INKNKV. 155 
 
 "This • densely w.Hidi'd tract nf liiiid ' wiis imn-lmsi'd liy Mr. \V. \V. 
 CoreoiiUi ill 1N47. uiid donated l)y liim to bis native city of Gi-ur^ji-town^' a 
 lasting' nionuiiieiit of his wide heiietieence.' The amount expended by Mr. 
 Corcoran upon its improvements ' exceeded the sum of one liumlred and 
 twenty thousand doUars.' 
 
 " By far the <,'raii(h'st specimen of chissical monumentid art in the 
 grounds is the octaiioual doric tempU' of white marhh- standini,' uiion a 
 conspicuous eminence, and surmountiu}:; the family vault of William W. 
 Corctjran." 
 
 It was iie.ar this structure tliat, tifteeu years later, at tlie close 
 of his Episcopate, Dr. Pinkney, then Bishop of Marylaiul. found 
 his own restino--place and that of his lieloved wife, under a costly 
 find beautiful monument erected hy the munificence of Mr. Cor- 
 coran to the memory of his much loved and revered friend. 
 
 In this connection it may be })roper to state that soon after the 
 death of Mrs. Louise ]\Iorris Eustis, liis only child, ]\Ir. Corcorau 
 formed the purpose of founding-, establishing, and endowing one 
 of the noblest benevolent institutions in this country, to be desig- 
 nated " The Louise Home." Upon spacious lots, in an elevated 
 pai't of the city, surrounded with costly private residences, Mr. 
 Corcoran caused to be erected a large and noble building, archi- 
 tectural in its structure, spacious in its accommodations, and 
 complete in all its provisions and arrangements for tlie comfort- 
 able maintenance and suj^port of a *' necessarily limited ninul)er "" 
 of necessitous ladies of " education and retinement," who, under 
 certain conditions, were to be admitted as the beneticiaries of the 
 institution. 
 
 To the construction of the bviilding in all its parts and details 
 Mr. Corcoran gave his own special supervision. He prepared 
 with great care and remarkable wisdom and caution all the pro- 
 visions for its future management, which he condensed in the 
 deed or charter which he executed when passing the control of 
 the institution into the hands of a board of trustees and of cer- 
 tain lady " directresses." He provided, also, an ample and 
 adecjuate endowment for the permanent support of the institu- 
 tion. 
 
 The work was completed and delivered by Mr. Corcoran into 
 the hands of trustees designated and appointed by himself in a 
 deed bearing date December 4, 1870. The following extracts 
 from that deed will sufficiently explain, for the purposes of this 
 narrative, the nature and })urposes of the institution : 
 
 • • F'liirthly. The trust hereby created is hereby declared, aud expressly lim- 
 ited to 1 )e, the founding, and perpetually keeping up', and supporting, and mau- 
 agement of an institution to be used exclusively for the comfortable mainte- 
 nance and support (not including the furnishing of wearing apparel ) of as many 
 such destitute, but refined and" educated, gentlewomen as aforesaid, a,s the 
 buildings, improvements, resources, and circumstances of the trust may, from 
 time totime, suitably accommodate, of which the directresses, or any seven 
 of them, with the coiiciirreuce of the founder, the said William W. Corcoran,
 
 156 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 -during the period of his uatural life, shall determine : such determination 
 and concurrence to be, as often as necessary, expressed upon the record. And 
 the ladies, directresses, hereinafter referred to. or any seven of them, with 
 the consent of the said trustees, and with the like concurrence of the 
 founder, during his lifetime, shall designate, from time to time, the persons 
 who shall have admission to the establishment as inmates, and may, from 
 time to time, in like manner, for sufficient cause in their judgment, expel any 
 inmate or inmates. 
 
 •' Fifthly. The said institution shall always be known by the name of 
 The Louise Home. 
 
 "Sixthly. There shall be no discrimination or distinction on accotmt of 
 religious creed or sectarian opinions, in respect of the trustees, directresses, 
 officers, or inmates, of the said establishment : but all proper facilities that 
 may be possible, in the judgment of the trustees, shall be allowed and fur- 
 nished to the inmates for the worship of Almighty GOD, according to each 
 one's conscientious belief." 
 
 The title of the mstitution, with the names of the trustees and 
 lady dii-ectresses apjjointed by Mr. Corcoran, is as follows : 
 
 " The Louise Home." 
 Founded by 
 
 W. W. COKCOEAN. 
 
 Erected in 1869, 
 
 And opened for the reception of inmates 
 
 April 17, 1871. 
 
 " Non igiiarus mail, miseris succurrese disco.''^ 
 
 Tbustees : 
 James M. Caklisle, of Washington, D. C. 
 George W. Riggs, of Washington, D. C. 
 James C. Hall, M. D., of Washington, D. C. 
 Anthony Hyde, of Georgetown, D. C. 
 
 Dieecteesses : 
 Mrs. B. Ogle Tayloe, of Washington, D. C. 
 Mrs. George W. Eiggs, of Washington, D. C. 
 Miss Sarah Coleman, of Washington, D. C. 
 Mrs. Eichard Coolidge, of Washington, D. C, 
 Mrs. James M. Carlisle, of Washington, D. C. 
 Mrs. John Marbury, Sen., of Georgetown, D. C. 
 Mrs. Eichard T. Merrick, of Washington, D. C. 
 Mrs. S. P. Hill, Washington, D. C. 
 Mrs. Beverly Kennon, Georgetown, D. C. 
 
 In the month of March, 1868, Dr. Pinkney had the great satis- 
 faction of receiving Mr. Corcoran into the Church by the Sacra- 
 ment of Holy Baptism. The fact and the circumstances of the 
 bajitism are only so far known as they are disclosed in the letter 
 which Dr. Pinkn5;y WTote after the baptism. 
 
 To a mind so clear and strong as Mr. Corcoran's, with a judg- 
 ment of men and things most wise and practical, and with a heart 
 alive to the generous impulses of humanity, it only needed that 
 religion should be seen and felt as a sjiu-itual power from GOD 
 
 d
 
 xJFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. lo7 
 
 to meet the needs of niaii'K life aiul Kecure for his iiumortal bouI 
 the blessedness of the life eternal. Under the marked and varicfl 
 experiences throuyli which he had passed — on the one hand j^^reat 
 prosperity in his worldly affairs and on the other sore bereayements 
 in the early deaths of his wife and only child — he may liave l)een 
 gradually led to see that those needs were met and that l)lesse(h 
 ness secured in the Gospel and Church of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 Coming, proyidentially. into touch Ayith a spirit and character like 
 Dr. Pinkney's he was not long in determining to become a follower 
 of Christ in the communion of the Church. 
 
 On the afternoon of the day of his baptism Dr. Pinkxey writes 
 to Mr. Corcoran as follows : 
 
 " Washington, March 29, 1868. 
 
 " My Dear Mr. Corcoran : There was miicli in the atteiulant cirfuin- 
 stances of your baptism, apart from its own intrinsie beauty and importance, 
 which touched me deeply, and caused my lip to (piiver in the act of the 
 celebration.* 
 
 " I mingled the waters of the Jordan with the water ali-eady prepared, so 
 that the brilliant scenes enacted in that most interesting of the waters of 
 old were brought into almost actual contact with the grandest event of your 
 life ; that which brings you into the household and family of GOD. A 
 Syrian lejjcr was cleansed in Jordan ; the children passed over it when it 
 flowed back at the command of the LOliD ; CHRIST was himself baptized 
 in it ; and in all these respects there is a touching and beaTitiful significance 
 in the use of its waters in the sacrament I administered to-day. The font 
 was your own munificent gift, unasked for and uuexjiected. GOD took the- 
 flower you had so carefully watered and blessed from your bosom just as 
 it was shedding the aroma of its sweetness over your declining years, and 
 transplanted it to softer skies and a more congenial climate. You gave Him, 
 to-day, the flower of yoiu' heart, which the cold winds of adversity had beat 
 upon, biit which had, of late years, blossomed in abundance and plenty; 
 and you gave it to Him when He caused one deep shadow to creep over it, 
 and thus you consecrated the touch of the Fatherly Hand that afflicted you 
 for your good. 
 
 "It is a signal mercy of GOD that the freshness of your heart was not 
 lost in the glare and glitter of a worldly prosperity which few have wit- 
 nessed ; and now, my dear brother, that the waters of Jordan have 1>een 
 poured on your head, and the new birth of water and the Spirit is vouchsafed 
 to you, and you share in the army of the saints right under the blood- 
 stained banner of the cross, and have proclaimed jjublicly that you are not 
 ashamed of Christ, and have professed Him before men, you may walk 
 with assured steps to the water's edge of that other Jordan, satisfied that 
 He will conduct you over in safety who has blessed the font and made it 
 the laver of regeneration for us. 
 
 " There is something very touching in one of the incidents mentioned in 
 the second lesson of the day which, it strikes me, we may regard as provi- 
 dential, which, perhaps, neither you nor I thought of when we fixed upon 
 this day as the time. It is that Christ went out at night, and abode in 
 the Mount of Olives. He went there to meditate and pray. The world is 
 dark ; fiery trials await us ; the battle rages ; the powers of evil are trouping 
 around us ; the evil within us is intensely active ; the cares of this wt)rld 
 multiply themselves. To-day you have enlisted as a good soldier of Jesus 
 Christ. The font yoia gave' us, of solid marble, with the cross moulded 
 on, or rather carved out of it, the befitting sign of our profession, is now
 
 158 LIFE OF mSHOP riNKNEY. 
 
 consecrated in yonr own Ijaptism. On the canvas one picture meets qui 
 view. It is surijassiug beaiitiful. It is Christ going up to the M(junt of 
 Olives, and dwelling there all through the hours of the night, praying for 
 us. As He ascended from that self-same Mount, and took possession of the 
 Heaven for us. so He prays for us still : and on that prayer of intercession 
 all our hopes of Heaven depend. It is something remarkable that in the 
 same second lesson (providentially, as I believej, you are reminded of the 
 necessity of taking heed, watching unto jjrayer. With this injunction the 
 scene closes. 
 
 " Drawn to you before you had, in any way, identified yourself with my 
 poor ministry, by the moral bravery I had witnessed, the large-hearted 
 charity of your life, your dignity and devotion to principle at a time when 
 time-serving is so popular, I tho\;ght of you with a perfectly disinterested 
 feeling, sent you a loving message when God took from yoii the joy of your 
 life, paid my humble tribute to her worth in death : and now, with a feeling 
 of like disinterestedness, I offer you the greeting of a poor fellow-sinner, and 
 hope that no cloud may ever darken the sunshine of our friendship, and no 
 other feeling ever mingle in the future of our relationship l)ut the sense of a 
 cross that presses on us equally. 
 
 " Y()i;r friend, 
 
 "W. PII?KNEY." 
 
 The friendship thus formed between Mr. Corcoran and Dr. 
 PiNKNEY became more strongly cemented as years passed : and 
 when, at a subsequent period, the enterprise of erecting a 
 new church for the parish and congregation of the Ascension 
 was entered upon, Mr. Corcoran, as we shall see, proved himself 
 to be a most valuable helper and benefactor in consummating that 
 costly and important work, contributing towards it more than 
 one hundred thousand dollars. 
 
 These cu'cumstances led not only to a most genial and affec- 
 tionate intercourse between Mr. Corcoran and Dr. Pinkney as his 
 pastor and afterwards Bishop of the Diocese, but, on Dr. Pink- 
 :ney's part, to a frec[uent and very pleasant correspondence. The 
 letters of Dr. Pixkney were highly prized by Mr. Corcoran and 
 were carefully filed in a blank-book kept specially for the purpose. 
 The letters written prior to 1878 were incorjjorated. among other 
 valuable letters which Mr. Corcoran had received, in a volume 
 entitled " A Grandfather's Legacy," which he caused to be 
 printed in 1879, a few years before his death. Some of those 
 lettei's are transferred to this work. Others, not so printed, are 
 introduced in their places in this biography. 
 
 Mr. Corcoran continued his connection with the parish of the 
 Ascension for nearly three years after Bishop Pinkney's decease, 
 when, owing to certain troubles in the vestry and parish, he re- 
 signed his position as vestryman and ceased to be an attendant 
 upon the ministrations of the Ascension. 
 
 The death of John Henry Alexander, LL. D., on the 2d of 
 March, 1867, was a great personal loss and grief to Dr. Pinkney. 
 They had been boys together in their joint studies in the class- 
 room and in their sports on the college green, and their jjarents'
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNKY. 1")'.) 
 
 families were intimately associated. Tlicy luul ;^nii(Iii;il((l lo- 
 ^•ether in the class of 1H27, and ever afterwards they kcjit u]i a 
 frequent correspondence and were accustomed to intcrcliau^''*' 
 visits at tlieir homes. Dr. Alexander, as has been stated, was a 
 man of rare intellectual gifts and of varied accomi)lishments in 
 learning, science, history, poetry, and the arts. His whole life 
 beautifully illustrated the virtues and piety of a devoted Chi'is- 
 tian and an earnest Churchman. 
 
 In one of those New Year letters Dr. Pinkney was accustomed 
 to send to this friend, he refers to the strong-, early, and endur- 
 mg aftection that existed between them. He writes, January 4 : 
 
 " If not too late I would offer luy friend of many years the congratulations 
 of the season, and express the hope that he and his may be lony spared to 
 each other. On such occasions my thoughts turn to the past, the golden 
 past, when beauty was on every flower and freshness in every breeze. 
 Things are sadly changed. The habits and customs of men lack the delicate 
 refinement that your sister and I so miich admired, and you and I so much 
 -enjoyed. It has been a gratification to me that the earliest of my friendships 
 is still the strongest, and that nothing has intervened to check the flow of 
 heart or poison its waters. I seem scarcely to have touched the earth, and 
 yet my days are posting on with a rapidity that startles me. My life lias not 
 been an idle one, and yet when I see the fruits of others I can scarcely tell 
 what I have been about. You have much to refi'esh you in the retrospect. 
 althoiigh the age has not had the grace to appreciate fully your i)rodigious 
 learning and noble worth." 
 
 In one of his earlier letters to Dr. Alexander, Dr. Pinkney re- 
 ferred to the high estimate in which his friend was held by Bishop 
 Whittingham. He thus wrote : 
 
 " The Bisho]) holds you in highest estimation, and for that I love him the 
 more. He told me that he dared not trust himself to visit Alexander as often 
 as he wished, because he could not force himself away in jiroper season. He 
 spoke in highest terms of your scholarship and attainments, and I felt happy 
 and proud in hearing you thus jjraised and aj>preciated by one who is too 
 good to flatter and too intellectual to be mistaken in his judgment. You 
 will not, I know, suffer this to interfere with yoiir accustomed serenity, or 
 any otherwise affect you than as a stimulus to still higher excellence of heart 
 and mind." 
 
 Nor did Bishop Whittingham fail in his addi-ess at the conven- 
 tion succeeding- Dr. Alexander's death to speak in strong and lov- 
 ing terms of one who as a layman had been so prominent in the 
 councils and service of the Church, and was so eminent for his 
 learning- and piety. 
 
 Frequently on matters of personal interest, and in reference to 
 literary and theological studies, Chvirch affairs and movements, 
 diocesan and general, and always when issuing- pul)lications from 
 the press, Dr. Pinkney was accustomed to consult with this friend, 
 knowing with what a generous spirit and with what cxcjuisite 
 taste, correct judgment, and ripe scholarship Dr. Alexander could 
 give counsel and suggestions.
 
 160 LIFE OF BISHOr TINKNEY. 
 
 The loss to liim of such a friend was u-reparable — felt the more- 
 keenly and severely when the responsibilities of the Episcopate 
 devolved upon him. 
 
 Soon after the decease Dr. Pinkney was invited by the Mai-y- 
 land Historical Society, in Baltimore, to deliver, before the body,, 
 a discom-se upon the life and character of Dr. Alexander. With 
 this request Dr. Pinkney complied, and the discourse was after- 
 wards pubhshed by the society. 
 
 The following- letter to his friend. Judge Huntington, refers to 
 the cu'cumstances : 
 
 " Dr. Pinkney to Judge Huntington. 
 
 '' Washington, May 4, 1867. 
 
 " DE.4.E Judge : I pronounced my eulogy on the evening of the second, and 
 have every reason to be gratified with its reception. It took me about one 
 hour and ten minutes. I had many misgivings about it and was very fearful 
 that I assumed a task above my ability. Judge Giles was the first to express 
 his approbation, which he did in a resolution of thanks in a way that really 
 surprised me. Brantz Mayer, the ^jresident, one of our most accomplished 
 scholars and writers, arose and asked the privilege to express a wish that a 
 motion would be made for its publication ; and the terms he employed in 
 the expression of his delight were so strong that I felt a good deal embar- 
 rassed. He afterwards, privately, came up to me and repeated with the 
 utmost frankness all he had said publicly. Dr. Cohen, a Jew, and one of 
 Alexander's most intimate and accomi^lished friends, did the same. 
 
 " In the cars the next morning, a gentleman approached me, who was a 
 member of the society, and who told me he was there as a critic, not know- 
 ing either Dr. Alexander or myself, and as such pronounced his commenda- 
 tions in the strongest possible terms. Everybody but Dr. A. had a kind 
 word to say. Dr. E. was not present, nor was there a single clergyman of 
 oiir Church present save Dr. A. 
 
 " Now you will not understand me as thinking any the less humbly of the 
 effort. I onlj- mention it because on Alexander's account ; I know you will re- 
 joice that what I meant in love for his memory was so fully and so strongly 
 endorsed. I shall have it copied and sent to Baltimore to be printed. It is 
 the society's property, and I only yield it up to them at their unanimous 
 wish. I know it is far below what it should be, and the praise of such men 
 as Judge Giles and Brantz Mayer, both of whom were strangers to me, does 
 not blind me to its defects. Affectionately, 
 
 " Hon. S. H. Huntington. W. P." 
 
 It was a beautiful and noble tribute rendered by Dr. Pinkney 
 to the character and memory of his beloved friend. In this con- 
 nection it may also be mentioned that a like just and commen- 
 datory tril)ute was paid to the memory of Dr. Alexander in an Ttv 
 Metnorlam J^aper read before the Alumni of St. John's College 
 by the late John G. Proud, Jr., an alumnus.
 
 I 
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP MNKNEY. I til 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Visit to Europe. 180',). 
 
 In the spring of 18G9 there was a movement on the part of 
 the parishioners to induce Dr. Pixkney to seek some rest from 
 parochial work, and go abroad for rehixation. His health had 
 not at all failed ; but it was felt by his many friends that he 
 ought to have recreation. Averse as he was to leaving his parish 
 and home for any long and distant travel, he was at last per- 
 suaded to yield to the solicitation that he should make a visit to 
 England and the continent of Europe. He had never been 
 abroad. Filial duty, during the life of his mother, called him 
 at intervals to the old homestead in Annapolis, and when his 
 brother was off duty from service at sea, he occasionally visited 
 him at his beautiful home near Easton, Talbot county, and while 
 there was sure to make brief \-isits to his wife's relatives on 
 Miles and Wye rivers. But beyond these, and some occasional 
 short absences in Virginia and New England, and his attendance 
 as delegate at the General Conventions, he had never been away 
 from his parish. 
 
 There was no difficulty in raising the sufficient funds for the 
 purpose. His vestry held a meeting to give unsolicited leave of 
 absence for an indefinite period, with provision that his salary 
 should go on during his absence, and the further provision that 
 the vestry would meet all expenses for filling his place until he 
 should return. 
 
 The following letter contains their action : 
 
 "Ascension Parish, 
 " Washington, D. C, Mni/ 28, 1809. 
 
 " The vestry of Asceusiou parish, this day assembled at a special lueetiujf 
 called by the register, remembering the faithful services of their beloved, 
 rector for more thaa twelve years past, during which time he has been 
 unceasing in the care of his flock, and in the works of labor and i>f love, 
 V)elieve that a period of rest and relaxation from the care of his parish would 
 be beneficial, if it shall please him to accept it, consider it only a partial 
 manifestation of their affectionate regard to tender him leave <>f absence in 
 order to seek such relaxation, and they therefore liexalee, that the vestry 
 grant to the Rev. William Pinkney, D. D., leave of absence for such time 
 as he may desire, that his salary be continued during such absence, and that 
 the salary of such person or persons as he may select to occupy his place 
 until his return be paid by the vestry. 
 
 " On motion, Resolved, that a copy of the foregoing preamble and resolu- 
 tion be furnished to Dr. Pinkney. 
 
 " The following are the members present at the adoption of the above : 
 
 ••N. W. Burchell, J. T. Stevens, Henrv S. Davis. R. W. Burgess, W. M. 
 Shuster, W. W. Corcoran, J. B. Dodson, "C. B. Baker. 
 
 >-.J. M. DUNCANHON,
 
 162 LIFE OF BISHOr PINKNEY. 
 
 Diu'mg the absence in Europe the parish, under an arrange- 
 ment by the vestry, was hai)pily supplied with pulpit ministrations 
 and pastoral serA-ice by the Rev. "William S. Southgate, the 
 present rector of St. Anne's parish. Annapolis. 
 
 Letters of introduction were secured from a number of prom- 
 inent persons in Washington and Maryland : and the Rt. Rev. 
 Bishop Whittingham supplied him with testimonials as follows : 
 
 *'To the Right Reverend the BiKhop of any Diocese in England or Ireland, 
 
 Greeting : 
 
 '• We do certify you by this testimoiiial. given iiuderour liaud and Eiiisco- 
 pal seal, that the bearer, the Eeverend William Pinkney, D. D., is a presby- 
 ter of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, and 
 is a person of honest life and godly conversation and prof esseth the doctrines 
 •of the United Clmrch of England and Ireland. 
 
 [seal.] •• WILLIAM KOLLINSON WHITTINGHAM. 
 
 '•Bixho]) of Maryland. 
 
 "Baltimobe, U. S. a., July 12. 1869." 
 
 * ' To whom it may concern : 
 
 "This is to certify that the Eev. William Pinkuey, D. D., rector of the 
 parish of the Ascension, in the city of Washington, District of Columbia, 
 and president of the standing committee of the Diocese of Maryland, being 
 ot good and unblemished personal and official character and standing, travels 
 &t this time with the full approbation and consent of his Diocesan. 
 
 £sEAL,] "WILLIAM ROLLINSON WHITTINGHAM, 
 
 '•Bixhop of Maryland. 
 
 " Given at Baltimore, Maryland, U. S. A., this 12th day of July, A. D. 1809." 
 
 Happily this European trip was to be made in company with 
 his brother, Surgeon Ninian Pinkney, who. as an officer of the 
 Navy, had been with the United States squadi'ons in all parts of 
 the world. He was a most entertaining companion, full of wit 
 and humor, with a keen observation of men and things, alwaj's 
 knowing what to do and where to go for instruction and jDleasure 
 and travel. The two brothers, however, were not always together : 
 for the surgeon was going abroad in an official capacity to repre- 
 sent the United States in certain medical conferences to be held 
 in England and on the Continent. But they contrived to arrange 
 their- movements so as to be with each other in many noted and 
 important places. This association with his brother was also 
 incidentally of advantage, as it led to the formation of very pleas- 
 ant actpiaintance with some distinguished members of the medical 
 2)rofession in England, by whom hosi)italities were extended to 
 the two brothers. His letters of introduction seciu-ed for him 
 special attentions from a number of prominent persons. 
 
 His travel was every way enjoyable, and tended greatly to 
 enlarge his conceptions and views as to the position and quick- 
 ened life of the Church in England and as to the government and 
 institutions of the British Empire. His visit to England being 
 .simply for recreation, without official character or jjurpose, he
 
 LIFE OF lilSllor I'lNKNKV. Hui 
 
 did not seek to j^ather any data respeciiii'^- tlie varied iiiKtrumen- 
 talities of Church work and benevolent enterprises carried on in 
 the Church of England. He was a careful observer, however, of 
 such things as naturall}' came before him in his nsits to the 
 ditt'erent churches and to the homes of tliose clei-^i^ynicn and lay- 
 men to which he Avas cordially invited. 
 
 He provided himself with a journal, to be kept in diary form : and 
 he minutely recorded the incidents of the sea voyaj.,-'*', descrilx'd 
 very fully all j)laces visited, and noted the impressions mad*- u]um 
 his mind by the persons whom he heard in public or met in \>n- 
 vate. His joui'nal was written f(n" his own satisfaction and the 
 gratification of the few friends to whom it would be sul)mitted. 
 It was written with no purpose or expectation of publication, 
 although everything' is told with such accuracy and beauty of 
 description that it would form a volume of most interesting for- 
 eign travel. Others before, and multitudes since then, have gfone 
 over the same regions and have given to the world and the Church 
 such full and minute accounts of their travels as to render it 
 unnecessary to introduce any copious extracts from Dr. Pixknev's 
 journal. Some passages, however, may be given in illustration 
 of the tone and style in which, Avith his glowing fancy and facile 
 diction, he could portray the novel scenes and objects that came 
 before him and the characteristics of the persons whom he had 
 the pleasure of seeing and hearing. 
 
 Dr. PiNKNEY sailed from New York in company with his brother 
 in the steamer Scotia on the '21st July, 18Gi). The j^assage across 
 the ocean was exceedingly pleasant, without storms, accidents, 
 or anything to endanger safety or mar the pleasure of a voyage 
 over the sea. Landing at Liverpool, after a brief sojourn to view 
 the w^onderful docks of that famous port, the party proceeded on 
 to London. Visiting London, Leeds, Southampton, York, and 
 other places of note, Dr. Pinkney passed up into Scotland, visiting 
 Glasgow and Edinburgh, and had the rare pleasure of seeing some- 
 what of the famous Lochs and the romantic scenery so replete 
 with historic associations. He then went over to the Continent, 
 spent some time in France, Germany, Ai^stria, Switzerland, and 
 Italy, visiting most of the noted cities of those countries. His 
 progress in England and Scotland and in his European travels 
 cannot be here traced, for it would make this biography too volu- 
 minous. Some few extracts, however, may be given from his 
 journal. 
 
 Vivid and glowing as are his descriptions of the scenes he vis- 
 ited, of St. Paul's Cathedral, AVestminster Abbey, York Minster, 
 and the ruins of old monasteries in their architectural beauty and 
 grandeur, it is more interesting to note the impressions he received 
 from the prominent men with whom he became acquainted and 
 the preachers he had ojDportunity of hearing in some of the prin- 
 ■cipal churches.
 
 About this time the doctor's broth 
 lished a life of their distinsuisl:: 
 lawyer, and Mini an len^.^ his aid i
 
 1 Rev. 'vTllliam Pinkney, pub- 
 icle, 'Tilliaj'i Pinlmey the rp?eat 
 ieking patronage for the work:
 
 164 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 It is the li^•ing actors, the men of the age, who both reflect and 
 control the agencies that are at work in Church and State for the 
 progressive development of a people in personal, social, civil, and 
 religious relations that most attract the attention and observation 
 of an intelligent churchman reared under the influences of our 
 American institutions. Dr. Pinkney, even if he had been well- 
 versed in the science of political economy and in the principles of 
 civil government, could have had no opportunity of studying the 
 pohtical aftairs of Great Britain : but he could see everywhere the 
 evidences of that new and quickened life which was stirring the 
 Church of England and giving prestige of still further onward 
 movements which were to go on increasingly in all departments 
 of Church activity, and which have since become so marked in the 
 Church of England. In the varied organizations for Church work, 
 in the crowded congregations in the churches, in the solemnity, 
 order, and eff"ectiveness of the services, in the reverence of the woi'- 
 shippers, and the earnestness of the preachers he could see such 
 evidences. At the same time he could not but see much calculated 
 to excite fears and uneasiness from the encroachments of an idtra- 
 ritualism Avith Romeward tendencies on the one hand, and from 
 the looseness of theological views among many touching the set- 
 tled standards of faith in the creeds and the formalities of the 
 Church. 
 
 His first day's record in his iournal is as follows : 
 
 " Took passage iu the Scotia, a uoble ship, commanded by one of the' 
 oldest and most skilful of English sailors. Weighed anchor about 4 p. m., 
 July 21, 1869. Sky clear as a diamond. Hope beaming in the eyes of some ; 
 tears hanging on the eyelids of others. This going down to the sea in shijjs 
 is wonderful. Great changes have passed over it since the first adventurers 
 on the briny deep ventured forth on voyage of pleasure or of profit, to 
 search out the hidden treasures of other lands, or gaze on the magnificent 
 relics of a glorioiis past. The ocean was designed to be a bond of union 
 between all the peoples of the globe ; not a barrier of separation. It is the 
 great highway of nations, and all over it you now behold the most gratifying 
 signs of advancing civilization. It is not possible to conceive of a more 
 marvellous achievement of art than the building of a steamship and her 
 unerring navigation over the pathless desert as she goes out at pleasure, with 
 sail or without it, unless it be the resting on its sandy bed of the electric 
 cable, along which the unspoken languages of earth are transmitted so as 
 to be intelligible to all without interpreter. 
 
 " The going forth for the first time from home and cotmtry fills one with 
 the strangest emotions, and the heart grows sad as spire and hill and valley 
 fade from view. In a little while we were plowing the waves at the rate of 
 14 miles an hour. The night was surpassingly beautiful. A moonlight on 
 the sea— such a moonlight on such a sea. The former in a full flood-tide, 
 the latter as calm and blue as the Chesapeake when but a zephyr stirs its 
 bosom. Not a ripjile visible. Not a sound audible but the gentle murmur 
 of the water as it yielded to the motion of the ship. I have often gazed on 
 the moonlight on the laud, as it played on tree and shrub and flower and 
 thought it lovely ; but the moonlight on the sea is inexpressibly more lovely. 
 It is then and there that the pale queen reveals all her power to charm. I have 
 not seen the deep green of the ocean. No storm has yet swept over it. The
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 105 
 
 winds are fast asleep. JEolus has not opened the portals of his stormy cavern. 
 I am walking the deck at this late hour, in the presence of the boundless 
 domain. No words can express my feelings of admiration and wonder." 
 
 Upon his arrival in England Dr. Pinkney availed Limsflf of 
 every opportunity of hearing distinguished preachers among the 
 clergy of his Church. 
 
 He gives the following pen-jiortraiture of Bishop Wilherforce, 
 of Oxford, whom he had the pleasvire of hearmg at Leeds : 
 
 " In the evening I went to St. Peter's, and heard the Bishop of O.xford. 
 He has a very imposing iiresence, is a fine-looking man, and carries with him 
 the consciousness of power. His voice is rich and full, and is managed with 
 extraordinary skill. It resembles the voice of the late Dr. Hawks, and when 
 I say that of it, I say all that can be said of the instrument. For next to Mr. 
 Clay's, Dr. Hawks possessed a voice more splendidly adapted to oratory 
 than that of any other public speaker I have heard. The Bishop preached 
 without notes, or seldom referred to them. He is not rapid. His pauses are 
 absolutely thrilling. Nervously excited at times he is, nevertheless, always 
 self-possessed. Dr. Magee, the Bishop of Peterborough, is said to be more 
 eloquent than Wilberforee. The Bishop of Oxford uses his low tones with 
 great effect. They are marvellously sweet. There were .5,000 persons pres- 
 ent. It was a mighty host to stir the heart and tune the tongue to eloquence. 
 The music was faultless. The organ was one of immense power, and yet in 
 the softer notes it rivalled the 52olian harp when the mildest spring zephyr 
 whispered through the lattice. The Bishop of Oxford is a study. His 
 .sermon as a work of art was wonderfiil. It was more remarkable for its 
 adaptation to the pojjular mind than for its logical power or power of word- 
 painting. Not that it was deficient in power. Its chief excellence lay in the 
 art of its construction as an appeal to the popular taste, and that was 
 wonderful. When he touched the chords of pathos he was in the full perfec- 
 tion of his art — simple, grand, awful. So much for the first burst of genuine 
 eloquence I have heard since I touched English soil. 
 
 " I should like to hear Magee. He is said to be impetuous and over- 
 whelming. If so, he must resemble the Bishop of Maryland. Judging 
 from this one discourse I am forced to the conclusion that intellect- 
 ually the Bishop of Oxford does not equal Whittiugham. At least his 
 intellectual wealth is not so patent in the discourse. In the power 
 to sift the conscience he is far below the Maryland Bishop. In the 
 tender and pathetic he is far above him. In voice and manner the 
 great English prelate excels the first of our American jjreachers. On the 
 whole, I am of opinion still that Bishop Whittiugham is the greatest preacher 
 in the world, or, rather, that he was when in his prime. If his judgment 
 were equal to his eloqiience and burning logic, he would be the noblest type 
 of a chief shepherd. But here he signally fails. Wilberforee possesses more 
 versatility of genius, is capable of filling a wider range of active service, 
 knows how to nile a diocese better, is a more magnificent writer, and can 
 use the pen even more effectively than the tongue. I think I have pro- 
 nounced impartial judgment." 
 
 In a lecture delivered after his return from Eurojoe, Dr. Pink- 
 ney refers again to the Bishop of Oxford, and thus speaks : 
 
 "Canon Hays told me that, at a convention equal in ability and learning 
 to any that had ever assembled, he delivered a charge of three hours, that 
 flashed at every point like a diamond, and then walked into an adjoining 
 room where there were four hundred children, the chords of whose hearts
 
 166 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 lie swept as skilfully as any organist the keys of his mighty instrument. 
 He then entered a dining-room, where at table there were seated a number 
 of laymen, to whom he narrated events of historic interest, touching their 
 respective localities, unknown to them, and then, on being toasted, he 
 delivered a dinner speech such as never fell from the lips of any other — all 
 in one breath." 
 
 He describes his risits, on the morning of Sunday, to St. Paul's 
 Cathedral, and in the afternoon of the same day to Westminster 
 Abbey as follows : 
 
 " St. Paul's is a structure magnificent in its proportions. The dome is a 
 gem of its kind. The chancel is vastly imposing. The communion service 
 is of solid gold, and very massive, and most elaborately wrought. The ser- 
 vice, not chanted, is intoned. The singing was not equal to that I have heard 
 in Trinity. New York. I confess that the mode of conducting the worship 
 is, to my taste, far less than when no part is intoned. The sermon by the 
 Eev. Mr. Hall was a good, sensible discourse, clear in statement and bold 
 and decided in the line of argument. It was, however, devoid of passion as 
 of imagination. The sermon was just twenty minutes. One thing I liked 
 in the preacher — his pauses, they were very telling. I like also the English 
 mode of beginning each sermon with jjrayer; a short, appropriate, burning 
 jDrayer. The communion office was faultlessly rendered : the most dignified 
 and unctious celebration I ever witnessed. Here there was no intoning, no 
 chanting, fi-om the beginning to the close. It was simple, grand, glorious ; 
 most powerful because most real. Our communion oflBce far siarpasses the 
 English. But we have much to learn about the thing called reverence ; at 
 least I have. 
 
 "In the afternoon we went to Westminster Abbey. The singing was 
 marvellous. It was overwhelmingly grand. The church itself is the loveliest 
 in Loudon. Its antiquity consecrates it. There was a large congregation 
 present. The sermon by the Dean (Dr. Stanley) was good, delivered with 
 unction and some pathos. It was pointed and direct. It was not, however, 
 in any sense remarkable. This surprised me, as in his published works the 
 Dean has exhibited a very high degree of imaginative power, great richness 
 of diction, beauty of illustration, striking antithesis, and dramatic genius." 
 
 At York Minster he was hospitably entertained by Canon Hays. 
 Of this visit he thus speaks : 
 
 " We drove to the residence of Canon Hays. He met us at the door, and 
 said, ' I know you, gentlemen. My brother has written me, advising me of 
 your visit. Will you take lunch with me now, or shall w'e go first to the 
 Minster 'i There is much to be seen, so we must be prompt.' We started 
 out on our tour of inspection. * * * j ^yas deeply impressed with the 
 music. It was more sedate than that in Westminster Abbey, V)ut not compar- 
 able to it in artistic power. It is not jiossiVile to do justice to this wonderful 
 structure without the genius of a Michael Angehj. Art has made no progress 
 since that day. This age could not, I V)elieve, reproduce the creation of the 
 centuries gone by. I saw nothing in the Old World comparable to it. 
 Cologne does not rival it, uc^r does the gorgeous cathedral at Florence. I 
 did not see Canterbury." 
 
 His visit to Scotland was intensely interesting and gratifying. 
 Its romantic and historic associations kindled up in his soul the 
 most glowing feelings. At Glasgow and the A;^^-, on the river 
 Doon, and Lochs Katrine and Lomond, and in Edinburg he felt 
 
 J
 
 LIFE OF msHOl' I'lNKNKV. ICT 
 
 the inspiration of the scenes as nieniory nraHcd tlic past. lio 
 writes : 
 
 "It is not possible tn express in words the feeliii<is tlmt steal over y<iu 
 while standing on the very spot where the l)iij.;le-notes of Keotlanil inint^led 
 with the sweetest notes of Scothuid's rivers. It woidd take days to tract; 
 the incidents as they rise u)) for review, while we had hnt a few lionrs at onr 
 L'onunand. The heart enters slowly into the poetry of sueh scenes and takes 
 in the beauty as slowly. It <^rows into the scenes it contenijilates. 
 
 " Just think of it. Wallace, the hero of Scotland, who detied the enemies 
 of his native heath, and with his own single arm drove back her cruel 
 invaders, incarcerated in a town near the sea-coast of Ayr ; the poet Burns, 
 who swept his harp to notes of freedom : Bruce, the embodiment of chiv- 
 alry. I must take back part of the word, for his was a chivalry that was 
 mixed up with so much of human weakness that it scarcely reached the 
 sublimity of that rarest of noble traits. The Highland Mary, the blossom 
 that gave a lustre to the poet's brightest day-dream of love : the Doon, with 
 its silvery wave flowing ji;st as it did when Burns caught up the music of its 
 song, all grouped together in the contemplation of a few hours when months 
 were all too short for the contemplation. But so it is in life. The past and 
 the present meet — meet to mingle, and then part company." 
 
 Lea^dng Scotlaud on the way to London he records an inter- 
 view held with a fellow-traveller in the cars : 
 
 "In the latter part of the journey I had qiiite an animated talk with a 
 gentleman who was plainly dressed, but exceedingly well-informed, and 
 gifted with extraordinary conversational powers. He spoke of Gladstone 
 and Bright, and in the analysis of their peculiar gifts and striking contrast* 
 he displayed uncommon aciamen. Gladstone draws his illustrations from 
 history and the classics, and is a great logician : Bright from Scrii)ture and 
 every-day life. He knows how to play on the harp of the human heart as 
 few other men can. I expressed to him my fears that England was being 
 fast inoculated with the love of change, and growang restless. It was 
 moral power that gave her such unparalleled influence in the family of 
 nations. It was the stability of her institxitions that were deep-rooted iu 
 the soil of centuries that had placed her in the vanguard of the civilized 
 world ; that lost, she would sink rapidly to the size of her diminutive islands, 
 andV)e compelled to surrender her long-l)oasted siipremacy of the seas. He 
 denounced the establishment in a strain of bitter irony. I told him that 
 the conservatism of the Cluirchhad been a signal blessing to the State, while 
 the Church herself had received no corresi3onding lienefit iu return. The 
 world had never seen so sublime a trusteeship of great rights so conscien- 
 tiously discharged, and never would. In railroad cars all over the Kingdom 
 I have met with but one class of sentiments. It is true they may be all 
 of the radical element ; but if so, it must be wide-spread and intensely 
 active." 
 
 Hence he subsequently writes : 
 
 " England seems to be passing under changes that will test to the utmost 
 her powers of endurance. She has need for caution. Changes sometimes 
 lure to death. Ruin follows sometimes on the cry for reform. It is the 
 stability of England that has won my confidence: her fixedness in the 
 soil of noble, well-tried principles. Tliis has l)een her distinguishing glory 
 for centuries. To say that my confidence is unshaken wtnild be to say what 
 is not true. I greatly fear for her future. The brilliancy of her present
 
 168 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 Premier in scholarly taste and extraordinary powers may not be eqiial to the 
 crisis which he and others less gifted, but more wily, are bringing about. 
 To wake the whirlwind is easy : to control and direct it, when abroad in 
 its fury, may be above their ability. I trust I may be mistaken. But still 
 it wiirV)e remembered that I hnve listened to the undulations of the deep 
 current that flows far below the surface. It is the public heart, as it meets 
 one in railroads and steamers, whose pulsations I am feeling. The beatings 
 of that heart are irregular and excited, and show the need of a physician. 
 One alarming sign is observable to the most superficial observer. While 
 the popiilace are" craving more power, and the levelling principle is in the 
 ascendant, the aristocracy is waning ; demoralization is going on at the 
 heart, and restlessness and discontent are pervading the body." 
 
 In these, his remarks, Dr. Pinkney was simply expressing his 
 fears respecting the pohtical aspects of the times. Subsequent 
 events, however, have shown what grave grounds there were for 
 anxiety. But he well knew, at the same time, that beneath the 
 radical restlessness and the sui-face agitations there lay the deep 
 and strong religious feeUng, so characteristic of the Anglo-Saxon 
 race, prevalent in the homes of the English people and control- 
 ling in unseen ways the counsels and movements of reform in 
 both Chvirch and State. That feeling has been fully roused in 
 the Church of England. It was not dormant at the time of Dr. 
 Pixkney's \dsit, twenty years ago. The first Lambeth conference 
 had but recently closed its sessions and issued its important 
 encyclical to the Churches of the Anglo-Communion. Since then 
 more actively there has been awakened in the Church of England 
 a sjDii'it that is alive to the needs of the age and the country, and 
 is bringing into operation the most effective measures for the 
 amelioration of the condition of the j^eople, for bringing the 
 masses into the communion of the Church, and for extending the 
 Gospel kingdom throughout the world. The Year Book of the 
 Church of England, recently issued, shows avast amoiint of such 
 labors and of liberal offerings for these purposes. 
 
 As a counterpart to these, his political forebodings, Dr. Pink- 
 NEY gives an instance of family life in the household of a distin- 
 guished physician in London, which, as one of many like instances 
 in England, serves to show what a conser\ing power the Chui'ch 
 jirofesses and exercises in the family worship against infidelity 
 and anarchy : 
 
 '■We took breakfast this morning with Dr. T., an eminent surgeon of 
 London, a gentleman of most winning manners and marked ability. We 
 were introduced to his lady and sister-in-law, both of whom were very cour- 
 teo\is and lady-like. Roon after we entered the servants came in, when the 
 doctor opened his Bilile and read a chapter from Job. Englishmen read 
 well. They modiilate the voice and suit it to the sentiment. At least the 
 doctor did. He then offered a few short, burning collects with great unction 
 smd pathos. It was a charming spectacle. In Leeds and London the fear 
 of God is a crowning characteristic of the faculty. Always at church on 
 Sunday, ever mindful of the beauty of social worship on week-days, they 
 are, indeed, the glory of the laud. It did me good to witness this touching
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 1 ('•',» 
 
 family sceiii', and it proved to luf that it is hli'ssed to consecrute genill^s tn 
 the cross. 
 
 "There is no office hour on Sundays at the tinie for stated pulflic wor- 
 ship, and no voice htished at the family altar, thou^;h no class of men are 
 more pressed by business or more dee])ly absorbed in study. We had a j^ood 
 deal of conversation, ])articularly the ladies and myself. We discussed the 
 Bishoj) of O.xford. Of course I paid him an honest and well-merited tribute 
 for surpassing eloquence. When I mentioned the Hishoj) of Marylan<l and 
 alluded to his extraordinary genius, particularly his jxiwer of siftin^< the 
 conscience and j^lowinj,' lot^ic, tliey seemed surprised. I fear that the people 
 of England know notliin<,' of our threat men. In lookinj.; at a da<,'uerrotype 
 of a little boy I alluded to the likeness to William Wirt, and was astonished 
 to discover that they knew as little of the author of the ' ]}ritish Spy ' and 
 the eloquent advocate of the States as thoui^h he had never existed. * ♦ * 
 It w'ere wise in En^jland to cast a j^lance occasionally across the waters and 
 note the progress we are making in the march of mind. We study their 
 social, political, comiuercial. literary, and scieutitic character with both pride 
 and ])leasure, and feel that we have a birthright in the brilliancy of her 
 growing renown. Siirely it would not detract from their dignity to turn 
 occasionally to our men of literature, our statesmen, orators, and votaries of 
 science." 
 
 Leaving- England for the Continent on the 31st Aug-nst. the 
 brothers visited the principal cities in France, Gernuuiy. Austria, 
 and Switzerland, and passed into Italy. Dr. Pixkneys movements 
 on the Continent were rapid and his sojourn at different places 
 brief ; but he was a very close observer and entered with spirit 
 into the scenes that came before him. As he was seeking only 
 recreation and the enrichment of mind that come from travel for 
 the first time over countries replete with the imperishal:)le monu- 
 ments of man's genius and prowess, it is sufficient to indicate the 
 intensity of the interest and the fulness of the appreciation with 
 which he admiiingiy dwelt upon everything- that was beautiful 
 in nature and grand in human achievement. 
 
 At Florence he was detained longer than in any other European 
 city, being- kept there by his brother's attendance upon the med- 
 ical conference then in session. This gave him full time for 
 seeing- the marvellous beauties of that famous city. He used 
 well the opportunities of his prolonged sojourn, andg-ives minute 
 descriptions of the churches, the pictiu-e galleries, and other 
 j)laces of note. His criticisms are quite remarkable for artistic 
 taste and discrimination. 
 
 He makes the following- record : 
 
 '' September 2(i. — Kode to the llev. Mr. I.i:ii.igdon's house and attended 
 service — preached — felt the novelty of the situation. I tind on the Conti- 
 nent that sermons are always very short. Quick surgery is good when the 
 case will admit of it. But the wounds of the heart are not so easily probed, 
 the troubles of the conscience are not so easily quieted. 
 
 " I spent a day in the studios of America's artists. P(jwers was the first 
 I called on. He received me most graciously. He is an old man young in 
 heart and younger still in hope, in the fulness of an imagination that time 
 has not in "the least degree weakened. He is finishing and has now nearly
 
 170 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 completed a statue of Eve just after the fall, in the moment when she is 
 wakintj up to a life-consciousness of the deadly sin she has committed. It 
 is a marvellous conception. The countenance speaks in every feature. The 
 attitude is full of grace. There is the exquisite development of woman, with 
 lofty intellectuality and flush of feeling. It is eminently free from the 
 grosser elements. There is a warmth about it that looks very like life. It 
 fs wimderful that the rhef-dUrnvre of this Ajax in the world of Art should be 
 the child of his old age. For ordinarily the imagination droops, loses its 
 elasticity and Promethan fire when the frame is bowed. It is a sad conse- 
 quence of man's present probation that, by the time he masters his pi-ofession 
 and is full of knowledge and skill in the lise of his instruments of labor, the 
 imagination droops and the power of execution is weakened. But in the 
 case of Powers this law of our being seems to be reversed. His faculties 
 seem to be brighter with advancing years." 
 
 Of the visit to Geneva a brief extract from his journal may be 
 given : 
 
 " "What a strange constellation of names meets us in this land of wonders !' 
 Voltaire. Calvin, Cassaubou, Rousseau, Byron, Madame de Stael. There is 
 a monument to Rousseau, and it is said that at Ferney the heart of Voltaire 
 is deposited. The heart of Voltaire 1 Mixerabile dictu. 
 
 " It is strange to think how Calvinism has died out in Geneva — how dead 
 the power of that gi-eat reformer has become. He was great. Few men 
 possessed his depth or force, and yet his system was dark and gloomy. It 
 lacked the sunshine of the cross. He forgot that reform is not revolution. 
 He was singularly clear and outspoken on the sacraments." 
 
 The time was drawing near for his return to America ; but before 
 taking his departure he was anxious to make a short visit to 
 Venice, the Queen City of the Adriatic, and he hastened to accom- 
 plish the object. One single incident of that visit will be given : 
 
 " At night we took a walk in company with our guide, crossed the Rialto 
 and came abruptly upon a church said to be the oldest in Venice, built in 
 420. Just opposite is the identical house occupied by the Merchant of 
 Venice, so immortalized by the muse of Shakespeare. It is a dingy looking 
 building, well suited to such an occupant, the man of the ' pound of flesh.' 
 We then took a gondola and rowed two miles over the Bay of Venice in the 
 clear light of the moon to the Island of Lido, which serves as a breakwater 
 to guard the city from the inroads of the sea. Landing we crossed over on 
 foot about eleven p. m. (a half mile) and stood in the broad moonlight on 
 the shore of the Adriatic, and listened to the tones of that grandest of organs 
 as the waves chased each other on the sandy beach. It was inexpressibly 
 grand to find one's self beneath a cloudless evening sky, all alone in the pres- 
 ence of the mighty sea, while the soft glimmer was playing on its bosom. 
 The murmur of the sea even in repose is a music that fills with transports 
 of delight. What must it be when swept by the tornado I As I dipped my 
 hand in the waves, at the hour of midnight, I felt I was as near the terribly 
 sublime as I ever expect to be, and nearer. On our return the tide was in 
 our favor, and we glided like an arrow through the water." 
 
 At the close of October the brothers set sail for America from. 
 Southampton. Of the incidents of his return, the sea voyage, the 
 happy welcome that awaited him at his home, and the joyous 
 greetings from his people of the Ascension it is unnecessary ta
 
 LIFE OF BlSHor I'lNKNEY. 171 
 
 write. All were eager to know wliut he luul seen and what to 
 tell, for far more interest attached to Eurojiean travel twenty- 
 years ago than at the present day, when multitudes to be counted 
 by thousands are constantly crossing the ocean in the steamer 
 palaces. To satisfy the wishes of his peoi)le and friends Dr. 
 PiNKXEY drew from his journal the materials for several interest- 
 ing and instructive lectures, which were delivered without charge 
 or cost to the hearers. 
 
 He returned to his active duties as a pastor as though no such 
 gratifpng recess from ministerial work had been granted to him. 
 He found in his loved home and among his l)eloved people all that 
 he needed for wholesome duty and spiritual refreshment.
 
 172 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Review of His Rectorship in the Ascension from 1857 to 1870. 
 
 Dr. Pinkney's rectorship in the j^arish of the Ascension reached 
 from October, 1857, to October, 1870, a period of thirteen years, 
 during- which he was in the full vigor of intellectual ability and 
 of physical powers for the active work of the ministry. That 
 period had been jjreceded by a like ^dgor of mind and body for 
 more than twenty years in rural parishes. His continuous paro- 
 chial ministry covered a j^eriod of more than thii'ty-four years. 
 
 It may be well here, at this stage of his life, to note the charac- 
 teristics and qualities which made his pastorate in the priesthood 
 so marked and so eminently useful. Successful ministry in the 
 priesthood is the best preparation for the episcopate, which is 
 only a higher order of the one divine ministry in the Church. In 
 all departments of her work the Church needs young men, but her 
 wisest counsellors and safest rulers have ever been found among 
 those whose ripe experience and well-tried "sdrtues have fitted 
 them for guidance and government. 
 
 The true measure of a man, intellectually as well as morally 
 and spiritually, is to be found in his ability to fill rightly and 
 honorably the positions he is called to fill, to meet successfully 
 and nobly the issues that come up before him, to overmaster dif- 
 ficulties as they arise, to use his resources wisely and efiectually 
 for the ends to be accomplished, and to give comprehensiveness 
 and completeness to work in its details, in its bearings, and in its 
 results. And although Dr. Pinkney, in his hvimility, would have 
 shrunk from the assumption that he was reachmg any such stand- 
 ard, it is fair to say that his constant aim and unswerving efl:brt 
 were, under the divine grace, to fulfil the ministry which he had 
 received of the LORD JESUS. 
 
 The two chief characteristics of his long parochial ministry 
 were, first, the faithfulness of his Gosj^el i^reaching, and secondly, 
 the efficiency of his pastoral work. 
 
 As a preacher he was very pojDular among his own people, who 
 regarded him as both able and eloquent, and were jDowerfully 
 impressed by his earnestness and spuituality. Outside of his own 
 congregation there were different estimates of his pulpit jDOwers. 
 All recognized the sincerity and the fervor with which he set forth 
 the great truths of the Gospel ; but there were those who re- 
 garded his preaching as too impulsive, as defective in logical force 
 .and pith, and too exuberant in imagery. He laid no claim to the
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP TINKNEY. 11 '.i 
 
 grand characteristics of the highest pulpit oratory : and yet he 
 was most attractive to the poorest and plainest of his hearers and 
 at the same time to men of the highest k-aruing and culture. He 
 aimed to throw into his sermons all the richness of thought, all 
 the force and beauty of expression, and all the spiritual power he 
 could command in order to impress upon his hearers the great 
 Gos-|)el truths that were so deeply felt in his own soul. He 
 sought not popularity, and so resorted not to artificial and rhe- 
 torical methods and aids to win the plaudits of the multitude. 
 There is no doubt that he was ambitious to excel as a preacher ; 
 and it is to the credit of himself and the honor of his ministry 
 that he did so. For what minister of CHRIST, feeling the grav- 
 ity of the message he has to deliver and the fearful responsibility 
 under whicli he has to deliver it, will not desire and seek the best 
 helps to make his message effective ? Dr. Pinkney was himself 
 exceedingly susceptible to the charms and powers of oratory and 
 was easily moved and thrilled by eloquence, whether from the 
 pvilpit, in the Senate, or in the courts of judicature. He would 
 listen in such cases with rapt emotion and delight. But he made 
 not oratory his study. His aim was to win souls to Christ. 
 Hence, he loved to dwell upon the theme of Christ crucified, to 
 portray the evangelic fruits of faith in the Christian life, and to 
 set forth the blessedness of union with Christ in the holy com- 
 munion of the Church. The source of whatever was good and 
 strong, winning, and beautiful, in the preaching of Dr. Pinkney, 
 sprung from the thorovighness with which he received Christ into 
 his own soul. 
 
 He wrote with great ease and rapidity, so fond was he of writ- 
 ing, and such interest did he take in writing sermons that he was 
 always prepared with one or more fresh ones. His sermons were 
 the results of much careful study and the outflow of his earnest 
 thought and vivid feeling. They were full of soul fervor. Never 
 sijeculative or abstruse, often largely expository of the Scripture, 
 always dii-ect in spuitual application to the condition and needs 
 of his hearers. His delivery as to its manner was wholly without 
 previous preparation. His manner was his own, and therefore 
 natural. He never studied gesticulation and the arts of rhetoric. 
 He would go on sometimes with great rapidity, and then fall into 
 subdvied tones, scarcely audible beyond the immediate hearers. 
 Sometimes most tender and persuasive in expostulation, at other 
 times almost startling in denunciation of irreligion, unbelief, and 
 the common vices of the day. Often, quite undesignedly, he 
 would fix his eye uj^on some single person in the congregation 
 and with graphic poAver go on in the application of his sul)ject 
 till one would almost shrink from the seemingly personal direct- 
 ness of his words. He had great faith in the power of the eye in 
 all public speaking, and, in consequence, he would be rapidly
 
 174 LIFE OF BISHOP FIXKNEY. 
 
 passing his glances from manuscript to hearers, rarely becoming 
 embarrassed or losing his jilace on the written sermon, the more 
 remarkal)le because his penmanship was very minute and delicate 
 in its lines, filling only the triangular half of one side of a small 
 sheet of thinnest paper, and must have recpiii-ed a very keen per- 
 ception of sight to catch the words and sentences in theii- order. 
 He was not deficient in his gifts as an extempore speaker. In 
 his lectures and occasional addresses to his congregation he 
 always spoke without manuscript or notes. While recognizing 
 some peculiar advantages in the extempore method, he deemed 
 it wiser, better, and more eftective for unfolding and applying the 
 Scripture truths that the sermon should be carefully written. 
 
 His preaching was of a thoroughly Churchly as well as spu-itual 
 character. He held strong and decided views of the ajiostolic 
 orders of the Church, of the nature and efiicacy of the sacraments, 
 and of the requu-ements of the canons and rubrics respecting the 
 jDublic worshij). In a word, he Avas a sound and consistent 
 churchman, holding the essential principles of the Church as the 
 same had been vindicated by the reformers of the sixteenth cen- 
 tury, enforced b}^ the great theologians of the Church of England, 
 and incorporated in her standards by the fathers of the American 
 Church. His whole ministry and his occasional publications gave 
 full proof of these as his settled convictions, and from them he 
 never departed. 
 
 Dr. PiNKNEY was a firm and ardent believer in the inspiration of 
 the Holy Scriptiu-es. He had no special theory of inspiration ; 
 for he well knew that the Church had never settled upon and 
 enunciated any definition of inspiration. He received the Holy 
 Scriptures as the revealed word of GOD, or as it is expressed in 
 the Vlth article of the Church and in the Homilies, as '• contain- 
 ing the word of GOD." Receimig them ujDon the testimony of 
 the universal Church, with the historic i:)roofs of theii" genuine- 
 ness and authenticity, and with the internal evidences of their 
 spu-itual power in and over the soul and the life, he bowed with 
 absolute submissiveness of heart and mind to their divine reveal- 
 ings. Thus recognizing their authority and fully persuaded of 
 theu' sufficiency for all necessary and saving truth and guidance, 
 he made them the constant and absorbing study of his ministerial 
 life. He studied them in the original lano-nag-es. not critically in 
 the Hebrew of the Old Testament, for. although he had a good 
 knowledge of Hebrew, he did not profess to be a Hebrew scholar, 
 but ever, and most carefully, in the Greek of the New Testament. 
 He often selected his texts from the Old Testament books, the 
 historical and the pro])hetic, and would ^vith singular beauty and 
 graphic power bring out the rich spu-itual teachings which they 
 contamed ; ever showing how the divine truths revealed centred 
 in and circled around the one Saviour of the world, JESUS 
 CHllIST.
 
 LIFE OF 15ISH01' I'INKNEY. 17.') 
 
 He did not i)orpl('X liiiiisolf witli the (jiicstioiis of the iicwci- 
 criticism then coming- into vogue from Germany and lurgcly 
 infecting- even the E)iglisli universities. He gave hut httle study to 
 the writings of the Gorman theoh)gians, confining himself to some 
 few of the ahlest and sountlest writers among them. He (hd not 
 discard the province of reason iii all fair and reverent Biblical 
 criticism and research, but he was extremely jeah)us of all ratiou- 
 ahstic assumptions, based on insufficient data, as to what was to 
 be received and what rejected, as parts of Holy Scripture. Hence 
 he kept steadfast in his own sure faith, and m his ministerial 
 teachings touching the sacred Scriptures. 
 
 The duties of an active ministry in frequent ser\aces, much 
 preaching, and faithful i)astoral work, precluded him from devot- 
 ing much attention to patristic learning. He recognized the place 
 and value of the earlier fathers as witnesses for the Catholic faith 
 and order of the Church ; and he often found i-efreshmeut and 
 dehght from the study, in the original, of the works of St. Augus- 
 tine. He i^referred to devote his chief studies to the great works 
 of the old English divines as the safest and surest guides in 
 dogmatic theology ; and he considered that what they may have 
 lacked in profound Scriptural exegesis was more than made up 
 by their masterly vindication of the doctrinal teachings and 
 standards of the Church. He was fvdly alive to the progress 
 of the age in all departments of human activity and enter- 
 prise. To modern science he gave only such stiidy as Avould 
 enable him to understand the bases on which it rested, and to 
 note its tendencies upon matters touching Scripture and religious 
 truth. He believed that whatever might be the advances of 
 scientific research and discovery, all facts clearly substantiated 
 would be found to harmonize with the divine revelation ; for he 
 was satisfied that there could be no antagonism between the 
 works of GOD m nature and the revealings of GOD in Hoh- 
 Scripture. He felt that the authorized teachers of the Church 
 should keep fully abreast of the times and be ever ready and able 
 to meet new issues as they might aiise in the history and expe- 
 rience of the Church. He was conversant with the best literatiu-e 
 of the ag-e, and kept himself well supplied with the able works 
 constantly emanating from the most (hstinguished writers and 
 theologians of the Church of England. 
 
 The Church needs divers workers with varied gifts and in 
 separate spheres to carry on successfully her administration of 
 trust under the Gospel ; and Dr. Pinkney felt that as a priest of 
 GOD, with the vows of GOD upon him, he was specially called to 
 fill the priestly and j^astoral offices in the completeness of their 
 spu'itual functions. This was his high aim, his supreme ambi- 
 tion. His life furnishes a happy exemplification of his marked 
 success. And hence when he became Bishop he could never fully
 
 176 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 tear asunder the old ties that bound him to his people, nor could 
 they ever feel that he was wholly severed from them in the 
 pastoral relation. 
 
 Dr. Pinkney"s efficiency in pastoral work while in charge of 
 rui-al parishes, and of the Ascension, has been already noted. 
 Next to preaching he attached great importance to pastoral visit- 
 ing. He was no recluse. He did not shut himself up in his 
 study, absorbed in his books. He was both a diligent student 
 and an active, practical man. So thoroughly did he indentify 
 himself by his pastoral and social converse with his parishioners 
 of both sexes, young, mature, and aged, that he was revered and 
 loved in every household. He became almost domiciled in some 
 of their homes, sometimes passing a night at their houses, or 
 dropi^ing in for a pleasant social evening ; always striving to 
 turn the thoughts to religious subjects, or to some Church and 
 charitable work. "WTaen any of his flock were sick he was sui*e to 
 be at the bedside for a pastor's consolation or cheer, and some 
 ser\ice of prayer. When occasion called for it, or cii'cumstance 
 admitted, he would stay through the night-watches to help in 
 nursing. Where there were children in the household he would 
 sometimes take j^art in their simple sports. He found occasional 
 relaxation in a game of backgammon, or in testing skill with a 
 friend at the chess-board. Fluent in conversation, he would 
 sometimes indulge in playful humor, or gentle teasing, and at 
 other times throw into his manner somewhat of the earnestness 
 and fervor that characterized his preaching and pubhc addresses. 
 
 He possessed the happy faculty of adapting himself with per- 
 fect ease and naturalness, eqvially to persons in the poorest and 
 lowliest walks of life and to those most cultured and refined in 
 the higher circles of social life. His friends were alike numerous 
 among the poor and the rich, the ignorant and the educated. 
 To all under his charge he was, without respect to persons or 
 conditions, the same loving and faithful pastor. 
 
 But in all his pastoral and social intercourse, he never forgot 
 his priestly character and calling, nor did his people, in their 
 reciprocating love, ever forget the relation in which he stood to 
 them as their j^astor and the minister of Christ. 
 
 To move among men, winning then- love, gaining then- con- 
 fidence, and at the same time securing the reverence due to the 
 sacred office he bore, all without conscious effort, and with no 
 purposes of self-aggrandizement, marks a man, not indeed of an 
 ideal or absolute jjerfection, but as one possessing those true 
 and real qualities which are felt to be as beautiful as they are 
 essential in the ministry of the Church of Christ. 
 
 And so it was with Dr. Pinkney. It was impossible to be with 
 him in social or ministerial converse, or hear him in sermon or 
 address, and not see and feel the elevating and actuating prin- 
 
 J
 
 LIFE OF lilSHol' I'lNKNKV. 177 
 
 i-iples that g-overned liis life. It was tbis. along- with the constant 
 overflow of sweet, gentle, loving sympathy with everything that 
 touched human needs and hopes, that gave to him such a winning'' 
 power over all with whom he was in any way brought into inti- 
 mate association. 
 
 Those who knew him, as it were, only afar off, or viewed him 
 from some stand-point which, if not alien, was yet so clouded with 
 obstructions as to hide from them the true features of his 
 character, could not see and appreciate the very excellencies and 
 gifts which formed the substance and reality of his l)eing. 
 
 Whatever prejudices and antipathies he may have had — and it 
 is by no means claimed that he was wholly free from them — 
 they grew out of that stern, or even extreme, sense of duty, by 
 which, where principles are involved, and grave questions are to 
 be determined, all conscientious and honorable men will be gov- 
 erned. Mistakes may be made, the partiality of friendshiji or 
 affection may mislead, unconscious influences may unduly sway 
 the judgment : all this may be so, and yet where a true and noble 
 life in the ministry of the Church, rich in its fruits of good and 
 blessing has been lived, the just meed of fail' and honorable 
 praise may not be withheld. 
 
 Having made no record of incidents and experiences in his 
 pastoral life, only a few illustrative incidents can be given. In 
 18G1, and during the war troubles, many such incidents of touch- 
 ing interest occurred in his experience. It was during this period 
 that Dr. Pinkney was brought by his pastoral office into very close 
 converse and intimacy with one of the most distinguished men of 
 the age, the late General Walter Jones, in his last illness. Dr. 
 PiNKXEY subsequently addressed a letter to the granddaughters^ 
 giving them some account of those pastoral visits. The letter 
 w^as occasioned by the fact that some members of the family were 
 at the time beyond the military lines, at the South, and could not 
 be 2:)resent in Washington for any ministering offices to the hon- 
 ored relative. 
 
 The daughter* of the late Gen. Walter Jones kindly furnishes 
 the writer with the following paper, which will serve as a prefatory 
 introduction to Dr. Pinkney's letter : 
 
 " It was (luring Dr. Pinkney's pastorate of Ascension Clinreb that he came 
 in pastoral relations with the great lawyer, Walter Jones, then residing with 
 his son-in-law. Dr. Thcnnas Miller, of whose family the rector of the .\sceu- 
 sion was the beloved and venerated pastor. The early association at the bar 
 of Walter Jones with William Pinkney, the Bishop's distinguished uncle, 
 with whom he had broken many a successful lance, the traditional faniih'' 
 friendship, together with the Bishop's keen appreciation of that giant intel- 
 lect, enhanced the deep interest he felt in the spiritual welfare of one who 
 had tasted all that this world can offer of wealth, fame, and honor, and who 
 
 *Miss Fanny Lee Jones, Louise Home, Washington, D. C.
 
 178 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 with i^liysical ijowers enfeebled from suffering, liut with mental eye undimmed 
 and mental vigor unabated, was fast uearing the shores of eternity without 
 apparently having laid hold of that anchor of the soul sure and steadfast — 
 faith in our dear Kedeemer. Walter Jones had had as tutor Mr. Ogilvie, 
 a Scotchman, introduced into his father's family through the influence of 
 President Jefferson : a man of varied and fascinating mental gifts and exten- 
 sive learning, but who was tinctured with the free thinking so prevalent in 
 that day. What influence Ogilvie's jjeculiar views had upon the mind of his 
 distinguished pupil we know not, but on arriving at manhood General Jones 
 Tjecame a close student of the Bible, searching the Scriptures with an avidity 
 of interest and a power of analysis not always equalled by those who make 
 its exegesis their profession — seeing in Paul ' a Spinoza for reasoning,' in 
 Jacob a swindler, David a sad and inexplicable mystery. While rapt with the 
 sublimity of its poetry and prophecy, yielding homage to the perfect law of 
 God as the true foundation for all human law, and, like the angels, desiring 
 to look into the glorious mystery of the incarnation, he yet halted, Ijaffled 
 and confused, over those awful mysteries of God's word of which the Eter- 
 nal Word has declared, ' not by might, not by power, but Ijy My Spirit,' 
 saith the Lord, and for years continued ' tossed about by many a conflict, 
 many a doubt,' whilst in daily life he exhibited so many Christian graces in 
 the exercise of benevolence towards his fellow-man and forgiveness of injuries 
 as might put to shame many high-sounding professors of religion. To this 
 soul so reticent, so shrinking from barring to any human eye the inner shrine 
 of its convictions and feelings, the dear, good Bishop came, and by his gentle, 
 Sj-mpathetic ministrations elicited revelations that had hitherto remained 
 sealed, and by his judicious guidance was the means of leading that great, 
 though hvimble, spirit to embrace the truth as it is in Jesus ; so that when 
 he felt the approach of the last enemy he could say, * I throw myself upon 
 my Creator, as an infant does upon the breast of its mother.' He, upon 
 whose eloquence eager, admiring crowds had been wont to hang, with 
 humility scarce born of the natural man, in one of his last convei-sations with 
 the good Bishop declared that there was no act of his past life that he looked 
 laack upon with the least pride or pleasure. 
 
 " General Jones having been separated by the crtiel exigencies of the 
 Civil War from those members of his family with whom he had made his 
 home, they were deprived of what would have been their highest duty and 
 privilege, ministering to his last moments, and their application to Bishop 
 PixKNEY for particulars of those scenes of supreme interest to them, drew 
 fi'om him the following letter : 
 
 " Washington City, October, 1861. 
 
 *' To the Graiiddnunhters of General Walter Jones. 
 
 "My Dear Young Friends: It was my privilege to visit your grand- 
 father in his last illness, and express to him the sympathy I felt for him in 
 the close of his suffering and eventful life. His mind was singularly ele^r 
 to the last, and a more remarkable mind was never encased in a frail mortal 
 body. I had often been spell-bound by his majestic eloquence, the vigor 
 and seojje of his logic, and the breadth and compass of his imagination, over 
 which there was constantly playing the flashes of a wit that nothing could 
 resist. I considered him one of the first of mental giants of his day ; the 
 last link in a chain of mental greatness that bound us to a greater age. He 
 united in a wonderful degree the most opposite qualities — brilliancy and 
 depth^and poured forth the stream of his rich and original thought in a 
 fluency not more wonderful for its richness than its classic purity. You may 
 well imagine my feelings when I was called to see him as a pastor. I felt 
 that I was in the presence of one who illumined every subject he touched, 
 •who saw deeper into a subject than any other man I had ever approached 
 
 1
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 179 
 
 in so uoiir ;i rfliitionshi)), niid whose powers wt-rt' not Wfaki-ncd l.y a^,'!-. I 
 felt, too, that the threat truths of the Gospel were fauiiliarizeil to his niiml 
 by lonij; study and extensive readiui,' of the Word of God, and its ahlest and 
 most learned expounders. But still I had a duty to perform, a duty that 
 my office devolved u])on me. I felt that a poor worm of tlie dust, a sinner 
 against God was before me, near the close of a singularly brilliant and 
 ■eventful career so far as this world was concerned. I determined, therefore, 
 to speak to him with the directness and simi)licity becoming my office, ami 
 told him frankly that he was a sinner and that as such he must look to Jesus ; 
 that his great gifts only rendered it the more necessary that he should come 
 to him as a little child. He told me that he felt that he was a sinner: that 
 he believed the Bil)le to be the Word of God : that he had not a doubt of it ; 
 and that the Lord Jesus Christ was the one mediator between (iod and us ; 
 and that it was only by Him that we could be saved from death and hell. 
 He told me explicitly that he had nowhere to rest his sin-sick soul but in 
 the mercy of God ; no merit to plead at the mercy-seat ; that his only ho])e 
 was that Jesus died for sinners. I cannot pretend to give his firm and 
 unfaltei'ing enunciation of his belief in these great truths in his own sur- 
 l)assiug eloquence, for he was as elocjuent in the feebleness of disease and 
 wasting strength as I had heard him in his i)almiest days. I told him that 
 I rejoiced to hear this frank confession to the truth of revelation and a])pre- 
 ciatiou of its evangelical doctrines; but I reminded him that our faith must 
 work, that it must yield its fruits ; that obedience was its crowning test ; 
 that our Lord had not only taiight us what we must believe, but do : that 
 He had left on record His dying command that we shoiild eat and drink the 
 bread and wine of the Holy Eiicharist, and feed by faith on His body and 
 blood : to all this he assented. He told me that he would think of it and 
 prepare for it. Had his life been spared a few days longer, I hope that he 
 would have celebrated his iirst communion. In the course of my conver- 
 sations with him I found that his mind had been rather singiilarly exercised 
 on this subject. He repudiated the idea that the inconsistence of others 
 afforded him any sort of apology for his neglect of whtit he confessed to me 
 was a clear duty to be discharged by all. But at the same time he expressed 
 his ideas of the holy awe of that first communion, and believing, as he did, 
 that few men were wilful hypocrites, he was led to attribute their want of 
 correspondence with their profession to the weakness of human nature. He 
 seemed to be afraid that he would not keep more faithfiiUy the vow taken, 
 and that he, too, might be betrayed into its profanation. I told him that 
 that sort of reasoning proved only the weakness of faith, and would not 
 command the approval of a mind so capable of solid reasoning as his, to 
 which he at once assented. His mind was evidently dee])ly exercised : his 
 judgment was convinced ; he did not depreciate the sacrament : he acknowl- 
 edged its transcendent importance. I was led to believe that nothing but 
 the holy dread he had of it, imbibed in early years, and confirmed by his 
 early training, induced him to pause, and that he was in a train of prepara- 
 tion for it. I never saw any one who was more free from all sort of 
 sophistical reasonings on the subject ; who was more distinct and emphatic 
 in his reliance on Christ, and on Him alone as the one only hope of the lost. 
 He felt and acknowledged that he was a sinner. He disclaimed all con- 
 fidence in himself, and repudiated the idea of creature merit as the wildest 
 dream of the fancy. I went to see him as soon as I was ai)])rised of his 
 illness. I prayed with him and for him. He thanked me with more than his 
 accustomed cordiality. I cherish the ])leasing hope that if I could have 
 seen him when freer from pain, he would have proved the integrity of his 
 faith by that one great act of obedience. No one ever held hypocrisy in 
 greater dread. No one bore a more willing testimony to the truth of revela- 
 tion, or more scathingly denounced infidelity in all its phases. He revered 
 religion, and held in highest veneration its crowning mystery, the sacrament
 
 180 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 of the Lord's Slipper. He had a sincere dread of not fulfilling his plighted 
 vow, and that seemed to me. unhappily, to cause him to hesitate. I never 
 saw him again, for when I called to see him the day or two afterwards, I 
 found that he had breathed his last. The intervening visit that I i)aid he 
 was too much exhausted to see me. This brief sketch is written for his 
 granddaughters to put them in possession of what passed between me and 
 their illustrious grandfather. None are cast in his mental mould in our 
 day : few in any day. And as you were not permitted to soothe him in the 
 dying agony, it has occurred to me that you would be gratified to learn what 
 I 'heard fall" from his lips in the hour Avhen he knew that his end was near. 
 I attended his funeral, and read the sublime burial service at his grave ;_ and 
 never was I more ijrofoundly impressed with the vanity of all earthly things, 
 than when I cast my eyes over the sympathizing group that gathered round 
 his bier. The elder members of tlie bar, who had seen him when in the 
 fulness of his strength he walked the arena, the first among his peers, were 
 there to pay the last token of respect to the memory of a brother whose 
 graces added lustre to a profession that a Mansfield and a Marshall adorned, 
 and whose eloquence placed his country on a pedestal that Kome and Greece 
 would not be ashamed to occupy. The younger members of the bar were 
 there also, who will cherish the stimulus of his fame as they carve out for 
 themselves a memory that shall live after them. The greatest living mind 
 had passed from earth. The founder of the greatest philanthropic enterprise 
 of the age (the American Colonization Society) had stepped fi-om the 
 arena of his proudest achievement while the tones of his eloquence were 
 still lingering on our ears. For it was while his mortal remains were in our 
 view that we were recalled to contemplate the stupendous monument of his 
 far-seeing sagacity as a statesman, as a philanthropist : his address to Con- 
 gress in behalf of the Colonization schemes, and yet the world moved on as 
 though a feather had fallen from its rapidly revolving wheels. His mortal 
 remains now rest beside his departed comrades. His simple profession of 
 belief in the truths of Kevelatiou, and his full confession of trust only in 
 the Lamb of God, who was crucified for sinners, are the memories which I 
 cherish most. Earthly glory fades ; but those truths are eternal. 
 
 " WILLIAM PINKNEY." 
 
 There are those who remember the simple detail which he gave 
 of a pastoral visit to a decrepit old colored woman, a communi- 
 cant of his church, who was lying ill and dying with the small- 
 pox. "While ministering to her she asked him to take her hand 
 and hold it in his, that she could die the easier if he did so. 
 For a moment, in his quick view as to what might be the conse- 
 quences, more for others than himself, of his doing so, he hesi- 
 tated, but only for a moment. He calmly took her hand in his 
 and held it in his own while the spirit was departing from the 
 body. 
 
 Another instance, (juite different from this in the ^jer.s'o/?neZ and 
 standing of the individual, was that of his unfailmg ministrations 
 for full three months by the bedside of a very dear friend,* a 
 prominent lawyer and a vestryman of his church. 
 
 The residence was somewhat remote, but freqvient were the 
 pastoral visits during the week ; and always on Sunday nights, 
 when the services at the church were over, he was wont to go to 
 
 * Mr. AVilliam J. Ston. 
 
 I
 
 LIFE OF 15ISH01" I'lXKNEY. 181 
 
 sit up and nurse the Hufierer through the long ni<,dit watches. 
 From the bereaved widow it is learned that — 
 
 " Almost every day Dr. Pinkney came to read ami pray with my Inisl.iiii.l. 
 His preseuee tended to soothe the j^reat restlessm-ss of "the sutlcrer. Just 
 the touch of Dr. Pinkney's hand seemed to (piict his excitement. Every 
 Sunday night, without fail, after idl his arduous duties of the day were over, 
 he came and sat by the l)edside, administering medicines and food, taking 
 all charge and responsibility for that night on himself, and never leaving the 
 room until the sun arose. No words could tell all he was to us at that time, 
 so gentle and quiet, so sympathetic, so full of an.viety himself, encouraging 
 us and yet fearing the worst all the time. His very presence in the house 
 was unspeakable comfort." 
 
 To the memory of this beloved friend and i)arishioner Dr. 
 Pinkney j^aid a just and beautiful tribute in the funeral address 
 he delivered, which, along- with commemorative proceeding-s by 
 the Bar, was subsequently pul^lished in a pamphlet. The follow- 
 ing extract from the address is given : 
 
 " And oh, when I recall the tenderness of the jjast, the look of welcome 
 and the tone of love that greeted me at home, on the thoroughfare of busi- 
 ness, and the avenue of social life, and then recall the kiss of love he gave 
 as I sat beside his suii'ering couch, daj' after day, all too sad that I could not 
 indulge the hope that he woiild be raised up again. I am without words to 
 tell you what I found in him of the sweets of friendship. * * * i leave 
 you to di'aw the picture of oiir sleeping brother as a friend, while I must rest 
 contented that he lies all i;ndescribed in the fi'amework of my own sad 
 heart. As a counsellor of the church he was wise, conservative, and just, 
 a man to be trusted, safe in counsel and steadfast in priuci])le. I knew no 
 man who, in difficult cases, was his superior in that particular department. 
 As a vesti-yman his place cannot be supplied. He took a lively interest in 
 all that contrilmted to the church's growth and advancement, loved to 
 beautify it for all the high festivals, and with his own hands festooned the 
 pidpit on Whit-Sunday with a taste that I have never seen equalled. His 
 money was always liberally bestowed in charity, and our beautifiil com- 
 munion set is the device of his own devout taste— the cross inwrought in 
 gold in solid form, and standing out all so beautifully. * * * \ fe^Y 
 liours before he died I read to him that sweetest of all our hymns. • Jesus, 
 Saviour of my soul,' and prayed with him ; and while in the act of prayer he 
 opened his eyes ftiU upon me, all so eloquent of love, as clear and calm as 
 in his brightest living hour. He now sleeps, and you and I are here to bear 
 him to his long, last home. We will bear him gently, with hushed heart 
 and tearful eye, for we loved him: and we will keej) his memory freshly 
 watered by our tears until our feet tovich the borders of the river and our 
 bodies rest beside him in hope." 
 
 Whenever any member of his cure was going away, though to 
 "be absent only for a season, there was always the ])arting farewell 
 between them, perhaps some little book or token given : and some 
 pleasant letter of remembrance and counsel was sure to follow. 
 
 Of many such letters, these may suffice to show how tenderly 
 the absent ones w^ere remembered : 
 
 '' To MissMcC. 
 
 " April 20, 1857. 
 
 " My Dear A : I was very glad to hear that you had reached S iu 
 
 ^afety and without fatigue : and I hope you will enjoy the jn-ivilege of being
 
 182 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 with the friends of your dear mother. I felt sorry to bid you good-bye on 
 so long a journey and for so long a time ; for although I see very little of 
 you, the recollection of your now sainted mother, whom I watched during 
 many days of suffering, has always tended to keep alive my interest in her- 
 children. 
 
 " You will see much to amuse and instruct you in the new scenes around 
 you ; and I am sure everything will be done by your aunt to make your time 
 pass pleasantly and profitably during your stay. Travel, if rightly improved, 
 is not more interesting than it is instructive : and, my dear child, you must 
 endeavor to combine the two in your present visit, and return to us every 
 way benefited by the trip. I trust that you give some time each day for 
 the cultivation of yoi;r mind. Study and reading ought to constitute a part 
 of the employment of everybody : and as your dear father gave you all the 
 advantage of a liberal education, I hope you will go on tg acquire knowledge 
 and keep your mental faculties bright and vigorous. * * * The idea 
 that knowledge was necessary for man only, and that mental culture was his 
 especial prerogative was a splendid fallacy of the logic of our fathers. We 
 have lived to see that it is not less essential for woman, and in many cases 
 far more prolific of lasting good. For woman moulds the rugged nature of 
 our lordly race. 
 
 ' ' I need not say that you must be careful to watch over and guard the heart, 
 for that /iccd.s even more painful cultxire than the mind. Y'ou are professedly 
 GOD'S child. I trust you are so renlly. As a member of His Church you 
 must strive to walk before Him in humility and meekness of soul. To do 
 this you must be much nlmie with Him in private prayer and the study of 
 His Word and meditation upon it day by day. Y"ou must guard against the 
 influence of worldly company, for nothing affects us as associations. Y'^ou 
 must never forget that you are called upon to walk in the footprints of 
 Jesus, our blessed LORD and Saviour. The little book I gave you is of 
 priceless value in this respect. It is one of the best aids to a godly life. 
 Y'ou will read it for my sake, and strive to profit by its godly counsellings. 
 The Bible and the prayer-book you will make your daily study — I say study, 
 
 for, my dear A , reading the word of GOD will not suffice. We must 
 
 read it closely, with undivided attention, with self-api^lying honesty, with 
 faithful jjrayer, or we shall not read it to jDrofit, and such reading is study. 
 The baptismal office and the confirmation and communion offices you will 
 often peruse, for they are a beautiful and most admirable chart of the voyage 
 of life. Excuse me for these earnest words. I am not in the way of collect- 
 ing news, and therefore my letter will be wholly destitute of that most 
 attractive feature. 
 
 *' Poor Mary G is still very sick. My heart bleeds for her, that one 
 
 so young and who seems to be so willing to live and toil for others should be 
 so afflicted in her youth is sad when viewed from the low stand-point of earth. 
 But GOD in His goodness so ordei's it, and that makes it all right. 
 
 '• I must now bid you good-bye. May GOD bless and keep yoii and make 
 you more and more like Him. May He sanctify all your little trials and give 
 you to see that life is only rightly spent when it points and leads to Him. 
 I .shall be glad to welcome you back again. Remember me to your aunt, 
 for, although 1 do not know her, I feel that she will not esteem me as a 
 stranger, seeing it was my privilege to keep watch by your dear mother 
 when she passed through the dark valley of the shadow of death. Her mem- 
 ory is still fresh in my recollection. 
 
 " Y'our attached friend, 
 
 ••WILLIAM PINKNEY." 
 
 In connection with his pastoral work and very early in his 
 ministry in the Ascension Dr. Pixkney felt the need of calling to 
 his assistance the valuable agency of woman. At that period
 
 LIFE OF lilSHOP I'lNKNEY. 183 
 
 there existed no such <,^eneral and eftVctivc nu'iisuros for the 
 organization of woman's work in the Cliurcli us liave shice been 
 so extensively carried out in Germany and England and in this 
 country. Since then the Order of Deaconesses has Ijeen revived, 
 Sisterhoods have been established, and recently the Woman's Aux- 
 iliar}', with its branches in all the dioceses, has grown in its work 
 and in its tield to immense proportions of usefulness. All of these 
 are voluntary associations ; for the general Church has been slow 
 to legislate upon such agencies, all-imi)ortant as they are for the 
 great work of Church help and Chiu-ch extension. Upon his own 
 responsibility as Bishop, Bishop Whittingham, as early as 1858, 
 set apart, with appropriate services, as the first deaconess of the 
 diocese, to be under his especial jurisdiction, Mrs. Adeline Blanch- 
 ard Tyler, commonly called " Sister Tyler," a lady pre-eminent 
 in those qualities most needed for such benevolent work. Under 
 her management and with the help of the then rector of St. 
 Anch-ew's Church, Baltimore, she established " St. Andrew's In- 
 tirmar}',"' which was afterwards merged in the present Church 
 Home, since become one of the most valuable and excellent of our 
 Church institutions. 
 
 But at the period referred to very little had been done by the 
 Church in bringing into practical utility the services of woman 
 Avith her gifts, her powers, and her wonderful adaptedness for all 
 parochial, eleemosynary, and general mission work. 
 
 The rector of the Ascension lost no time in organizing in his 
 parish an organization of women to be his helpers in the church. 
 The society formed towards the close of 18G1 was first called '' The 
 Dorcas Association of the Ascension Parish," and had for its aim 
 three objects — a sewing circle, a mission school, and a Sunday- 
 school. The name was subsequently changed to that of " The 
 Ladies' Association," and its work and its resources for work be- 
 came greatly enlarged, and it was soon able to render the rector 
 the most efficient help. The great l)ody of the ladies of the parish 
 connected themselves with the association. The rector was made 
 the president ; and he was careful to be always present at the 
 monthly meetings. Each member contiibuted a certain sum 
 annually, engaged to do certain w^ork and to solicit aid for the 
 objects of the association. Festivals for raising funds for some 
 special enterprise were occasionally held, and a series of literary 
 entertainments were conducted for a time and resulted in liberal 
 voluntary offerings. The ladies of the association engaged heart- 
 ily in their work, and were always ready to undertake and carry 
 on any measures laid before them by their rector, between whom 
 and themselves the most tender relations existed. 
 
 Two items will suffice to show what they were domg outside 
 of parochial work. In 18()7 they provided for the sui)i)ort of one 
 orphan and of a candidate for the holy ministry, to the amount of
 
 184 LIFE OF BISHOr FINKNEY. 
 
 $300 ; and in 1868 they contributed to the work which the Rev. 
 Dr. A. Toomer Porter was carrying- on in South Carolina, a like 
 sum of $300. 
 
 It may be here remarked that Dr. Pinkney, during the whole 
 of his rectorship of the Ascension, i)ro"\ided annually for the full 
 support of one candidate for the holy ministry, while prosecuting 
 theological studies, sending donations for that purpose to one of 
 the Western bishops. 
 
 Among the good works which the Ladies' Association sought 
 and helped to accomplish was that which, in union with the parish 
 of the Ei)iphany, resulted in the organization of the parish of 
 '' The Incarnation "' in "Washington, which has since grown to be 
 one of the most flourishing in the city. This work was origi- 
 nated and promoted by the fostering care of the convocation of 
 "Washington, which then was a strictly volimtary organization 
 formed by the clergy of the city and District of Columbia for 
 Church extension within those limits. The rectors of the Epij)h- 
 any and Ascension parishes took especial interest in this work ; 
 and in 1867 the Rev. Mr. Lowrie, who had been acting as assistant 
 minister in Ascension parish, resigned that position and engaged 
 as missionary, under the ecclesiastical authority of the diocese, 
 for the organization of the new church which was established as 
 the j^arish of " The Incarnation," with its metes and bounds, by 
 the convention of 1868. 
 
 When the work of erecting a new parish church was entered 
 upon, and while that work was going on, and afterwards when, 
 under a heavy debt, it was completed, the Ladies' Association, in 
 unison with the Bishoj:), the Associate Rector, and the vestry and 
 congregation, rendered most efficient and successful aid. 
 
 The Ladies' Association still continues its good and noble work 
 in the parish of the Ascension, and the j^resent rector, no doubt, 
 finds it as helpful as. it was in the days of the Rev. Dr. Pixkxey's 
 rectorship. 
 
 The Sunday-school work which Dr. Pinkxey carried on formed, 
 also, an imi:)ortant part in his parochial administration. The in- 
 terest which he felt and manifested in many ways in behalf of 
 young children and the youth of both sexes marked a beautiful 
 feature in his character and parish life. He always had a well- 
 organized and i)rosperous Sunday-school in his parish. For many 
 years the late Mr. John M. Duncanson was the efficient superin- 
 tendent, and a corps of competent teachers, both male and female, 
 members of the congregation, were zealous helpers in the work. 
 Dr. PiNKXEY made it a rule to be present either at the opening or 
 closing religious exercises of the school, and whenever present 
 would go from class to class with some gentle Avords of counsel 
 and encouragement to both teachers and 'pui)ils. In this way he 
 came to know \vell all the scholars, and from those among them
 
 LIFE OF lilSJiol' I'lNKNKY. 185 
 
 who were older iuul more iidvjinced drew the cjitecliuiMeus to 
 receive his speciid iustruetions for coiitii'iuiitioii. 
 
 Nothing eoiihl hiive been more pheasant and harmonious than 
 was the unison of pastor and teachers in tlie work of h-athng the 
 youn<^- to Christ and to the communion of the Church. And when 
 they were confirmed and became communicants he did not h)He 
 si^ht of them, for they Avere sure to receive from time to time 
 some Httle note or token of pastoral interest and remend)rance. 
 
 The following letter, from the incident that called it forth. 
 is very beautifully illustrative of the warm and tender feelings 
 reciprocally existing- between himself and the scholars of bis 
 Sunday-school : 
 
 " Letter of lie v. William Pinkney, D.D., to the ScholavK uf the Ancenifion 
 Ch urch Sunday-school. 
 
 '' A very bfiiutitul carriuge, harness, &c.,were preseuted by tlif cbildreu of 
 the Sunday-school to the liev. W. Piukney, of the Ascension, accompanied 
 by a letter expressive of their k^ve. This caiTiage was sent on from New- 
 York in the steamer Empire, which was ice-bound in the Potomac. The 
 accompanying letter was received by the children from their pastor, and is 
 now printed by them : 
 
 '' ' My Dear Children : Your beautiful note — I must call it beautiful, for 
 it is full of thoughts that are not less happily conceived than expressed — I 
 repeat, yoiir beautiful note took me wholly by surprise. It is in itself a gem 
 which I would set in a framework of gold and retain as the brightest and 
 sweetest that has ever crowned a ministry of love, exercised in much fear 
 and trembling. To win a smile tVom you, to know that y( lur hearts are mine, 
 and that you look with so much tenderness and sympathy uj)on the few 
 feeble eli'orts I have made to lead you tcj the Rock that is higher than you, 
 is the richest solace of a heart that is often sad. There is an eloquence in 
 your w(n-ds which I wish I could ho})e to rival. As it is. all that I can 
 expect to equal is the eloquence of ycnir feeling. Your gift is not more lieauti- 
 ful than it is appropriate, and the selfishness of the choice is that only form 
 of selfishness which denotes a heart that beats with noblest symjjathy. You 
 have woven many cords around my heart, and n(nv, with loving hands, you 
 seek to weave another around one who will love you as tenderly and delight 
 in giving Ijack love for love. The ice of this Christinastide stands between 
 me and your precious gift. But no iceberg floats in that warm region of the 
 heart which divides us from each other. The Empire you have fi-eighted 
 with your love may be ice-bound in the Potomac, but the empire you have. 
 by your docility, gentleness, and affection, succeeded in establishing in my 
 heart, is an empire of soft skies and balmy breezes. To me Christmas comes 
 with something of sadness, for I bear a pilgrim staff and must travel on in 
 the consciousness that I have lost much time and wasted many precious 
 gifts. To you it dawns in hope and is radiant with beauty. If I couhl I 
 would retain all the freshness and holy joy it awakens for you, and with 
 flowers, gathered in the early dew, strew your pathway all through the year 
 until the next Christmas greetings meet you. My children, you remember 
 who took little children in His arms, and, blessing them, said, " Of such is the 
 Kingdom of Heaven." The Manger and the Cross are ycuirs: and, oh.' if 
 you only seek a hiding-place in His bosom, and wait to catch His voice as it 
 comes floating over the hills and valleys of the past, and obediently fi>llow 
 in His steps, you will find Christmas and Easter bright with joy each swiftly
 
 186 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 passing year. A tear may gather on your eyelids, but it will be transmuted 
 into the diamond of faith, and only make more resplendent the future 
 crown. You remember who it was that mounted heavenward on a chariot 
 of fire, and although you and I must walk at last through the valley of the 
 shadow of death, there is a chariot of love which may bear us up, and that 
 chariot may never be ice-bound. We look for the tioating pennant of the 
 Empire, with the bill of lading, the security that we shall not look in vain— 
 vou, in the sweet consciousness that you have touched your pastor's heart 
 to the quick, I, in the sad consciousness that I so little merit your thought- 
 fulness and yoiar love. But your empire is not on the floating waves or the 
 chill waters, but in the heart firmly established. It is the empire of child- 
 hood, the jewel of the Saviour's household, whose sway is the rule of win- 
 ning arts and the heart's magnetic touch. 
 
 " ' Mrs. Pinkney joins me in thanks for your munificent offering. She will 
 use it, and nothing will give her more pleasure than the jirivilege of some- 
 times coming to see you and exchanging with you the greetings of the 
 seasons. 
 
 " * "\Ve each wish you a happy Christmas, and many, many returns of the 
 season. 
 
 " ' Y'our affectionate pastor, 
 
 " ' WILLIAM PINKNEY. 
 
 " ' Decembek 25, 1867.' " 
 
 So important did he regard the Sunday-school in its true place 
 and sphere in connection with, and under control of, the Church 
 that subsequently and very early in his Episcopate he took occa- 
 sion to present, in a charge to the Convocation of Washington, a 
 very full and strong ^dew of the need and the work of the Sunday- 
 school in fvilfilling the mission of the Church. That charge was 
 published, and its wise words and salutary counsels deserve to be 
 remembered and cherished. 
 
 The following extract is given : 
 
 •• Y'ou perceive, then, that the Sunday-school is a power only in so far as 
 it finds its real headship in the pastor of the fold : its system of instruction 
 in the creeds and the pure word of GOD : its helpei'S in the wisest, most 
 earnest, and magnetic of the young and the more advanced ; is used by 
 parents as a help and not a substitute, and is not allowed to take the place 
 of the regular Sunday worship. If this be so, do you not perceive how vast 
 is the responsibility, how intense the labor, how aiigust the privilege that 
 are pressing on the heart and conscience of all those who seek to share its 
 honors and its glorious self-sacrifice ?" 
 
 So, too, as regards the divme ordainment of the family, in its 
 relation alike to the Church and the State, he saw clearly that the 
 foundations of religious instruction, training, and culture, were 
 to be laid in the hallowed cu-cle of the home by parents realizing 
 their responsibilities and fulfilling their duties. This subject he 
 frequently brought liefore his jjcople in very earnest dis- 
 courses upon the family and the home. A single extract from a 
 sermon on '• Showing Piety at Home," which he preached on 
 several occasions and which was afterwards published, will show 
 with what glowing feeling he covild picture a happy Christian 
 home :
 
 LIFE OF lUSHOP I'INKNKV. 187 
 
 " But yt>t a<,'iiin I si'c iinotlu'i- iiiul a (liflVi-fnt sfc-uc It is tin- sweet iiiul 
 sulxluiu^' exliihilion of pit'ty at hmne; where the love of (K )1) wells up in 
 the heart, and j^'oes forth in j^entU' streams to enrich and fertilize otlier hearts 
 that beat so near its own — where a family altar is reared and the ha])i)V 
 household is fj;athered in weepin^^ wonder around it : where the little hamls 
 are folded and the little knees are bowed in prayer : where a father's ^gentle- 
 ness is minified with a mother's tenderness as the story of the eross is dee]) 
 inijjrinted on the heart, and heaven is opened to the j<aze of chihlhood witli 
 its pearly i,'ates and its golden pavement: where the liours not consumi-il in 
 the business of earth art^ sj)ent in forminj^ the soul and j)repiirin^ it for the 
 double duties, the duties of the world that is, and the world that is to come : 
 where home is made the nursery of a livint; faith and the abode of (piietness 
 and peace, over which are constantly <^atherinLC the rays of the sun of right- 
 eousness, and within which there is the l)eaiitiful type of heaven : and my 
 prayer to God is. that such homes may be multiplied, and that such scenes 
 of an earnest home piety may be often re-euaeted." 
 
 In connection with home nurtui'c and Sunday-school tfaining 
 he took a deep interest in all educational instittitions that wei'e 
 more or less under Church intiuence and control. For many 
 years and up to the close of his life, oitt of his own very moderate 
 income, he was in the habit of sending to a number of schools and 
 colleges costly gold medals to be awarded for excellence in 
 deportment and proficiency in study. For a long period, up to 
 the time of his death, he was an influential and active member of 
 the board of visitors and governors of his Alma Mater, and never 
 failed to attend their meetings and the college commencements. 
 
 The services of his church in the public worship were always 
 conducted with scrupulous regard to rubrical requu-ements, were 
 very impressively rendered, and in the musical portions were full 
 of hearty animation and solemnity. 
 
 He was fortunate in securing and for a number of years in 
 retaining as his organist * a young man of very remarkable 
 musical talents, who possessed alike a master's skill in the use of 
 the instrument and a thorough practical knowledge of its whole 
 internal mechanism and structure. 
 
 His choir was for the most part and almost exclusively com- 
 posed of volunteer singers from the members of the congregation ; 
 and any worshipper would have been struck with the earnestness 
 and superior excellence of the music. 
 
 * Prof. Geo. W. Walter.
 
 188 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Election and Consecration. 1869-'70. 
 
 Bishop Whittixgham's health, after the War, continued to grow- 
 more and more feeble — so much so that neither rest nor a sea- 
 voyage brought any permanent relief. It became year by year 
 increasingly apparent to the Bishop himself and to the diocese 
 that it was hopeless to look for any such restoration as would 
 enable him to discharge the active duties of the episcopate. 
 
 The setting off of the Eastern Shore as a separate diocese, 
 which was consummated in the Diocesan and General Conventions 
 held in 1868, only gave relief to that part so formed into an inde- 
 l^endent jurisdiction. Nothwithstandiug the separation of Eastou 
 as a diocese, the matter of still further division continued to be 
 agitated. It came up in the Conventions of 1867 and 1868. Com- 
 mittees were appointed and re2:)orted about it. There were those, 
 not many, in the convention, most anxious and persistent to bring 
 about the separation of the District of Columbia as a diocese, 
 with or without the annexation of some of the counties in Mary- 
 land. The question, however, was at last brought to the test by 
 a resolution, in 1868, of Mr. A. B. Davis for the appointment of 
 a committee to addi'ess " a circular and queries to all the clergy 
 and vestries " to ascertain the feeling and wishes in regard to fur- 
 ther division. This committee reported to the Convention of 
 1869 that the responses to the circular and queries were so few 
 and so unsatisfactory that they asked to be discharged, and the 
 movement was for the time dropped. 
 
 It was afterwards revived under a somewhat different phase 
 when an Assistant Bishop had been elected. 
 
 Soon after the complete organization of the Diocese of Easton, 
 with its Bishop, some measures for a federate union of Maryland 
 with Easton, for the common interests of both dioceses, were intro- 
 duced into their respective conventions, and special committees 
 were appointed to confer upon the matter. It was thought by 
 some in Maryland that if some such measures were carried, the 
 Bishop of Easton. haA^ng the charge of a small diocese, could 
 easily come over to the "Western Shore of Maryland to render svich 
 Episcopal services as the Bishop of Maryland might need, and, by 
 thus relieving Bishop "Whittingham. satisfy the steadily increas- 
 ing desire for the services of an Assistant Bishop. There were 
 those in Maryland who earnestl}' desired and strenuously sought 
 
 1
 
 LIFE OF UISHOP IMNKNEY. IS'.J 
 
 to fonsninmate this incisure of a I'ederati' union. It crcatcil no 
 little dissension and discussion. 
 
 AVlien the Convention met in Baltimore on the 20th of ]\Iay. 
 1809, a committee of three clergymen and two laymen was 
 ai)pointed early in the session " to confer with the committee from 
 the Diocese of Easton " up(m the subject, the members of which 
 Easton committee were known to be i)resent for such conference. 
 On the third day of the session this committee reported and 
 recommended the adoption of the following resolution, which 
 was passed : 
 
 " liexolrcd. That a Committee of three clergymen iiml two laymen lie 
 appointed by this Convention to meet a similar Committei' appointed or to 
 be appointed by the Convention of the Dioeese of Easton, to mature a projier 
 plan for the organization (jf a Federate Convention of the two Dioceses, and 
 for the promotion of Church Extension in this State, and to report to the 
 next Convention of the Diocese of Maryland, and that the Bishop of Mary- 
 laud be t'.v ojfic/'o Chairman of the said Ccnumittee." 
 
 At the next convention (1870) there were presented fj-om that 
 committee two reports ; a majority report favoring such Federate 
 Convention, and setting forth the objects contemplated and 
 sought to be effected by its organization. It was as follows : 
 
 " In accordance with the votes of the Dioceses of Maryland and Easton, 
 instructing the Joint Committee on the Federate Council to send to each 
 Rector and Vestry a copy of their report on or Ijefore the tirst day of May, 
 A. D. 1870, the Committee hereby announces that it will recommend to the 
 two Conventions the following preamble and resoli;tions for adoption, to 
 wit : 
 
 " Wheeeas, There are now constituted, within the limits of the State 
 of Maryland, two organized Dioceses, thus making it necessary to secure, 
 from time to time, legislative enactments affecting the common interests of 
 the Church in this State ; and 
 
 •' Whereas, It is greatly to be desired that the bonds of unity and fraternal 
 love should be preserved unbroken between the two Dioceses, and cordial 
 co-operation be secured in all matters touching common welfare : therefore, 
 
 '• Eexolved, That there shall be elected for this Diocese, at this, and every 
 succeeding Convention, five clerical and five lay delegates, who, with a 
 
 similar delegation from the Diocese of * , together with the Bishoi)s 
 
 of the Dioceses concerned, shall be a Federate Convention of the Dioceses in 
 Maryland. 
 
 ''Resoh'ed, That the Senior Bishop shall preside, and shall, from tilne to 
 time, appoint the time and place of meeting of the Federate Convention. 
 He may convene it, of his own motion, when he shall deem it expedient ; 
 and it "shall be his duty to convene it when retiuested by the other Bishop, 
 or by a vote of a Diocesan Convention. 
 
 ''Resolved, That the said Federate Convention shall have power to 
 deliberate about all matters of interest common to the two Dioceses, and to 
 offer recommendations to the Diocesan Conventions : and it is expressly 
 authorized to take such determinate action as it may deem necessary to secure 
 such legislative enactments as the common interests of the Church in the- 
 
 * Insert Maryhmd or Easton, as the case may be.
 
 190 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 State may require ; and all its actions and proceedings shall be made known 
 to the next succeeding Annual Convention. 
 
 '■'■ Resohed, That the said Federate Convention shall be empowered to act 
 whenever the concurrence of the two Dioceses, in the passage of these 
 resolutions, shall be dulv certified to the respective Bishops. 
 
 '^Atte^it: ' (Signed) JOHN YAUGHAN LEWIS. 
 
 " Secretary of the Joint Committee. 
 ■" Baltimore, Md., Enster Monday, 1870." 
 
 The minority report by the Rev. Dr. Addison was not printed 
 in the journal, but it is stated to have contained such strong and 
 conckisive arguments against any action in the matter that after 
 considerable debate both reports, together vs'ith the resolutions 
 appended to them, were upon motion, " postponed until the next 
 annual convention," which was considered as equivalent to an 
 inde/inite postponement, as the matter of the election of an Assist- 
 ant Bishop was known to be then pending — as we shall see — 
 before the convention, and on its consummation would remove 
 all necessity or occasion for any Federate Convention so far as 
 the sujjply of relief in Episcopal services for the Diocese of Mary- 
 land was concerned. No subsequent movements were made to 
 revive this measure. 
 
 All efforts for further diocesan division failing and no actual and 
 advantageous relief to come from any Federate Convention, even if 
 successfully organized, the mind of the Church in the diocese was 
 the more turned to secure that relief which the canons provide in 
 the case of a Bishop's disability by the election of an Assistant 
 Bishop. But no movement in that direction could be made except 
 under the request and approval of the diocesan. 
 
 The reluctance of Bishop Whittuigham to desire and ask relief 
 by an Assistant Bishop is well known. It is also well known that 
 under his constantly increasmg infirmities of health and the appar- 
 ent hopelessness of any permanent restoration, he at one time 
 entertained serious thoughts of resigning his jurisdiction as 
 Bishop. He was probably withheld from the fixed purpose of 
 doing so by the known and expressed opposition on the part of 
 very many in and out of the diocese to such a course.* There 
 seemed to be only one mode and hope of relief, and that was the 
 election of an Assistant Bishop. To this the Bishop gave his 
 •" concurrence and consent," and placed the whole matter in the 
 hands of the convention. 
 
 There were those in the diocese who, on principle, were opjDOsed 
 to the whole system of Assistant Bishops, as contrary to the one 
 headship in the Ei5isco2)al jui'isdiction, and as liable in practice to 
 the perpetuation in a diocese by its Bishop of a certain cast of 
 Episcoi^al teaching and governance, inasmuch as the convention 
 
 * See page 209. where, in a letter of his to the newly-consecrated assistant 
 .Bishop, he gives expression to this purpose which he had formed.
 
 LIFE OF insilol' 1-INKNKY. I Hi 
 
 of a diocese, whatever might be the convictions of its incjal.fis, 
 Avoiihi be slow to elect an assistant whose views were known in 
 be not in harmony with those of the diocesan. 
 
 As the canon forbids the election of a Bls/mp si/f^'nn/tm, thno 
 is no other relief f<n- a Bisho^j's disability and the needs of Epis- 
 copal services than that of an Assistant Bishop. There is a limit 
 to whicli diocesan division can be carried, the conditions in sonic 
 of the dioceses beiu<>- such that division becomes jjracticallv 
 impossible. Some action may be taken by the General Church 
 to substitute for the })resent mode of relief by Assistant Bislio])s 
 a suftraj^mn system, like that which existed in the primitive Church, 
 and which would not be liable to the objections to that form of 
 sufl'raganship which was adopted in England in the reign of Henry 
 VIII, and against which the prohibition of the existing canon is 
 directed. 
 
 At the General Ccmvention in 1880 a canon entitled, " of suffra- 
 gan Bisho])s," was introduced in the House of Bishops and j)ost- 
 poned for consideration to the next general convention. The 
 matter thus brought before the Church in her highest council 
 may result in some determinative action that will better meet the 
 needs and exigencies of the Church than the present system of 
 " Assistant Bishops." 
 
 The Convention of the Diocese met in Baltimore on the 2()th of 
 May, 1809. The Bishop was in attendance, but too feeble in 
 health to i)reside during the deliberations of the body. His 
 address was placed in the hands of one of the clergy to be read 
 to the convention ; and, by his request, there being no opposition, 
 the j^resident of the Standing Committee, the Rev. Dr. C. K. 
 Nelson, took the chair to occupy the place of the Bishop " through 
 the current of business." 
 
 The closing paragraphs of the Bishop's address, referring to 
 the condition of his health and to relief fen- the diocese, are here 
 given : 
 
 " The rendering of this slender account may serve to introduce and justify 
 a communication which it costs me much to make. 
 
 " After nine and twenty years of endeavor, always weak and imperfect, 
 and often, to my full consciousness, miserably futile, but still honest and 
 earnest endeavor — to serve the Diocese in my office, the experiment of the 
 last three years has j^roved to me that I must either be content to lie as an 
 incubus ujion my people, pres-sing down their energies, and thwarting 
 instead of forwarding their work, or must set before them my hopelessness 
 of fulfilling the measure of official duty which their needs require. 
 
 " I have my own views of what it were best for me to do, in this state of 
 our relati<ms : but I defer to those of others when I adopt the course of 
 informing you that I have no longer room for doubt that my case comes 
 within the "purview of Section V of Canon 13 of the Digest ; and that if the 
 Convention should think proper to take action under that ('anon for the 
 relief of the Diocese, it will, in so doing, have my frank and cheerfully 
 accorded conciirrence and consent.
 
 192 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 "Humbly committing yoii iu tins, as iu all your counsels and devisings, 
 to the aid ;iud guidance of the Blessed SiDirit of wisdom, love, and peace, and 
 praying for you rich measures of blessing, for our dear Saviour's sake, fi-om 
 our" Heavenly Father, I am, my dear brethren. 
 
 '■ Your loving brother and servant in the Lord, 
 
 •• WILLIAM EOLLINSON WHITTINGHAM, 
 
 " Bhhiij) of Maryland. 
 " Baltimore, May 26, 1K()9." 
 
 "NMiereupou a resolution was offered, '" That the notice requu-ed 
 by Ai-ticle V of the Constitution, before the election of an Assist- 
 ant Bishop, be now given, and recorded in the jom-nal," which, 
 '' Resolution, together with all that part of the Bishop's address 
 referrino- to the same subject," was referred to a special com- 
 mittee of four- clergymen and three laymen, to report during the 
 session of the convention. This committee after stating in their 
 report on the next day " That in the judgment of the committee 
 it is unad^•isable at this time to make any provision looking to the 
 election of an Assistant Bishop for the diocese,'' presented two 
 resolutions, as follows : 
 
 '^ Renolved, That the Convention hereby appropriate the sum of Five 
 Hundred Dollars for the use of the Bishop, and subject to his order, to 
 enable him to deft-ay the expenses of sxich aid as he may think proper to 
 obtain in the exercise of his Episcopal functions in the Diocese of Maryland, 
 until the next annual meeting of this Convention. 
 
 " ReNolved, That this Convention tenders to its beloved Father and Chief 
 Pastor its deepest sympathy and regret, at the occasion of his present appeal, 
 with their earnest prayer to the Great Head of the Church that with the 
 Divine lilessiug upon the measure of relief thus given, his health may be 
 restored, and that the admirable results of his early ministry may be 
 equalled, if not surpassed, by the riper fruits of the future." 
 
 For these resolutions a substitute, to the effect of giving the 
 requii-ed notice of electing an Assistant Bishop at the next con- 
 vention, was ofifered and failed to pass. The question then recur- 
 rmg on the resolutions of the committee they were unanimously 
 adopted. The resolution, which had been offered as a HubstitiUe, 
 was then presented as an orif/lnal resolution, and was adopted 
 by a very decided vote of both orders. The resolution was as 
 follows : 
 
 " liemlvod That the notice required by Article V of the Constitution of 
 the Diocese, to be given by the Convention, whenever it shall be proposed 
 to elect an Assistant Bishop, be and hereby is given, in order that an election 
 for an Assistant Bishop may take place at the next Annual Convention, 
 May, 1K70." 
 
 At the Convention which met in Baltimore on the 25th of May, 
 1870, Bishop Whittiugham was present at the opening ser\'ices ; 
 but after the body was organized for business, 
 
 " The Right Reverend, the Bishop, announced to the Convention that, 
 on account of his present disability (referring particularly to the loss of
 
 LIFE OF lUSHoI' I'INKNEY. lil.'j 
 
 his voice), in adtlition to the cU'c'tiou of a Soci-etary, In- would l.c .•omprllfd 
 to iisk tlie Convention to eleet a President from its body, to preside. WlnTe- 
 n^jon, the (Convention proceeded to an election rica voce, which resulted l>v 
 a unanimous vote in the selection of tlie l{ev. Cleland K. Nelson. I). ]).". 
 President." 
 
 The address of the Bishop had Ijeen placed in the hands of the 
 Rev. Mr. Stryker, who, by recpiest of the convention, ])i(>ci'('dcd 
 to read the address. 
 
 The Bishop, in referring- to his " increased incapacity " lor Epis- 
 copal visitations, was able to say : 
 
 "Nevertheless, as in former years, the very great kindness of brethren in 
 otKce has enabled me to obtain for the Diocese a fair measure of Episcopal 
 service. Esjiecially we are indebted to the Bishops of Pittsburgh and of 
 Easton for a fttU month of daily work on the part of the former, and within 
 a (biv or two of the same amount of hibor l)v the hitter." 
 
 " The visitations of the year, by other Bishops and myself, have extendeiT 
 to all the counties in the Diocese but one, and pretty thoroughly in the 
 cities of Baltimore and Washington." 
 
 The Bishop was also able to make in his address the following 
 gratifying statement : 
 
 " We have now in this Diocese precisely the number of clergymen that 
 were at work in all Maryland in 1855 ; and I am thoroughly satisfied, from 
 careful inquiry and ample soiirces of information, that the services and 
 attendance of this Diocese in the present year are fully double those of the 
 undivided Diocese fifteen years ago. This is a great thing to say : because 
 it amounts to an affirmation that the working efficiency of our clergy has 
 doubled itself in half a generation : but I feel confident of the accuracy <>f 
 the statement, and deem mj'self bound to make it in justice to my hard- 
 working — in human computation ill supported and miserably remunerated, 
 but nobly successful, and of God, after the wishes of their own hearts, 
 gloriously rewarded brethren. If ever patient continuance in widl-doing 
 had its reward even in the present fruits of labor, church-work in Maryland 
 is now recompensing the earnest, indomitable zeal of the unpretending, 
 suifering men who make so large a proportion of those engaged in it." 
 
 Towards the close of his address the Bishop referred to his 
 communication to the convention of the preceding year, in whic-h 
 he had expressed his " concurrence and consent " to the elec-tion 
 of an Assistant Bishop : 
 
 " On the matters brought before the last C'.'nveuiion. and to be taken up 
 by this Convention in continuation of the proceedings then instituted, I 
 have nothing to add to my comnumications already made. The welfare of 
 the Diocese is in your hands. May God abundantly endow you with heavenly 
 wisdom, and that charity which is the very bond of grace and perfect ness, 
 to guide you in all your action and decisions I " 
 
 On the second day of the session (1870) the convention decided 
 by a very large vote to " proceed to the election of an Assistant
 
 104 LIFE OF BISHOP PIXKNEY. 
 
 Bishop of the Diocese of Maryland, under Article V of the Con- 
 stitution." 
 
 The whole proceedings in the election that followed were so 
 marked by unanimity and solemnity that the record stands out 
 as somewhat unique in the history of elections to the Episcopate 
 in the Diocese of Maryland, which, both before and since, have 
 been noted for delays, difficulties, embarrassments, and conten- 
 tions. 
 
 The following record of the proceeding had on that election is 
 drawn from the Journal of the Convention of that year, 1870. 
 
 Several nominations were made. 
 
 Before proceeding to ballot the whole convention knelt m silent 
 jDrayer, and remained in an attitude of supplication for several 
 minutes. 
 
 Article V of the Constitution of the Church in Maryland 
 requires that on an election of Bishop or Assistant Bishop, the 
 order of the clergy shall vote first and separately, and a vote of 
 two-thu'ds of that order shall be necessary to constitute the choice 
 of the clergy ; and upon such choice the name of the person so 
 nominated is presented to the order of the lay delegates for then- 
 action, and an approval by a two-thu'ds vote of then- order is 
 required to constitute an election. 
 
 Upon the first ballot of the clergy the Rev. Dr. William Pinkxey 
 received within one vote of the required two-thuxls majority. 
 Upon the second ballot he received far more than the requu-ed 
 number of votes, and the nomination was immediately approved 
 and confirmed by a very large vote of the lay delegates. 
 
 It was immediately ordered by vote in the convention that the 
 election be declared unanimous. 
 
 The convention then united in singing the Gloria in Exeelsis. 
 
 A committee was appointed to wait on the Rt. Rev. the Bishop 
 of the diocese, to advise him of the action of the convention : 
 and a similar committee to wait on the Rev. Dr. Wm. Pixkxey, and 
 apprise him of his election. 
 
 The reports of these committees were as follows : 
 
 " The Rev. Dr. Lewin, from the Committee appointed to wait upon the 
 Bev. WiLiiAM PiNKNEY, D. D., and to inform him of his election as Assistant 
 Bishop, made the foHowiug report : 
 
 " ' The Committee appointed to announce to the Kev. William Pinkney. 
 D. D., that this Convention had elected him to the high and holy office of 
 Bishop in the Chiirch of GOD, to assist their Rt. Ptev. Father in GOD, the 
 Bishop of this Diocese, respectfully report, that, in the discharge of their 
 duty, immediately after the adjournment of the Convention, they waited 
 upon the Rev. Dr. Pinkney. the Assistant Bishop-elect, and that they expect 
 shortly to have the pleasure of introducing him to the Convention. 
 
 (Signed; MEYER LEWIN, 
 W. F. BRAND, 
 GEO. LEEDS, 
 BERNARD CARTER, 
 DANIEL M. THOMAS.'
 
 LIFE OF msHOl' I'lXKNEY. I'.l;") 
 
 " The liev. Dr. Shepherd, fnnii the Cdiiuuitter a]i)ioiiiti(l tn wait tui tin- 
 Eight Rev. the Bishop of the Diocese, to inform iiiiii <.l the election of im 
 Assistant BishoiJ, re^jorted as follows : 
 
 •• ' The Coiiuuittee appointed for the pnrjjose of informing the Kt. Rever- 
 end the Bishop of the Dioeese, of the result of the election of an Assistant 
 Bishop, would respectfully report that, in the discharge of their dutv, they 
 Avaited ujjon the Bishop immediately after the adjournment of the C(»nven- 
 tiou hist night. When informed of the result of the election, and esjieeially 
 ■of the harmony which attended it, he thanked Ood with visible emotion, 
 and prayed that His blessing might attend it. He stated that he had pur- 
 po.sely abstained from ex])ressing any preference, for he desired that the 
 person elected should be the choice of the Convention — that no one wotUd 
 be personally more agreeable and acceptable to himself in all social an<l 
 •ecclesiastical relations. He would like to say more, Vmt his voice would not 
 permit it. 
 
 (Signc.l) J. AVERY SHEPHERD, 
 
 A. P. STRYKER. 
 
 E. A. DALRYMPLE. 
 
 A. BO\Y]E DAVIS, 
 
 H. COLBURN, M. D. 
 
 R. M. PROUD.' 
 
 •' The Assistant Bishop-elect, the Rev. William Pinkney, D. D., was then 
 introduced. The Convention rose, and remained stan(hng while the Rev. 
 Dr. Leeds, on behalf of the Committee, spoke as follows : 
 
 " ' Me. President : The Committee whom you honored last evening with 
 the duty of communicating the action of this body to the Rev. Dr. Pinkxey, 
 take great pleasure in now presenting him, both to you and to this Conven- 
 tion, as the Assistant Bishop-elect of the Diocese of Maryland. 
 
 " ' To say that he is worthy, on whom the choice of his brethren has 
 fallen, to aid our venerable Father in GckI in the arduous duties to which, 
 to our deep sorrow, he is luade unequal, would be quite superfluous. He is 
 already in your confidence, your esteem, and your affection: and I lieg to 
 assure him, in this presence, how heartily those who have hail the honor to 
 share, though at a wide remove from himself, the suffrages of this Conven- 
 tion — how heartily they and their too partial friends unite in the c(jmmon 
 expressionof satisfaction and delight, awakened, at this hour, by the har- 
 mony of our counsels and the manifest guidance of God's Good Siiirit.' 
 
 "To which Rev. C. K. Nelson, D. D., President of the Convention, 
 responded : 
 
 ••'Mr. Chairman: We have listened to your introduction of the Rev. 
 Dr. PiNKNEY as Assistant Bishop-elect of the Diocese of Maryland with the 
 deepest interest. As we, in the name of the Convention, welcome him to 
 our presence, it needs no addition to the words so well chosen by yourself, 
 to express the sense of appreciation which the Dioeese entertains for him. 
 It is enough to say that he is a son of the Diocese, and has devoted the 
 energies of his whole earnest life to her service. In the name of the Dioeese 
 of Maryland, we offer to the Assistant Bishop-elect our trui'st and heartiest 
 sympathy, and pledge him the most cordial siipport of our hands and our 
 hearts.' 
 
 "With voice tremulous with emotion. Rev. Dr. Pinkney responded as 
 f I )llows : 
 
 " ' Dear Brethren of the Clergy, and dear Brethren of the Laity : 
 Overwhelmed as I am by this most unexpected and unmerited token of your 
 confidence and love, I can only say I am profoundly grateful. And yet, 
 when I cast my eyes around me, and see so many Presbyters beloved, who 
 would have worn this mantle with inexpressil)ie dignity and grace, and 
 brought to the discharge of the high duties of this most fearful office, a
 
 196 LIFE OF BISHOr PINKNEY. 
 
 ripeness of experience, wisdom, learning, eloquence, zeal, and enei'gy, to- 
 which I can lay no claim whatever, I am as deeply humbled. Should your 
 choice meet the approval of the iseveral Standing Committees and Bishops 
 of the Church, and my own mind and heart be brought to the conviction 
 that it is my duty to take up the Banner of the Cross, as yo\ir leader, wishing 
 and seeking to act, at all times and under all circumstances, in the most 
 cordial and fi-aternal co-operation with the most eminent and distinguished 
 Bishop, who has for so many years guided the destinies of this Diocese, and 
 whose rare learning and l)iirniug eloc^uence have made him so signally 
 known beyond our l)orders. I shall have to draw very largely on your for- 
 bearance and brotherly sympathy. 
 
 *' ' Having spent the largest portion of my life in the rural districts, there 
 is no part of the held in which I shall take a livelier interest than that in 
 which a noble baud of Presbyters and Deacons are now serving the Church 
 in a spirit of the sublimest self-sacrifice, in a beautiful contentment with 
 their lot, and a voluntary poverty endured for God and His holy household. 
 "Words are powerless to express the feelings that at this moment move me. 
 Deeds, not words, you have a right to expect : for deeds alone can test the 
 issues of this hour. 
 
 " ' You have called me fi'om a field of labor where I was happy, and more 
 than satisfied — from a people who have never tired in the kindest offices of 
 love, and who have ever woven around my heart cords, the severance of 
 which must cost me intensest agony. If I am constrained to turn from them 
 to you, I shall confidently look to the Clergy and Laity of the Diocese of 
 Maryland for a generous construction of my motives, and a warm-hearted 
 sympathy in my cares and trials, and I know I shall not be disappointed. 
 
 " ' I leave you, with these few words, to face the responsibility of this 
 hour : and, if confirmed by the Church at large, solve the great question of 
 duty in the chamber of my own heart.' 
 
 "At the conclusion of the Rev. Dr. Pinkney's remarks, the whole 
 assembly again knelt in prayer; after which, the members of the Conven- 
 tion gathered around the Reverend Doctor and tendered their congratu- 
 lations. 
 
 " In the meantime, the venerable Dr. Pigott had, at the request of the 
 Committee, drawn up the Testimonial in the prescribed form, and a table 
 being placed in the main aisle, the roll was called by the Secretary, in the 
 order of seniority, and each clergyman, as his name was called, stepped 
 forward and signed the Testimonial. After which, the lay members all signed 
 their names. 
 
 '"TESTIMONIAL. 
 
 " ' We, whose names are underwritten, fully sensible how important it 
 is that the sacred office of a Bishojj should not be unworthily conferred, 
 and firmly persuaded that it is our duty to bear testimony on this solemn 
 occasion, without partiality or affection, do, in the presence of Almighty 
 God, testify that William Pinkney, Doctor in Divinity, is not, so far as we 
 are informed, justly liable to evil report, either for ei-ror in religion or for 
 viciousness in life, and that we do not know or believe there is any iini)edi- 
 ment, on account of which he ought not to be consecrated to that holy 
 office. We do, moreover, jointly and severally, declare that we do, in our 
 conscience, believe him to be of such sufficiency in good learning, such 
 soundness in the faith, and of such virtuous and pure manners, and godly 
 conversation, that he is apt and meet to exercise the office of a Bishop to the 
 honor of God, and the edifying of His Church, and to be a wholesome 
 example to the flock of Christ.' " 
 
 Bishop Wbittingham, as we have seen, interposed in no way to 
 inlluence or control the action of the convention. His jirofound 
 
 J
 
 LIFE OF lilSHol' I'lNKNKY. ] '.)7 
 
 Ix'licf in tlie i)ros("iice iiiid ^iiidmici' of (J()l) in tiif Church luc- 
 chuhd him from all personal or olticial coiniKels or acts in tliat 
 direction. He cheerfully suljmitted the whole matter t(i the will 
 and choice of the convention. AVhatever i)references he nniy have 
 had as to his associate and successor in the Ei)isco])ate, it is not 
 known that he ever gave expression to them. It was well known 
 that long l)efore the meeting of the convention the miiids of very 
 many among the clergy, and of still larger numl)ers of the laity 
 of the diocese, were turned to Dr. Pinkney for the Ei)isc()pate. 
 The reniiukable unanimity in his electi(m, and the glad ami giate- 
 ful way in which the result was received throughout the dit)cese, 
 marked the strength and the depth of the feeling in the Church 
 for his selection. 
 
 The whole circumstances, therefore, of his election to the J^pis- 
 copate were such as to hardly leave Di-. Pinkney any choice as to 
 his acceptance. That he did not desire the high and sacred 
 office, that he shrunk from its grave responsibilities, that he 
 would far rather have had the choice to fall upon one l)etter fitted 
 thiui himself, as he believed, for the work of a Bishop in the 
 Church of GOD. and. moreover, that it would force him to sever 
 the ties that bound him so closely and tenderly to his parish and 
 his peoi)le with like affection to himself — all this he knew and 
 felt, and yet at the same time he felt in his soul that he would be 
 bound to obe}' the call, commg to him, under Divine Providence. 
 •R-ithout any agency of his own, as the call of GOD. manifested 
 and expressed by and through the choice of the Church in her 
 council assembled. Resignedly, therefore, he awaited the action 
 of the General Church through the Standing Committees and the 
 Bishops ; but as that action was believed to be. as it proved, cer- 
 tainly confirmatory of the diocesan election. Dr. Pinkney's accept- 
 ance of the EpiscojDate was considered as a matter settled. 
 
 In order to pro-^dde " a suitable salary for the support of the 
 Assistant Bishop,"' a committee of seven laymen was appointed 
 "to report at the earliest moment" on the subject, and were 
 authorized to devise ways and means for raising the necessary 
 amount. 
 
 Before the adjournment of the convention Mr. "Wm. G. Harri- 
 son, the chairman, on the part of that committee, presented a 
 resolution " That the sum of four thousand dollars per annum, 
 payable quarterly, lie the stipend of the Assistant Bishop."" whicli 
 resolution was adopted, and the measures recommended for rais- 
 ing the amount were ajipioved by vote of the coiivention. 
 
 Thus was happily consummated in the Convention of 1<S70 the 
 election of an Assistant Bishop for the diocese, whereby tlie vener- 
 able Bishop, in his declining health, was to be aided and relieved 
 in his too onerous duties by one possessing in an eminent degree
 
 198 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 tlie high qualifications for the sacred ofiice, and at the same time 
 the confidence and love of the whole diocese. 
 
 Thus, too, in not more than a period of seven years after those 
 notable occurrences which had occasioned temporary collision 
 lietween the Bishop of the diocese and the rector of the Ascen- 
 sion, there came about, under the Providence of God and the 
 Divine guidance of the Church, one of those events which, by a 
 happy concurrence of circumstances, bring together for united 
 work and mutually helpful counsels those who before had stood 
 somewhat apart. 
 
 The memories of the past cannot be obliterated, but they may 
 become so soothed and softened by time that men of real eai'- 
 nestness and loyalty of character brought into new and closer 
 relations, will never suffer those memories to lessen the faithful- 
 ness and completeness with which they discharge the sacred 
 responsibilities pertaining to their joint occupancy of one great 
 position of high trust and duty. There may not be a subsequent 
 unanimity in judgment touching many grave matters, but there 
 will be the absence of all painful conflict as each is sincere, earnest, 
 and conscientious in discharge of duty, and both look to the 
 accomplishment of one high and noble end. 
 
 Oh the next morning after his election as the Assistant Bishop 
 Dr. PiXKNEY received from Bishop Whittingham the following' 
 gratifying letter : 
 
 ^'Bitihop Whittiiwham to Rev. Dr. Pinkney. 
 
 " Friday moening, 27 May, '70. 
 
 " My Very Deak Brother : lu the momeutons action of last evening two 
 things call loudly for my especial gratitiade to the Great Disposer of events. 
 
 *' First, that He should have given me a brother and fellow-helper in whom 
 I have entire and unlimited confidence as a man, a Christian, and a chiirch- 
 man. 
 
 "Next, that He should have brought it about with such signal unanimity 
 among the agents and such hajipy freedom from the blots and blemishes 
 which sometimes mar <>i;r comfort in similar transactions, even when the 
 result is grcmnd of thankfulness. 
 
 •' I have, as I believe you know, scrupulously refrained from everything 
 which could tend to make the action of our convention other than the free 
 and unVnased expression of the wish of the diocese. 
 
 " It is with just so much the more heartfelt satisfaction that I can accept 
 that action as the genuine choice of the diocese, and welcome it as fallen 
 upon one whom long personal esteem and close friendship have already 
 bound me to in indissoluble bonds. 
 
 "I think I know your ends and aims in accepting the great trust to be 
 committed, to be the same with which I have been poorly striving to hold 
 it, and that a hearty imauimity of principles and objects will make it no hard 
 thing for us to work in concert. 
 
 " Of this I i>ray you be now and once for all assured, it shall, GOD help- 
 ing me, be my unremitting study and endeavor to consiilt your views and 
 your convenience in all matters falling to my disposal in our common work. 
 
 " May He whose voice speaks to us in such cases, in the utterances of His
 
 LIFE OF ]!IS1I()]' riNKXEY. I'.CJ 
 
 Ijeoplc, 1)1' still niDiv ami more to yi>u. my<lcar linith.T, iu your uew n-sijun- 
 siljilities iiiul under the uew iiiid heavy hurtlcns to be placed on you, y<nir 
 ever-present and all-sufficient stay and heli)er. 
 " So from the bottom of his heart i)ray9 
 
 " Your loving friend and brother. 
 
 •• W. n. W 111 iri.\(.llA.M. 
 '' Kev. Dr. Pixkxey." 
 
 Closely following- upon this letter of Bishop Whitthi^'huni was 
 one from Bishop Lay, of Easton ; and it is here given, because 
 as called to be fellow-bishops within the 1)orders of the one State 
 of Maryland, though with separate jurisdictions, it was peculiarly 
 gratifying- to Dr. Pinkney to receive from Bishop Lay the exi)res- 
 sion of sincere and hearty desire that their future official relations 
 should be of the most genial and cordial character : 
 
 "B/'xhop lAiy to Rex:. Dr. Pinkney. 
 
 " Easton. May 28t.fi, 187(1. 
 
 " My Deak Dk. Pixkxey : Aniong the many who will approach you with 
 words of contidence and kindness, allow me to tind a small space. 
 
 " My observation in Maryland, however limited, has assiired me how much 
 a Bishop, to do active work, was needed ; and it seemed to me that many 
 things combined to designate yon as the one to undertake this arduous office. 
 
 " I think the Chnrch in Maryland is to be congratulated on the result of 
 the late election ; and we are all thankful that one could be found, who was 
 iu uo wise a compromise man — one whose record and principles were so well 
 known and whom all could accei)t with confidence and affection. 
 
 " I have greatly desired heretofore to know you well and to have a share 
 iu your friendship. Bishop Atkinson had inqiarted to me some of his own 
 liking founded on long acquaintance. 
 
 "And now that we are to be brothers by a chosen tie and to labor side by 
 side, with so many peculiar interests and sympathies in common, I cannot 
 forbear the exjiression of my sincere regard and respect for your character. 
 I trust that in tlie future we may be a help and su])i)ort the one to tin- other, 
 and lend and receive some assistances in the very responsible charge of 
 giving direction to work for GOD in Maryland. 
 
 "Imploring upon you in all your future life the blessing of Almighty 
 GOD, I remain, with very sincere regard, 
 
 " Y'^our friend and brother, 
 
 "HENRY C. LAY. 
 
 ''Eev. Dr. Pinkney, Wdnhinatoti, D. 6'." 
 
 On the 28th of July, 1870, the Standing- Committee informed 
 the Rev. Dr. Pinkney, the Bishop-elect, that •' official notice had 
 been received from the presiding- Bishop that the requisite con- 
 sent of the Bishops and Standing- Committees had been given to 
 his consecration ;" and they expressed the "sincere hojie that lie 
 w^ould signify to the committee his official acceptance of the high 
 and holy trust to which the Church in the diocese had with such 
 providential unanimity called him."" A committee of three, con- 
 sisting of the Rev. Drs. Lewin, Leeds, and Nelson, was ap})ointed 
 to make arrangements for the consecration. Under then- action 
 and in concru-rence with the views and wishes of the Bishop-elect
 
 200 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKXEY. 
 
 tlie 6th day of October, 1870, was appointed as the time, and the 
 Church of the Epiphany, AVashington city, selected as the place 
 for the consecration. The Church of the Ascension, of which Dr. 
 PiNKXEY had been for so long time rector, was not selected, 
 because, by reason of its limited seating capacity, it could contain 
 only a smaU portion of those who would desu*e to be present on 
 the occasion, and also because the entrance to the nave of the 
 church through a basement vestibule would be incommodious to 
 the officiating Bishops and the attendmg clergy. The Church of 
 the Epiphan}' being generously offered was gladly accepted for 
 the consecration service. The Rev. Dr. Lewin was authorized by 
 the committee "• to conduct the corresj^ondence and consummate 
 all arrangements " — than whom no one was better fitted by his per- 
 sonal characteristics, his unfailing energy, and his large acquaint- 
 ance with men and things for such charge. All the prehminary 
 arrangements for the services and for the accommodation of the 
 visiting Bishops and clergy were so happily made by Dr. Lewin 
 that on the day of the consecration the whole order of procedure 
 was so well settled as to avoid all ixnseemly delaj^ and confusion, 
 and the consecration services were entered upon and conducted 
 with very impressive solemnity. An immense congregation filled 
 the entii'e body of the church, the galleries, and every available 
 standing place, and very many had to leave without gaining 
 admission. 
 
 The first aiTangement contemplated and desired as to the 
 l^resence of some of the Bishops who were to take part in the 
 consecration could not be consummated in consequence of 
 engagements and circumstances that precluded their attendance. 
 The presiding Bishop Smith was able to be present and to act as 
 the Consecrator. With him were associated, besides the Bishops 
 who were to act as presenters, the Bishoi:)S of Pennsylvania, 
 Pittsbtu-g, New Jersey, and Easton. 
 
 Dr. PiNKNEY had desired and requested Bishop "NYhittingham 
 and Bishoj:) Johns, of Vu-ginia. to act as his presenters. As the 
 Bishop of Maryland, on account of ill health, could not l^e present 
 at the consecration. Dr. Pinkney requested Bishop Atkinson, of 
 North Carolina, to act in his stead. 
 
 Dr. Pinkney's letter to Bishojo Whittingham, asking him to act 
 as one of the presenters, is as follows : 
 
 " J9;-. Pinkney to Bixhop M'lnttinrjlKihi. 
 
 *' Dear Bishop : I have just been informed by Dr. Leeds that he had 
 written to the presiding bishop couceruiug my consecration and the arrange- 
 ment of services, and I would express to yoi^ the hope that you would do 
 me the great favor to act as one of my presenters. In entering on the office 
 I have nothing more at heart than tlie desire to render yon all the relief in 
 my power, trusting that it may please GOD to bless your rest to the restora- 
 tion of your rare powers, so tliat the Church may continue long the posses-
 
 LIFE or lilSHor I'INKNKV. 21)1 
 
 siou of your E])isf">piite. I was called to this wnrk imt <iiily witlioiu a wish 
 on iny])art, hilt in tlic face of honestly ('Xj)r«'ssc<l dei-laratinns of my unlitness 
 for its (litticnlt and delicate duties. To he presented hy yim and then share 
 yoiir contideuce. and, in sympathy, aid you to the full extent of my feehle 
 ability, is the tliint,' I most earnestly desire. I am, yours in ('HKIST, 
 
 ■ \V. P." 
 
 The Bishop, iu his iej)ly, stated "that he c-ouhl only coiulition- 
 ally promise to act." Subsequently he ^yas forced to write that 
 " The extreme slowness of my recovery of strength and nervous 
 force makes it very doubtful whether I shall be able to stand the 
 journey to Washington and the extra excitement of the consecra- 
 tion service.'" And ultimately he wrote that owing to continued 
 illness it would be impossible for him to be ])resent at the conse- 
 cration. Dr. PiNKNEY then selected and requested the Rt. Rev. 
 Bishop Atkinson, of North Carolina, to act with Bishop Johns, of 
 Virginia, as his presenters. The Rev. Drs. IMcKeiiney and Lewin 
 were selected as the attending presbyters. Rev. Dr. Nelson was 
 appointed to read the consent of the diocese, the Rev. Dr. Leeds 
 that of the Standing Committees, and the Rev. Mr. Chew that of 
 the Bishops. The programme for the order of the consecration 
 services was as follows, the name of Bishop Atkinson, of North 
 Carolina, being substituted for that of Bishop "Whittingham as 
 one of the presenters : 
 
 C0NSECK.\TI0N 
 
 of the 
 EEV. WILLIAM PINKNEY, D. D. 
 
 Oedek of Services 
 
 chuech of the epiphany, washington city, 
 
 Thursday, October (!, A. D. 1<S7() ; 11 A. M. 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 To the end of the Nicene Creed. (The Presiding Bishoi) pronouncing the 
 
 Absolution). 
 The Rev. Benj. I. Haight, D. D., (jf New York. 
 FIRST LESSON. — Isaiali LXII. 
 
 The Key. George H. Norton, D. I)., of Virginia. 
 SECOND LESSON. — St. Matt. X, 1-29. 
 
 The Eey. Orlando Huttcm, D. D., of Easton. 
 
 PRAYERS (to the end of the Prayer for the President of the United States). 
 
 The Key. Wm". H. Clarke, of Georgia. 
 
 Selection (ifi. 
 
 THE HOLY COMMUNION. 
 
 ANTK-COMMCNION. 
 
 The Et. Eey. the ]5isho]. of Tennessee. 
 
 THE epistle — The Et. Eey. the Eishop of Eastou. 
 
 THE gospel— The Et. Eey. the Bishop of Peuusylvania. 
 
 Hymn 91), yerses 1, 2, 5, and C. 
 
 Sermon. 
 
 The Et. Eey. the Bishop of Pittsburgh. 
 
 Anthem, 
 
 '' How beautiful are the feet of them that bring glad tidings."
 
 ATTENDING PRIESTS. 
 
 202 LIFE or BISHOP riNKNEY. 
 
 CONSECEATION. 
 
 CONSECKATOE, 
 
 The Rt. Eev. Benj. B. Smith, D. D., Bishop of Kentucky, Presiding Bishop. 
 
 Presenters, 
 
 The Pit. Eev. Thomas Atkinson. D. D.. Bishop of North Carolina. 
 
 The Rt. Eev. John Johns, D. D.. Bishop of Virginia. 
 
 TESTIMONIAL OF ELECTION. 
 
 The Eev. C. K. Nelson, D. D. 
 
 TESTIMONIAL OF THE CONVENTION. 
 
 The Eev. John F. Hotf, D. D. 
 
 CONSENT OF THE STANDING COMMITTEES. 
 
 The Eev. Geo. Leeds, D. D. 
 
 CONSENT OF THE BISHOPS. 
 
 The Eev. John H. Chew. 
 Litany. 
 
 The Et. Eev. the Bishop of New Jersey. 
 
 VESTING in the EPISCOPAL HABIT. 
 
 The Eev. Jas. A. McKenney, D. D., of East on. 
 The Eev. Meyer Lewin. D.D.. of Maryland, 
 
 THE OFFERTORY TO THE ABSOLUTION. 
 
 The Et. Eev. the Bishop of Virginia. 
 
 THE ABSOLUTION TO THE POST-COMMUNION. 
 
 The Et. Eev. the Presiding Bishop. 
 Hymn 93, verses 3 and 4. 
 
 POST-COMMUNION. 
 
 The Et. Eev. the Bishop of North Carolina. 
 
 BENEDICTION. 
 
 The Et. Eev. the Presiding Bishop. 
 The Offertory on this occasion, by resolution of the Standing Committee 
 of Maryland, will be placed in the hands of the newly consecrated Bishop, 
 to be used by him for Church work. 
 
 Dr. Pinkney's first choice for the preacher of the consecration 
 sermon was the Rt. Rev. Bishop) Huntington, of Central New 
 York, and after him the Rt. Rev. Bishop Odenheimer, of New 
 Jersey. As neither of these Bishops coukl comply with the 
 request, Dr. Pinkney's thoughts turned to Bishop Kerfoot, of 
 Pittsbu.rgh, with whom, for many years, he had been associated 
 in the common work of the diocese, and for "whose special educa- 
 tional work at the College of St. James he had ever felt and 
 manifested the highest appreciation. By request of the Bishop- 
 elect and the Standing Committee, Bisho}) Kerfoot kindly con- 
 sented to be the preacher on the occasion ; and the very able 
 discourse which he delivered was, afterwards, by then- conjoint 
 request, given for publication.* 
 
 Towards the close of the sermon, as the Bishop-elect rose to 
 receive the godly counsels ai^d salutations of the preacher, Bishop 
 Kei'foot said Avith deep emotion : 
 
 * The writer regretted not to lind in the very interesting Life of Bishop 
 Kerfoot, by the Rev. Dr. Hall Harrison, any notice of Bishop Kerfoot's 
 presence at the consecration of Dr. Pinkney, and of the sermon preached 
 by him on that occasion ; and yet he was not altogether unjirepared for such 
 omission upon reading the pami)hlet which Dr. Harrison published soon 
 after the election of the present Bishop of Maryland.
 
 LIFE OF BlSIlor I'INKNEY. 203- 
 
 " You so — I know this wt'll : yonr fiithers iin<l brvtlircii all know it : tli.- 
 jieople of yoiir fiiithfiil pastoral all know it to-day; you j^o out into thi-^ 
 office and work because you feel you must not stay back when the LOHI) 
 would send you. You trust not yourself, liut you (h> trust Him. Then- is 
 streuLjth as well as awe in that Voice coming down throu^^h the atjcs. and in 
 the foresight of that great day of reckoning. He who sends, jilcdgcs you 
 His grace and promises you His reward. You will nee<l all that heljj iiiid 
 hope ; but with them, the wc)rk before you will be a blessed one. Its cares 
 will be many : its toils neither few nor light: l)ut its rec<jmpenses will be 
 sure even now, in the good you can do, in the comfort, counsel, and help 
 you can bring now, as never before, to the ministers and people of Christ. 
 
 " In becoming a Bishop in this old Diocese of Maryland, my brother, you 
 enter in a noble company and a glorious heritage. On that roll of Mary- 
 land diocesans no nobler name is written than that of the able, learned, 
 beloved, and most devoted Bisho]) whose work you are to share, who.se 
 official cares and toils, now qi;ite beyond his physical strength, you are to 
 take upon you in very large measure. For now more than thirty years he 
 he has been your Bishop, as for more than two-thirds of that time he was 
 my Bishop. I must ask to-day again to join you, dear brother, and the 
 clergy of this diocese, in which my lot was so long and so pleasantly cast, 
 in calling him our Bishop. Maj- the Bisliox) of Bishops long spare to us all 
 a life so honorable, so valuable, and precious to our whole Church I His 
 bodily weakness keeps him from cmr midst to-day ; but in spirit, and in 
 faithful and fervenf intercession, he is here with us all ; pleading before 
 GOD for yoii, dear brother, most chiefly and lovingly, I know. Thanks be 
 to the Giver of all grace for His gift to His Church of some such men even 
 in our day I That godly exemplar is yet before yotir eyes ; and yet. copy no 
 mere man ; be as far as you can like Christ Himself. In near and hourly 
 communion with Him must be your life and yoiu- strength. From Him 
 shall come your success and your reward. Know Him for yoiirself, that 
 you may preach Him to others — the one hope of sinners. Be a faithful and 
 fearless defender of His Truth. Wear no name ln;t His and His Church's. 
 Come x\Y> to the whole truth and system of His Gospel and His Church. 
 Feed His sheep I Feed His lambs 1 Pastor of many churches, henceforth let 
 yoiir heart be enlarged by the gifts of His holy, loving spirit. This be the 
 meaning of yoitr vows to-day I Then go forth courageously. He sends you ; 
 He will go with you : He will guide you now with His coiinsel, and, at tlie 
 end, robing you not in your righteousness, biit His own, may He niercifiilly 
 receive you into His own eternal glory. Amen." 
 
 In liis first address to the Diocesau Convention, wliicli 
 assemljled in the month of May following-, the Assistant Bishop 
 thns refers to the solemn occasion of his Consecration, and to his 
 deep sense of the responsibiHties then and there assumed : 
 
 " To me, the sixth of October was a day of fearful issues. It cast a 
 shadow over my path which no siinshine from the high jtlaces of earth could 
 possibly dispel : for the honor so graciously bestowed i)n me by your too 
 partial ' friendship borders closely on the confines of the most solenm 
 responsibilities that man can assume, and Severs ties the most tender that 
 can bind man to his fellow-man. All that I can hope to do is to labor, prayer- 
 fully and in meekness of spirit, for the good of the body, over which I am 
 called to watch, as one who must give account. Such as I have I give unto 
 you. For the poverty of the offering, others are responsible : for I sought 
 not you. biit you me. Unitv and harmony are essential to our success. 
 The iteuderest regard to the feelings we mutually cherish, and true brotherly 
 sympathy, will keep the golden chain that binds us bright; and in this-
 
 204 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 noble self-sacrifice for the good of the body we must never forget that it is 
 GOD alone who makes the members of a house to dwell together in unity." * 
 
 Dr. PiNKNEY had fully reached the sixtieth year of his age when 
 he \\'as consecrated Bishop. Called to the Episcopate at an age 
 when men iisually shrink from new labors and grave resjDonsi- 
 bilities, he entered upon the work with the earnestness and zeal 
 that had characterized all his past life ; and for the next thii'teen 
 years that he was spared to labor in the Ejjiscopate he accom- 
 plished an amount of arduous work that could not have been 
 exceeded l)y a young and vigorous man. 
 
 The coming of such a man at such a time into the Episcopate 
 was a great blessing to the Diocese of Maryland. The marked 
 unanimity of his election was of itself an evidence of the almost 
 universal feeling in the diocese that he was just the person to 
 meet the needs of the Church at the period. All previous elec- 
 tions to the Episcopate in Maryland, from the time of the first 
 Bishop, Claggett, had been attended with delays, and with strong 
 and bitter partisan contentions. The absence of all this in Dr. 
 Pixkney's election was very noted. 
 
 Even those who on princijDle were opposed to Assistant Bishops, 
 and who, perhaps, felt that it would be hard to find anywhere a 
 man to be placed by the side of Bishop "NVhittingham, and be his 
 successor, could not help seeing that an election so nearly unani- 
 mous called for cheerful acquiescence. As resj^ects the laity 
 throughout the diocese, the feeling, with scarce a single exception, 
 was strong and decided towards the selection of one who was 
 known to be thoroughly identified in sympathy and interest 
 with the people, and who was as noted for his sound conservative 
 churchmanship as he Avas for the urbanity of his manners, his 
 personal piety, and liis successful ministry in the priesthood. 
 
 Ujion his consecration to the Episcopate, Dr. Pinkxey, 
 l^romptly, and in a very touching and beautiful letter, resigned 
 the rectorship of the parish of the Ascension ; to which, in 
 response, the vestrj' sent the following communication : 
 
 '• Washington. D. C. October 18. 187 0. 
 
 *' Et. Rev. Vv TLLIAM PiNKNEY , D. D.. 
 
 "A-stfi/ftant Bishop of Marylfind. 
 
 " IIt. Rev. and Dear Sir : In. formally accepting your resignation of the 
 rectorship of Ascension Parish, the vestry caiiuot forbear the expression of 
 the profound sorrow they iudividually feel at the severance of the kiudly 
 relations which have for so long" a period existed Ijetween us. 
 
 " Our separation is no ordinary one, for while there should always exist 
 l>etween pastor and people ties of a nature so tender as to render parting 
 painful, those which have so happily bound us spring from a deeper 
 source, have their origin and their being in heart affections, which only the 
 most intimate association can engender. We then are not only your parish- 
 
 *See Journal of Convention, 1871, pages 32 and 33.
 
 LIFE OF I'.ISHOP I'lXKNEY. 205 
 
 iouers, but your warm personal friends, and feel with all the acuteness of 
 which sueh friendship is eapable the separation that awaits us. 
 
 " Our sorrow at parting' with one so endeared to its in the double relation 
 of pastor and friend is oidy initiLcated by the rcHeetion that you leave us to 
 enter iipon the more extended Held of duty imjiosed by the lii^h and holy 
 office to which, in the (jrder of Divine Providence, you have been so flatter- 
 ingly called. 
 
 •* In your new work our prayers, our hearts, and our sympathies will be 
 with you ; and, bidding you Godspeed, we shall ever watch with affectionate 
 pride your progress through life's rugged pathway, feeling that the /iin/it/p 
 will but perfect what the Priext had so nobly and faithfully begun. 
 
 '• Thanking you most sincerely for the kind expressions contained in your 
 letter of resignation, we beg leave to subscribe ourselves your friends and 
 servants. 
 
 "(Signed) W. W. CORCOKAN. 
 
 H. S. DAVIS. 
 
 JAMES B. DODSON. 
 
 W. M. SHXTSTEll. 
 
 N. W. BimCHELL. 
 
 BUSHKOD BIRCH. 
 
 R. W. BITRGESS. 
 
 J. T. STEVENS. 
 
 J. M. DUNCANSON, 
 
 • '^ RegiK.ter.'"
 
 206 LIFE OF BISHOr PINKNEY. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXII. 
 
 Proposed Assignment of Work and Jurisdiction — Appointments foe 
 Visitation. 1870. 
 
 Immediately after his consecration, the Assistant Bishop desired 
 to make his arrangements for visitations throughout all those 
 portions of the whole diocese, including the District of Columbia, 
 which, for manj^ years, in consequence of the Bishop's physical 
 disal )ility, had been deprived of Episcopal ser\ices. By the pro- 
 visions of the canons of the Church, it is appointed that " the 
 Assistant Bishop shall perform such Episcopal duties and exer- 
 cise such Episcopal authority in the diocese as the Bishop shall 
 assign to him."" * 
 
 On the 7th of October, the day after the consecration, Bishop 
 "NVhittingham wrote to the Assistant Bishop a cordial letter 
 regretting and explaming his absence from the consecrating ser- 
 ^•ices, and expressing his gratification in having such valued help 
 in the Episcopate of the diocese. In his letter Bishop Whitting- 
 ham proposed and informally made an assignment of work for 
 the Assistant Bishop and himself, which gave rise to some grave 
 questions under the canon as to the sphere and work of the 
 Assistant Bishop, led to some correspondence between the 
 Bishops, and occasioned no little anxiety throughout the diocese. 
 
 It appears that sometime l)efore the consecration of Dr. Pixk- 
 XEY, a movement had been started for the senior Bishop to vacate 
 the Episcopal residence in Baltimore, remove to "Washington with 
 his library, for which it was proposed that a fire-proof building- 
 should be erected, make that city his permanent residence, and 
 take under his control the exclusive Episcopal administration of 
 the District of Columbia. To the Assistant Bishop, for his juris- 
 diction and field of work, was to be assigned all that part of the 
 diocese comprised within the territorial limits of the Westei'n 
 Shoi-e of Maryland. If the movement did not originate with the 
 Bishop himself, he certainly deshed very earnestly to have the 
 measure carried into effect, as will be subsequently seen. 
 
 At the close of the convention in May, 1870, when Dr. Pixkxey 
 was elected Assistant Bishop, Bishop Whittingham"s health was 
 so " broken doAvn " that, as he speaks in his address to the con- 
 vention of the next year : f 
 
 * See Digest, Title I, Can. 15, § 5. 
 
 + See Convention Address, Journal, 1871, page 25.
 
 l.ll'i; dl' I'.ISIKM' I'lNKNI'.V. 'Jll? 
 
 " I was obliged ti) st'ck the bi'iietit of a chiiiigf of aii, ami i-i.imiiil tlif 
 adiiiiiiistratioii of (>ccli'siastical authority in tlic (linccsc, untlcr t In- pruvisioiis 
 of the canons, to the Standing Connnittce. from tlic '2,'Ah of .luly until after 
 the hajjpy cousmnniation of the restoration of diocesan dliciency l>y the 
 consecration of the Kev. Dr. Pinkney on the C.th of Octoher. 
 
 " I was not even able to be jjresent at that anspicioiis event, nor to ven- 
 ture ou rettiru home until the middle of November. From that time to the 
 present I have mainly contined my endeavors to perform the active duties 
 of the Episcopate to the parishes within the District of Columbia, assigning 
 all the remainder of the diocese to the oversight and labijr of my most 
 willing and indefatigabl(> assistant." 
 
 The letter, in -wliicli Bishop AVhittiiioh;un did so, on the 7th of 
 October, is as follows : 
 
 •■ Okange, N. J., Ortolxr 7. '70. 
 
 "My Deae Bishop: My heart was with you and the (•()nii)any gathered 
 in our Master's name yesterday from earliest dawn to midnight : but the 
 storms of last week and this made it impossible to venture the journey 
 without hazarding all that has been hitherto gained in my condition, and 
 I knew that no gain by my jiresence among you could make up for the 
 needless prolongation of my almost complete uselessuess and worthlessness 
 in my present condition. 
 
 " Until Tuesday of this week, I had still confidently hoped to go on to 
 the consecration. 
 
 " In that case I should have been able, at Baltimore, to prepare an instru- 
 ment formally assigning to you the contemplated share of imr common 
 work. 
 
 " But now, I think to remain in my f]^i;iet seclusion until after the meet- 
 ings in New York, toward the close of the month : and in the meanwhile 
 shall be, as now, separate from my official books, i)a])ers. Arc. 
 
 " You will, I hope, kindly excuse this delay of regular action, and accept 
 my informal ccmsignment of Maryland proper to your care and government 
 as your sufficient warrant and incitement to the exercise of any and all 
 kinds of Episcopal functions and oversight in all that part of the diocese 
 until further action on my part. 
 
 " May I ask you kindly to let me know what the parish of the Ascension 
 is now likely to do ? It is, of course, a matter of no small interest to me. 
 
 " With heartiest pi'ayers for the fiiUest measure of divine blessing on the 
 noble emprise you have before you, I am ever 
 
 " Your faithful and loving brother. 
 '■ lit. Rev. Dr. Pinkney. W. K. WHITTINGHAM. 
 
 ** Afis/'sta?it B/ii/a/p of Maryland." 
 
 To the foregoing letter Bishop Pixkxey replied at length, set- 
 ting forth very decidedly and strongly his views concerning the 
 jjroposed arrangement, as contravening the purpose and proN-is- 
 ions of the canon in relation to Assistant Bishops : 
 
 '' Bhhop Pinkney to Bishop WMUingham. 
 
 " OcUiher 12, '70. 
 " My Dear Bishop : I thank you for the kind words you sent me in yours 
 of the 7th inst., and can only "reiterate my regret that you were n<it able 
 to be present at my consecration. I was glad to hear that you hail deter- 
 mined not to abandon your present seclusion until your duties call you to 
 New York.
 
 208 LIFE OF BISHOr riNKNEY. 
 
 "In your letter you speak of 'an informal consignment of Maryland 
 proper to my care and government ;' also of ' Episcopal functions and over- 
 sight in all that part of the diocese until further action on your part.' 
 
 "" By this do I understand you to mean that you propose to exercise 
 exclusive jurisdiction over that part oi the diocese which is located in the 
 District of ColumV)ia. and pass over to me like exclusive jurisdiction over 
 the balance":' If this is your meaning I must, most respectfully and after 
 the calmest consideration', express to you my dissent from your construction 
 of the canon. It is best for us to understand each other fully and distinctly 
 at the start. As I read the canon, which you well know is the law that 
 binds me as well as yourself, it is the inability of the Bishop which alone 
 justifies the creation of the office I hold. ' When a Bishop is unable by 
 reason of old age or other permanent catise of intirmity to discharge the 
 Episcopal duties, one Assistant Bishop may be elected by and for the 
 Diocese,' etc. The General Church approaches this provision of relief with 
 extremest jealoitsy and caution. It is expressly stated that an Assistant 
 may be elected whenever the Bishop is in a condition of permanent physical 
 infirmity that precludes his full discharge of duty, and only then. It is, 
 therefore, a remedial canon. I think that much light is thrown upon this 
 canon by this significant fact. It was not to enal)le a Bishop to stibdivide 
 jurisdiction, and thus virtually make two dioceses out of one, that the 
 canon was passed : but just the contrary, as the cavise assigned for the 
 appointment — permanent physical infirmity — and the last cUiuse of the 
 canon conclusively show. The Assistant is chosen and elected by the diocese, 
 and not only so, but for the diocese. All the diocese is interested in the 
 provision made, and is entitled to the benefits of it wherever the service 
 needed is beyond the present ability of the Bishop. It is to meet the wants 
 of the whole diocese that the creation of the office was warranted by legal 
 enactment. I know, and no one more rejoices in the knowledge of the fact 
 than I do. that all the duty, that may be assigned to the Assistant he must 
 perform, and that he can perform no duty that is not so assigned. All that 
 the Bishop can do, in any part of it, it is his clear prerogative to do. 
 
 •' But the canon that creates the office I hold expressly forbids election 
 of a suffragan Bishop. The parts of a canon must be consistent with each 
 other. No construction that sets them in opposition to each other can be- 
 sound. The one throws light on the other, illustrates and establishes it. 
 The taking one part of the diocese to the exclusion of the Assistant, and 
 the consignment of the other abs(jlutely to his control, is precisely the 
 thing which I think the canon prohibits. 
 
 " So thinking, I am in duty bound to make it known to you. I do not pro- 
 pose to enter on the argument at large, nor do I propose to define my course 
 of action. I merely wish to state formally my views, honestly entertained, 
 of the canon, and save myself from well-deserved blame, shoiild I seemingly 
 acquiesce in a construction of the law which I do not believe sound. I am 
 I)repared t(j do any duty, go anywhere, at all times. In the consignment 
 of duty, you may draw a line around the District more clearly defined than 
 the present civil boundary, if that be possible, and thus practically shut me 
 out from all participation in the work going on there: but still it must be 
 distinctly understood that I claim to be, under the canon, the Assistant 
 Bisho]) of the diocese, not only elected by the diocese, but for the diocese, 
 the whole diocese — as well that part of it which lies in theDistrict of Colum- 
 bia, as that part of it which is located in Maryland: and that in no part of 
 it can duty, which it is not in the present power of the Bishop to discharge, 
 as the needs of the diocese require, be rightfully foreclosed against me. All 
 I wisii is to put myself right V)efore the Church and the diocese. I shall 
 most cheerfully do the work you assign in the exercise of the jurisdictit)n 
 and authority the canon imposes on me. But still I can make no waver of 
 my own rights under the canon, nor can I jeopard the rights of the Presby-
 
 LIFE OF ]!1S11()1' I'lXKNEY. 'H)'J 
 
 ters and laymen in the District of Cohuiihia wIki Wfi-i-. at your own suf^f^et*- 
 tion, parties to the ehn-tion under the canon, and wlio were, in connnun 
 with others, the sutierers under the hinieuted disability of the Bi.sht>ii. and 
 are as nmeh entitled to the relief it prolfers as any other jjarties of tlie unr 
 diocese, which we have, by solemn vott' as a diocese declared shall \>r nii.-. 
 
 "I have thus, my dear Bishop, discharged my duty, cahnly F tru-.t. and 
 in the spirit of love. 
 
 " Yours atlectiouately, 
 
 " W. I'INKXEY. 
 " Rt. Rev. W. K. Whittinuham, D. D., LL. D. 
 
 " N. B. — I have delayed this letter some days, that I might act with the 
 i;tmost deliberation and the wisest precaution, and most ndrinftUi/.'' 
 
 One week after the date of the precediiio- letter, wliilc still at 
 Orauge, N. J., seeking rest and reeu[)eration, Bishop AVhittingham, 
 on the 19th of October, addressed another eommunication to the 
 Assistant Bishop, in which he very fully and strongly set forth 
 the reasons and considerations that moved him to desire the 
 consummation of the proposed arrangement of separate work and 
 jurisdiction. 
 
 The whole letter is of so marked a character, and of so much 
 interest, that it is here introduced in full, with the Bishop's 
 italics, &c. : 
 
 " Okange, N. J., October 19, '70. 
 
 "My Dear Bishop: The assignment of distribution of our joint respim- 
 sibility and work which I have made was not concluded on without long 
 and anxious consideration, and careful experiment and measurement of mj- 
 own capabilities and power. 
 
 " As you well know, it was not until after years of reiterated trials, bring- 
 ing on constant failures, that I acquiesced in the conviction of my own 
 inability to manage and w-ork the large and rapidly growing diocese of 
 which I foimd myself in charge. 
 
 " The result of my long course of experiment was my assured conviction 
 that I was no longer competent to sustain either the mental wear involved 
 in the care of so many clergymen and parishes, or the bodily fatigue of visi- 
 tation of the large portions lying outside of the great cities. 
 
 " It was in this conviction that I felt myself compelled to state to the 
 diocese the need of making such provision for my relief as is sanctioned 
 by the canons. 
 
 '" The only alternative was resignation. As the simpler mode of putting 
 the diocese into competent hands, my personal preference would have been 
 to resort to that alternative. But others, both within the diocese and with- 
 out it, were unanimoiis in discoiintenancing si;ch a course. 
 
 " At the suggestion of several among my counsellors, and with the stnmg 
 approval of others, I consented to retain my relation to the diocese, and 
 look to the convention for relief of my disability. 
 
 "Disability for the c/targe such n« it is in itn entirety, and for the kind o£ 
 work which the larger portion of it demands imperatively, was my difliculty 
 — not absolute disability /«/• a7i// charfje. wor for all kind of work. 
 
 " I found in the dioces'e itself a natural suggestion of segregation from 
 out of its entire charge and duty of a portion not unsuited to my remain- 
 ing measure of ability. About" one-hfth of the charge and a sphere of 
 visitorial duty requiring almost no amount of travel was included in the 
 District of Columbia, where difference of secular law made a quite distinct 
 sphere of administration.
 
 210 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 "This I resolved to reserve as my own modicum of responsibility and 
 work, many months before your election took place. 
 
 "After that resolve I felt satisfied with the prospect before me of a 
 modified amount of care and work proportioned to my decayed strength of 
 body and mind and declining years, with an assurance to the diocese of an 
 increase of Episcopal supervision and work adequate to the supply of all 
 its needs. 
 
 ' • With the choice of the diocese in providing the person to whom it and 
 I were to look for our relief, all know that I exerted no manner of inter- 
 ference. On the contrary, I awaited it in trembling expectation, as the 
 indication of Divine blessing on my plau, or otherwise, according to the 
 result. 
 
 " Had that choice fallen on a person of comparative youth and inexperi- 
 ■ence, or of qualifications little known and trusted. I might have found it 
 difiicult so to assign a share of the work as to relieve myself of the entire 
 responsibility for the direction of the whole. 
 
 " But the whole Church knows and testifies that a signal Divine blessing 
 guided the convention to a very different result. 
 
 " A choice was made which no man dotibted to have been such as would 
 have been eminently fit had the diocese been vacant. The diocese rejjosed 
 its trust in one known to all. loved by all, trusted by all, tried by a long 
 course of ministry in its midst, and for years practised in administrative 
 work in a leading position. 
 
 "' I could have no remaining doubt about my course. God had jjrovided 
 a man able and fit for taking the ichole charge. Nothing but the most sense- 
 less egotism could make me doubt about devolving upon him all that I 
 might know to be beyond my own competence, not only without apprehen- 
 sion of ill result to the diocesan interests, but on the contrary in full 
 expectation of the happiest fruits of the infusion of new life and unwonted 
 vigor into all its counsels and operations. 
 
 '* Especially, I felt the importance of the result in reference to my chief 
 difficulty — the wear upon me of the contintial mental strain in the manage- 
 ment of so large and important a diocese. 
 
 " Maryland had wisely chosen her most honored son, native to her soil, 
 familiar through all his life with her wants and capabilities, her dispositions 
 and desires. Was such a one to be made the mere organ of another mind 
 and will ? The very fitness of things in itself, apart from any consideration 
 of the peculiar circumstances of the case, would suggest provision for such 
 an one of a worthy charge, a distinct, unhampered, and untrammelled career, 
 in a definite, and, as far as might be. independent trust. 
 
 '" A.sfar as might he, I say, for — observe, my dear Bishop — I propose no 
 substitution of a suffragan for an assistant, no evasion of a canon by 
 resignation of any portion of my official trust. 
 
 " What I do, is to say once for all : 
 
 " I can trust my assistant witii the entire responsibility and control of all 
 that part of my diocese for which I find myself incompetent. He shall not 
 have to run to me for sanction of what his heart shall counsel, or the word 
 of command for what his hand shall find to do. He shall await no beck or 
 nod of mine to take the spring out of his own energies and the confidence 
 out of his friends' co-operative efforts. He and they shall know a work 
 worthj' of him as his own ; and that it may be completely and effecttially 
 so, my reserved modicum shall be equally distinct in its appropriation to 
 me, as my selected share of the work which he is sent to help me carry out. 
 
 " Such, my dear Bishop, is the history and description of the intent and 
 purport of my assignment to you (jf ' Maryland proper ' as the sphere of 
 your Episcopal duties and exercise of Episcopal authority. 
 
 " It means freedom and sup]>ort for you; relief and solace of a shattered 
 mental and bodilv constitution for me.
 
 LIFE OF BISllOl- I'lNKNKV. -2\\ 
 
 " Kiirt'ly I have a liyht to expect, on the <;rouii(l of mir loiij^, iiiiliniken 
 frieiidshi]) ; of the close bonds of Christian love, in which we have lieen so 
 thoioni^hly drawn tofj;etlier ; of the new tenderer relations in which we have 
 now been placed by our partnership in the hi^h vows of the Ajiostohite; 
 that the veteran shall not tind himself utterly thwarted, disai)pointed, 
 broken down, and forced into the alternative of total relincpiislinient of 
 ofHce, or an endli'ss. hopeless, sonl-witlierini^ struj,'>^le with a burden too 
 heavy for his strength by the unwilliiij^ness of one chosen to Ijc liis assist- 
 ant to render him assistance in which alone Ion"; ctmsideration and 
 thorough knowledge of the work have satisfied him that he can l)e really 
 and effectually assisted I 
 
 " Dear Bishop ! I throw myself upon your charity in CHIUST, and am, 
 most faithfully and truly, 
 
 " Your ever loving friend and brother, 
 
 "W. 11. WIHTTINGHAM. 
 " lU. Rev. Dr. Pinkney, 
 
 "'AHsistniit Bishop of the I)ioce><e of Maryhmdy 
 
 To the foregoing letter Bishop Pinkney sent a most respectful 
 and affectionate re})ly. l)iit at the same time he expressed himself 
 very decidedly upon all the points he had set forth iu his previous 
 letter to the Bishop. The first paragraphs of Bishop Pinkney's 
 letter will sufficiently inthcate the spirit and feehng of the writer : 
 
 "My Dear Bishop: Your letter reached me only yesterday, not having 
 been directed to my post-oflfiee iu Washington. 
 
 " I trust I am not without a proper regard for the feelings ycm express, 
 touching your diminished powers of usefulness and physical caiiabilities 
 of service in a diocese over which you have so long presided, and especially 
 that portion of it which has shared most largely in your love and lal)ors of 
 love. I triist I am not wanting iu the sympathy which a condition like 
 yours ought to awaken in every feeling heart : but still I must be true to 
 the clear canonical rights of the office 1 bear, and not less true t(j the breth- 
 ren, clerical and lay. who were pleased to i)lace me in the responsible 
 position of Assistant Bishop, in common with the other portions of the 
 diocese. 
 
 " I do not question your right to do all the duty you can anywhere iu 
 the sphere of your supreme jiirisdiction. I do not wish yoia to forego the 
 pleasure of work and oversight in any quarter of the diocese which you may 
 select from time to time as the spot of your Episcopal laljors. Nothing is 
 further from my wish and desire." 
 
 Bishop Pinkney then goes on to reiterate the views he had pre- 
 sented in his previous letter, to the effect that the disabihty 
 which the canon contemplates is a disability that touches the 
 diocese at every point, and tlie remedy provided is a remedy that 
 is equally co-extensive with the bounds of the diocese — that the 
 diocese was one and that, as the Assistant Bishop of the diocese, 
 his formal exclusion from any part thereof would contravene the 
 end and purpose of his election and the true sphere of his work 
 in any or all parts of the diocese where his Episcopal services 
 would be needed — ser^dces he was most ready and able to per- 
 form. The Bishop might assign to him, as the Assistant Bishop 
 lor the diocese, any duties ; but this was a very different thing
 
 212 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 from the formal segregation of any one part from the rest and 
 the practical exclusion of the Assistant from that part so segre- 
 gated : in tine, that having been, for so many years, rector of a 
 parish in Washington city, where the people were much endeared 
 to him and he to them, to be practically shut out from any Epis- 
 copal ministrations in Washington and the District of Columbia 
 would be a great hardship, especially as he intended to continue 
 his family residence on the outsknts of Washington, and pm- 
 posed in no event to remove his residence to Baltimore city and 
 there occupy the Episcopal residence. 
 
 The Assistant Bishop had no power to interfere in the matter. 
 Beyond his earnest protest and this expression of his \-iews there 
 was nothing further that he could do. Those of the clergy and 
 laity in Washington city who were intimate with him know how 
 deeply disturbed and distressed he was by this contemplated 
 movement on the part of the senior Bishop. 
 
 The movement met with very decided opposition in Baltimore, 
 and was not known to be favored to any considerable extent in 
 AVashington city and the District of Columbia. It assumed, 
 however, so grave an aspect that the Standing Committee, on the 
 7tli of December, in 1870, addi-essed a communication to the 
 Bishop deprecatmg any such action on his part. They sent to 
 the Bishop, by the hands of a committee of three of then- body, 
 the following resolution : 
 
 '' Hf. solved. That the Standing Committee, acting as a council of advice, 
 deem it a solemn duty to advise the Bishop of the diocese of the fact that, 
 from information laid before them, his contemplated removal fi'om the city 
 of Baltimore, leaving the residence provided for him by the diocese and. 
 confining his Episcopal duties to the District of Columbia, will not be pro- 
 motive of the peace or of the healthy growth of the Church in the diocese." 
 
 This scheme, if carried out, would have been tantamount to 
 making ti/'o dioceses out of the one Diocese of Marjdand, and that 
 without any action of the diocesan and general conventions. 
 
 Happily the measure was never consummated. The continuing 
 and increasing feebleness of the Bishops health made it apparent 
 that even within the restricted sphere of the District of Columbia 
 he would not be able to perform full Episcopal duty : and it was 
 found that the removal would involve such material changes, grave 
 difficulties, and heavy expenditures that it was abandoned. 
 
 The measure was opposed also by very many on the ground 
 that it would prove an initiatory movement towards diocesan 
 division. So strong, indeed, was the feeling at that time against 
 the setting oft" of the District of Columbia as a separate diocese, 
 that in the Convention of 1871 a resolution was introduced by 
 Mr. Bernard Carter, one of the able and prominent lay delegates 
 of the body, as follows : 
 
 ^'■ReHolved, That any delegation sent by this convention to the General 
 Convention of the Protestant Einscopal Church are hereby instructed to-
 
 LIFE OF lilSilOl- I'lNKNEY. 213 
 
 ■oppose auy movcmeut lookint; to the furtht'i- division of tli.- Diocese of 
 Maryland or to the setting off of the District of Coliuubia as u separate 
 diocese." 
 
 This rosolutioii Wiis deemocl to be iiicoiisistciit with the lilst 
 rule of order, aiul was not received. 
 
 Uix)n the suspension of the rule of order, ]Mr. Carter llicii 
 ■offered the following I'esolution : 
 
 '■'■Rendlved, That this convention is clearly of the opinion that no action 
 ■can or should be taken in the General Coilvention lookiny to a further divis- 
 ion of the Diocese of Maryland, or to the settinj,' apart of the District of 
 Columbia as a separate diocese, but that any measures lookin-,' to sucli fur- 
 ther division can only properly begin in the Convention of the Diocese of 
 Maryland." 
 
 For which resolution Mr. Carter accepted as a substitute the 
 following, offered by the Rev. Dr. Leeds, and which was adopted 
 by the convention : 
 
 '■'■Rexolved. That the convention is not in favor of auy further division of 
 the diocese, or of bringing any proposition before the General Convention 
 bearing on this matter." 
 
 So clear and emphatic Avas the expression by the convention 
 against any movements towards a division of the diocese. And 
 so, it may be said, the matter was set at rest for the remainder 
 of Bishoj) Whittingham"s Episcopate and for the whole period of 
 Bishop PiNKNEYS Episcopate. 
 
 Bishop PiNKNEY had expected that one of the earliest acts of 
 his Episcopate would be the consecration of St. Paul's Church, 
 Rock Creek parish, in the District of Columbia. From the fact 
 that he had been once called to its rectorship and from his long 
 residence near the parisli. his close associations with the rector, 
 vestry, and people, he very naturally desired to perform that sacred 
 office. It was supposed also that the health of the senior Bishop 
 would hardly be such as to enable him to officiate on the occasion. 
 
 But inasmuch as, after Dr. Pinkney's consecration to the Epis- 
 copate, an assignment of duty was j^roposed by which the senior 
 Bishoj:) was to take exclusive Episcopal charge of the District of 
 Columbia, Bishop Pinkney's anticipation of acting as the couse- 
 crator could not be realized. He had already prepared the sermon 
 wdiich he intended to pi'each on the occasion. There was some 
 delay in making the appointment for the consecration. It was at 
 last arranged to take place on the Gtli of July, 1.S71. wlien the 
 senior Bishop, who was able to be present, acted as the consccrator. 
 and Bishop Pinkney preached the sermon. 
 
 In his address to the convention of the next year Bishop Pink- 
 ney thus refers to the interestmg occasion : 
 
 '• July 6.— Attended at the consecration of St. Paul's, Kock Creek parish, 
 which was conducted by the Bishop of the diocese, at whose request I
 
 214 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 preached the sermon. The work of repair, which has been carried on in: 
 this sweet rural parish, so endeared to many not in it, nor of it. is worthy 
 of an especial notice. The congregation and the rector have, at great self- 
 sacritice and labor, by the adoption of a good architectural design, succeeded 
 in making the old church exceedingly beautiful, and with equal taste, they 
 have put the grounds in excellent order. I felt a natural degree of both 
 pride and jjleasure in the contemplation of the wonderful changes that had 
 been wi-ought, so unobtrusively, in the church building and grounds ; for 
 Eock Creek parish stands identified with the joys and labors of the first 
 years of my ministry. The occasion was, therefore, fiill of thrilling remi- 
 niscences : and the privilege of mingling my joy with theirs, in the moment 
 of their complete success in a work that had cost them much anxiety and a 
 heavy outlay of means, afforded me the intensest satisfaction." 
 
 Some historic account of this venerable parish chvu'ch will be 
 given in the chapter which refers to the eiforts made for the 
 erection upon its grounds of a Chiux'h School for Girls.
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP I'INKXEY. 215 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 His Wohk ah Assistant Bishop. IhTO '71. 
 
 Very great was the pressure for Ei)iscopal visitations tbrou-^'li- 
 out the diocese. The Assistant Bishop proceeded, as soon as he 
 could do so after his consecration, to make his appomtments. 
 In these he was greatly aided l)^^ his long tried and most intimate 
 friend, the Eev. Dr. Meyer Lewin. Dr. Lewin was so familiar 
 with all parts of the diocese, with the needs of the several parishes 
 and the easiest ways of reaching them, that he was able to render 
 invaluable aid to the Assistant Bishop. With that cheerful and 
 busy alacrity so characteristic of him, he prepared the plans and 
 details of the earlier Episcopal visitations ; and he continued to 
 do so as long as the Assistant Bishop needed such help. 
 
 This, together with the known close intimacy between them, 
 led some among the clergy to believe that Dr. Lewin was seeking 
 to acquire a controlling influence over the mind of the Assistant 
 Bishop and in the administration of the diocese ; than which, to 
 both of them, nothing could have been more unjust and injurious. 
 It was never sought by the one, nor would it have been submitted 
 to by the other. Bishop Pinkney's actions were controlled 
 throughout the whole of his Episcopate by his own sense of right 
 and deep convictions of duty, and he was always ready to meet 
 the consecpiences of his official acts. In all matters of importance 
 he sought counsel from those, both clergymen and laymen, in 
 whose judgment, learning, and sincere devotion to the best inter- 
 ests of the Church he had confidence ; but he always reached his 
 own deliberate conclusions independently of extraneous influences. 
 It had been the life long characteristic of his ministry, as was 
 markedly shown during the troubles of the Civil War ; and he 
 was not the man to shrink from any personal responsibilities 
 when the higher duties of the Episcopate devolved upon him. It 
 was well known that in matters of importance he often consulted 
 the Rev. Dr. McKenney, who had been prominent and honored in 
 Maryland during a long and useful ministry, and who combined 
 in a happy degree the strictness of the High Churchman with the 
 amenities of the Christian gentleman. Bishop Pixkxey was 
 Avarmly attached to Dr. McKenney. They were both Marylanders 
 and had entered the ministry about the same time; antl there 
 was entii'e agreement between them upon theological and Church 
 matters. The Bishop would occasionally stop at the Laurel 
 station for a few hours consultation with his friend, or only in 
 the way of pleasant social converse.
 
 216 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 Ib like mauner. as lias been stated, and up to the close of his 
 life, Bishop Pinkney held consultations from time to time with 
 Dr. Lewin. so confessedly learned in the ecclesiastical laws, gen- 
 eral and diocesan, and so thoroughly tenacious of what he believed 
 to he the true teaching, order, and discipline of the Church. Dr. 
 Lewin had been prominent in the councils of the Church for a 
 number of years. In the diocesan and general conventions he 
 was constantly placed on important committees in those bodies. 
 Learned in the Scriptm-es, in ecclesiastical history, and in canon 
 law, he was an able expositor of the constitution of our American 
 Church, and a valiant vindicator of the whole Chvu-ch system in 
 its truth, its order, its discipline, and its liturgic provisions. He 
 was from the first and he always continued to be a High Church- 
 man : but his churchmanship did not blind him on the one hand 
 to the encroachments which were being made upon the doctiine 
 and ritual of the Church in certain quarters, nor, on the other, to 
 the sterling M'orth of those — both High and Low Chiu'chmen — who 
 were conservative of the sound teachings and Protestant character 
 of the Church, as the same were expressed in her authorized stand- 
 ards and settled from the period of the Reformation. Able with 
 his pen in all written discourse, and ready and cogent in all spoken 
 argument, he never hesitated, though sometimes in seemingly 
 harsh and severe way, to give utterance to his strong and intense 
 convictions. Like all men of marked force of mind and character, 
 he made warm friends on the one hand, and excited opposition, 
 if not enmity, on the other. Hence he was often misunderstood 
 and sometimes bitterly opposed. His prejudices may have been 
 strong and his judgments of men and things not always correct : 
 but he was withal a man of warm and tender feelings and thor- 
 oughly devoted to his friends in his personal attachments. 
 
 Bishop PiXKXEY had the penetration to discern the value and 
 the courage to avail himself of the counsels of such a friend : and 
 Dr. Lewin could himself see and appreciate the noble qualities of 
 mind and heart that characterized one whom he so revered and 
 loved. Bishop Pinkney, therefore, did not hesitate to consult 
 with Dr. Lewin whenever he deemed it advisable to do so. One 
 may be unconsciously influenced by another — for such is human 
 iiatuj."e — but the determinations reached and the acts done may 
 be none the less real and personal to the indi\'idual himself. 
 
 Bishop PiNKNEY and Dr. Lewin were men of very opposite 
 equalities and traits, yet drawn closely together, as is often the 
 case in life, by the mutually-felt conviction that a strong common 
 tie was binding them together for united work in a great cause. 
 Diverse as were their more noticeable characteristics of manner 
 they were alike in the singleness of their aims and efforts touching 
 the faith, the work, and the welfare of the Church. Beneath 
 unlike surfaces there may be found the solid strata of homogene- 
 ous rock.
 
 LIFE OF liisilo]' I'l.NKNLV. 217 
 
 The followino- letter is here <i^iven as an iiistanc-e of the wjiy in 
 which Bislioji PixKNEYwas accustomed to consult with Di". Lcwin. 
 He writes touchiuo- some (questions ^n-owing- out of tlic oi-o-juii/ii- 
 tion and work of ouilds, giving- his own views of jiolicy in s\icli 
 cases, and clear in the statement as to what would l»e liis own 
 indej)endent action after such consultation. 
 
 His letter is dated 11th of Octobei'. ISTO. shortly after his con- 
 secration. It is as follows : 
 
 "A Bislioj) hail lutti'i- not interfere with the projects aud piu-ijoses of the 
 inenil)ership of the Church, but leave them to be developed and worked out. 
 reserviiiij; to himself the right to see that nothing is dont- wliich the canons 
 and rubrics of the Church do not allow. Every consideration of sound polii-v 
 and law seems to me to favor this course of action. When you have e.xani- 
 ined the papers let me know what you think l)est in this particular case. I 
 think that much trouble might ensue from any attempted interference. 
 Unless some fixed principle of action is adcjpted and adhered to, the way 
 will be opened to endless contusion and heart-burnings. My plan would be 
 to let personal activity work without let or hindrance, unless it works oi)])o- 
 sition to law and order, and then apply the remedy in a gentle remonstrance, 
 or, if need be, in a more decided way. Let me hear ymir opinion, aud I will 
 then act as my conscience directs." 
 
 And so, in all his subsequent consultations with Dr. Lewin 
 touching- doul^tful matters of canon law and the exercise of the 
 EpiscojDal prerogative, he sought the opinion of one so thoroughly 
 versed in the canons and legislation of the Church, both general 
 and diocesan, always reserving to himself the power to act as his 
 " conscience should direct."" 
 
 Surely it does not at all derogate from a man"s independence 
 to seek counsel of others in discharge of great trusts involving 
 divers and sacred interests : it is rather the marks of a wise 
 ruler in the conscientious fultilment of his responsibilities. 
 
 Nor did the Assistant Bisho}) hesitate to confer freely and 
 cordially on Church matters with the leaders of the old evangel- 
 ical party — that is with the so-called Low Churchmen. By doing 
 so. however, he" was thought l)y some to be departing from his 
 long-settled aud well-established convictions touching doctrinal 
 truths. Church polity, and the ])rescribed ritual of the Church. 
 Nothing could be farther from the truth. Bishop Pixkxey could 
 not but see, in the very ]:)eginning of his Episcopate, that the 
 growing and hurtful tendencies of the ritualistic party were 
 calculated, by their contentions and encroachments, to be not only 
 disastrous to the peace of the Church, but really subversive of ■ 
 the sound teachings, principles, and worship that had been settled 
 by the ecclesiastical constitutions in England and America. He 
 was therefore thoroitghly opposed to the novelties and unauthor- 
 ized usuages, rites, and ceremonies that the ritualists were intro- 
 ducing into the worship of the Church : which, Avhile professing 
 to be harmless in themselves, and comlucive to the solemnity,
 
 218 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 beauty, and impressiveness of the services, did yet symbolize 
 doctrines which had been formally and expressly repudiated by 
 the Church. So far, therefore, as he identified himself with the 
 Low Churchmen, it was because he heartily sympathized with their 
 evano-elic j^rinciples and then- devotion to the Protestant char- 
 acter of the Church, and he sought their co-operating influence 
 in harmonious action with the conservative poKcy of High Chui-ch- 
 men known to be true and steadfast resijecting the doctrines and 
 worship of the Church. 
 
 At the time of his consecration, the evangelic clergy, so called, 
 had ceased to be in any way organized as a separate party in 
 the Church. Great changes had come about — they were less 
 partisan in their views, and less obtrusive in their policy : in fact, 
 they had become really, though unconsciously, stricter adherents 
 to the standards of the Church. Although not organized as a 
 party, they were sufficiently numerous, and so decided in then- 
 loyalty to the Church, and influential in their spheres, that the 
 Assistant Bishop could not but see and feel that, conjoined with 
 himself and the conservative High Churchmen of the diocese, they 
 were not only to be an element of strength in his administration, 
 but able to fill the place of wise and sympathetic counsellors. 
 Hence his close intimacy with them dui'ing the whole of his 
 Episcopate. 
 
 The addi'esses to the convention by the Assistant Bishop show 
 how tu-eless he was in his labors. Leaving to the senior Bishop 
 those matters that specially pertained to the head of the diocese. 
 Bishop PixKNEY did the work in ^-isitations for which his chief 
 was phj'sically incapacitated : and as it behooved not him in his 
 position as assistant to bring before the convention independent 
 counsels and measiu-es. he very wisely and properly confined him- 
 self to the details of his Episcopal visitations in order that the 
 diocese might see the needs he was supplymg and the work he 
 was doing. Hence those long details which he gave in his annual 
 adch'esses to the convention, and which some m^tj' have thought 
 tedious in their relation. He did so because there was so little 
 else that he could do in his addresses beyond suggestions from 
 time to time concerning matters of Church need and Chiu'ch 
 extension, as they were forced ujjon his attention during the 
 progress of his visitations. He never failed to bring these before 
 the convention and to urge upon the members greater activity 
 and zeal in sustaining the mission work of the diocese. 
 
 It is an interesting circumstance that his first orthnation of a 
 deacon to the i^riestliood was held on the 18th of December, 1870, 
 in the parish cLurch of which he had been so long rector. He 
 states in his addi'ess : 
 
 " This was my first ordination. The deacon * ordained priest was my 
 
 * Rev. John B. Williams.
 
 LIFE OF lilSIlOP I'INKNKY. 211) 
 
 sucL-fSsnr ill St. ]\Iattlunv's ])iirisli, Princi- G('<)r;,'c's county, wln-rc, for 
 twenty years and niort', I hail labored with so much personal comfort ami 
 hcart-sunshino. The jjlace was the altar I had served for fourteen years, in 
 the midst of a loving band who had left nn- nothing to desire which hcarl- 
 aft'ection could prompt or heart-zeal sui)ply. while tlie brother in charge 
 was my immediate successor and my old and familiar frieml." 
 
 While his heart cleaved to the dear associations of the past, in 
 his parochial niinistr3% he was fully alive to the ma«^nitiide of the 
 new work devolved upon him as Bishop ; and he prosecuted it 
 with as much freshness and vigor as thouj^di there had been no 
 old ties of home and friends and parish to draw away his hesu-t 
 from the interest and claims of present duty in the sphere upon 
 which he had entered. 
 
 Thus in his first convention address lie calls the attention of 
 the body to the need of larger provisions for carr^dng- on tlie 
 work of diocesan missions, and for the relief of the weaker 
 parishes, and recommends the resuscitation of the order of 
 deacons, to be under the control of rector or rectors of ])arishes. 
 In that first addi'ess he says : 
 
 •• I have, dear brethren, studiously restricted myself, in my rejiort, to a 
 mere record of facts. * * * Que or two things I would resj>ectfully sug- 
 gest. They t(jiich the work in the tenderest point. There are many tine 
 fields for missi<juary effort, which, if exiltivated, would yield a rich harvest. 
 The question arises. How can they be best worked ? Deacons placed iiuder 
 the control of the rector or rectors of parishes, to act in concert with them, 
 supported l)y the board, would succeed in establishing self-supporting 
 chiirches at a less cost and far more rapidly than under any other arrange- 
 ment. * * * One other siiggestion I would sul)mit to your wiser judg- 
 ment. We want au adequate fund, from which the Bishop may draw, for 
 two objects that are of prime importance and most pressing urgency, viz., 
 the relief of parishes that are doing all they can to sustain the clergy, and 
 yet are not able to provide for them a competent support : and the extension 
 of necessary relief to young men of education who wish to enter on the 
 study for the ministry, and yet are not able to sustain themselves." * 
 
 Bishop PiNKNEY confined himself to such practical suggestions 
 and recommendations as these in, his address as the Assistant 
 Bishop. Afterwards, when the sole charge of the diocese with 
 its responsibilities devolved upon him by the death of the senior 
 Bishop, he was able, in his official capacity as the head of the 
 diocese, to lay before the convention matters and measures which 
 he deemed of great importance for the welfai'e of the Church. 
 
 These convicti(ms of Bishop Pixkxey touching the missicm work 
 and the needs of the weaker parishes of the diocese became 
 intensified during the course of his Ei)iscopate, and led liini, out 
 of his own moderate salary as Bishop, to apportion the far greater 
 part of it for the relief of the clergy inadequately supi)orted in the 
 rural parishes. As his quarter's salary was received cliecks of 
 varied amounts were sent to those whose needs he felt in his 
 
 *Con. Journal, 1871, p. iC.
 
 220 LIFE or BISHOP PINKNEY. • 
 
 soul to be greater than liis owb, and for whose sakes lie was 
 willing- to deny himself all but the necessaries of life. Moreover, 
 in his E])iscopal visitations he always requested that the offerings 
 might be applied to the diocesan missions. Some of his most 
 forcible mission-appeals were made on such occasions. This mat- 
 ter of pastoral relief he brought before the convention again 
 and again. He even went so far as to propose, more than once, 
 that he and the clergy of the diocese should '' throw all our 
 salaries into one common fund, to be disbursed pro rata, as the 
 expense of lining shall dictate : "" adding, " I feel in the fearful 
 crisis of the hour that I can do no more than express my entire 
 ^Ailliugness to share with my poorer brothers all I receive, which 
 is all I have of worldly goods." * 
 
 Bishop Pinkney's interest in missions was not confined to such 
 work within the diocese. Early in June of 1871 he was requested 
 and appointed, by the Board of Missions, to go forth with others 
 to advocate the cause of the general missions of the Church in the 
 gi'eat Northwest. He gives, in his convention addi'ess, the fol- 
 lowing brief record of that visit : 
 
 " On the Gth of June I started out on a missionary tour with the two 
 secretaries of the Board, tlie Kev. Dr. Harwood, of Connecticut, and the 
 . Bev. Mr. Dudley, of Maryland, t(j advocate the cause in portions of Minne- 
 sota. At St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Faribault we met with the most cordial 
 welcome, and held very enthusiastic meetings. I preached the opening 
 sermon by request. It is scarcely possible to form an adequate conception 
 of the magnitude of the field which is opened to the Church in the great 
 Northwest ; and it is not easy to speak of the work going on in this young 
 diocese without seeming exaggeration. The result of my official and per- 
 sonal intercourse with the Rev. Dr. Twing and the Rev. Mr. Hare, to whom 
 is committed the missimi work at home and abroad, satisfies me that no two 
 men could be found, in all our borders, more admirably fitted for the post, 
 in all that gives power to advocacy, and wisdom and energy to action, than 
 those two brethren beloved. It was an oasis in the midst of the wilder- 
 ness of cares that marks the Episcopate on which it is most pleasing to 
 gaze. I do not propose to enlarge on the magnificent work going on in that 
 glorious portion of the country : but I cannot withhold my tribute of praise 
 to the leaders in that distant field of labor, and my acknowledgment of the 
 refined hospitality we received, and the warm Christian courtesy which 
 made us feel at home the very moment we touched the soil on which my 
 brother of Minnesota had so indelibly impressed his mind and heart." + 
 
 Of this missionary tour, which he seems to have enjoyed 
 considerably, some brief extracts from letters to his wife may be 
 given. 
 
 From Milwaukee, on the 9th of June, he writes : 
 
 " We reached here last night about half-past eight. We rode over Chi- 
 cago. The lake is trauscendeutly beautiful. It is glorious. No one word, 
 no dozen words in our language, can tell half its charms. In color, vastness, 
 
 * Con. Journal, 1882, p. 1(2. 
 t Con. Journal, 1872, page 69.
 
 LIFE OF lilSHOl' I'INKNHV. 1>2I 
 
 iiii)tii>ii, it is ii ycni tif the st'si. Not so <,M-iiii(l asold occiiii, tmt >-iill MiHicinitly 
 near it to hv tonible. uiid yet so lovely that one looks and looks, entraneei'l 
 l)y its beauty. To-day it was very (jn.et. No one seems in tiiese days t<» 
 turn as I do to the works of the <^ran(l Arehitect. l^hx'ks of hiiildin^'s jilease 
 me: the w'iiter-works astonish me: the private dwellini^s, as they loom on 
 the view in all variety of taste and eleganee. deli^rht me : hut one sij^dit of 
 this Lake Michi-ian is worth a trip over the ocean. * ♦ * We saw Kisliop 
 Armitai.(e in Milwaukee.. We called on Bishop Whitehouse, of Illinois, hut 
 he was out. We start at eleven for St. Paul, wliicli we hojx:" to reaeii about 
 seveu .\. M. to-morrow." 
 
 Again, Avritiug- from Faribault, he sends to bis wife the follow- 
 ing letter : 
 
 ''June Wt/i, 1H7I. 
 
 " My De.\rest Bettie : I attended service yesterday at the Cathedral of 
 Our Merciful Saviour, Faribault : and such a service I never heard, so full 
 of Lcrandeur and solemn awe. The church itself is faultless: the music old 
 and churchly ; the voices well trained — forty-odd girls and a number of lioys, 
 with some twenty nearly grown. The house was crowded. I preachecl — 
 well I really I am not suited to this sort of work — I did as well as I could 
 under the circumstances. But I do not f(>cl at honu' in a crowd. I seldom 
 do as well. 
 
 "At night there w'ere missionary addresses. Diidlcy did remarkably. Dr. 
 Harwood was very effective. 
 
 " To-day we start for Nashotah, and reach there to-morrow, travelling all 
 night. Thence we go to Milwaukee, which we hope to reach TiUi'sday night. 
 Wednesday we start for home. It seems to me I have lost all my energy. I 
 move mechanically. Well ! I must get out of it if I can. Love to all — Ogle. 
 A., and Cousiu A. Tell Wye* I think of him often. I hope you are all 
 well. I have had to travel so far only by faith — the only one of the company 
 that has not had a line from home. 
 
 " Yours affectionately, ' 
 
 " WILLIAM." 
 
 During his sojourn in Faribault Bislioj:) Pinkney had oppor- 
 tunity of visiting St. Mary's Hall, the school for girls that Bishop 
 Whipple had founded, and which was in full and successful 
 operation. So greatly impressed and pleased was he with all 
 that he saw in the admirable management of the school and 
 in the deportment, order, and studies of the pupils, that im- 
 mediately ujDon his return to Washington he ordered to be 
 prepared " a gold medal," to be awarded to " the best scholar in 
 the English language ;" and he continued to send such medal 
 annually up to the close of his life. It was a costly medal, going 
 far beyond any thoughts of Bishop Whipple as to what it would 
 be. It consisted of " a gold cross of excjuisite workmanshi])."" 
 Bishop PiNKNEY designed it himself and personally sujierintended 
 its execution ; and as each scholastic year drew near the close he 
 
 * "Wye " was his favorite household dog. In almost every letter he sends 
 some message, such as " pat Wye for me," " I wish I could see the old dog."
 
 222 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 sent it on to tlie principal of St. Mary's Hall, with a letter full of 
 beautiful tbouglits and covmsels.* 
 
 Some correspondence in relation to this medal to St. Mary's, 
 though taking place at a later day, may here be given. 
 
 In this connection two letters are here given — the one from 
 Bishop Whipple, of Minnesota, acknowledging the receipt of the 
 letter which Bishop Pixkxey had written to advise him of the 
 transmission of the medal, and in which was enclosed a copy of 
 the verses on " The Old Clock : " the other one from Bishop 
 PixKXEY in reply to the letter of Miss Darlington, the principal of 
 St. Mary's Hall^ announcing the award of " the medal " for the 
 year. The letter expresses the very deep interest which Bishop 
 PiNKNEY felt in the work and success of the institution under her 
 charge, as principal: 
 
 " Bidiojj Whipple to Bishop Pinkney. 
 
 " FAEiBArLT. June 10, 1880. 
 
 " Dear Brother : Yours came to-day, and I thauk you from my heart for 
 the unfailing love which always remembers dear St. Mary's. Y'ou will never 
 know what good you have done and what a love for literature you have 
 kindled. I will send for the medal. 
 
 " Many thanks for the jjrivilege of reading "The Old Clock.' I read it 
 aloud to-day, after dinnei-, to my guests. If we had had a king among us 
 you would have been made a poet laureate. It could only have come out 
 of a heart which had been attuned to the music of love. GOD bless you. 
 
 " Y'ours faithfullv, 
 
 " Rt. Rev. W. Pinkney. D. D. " H. B. WHIPPLE." 
 
 "Baltimore, Md.. June, 1880. 
 
 " I am glad to know that my friend. Miss Darlington, is satisfied with my 
 efforts to please the pupils of St. Mary's Hall. It has my confidence because 
 it is the nursery of the Church that Bishop Whipple planted, and you know 
 I am one of those who think that what he touches turns to g(jld : not the 
 gold that we dig out of the mines and then fashion in the mint, but the gold 
 of the faith refined, golden thoughts, golden feelings, and golden deeds. So 
 the winner of my medal was an orphan girl I GOD blesses the orphan. 
 Her very helplessness touches the Giver of all blessings. I hope she will 
 not forget that her education is but just begun. If she would have the jewel 
 of the mind and heart wrought into the same exquisite form of beauty that 
 the golden cross received, she must work at it, and every day lay it under 
 her Father's hand, who alone can fashion it in beauty. 
 
 " Tell her for me, that she must live to realize your hopes and her dear 
 Bishop's, and send back to you at the dear old hall, from time to time, 
 tidings that all is well. She remembers who broke the alabaster box over 
 the body of her Lord, and as she meets one and another of His suffering 
 members out on the Western prairie — it may be in the form of some poor 
 Indian daughter whose paternal wigwam we have cruelly invaded, whom we, 
 in our grinding avarice, have consigned to endless wanderings from river to 
 
 * Medals of a like chai-acter were annually sent by Bishop Pinkney to a 
 numl>er of educational institutions in Maryland — to St. .John's College. 
 Annapolis : to St. James, near Hagerstown : io the Hannah More Academy ; 
 to the Pinknev Institute, and to other schools.
 
 LIFE OF lilSHOr riNKNEY. 223 
 
 river, and mountain gorge to mountain gorge— she will not forgft that the 
 same loving deed is her holy privilege as well. 
 
 "St. Mary's hall! May (iOl) l)less it I Beautiful for situation ; may He 
 make it a blessing to this whole land. Loyal to the ercjss may it ever prove. 
 Loyal to this Church of ours, this Protestant Episcopal Church, foremost 
 among whose Bishops is my brother of Minnesota. 
 
 " But you may say I am presuming on my medal. It gives me no right to 
 tax the hours of your recreation ! That is cpiite true, but on you must rest 
 the responsibility, for if you had not first spoken I should have kept silence. 
 • Miixima reverentia debetur puelhc' So .luvenal writes. It is a grand 
 thought and ought to be engraven on the walls of yoi;r noble asylum. 
 
 " Atfectionatelv, 
 
 " Miss S. P. Darlington. ' W. P." 
 
 A copy of this letter of Bisliop Pinkxey's to Miss Darliiifjton 
 Avas enclosed in a letter which Bishop Whipple addressed to Mr. 
 Corcoran in 1886, in which the Bishop expressed his anxious 
 desu-e that some permanent provision should l)e made for the 
 continuance of the medal premium for St. Mary's Hall. The 
 appeal of the Bishop was promptly and generously responded to 
 by Mr. Corcoran: 
 
 "Maitland, March Ot/t, ISHC. 
 '•My Dear Benefactor and Friend: Will you read the beautiful letter 
 of your dear friend. Bishop Pinkney, in Paradise ? It shows how dear St. 
 Mary's Hall was to him. He told me he would found this medal. His name 
 has been so long connected with the school I hate to give it up. \Vill it be 
 possible for you to give St. Mary's .^200 or -taOO, the interest of which will 
 provide a Pinkney Sledal forever ? If you can, I shall be deeply grateful. 
 " Praying GOD to bless you. 
 
 " Your friend, 
 
 " H. B. WHIPPLE. 
 
 ''Bisha]) of Minnesota. 
 '' Hon. W. W. Corcoran." 
 
 On the 20th of June Bishoj) Pinkney and his fellow-mission 
 travellers were at Nashotah, where they sojourned for ii short 
 time, sharing the hospitality of the seminary and enjoying the 
 wondrous lieauty of its surroundings. Returning to AVashington 
 on the 25th of June, Bishop Pinkney entered at once, without a 
 single day's delay, upon his Episcopal visitations of the diocese, 
 which he continued without intermission to the close of the con- 
 vention year. 
 
 In the course of his visitations he penned from time to time 
 brief letters to his wife, written as he had opportunity. One or 
 two of such letters during this year and the next (1872) may be 
 given : 
 
 "April -i, 1H72. 
 
 " My Dear Bettie : I am now with Dr. Hodges (West Kiver) : hold ser- 
 vice to-day and to-morrow. Then I go CD. Y.). to be two days with ilr. 
 Gambrall. 
 
 " I hope your arm is improving. I am ([uite well. The days are passing, 
 and I hope soon to be at the end — honu'ward bound. It is a very trying
 
 224 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 position — this beiug whirled about for so many days ; but I hope I shall 
 have a little leisure soon. Let Niuiau keep a good look-out. I am anxious 
 to hear how his case progresses. I will write again at the next point. I do 
 not think the convocation will meet. No one has arrived yet. I do not care 
 about it : for the quiet I enjoy with Dr. Hodges is very pleasant. I preached 
 yesterday the same sermon I preached Si;nday night. But I do not preach 
 anywhere as I do at the Ascension. There all hearts are in harmony with 
 mine. But I hope I get along tolerably. Love to O.. to A., and to Coiasin 
 A. This pen is dreadful. I cannot write with it. Take care of yourself. 
 Look out for the closing of the house and the fires. Pat Wye for me — the 
 dear old dog. I hope the weather will favor me. It is cooler to-day. 
 "' Yours affectionatelv, 
 
 "WILLIAM." 
 
 A similar letter, written the next year, will suffice to show how 
 actively, and yet quietly, he was engaged in his Episcopal duties : 
 
 "May 1, 1873. 
 
 •■ My Dearest Bettie : I am getting on towards the close. The weather 
 has not been favorable. Everybody is very kind and attentive. It is cloud- 
 ing over again to-day. I am tolerably well — still a little sore throat and a 
 little hoarseness. But still everybody congratulates me on looking so well. 
 One old gentleman thinks I am not looking so strong as I did. But he is 
 the exception. Take good care of yoiirself. Tell Ogle to be careful about 
 the change of the weather and not to go out in thin shoes. 
 
 " I had two services last Sunday, and a ride of four miles ; two on Mon- 
 day, and a ride of ten miles in the rain : one Tuesday, and a ride of twelve 
 miles : one on Wednesday, and a ride of twelve miles ; one to-day, and a. 
 ride of twelve miles : and on Friday one service, and a ride of eighteen miles ; 
 and on Saturday a ride of eighteen miles after I cross the river. So it goes. 
 Love to Ogle, A., and Coiisiu \. Pat old Wye. Give my love to Svisan. 
 " Yours affectitmatelv, 
 
 " WILLIAM." 
 
 For nearly thirteen years, with only brief and occasional inter- 
 vals of rest and recreation, Bishop Pinkney contuiued these ardu- 
 ous labors ; and when the summons came to him to pass from 
 earthly toil to the rest of Paradise it found him not in the quiet 
 retreat of his home, but while actively engaged in loving minis- 
 tries in a distant parish. 
 
 Although the Episcopal ministrations of the Assistant Bishop 
 throughout the diocese were most acceptable and highly prized, 
 there were some few of the clergy m Baltimore city — disaffected, 
 perhaps — who, owing to Bishop Whittingham's inability to serve 
 them, desired to have some neighboring Bishop for administra- 
 tive service in their churches : and to this end, while the Assistant 
 Bishop was engaged, or supi)osed to be engaged, in visitations 
 elsewhere in the diocese, application was made to Bishop Whit- 
 tiugham for permission or authorization to request a neighboring 
 Bishop to render such Episcopal service. This happened in two 
 instances — and in both under some misajjprehension, on the part 
 of the officiating Bishop, of the circumstances — which were after- 
 wards explained by corresiDondence — and so exj^lained that there 
 could be no recuiTence of such cases.
 
 LIFE OF lUSHul' I'lNKNEV. '2'2~) 
 
 While acting- us tlu' AKsistuiit Bislio]). liis cliicf work was tliat. 
 of visitations, preachings, and siu-li adniinistiations as, in snnn* 
 specitic instances, he was requested l)y the senioi- Bishoj) to ren- 
 der. Thus he was assi>jfned the settk'inent of several cases of 
 trouble between rectors and vestries and parishes ; which, by his 
 equal gentleness and firmness, he succeeded in adjusting. One 
 parish wanted to get rid of its rector who persisted in staying ; 
 another wished to have the rector called to account for some 
 matters of which he was accused. These ministerial and ])aroch- 
 ial troubles, as they come before our Bishops for settlement, are 
 sometimes found to be very difficult in adjustment for the })eace 
 and welfare of the parishes concerned. Various suggestions and 
 plans hiive been otiered to prevent their occurrence. They 
 would exist under any system of organization that might be 
 devised. Tiie}' are less fre(pieut and serious, it is l)elieved, under 
 the present organization than they would be under.any changes 
 that could be made in the ecclesiastical and civil relations of 
 vestries and ccmgregations to their rectors. Even if all missicm 
 l)Ower and the tenure of the pastoral relation were lodged aljso- 
 lutely in the hands of the Bishop, or provisionally in a supervisory 
 board, or in the convention of the diocese, it would not prevent 
 trovibles of the sort which have their origin in the very nature 
 of things ; and, except under an autocracy like that of Rome, our 
 peoj^le would never consent to be deprived of their rights in the 
 choice of their rector ; nor could they be compelled to sup})ort 
 one w'honi they were unwilling to receive, and who was forced 
 upon them by an extraneous power, althovigh that power were a 
 recognized ecclesiastical authority.
 
 226 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIY. 
 
 His Visitations — General Convextion. 1871-'72. 
 
 These labors, with only brief and occasional intervals of rest^ 
 bishop PiXKXEY continued throughout the whole of his Ei^isco- 
 pate. After long and weary travel and prolonged converse with 
 friends, he was known to retii"e to his room not for rest in 
 sleep, but to sit for hours after midnight either pouring out his 
 soul in some sweet poetic effusion, or in the more elaborate work 
 of writing a carefully thought-out sermon. His recuperative 
 jjowers were great. A few hours rest seemed to restore him to 
 wonted -vigor. In the morning he would be apparently as fresh 
 in mind and body as though all the silent hours of the night had 
 been passed in sweet rest and slumber. And yet it was seen 
 that such strain upon the mind, the nervous system, and on the 
 jDhysical powers could not but tell in time for hurt ujjon his 
 whole organism. 
 
 He could hardly be persuaded to take any respite from work 
 €ven in the midsummer's heat. His generous and noble friend, 
 Mr. W. W. Corcoran, requh-ed him, so to sj^eak, to spend a few 
 weeks of summer with him as his guest at the White Sulphur 
 Sirring s. 
 
 He was constrained by this friend to accept a hospitahty that 
 would give him needed bodily rest and refreshment, and at the 
 same time afford the enjoyments of delighful converse and asso- 
 ciation with the most refined and cultured persons. North and 
 South, in social and public life. The White Sulphur was the 
 famous summer resort of many such persons. Bishop Pinkney 
 continued to go there as Mr. Corcoran's guest for a few weeks 
 in summer, with some exceptional years, during his Episcopate. 
 
 No man could more thoroughly and exquisitely enjoy the 
 recreation than the Bishop. It Avas there that he formed delight- 
 ful associations and enduring friendships. He became a great 
 favorite with all. His ardent feelings, genial manners, warm and 
 broad sympathies, and quick sensitiveness to everything beau- 
 tiful in nature and lovely in human character, enabled him to 
 enter with zest into all matters that touched in any way the 
 interests and happines-s of others. By a singular combination of 
 attracting (jualities he unconsciously drew to himself both the 
 plainest and the poorest in the walks of life, and those who by edu- 
 cation, Avealth, and social position moved in the highest circles ; 
 hence it was that these brief annual visits to the White Sulphur
 
 LIFE OF l-.ISIIol' I'INKNKV. 'I'll 
 
 were so refresliiu"^- to liiiii ; Imt wliilc tlicre lie was iu>t idle. He 
 was sure to return with (juite a ])a<k!i^'e of fn-sli serinous written, 
 as he himself put it. " while takiiiL;- my rest." 
 
 To his wife he writes : 
 
 ■ WHni: SiLrut'ij, Aiio. 27, "12. 
 
 " My Deaekst Bettie : I aro.se, took two ^'liisst'.s of water, ate l>reakfiist. 
 jjlayed croquet with Mrs. G. aud Mr. B. and eaine otl' sc^narc, eall«'«l witli 
 Mrs. G. on General Anderson, who i.s a most charniin^,' ^fntlenian. His wife 
 and dan!.^hter are very agreeable. I met with Commodore Pegram, who is a 
 splendid sj)ecimeu()f a man. He sent his h)ve to Ninian. I had a talk witli 
 General Beauregard. He said some very pleasant things about my sermons. 
 So have many others. It is only sur))rising tome. I wroti' thftwo I ])rfai-hi'd 
 herein the heat of the old study : and they are only tolerable. B»it in n-aiily 
 everything surprises mt!. I know that I have come near the point when I 
 might have done great things, perhaps. But it was only near, and that is 
 fatal to all true greatness. I know my weaknesses ; they are many. 
 
 " Dr. Alexander, a Presbyterian minister, asked me tlie other day if I wiih 
 related to Uncle William. He said, • I thought it must be so.' He was one 
 of my most attentive auditors. I bowed to Eva at the stati<m, but thcjiight 
 she (lid not recognize me. I was on the platf(jrm, and bowed very low, much 
 on the ritualist order. 
 
 " I hope Ogle continues to improve. Love to him, to A., and Cousin A: 
 I must close, as I wish this to go off in the mail. I am not at the cottag<^ 
 with Mr. Corcoran — Mr. S. and myself. 
 
 '• Yoiirs atfectionatelv, 
 
 • WILLIAM. 
 
 After his departure from the White Sulplutr cordial and loving' 
 letters followed him, full of concern foi' his health and of <>-ratefid 
 feelings for the 2:)leasure he had aflforded them during liis visit. 
 Hence, these brief annual respites from laborious duty were very 
 refreshing- to him in body and mind. He would return to engage 
 in work with renewed acti\ity. 
 
 Before leaving, Bishop Pixkney was mindful to express in a 
 letter to Mr. Corcoran his grateful appreciation of his kindness : 
 
 '^September 3, 1H72. 
 
 "My Deab Mr. Corcoran: I cannot leave the White Sulphur without 
 thanking you for the kind hospitality you have extended to me. and the 
 many agreeable hours I have spent. Your friendship I regard as one of the 
 highest favors l)estowed on me, and only wish I could feel more worthy of 
 it. I hope you may not hasten your return to Washington. Thi' moiuitaiu 
 air, in the next twd weeks, will be of immense value to yim and your little 
 ones. I trust you may tind the balance of the year a sweet, smiling valley, 
 fi-agrant with flowers, and that you may continue to improve in health. It 
 is a great blessing, where GOD "is pleased to all'.-t it to us, and greatly to be 
 prized. I shall miss the society of yourself. Mr. Smith, the Doctor, ami the 
 boys. They are charming. 
 
 " Wishing you every Idessing you can possibly crave, and trusting that 
 you, who areshedding all the whih' so many dew-drops on thepan-heil patli- 
 way of others, may be permitted to drink in the comforts you disp«n-i<', T atii. 
 with sincere thanks, 
 
 '* Yours affectionately, 
 
 •WM. PINKNKV 
 
 "' W. W. Corcoran, Esq.'"
 
 228 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 These references to the cu'cumstances under which Bishop 
 PiNKXEY entered upon his deHcate and important work as the 
 Assistant Bishop of the diocese are made in order that his posi- 
 tion respecting the diocese on the one hand, and the senior Bishop 
 on the other, may be clearly seen. He was not the man to desu-e 
 or seek high official position in the Church : hut when the sacred 
 trusts and obligations of the Episcopate were laid upon him, by 
 an authority which in conscience he felt bound to recognize as of 
 GOD, he hesitated not ; nor did he shrink from any sacrifices or 
 duties in meeting the responsibilities of the office. His strong 
 con^•ictions as to what was due alike to the Bishop and the 
 Church in the diocese led him to give his whole soul and his best 
 energies to the work that lay before him, to be done with no self- 
 ish aims on his OAvn part, and with remarkable freedom from all 
 partisan prejudices or animosities. He according entered upon 
 the active discharge of the duties of the Episcopate immediately 
 after his consecration. 
 
 In the Convention which was held in Ma}', 1871, the Assistant 
 Bishop made his fii-st address, giving a very full and minute 
 account of his Episcoi)al visitations and services for the eight 
 months that intervened between his consecration and the meeting 
 of the convention. He detailed, in diary form, specifically, the 
 duties and the travels of each day during the jieriod, and sums 
 up his record in the following words : 
 
 " Since my consecration I have preached one hundred and thii-ty-two ser- 
 mons, delivered one hundred and fifteen addresses, celebrated Holy Commun- 
 ion sixty-seven times, baptized si.\ children, attended one funeral, and 
 confirmed fifteen hundred and nineteen persons." 
 
 This is the record of the Episcopal work for eight months^ of 
 which one-half were vjinter months, the most unfavorable in the 
 whole year for Episcopal visitations, and attended in the rural 
 parishes with great personal exposures and privations. 
 
 There was most pressing need for Episcopal ministrations 
 throughout the diocese. The clerg}' and the people in the rural 
 parishes had been longing for years to have once more their own 
 Bishop come among them. They were ready and eager to wel- 
 come him to their hearts, their homes, and their churches. Every- 
 where he found the church buildings with over-crowded congrega- 
 tions. fSo great in some instances was the number of the people 
 assembled, that the services were held in the open air in a grove 
 adjoining the church. He did not confine his visitations to the 
 parish churches. He went to the mission stations and the little 
 chajDels, and where there were no vestry rooms he would put on 
 his robes under the shade of a tree, or as it might be with a 
 bleak Avind blowing around him, and he would go in full of the 
 glr)w of a holy fervor, and 2)reach with even more than his wonted 
 zeal.
 
 LIFE OF lilSllol' I'INKNKV. 229 
 
 The Rev. R. Tt'iupleman Brown, whoon (^iiiii(juii^f«'siiim Siin.ljiy, 
 1888, commomorated the FMh uiiiiiversmy t)f liis onliiuitiun to the 
 sacred miuistry, ^'ives tlie foHowinHf acccHiiit of one siu-h visitation 
 by Bishop Pixkxey to a mission station, nnuh- soni«' years hiter, 
 but it may be here introduced : 
 
 "I gladly comply with your rt'tiuest to atteiiq)! ii liricf nariativt- of an 
 interesting visit made by our late beloved Bishoi) Pinknky to a mission 
 station under my charge, while rector of Christ Church. Uockvilh'. The 
 incident occurred. I think, in July. 1880. The Bishop had ntliciated in the 
 inoniing, Sunday, in Christ Church, Kockville. In the afternoon \vc rode out 
 to Quince Orchard sclnxjl-house. aljout six miles west, on the Darnestowu 
 and Poolesville county road. I had been holding mission services at that 
 point for several years, on every other Sunday afterncjou, for the benefit of 
 a few Church families who could not be reached in any other way. An 
 interesting Sunday-school and Bible class had been conducted there for 
 some time by Mr. and ilrs. lloltert Poole, of the neighborhood, with much 
 benetit. the fruits of which will be reaped hereafter. Theannouncenn-nt of a 
 visit from Bishop Pinkney brought (mt a large congregation ujjon so unusual 
 an occasion. One could see at once that the interest was excited, not nierelv 
 by curiosity to see a ]5isliop, but to see and hear a man whose reputation and 
 name always thrilled every genuine Maryland heart. As we approached the 
 school-house and saw the immense thri^ng. the surrounding wood tilled with 
 vehicles of every description, almost blocking access to the house. I said to 
 the Bishop. ' the multitude will be too great to be fed within the house.' 
 With his characteristic promptness, he reijlied, ' We must have tlie services 
 in the woods.' 
 
 " As we drew near I discovered, with much satisfaction, that tin- difficulty 
 had been anticipated by moving the benches and providing seats under the 
 trees. My heart was greatly cheered to think that the Episcopal Church could, 
 -on proper occasions, enlarge the borders of her tents and preach Christ, and 
 HUm ci'ucified, to the thronging multitude. Unfortunately, as we were 
 entering upon the service a thunder-cloud came up in so threatening a style 
 Ihat we were driven reluctantly into the school-house. It is needless to say 
 that the Bishop met the occasion, and although many more were standing 
 outside than covald be possibly seated within, their attention and reverent 
 manner to the close of the solemn services showed that the word ot GOD 
 wii-s not bound. We had adult baptism, conlirmiition. and holy comniuniou. 
 Many hearts were cheered l)y the thought that GOD does not always contine 
 His presence to temples made with hands." 
 
 This was not the only occasion on which the Bishop hehl ser- 
 vice, confirmed, and preached " under the trees." He records 
 later on a simihir mstance, but hai)})ily not interriii)ted by the 
 sudden coming- on of a rain-storm, as related above. Of this ser- 
 \ice the Bisho]) thus wrote : 
 
 "A recess chancel is l)eing erected. I held the services under the trees. 
 It was novel and impressive. We had a graceful arch of leaves, ami the 
 forest trees surrounding a novel and most i)ictures(jne pulpit, extemporized 
 for the occasion. From the number coniirmed. the amount of the ott'erings, 
 and the crowded churches, we have a gratifying proof that the parish is ablj' 
 and successfully worked." 
 
 It was deemed a special pnvilege by any family to have Bishop 
 Pinkney for their ouest. He drew all hearts to himself bv his
 
 230 LIFE OF BISHOr PINKNEY. 
 
 loving ways, his gentle manners, and that sympathetic interest 
 and kindness which he felt for all with whom he was brought into 
 any social or churchly association. The little children would 
 gather around him with that heart-instinct which tells a child 
 where to find sympathy and the tokens of aiiection. Not infre- 
 quently was he known, after a brief rest on his arrival at the 
 house where he was to be entertained, to go out on the lawn, if 
 the season permitted, to join in the playful sports of the young 
 people. He possessed a most attracting power in drawing to 
 himself the youth of both sexes. His visits were always remem- 
 bered with pleasant and grateful feelings. 
 
 Later on in his Episcopate he held what he termed his Episcopal 
 missions — that is, in the intervals of his regular appointments he 
 woukl secure a few days for himself, and take with him two or 
 thi-ee of the clergy and go, by a previous arrangement with the 
 rector, to some church, usually in the country, and hold a two or 
 three days' mission service — the whole time, as much as possible, 
 devoted to the sacred ministrations of prayers and preachings. 
 He thought these services were promotive of much sj^iritual good. 
 
 By these indefatigable labors on the part of the Assistant Bishop 
 the work of the Episcopate was soon brought to a most satisfac- 
 tory condition. Bishop Whittingham, realizing more and more 
 his disability for active work, contined himself to such visitations 
 as he was able to make in Baltimore city and to such duties as 
 may be termed the office work of a Bishoj), in correspondence 
 and in such official acts as properly emanated from him or required 
 his special sanction. 
 
 Besides those strong expressions of satisfaction at the result 
 of the election of Dr. Pinkney as the Assistant Bishop, which 
 Bishop Whittingham used in the letter of October 19 already 
 quoted, he took occasion in his adtbess to the Convention, in 1871,. 
 to say : * 
 
 '• The detail of bis (the Assistant Bishop's) toil iu visitation, begiin almost 
 immediately after his consecration and continued unremittingly to this very 
 day, you will of course learn from his own address. I may be permitted to 
 observe that the result is what the diocese has never before obtained — the 
 complete visitation of the whole within the conventional year." 
 
 The holdiiig of the triennial meeting of the General Conven 
 tion in October, 1871, in Baltimore, was matter of much interest 
 and gratification to the members of the Church in that city and 
 throughout the diocese. At the annual convention in May of 
 that year committees werea])pointed to select and secure a suitable 
 church for the meetings of the hodj and to extend hospitalities 
 to the prelates of the Church of England and other rej^resentatives^ 
 from abroad. Arrangements were made by the clergy and church 
 members in the city for the hospitable reception of the Bishops. 
 
 ♦See Convention .Joiunal. 1S71. ]). 2.'j.
 
 LIFE OF iUSllOP I'INKM.V. 2'M 
 
 and fk'riciil deputies. The followiiii;- wci'c tlic dei-ical an. I liiv 
 deputies from the diocese : Kev. Drs. Leeds. Huttoii, Nelson, juiil 
 Lewiii, and the Messrs. F. W. ]5rinie. Wm. G. Harrison, Jieniurd 
 Carter, and Hon. D. N. oMa^ruder. Bishoj) Pixksky. for tlie first 
 time, took his seat in the House of Bishojjs. He cordially united 
 with Bishop Wliittin<^ham and with the derffy and laity of Balti 
 more in welcoming- the august body to the chief ciVy of the 
 diocese and in extendino- all courteous attentions and hospitalities. 
 Through Bishop Pinkneys thoughtful consideration a luimher of 
 the Bishops on the Sundays during the sessions of the i-onvention 
 were iinited to officiate in churches of the neighboring cities, 
 "Washington and Georgetown, and take' part in some special 
 church assemblies there held. 
 
 At the close of the session of the General Convention the 
 Assistant Bishop resumed his active wcn-k of Episcojjal visitations. 
 Referring to these labors of the A;-.sistant Bishoj). the senioi- 
 Bishop, in his convention address of the ne.vt year, after alluding 
 to his own condition of bodily infirmity largely disabling him for 
 active exertion, thus speaks : 
 
 " In this forced degree of withdrawmeut from work I have had the great 
 consohxtiou of knowing that the iinceasing activity and unwearied diligence 
 of your Assistant Bishop was much more tlian supplying my hick of service, 
 and that his faithful and most acceptable labors were affording, throughout 
 the year, to every outlying portion of the diocese, an amount of ])astnral 
 superintendence and instruction, as well as the exercise of all Episcopal 
 functions, to an extent which it had never before been the fiivoralih- lot ..f 
 Maryland to enjoy." 
 
 In August, 1872, Bishop Whittingham was importuned and 
 persuaded to go to Germany as the representative of the Church 
 in the United States, to express sympathy with and give encour- 
 agement to the " Old Catholic " movement, then exciting great 
 interest throughout the Anglican communion and in the American 
 Church. At the General Convention, held the preceding year, 
 the Bishop of Maryland w'as deemed as the one most admirably 
 fitted, by his great learning and ardent devotion to the principles 
 of a true catholicity in the Church of GOD, to be enti'usted with 
 this dehcate and important commission. He was accordingly 
 requested by a resolution of the House of Bishops, in 1H71. to 
 " visit Europe to ascertain the state of the Church reformation iu 
 Germany and Italy." He at first and for some time hesitated to 
 accejjt the appointment. The following letter of his to Bishoj) 
 PiNKNEY shows liow he yielded at last to the earnest i)ersuasives 
 that he should go ; and the rescri])t following the letter, giving 
 sole jurisdiction to the Assistant Bishop during his absence, is (mo 
 of those docviments so characteristic of the precision an<l thoi-- 
 oughness with which, in all official acts, he executed his Episcopal 
 palmers :
 
 232 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 " Bishop Whittingharn to Buhop Pinkney. 
 
 " Baltimore, August 28, 1872. 
 
 " My Dear Bishop : After some weeks of as great perplexity and anxiety 
 as I ever remember to have experienced, I have at hist succumbed to the 
 pressure brought to bear on me from many quarters at home and aljroad, 
 and utterly against my own judgment and inclination, have consented to go 
 to Europe' to testify the interest of <mr Church in the "Old Catholic" 
 movement, and do whatever may be carefully and discreetly done to help it.* 
 
 " Down to the 10th or 12th of this month I considered the question of 
 my going as quietly settled the other way — on grounds which you will find 
 stated in the copy of a letter to Mr. Langdon, which for that reason I 
 inclose in this, together with a copy of the invitation from Germany received 
 the day before. 
 
 " But Bishop Smith, when the copy of that letter from Langdon reached 
 him, addressed both to me and to others such eai-nest remonstrances against 
 my refusal to go, as compelled me to reconsider my position : and when on 
 Tuesday last I was assured that the sum needed to defray the expenses of 
 myself, chaplain, and secretary was made up, and on Saturday last received 
 the further assurance that Dr. Hobart, as my chaplain, and Dr. Julius D. 
 Hose, as my secretary, would be ready to embark with me on the 4th of 
 September, I could only acquiesce, j^raying GOD to overrule my weakness 
 and insufficiency for His glory, and so do 1)y others what I but too sensibly 
 feel is not to be looked for as to be done by me. 
 
 " The intense anxieties of the three weeks of correspondence and receiving 
 of visitors on the business in hand, which have intervened since the 7th, 
 have totally interfered with my diocesan work, which down to that time I 
 had kept pretty steadily on with and regularly dispatched. 
 
 " I am obliged, therefore, to trespass on your kindness so far as to ask 
 your prompt attention, under the commission which I this day make out for 
 you as full executive of the diocese, to the accumulation of hackwork grow- 
 ing out of about a dozen letters which I remit to your address at Bladens- 
 burg,+ as rather safer than sending them to the Springs. * * * [The 
 Bishop here notes some special matters he wishes to receive attention.] 
 
 •'I came hither yesterday, and leave to-morrow morning. You may 
 imagine what one thousand and one cares distract a man leaving at ten days' 
 notice for an absence of fr(jm six months to a year I My prayers shall go up 
 for you unceasingly, and my humble blessing and love are with you. 
 "Ever faithfully, your loving brother, 
 
 "W. E. WHITTINGHAM. 
 
 " Rt. Rev. W. Pinkney, D. D." 
 
 The following is a copy of the Bishop's rescript : 
 
 " To the Right Reverend William Pinkney, D. D., LL. D., 
 
 ' • Aanixta nt Bishop of the Diocese of Maryland. 
 " Right Reverend and Dear Brother : Having acceded to the expressed 
 wish of many of our brethren that I sliDuld cai'ry out the resolution of the 
 House of Bishops in the last General Convention, charging me with the 
 communication of the favorable regards of the Bishops for the noble-minded 
 men in Germany who are engaged in a struggle against Papal usurpation 
 and corruptions, and having been furnished with ample means for the 
 
 * For a full account of Bishop Whittingham's mission to the Old Catholics 
 in Germany, see The Life by Dr. lirand. vol. ii, chaj). v. 
 
 + Bishop Pinkney was at that time at the White Sulphur Springs, Ya., 
 taking some rest and recreation.
 
 LIFE OF l'.ISl|()|> JMNKNKV. 2'.V.i 
 
 expouiliture necessary in sn.li j.>uiiieyinKl>ri>i)t>ily ac(<.iii|iiiiii.'il : anil Id-in^;. 
 t'uithennore, fully int'oriiit'd of tin- coiicurrciK-e" of the clergy mid laity of 
 my diocese in my so midfitiikiii^' to serve the Church al.roAil. while still 
 continuing in a condition of disal)lement for the more activi- functions of 
 lay dioeesan ministry, I am a1)out to leave the Diocese of Marvland with 
 the intention of goin^' out of the limits of the United States, ami of remain- 
 ing abroad for the space of three calendar months or more : and in accord- 
 ance with the tenor of the canon for such case made and provided, do hereby, 
 by this writing under my hand and seal, autliorize you, William Pinkne'v. 
 Assistant Uishop of the Diocese of Maryland, to act as the ecclesiastical 
 authority thereof, in full and sole cliarge and responsibility, and in fulfilment 
 of all the functions and otHces of the Episcopate in the said Diocese of 
 Maryland, so to continm- and act to all intents and purposes until this, my 
 present writing, shall have been by me revoked upon my personal returii 
 within the diocese. 
 
 " Witness my Episcopal se:il and signature this twenty-eighth day of 
 AugiLst, in the year of our LORD one thousand eight hundred and seventy- 
 two, and of mv Ejjiscopate the thirtv-second. 
 
 [seal] ' •' WILLIAM ROLLINSON WHITTINGHAM, 
 
 ''Bishop of Mori/land. 
 
 " Done in Baltimore this 2Hth of August, 1872." 
 
 Bishop Whittiuoliam returned from his mission to the " Old 
 CathoHos " in Germany in November following, but he did not 
 withdraw the rescript of sole jurisdiction which he had given to 
 Bishop PiNKNEY. On the contrary he seems to have puri)osely 
 left it in the hands of the Assistant Bishop that he might feel 
 the greatei" freedom in his Episcopal ministrations. 
 
 The following letter has reference to this subject : 
 
 " Bix/iojy Whittingham to B/s/iop Phikiiey. 
 
 "Baltimore, November '21, 1873. 
 
 " My Dear Bishop : I have looked carefully through the file of our cor- 
 respondence and the other papers received from you, and I believe that I 
 am not mistaken in supposing that I have neither withdrawn nor received 
 back from you the commission of full jurisdiction given vou in August, 
 1872. 
 
 "What I have intended by leaving it with yt m was, that you should feel your- 
 self completely unhampered in going al>out the diocese in your t)fficial work : 
 always aljle, whenever in your judgment it should be culled for, to do any- 
 thing that a Bishop might under any circumstances deem himself called 
 upon to do ; of course, in all cases, giving me the information needful to 
 hinder any clashing or collision in our acti(jn. 
 
 " I have understood your retention of the commission to signify accept- 
 ance of this arrangement for joint exercise of our common trust : and 
 certainly have no wish, for my part, to make a change which could only jmt 
 both you and me to much more trouble, and would, in my judgment, tend 
 seriously to limit your usefulness in tlie administration of the diocese. 
 
 "I sent a couple of the • ofltices,' to your address, to Bladensburg, last 
 night: and I send a couple more to Washington to-day. There are still a 
 few here, which Mi-. Moore can send if wished. 
 
 " Affectionately and truly, your friend and brother, 
 
 ■ ' •• W. W. WIIITTINrniAM. 
 
 "Rt. Rev. Dr. Pinkney."
 
 234 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 At the General Convention of 1874, and at all succeeding meet- 
 ings of the body during his life, Bishop Pinkney was constantly 
 ])resent. It is not known that he took any very active part in the 
 discussions of the House of Bishops ; but it is well known that 
 he was held in loving admiration l>y its members and honored for 
 his true loyalty to the Church. During his long Presbyterate he 
 never participated largely in the debates of the general conventions. 
 The force of his character and the well-recognized soundness of 
 his \-iews upon Church questions were silently more effective than 
 spoken words. Not that he was studiously reticent in the House 
 of Bishops ; for he has been known to say that he had on several 
 occasions fully expressed his views upon measures before the 
 House. 
 
 He was much mterested in certain initiatory movements in the 
 General Convention of 1874, touching the " use of the Book of 
 Common Prayer and provisions for shortened ser^dces for morn- 
 ing and evening prayer on days other than Sundays and special 
 feast and fast days, and for amending the " Lectionary " — move- 
 ments that ultimately resulted in the definite acts of 1883 and 
 1886. In 1874 the following constitutional amendment was j^assed 
 in the House of Deputies by a very large vote. Of the clergy 
 representing 41 dioceses 36 voted for it ; and of the laity repre- 
 senting 29 dioceses 24 voted for it. The amendment was as 
 follows : * 
 
 "'Besolced. the House of Bishops coucurriug, That the following be pro- 
 posed and made known to the several dioceses as an amendment to articles 8 
 of the constitution, to be added at the end of the article as it now stands, to 
 wit, the words : ^Provided, That the General Convention may, by canon, 
 arrange and set forth a shortened form of morning and evening prayer, to 
 be compiled wholly from the Book of Common Prayer, or it may authorize 
 the same to be done by any diocese for its own use.' " 
 
 This proposed amendment was concurred in by the House of 
 Bishops, with the excej^tion of the last clause : which, by action 
 of the Hovise of Deputies, was stricken out. 
 
 But at the next General Convention, in 1877, the House of 
 Deputies refused to ratify the amendment. Still a measure like 
 this could not rest, and it continued to be agitated until the 
 changes and modifications of 1886 were enacted, and that with the 
 pro])al)ility of yet further changes to be made in the future. 
 
 Bishop Pinkney was so conservative in his views, and, as some 
 might consider, so " old fashioned " in his churchmanship, that 
 he was slow to believe that any changes at all were necessary 
 in the order for the celebration of the Divine services ; and yet he 
 was fully alive to the extending work of the Church throughout 
 the whole country, and to the need of such adaptations, wisely 
 
 * See Journal of General Convention, 1H74, pp. li:)5-'(), and 207.
 
 LIFE OF BISHOl' PINKNEY. '2^5 
 
 considered uiul siifely ordered, as would i'orwuiil lier onward 
 progress. 
 
 At tliese general conventions of the Cluircli Bishop Pinknky 
 uniforn)ly declined to be the recipient of private hospitalities, 
 because he preferred takinf^- up his abode with the clerj^^y and lay 
 deputies of his diocese, at hotels. And it was there that he was 
 wont to meet and hold long' and delightful converse with some 
 of his fellow-Bishops and a number of congenial clerical brethren 
 from different dioceses. The evenings after dinner were usually 
 spent in pleasant social converse and in animated discussions ujjon 
 matters pending before the convention. Dispensing to all his 
 friends who indulged in the luxury, his choice Havanas, there was, 
 in the little group, " the feast of reason and the tiow of soul." 
 Those who were privileged to be present at these informal clerical 
 gatherings will long chei'ish the remembrance of the hours so 
 pleasantly passed.
 
 23Q LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXV. 
 
 Letters to Judge Huntington — Burial of Confederate Dead. 1873-'74. 
 
 Reference has been frequently made to the close friendship 
 between himself and Judge S. H. Huntington. This friend 
 resigned his official position in the Court of Claims, left Washing- 
 ton, and retvirned permanently to his home in Hartford, Connect- 
 icut, in December, 1873. So close, for many years, had been his 
 association with this bosom friend that Bishop Pinkney felt very 
 deeply the sejiaration. In a letter written to the Judge about 
 this time he gives expression in the most glowing terms to his 
 affectionate feelings, and speaks in unbounded admiration of the 
 character and worth of his friend. 
 
 In the intensity of his feelings, where his affections and friend- 
 ships \\ere concerned, or his sympathies in any way excited. 
 Bishop PixKXEV uses the strongest and most fervent language ; and 
 in his soul he fully meant all that his words express. Tender and 
 susceptive in a high degree, there was an ever-ready outflow from 
 his mind and heart of thoughts and sentiments towards whatever 
 he found true and good, beautiful and noble, in human character. 
 What may have seemed like excessive laudation, bordering on 
 the confines of flattery or mere compliment, was with him the 
 genuine expression of a real feeling of affection, or of apprecia- 
 tion, or of admu'ation. 
 
 He writes to Judge Huntington as follows : 
 
 '* December 20. 
 
 " My Dear Judge : I had laid out to spend Thursday night with you, but 
 you had left. I know not what I shall do when you leave finally. I always 
 felt that yi)U were my wisest counsellor in difficulty, my truest friend, my 
 loving, sympathizing brother. You are my beau-ideal of a man and devout 
 churchman. 
 
 "You leave an office you have made honorable by sterling official integrity 
 and the highest executive and administrative ability. You leave Washing- 
 ton, where y<JU reflected the highest credit on your State and won for your- 
 .self the respect and admiration of all good men and true. But I lose more 
 than all beside, for you were ever gentle and tlniughtful, a kind critic of 
 many weaknesses, a wise and faithful friend to me. I lose you when I can 
 least afford it. Our acquaintance was the child of Providence. It began in 
 the sick-room. I had seen you before and loved you long before I knew you. 
 But thus it was that my heart was drawn out towards you in all its fulness, 
 and it gives me pleasure to know that not a ripple ever discom'^josed the 
 stream of our frieiidshi]). It is as fresh to-day as it was fourteen years ago. 
 I regret y(jur withdrawal from Washington and the office luireau. I know 
 your place cannot be supplied. I rejoice to think that you are to return to 
 the bosom of your family. GOD has blessed you in your son and daughter —
 
 LIFE OF lUSHor PINKNEY. 2.'{7 
 
 wonderfully, si^'iiiilly hlcsscd you. They have hct'ii iiiouldfd oii n iiolile 
 patteni; und if they were not all you couM wish yreat would he tiicir fault. 
 I do not i-calizc that you arc indei'd ^roiii<r from us. Now. Judyf, rlonot ^ive- 
 U]) your native business habits; carry office life into your sweet domestic 
 retirement : you will need it. No man of your ener^'y and nu-ntal elasticity 
 can get along without full employment. You can have it in your books anil 
 rural life, and by way of beginning jmt me down as one of your correspond- 
 ents, and we will write of books and measvires (Church and State ) ; you know 
 I am not good for news. I shall try to pay you a yearly visit. But then 
 the days of long absence will be deeply felt. The loss of your counsel, the 
 sound of y<n;r welcome voice I ]iut life is made uji of changes; the un- 
 changeable is in advance of us. 
 
 " May (tOD bless you, and guide and keep you in all your ways. May He 
 sweeten all life's joys and sanctify each cross that He sees it good to lay upon 
 you. Love to all. I have written a sermon to-day. held two services, deliv- 
 ered a lecture, paid one sick visit, and now close with this hasty letter at 
 12 p. M. 
 
 " Yours ali'ectionatelv, 
 
 • W. PINKNEY. 
 
 '' Judge Huntington." 
 
 His letter to Judge Huntiiioton of the next year is oue partly 
 of condolence under domestic bereavement and partly of his 
 depression and anxiety tonehino- matters tliat were disturbiuo- 
 the General Church. 
 
 •• JdniKiri) ('.. "74. 
 
 " My Dear Judge: The new year has broken on yo\i amid the shadows 
 that have gathered over your heart and hearthstone ; and yet it breaks on 
 you with much of beauty and of glory. The one taken was ripe for the 
 passage through the dark valley. She had tasted deeply of the cup of 
 inteusest suffering, had borne her cross with meekest patience, and now that 
 she is no longer an object of your care and loving solicitude, you may think 
 of her as in the rest of Paradise. The green grass will grow over her grave, 
 and the flowers will bud and bloom there, if you feel as I feel, that the green 
 grass and the flowers are best suited to the sleeping place of the just ; but you 
 have the greater memories of her love and the sweeter flowers of her daily 
 planting and watering in the garden of your heart to refresh you in the sere 
 and yellow leaf. 
 
 •' I do wish you a Happy New War. For smiles and tears may meet and 
 mingle. I hope you will take care of your cold. As we grow older there is 
 more need of watchfulness. I hope also that you will prosecute your work. 
 The pleasant excitement of office work must not lie followed by mental 
 stagnation. Y'ou have too full a brain for idleness; not that you could be 
 idle. You need mental effort. How I wish I could run over when I have a 
 leisure hour, and hear you read some work of power. I have much to thank 
 you for. Yott were always wise in counsel, rich in resources, and fertile in 
 thought. Indeed, Judge, I think that somehow or other you were not 
 assigned your trite place. As the head of the court you would have shed 
 lustre on it, and made it the sanctuary of justice. And now I feel very 
 jealous of your quietude at home, and beg you to season it with that sort 
 of mental work which will give you pleasure and other fruit of rich flavor. 
 
 " I saw Judge Loriug at the Louise Home. We dined there together with 
 Mr. Corcoran on his birthday. He is a wonderfully clever nnui— full of 
 thought and high sentiment. He is, I think, one of the most agreeable men 
 I have met with— one of the old class of lawyers and a bright specimen 
 of that class. He spoke of Judge Taney, and told me that Custis suid. when 
 asked what he had seen of Washington, ' I saw the great Chief -Justice ; all
 
 238 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 else sauk into nothingness Avlien compared to him.' It was high praise from 
 a high sonree. Loriug remarked, Marshall and Taney tilled the office, and 
 duly filled it. It is now looking for an occupant : this I say, and who can 
 till it ? Snrely not the nominee. Do you know, dear Judge, that I think the 
 disapi)earance of the old system of pleading is cause of sorrow '; It was 
 the glory of the profession. It was more just in its operation, though not 
 so quick. It tended to make men logical, for it was the quintessence of logic. 
 
 " The scenes that are meeting us in the Church are siafficiently humiliat- 
 ing. Cummins has secured for himself a most enviable notoriety, and stands 
 condemned by his own record in a way that strikes one with astonishment. 
 I hope nothing will be done to raise the cry of persecution. The law is sure 
 but slow. I would wait its sentence calmly and quietly. He has so far 
 only gathered to his support those who never possessed the Church's confi- 
 dence or respect ; and if what he says be true, that some are waiting for 
 places, we have good ground to say of the balance that they are no better. 
 I feel sad when I think of the opposite wing, who are, I fear, doing us no 
 less injury. Romanizing the Church is not less treasonable. From what I 
 see there is good ground to fear that Rome is at work within us. I will 
 •send you a paper from a churchman of Baltimore, a layman, which so far as 
 I see is rank Romanism in all but the headship of the Church. Don't cir- 
 culate it : but read it and tell me what you think of it. "Well I you and I 
 will not live to see the end ; but others will. Our next General Convention 
 will be the most momentous ever held. I wish you could be one of its 
 deputies. 
 
 " I have just finished a sermon to young men, which I am to preach at 
 the Ascension Sunday evening. 
 
 '• Really I am alarmed at the size of this letter. It lacks other qualities 
 as much as it does brevity : it had better never been ^\Titten. You know I 
 write currente calmno. without thought, and if it were not for the knowledge 
 that you pass over its errors and correct them, I would not write at all. 
 
 " Love to all. The verses are very sweet, sublimely simple. I read tliem 
 with great though pensive pleasure. So sweet a harp so early hushed ! 
 " Yours affectionately, 
 
 "W. PINKNEY. 
 
 " The Hon. S. H. Huntington. 
 
 " P. S. — I have a work of Cousins, his introduction to the History of 
 Philosophy, which we must read together as soon as I can go to Hartford. 
 It is truly marvellous in power. 
 
 " We had a sweet day with E. * * * She came down for a day. She 
 is the perfection of excellence ; so like her father. She is very fond of you 
 and the girls, and Mrs. H. Her visits are always most refreshing. What 
 strikes me as so wonderful in her character is the singular blending of dig- 
 nity and sweetness, humility, and a proper self-assertion. I. is very 
 jjromising. He will make his mark. His knowledge of the law is singularly 
 thorough for one of his years. But I must really close. Good-night. 
 
 " W. P." 
 
 BrEiAL Ceremonies of Confederate Dead at Silver Spring. Grace 
 Church, Montgomery County, Maryland, 1874. 
 
 Towards the close of the year 1874, Bishop Pinkney was called 
 to take part in some burial services over the remains of Confed- 
 erate soldiers who, " upon the occasion of the demonstration 
 against the fortifications around the city of Washington, Jvdy 11,
 
 LIFE OF iiisiioi' imnkm;v. 2.'l'.t 
 
 1864," fell in the eno'ag-emeiit. und were •■ inlt ricil ii|>iiii the tieM 
 immediately where they fell." * 
 
 "On Friiliiy, tho lltli of Dt'crniluT, 1K71, tli.-sc iiiuains wen- ri'iiit.v.Ml 
 by their {'onft'deriitf fiiciuls residing,' in and amund WaNhiutrtiiu i-ity. imd 
 transferred to a lot jjrnvided for the i)urpose. in tlie ^'nmnds nf Viraee 
 Church, near Silver Springs. Mont','oniery ruunty. Maryland, wliere they 
 received Christian Imrial at the hanils of the forh)\vin^,' Ki>iseo])iil eh-r^'v- 
 men: Bishop William Pinkney ; Dr. Buck, of Kock Creek Church : Dr. 
 Elliott, of the Church of the Ascension, Wiishinj,'tou, D. C. ; Dr. Williams, 
 of Christ Church. Geor-^etown : und Dr. Everett, of Grace Churcli, Mary- 
 land. At the conclusion of the Imrial ceremonies. Dr. A. Y. P. Garnet't. 
 who hud been selected us the orutor of the occasion, delivered the address. 
 Bishop Pinkney concluding the ceremonies by reciting au origimd pc^em :" 
 
 ODE. 
 
 By Bishop AVm. Pinkney, D. D. 
 
 '■ With measured step we to the spot re])uir 
 Where we our honored dust would lay to rest. 
 A tear we drop upon the soft, fivsh sod. 
 While skies ubove us do their tints unfold. 
 And winter's chilling ])last is on the air, 
 And scarce a bird doth trill its native song, 
 Or soothe to rest the tranc^iiil hour of eve : 
 And yet we would u garland throw of flowers 
 Upon the graves we dig in silence here. 
 And draw a satisfaction, sweet indeed. 
 From act of love paid to the sleeping dead. 
 'Tis true we do not know the names of those 
 We would this day and hour conuniMnorate, 
 Yet in the depths of ocean lay the pearls, 
 Not seen to mortal eye, deep hidden there : 
 And to the page of history unknown 
 Are heroes, who, within another sphere, 
 Will take their jjlace, the brightest of the throng. 
 These fell iinnoted 'mid the cannon's roar 
 Beneath the flag they did so bravely wave 
 Regardless of the perils of the field ; 
 And when they fell, no mother's hand was near. 
 Nor sister's loved, nor In'other's loved as they, 
 The death-dew from the jjallid brow to wipe. 
 Or whisper in the ear sweet words of love. 
 Or speak of home, the dear ancestral hall. 
 Or river on whose flower-enamelled banks 
 They woke the echoes of their gleeful step. 
 Or noble oak, beneath whose quiet shade 
 They dreamed those dreams of fairer days ahead. 
 Which they would never more on caith behold. 
 And yet the weeijers on the hearthstone wept, 
 Whose tears still linger by the vacant seat. 
 To tell the scene of (lesolatiim there : 
 Sadness now reigns, where once the smile of joy 
 Threw o'er the heart its own magnetic spell. 
 
 * These proceedings, with the Address of Dr. Garuett and the Ode <tf 
 Bishop Pinkney, were published in a pamphlet soon after their occurence.
 
 240 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 You met the fate a soldier does not dread. 
 
 The death upon the dark, ensanguined fiekl, 
 
 "When at the drum-beat, or the Vnigle's note. 
 
 His gallant step moves quickly to the front, 
 
 SuMimely bent to conquer or to die. 
 
 Your great commanders have the call obeyed. 
 
 And now. like you, they sleep beneath the sod. 
 
 The one. among the foremost of the foremost men 
 
 In all the ages of the mighty j^ast. 
 
 Whose name will gather beaiity. as (jn air 
 
 It floats o'er earth or o'er the azure sea, 
 
 Wellnigh alone in its sublimity. 
 
 Symmetrical in form, as pure as brave, 
 
 Lee had a mind of vast and varied powers ; 
 
 While not a dew-drop in its lily cup 
 
 Was fresher than the heart that burned within ; 
 
 And not a tear-drop, but the emblem was 
 
 Of the deep sympathy he felt for all. 
 
 It may be questioned whether strength or love 
 
 In him was the controlling principle. 
 
 One thing we know, he was in all things great, 
 
 In each estate of sunshine or of shade. 
 
 When on the topmost wave of great success, 
 
 Or in the valley of adversity, 
 
 He was self-poised, the same meek man of faith. 
 
 The other like a thunderbolt of war. 
 
 Resistless in its course, as rapid, too. 
 
 Remains the marvel of this martial age. 
 
 His name can never die — as long as Tell 
 
 Shall live to thrill the ages 171 their flow. 
 
 So long will Jackson live, the one bright star. 
 
 To shed its burning lustre nigh and far. 
 
 No more the deafening sound of cannon's roar 
 Disturbs the silence of this peacefiil hour. 
 The war is ended : and we, who now repair 
 To drop a tear upon your dew-washed bier. 
 May meet as brothers, one in heart and hope, 
 And feel the kindling of the patriot flame. 
 That finds its emblem in the star-lit flag 
 That waves alike o'er graves wliere rest awhile 
 The Northern soldier and Confederate brave. 
 Death consecrates this hour : it soothes the heart 
 And hushes into calm rejiose the feuds 
 That mar this carking, troublous world of ours. 
 It bids us weave bright links ui>on the chain 
 We would entwine around the brotherhood. 
 And dew distil, from hearts that banded are, 
 Of kindly charity and noble deeds. 
 Sleep on. ye gallant bnive. the night-winds sigh 
 As they o'er you a sad refrain send forth : 
 And when the singing birds come l)ack in spring 
 They will pour forth their song in sweet accord, 
 And now and then some comrade will repair 
 To this sweet spot, your valor to recount. 
 And keep your deeds embalmed in memory.
 
 LIFE OF lilSllol' I'lNKNKY. '241 
 
 We feel the toneli of sorrow's hallowed liainl. 
 
 And iis we throw the dust upon your ^riives, 
 
 And sij^h to think tluit we are left alone. 
 
 We would the ^raee invoke for eaeh and all 
 
 To Itrini; the nohle ship our fathers l)uilt 
 
 To her tirni mooring Ijy the Mi;^hly Kock — 
 
 A ship that stood above the l>reakinj^ waves 
 
 On Independence Day, and the fi;rander era. 
 
 When from the nnist-head there waved a banner 
 
 All set with stai's, in folds of deejjest bhii'. 
 
 The pledge of union and e(juality. 
 
 To hush the passions of this fleeting hour. 
 
 And soothe to rest the i)erturbations of the soul. 
 
 And rise victorious o'er our weaker self. 
 
 Is wise — 'tis beautitnl, and fair, and true. 
 
 And now our prayer for each and all who stand 
 
 Besides the newly-opened grave to-day 
 
 Is, that we, each, may this self-contpiest gain. 
 
 And live together in sweet harmony. 
 
 ' The star of em])ire onward, westward rolls,' 
 
 And as we gaze upon the splendor east 
 
 Over the vast tirmament it doth illume, 
 
 We feel that uot a native on the globe 
 
 Can boast a glory that surpasses ours, 
 
 If we but faithful prove to Liberty — 
 
 The liberty that rests on changeless law, 
 
 The firm adhesion to the spirit breathed 
 
 By patriot sires, the nation's boast and jjride — 
 
 Where they did first the stars and stript's unfiirl, 
 
 And bid them sweep the pathway of the sky, 
 
 Each star ascendant on the field of blue. 
 
 And yet commingled with each other star 
 
 Which on the constellation glows and burns."
 
 242 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 CHAPTER XXYI. 
 
 l^EECTION OF THE NeW ChUKCH OF THE AsCENSIOX. 1873. 
 
 As Bishop Pinkney was closely connected and identified with 
 the enterprise of erecting the new Church of the Ascension in 
 "Washington city, it is necessary to give some account of the work 
 and of his agency in its accomplishment. The brief statements 
 that follow do not pretend to be a complete history of the many 
 matters of interest and importance that were connected with the 
 enterprise. 
 
 The condition of the church Ijuilding on H street at the time 
 of his accession to the rectorshij) of the parish has been ah-eady 
 stated, and also some account given of the enlargement and the 
 improvements which he soon caused to be made. But even with 
 these alterations the church was still an unsightly structure as to 
 its exterior, which was exceedingly plain, dark and dingy, and 
 void of everything pleasing and attractive in architecture. The 
 interior was churchly and commodious. The contrast between the 
 interior and exterior was very marked. Moreover, the entrance 
 through a low basement and up side doul)le stairways to the 
 nave was very objectionable. In addition to all this there were 
 some fissures in the walls, secured by ii'on fastenings, that gave 
 to many persons the impression that the walls were not suffi- 
 ciently strong and stable to justify any costly or permanent 
 improvements upon the building. 
 
 As early as 1867 Dr. Pinkney felt that the time had fully come 
 when some decided measures should be taken for the entii'e 
 remodelling of the chiu-ch building, or for the erection on the 
 same site of a new church, more ecclesiastical in structure, more 
 consonant to the feelings and resoiu'ces of the congregation, and 
 more in keeping with the improvements then going on in all 
 secular and church buildings. At the period referred to no 
 definite purposes or plans were formed : though all, rector and 
 people alike, were hopefully looking forward to the time when the 
 erection of a new church should be accomplished. , 
 
 To quicken interest in the matter and incite to some positive 
 action. Dr. Pinkney, in November, 18G7, preached a sermon, after- 
 wards published, which attracted considerable attention. It was 
 a strong and urgent ajjpeal, full of the rector's glowing zeal and 
 fervor, to the vestry and congregation to take m hand without 
 further delay the work of rebuilding. Over the front entrance to 
 the church there was a recess in the wall filled with a canvas
 
 LIFE OF lilSHdl- I'lN'KNFV. '2 VA 
 
 tablet bearing- the luuue of the clnucli. Imt wliich in tinn- lunl 
 become '"toni into shreds and was tossed to and fro by tin- windn." 
 To this, in his sermon, Dr. Pinkney made pointed alhision hi these 
 words: ""For, however neat and ai)i)roj)riate the hitenor, the 
 exterior is, beyond all question, poverty-stricken, so that the very 
 elements have hung out a banner over us, a banner of disti<'SK, 
 from which the very name of the church is o])literated." This 
 pointed allusion to the frontage of the church was long remem- 
 bered and often spoken of in the congregation. The doctor 
 followed it up with a leaflet containing some apposite verses, of 
 which these are a sjaecimen : 
 
 " The old cliiircli lias not a bell to riiij^ out 
 The summons to psalter and prayer : 
 As dumb as the grave that near it is laid.* 
 No sound from a steeple floats there. 
 
 The four briek walls, as tall as the jioplar + 
 
 Which trembles at touch of the breeze, 
 Are as naked and bare as the branches 
 
 Of the winter-chilled forest trees. 
 
 It is true that a banner betokens 
 
 The march of approaching decay : 
 It floats on the breeze, when night shrouds the earih. 
 
 As it floats in the sun's hot ray." 
 
 Nothing, however, beyond the starting of a church-l)uilding fund 
 was done : the sums for which, as received, were to be invested and 
 suffered to accumulate. The time was not ripe for the work of 
 rebuilding. 
 
 And so the matter stood, with some small additions to the 
 building fuud, up to the time of Dr. Pixkneys election to the 
 Episcopate and his consequent resignation of the rectorship of 
 the parish, in October, 1870. 
 
 The new rector, in entermg upon the charge of the parish, soon 
 found that there would be formidable difttculties in the way of 
 consummating the work of rebuilding the church. No active 
 measures had been taken for that purpose, and the interest that 
 had been created in the subject was closely identified with the 
 i^ersonality of Dr. Pinkney. Still it was felt by the rector that 
 the work of reconstruction should go on ; that it was an absolute 
 need for the welfare of the Church in the parish, in order to secure 
 what in the past had been gained and to provide for larger growth 
 in stability and su(!cess for the future. To ascertain and test the 
 mind of the conoreofation touchino- the matter, the rector, in the 
 
 * The allusion here is to the Van Ness mausoleum in the adjoining open lot. 
 tAlluding to the aspen-leaf poplar thatstooddirectly in front of the church 
 ■entrance.
 
 244 LIFE OF BISHOP FINKXEY, 
 
 lirst year of his incumbenc3% at the begmiiiug- of Lent, addressed 
 to the cougregatiou a pastoral letter, recommending- and urging 
 that some early and efficient measures should be taken towards 
 rebuilding, and proposing that the oft'erings at the Easter Sunday 
 following should be set apart and applied to that purpose. 
 
 The response to this pastoral letter was an Easter offering of 
 .*1.296.31, which was regarded as at that time a most encouraging 
 ottering. During this and the succeeding year the matter was 
 kejit before the members of the congregation : and the yestry held 
 several meetings in regard to it. It became, howeyer, yery uncer- 
 tain whether anything at an early day would be done. It was 
 evident that prolonged delay would only operate injuriously to 
 the enterprise. The rector at the end of the second year of his 
 incumbency, feeling the responsibility of his position, deemed it 
 advisable to withdraw from the charge of the parish, especially 
 as important interests called him to resume a Church and educa- 
 tional work in which he had been engaged in Montgomery county. 
 He resigned the rectorship in October, 1872.* 
 
 Upon this vacancy in the parish it was felt by both the vestry 
 and the congregation that the return of Bishop Pinkney to the 
 rectorship was most necessary, if the work of restoring or rebuild- 
 ing the church was to go on. Hence, upon the earnest solicita- 
 tion of the vestry, he was induced to resume, without salary, the 
 rectorship : and was authorized to call to be associated with him- 
 self an assistant, competent alike for the ministerial charge of the 
 parish and for the active promotion of the work of rebuilding,, 
 either on the site of the old church or on some other spot to be 
 selected as more desirable. The clergyman called to be the Asso- 
 ciate Kector was the Rev. John H. Elhott, S. T. D. In thus 
 resummg the rectorship of the j^arish it was distinctly understood 
 between himself and the vestry that Bishop Pinkney could give 
 only such time and oversight to the interests of the parish as his 
 Episcopal duties would permit: with this understanding he 
 accepted the rectorship. But as Bishop Pinkney was a man of 
 thorough earnestness and conscientiousness he never accejjted 
 or assumed any position without the determination to come up to 
 the full measure of its responsibility. He purposed, therefore, 
 without in any Avay diminishing or relaxing his Episcopal duties, 
 to exert all the influence and energy he could command for the 
 welfare of the parish and for the work of rebuilding the church. 
 
 * The writer takes occasion here to state that, whik' his relations to the 
 vestry and the congregation of the Ascension, dnring the period of his rec- 
 torsbij), were every way of the most agreeahle and congenial character, the 
 relations between himself and the Assistant Bishop were even more tender 
 and endearing : for at the writer's solicitation the Assistant Bishop continued 
 to keep his study in one of the rooms of the vestr^', which he had always 
 occupied, and to and troin which he coi;ld come and go with the same free- 
 dom as when he was the rector of the pai'ish.
 
 LIFE Ol' l;lSI|(H' I'lNKM-.V. 245 
 
 He coiisentecl to have this additional r(sii<.iisil)ility laid iijimi liim 
 out of the love whicli he bore to the jjeojjle whom he had so loij;,' 
 and ha})i)ily served in his ininistry, and because he f«'lt that by 
 the renewal of the old pastoral tie he could materially aiil tliem 
 in their contemplated work. Nor did he fail wlien the work of 
 rebuilding- was undertaken, and all through the time when it was 
 going on to completion, to give to it his most anxious thought, 
 his wisest counsels, and, as largely as possible, bis own personal 
 contribution of time and means. His letters to Mr. Corcoran 
 during the period show the depth and intensity of his feelings for 
 the success of the work. 
 
 After the acceptance of the rectorship of the Ascension he sub- 
 mitted the matter to the considei-ation of the conventi(Mi of the 
 diocese. The response of the body was that it was '* a matter 
 eutirelj^ within the wise discretion of the Assistant Bishop." 
 
 After some interval of time, and much deliberation in confei- 
 ences held by tlie Bishoj), the associate rector, and the vestiy. it 
 was determined to l)uild an entirely new church, of such solid 
 structure, laige proportions, and ornate architecture as would be 
 creditable alike to the congregation and to the Capital City of the 
 country. Through the agency and by the munificence of Mr. 
 W. W. Corcoran a new site m an eligible and prominent position 
 in another part of the city was selected and secured. The follow- 
 ing-named gentlemen constituted the vestry at the time when the 
 work was inaugurated : AV. "\V. Corcoran, Henry S. Davis, "\V. M. 
 Shuster, J. T. Stevens, Lowndes Jackson, N. W. JBurchell, Thos. L. 
 Hume, R. W. Burgess. A building committee of large experience 
 in business affairs, and of excellent judgment and taste in construc- 
 tion, was appointed. That committee consisted of Messrs. Henry 
 S. Davis, AV. M. Shuster, and Lowndes Jackson. To the work 
 committed to them they gave their time and much anxious thought 
 and labor. The Assistant Bishop) and the associate rector cord- 
 ially united with them throughout the progress of the whole work. 
 A contract was made for the new building, which was to be, in 
 material, of white marble, and in style, decorated Gothic. So suc- 
 cessful was the movement that the Assistant Bishop and the asso- 
 ciate rector in their joint report were ^d)le to state to the convention 
 of the diocese in May, 1878, that the sum of $50,000 would l)e in 
 hand for the inauguratic^n of the enterj^rise. 
 
 The corner-stone of the new church was laid witli approi)riate 
 services and addresses by Bishop Pinkxey and the assisting clergy 
 on the 9th of June. 1874. It was a beautiful afternot>n in June. 
 The foundation walls were well raised, a large })latform erected 
 for the convenience of the Bishop, of the attending c-lergy, and of 
 the members of the vestr}'. A commodious chair was jyrovided 
 for the venerable Mr. Corcoran, who was present on the occasion. 
 A large concourse of interested friends of the church gathered 
 around the rising- walls and filled the surrouncUng grounds.
 
 246 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 The description wliicli the Bishop gives in his address to the- 
 convention of the laying of this corner-stone is so graphic and 
 interesting that it is here introduced : 
 
 ' • At 6 p. M. I laid the corner-stone of the new Church of the Ascension, 
 A large number of clergy was in attendance. The Eev. Dr. Lewin, the 
 Dean, read the opening sentences, the Eev. Mr. Watkins the Psalms, the 
 Rev. Dr. Hutton the first prayer, the Rev. Mr. Gordon the lessons. The 
 Rev. Dr. Dudley, of Christ Cluirch, Baltimore, now the Assistant Bishop of 
 Kentucky, delivered the address. It was replete with beauty and power — a 
 great efl'ort, and fully eqiial to the occasion. It was in nothing more 
 admirable than in its clear, bold, incisive statement of those great doctrinal 
 principles that underlie the edifice we are building for GOD. The Rev. Dr. 
 Elliott followed with an address well worthy of a place by its side. This- 
 was a bright day for the dear old church. And yet, as I stood there, under 
 the broad blue sky, and took in the dimensions of the new structure that 
 was to go up, a stone at a time, in all the grandeur of its proportions, I felt 
 the power of contrast between the time when I stood at the head of a feeble 
 baud, for the most part a stranger to my own friends, in the midst of 
 strangers, often cast down, and tlae present ho\ir. when all is bright with 
 the sunshine of warm, earnest hearts, beating in harmony with each other, 
 and working with a will crowned by a most munificent gift laid on the altar 
 by my firm, fast friend, W. W. Corcoran, of Washington. It was a strange 
 contrast, and as I listened to the tuneful tongue of the associate rector, and 
 marked the fruits of his patient toil, I thanked GOD for the gift to me of so 
 much consecrated learning and talent, and felt that success is now, with the 
 smile of GOD, assured to us. 
 
 In the convention report for the next year it is stated that 
 " the new chvirch is advancing rapidly towards completion, and, 
 with GOD'S blessing, will be ready for occupation before Advent." 
 The rejiort also states that '" Mr. Corcoran has added $47,000 to 
 his former gifts, making his subscription mount uj) to the 
 princely sum of $77,000." * ^ * 
 
 Bishop PiXKXEY was profoundly interested in this work, gave 
 largely of his own means for its prosecution, and whenever he 
 could be m Washington he strove, by his presence and counsels, 
 to stimulate zeal and activity in the enterjDrise. In these efforts 
 he was ably assisted by the associate rector, under whose con- 
 stant oversight the work was carried on. It had so far progressed 
 that, at the close of November in 1874, the Bishop could see the 
 walls of the new church rising up in their strength and beauty. 
 In his Thanksgiving sermon of that year he gives expression, 
 after alluding to other topics, to his grateful feelings. He was 
 always singularly happy in his Thanksgiving sermons. On this 
 occasion he referred, as visual, to the great and manifold blessings, 
 tempoi'al and spiritual, vouchsafed to our people. He then 
 sjjoke of the happy results of the late general convention, which 
 had closed its sessions, in these words : 
 
 * Mr. Corcoran's sub.sequent gifts to the new church brought the amoiint 
 of his entire offerings to over sj 100,000.
 
 LIFE OF IJlsnoi' I'I.\KM;v. 2il 
 
 " Our late Gom-val Coniu-il iiict iiiul si-piinitcil ; ami, iKitwitlisfaiidin^,' tin- 
 predii-tions of some that the seamless robe would be rent in twain, and u 
 new sehism raise its crest, and the fear of others, the Chureh t-merned from 
 the overcast sky ' l)ri<,'ht as the sun, fair as the moon, and terrihh- as an 
 army witli banners.' Tlie ancient faith is asserted. The t'hurch's authority 
 is vindicated. Private fancies are cut up by the ro(»ts. With wonilerful 
 unanimity our General Council has entered her i)rotest against all doctrines 
 erroneous or doubtful : and henceforth the one faith will yo forth from the 
 one altar, the light of the golden candlestick to illumine, sanctify, uud 8uve ti 
 world lying in the wicked one. Every loyal son will be wise" to obey tlie 
 voice of his loving mother: while the lawless will be held to a strict 
 account when admonition fails and the godly counselling is set at naught." 
 
 He then proceeds in glowino- tcrnis to express the •^■•ruteful 
 joy wliich tilled his heart in the untieipiition of the near eomple- 
 tion of the new Chnreh of the Ascension, and especially because 
 GOD was opening- the way for meeting the onerous responsil)ili- 
 ties that had l)een incurred for its erection by the most opportune 
 and liberal otierings made by one who had already contril)uted so 
 munificently to the work. He said : 
 
 '■ Beloved, we, as a congregation, have pre-eminent cause for gratitude. 
 In a work of fearful magnitude, where the venture was for GOD, and where 
 it touched the very coutiues of the boldness that bordered a rashness. He 
 has opened up a way out of the diflticulties that environed us, a.s wonderful 
 as the faith that prompted us to enter ou that work. * * * Qne half 
 the Imrden is lifted as noiselessly as the force of the unseen power that 
 lends succor to the feeble, who would otherwise have been crushed by the 
 burden. When no one looked for it, no one expected it, the princely offer- 
 ing was made ; and to-day the new structure is rising on the view, watered 
 by the dew of tears, and beautiHed at the cost of a self-sacrifice on the 
 part of multitudes that I have never seen surpassed." 
 
 He could not withhold his earnest supplications as grateful 
 thoughts tilled his soul : 
 
 " My prayer to GOD for the country is, that it may never forget that 
 righteousness exalteth a nation. May the flag of our uationsdity wave over 
 a people who have the fear of GOD before their eyes : and wherever it floats 
 may the sisterhood of States greet it in the spirit of the good olden times, 
 when b\it one heart l>eat in the body politic, and but one feeling animated 
 it. My })rayer for the tireside is, that it may rejoice in the golden glow of 
 a household at unity with itself. My prayer for the Church is. that she 
 may treasure the faith once delivered to the saints, and plant her banner by 
 the side of every city and townshii) in the land, and every rural hundred, so 
 that not one of the thousands who have swarmed to our shores from the 
 nationalities abroad, shall fail to catch the echoes' of the Gloria in Errtlxis 
 and the Te Deum, who have open ears and hearts willing to receive the 
 welcome news of a Saviour born to redeem, and almighty to save. May 
 her thanksgiving be ever sanctified by a tliank-oflering. My jirayer for my 
 own Church, the child of my love, my joy and my crown, is. that each tire- 
 side may be light in the LORD, and glow with the heart-love that makes 
 sunshine for the soul— that it may be a house at unity with itself— that 
 nothing may occur to mar the harmony that has ever been your crowning 
 characteristic. 
 
 * * * " Ou next Thanksgiving Day * (GOD willing) we shall cross the 
 
 * This anticipation was not literally realized, the first service in the 
 church being held a few weeks later.
 
 248 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 threshold of the Golden Gate, and enter in to gaze on the maguifieent 
 temple we have reared for GOD, with overflowing hearts : and if we have 
 this oneness of sonl in the iinity of the Spirit, we shall give to GOD more 
 than the gold, and frankincense, and myrrh — the worship that is most 
 acceptable to Him. * * * I recognize the fact that my feet, far down 
 the declivities of the mountain, may not join in your triumphal march when 
 you walk through the Gothic aisle. But, be this as it may, I would not 
 part with the one wooden beam I have been permitted to put in the Iniild- 
 ing for worlds. GOD bless you, watch over you, defend and protect you." 
 
 Tlie sermon was published, and the Bishop sending a copy to 
 his friend, Dr. James C. Welling, president of the Columbian 
 University, received from him the following letter, which expresses 
 very strikingly the high estimate which that cultiu-ed and distin- 
 guished scholar entertained of the Bishop's powers as a writer and 
 jDulpit orator : 
 
 "i>;'. J. C. Welling to Bishop Pinkney. 
 
 " The Columbian University, 
 
 " Washington, January 6, 1875. 
 
 ' ' My Dear Bishop : I have very sincerely to thank you for your thoughtful 
 courtesy in sending me a copy of your eloquent Thanksgiving sermon. I have 
 read it with the interest and the admiration which all your pulpit discourses 
 are so well adapted to excite alike by their matter and their manner. You 
 belong to that class of writers in whom brilliancy of style is but a natural 
 expression resulting from solidity of thought. The diamond takes its unri- 
 valled polish only because it has no rival among the precious stones in point 
 of its solidity. But the facility with which you set your gems is with me a 
 never-failing source of wonder. It does not lieem to cost you any efl'ort to 
 pour out this copious stream of eloquent and pious meditation on the most 
 profound themes which can engage the tongues of men or angels. 
 
 ''I do not supijose that you have ever analyzed the secret of the copia with 
 which you are blessed as a pulpit orator, for I believe the mind in many of 
 its highest exercises often works unconsciously. Dr. Archibald Alexander, 
 whom you remember so well, had this aVjundance of thought and in some 
 degree a similar affluence of diction, though he was not at all ornate in style. 
 My friend. Prof. Henry, in commenting on this peculiarity of Dr. A., referred 
 it to the fact that he had so penetrated his mind with the grand themes of 
 theological study that he had but to strike the rock at any point and the 
 waters gushed forth. 
 
 " I congratulate you most heartily (jn ' the holy and beaiitiful house ' which 
 is rapidly rising in all its noble proportions as a fitting temple of the Most 
 High, and rejoice with you in the emulous benevolence of which it will be a 
 glorious symbol when the' cap-stone is laid ' with the shoutings of glory imto 
 it.' Mr. Corcoran's good works have the added merit of provoking others 
 to do the good works in which he exults. 
 
 " Pardon, I pray, the length of this note, which was meant to be a simple 
 acknowledgment of your courtesy and has grown into an imposition on your 
 I)atience. 
 
 " With constant regard, I am, my dear Bishop, 
 ''Ever affectionately yours, 
 
 "J. C. WELLING." 
 
 Just about this time Bishop Pinkney and the associate rector 
 united in a letter of "rateful acknowledoment to Mr. W. W.
 
 LIFE OF P.ISHOI" I'lNKNEV. '21'.) 
 
 Corcoriui for a fiirtlici' luuiiilicciit ;^-itt wliicli he IkhI Int. 1\ n. i.l.. 
 for the cliurcli. Their joint h'tter is us foHows : 
 
 '^ Bishop Pi nhiHi/ (11,(1 Dr. ,/. //. EUi»tt t,> M r. <',„•<;, ran. 
 
 • Washington, Aor. i;i. IHTI. 
 
 " Deak Sih : We ilii not ffel ^latistit'il with ourselves iiutil we record, more 
 permiinently than in spoken, tleetin<^ words, our grateful appreeiation of the 
 princely gift which you have just made to Ascension Church. 
 
 " We frankly confess that from the beginning we have hoped that your 
 generous hand would make this chtirt-h largely your own memorial. We 
 hoj)ed. as chiirchmen. that, though it was late in life when you bowed your 
 lu^ad to receive' the waters of l)aptism, "some work of nol)le note might yet 
 be done.' We hoped that the citizen who had adorned this capital with 
 temples to charity, to knowledge, t(j art. w'ould crown his life work by 
 building a temple to Him who is the purest charity, the highest knowledge, 
 the perfect beauty. 
 
 " For this consummation of our highest hoi)es. we thank and will ever 
 thank you ; thank you for lifting a burden that weighed us down : thank 
 you for the anticipiited pleasure of worshipping in this beautiful temiile. 
 This is little, but it is all that we can do. We know that there is One. often 
 dishou(jred among men, who looks down with benign acceptance upon your 
 lavish gift, and who, though He bestows all His rewards through grace, has 
 rich rewards in grace for those who richly honor Him. 
 
 " May you long live to worship in this rising temple : and when you can 
 worship there no longer, may the Ear which has always listened to the 
 hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the sick, and the prisoner,, listen to the 
 gracious welcome, ' Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom 
 prepared for you from the foundation of the world.' 
 '" Afi'ectionately, 
 
 " WILLIAM PINKNEY. 
 "JOHN H. ELLIOTT." 
 
 At the close of the year 1875 the new Church of the Ascension 
 " was finished and furnished throughout." The lirst service was 
 hekl on the tifth of December, lieing the second Sunday in Advent. 
 The Bishop, in his address to the convention of the diocese iii 
 May following, thus refers to the interesting and happy occasion : 
 
 "Held our first service in the new church. The Bishop of the diocese 
 was invited to be our guest at the Ebbitt House, with his chaplain, and to 
 preach the opening sermon; but it was thought best that he should not 
 undergo the exposiu-e at this season of the year, as he could not remain over 
 night. He has kindly promised to take charge of the consecration, ami 
 preach, if his life and mine are spared. This was a day to stir our souls. 
 and most nobly did my young brother. Dr. Elliott, meet the grandeur and 
 dignity of the ()ecasion'. ' I iireached at night. I hiul long hoped and waited 
 for this event. It came in the order of . God's Providence, as many of His 
 richest blessings come, slowly: but it gathered to itself at each step of its 
 progress those elements of moral grandeur that made it only the more wel- 
 come when it came. 
 
 " The precursor of it was the widow's mite. Iweiity-tive cents handed in 
 by a very aged lady, who said. ' here, sir, is all my earnings this day. and 
 it reached its culmination in the boundless hljerality of one who has stood 
 by me in darker days, lightened my l)urdeus by words and deeds brimful ot 
 sympathy, the surest and sweetest'guaranty of success. AVith<mt Mr. Cor-
 
 250 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 coran's aid the church could not have been built. Without the energy and 
 self-sacrifice of the vestry, not often i)aralleled, it could not have been built- 
 even with it. And then it pleased Cit)d to send us in His love a young 
 co-laborer, whose vigilance and guiding hand kept every workman at his 
 post, and who, like Nehemiah, aroused the desponding, and tired with 
 intenser zeal the more biioyant. until the cap-stone was laid iipon it, with 
 shoutings of glory and grace to Him without whom the workmen labor but 
 in vain. I desire to do justice to all, to the vestrv, Mr. Corcoran, and the- 
 Eev. Dr. Elliott. 
 
 "While Bishop Pinkney, with his characteristic humility, takes 
 no credit to himself for what he had done and was still doing, 
 and is thus giving- all due honor and praise to others for their 
 lil^erality and efficiency, it is due to himself and to his memory to 
 siate that as the movement for the new church first originated 
 with himself, so the whole life-spring of its onward progress was 
 in that self-sacrificing spirit and ardent zeal which animated his 
 own soul and was by him kindled up in the hearts of his peoj^le. 
 As without others, so without him, the church could never have 
 been built. His influence and agency were felt throughout, from 
 the beginning to the close of the work. After his death, when 
 the associate rector had succeeeded to the rectorshii), it was very 
 aj^propriately stated by him in his report at the diocesan conven- 
 tion of 1884, in anticipation of the liquidation of the debt by the 
 1st of January, 1885, that " should the debt be then paid the 
 church will be consecrated as the Pinkney Memorial Cliurch." 
 
 The work was a costly one and requii-ed for its completion large 
 sums of money and the incurrence of onerous liabilities. The 
 congregation, as a whole, was not a wealthy one ; but as the work 
 progressed considerable amounts were raised, the members of the 
 vestry and of the congregation contributing to the fullest extent 
 of and almost beyond their means. Still, when the new church 
 reached completion a very large indebtedness had been incurred, 
 taxing to the utmost for nearly a decade of years the energies 
 and resources of the i:)arish. This indebtedness was a source of 
 great trouble and distressing anxiety to Bishop Pinkney. He had 
 an intense and almost morbid aversion to the incurrence of debt, 
 whether hj individuals, or churches, or religious institutions. He 
 avoided it in his own personal experience, never going in debt for 
 anything, and always bringing his own personal and his family 
 expenditui'es withm the narrow limits of a most prudent economy, 
 in order that he might have to give to others, and it was his wont, 
 as we have seen, to dispense the far greater portion of his salary 
 in acts of beueficeuce and liberality. Hence, as the rector of the 
 l)arisli, the debt for the new church weighed heavily and sadly 
 upon liis mind. 
 
 The following letter to Mr. Corcoran, in acknowledgment of 
 further help for the relief of the church, shows how painfully this 
 church debt weighed u^jon his mind, and the extracts which fol-
 
 LIFE OF MISFlol' I'lNKNFY. '251 
 
 low from ;i letter of bis to Jiul^e Hiiuthi^4.oii sliow wlial ].ers<iiiiil 
 and i)ecuiii;irv sacritices he was makiug^ in belmlf of tlie clnircli : 
 
 '• Ih's/iop Piiikuiy t" Mr. ('"rri/raii . 
 
 " Soil III />!/• 4, 1m77. 
 
 " Mv Dkak Mil. CoKCORAN : I fiiiinot pcriuit this day to cl<isf witliout 
 tlmukiiii^ ymi for the noble contribution offered towards the lifting,' of our 
 debt. My heart has been very heavy for a h)n^r time. Suijeradded to the 
 weight of the diocese, which is more than my feebU- heart can bear, was tlie 
 terrilde spectre of a ])ossible expulsion from a house I helper] to build for 
 GOD. You have been more than kind to me. When laborin;,' un<ler causes 
 of de])ression. throui,di loni< years of toil, you i,'ave me the li^ilitnf your love 
 and contidenee. In the ^ift to the Church of my time and means I think 
 I have bt'cu unselfish, and in all my pleasant official relations with you. tin- 
 one thou<;lit that no clink of gold was audible, save in the present work, has 
 been most comforting to me. We are building for (tO]), my dear friend, 
 and, therefore, we are building for eternity : and in all this investment we 
 have the consolation of knowing that it will live long after us. I feel that 
 my work is alnu)st done, and when the last breath is drawn I shall look to 
 you as the one who has done more to lift the most crushing load from me 
 than any other. Personal debt I have avoided as the jjlague : all debt I 
 al)hor. And if, in the ])rovidence of GOD. I shall find myself delivered from 
 the only debt I have ever incurred, a debt for the Church of (iOD. which I 
 would cheerfully give my last dollar to defray, I shall never more subject 
 myself to a like crushing care. 
 
 " May GOD keep you and bless yoii, giving you more and more of the 
 sweet sunshine of a heart ever ready to devise liberal things for the poor and 
 sorrowing, in GOD'S name and for His honor. 
 
 " Affectionatelv, 
 
 " W. W. CoRcoKAN, LL. D. ' W. PINKNEY." 
 
 Tlie reference in the above letter to *•• the gift to the church of 
 his time and means " is best explained in a short extract from a 
 letter to Judge Huntington, written during the same year : 
 
 " I have already expended out of my salary * nine hundred dollars a year 
 in the service of this parish for four years last past, without possible advan- 
 tage to me in any respect — sixteen hundred of it towards the building, and 
 the balance in a room which I have been compelled to keej) as rector." 
 
 And the further reference in the above letter to the "only debt 
 he ever incurred " is explained by the fact that after the comj)letion 
 of the building — as he wrote in the same letter to Judge Hunt- 
 ington — he united with the vestr}' in signing three notes, to the 
 full amount of seven thousand dollars and upwards, for balance 
 payment to the builders; and, for his share in the ol)ligation, 
 offered to dispose of two thousand dollars bank stock, which, as 
 he stated to the vestry, '' is all I own of property." 
 
 Out of the fulness and liberality of his soul the Bishop was 
 ready to give his last dollar foi- tlie l)enetit of the church. Through 
 the interj)Osition of members of the vestry he was subseipieiitly 
 
 * He means from his salary as Bishop, for he received no salary fr<>ni th 
 church as its rector.
 
 "252 LIFE OF BISHOP PIXKNEY. 
 
 relieved of his part of the pecuniary obligation in those notes. 
 They were not willing that, then* valued friend and beloved rector 
 should be subjected to such great personal sacrifices. 
 
 Bishop PiNKNEY did not live to see the debt extiugaished. 
 This was happily accomplished by Easter Day, 1885, as appears 
 by the parochial report in the Journal of the Diocesan Conven- 
 tion of that year, in which it is also stated that "• the total cost of 
 the church and lot, in principal and interest, has been $205,000."'* 
 
 * See Diocesan Jourual for 1885, p]). 85-'G.
 
 LIFE OF JilSllol' riNKNKV. '2~>'l 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 Church School for Girls, Washin(;t()n. D. ('. IH'J'.i '"("i. 
 
 A MOVEMENT iu wLicli Bishop PiNKNEY took deep interest, iunl 
 which he en-rnestly sought to bring to a successful issue, was 
 started iu Washington, as early as 1873, for the estahlislmient 
 and endowment of a " Church School for Girls." The measure 
 was brought to the attention of the C(m vocation of Washington 
 by the Assistant Bishop. An organization was had and such 
 steps taken as would secure the early consummation of the enter- 
 prise. Prominent in that organization and most efficient were 
 the late Rev. Dr. Meyer Lewin, the late Hon. Montgomery Blau", 
 and others. Bishop Pixkney preached a sermon in behalf of the 
 measure, and most earnestly advocated and urged its prosecution. 
 His sermon was published and largely circulated. The move- 
 ment received the sanction and approval of Bishop Whittingham. 
 
 Meanwhile the rector of Rock Creek parish and his vestry 
 came forward with the most liberal proposal to donate a site 
 and sufficient surrounding grounds for the school on the parish 
 glebe in the immediate vicinity of the venerable parish church 
 building. 
 
 In his report in the Diocesan Journal of 1877,* the Rev. ]Mr. 
 Buck, the rector, thus refers to this action on the part of liimself 
 and the vestry of the parish : 
 
 " On the 28tli of last Juue the convocation of Washington held its annual 
 meeting in this parish, at which time we celebrated the centeuuial of our 
 ])resent chnrcli building, and legally bound ourselves as a corporation Ut 
 deed to the convocation a most eligible site for ' A Church School fur (lirls,* 
 which we have since executed, consisting of a lot ()f ground of a little over 
 eight acres. There is now an organized Board of Trustees, duly incor- 
 porated and capable of holding and disbursing property. All they want are 
 the funds to put up the requisite l)uildings to start an enterprise. secon<l to 
 none, for the good of the Church here at the seat of Government, and else- 
 where throughout the whole land. For it is the earnest wish to make this 
 school, if not the first, at least among the highest iu the nation. Sooner or 
 later it will be a success. Who will come and help us start it ? " 
 
 On the occasion referred to, a very interesting meeting was 
 held in behalf of the school, and addresses were made by Bishop 
 
 * Pa.'e 142.
 
 •254 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 PiNKNEY and by several of the clergy. One of the speakers, in 
 the course of his remarks, said : 
 
 " And now on this centennial celebration of the building of their church, 
 the rector and the vestry of this parish, with wise forethought and loving 
 devotion to the cause of Christian education, come forward and say to the 
 Chiirch in this convocation district. Here is a hallowed si^ot surrounded by 
 these groves, at the very portals of this consecrated edifice, in view of the 
 graves and monuments of the sleeping generations gone before, adjoining 
 one of the most beaiitiful parks that art and wealth can adorn, right upon 
 the confines and in sight of the Nation's Capital, salubrious in clime, and 
 accessible fi'om every quarter, with facility to command every advantage 
 that highest culture and truest refinement can need or use ; they come for- 
 ward this day and say. This is and shall be yours to build here a noble school 
 for the education of the daughters of the Church, and others as well, the 
 mothers of the coming generations. 
 
 "Shall we accept the gift? We have accepted it: and henceforth it 
 becomes one of our most sacred trusts, to go forward and fulfil the promise 
 -and the pledge of this day's holy donation and commemorative service." 
 
 Bishop PiXKNEY deemed the measure of so much urgency and 
 importance, specially for the needs and interests of the Church in 
 the District of Columbia, that, in his convention address in 1874, 
 he solicited for it favorable consideration and co-operation by the 
 Church in the diocese. Referring to the matter as having been 
 before the convocation of "Washington, he said : 
 
 "Among the most important topics of disciission was the establishment of 
 a school for girls at Rock Creek. It is a sad thing that we should make such 
 slow progress in the cause of education, which is, beyond all qi;estion, the 
 great work of the Church in this age of mental activity and growth. We talk 
 eloquently, but, alas I are contented to be very barren in deeds. I am well 
 aware that the moneyed condition of the country is fearfully embarrassed. 
 I know as well that many are crippled in their resources by the stringency 
 of the times. Perhaps in no portion of the country is there so much of finan- 
 cial distress as there is in the District of Cokimbia. But still it may be safely 
 .said that a great deal more could have been accomplished if we only felt the 
 need there is for promptness of action, and had more of unity of design and 
 efi'ort in the work of the brotherhood. What we lack is money. Until that 
 is raised we can take no effectual onward steps in this line of duty. 
 
 "A good plan oi building, on a moderate scale of expenditure, would be 
 wise. The first step in any enterprise is all-important : and until the first 
 step is taken we waste energies that would otherwise work rich resiilts. and 
 run the hazai'd of losing the tide of opportunity when on the fl(jod. Men 
 of means are always practical. To awaken their interest, and to elicit their 
 liberality, we must present them with something feasible. This done, and 
 under GOD. the work will grow and grow very rapidly on our hands. I am 
 satisfied that the churchmen of the District are open to conviction. If 
 aroused to the A-ast importance of having a church school for girls, and 
 assured of success by a wise and energetic administration of the W(jrk, they 
 will not fail to resp(md with their accustomed liberality to the call for help. 
 Nor will they longer consent to be without a training spot for their daughters ; 
 or perpetuate the moral treason, that has so often shocked us, of sending 
 their daughters to Roman schools, where they will be sure to drink in the 
 poison of erroneous doctrine. The duty is too obvious, and the possibility 
 of its prompt discharge is too patent to require argument or an appeal to the 
 logic of figures. Rock Creek is the spot best fitted for the work. Near
 
 LIFE OF lUSIlol' IMNKNKV. 2/35 
 
 ■enough to the great thoroughfares of Imsiuoss tn l)f oasy .>f appruacli. and 
 yet sufficiently remote to seeure the retirement that is necessary, if Mends 
 Ueiiuty with convenience, and presents all the attractiveness which a lionie 
 
 retreat for s^'irls should jjossess." 
 
 The institution c'ontenipl;it(Hl in this niDvcnienl was (k-sioui'd 
 to pi(n'ide the highest educational advantages, not only for the 
 daughters of Church people and others as well, permanently resi- 
 dent in the District, but also for that large class of pei-sous, fi'om 
 all parts of the country, occupying official positions in Congress 
 and in the different dei)artnients of the Government and resilient 
 in Washington, for the most part with their families, who rei|uire 
 some easily accessible school of high grade for their daughters, 
 in which the best advantages of culture could l)e seciu-ed luider 
 the fostering care of the Church. 
 
 By that sjjlendid ofter of a site and grounds for such a collegiate 
 institution for girls, from the rector and vestry of liock Creek 
 parish, there came up one of those rare opportunities for a great 
 and noble enterprise which when i)romptly seized are fraught with 
 immeasurable results of good and blessing to the Church. 
 
 The matter progressed so far that plans for the buildings were 
 drawn by an architect. The enterprise was thought to he so 
 national in its character as to justify an appeal to the Church at 
 large for assistance, and to the general convention for recognition 
 and approval. 
 
 Bishop PiNKNEY was loth to l)elieve that such a grand and nolile 
 enterprise, which in its consummation would reach in its benefits 
 to the Church far and wide, should fail : and, not abandoning 
 hope in its success, as late as 1881 he again called the attention of 
 the convention to it in these earnest words : 
 
 " I would now address a word to another portion of the diocese — the 
 churchmen of the Washington Convocation — on a topic which is of tran- 
 scendent imjiortance, and which concerns them especially. I allude to the 
 Church School for Girls in Washington. Located on the beautiful and 
 romantic grounds made over to us by the rector and vestry of St. Paul's. 
 Kock Creek, it will be for situation the delight of all eyes. I am satisfied 
 that all tliat is necessary to insure us the fullest siiccess is the beginning of 
 the work. The time for argument is past. We mean to make it a broad, 
 conservative school of the Church. There mixst be no room left for question 
 here. We mean to have none but the best teachers, and to secure such we 
 shall seek to reward projjerly the genius we employ. We mean to make it 
 the cheapest education we can : for it is the children of the Church we jiro- 
 pose to educate, and many of them are without the ability to pay for an 
 expensive training. You must do your part first. Show to the Church at 
 large that you realize the magnitude and vital importance of the work by 
 contributing liberally to it, and then you may U)ok for aid outside of the 
 diocese. Your position entitles you "to do this. Located at the Capital of 
 the nation, you will be called to educate children from all i)ortions of this 
 great sisterhood of States, and each year the number of such will be increased. 
 Less than a first-class institute ouglit not to satisfy us. First-da.ss we cannot 
 hope to make it without the means to secure the best talent the country 
 affords. It is easy to say the scheme is chimerical ; that it is not feasible.
 
 256 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 And uotliing is surer tliau that such counselliugs of fear will make it what some 
 say of it. But cue thing is certain. If we of the t-lergy and laity of the 
 Convocation of Washington put forth earnest and united effort a work will 
 be achieved which will make the Convocation of Washington memorable in 
 the ages to come, and crown my Episcopate with a dignity to which it coiild 
 not have aspired if left to depend on the insignihcauce of the man who Injlds 
 the See. This is a question outside of the narrow limits of congregational- 
 ism, beyond the diocese, co-extensive with the boundless area of this glorious 
 Eepubl'ic. As siich I commend it to you, and pledge you my personal effort 
 to make it a siiccess." 
 
 Uuhaiipily the whole measuie fell through aucl was for the time 
 abaudoiied, but not without the hope that it would be revived and 
 ultimately carried out to success. Since then, almost contiguous 
 to the grounds on which should be now standing a grand Church 
 school, there are rising up the massive walls of a great University 
 of the Roman Catholic Chui-ch. 
 
 The records of Church life are replete with instances of failure 
 to accomplish great enterprises by not noting and seizing the 
 opportunities, and by not putting forth the eflbrts adequate for 
 theii" accomplishment. In the Diocese of Maryland nothing has 
 been harder than to build up and endow educational institutions 
 for the children of churchmen. "When will the chiu'chmen of 
 Maryland awake to the momentous work of Christian education 
 in and by the Church ? How long will the churchmen of the 
 District of Columl^ia delay to inaugurate and consummate such 
 a work within the borders of the National Cai3ital ? 
 
 The following condensed statements of facts in the history of 
 Rock Creek parish may be here introduced. They are derived 
 from a brief historic sketch, in J/»S'., prepared by the esteemed 
 rector. Rev. J. A. Buck. 
 
 St. Paul's Church, Rock Creek parish, dates back in its origin 
 to a very early period, even more than tifty years before the Amer^ 
 ican Revolution, in 1776. In 1719 a movement was made for the 
 erection of a church building on a tract of land consisting of one 
 hundred acres, lying about two miles from what are now the 
 northern boundaries of the Capital City of Washington ; the said 
 tract having been deeded for a church and glebe by a Mr. John 
 Bradford, gent., of Prince George county, in the colony of Mary- 
 land. 
 
 There have been two church btiildings on the present site. 
 The first, a plain wooden structure, erected in 1719 as a chapel, 
 but afterwards made a parish church. It stood for some fifty 
 years and fell into decay. 
 
 In 17G8 the present church building was commenced, the foun- 
 dation laid and the walls erected — but left unfinished at the break- 
 ing out of the Revolution. The walls are of English brick, 22 
 inches thick. The dimensions were 40 feet by 60 feet, and the 
 height of the ceiling 25 feet. It remained for a number of years
 
 LIFE OF msiiop 1'INKM:V. 'J.'iT 
 
 without roof, iuul \vitlK)iit ritlicr llom- or l•(■ilillJ,^ Wlicii it wjis 
 tinislicd ami oci-upicd it was soou found to be too hiy^v for the 
 conj^Tt'gation : ami, in 1H"2(), the interior was divided into two 
 parts by a partition — one to serve for the church services and the 
 other for a school and lecture room. The eeilinji^ over the whole 
 interior was lowered. So it continued until 18-4'.), when the par- 
 tition and low ceiling; were removed and the whole interior jiroji- 
 erly fitted up and furnished for the divine services. The })arish, 
 from its origin, had been greatly blessed in having a succession 
 of faithful and earnest rectors. The present rectory was built in 
 1841. 
 
 In 1852 the present incumbent, the Rev. J. A. Buck, entered 
 upon the rectorship and for now nearly forty years lias 
 devoted himself with singular efficiency and marked success to 
 the work of l)uilding up the parish, and placing it upon a l)asis 
 of permanent })rosperity and growth. In the very beginning of 
 his ministry he had the foresight to see the important part and 
 place which St. Pauls Church, with its large and valuable glebe, 
 almost contiguous to the city boundaries of Washington, was to 
 till in the future work and progress of the Church in the District 
 of Columbia ; and he had at the same time the wisdom to deWse, 
 and the energy to carry out such measures of parochial work and 
 prudential management as would put the parish into a position 
 for great future advantage and growth. 
 
 Under the rector's supervision, and the active co-operation of the 
 vestry and congregation, very great improvements and additions 
 to the church building were made in 1870. The entire structure 
 was remodelled, the old walls retained, a commotlious chancel 
 was added, and also an organ recess and vestry room, the win- 
 dows lengthened and tilled with stained glass, and new pe^'s put 
 up : and, to add to its solemn and picturesque beauty, the 
 English ivy was planted, and now covers nearly every portion of 
 the walls. 
 
 When thus remodelled and completed, the Church was conse- 
 crated, as has been stated, on the 6th of July, 1871. 
 
 It is to be added that about one-half of the glebe had been set 
 apart for a Cemetery, upon which large sums of money have been 
 expended in gravelled walks and roads, in flower plots, in orna- 
 mental shrubbery- and evergreens, and in i)roviding a pul)lic vault 
 and a conservatory for floral decoration. These grounds that 
 surround this old parish church and the beautiful cemetery 
 adjoining are now^here surpassed for their extent and adornment. 
 
 When the District of Columbia, with perhaps some adjacent 
 counties of Maryland, shall be set oft" as a separate diocese, there 
 may be found here upon the Rock Creek parish glel)e the very 
 spot for a Bishop's house, clerical homes, schools, hospitals, and 
 mission agencies.
 
 258 LIFE OF BISHOP TINKNEY. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 Death of Mrs. Pinkxey — Letters to Mr. Corcorax. 1879-'80. 
 
 In tlie spring of 1879, Bislioi? Pinkney was called to sustain a 
 very sad and afflictive bereavement in the death of his revered 
 and beloved wife. She died on the 28th of Aj^ril of that year. 
 In the heart of his home were centred the Bishop's purest and 
 sweetest earthly joys. Though necessarily much away from it, 
 on official duty, he ever -returned to it as the hallowed abode of 
 jDeace and love. The mutual aftection and tender offices between 
 himself and wife cannot be adequately stated or measured by 
 words. Those who were privileged to be at all intimate in that 
 happy household could not fail to see the tenderness and love 
 that marked every word and act in the sphere of his domestic 
 life. It was, therefore, a grievous loss to the Bishop when, in his 
 declining years, he apparently more than ever needed the repose 
 and the solaces of his home. There was no child m the family to 
 brighten and cheer the hours : and the solitary surviving brother 
 felt the loss almost as deeply as the sorrowing husband of his 
 departed sister. 
 
 Mrs. Pinkney's health had been failing for a long time, rather 
 through the increasing mfirniities of age than from disease ; but 
 during the whole period of this sloM' decline her mental faculties 
 contiuued clear and strong, and her faith and devotion full of 
 fervor to the end. To her no less than to her husband it was a 
 sore trial that his Ei:)iscopal duties requii-ed him to be so much 
 away from his home. When advancing years and the evident 
 approach of death foreshadow the separation for time of two 
 loving hearts, no human source of consolation is deeper and 
 sweeter than the constant communion and tender offices they may 
 share with and render to each other. Sacred are such houi's and 
 hallowed are theu' memories. Bishop Pixkxey. therefore, most 
 naturally arranged to he at home as much as possible dimng the 
 •declining days of his wife : but it is noteworthy that his record of 
 work and duty in the diocese shows no abatement. In his Epis- 
 copal address to the convention of 1879. he marks the few days 
 that intervened between the 2-4th of April and the 3d of May as 
 ^' a blank filled with sadness " to his soul. It was markedly 
 characteristic of him during his whole life that he never suffered 
 jiersonal or domestic matters of any kind to interfere with the 
 discharge of his official duties as parish priest or as Bishop. 
 "Wearied, sad, and ofttimes tried, he would go forth to the dis-
 
 LIFE OF IJISHOr riNKNKY. li.")'.» 
 
 ■charg-e of dut}- as though thore were iio longings in his ht-iiit U>v 
 the rest and the (juiet of the home. Devotion to duty was the 
 inspiring and governing i)rinciple of his Hfe. 
 
 One or two letters, or parts of letters, will suffice to kIkiw the 
 depth and poignancy of his grief over the loss of his wife. In tlu* 
 intensity of his emotional nature he could scarcely Hml words to 
 express his thoughts and feelings. If his intellectual ])()wers had 
 not been so solid and well-halanced he might have been over- 
 mastered by feelings that would have marrecl tin- unity and beauty 
 of his character and life. 
 
 A letter to his friend. Judge Huntington, written duiing those 
 solemn hours that intervene Itetween the death and the Inu'ial, is 
 as follows : 
 
 '' April 2d, IHT.K 
 
 " My Deak Judge : For four nights in succession until the break of (hiy. I 
 have watche.d by the bedside of my dear wife only to see hope expiring. 
 Yesterday at five o'clock she fell asleep. Oh I Judge, this darkness is fear- 
 ful, and yet it touches only this world, for the sweet rest of Paradise is hers 
 w'ith the glories of the Resurrection. 
 
 " She was the saiutliest person I ever saw, if by it you mean the merging 
 all things in GOD'S love. Her temper was perfectlj- V)eautiful. It was the 
 sunshine of the heart, and that, too, the heart that was full of sympathy for 
 others. 
 
 " My day is turned to night so far as time is concerned. Henceforth my 
 only rest will be in work, work, work. All through this winter I have lingered 
 by her, and no matter how late the hour when the day's and evening's work 
 was over, I returned to her to catch from her lips the words ' my precious 
 Willie.' No more, no, never more, on earth will those music tones be mine. 
 Oh I no. In loneliness and tears I must wend my way along to catch uj) the 
 echoes of this wealth of love. On Thursday night, and the night before, 
 these words hung on her lips : ' I lay me down to rest, for Thou. LORD, only 
 canst sustain me. Into Thy hands I commit my soul, O GOD, for Chri.st's 
 sake, amen. Oiir Father,' &c. That prayer was the golden tissue of her 
 life. I was not worthy of her love. Oh, no ! 
 
 " Her love for her brother was beautiful. Her loss to him is beyond the 
 power of expression. One thing cheers me a little : I never sejiarated them. 
 All the long, weary hours of my service in Washington I gave her the sweet 
 shelter of her father's trees. How wisely we might have done, does the grave 
 reveal? How sad the retrospect I We seem to i)ass through life blindly. 
 I do, at least. Dear Judge, your heart will yield me the sympathy I need. 
 For we have walked together in sweetest fellowship. 
 
 " Affectionately, your afflicted friend, 
 
 "The Hon. Judge Huntington. W. P." 
 
 A brief extract from a letter written at the same time to ]\Irs. 
 Dr. Hanson Penn, an old parishioner of his. and the life-long friend 
 of his wife, may be given : 
 
 " I do not murmur. It is far less agony than I deserve. But still it is 
 night with me so far as this world is ccmcerned. If I may be l)read to the 
 hungry, and soothing to the sorrowing : if I may help to wijjc the tear from 
 the eyelid of others, it will be some solace to my brnisi-d and bleeding 
 heart. To that I look. For grace to do it, I i)ray."
 
 260 LIFE OF BISHOP PFNTKNEY. 
 
 Tlie fuueral solemnities were held on the 30th of April, and the 
 remains were deposited in the graveyard adjoining St. Matthew's 
 parish church.* 
 
 Numerous letters full of condolence and tender symj^athy were 
 received by the Assistant Bishop. It was most comfortiaig to 
 him in his alHiction to receive the assurances of the love and the 
 prayers of his manj^ friends and of the Church throughout the 
 diocese. 
 
 At the diocesan convention, held in May following, the Assistant 
 Bishop presided. Bishop "NVhittingham being too feeble in health 
 to be present. He sent, however, to the secretary of the conven- 
 tion, "a transcript of the official journal, kept in obedience to the 
 canons." and accompanied it with his "Address to the Conven- 
 tion." in which he gave brief account of such duties as he himself 
 had been able to perform. In that address he committed the 
 brethren of the clergy and laity to " GOD'S especial blessing." 
 
 It proved to be the last official communication of the Bishop to 
 the convention of the diocese. 
 
 Upon the tirst day of the assembling of the convention, and 
 immediately after its organization and the reading of the Bishop's 
 official journal and his address, and the address of the Assistant 
 Bishop, the following proceeding was had : f 
 
 " The Eev. Dr. Leeds offered the following resolutiou, which was imaui- 
 moiisly adojited by a rising vote, the qiiestion being put by the secretary : 
 
 '^'■Resolved, That the following minute be adopted as the sentiment of 
 this convention : 
 
 " ' The elergy and lay delegates of the convention send greeting to their 
 venerable Father in GOD, the Bishop of the diocese, whose unavoidable 
 absence from their council they deeply regret, but for whose comfort and 
 restoration, as well as for the long continuance of his valuable services to 
 the Church, they heartily pray. They beg to renew to him the expression 
 of their affectionate condolence and filial veneration. 
 
 " 'And, with most respectful sympathy, they approach the Assistant Bishop 
 of the diocese, in the great sorrow of his life, to tender him the assurance 
 of their prayers in his behalf anil their appreciation of the noble forgetful- 
 ness of self with which he has been helped of GOD to prosecute, as before, 
 his arduous labors for CHKIST and His people.' " 
 
 At this same convention a resolution J was offered by the late 
 Rev. Dr. Gholson, and adopted with only " two dissenting voices," 
 recpiesting the Bishop, " as soon as his health will permit," to 
 address a pastoral letter to the clergy and laity of the diocese " to 
 urge upon them the duty of reverent attention to the instructions 
 
 * It will be subsecpiently seen that the remains were afterwards removed 
 to be deposited with those of her husband in tlie Oak Hill Cemetery, George- 
 town, D. C, by the munificence of the Bishop's life-long friend, Mr. W. W. 
 Corcoran. 
 
 + J(nirnal of 1879. j). 37. 
 
 + Journal of 1879, jtp. 44-'5.
 
 LirK OF insildl' IINKNKY. 261 
 
 solemnly iiiul uutlioritativt'ly ^iveii '" in the Pastoial Letter of the 
 House of Bishops for 1S71, respecting' ''private confession. " 
 
 Bishop AVhittingliam, even if he had deemed it advisable to do 
 so, was in no state of health to prepare such letter. It was evident 
 that he was drawing near to the end. His c(nKliti(Mi was such 
 that soon after the convention special arran<^ements were niaile 
 for his conveyance to his homestead in Orange, New Jersey, where 
 it was hoped that, by change to the country air and under respite 
 from all official anxieties and duties, he might recui)erate. 
 
 Dimng the summer of this year, l.ST'.l. Bishop Pinknkv did not 
 take any vacation. He continued his visitations tliroiigiioiit the 
 Avhole season. 
 
 The letter following shows that he had determined to forego 
 his summer's rest and contiiuie on through the year at his work : 
 
 ''AuffUKt 1, 1«79. 
 
 " My Deak Me. Cokcoean : I have just rctiivned fur two dnys from a visita- 
 tion ; aiul ill three days I start nut on another, which will keep nie Itusily 
 ocenpied until the 7th or 8th of September. So, you see, it will not l)e po.s- 
 sible for me to accept of your very kind invitation. The pleasure of being 
 with you is one of the greatest pleasures now left to me. But I must forego 
 it to grapple with stern duty. It is a heavy strain ; and yet I must bear it. 
 
 " I hope the fresh sea air and the out-gush of warm, loving hearts will give 
 you renewed strength, and be under GOJ) the means of prolonging a life in 
 which the comfort and enjoyment of so many are centred. I < )f ten think < if you, 
 and only wish it were in my power to give you the demonstration of the love 
 I bear you. If I could I would shield you from the many vexing cares that 
 oppress you ; for surely one who so considers the needs of others ought to 
 have only sunshine in ' the sere and yellow leaf.' And yet I may not say 
 this ; for our Father, who orders all the events of life, sees that the discipline 
 of care is necessary to give beauty and strength to the graces which make 
 up the . . . .* of this brief pilgrimage. 
 
 " I often think of you and our valued friend, Mrs. Tayloe, who, like your- 
 self, is ever studying the hajipiness of others. I sometimes feel sorry that 
 the mountains of Virginia are withoiit the ray of sunshine your presence 
 gives, and that the cultured group gathered there are denied the jjrivilege 
 of showing how much affection and admiration they have for you. But 
 perhaps it is best. Hope the boys are well and that they will continue to 
 grow in beauty by your side. They are very fine boys. I think a great 
 future is before them, a future that calls for the granite and the heart of oak. 
 Knowledge they must seek to ac(iuire, anil mental discii)line : and. what is 
 more, they must seek the fear of GOD and the love of GOD, and this can 
 (Uily be theirs through the Cross of JESUS. Lula, I hope, is well. She 
 reminds me of the pictures I have seen of her sainted mother : and the thing 
 she should most desire is the womanhood so happily illustrated in her grand- 
 mother and in her mother. Give my love to them all. with my kiml regards 
 to Miss Eustis. I am afraid to write lest I weary you with my wretched 
 handwriting, and yet I could not be silent. * * * 
 
 "Affectionatelv, 
 
 " W. W. CoBcoEAN, LL. D. ■ • ^V. 1'." 
 
 Bishop Pinkney's love for Mr. Corcoran was both strong and 
 tender ; and it was cordially reciprocated. The letters that 
 
 * Word not legible.
 
 262 LIFE OF BISHOP TIXKNEY. 
 
 passed between tlieui — very numerous on tlie part of the Bishoi^- 
 — were full of the warmest expressions of their mutual love and 
 friendship. Bishop Pixkney had a profound veneration for Mr. 
 Corcoran's character and an almost unbounded admu-ation of his 
 noble spuit and comprehensive deeds of beneficence ; and in his 
 letters he pours forth the feelings and sympathies of his soul in 
 the most glowing language. His letters to Mr. Corcoran were 
 highly valued, carefully 2:>reserved. and separately tiled in a beau- 
 tiful album.* In the volume, "A Grandfather's Legacy," which 
 Mr. Corcoran caused to be compiled before his death, very many 
 of the Bishop's letters were included. Some of them are trans- 
 ferred to these pages. Always at the close of each year and the 
 begmning of the new year, interchange of letters passed between 
 them, often containing, on Mr. Corcoran's j^art, some substantial 
 token of his affection, as the following letter by the Bishop shows : 
 
 •• January 1, 1879. 
 "My Dear Mk. Cokcoean : I have just received your letter and the box, and 
 when I looked at the enclosure and read the check for ^.500, made payable 
 to me, I looked to see if there was any direction, for I could scarcely conceive 
 it was meant for me. To say that I feel honored by yoiir note and the 
 presents of the New Year, which are both on the scale of yoiir munificent 
 bounty, is to express most feebly the thanks I tender you. If it were not 
 for your own handwriting and your familiar signature to the check and the 
 letter I shmild even now think it was a dream. It has been in my power to 
 do but little for you, and yet I can truly say that I have done what I could ; 
 nothing, however, to merit any such token of your love. It took me wholly 
 by surprise. It gratified me above power of expression. A Hapjiv New 
 Year to you and yours I Your life is, under GOD, of priceless value to 
 hundreds, not only of this age, biat of the ages to come. Bright in its setting 
 glories, I trust it may be far from the setting. Ever devotedly, 
 
 •' Your much obliged friend, 
 
 "W. P. 
 
 '' Mrs. Pinkney desires me to say that she wishes you a Hapi)y New Year. 
 She shares vay thanks. Affectionately, 
 
 " W. W. Corcoran, Esq. ' W. P." 
 
 At the close of this year, 1879, the Bishop sent the following 
 congratulatory Christmas letter : 
 
 " December 2.5, 1879. 
 
 " My Dear Mr. Corcoran: I cannot, amid the tender memories of this 
 holy season, forget to send my greetings to one who has to many a poor babe 
 given of his jjlenty in, I trust, a feeble though heartfelt imitation of Him 
 who, ' though He was rich became poor,' and from the cradle in Bethlehem 
 revealed the saving mystery of our faith, the incarnation, the word made 
 flesh. You are often in my thoiights and on my heart. May the light of 
 tliis (Christmas day follow your evening of life as softly as the dew falls on 
 the flower I We read that there was ' no room for Him in the inn.' Happy 
 for us if we open the doors of our souls and bid Him enter I A happy 
 Christmas to every one of the three who make up your wealth of love on 
 
 * All of the Bishop's letters were by Mr. Corcoran's order carefully copied 
 and placed at the disposal of the writer for iise in this Memoir. "With deep 
 emotion, after the death of the Bishop, Mr. Corcoran said to the writer, " Ah 1. 
 you will never have again such a man for your Bishop I"
 
 LIFE OF lUSIlol- I'INKNKY. '^tV.l 
 
 earth. I trust thry will contiinu' toj^'mw in liciuUy uii<l iivtin- by your In-urtli- 
 stoue, as they move up to the spheres of duty that \vi(h'ii hefore them, and 
 as the ,u">hlen rays of their iiioruiii-^' of life are hreakiii;,', may they minulo 
 sweetly with the sunset of yours, crowned as it is with the beauty of sympathy 
 for the poor and friendless. The cross meets some of us t(j-<lay which tho 
 ant,'el song may soothe but which it cannot take away. 
 
 " .Mlectiomitely, 
 • W. W. CoKCOitAN, LL. D. \V. I'.' 
 
 In August of the next year, 1880, and during- the same month of 
 the two succeeding- years he took his usual rest and recreation at 
 the ^\^lite Sulphur Springs as the guest of his valued friend, ^Ir. 
 Corcoran, to whoni. upon his retiirn to Washington, he was wont 
 to address letters full of glowing appreciation of Mr. C.'s gener- 
 rosity and kindness. Some of these letters are here given : 
 
 •'August 25. l«s(). 
 
 ' • My Deak Mr. Cokcokan : I reached Washin^'ton safely this moniiny, about 
 half past ei,(,dit a. m. It was very hot iu the sleeping apartment, and yet, ou 
 the whole, I got aloug pretty well. I was very sorry to see yuu at so late 
 au hour last evening waiting ou me, and was touched by it. I should be the 
 hewer of wood and drawer of water, not you. 
 
 '* I was much touched with George's thoughtfulness. He has a very wanu 
 heart, and I hope it will always beat in harmony with those nol)le impulses that 
 have made your life so musical and true. I hope they will Imth live to till 
 up the measure of your brightest hopes. They have a grand type of a true 
 manhood iu the springtime, siimmer, autumn, and winter of yf)ur life, aud 
 now that they see the bright blending of the crimson and gold iu the sweet 
 sunset, I hope they will copy after the beautiful original. Well, I nuist say 
 I miss you all. You need some watchful eye near you to stay the current of 
 your too busy life. 
 
 " I wish I could continue to gaze on the misty mountain-top, and look up 
 into the deep blue of the sky, and draw those picturings of the grand aud 
 the beautiful which the quiet twilight hottr so strangely colors, in the deep, 
 strong contrasts which the parlor below so strikingly exhibits. I hope our 
 lady friends are well. 
 
 " I heard news to-day. Speaking of Miss L. a lady said, ' Oh 1 she is tlie 
 one who wrote the verses to the Dr., and they tell me she is engaged to the 
 Rev. Dr. , of Kichmond.' 
 
 " ' Well,' I said, ' I don't know about that. The poetry is all here, but as 
 for the . . . .* part of the picttire I am sceptical.' 
 
 ••It may be so, V>ut the fair E. has not yet, it strikes me, scaled themouu- 
 tain-top or looked out on the promised land beyond. I do hope she nnxy find 
 a treasure without having to thread so dark a labyrinth, for I know no one 
 who I think would so light up a happy home if she finds one worthy of her 
 love. I may not live to see the end of this problem she has to solve, for she 
 is just touching the land of golden promise, which to me is iu the far-oflf dis- 
 tance, which I may not hope to see. I hope she will meet it in the glow of 
 a golden faith and shed over it the lustre of a deep, abiding consciousness 
 that GOD is with her to sweeten life's cares and to lighten its troubles. It 
 is, perhaps, too great a liberty for an ac(piaintance of yesterday to take to 
 proffer her counsel, but still as it is the future blessedness of her life I would 
 fain seek to secure, she will not spurn the prayer that the mountains and 
 valleys of her life may be radiant with the morning glories, and feel the 
 touch of the dew-drops as they fall silently on shrub and flower. 
 
 * Word not legible.
 
 264 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 " But I must not trespass longer on your time or on hers. Kemember me 
 most kindly to Miss L. and herself. The keen introspective nature of the 
 latter admonishes me that genius is a gift to be received thankfully, but to 
 be watched with a tearful eye fixed ever on the cross. 
 
 ' ' "Well, it has been a source of great jjleasure to me to share your hosijitality, 
 and. I trust, your love. My own term of days is near the sunset. Sad 
 memories cluster around it. I seem to see my type in the mountain solitude, 
 where I can talk to the trees and the shadows, and feel they have tongues of 
 sympathy to whisper in my ears. It is but a little while. It is only when I 
 lr)ok beyond those mountains, far up into the deeji blue of the skies, and 
 realize that there is a mountain of GOD. fi-om which there is constantly 
 streaming down on His people rays of the on-coming glory, that I feel that 
 the mystery that shrouds me is altogether the mystery of love. But I find 
 that I am still blessed beyond my great demerits, and am thankful. 
 
 " Your love has added to the sum of the joys still left me. 
 
 *' ' Cast your care on Him,' who tells you ' He cares for you.' This is the 
 rock on which vou mav rest in peace. 
 
 '• AfiFectiouately, "\V. P. 
 
 " W. "SV. CoECOEAX, Esq." 
 
 ''Auqust 30, 1890. 
 
 " My Dear Me. Coecoeax : I thank you for your kind attention in wTiting 
 to me after the receipt of mine, and I am more than pleased to know that 
 you miss me. and that any one at the Springs regrets my leaving. 
 
 "I don't know that I ought to write to you again so soon, as you need 
 rest, but then my letters are not of the sort to give you perplexity. I often 
 think of yovi and the sweet satisfaction a well-spent life is giving you. 
 
 " There, in the mountains, with the grandeur enfolding you, you can gaze 
 on the flowers you give even to those grand solitudes with the dew-drops of 
 your love as they sparkle in the opening petals. Here, in the ' Louise 
 Home ' and the Art Gallery you have the abiding consolaticm of knowing 
 that you too are wiping the tear-drojas of sorrow from weary and aching eye- 
 lids, and in the alabaster box you have jjlaced the crowning picture in the 
 I'equisite gi-oup. 
 
 " Don't come back too soon. 
 
 " I wrote a letter t(j Miss T., which you have seen ere this. It was, per- 
 haps, a dangerous thing to do, for her bright intellect might well cause a 
 more exjaerienced scribe than myself to pause before putting pen to paper, 
 and yet I wanted to whisper in her ear a word or two of fatherly counsel. I 
 am not her bishop, it is true, but still she led me along by more than an Appian 
 Way leading to the. magnificent Bay of Naples, a road of her own construc- 
 tion, laid of gold and sapphire and onyx, thro' a region of mountain, lake. 
 and rolling rivers, with a new world of beauty, where the flowers grow and 
 the spring. * * * 
 
 " She introduced me to the treasures and the * * * of a fairyland, types 
 of a true humanity with those marked contrasts which the deep inner world 
 of thought and feeling exhibit. 
 
 " But I must close. I saw Dr. Hunter : Mr. Hyde was not in. The room 
 is beautiful. Don't come back too soon. Love to the boys and Lula, and 
 
 Miss and Miss L. Hope Mrs. L. is better. Tell George I found my 
 
 diary. 
 
 " Affectionatelv. W. P."
 
 LIFE OF BlSllol' I'lNKNKV. 'JC.'j 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 Death of Bishop Whittingham — The Ei-iscoiwl Luikakv. Isyii 'kO. 
 
 No DECIDED imin-ovement m Bishop \\'liittiii;^li;iiiis health U>\- 
 lowed upon his removal to Orange, New Jersey, alter the close of 
 the Dioecsiin Couveution in ]\Iay. The summer mouths j)assetl 
 with little chauf.^-e in his condition : at times able to see ami 
 converse with friends (m Church matters ; at other times too feel)le 
 and exhausted for any business or consultations. After months 
 of lingering suffering and nervous 2:)r()stration, with occasional 
 intervals of ease and repose, the soul of the (h'parting Bishoj) 
 l^assed to its longed-tVn- rest. Bisho}) AVhittingham, the fourth 
 Bishop of Maryland, died on the 17th October, 187*.), in the 74th 
 year of his age and in the -lOth year of his Episcopate. 
 
 Bishoj) AVhittingham's death, though not unexpected, produced 
 a profound impression throughout the diocese and in the General 
 Church. So eminent had he been in the counsels and activities 
 of the Church during the years that preceded his elevation to the 
 Episcopate, and still more so in those nearly forty years following 
 it, that it was universally recognized and felt that a great man 
 had passed away. 
 
 The funeral services were very solemn and impressive. The 
 biographer of the Bishop, the Rev. Dr. Brand,* thus writes : 
 
 * * * '' He was laid beside the remains of his father and mother in 
 Orange Cemetery. The bnrial was of the siniph-st charai-tev, iu aeoordauee 
 with his wishes. 
 
 '■ The one addition to the service for the burial of the dead was very 
 iniinessive. The vohime of voice of many men reciting, as earnest, hopeful 
 believers, the Nicene creed, gave to the service a more than usual note of 
 triumph. To and from St. Mark's Church he was Ijorne ou a bier by men, 
 attended by the Standing Committee of Maryland as pall-bearers, and was 
 followed by a long train of robed bishops and siarpliced clergy from his own 
 and other dioceses, some of whom had come fi'om far, and by very many 
 other sorrowing friends." 
 
 Bishop PiNKNEY was in attendance with the Standing Com- 
 mittee and a large number of the clergj' and laity of Maryland. 
 It is stated that as many as fourteen bishops and one hundred 
 clergy were present. f 
 
 A few days after these funeral solemnities, Bisho}) Pinkney 
 addressed a j^astoral letter to the clergy and laity of the diocese, 
 in which, after paying a most glowing and heartfelt tribute to 
 
 *See Dr. Brand's Life of Bishop Whittingham, vol. ii, p. :J<">-'). 
 tSee Life of Bishop Kerfoot by Eev. Hale Harriscm, vol. ii, p. ('.(U.
 
 266 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 the memory, the worth, the talents, t^e spiritual character, and 
 the holy life and labors of his predecessor in the Episcopate, he 
 urges ujion all the solemn calls of the great Head of the Church 
 to increasing faith and zeal in united counsels and active work. 
 He then makes most touching allusion to his own position in the 
 grave responsibilities devolved upon him. He thus wrote : 
 
 "Not one among yon feels more keenly thau I do the bitterness of the 
 cross which his death lays on us. In assuming the duties of the higher 
 jurisdiction which now devolves on me. I would beseech you. in the burning 
 words of the lion-hearted Paiil, • Brethren, pray for me," your weaker 
 brother. I need your prayers, that GOD would give me wisdom and pru- 
 dence, and loving' sympathy for each sheep and lamb of the fold, to enable 
 me to mingle with the authority I exercise the meekness and fellow-feeling 
 which a true Bishop should ever cultivate and exhibit. 
 
 '• I throw myself on your forbearance. I look to you for sympathy and 
 support. You sought me out, not I you. I shall by GOD'S grace strive to 
 deserve it. By the grave of our reverend father in GOD many of us stood 
 a few days ago. It was a sad day to you and me. It appealed to our 
 hopes and fears. It appealed more powerfitlly to me thau it did to you, for 
 I know that I must soon lie down beside him. My days are wellnigh 
 numbered. In the meanwhile I shall ( GOD being my helper) work on as I 
 have done in the past, to the fullest extent of my ability, and, if need be, 
 beyond it. For ' the night et)metli when no man can work.' 
 
 " To you then I look, under GOD, for the tilling iip of my many deficien- 
 cies, the more than supply of my lack of fitness for the work before me." 
 
 In addition to this solemn and official expression of his sense 
 of loss and increased responsibility. Bishop Pinkney in an in 
 inemoi'iam sermon, twice repeated, gave utterance to the like 
 sentiments and feelings. 
 
 The Standing Committee also took appropriate action by pro- 
 viding for a solemn commemorative service, which was held in 
 St. Paul's Church, Baltimore, on Tuesday, December 2, 1879. on 
 which occasion, by theu' special request, the Rt. Rev. Bishop 
 Atkinson, of North Carolina, preached the memorial sermon, 
 afterwards published. 
 
 Memorial action also, for record in their respective minutes, 
 was taken by the Standing Committee, by the Convention of the 
 Diocese at its ensuing meeting in May, 1880, and by the Conven- 
 tion of the Diocese of Easton. 
 
 Thus closed the hfe, and such were the commemorative pro- 
 ceedings consequent upon the death of the fourth Bishop of 
 Maryland, whose Episcopate will be ever memorable in the annals 
 of the diocese. 
 
 These references to Bishop Whittingham's Episcopate would 
 be incomplete without some record in this place of that noble 
 benefaction of his in the gift of his valuable library to the Diocese 
 of Maryland. 
 
 As early as 1871 the trustees of the Episcopal fund, in theii" 
 rei)ort to the convention of that year, stated that they had
 
 LIFE OF IIISHOI' I'INKNKV. 1><;7 
 
 •• received a coinmuiiii-dion troiu the JJisliop, to tlic clVcct thut 
 he desired to apply a leyacv which he liml received in cre'ctiii;,'- 
 ui)Oii the h)t fornung- i)art of the Episcopal residence a building,' 
 to be used forever as a library by the Bishop of the diocese and 
 his successors : that he also meant to ^dve and convey to the 
 convention, to be held and administered as jiart of the E])iscopal 
 fund, his very valuable lil)rary, consisting of about 1(),()()0 volumes, 
 many of which are extremely rare." 
 
 The convention, by a unanimous vote, gave consent to the ])ro- 
 posed erection of a building for the library, and declare that they 
 ••gratefully accept the Bishop's proposed donation of his valuable 
 librar}', and authorize such agreements and stipulations as may 
 be deemed proper to be entered into to secure the use of such 
 building and its library to the Bishop of Maryland and his suc- 
 cessors forever, in accordance with the wishes of the Bisliop on 
 the subject." * 
 
 At the convention of the diocese, following the decease of the 
 Bishop, held in May, 1880. a statement from the executors of the 
 late Bishop was presented to this effect that " the bequest of 
 his Aaluable library, which, by one of the clauses in his will, 
 Bishop Whittingham has made to the convention, is confirmatory 
 of the gift which, through the trustees of the Episcopal fund, was 
 announced to the Convention of 1871, and embraces a large 
 number of volumes added by him .since that date." Bisliop Pixk- 
 NEY, in his address, referred to this 1)e(juest as " the best and 
 enduring monument" of the Bishop, and recommended that 
 action be taken for "the proper care of the library." 
 
 The committee on the Episcopal li])rary, to whom these matters 
 were referred, thus speak in their report : 
 
 •' Of the greatness of the gift of Bishop Whittingham in bestowing his 
 vahiable library npon the Church in Maryhxnd, it is not easy to sjx'ak in any 
 littiug terms. Ric-h in works of theohjgy, history, and exegesis, thi' writings 
 of the ancient fathers, the dociiments of councils, the best productions of 
 the Anglican divines, and Christian letters in general, this library is u col- 
 lection almost without an equal, in its kind, in our country. Its numerous 
 maniiscripts and critical annotations, in the clear, strong hand of our 
 dejjarted BishoiJ, are a worthy legacy in themselves. 
 
 " The value of the library to this diocese, however, is not to be measured 
 l)y its contents ahme. The purpose of its formatinn, and the partiality of 
 the donor in placing it where it is, added greatly to the estimation in which 
 it shall be held by us." 
 
 The committee theii proceed to recommend certain measures 
 for the due care of the library, and the appointment of a suitaltle 
 person as librarian; all which was favorably acted ui»on liy the 
 convention. 
 
 Forever grateful must the Chuicli in Maryland be to Bisliop 
 
 ♦See Journal of Convention, 1871, pp. 121 and Ki.
 
 268 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 "WTiittingLam for this gift of his library, so great in value both 
 for its intrinsic worth and for the variety and scope of its contents. 
 It is proper that two other statements should be here introduced, 
 the one to the effect that upon Bishop AVhittingiiam's death Bishop 
 PiNKXEY promptly and most generously placed at the disposal of 
 the family the Episcopal residence in Baltimore. In response to 
 his letter formally doing so he received from the eldest daughter 
 of the late Bishop a letter in behalf of the family, expressive of 
 their grateful appreciation of the kindness. The letter of Miss 
 "NVhittiugham, omitting those portions "which have reference to the 
 Episcopal library, its care and management, is as follows: 
 
 "277 Madison Ave.. Baltimore. January 2d, 1880. 
 " My Deae Bishop : Your exceedingly kind letter was received this morn- 
 ing, for wliicli both mother and I thank yon heartily. She had before accejited 
 your kind offer of the house — but not formally, nor with any definite under- 
 standing. It certainly would be disastrous to us in many ways to have to 
 remove out of it now : in fact, you can understand that I do not exaggerate 
 when I say we fear that it would shorten mother's days. So we are glad and 
 grateful to accept it on your invitation. 
 
 * *'* * * *.* 
 
 " The holidays have, indeed, been sad to us all : and yet each of the 
 Church's festivals brings with it its own comfort to us poor mourners, but 
 the new year makes us feel that the time of our separation is nJiort. after all. 
 " "With many thanks for your words of loving sympathy, and many more 
 for your acts of kindness and consideration, and with mijther's and sister's 
 warm regards, I remain , 
 
 '' \ev\ gratefully and affectiouatelv vours, 
 
 " MAHGAEET H. WHITTINGHAM. 
 
 " Bishop PiNKNEY." 
 
 The other statement referred to is, that the trustees of the 
 Episcopal fnnd generously continued to the family the salary of 
 the late Bishop to the autumn of the year following his death ; 
 and, by resolution of the Convention of 1880 * it was unanimously 
 ordered as follows : 
 
 ^ ' Jiexolved , That the trui^tees of the Episcopal fund be, and they are hereby, 
 directed to make such provision for the support of the family of the late 
 Bishop as they, in their judgment, may deem proper; and that they report 
 their action to the next convention, w'ith any suggestions which may occur 
 to them upon the subject. 
 
 ^'lienolced. That for the carrying out of the above resolution the treasurer 
 of the convention be, and he is hereby, directed to pay to the said timnt^es 
 such sum or sums as they may require." 
 
 Acting under this authority, the trustees of the Episcopal fund 
 appropriated $2,000 a year for Mrs. Whittingham's benefit, and 
 continued to j^ay the same up to the time of her death, in 18 — . 
 
 As frequent reference in this Memoir is made to the close inti- 
 macy which existed between Bishop Pixkney and the Hon. S. H. 
 Huntington while he was the rector of the Clutrch of the Ascen- 
 
 See Journal, pp. 0'.» and 70.
 
 LIFE OF ]!ISH()1' I'INKNKV. -JC'J 
 
 sion, in AVjisliiiinfon. hiiiI aftfrwjii-ds iliiiiii;;- his l-]j)iscnjiiiti', tin- 
 memoriiil notice of the death of that valued layman, as ^'iven in 
 the Episi-opal address of 1H80, is here introduced. Th«' Bislioj) 
 felt that it was no obtrusion of a personal l)ereavenient upon the 
 convention of tlie diocese, when the death was that of one whose 
 character had been marked with distinguished virtues and whose 
 life had been devoted to high usefulness in the Church. In his 
 sympathetic nature he mingled his tears with the sorrows of many 
 others over the death of the righteous. He thus gives very fullV 
 his estimate of Judge Huntington : 
 
 "I may not pass over in silence one, though for years a blessing to the 
 Diocese of Connecticnt. and a resident of Hartford, where he wove so sweet 
 a sj)ell over the Church work in which he there engaged, was for years con- 
 nected with my work in Washington, the Hon. Samuel H. Huntington. He 
 saw the difficulty of the task consigned to me in the endeavor to rekindle 
 the light that had nearly gone out on the altar : and he came to my succor, 
 and soothed and sustained me in it, with a warmth of sym))athy which few 
 men could j)roft'er. A braver, truer man, a man of better judgment, or of 
 sounder sense I never met with. He was well informed on all subjects, 
 singularly clear in his conceptions of a subject, and as singularly gifted 
 with the power to give expression to his views when the occasion reipiired. 
 I found him always a friend in need. He had been on the most intimate 
 terms with the lamented Bishop Burgess, and he had improved his oppor- 
 tunity. He i^artieularly admired him as a jiastor, and often alluded ti:> his 
 vast erudition. He had known in early years that marvellous sou of genius, 
 the elder Doane. the ehxjuent divine, the decj) thinker, the poet, and the 
 Bishop. It was in such a school he imbil)ed his thecilogieal views, and they 
 were sound and deep. He was a strong churchman, and yet there was not 
 a tinge of the exclusive in his cast of mind or heart. His piety was singu- 
 larly earnest. It was that meek sort of piety, which reflected the child-like 
 in its implicit trust. There was not a trace of self-assumption in him. And 
 yet no man was more deeply impressed with the dignity of our manhood in 
 CHRIST, or more bold to stand up in defence of wliat he conscientiously 
 held. My loss is irreparable. The Church's loss is not more easily rejiaireil. 
 In the general convention he served with tlistinction ; but it was in tin- 
 parish that his strong, practical, common sense, his extraor<linary taet, liis 
 earnest zeal, and broad, dee|) sympathy shone out with i)eculiar sj)lendor. 
 Our hearts were not divided — never a jar disturbed the sweet serenity 
 of our intercotirse. He was everything to me during the larger portion of 
 my work in Washington. So conliding, so generous, so just and elevated 
 in thoTight and deed. Most of the little good I was (pialilied to do was the 
 ins])iration of his counsel and example. ,\nd when I was called to the 
 Episcoi)ate, the greatest grief I sustained was the removal from his nearer 
 relationship to me in the pastorate of the Church. After his removal, one 
 of my greatest delights was a visit to his quiet home, and his letters. If I 
 seem to you to write too strongly, it was because you did not know the 
 man. My brothers, we are adding new stars to the galaxy of departed 
 workers. Day by day let us all work, and fast, and pray."
 
 :270 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 Ritualism in Maeylaxd axd the Contests Growing out of It. 1879-'80. 
 
 Bishop Pinkxey very deeply realized the responsibilities that 
 devolved vipon him by the death of Bishop AYhittiiigham. They 
 came upon him at an age when men naturally desire and seek relief 
 from increased official anxieties and duties. For the nhie preced- 
 ing years of his Ejiiscopate the sole jurisdiction had been held and 
 exercised by the senior Bishop. It was only at times and in some 
 special instances that such jurisdiction was committed to him by 
 Bishop AVhittingham. His whole time and thoughts and labors 
 had been necessarily given to that practical work of supervision 
 and visitation for which the senior Bishop, by reason of his physi- 
 cal infirmities, was inadequate. He encountered, as will be seen, 
 peculiar difficulties and trials in the discharge of his official duties 
 when the sole jurisdiction of the diocese devolved on, him. He 
 could not but see before the late Bishop's death that there were 
 grounds for uneasiness touching the future peace of the Church 
 in Maryland. 
 
 The ritualistic controversy which had given such trouble to 
 Bishop A\Tiittingham became more aggravated and disturbing 
 under Bishop Pixkney's sole administration. It calls, therefore, 
 for some full account of it, as it agitated the Church in Maryland 
 for the few remaining years of Bishop Pixkney's Episcoj^ate and 
 forced him at times into more or less of conflict with it. 
 
 For more than a full decade dissensions and controversies 
 growing out of the ritualistic movement had been mcreasuig 
 throughout the Church. In successive general conventions meas- 
 ures were introduced and adopted to stay its progress, and pas- 
 toral letters from the House of Bishops were issued to counteract 
 the dangerous tendencies of the extreme school or party. 
 
 It Avas not a question, within the prescribed limits of the prayer 
 book and the canons, of emphasizing more or less the ornate, the 
 beautiful, and the reverential in the conduct of the DiAine ser- 
 vices. Under the increased culture of the age and the growth of 
 an aesthetic taste for things beautiful and ornate, there had been 
 developed an earnest desu-e for improvements in the structure 
 and adornments of the chiu'ches, for more ecclesiastical aiTange- 
 ments in the chancels, and for fuller exjDression of the beauty, 
 order, and impressiveness of the pul)lic worship. In these respects 
 considerable improvements had taken place throughout the Chui'ch, 
 and, being the outgrowth of a general culture and of loyal adhe-
 
 LIFE OF BiSIlol' I'INKNEY. *J71 
 
 rence to the liturgic services as jircsciilxd in tlic jtiayiT 1 k, 
 
 attracted little attention and caused uo opposition. 
 
 But the ritualism that was growing up in the Chunh, and cauK- 
 iug- both alarm and trouble, went far bej'ond the pra^'er-book pro- 
 visions and limitations for the pul)lic services. It was a ritualisui 
 which an extreme school of the clergy, under the specious claims 
 of a catholicity that was only another name for medi;f■^•alism, had 
 introduced into the Divine worship and sacred ministi-ations, 
 especially in the office for the celebration of the holy commun- 
 ion : and which consisted in new forms, strange vestments, unrec- 
 ognized usages, frequent bowings and crossings, candles on the 
 altar, incense in the worship, wafers for the Ijread, a mixed chalice, 
 and the lifting up of the consecrated elements as objects of adora- 
 tion.* Along with these practices, and growing out of them, 
 were prayers for the dead, private confessions, jn'ivate al)solu- 
 tions, solitary celebrations, with non-communicating attendance, 
 and the reservation of the consecrated elements. 
 
 All these innovations were not at once introduced into the so- 
 called ritualistic churches, but there was a steadj' advance in that 
 direction, and the teachings were so manifestly towards their 
 adoption that there was just and well-grounded apprehension 
 that under the ritualistic observances there was the jjurpose to 
 inculcate what is called the " doctrine of the mass," which imolved 
 the transubstantiation of the sacred elements and the repetition, 
 by the act and invocation of the officiating priest, of the one sac- 
 rifice of CHRIST once for all ofiered up on the cross. 
 
 It would be manifestly improper to enter here upon a discus- 
 sion of the ritualistic controversy in exteuso ; but the leaders of 
 that school would certainly not disclaim the holding of doctiines 
 touching- the sacraments and the functions and powers of the 
 priesthood, not to mention others, which Avere not hekl by the 
 Church at large, and which to say the least were considered as 
 condemned in the articles and by the vast majority of Anglican 
 and American divines. Neither is it any distortion of historic 
 truth to describe recent ritualism as an attempt to procure popular 
 acceptance for these doctrines l>y progressive alterations in rites 
 and ceremonies. It was the uuthod of " Tract No. 90 " appUed to 
 the liturgy wherever any ambiguity, omission, or uncertainty of 
 rubrical language j^ermitted any license of interpretation. It 
 tended to prepare the minds of the people to receive, and opened 
 the way for their teachers to inculcate, media'val dogmas which 
 the Church at the Reformation had expressly disavowed and had 
 evidently striven wholly to exi^unge from her standards of belief 
 and from her liturgy. 
 
 It is this dogmatic significance of the changes in ceremonial 
 
 * Very nice distinctions were made to tlie effect that the worship was wor- 
 .ship of CHRIST, present in and imder the forms of bread and wine.
 
 272 LIFE OF BISHOP FINKNEY. 
 
 wliicli distinguishes ritvialism jiroper from the ianoeent rituahsm. 
 which sought rnerelj^ to give increased beauty and impressiveness 
 to the Divine ser^•ices. This also created that pecuhar difficulty 
 which both Bishops and the general convention have experienced 
 in enforcing ecclesiastical discipline in all such cases. ^Mien 
 erroneous doctrines are categorically set forth and oj^enly de- 
 fended they may be met by argument and the teachers forbidden 
 by authority. But when dogma is insinuated by means of sig- 
 niticant rites and ceremonies the whole question of rehgious 
 symbolism is raised, and it becomes necessary to define and prove 
 the meaning and motive of a teacher from external acts and 
 gestiu-es — a matter always of extreme difficulty, for the offending 
 rite may be continued while its significance is denied or left 
 doubtful. Under such circumstances the authority of Bishops 
 may be set at naught and the most explicit canons i^ractically 
 nullified.* 
 
 Although there were few of the clergy and congregations in 
 Maryland disposed to be extreme and aggressive in ritualism, the 
 effect was to create in the minds of very many throughout the 
 diocese a feehng of great uneasiness, and to rouse up on the part 
 of some a spirit of intense opposition. This had been apparent 
 all along during the later administration of Bishop AMiittingham, 
 who sought as far as he could, without resortuig to harsh meas- 
 ures, to rej^ress its encroachments upon the doctrinal standards 
 of the Church and the recognized usages, forms, and ceremonies 
 in the Di^•ine services as regulated hj the Book of Common Prayer. 
 Bishop PiNKNEY was even more sensitive than his predecessor to 
 the dangers thence arising to the peace and welfare of the Church. 
 He was entirely satisfied Avith the prayer book as it is and depre- 
 cated any departure from its rubrical directions, or the introduction 
 of any forms or rites not therein prescribed. He did not even 
 sympathize with the work of prayer-book revision originated in 
 the General Convention of 1880 and subsequently carried on in 
 the two successive general conventions. The service of the 
 Church in its simplicity and grandeur required, he thought, no 
 supplementary or adventitious additions to impart to it all due 
 solemnity, or give to it a spectacular character. He felt its 
 beauty and power when rendered in the plainest wooden Church 
 buildings, with only two or thi'ee worshippers, as impressively 
 as when offered with an ornate ceremonial in costly church 
 structures with their crowded congregations. His innate sense 
 of the beautiful and his reverential feelings led him to appre- 
 
 * A noted instance in Bishop Wliittingham's experience of the determined 
 spirit with which when on one occasion of visitation to one of the ritual- 
 istic Churches of his diocese his wishes, remonstrances, and opposition were 
 disregarded, is given on page 51G of the Life of Bishop Kerfoot by the Rev. 
 Hale Harrison.
 
 LIFE OF I'.ISHOl' I'INKNKV. 2t.i 
 
 date all that touclu'd the solcnnhtifs (jf Divine worsliip. JJut 
 he Relieved that under the constitution of our Aniericiin Niitioniil 
 Church there was no authority to go beyond the settled jno- 
 visions in her orpuiization to any foreign ecclesiastical liody, 
 however closely allied by descent or interconniiiinion in the one 
 faith and order of the Church catholic, for regulations as of any 
 binding- or allowable force in the sacred ministrations of her 
 Divine worship. He l)elieved that the autonomy of the American 
 Church precluded the introduction of any rites or symbols not 
 specifically authorized by her standards and canons, ^[u(•h stress 
 was laid upon what was termed ** Catholic usage, "" than which 
 nothing could be more indefinite and indeterminative, and which 
 even if clearly ascertainal)le could have no place or authoritj'' 
 against, or supplementary to, those positive enactments and decla- 
 rations by the Church as to the order of the public services. For 
 it is clear that under such broad plea not only usages harmless 
 in themselves and even tending to edification and impressiveness 
 might be introduced, but under the same plea the whole settled 
 order of the Church in the sacred ministrations could be jierverted 
 to ends and purposes wholly at variance with her standards and 
 with what the Church had settled for herself as ''the American 
 use." 
 
 Bishop PiXK\EY, therefore, regarded the whole ritualistic move- 
 ment as an innovation dangerous in its tendencies ajid fraught 
 with results that would prove disastrous to the unity and i»rog- 
 ress of the Church. While he fvilly recognized the earnestness, 
 devotion, and active zeal of those who were introducing an 
 extreme ritualism in the public worship and in the parochial min- 
 istrations, he determined to meet his own duty and responsibility 
 as Bishop without trenching upon the freedom and rights of the 
 clergy, or transcending in any degree the just exercise of his 
 Episcopal authority. 
 
 Much of the trouble that unavoidalily agitated the Church in 
 the diocese for the next few years after Bishop Whittingham's 
 decease grew out of this disturbing element of ritualism. 
 
 The moderate High Churchmen, without abandoning theii- 
 Church principles, and the Low Churchmen, without relinquishing 
 their evangelic views, unitedly resolved to oi)pose, as far as they 
 lawfully could, teachings and pi-actices that tended to undermine 
 the true Protestant character of the Chureli and bring into the 
 public worship and administrations rites and services at variance 
 with the provisions of the Book of Common Prayer. These could 
 not have acted otherwise without failmg in the discharge of theu- 
 duty to the Church, which had commissioned them to teach its 
 doctrine and defend it from the encroachments of error. The 
 responsibility for any dissension must rest with those who sought 
 to deviate from the faith and practices of the Church as the same
 
 274 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 had been settled and autlioritatively set forth in her standards 
 and hturgy from the period of her organization in this land. 
 
 But there were also those, High Churchmen, professing not to 
 be ritualists, who yet did so far sympathize with the ritualistic 
 movement that they were averse to any interference with it. They 
 claimed that the largest scope of freedom should be allowed so 
 long as positive law was not violated and no judicial tribunal had 
 acted upon the questions at issue. Hence they were not agitated 
 with any fears as to the outcome of rituahsm upon the faith and 
 order of the Church, and so accorded to the ritualists a certain 
 countenance and sujjport. 
 
 New party lines thus became distinctly marked. Unhappily 
 there were not wanting, soon after Bishop Pinkney's entrance 
 upon sole jurisdiction in the diocese, causes and occasions for 
 very painful and bitter conflicts. Naturally, in those contests, 
 some of the clergy on both sides became more prominent than 
 others, and found themselves in positions that rendered them 
 more or less liable to misajiprehension and misconstruction both 
 as to their motives and theii* actions. 
 
 Such is human nature, even under the sanctifying influences of 
 Divine grace, that good men in times of excitement and under 
 convictions as to great issues at stake, will give way to feelings 
 and give utterance to words not in unison with the sweet and 
 charitable fruits of the spu'it of mutual love in the Gospel. It is 
 well in the life of the Church as in that of the individual that 
 much in the past should be forgotten when it leaves behind the 
 salutary lessons of moderation, wisdom, and charity. AVhile this 
 is so, it is due to the facts of history and to the character and 
 course of Bishop Pixkxey, to recur as briefly as possible to those 
 diocesan troubles that arose soon after the decease of Bishoj? 
 Whittingham, and which continued for several successive years 
 to agitate the convention of the diocese. As Bishop of the 
 diocese and president of the convention. Bishop Pixkxey was 
 necessarily connected with them to some extent. 
 
 During the administration of Bishop Whittingham the Assist- 
 ant Bishop was not brought into conflict with any of the clergy 
 whose course touching matters of ritual was attracting attention 
 and causing so much disturl^ance in the Church. The cognizance 
 of these came specially within the province of the senior Bishop, 
 who, with all his commanding force and influence in Church mat- 
 ters, was finding that he had persons and elements to deal with 
 not easily controlled by his sui)erior wisdom, his godly counsels, 
 and his paternal authority. This was markedly and painfully 
 evidenced in certain occurrences that took place in Mt. Calvary 
 Church, Baltimore, specially in the years 1874 and 1875,* when 
 
 * For very full and clear statement of these difficulties in the matter of Mt. 
 Calvary Church, see Dr. Brand's Life of Bishop "Whittingham, vol. ii, chap, 
 vii. 

 
 LIFE or lilSllOl' riNKNKV. -JT.") 
 
 the Bisliop Avas foicoil to intfiposf his J^piscoitjil iidiiioiiitioiis for 
 the vindiciition of the doctriiies of the Cliurch, for obcdiciii-f to 
 the eanouical requirements, and for conformity to "the usaj^'c of 
 the diocese." In which cases he hesitated not to express liis stron^^' 
 and emjihatic disapproval of forms, usages, and teacliin;(s which, 
 in his jndonient, he deemed " contrary to the mind and intent of 
 the Church and fraught with (hin^ei-ous conse(pH'nces." 
 
 "While acting as the assistant. Bishop PiNKXEvin some instances 
 of his visitations made it matter of request that no arrangements 
 of ritual should be made that contravened the usages, rnbrics. and 
 canons of the Church touching the order of the ])ul)lic worship : 
 and he Avas accoixlingly relieved of any embarrassments on such 
 occasi(ms. 
 
 It will be seen from the following letters that Bishop Bixknev 
 liad very decided views regarding the ritualistic movement, and 
 was clear in his conviction that the course of the ritualists called 
 for some positive legislative action by the General Church. 
 
 In his letter to Judge Huntington, in Hartford, Conn., he states 
 very strongly what he thought about the matter : 
 
 " August 12, 1874. 
 
 " My Dear Judge : I write because I am fearful that in my iiudated letter 
 I omitted to state the Friday nit^lit I expected to be with you. It is the 
 Ifith Sunday, the 18th, yoii can make any api)ointnient for nw you phrase: 
 at the college in the afternoon, if you think best. I would j^rcatly jjn^fer 
 being a listener. I think you are mistaken about live letters being left by 
 me unanswered. There was one. and but one. I often desist from writing 
 because I do not like to give my friends troi;ble. and my handwriting is not 
 calculated to improve temper. 
 
 " I am compelled to dissent from you in one point. I think great, 
 immense evil will result from the do-nothing ])olicy. I have watched the 
 movements of this school of thought very closely, and never in all history 
 do I remember a class who have evinced more of dogmatism and persistency. 
 They pay no sort of respect to the expression of the views of the whole 
 House of Bishops, or the godly counsels of their own (diocesan). Dr. D., 
 one of the leaders, avows that we must be allowed to go in search of some- 
 thing older than the prayer book, even to the verge of mediaeval error, and_ 
 warns us that we do not confound Anglican with Gospel truth. Dr. DeK. 
 itses language concerning the Eucharist indentical with that which Jeremy 
 Taylor ascribes to the Romanists, and goes into the cure of another to 
 administer jirivate confession and absolution without hesitation. I think 
 Bishop Hiintington, of all the Bishops, has given the clearest exposition of 
 this school, and I thank CiOD for it. It is expressed with that nervous 
 eloquence and precision that mark all his produt lions, and it is not daubed 
 with untempered mortar, or neutralized by a false and squeamish charity. 
 I as heartily concur with the no less eloquent language used by Bishop 
 Wells, where he says, 'if I can read the English tongue with any compre- 
 hension of its meaning, the purpose is avowed to teach the real doctrine of 
 the mass, and to bring back, as far as may be done, the entire ceremonial 
 of the mediaeval mass, finally and deliberately dropped from our prayer 
 book at the Reformation.' He echoes my own thoughts and deep convic- 
 tions. I as fully endorse his wise injunction that ' calm and careful dis. 
 crimination is needed.' With this school can we fold our hands upon our
 
 276 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 bosoms and say that the best thing we can do is to do nothing ? These 
 things grow, my dear Judge, and they grow rapidly. They jiossess certain 
 elements of power that may not be overlooked. Novelties attract. They 
 are, so far as our poor, fallen nature is concerned, even more jjowerful than 
 truth, seeing they are more in harmony with it. Men of one idea are ever 
 to be watched and dreaded. Diffusion weakens : combination and concen- 
 tration strengthen. Besides, the appeal to the senses is fascinating to the 
 young. The placing of something between GOD and the conscience is 
 taking with the populace precisely as we see it developed in the Church of 
 Kome. Now has the Church authority to gtiard and defenil the faith once 
 delivered? If so, can she fail h(mestly to use it ? It may be said the power 
 is in the ordinary ; but scores of us are here to witness that the power is 
 not executed even to the degree it exists. I am for law because I believe 
 that law is the only safeguard of freedom. No man should be allowed to 
 subvert the faith of the Chtirch, to seek or labor to bring back a system of 
 error we solemnly discarded as false and fatal. The wide Mediterranean of 
 Episcopal powers has been bridged over by canon, and we prefer to stand 
 upon law. I am surprised that one of your singular powers of penetration 
 and wise forethought could have reached the conclusion that the best thing 
 to be done is to do nothing. I know you are pre-eminently wise — almost 
 always right in your premises and conclusions — that you think deeply with 
 logical force : but I must differ from you. 
 
 '* I regret that you are not in the convention, not-withstanding. For I feel 
 almost sure that if you were a delegate we should not be wide apart in the 
 final action. I fully concede that the sul)ject is one of great difficulty and 
 delicacy, on which legislation must move with extremest caution. But rest 
 assured, a stop must be put to the agitation. The Protestantism of the 
 Church must be vindicated and maintained. The effort to throw her back 
 with the darkness of the middle ages must be resisted. I write to you as I 
 do to no one else, fully, freely, and currente calamo. 
 
 " I have jtist written what I propose to use as a charge to convocation — 
 the convocation of Washington. If it is not used before I reach Hartford 
 I shall like to have your ojiiuion. It is a subject of great practical imjjor- 
 tance. I wrote an article on the crisis which Judge Sheffey and one or two 
 other friends thought most admh'ably suited to the times : but they agreed 
 with me that it would be more delicate to keep silence and abide the coming 
 events. An Assistant Bishop is an anomaly. 
 
 " Love to all. I hope Mrs. H. and the girls are well, and the little grandson 
 as original as ever. How I miss yovi — more and more — still more and more, 
 in counsel, in social converse, always, everywhere. Mrs. P. sends her love, 
 and so does Mr. L. Yours affeetionatelv, 
 
 "Judge S. H. Huntington. ' W. PINKNEY." 
 
 In a letter somewhat later addressed to the Rt. Rev. Bishop 
 Coxe, of AVesteru New York, Bishop Pinkney expresses the same 
 views. It is not certainly known that the letter was sent. In it 
 he urges the adoption of some positive enactments by the Chiu'ch 
 to arrest the progress of ritualism. He thought that the e^-il 
 could be corrected by such legislation. He says : 
 
 "I would pass a canon positively forbidding practices and teachings that 
 are freely indidged in l>y some of the clergy — practices that we know are 
 more than slyly suggestive of grave errors of doctrine, and the more to be 
 dreaded because the errors are hidden under forms of beauty that captivate 
 the young and imperil them. The tendency is to leave the truly primitive 
 and the truly Catholic — Catholic beca\;se primitive — for the mediaeval. I 
 would make the prohibition perfectly clear and distinct. I would forbid the
 
 LIFE OF IJISHOr I'INKNEV. t>77 
 
 introduction of novelties into the Kitiial by any of the piifstlnmil. Ni.thinf^ 
 should be added to, and uothin}^ shouhl be taken away from, tin- Hook of 
 Common Prayer as it stands. I would make th»' attempt to do it, aftt-r 
 admonition of the Bishop, j^round for trial, and. if jjrovfd, a forfeiture of 
 the ministerial office. I would try not for doctrine but for a wilful vinlution 
 of the canon. This may seem a harsh process. ]5\it the jieace nf the (.'Imreh 
 is too precious to be put in jeopardy by the private faiicit-s of men who 
 spurn counsel and set hiw at detiance. For one I do not believe that the 
 Church is made stronger by having in its membership those who are all the 
 while drinking in the spirit of mediajvalism and reviving long e.xploded 
 A^iews to disturb and discjuiet. Better go to their own place." 
 
 "NVlion, therefore, after the death of Bislioj) Whittiiin^hain, Bi.sho}> 
 PixKXEV became sole Bishop hi ehar<^e, he found, as his predecessor 
 had done, that he was brought into painful conflict with those 
 whom he was forced to reg-ard as disloyal to the Church by both 
 their doctrinal teachings and then- ritualistic practices and cere 
 monies.
 
 278 LIFE OF BISHOP FINKXEY 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 Episcopal Laboes — Bishop's Missions — Failing Health — Death of His 
 Brothek. 1S77-'80. 
 
 The life and labors of Bishop Pixkxey for the next three years^ 
 from 1877 to 1880, were marked, as all the preceding years of his 
 Episcopate had been, with assiduous discharge of duty ; and during 
 that period very grave events, to be subsequently noted, occurred, 
 affecting him personally in his domestic life and oflficialW in the 
 sole charge of jurisdiction which devolved upon him. His records 
 for these years indicate very decided and steady growth of the 
 Church in the diocese, the record for the year at the Convention 
 of 1880 showing a greater number of persons confirmed and more 
 sermons preached than in any ^-ear of his Episcopate. 
 
 The labors of a year may be condensed in a brief summary or 
 record, but in order to fully comprehend and appreciate them in 
 their severe demands for thought and care, for toil and time, one 
 would have to follow the Bishop as from day to day he was wont 
 to go forth in unwearying devotion to his work. No records can 
 tell what must have been the experiences of the actor in this 
 increasing round of duty. The Bishop had not then the lithe 
 movement and ^dgor of his early days. He had nearly reached 
 his threescore years and ten. It was the intense convictions of 
 his soul that carried him on to the utmost strain of physical and 
 mental endurance. Had not his powers of endurance been so 
 great he would have succumbed at a mvich earlier period under 
 his labors. He was regardless of personal ease and comfort in 
 travel, often going in oj^en vehicles and through stormy weather. 
 
 Thus of one of his risitations in St. Mar3'"s county,^ in November, 
 he writes : 
 
 " Had to return to Baltimore, as there was no possible way of reaching thfr 
 next appointment. This I deeply regretted, as it occasioned disappointment 
 and J) lit me to much additional trouble and loss of time. It could not, how- 
 ever, be laid at my d(jor, as I was on the spot waiting to be conducted to the 
 uext point." 
 
 A few days after, in the adjoining county, he writes : 
 
 " Rode seven miles in the afternoon to confirm one poor colored candidate- 
 in private address. She was ill." 
 
 Then again, later in the season, he says of one of his visitations : 
 
 ' ■ I had to ride in a sleij;!! through a snow^-drif t to the parsonage ; rodfr 
 to the church in a terrible snow-storm ; no congregation."
 
 LIFE (»F ]!ISI(()1' I'INKNKY. '1~[) 
 
 And of the next morning- he says : 
 
 " Had a mtv rdinaiitic confliet with oue of the worst siinw-drifts I fvtT 
 piic-omiti'i-fd, at 5 A. M.: tlKTiiiDnictci- lidow zero." 
 
 He never forgot an ai)i)ointnient, and was always pronij)tly on 
 liand for any steand)oat or railroad train or carriage that wiis to 
 meet him. It was only in some few instances, wlien stoi-ms or 
 floods or casualties intervened, that he was prevented from reach- 
 ing his places of destination. 
 
 He was singularly mindful of even litth' casual promises. On 
 one of his visitations, becoming interested in a little hoy of the 
 family where he was staying, for the Bishop was very f(jnd of 
 children and young perscms, he said to the child that he would 
 bring him a penknife next time he came. More than a year 
 elapsed, and all about it had l)een forgotten, even by the l)oy 
 himself, but when the Bishop came on his next ^isit as soon as he 
 greeted the child he di-ew from his pocket the promised penknife. 
 
 "Walking on the Avenue, in Washington, with a young friend 
 goifig away, the Bishop stepped for a moment in a jeweller's 
 store, and handed to the youth a pair of gold sleeve-buttons as a 
 memento. 
 
 Being in a clergyman's family on one of his visitations he learned 
 incidentally that one of the rector's daughters had been much 
 interested in some extracts from the J^^octes Auihrosiaiid. As 
 soon as he returned to Washington he forthwith sent to her a 
 beautiful and complete edition of all the volumes of the Xoctes 
 AmbrosUina. 
 
 Many instances might be given illustrative of his thoughtful 
 kindness and loving spirit ; and not a few of the clergy received 
 from him unexpected gifts of some valuable works in theology. 
 
 In his frequent and almost constant travel on raih-oads. he was 
 very observant of men and things, noting and studying human 
 character, and with quick e^'e catching the beauties in the changes 
 in natural scenery. So well known was he, not only to the 
 otScials on the railroads, but to those accustomed to travel on 
 the different routes, that the most respectful attentions were paid 
 to him, and the hours were often dej^rived of weariness by con- 
 verse with friends or casual acquaintances formed in the cars : 
 and whether on railroad or street car. he always insisted upon 
 giving up his seat to any lady, or invalid, or aged one. Often in 
 the crowded street cars he would decline a proffered seat, and 
 with satchel in one hand, and holding on to the strap overhead 
 with the other, he would make idl things pleasant by some 
 apposite words; and whenever any of the clerical biethren were 
 with him, or taking one of the city cars, l)efore any one could 
 hand in ticket or nickel, it would be found that the Bishop had 
 anticipated all by paying the fare of each one.
 
 280 LIFE OF BISHOP riNKNEY. 
 
 On liis raili'oad travels incidents not infrequently occurred 
 when he was able to render to others, in his prompt and courteous 
 way. the kindly offices of counsel or help. The following letter 
 illustrates one of such incidents occurring while he was waiting 
 at the Relay station for a train : 
 
 " Washingtox, D. C. 
 *' To Rev. Bishop Pinkxey. 
 
 "Dear Sir: Some time ago at the station Relay Hoiase Jiiuctiou you 
 
 paid the fare of a lady going west to B ville, Maryland, who. from trains 
 
 failing to connect at' that place, was unable to travel <m directly, and was 
 obliged to go on another route. The conductor compelling her to pay 
 another fare, and not having any money about her, she would have been 
 obliged to remain if you had not paid the fare (extra) for her. 
 
 "The lady was my sister, and she wrote of your kindness to her. and 
 requested me to remit the amount which you so kindly advanced. 
 
 " Allow me, sir, to add my thanks to hers to express our sense of your 
 great kindness on the occasion. 
 
 " I remain, with great respect, 
 
 " T S A L." 
 
 Early in 1877, Bishop Pinkxey was called to attend the funeral 
 j of the late Rear -Admiral Louis M. Goldsborough. His relations 
 and those of his brother. Surgeon Xinian Pinkney, with the deceased 
 naval officer and with the family had been intimate for years. 
 . The Admiral, when in "NVashrngton, had been one of the Bishop's 
 1 parishioners in the Church of the Ascension, and was the com- 
 manding officer of the naval squadron in which Dr. Ninian Pink- 
 ney had been the surgeon for a number of years. The funeral 
 ser^•ices were held in the Church of the Ascension. "Washington, 
 on the 22d February. 1877. The address of the Bishoj) on that 
 occasion was one of such marked beauty and excellence in the 
 portraiture of the Admu-al's character and life, that it called 
 forth, after its delivery, the request for publication, and elicited 
 a letter from Dr. J. C. Welling, of the Columbian University, which 
 is given below. The following extracts from the address are also 
 given : 
 
 " He was a friend and I dearly loved him. I loved him for his bravery, 
 for his womanly tenderness, for the dew-drops of charity he distilled on the 
 pathway of the sorrowing. He was too brave a man to do a wrong deed. 
 Honest as day. he passed through naval life and private life without reproach. 
 But above all he was, I believe, a truly d*vout churchman, faithful to his 
 baptismal vow and the eucharistic that sealed his allegiance to GOD. Some 
 years ago I watched with him the passage to the grave of a sou and a 
 daughter, who walked gently dcnvn to the river's brink and crossed over in 
 peace ; and it was beautifiil to see the resignation that was beaming from 
 his tearful eye, and crushed and bleeding heart. * * * 
 
 •' Standing in the midst of those of you who knew him, honored him, and 
 loved him. I may be allowed t(j say what (jtherwise I might feel to keep to 
 myself, that nothing has given me so much ot joy and just pride as the con- 
 sciousness that to-day the n-ligion of the cr(jss has no more self-denying, 
 stalwart defenders than the men who fling out the stars and stripes to every 
 breeze that blows. England, the grand old monarchy, whose path is on the
 
 LIFE OF lilSlUO' I'lNKNF.V. '2S\ 
 
 inoinitiiiu-wave, and whose home is mi ihf di.c]) : wh.. has ^'ivni iis a iixhlc 
 litoratiirc. a iiohh- cixh- <>{ hiws. and a still nul)li'r tln'(ili>;4y. ),'avf us a Cnlliiij,'- 
 wood— the pridt' of the nation anil the peer of Nelxm in the lieaiity of liiw 
 meek faith, for study. And now we are j^'iviu},' hack to the Old W«irld a mhvhI 
 prowess, softened and suhliniated in many of our sons l)y a faith as simple 
 as ii child's, to assure them that we are never so well satisfied as when we 
 see our standard planted ou the cross, and feel that in this we have the surest 
 guaranty of ])eace preserved, or the terrors of war alleviated. Aniou^ the 
 last words uttered by our lamented friend were tin-se : • My trust is in 
 CHRIST alon.'.' * * * We. too. are dying ! Earth is crum'l.ling lieneath 
 our feet. The things that are seen are temporal. Oh. let us lay hold on 
 eternal life I Let us seek solid and substantial .ioys, and lay our treasures up 
 in heaven." 
 
 " The Columbian University. 
 
 " Washinoton, Fehri/ari/ 2'A. ls77. 
 
 " My Dear Bishop : I feel assured that I am representing the thought of 
 'everybody who heard you yesterday at the funeral of Admiral Goldsborough. 
 when I express the earnest ho])<> and wish that you should give your eh xpient 
 and excellent discourse to a wider public than those present at the ("hui-cli 
 of the Ascension, and to the family and friends of the departed Admiral in a 
 shajje fitted for preservation. 
 
 " I need not characterize your sermon, whether regar<l be ha<l to its style 
 or content — to its beautiful ])ortraiture of a man in whom, as you truly 
 observed, the lion and the lamli were harmoniously blended, or to the Tuoral 
 and religious lessons pointed tor the whole community by the shining nuirks 
 at which death lias recently been aiming his darts in Washington. The 
 inspired preacher has told us that ' the words of the wise are as goads, and 
 as nails fastened by the masters of asseml)lies.' Let us, then, have the 
 words you uttered yesterday in a form which shall help to ' fasten ' them in 
 the memory and consciences of your hearers. 
 
 " I beg leave to add that in so writing I do not speak for myself alone. I 
 have heard the same wish exi)ressed by all with whom I have communicated 
 on the subject. 
 
 " G. is quite sick, but sends her love to you. 
 
 " Ever aflfectiouatelv vours, 
 
 "JAMES C. WELLING." 
 
 Bishop Pinkney's laborious duties, however, ])eoan iit h-iiofh to 
 tell upou his coustitutiou aiul health. He was very much hel})ecl 
 and recuperated, however, by his brief rest in suunuer for a few 
 weeks at the White Sulphur as Mr. Corcorans guest. ]3ut he 
 seems not to have taken any such rest in 1877, as the following 
 letter shows : 
 
 "August '.», 1H77. 
 
 "My Dear Mr. Corcoran: I begin now to i-egret that I did not leave 
 myself at liberty to accept of your very kind invitation, as I am not feeling 
 well. But it cannot now V)e remedied. I have wi>rk running on all through 
 Aiigust and September. I am very sorry to hear that you are not improved 
 in health. But i)erhaps in the good Providence of GOD you may feel the 
 improvement after your return to the city. It is, I think, often so. The 
 system is invigorated by the change of air and scene, although the effects 
 are not immediately observed. Your mission in life is still most important, 
 and I trust GOD will spare you to accomplish it fully. It is one of the 
 graces (?) of time, the higher* life to cultivate and the sublimer mission to
 
 282 LIFE OF BISHOr riXKXEY. 
 
 prepare for. ' We die daily,' St. Paul says : aud this is the true life — weaning 
 the heart away from the world that now is, the bright and beautiful world 
 where there is much to charm, ' in sky aud sea and laud.' is the grand lesson 
 we have to learn. It is only when by faith we see the things that are eternal 
 and rise to the moral grandeur of our i:)Osition as the called of GOD that we 
 can hope to appreciate as we ought the things that are temporal. May you 
 be kept in peace ! May the overshadowing of the viewless wing be over you ! 
 May the bird in the heart sing sweetly as you walk through the valley of 
 tears ! May the dews of yoitr charity fall itpon the jiathway you tread ! 
 May the alabaster box be broken over the body of your LORD. 
 
 " We are living in fearful times, it seems to me ; times that try men's 
 hearts. The violence and fratid with all their train of evils call for the wisest 
 statesmanship and the most earnest Christian faith. But still I hope for the 
 best. Love to the little ones, and my very kindest regards to Miss Eustis. 
 She has always been very kind to me. aud I appreciate it. 
 
 "Alfectiouately, 
 
 " W. W. CoRCORAX, Esq. " W. P.' 
 
 Laborious as were bis regular Episcopal duties he superadded 
 to them what he called his '• Bishojj's Missions," of which he was 
 accustomed to hold several dui'iug the year — usually in the coun- 
 try parishes, sometimes in the city churches. They were held at 
 certain intervals in his Episcopal appointments, when he might 
 very well have rested. 
 
 He held two such '• Episcopal IMissions " in the autumn of 1879, 
 and again, several in every successive year. He usually took with 
 him two or three of the clergy, and for several successive days 
 held continuous services, morning, afternoon, and evening, with 
 earnest preachings and exhortations by himself and the clerical 
 brethren. The Bishop doubtless remembered the times of spirit- 
 ual refreshment and incitement in those '* associations " held dur- 
 ing his early ministry, aud in which he was wont to participate 
 with his clerical brethren. 
 
 By holding such " missions " he was, in fact, by his own prac- 
 tice, really anticipating what has since been found, under judicious 
 management, by those j^ossessing the special qualifications, a very 
 effective means of mission spiritual work in parishes and congre- 
 gations. While the ordinary and settled ministrations of the 
 Church are most effective for the important ends of theu* ajipoint^ 
 ment. it has been thought by many earnest minds that a series of 
 special services of a somewhat extraordinary and '" revival " char- 
 acter were from time to time needed, not only to kindle up fresh 
 life in the membership of the Church, but be made the means of 
 bringing under direct ministrations that large mass outside the 
 Chiu'ch " having no hope, and without GOD in the world." Hence 
 the " spiritual retreat." the ''^^arochial mission." the "convocation,"' 
 under the dean or an archdeacon, and the agency of special 
 " evangelists." 
 
 Bishop PiXKNEY found that, apart from the good spiritual and 
 awakening results of his •' Episcopal Missions," he was brought,, 
 by holding them, into more direct and closer relations with the
 
 LIFK or IMSIlol' I'iNKM-.V. '283' 
 
 members of the coii^a-e<4atious. wlio felt that us their chief pastor 
 in the Lord he was taking- a deip inttiest hi jill that concerned 
 both their temporal and their spiritual welfare. This hel))<-d to 
 g-ive him that powei-ful hold wliich lie had upon the niiii<ls and 
 hearts of the laity. 
 
 His reference to some of these missions is interesting-; of one 
 held in the Ascension Church, Baltimore, on the 14tli of January, 
 1881, he says : 
 
 " I preac-hed the opcniiij^ sermon to a \.i\ ^..inl i-.m-n-iii um. (ii'^piii- 
 the terrilih' state of the weather. * * * " 
 
 " This was my first Episcopal mission in the city of Baltimore. 
 
 " I feel justified in saying that its success, under GOD, met fully my moHt 
 sanguine expectations. It was in all respects thoroughly clnn-(-hly! The 
 l)reaehing was earnest, positive, and direct. It was marked l)y signal ability 
 on the part of my young helj)ers. It was preceded by weeks of i>rayer, for 
 without prayer I felt the work must fail. I had a twofold ohjeet iii view: 
 the reviving the work of grace in believers, and the moving thosr who had 
 neglected the calls of the Spirit to thought autl action. I believe in the 
 continuous preacliing of the Word. I also l)elieve in the wisdom of work- 
 ing with two or three. I was rejoiced to find myself surrounded by the 
 vestry, who had all through the work warm words of cheer. The ladies 
 were indefatigalde in their efforts to minister to our physical necessities. 
 They will be pleased to hear that their Bishop never felt more iit home- 
 than with the people of Ascension. These services were an oasis in my 
 careworn life.'' 
 
 Of one held for several successive days at West Iliver, Anne 
 Arundel county, he writes : 
 
 " This was a very successful mission. The people were alive to its impor- 
 tance, and evinced in their attendance and deep attention their sympathy 
 with their Bisho]). The hospitality extended to us was just what one would 
 e.xpect from one of the garden-spots in the diocese. It is no dis))aragement 
 to any other to say that West Iliver is the seat of culture anil refinement." 
 
 Besides the active duties of the Episcopate, there is a great 
 deal of other work to be done : a Bishops correspondence, iu 
 answering letters, giving counsels, adjtisting parochial dilticulties 
 and troubles, and arranging plans for future work, absorb a great 
 deal of time and call for the exercise of much thought and wise 
 judgment. Moreover, the Bishop must have time to prepare ser- 
 mons, keep u}) study, and l^ecome well versed in the many grave 
 questions which bear upon the interests and jn'ogress of the Gen- 
 eral Church. In addition to all wliich is that deep and almost 
 ixiinful sense of responsibility which every true Bishop feels 
 respecting the welfare of the tiock over which the Holy (xhost 
 hath made him - overseer." And all who ever had any Imsiness, 
 any social or ecclesiastical relations, with Bishop Pinknev well 
 knew how conscientious and exact he was in seeking to meet every 
 engagement and duty. He would deny himself needful rest and 
 put himself to great inccmvenience and tr()ul)le in order that he
 
 284 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 might render to others some personal or official service. It is 
 not surprising, therefore, strong as was his natural constitution, 
 that under the stress and wear of threescore years and ten he 
 should l)egin to feel some of the physical intirmities of age. In 
 1878 there Avere some indications of failing health. In the sum- 
 mer of that year he was suddenly seized with serious illness, 
 brought on by exposure to heat in travel, which might have proved 
 fatal but for prompt medical aid. The attack came on while on 
 a visitation towards the close of the month of June. On the day 
 jDreceding, the 23d, he had visited the Agricultural College and 
 jDreached the baccalaureate sermon in the morning, and in the 
 afternoon went on to Mt. "Washington, near Baltimore, where lie 
 preached and held confirmation. Returning through Baltimore 
 the next day he "■ was taken." as he states in his convention 
 address, " very ill on the cars. The doctor prescribed total 
 rest. I was consequently compelled to recall several outstanding 
 aj^joointments. It was a very severe threat, of which, however, 
 there has been providentially no return." In a letter written a 
 few days after to the eldest daughter of his friend. Dr. Lewin, he 
 more jDarticularly describes this attack. 
 
 "I was taken on Monday in a peculiar way: went to the ears at Mt. 
 Washiuj^ton, and walked to the station and took my seat ; reached Baltimore 
 and took the street-ears for Camden station. After I entered the Baltimore 
 cars I seemed to have lost consciousness, for I passed Bladensburg without 
 kncnving it was the place to get out, and at the Washington depot I remained 
 sitting, when a gentleman said to me, ' it is the place to get out I ' I 
 managed to get to Burchell's, and went to Led. Garuett came and v;sed 
 strong remedies. * * * The next morning I was miich relieved. T got 
 home, through Burchell's kindness, at night : am feeling a little stronger 
 to-day. My own opinion is that I was strongly threatened with apoplexy ; 
 but say nothing of this to no one but your father. I do not wish it to get 
 out. It was the excessive overwork of the last two weeks. 
 
 "I shall not be able to attend the convocation. I sent Andrews word. 
 I regret exceedingly that I did not reach the Mission Committee. I hope 
 they did the thing that is right. The doctor has advised total rest. He 
 says it is indispensable ; no nerves, brain, or body can stand it." 
 
 His friend. Dr. Lewin, was ill about the same time, and grave 
 fears were entertained as to the result of his sickness. 
 
 In this same letter to the daughter, the Bishop strongly lu-ges 
 that her father should go to the Sulphur Springs in Yu-ginia : " I 
 hoj^e he will go as soon as possible ;"' adding, "I am satisfied that 
 he had better tax his strength to go." Dr. Lewin did go ; and 
 the rest and the medicinal waters had the happiest effect in 
 entire restoration to health. 
 
 Alarming as was the Bishop's attack of illness, he did not long- 
 rest, for in less than ten days we find him resuming visitations ; 
 but he was soon compelled to relinqv^ish these visitations during 
 -the hot summer months. He records, on July 5, this note :
 
 LIFE OF ]!]SI|(il' PINKM.V. 285 
 
 •• 'Returned to Blinlensl)mj,', au.l was int.'idict.-d fr-.m all furtliir \v..rk 
 l)y the Dot-tor.' He then went on to the White Suljihur Springs t.. he the 
 1,'uest of his friend, Mr. Corcoran, ' whose kinilness to me,' as he wrote, • haH 
 known no abatement these many years.' " 
 
 Ho cjuiie l)ack luucli refresliod In- llic rest !m(l nM-i(ali..ii. un.l 
 eiiily in September entered upon his autuinnal and winter visita- 
 tions. 
 
 lu the month of October iji this year. 1S77, he was in attend- 
 ance at the General Convention heht in Boston, and took ])nvt in 
 the House of Bisho})s in the important proceedino-s of that body. 
 At these triennial meetings he met with many special friemls iu 
 the Episcopate and amono- the clergy. They were as refreshing 
 to him as they were delightful to '^ those friends. He started 
 some week or ten days before the meeting of the body, to enul)le 
 him to make a visit to his friend. Judge Huntington, in Hartford, 
 Connecticut, where on Sunday, 30th September, he preadnMl iji 
 the morning at Trinity Church, and in the afternoon at the college 
 chapel. By appointment, during the convention, be ja-eached 
 for the Board of Missions in Lynn. Massachusetts, and again l)y 
 special request for the Rev. Dr. Giesy in Norwich, Connecticut. 
 
 Returning, he resumed his visitations in the diocese on tlie 
 28th of October. 
 
 Towards the close of this same year. 1877, the Bishoj) exjx-i-i- 
 enced a sad bereavement in the death of his youngei- and oidy 
 brother. Surgeon Ninian Pinkney, of the Vnited States Navy. He 
 died on the 15th of Deceml)er, 1877, after a brief illness, at his 
 residence near Easton, Talbot county, Maryland. The Bishop 
 was able to be with him for consolation in the last moments and 
 for the commendatory offices of the Church over the departing' 
 spirit. The mutual attachment between these brothers was 
 singularly tender and enduring. Each had for the other an 
 almost unbounded admiration in the spheres thev resjjcctivelv 
 tilled. 
 
 A clergyman of the Church who had l)een the i)astor of Sur- 
 geon Ninian Pinkney for several years and was intimate in his 
 family as one of his nearest friends, thus wrote to the Bishop : 
 
 " I can speak from my own knowledge of his noble charaeteristies, and 
 from personal experience of his many kindnesses to me and mine. I had a 
 high estimate of his great and varied powers : of his vast erudition iu iue<l- 
 ical science ; of his extraordinary learning outside of his )>rofession, even 
 to a large compass of constitutional law and political philosophy; of his 
 special gifts of oratory : and, not least, of those genial (jualities which 
 rendered him so delightful in the social circle, and made his preseni'e so 
 enjoyable to his friends, whether at his own hospital)le mansion or elsewhere. 
 I can never forget his kinihiesses, bis marked characteristics, his almost mar- 
 vellous powers and capacities." 
 
 Of the letters of condolence which he received not one was more 
 touching and beautiful than that whic-h came to him from his
 
 "286 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 intimate friend. Dr. James C. Welling, of the Colunilnan Univer- 
 sity, from Avhicli the concluding paragraphs are here given : 
 
 * * * " It is indeed u great afHiction iu whose shadow yoia have been 
 called to sit, for the heart of yt>iu- brother was kuit to you. and your heart 
 Avas knit to him iu an affection which was as singuhir as it was beautiful. 
 The very sight of it was a benediction to your friends : and, if so, how great 
 must have been the joy which each of you took in the other. 
 
 '' There is an old German hymn whose lines always come back to my 
 memory in moments like these. The purport of them is, that ' as we look 
 downward om' pathway in life seems to lie over the graves of those who are 
 most dear to us. but when we lift our eyes upward we see that our way lies 
 under the unsetting stars f)f the Divine promises.' That these stars may 
 guide you through this ' night of weeping ' unto the ' morning of joy ' is, 
 my dear Bishop, the fervent prayer of your affectionate friend, 
 
 •• J. C. WELLING." 
 
 In communicating to his friend, Judge Huntington, the intel- 
 ligence of his brother's death, he writes : 
 
 " December 17, 1877. 
 
 " Deak Judge : I know you will be grieved to hear that my brother fell 
 asleep on Saturday. His end was calm and peaceful. His disease, I think, 
 was incurable ; some obstruction iu the stomach, so that nothing could pass 
 into it. 
 
 •' He said to me the day he died. ' I have i\\\\ confidence in the mercv of 
 GOD in JESUS CHRIST our LOED. My sole trust is in Him crucified.' 
 And then with an eloquence of manner I have never seen equalle'd. he added, 
 ' if the key-stone of the arch of this dependence.' pointing with his finger 
 to the heart. ' be not broken. I think all will Ije well.' He was, dear Judge. 
 a large-hearted man. as sympathetic as a child. His skill iu surgery was 
 not excelled, if it was equalled, by any one iu this country. He has saved 
 by discretion more limbs than most others have cut oft'. This is a terrible 
 blow to me. We were only fourteen months asunder in our birth, and never 
 severed afterwards farther than distance and duty severed irs. I shall carry 
 the shadow of this cross to my grave. He was in many respects a most 
 remarkable man. But so it is. One is taken and another left. My heart 
 is too full of sadness to say more. Love to all. 
 '" Affectionatelv, 
 
 " WILLIAM PINKNEY." 
 
 Writing again soon after to Judge Huntington, who had mean- 
 while sustained a like bereavement in his own family, the Bishop 
 thus condoles with him, and touchingly alludes to his own sorrow : 
 
 " February 12. 1878. 
 " My Dear Judge : Your letter touched and grieved me deeply. I little 
 thought that you would be so soon called to pass through the same bitter 
 waters as have wellnigh flooded my soul. And yet I rejoice that you have 
 such sweet and tender memories to soothe yoii. and such well-grounded 
 hope that your loss is his gain. The loss at oiir time of life may not be 
 repaired. There is a solitude in the heart that nothing earthly can fill : a 
 silence in the soul that no earthly miisic tones can break. Oh. my dear 
 Judge, you have had heavy crosses to bear ; but still you have a sunlight of 
 hope in all of them that is as rare as it is beautiful Your brother's illness 
 was about the same as mine. Eapifl was the progress of disease. I rejoice 
 to know that in your daughtej-s and sons you have strong, loving hearts to
 
 LIFE OF JilSMOl' I'lNKNKY. 287 
 
 ;U'iiii on, anil in your uraiidiliil.ln'ii such .•l.xiurut disiji-H.-rs of sorrow. 
 Tlu'sc I havo not. 
 
 ••How stranijt' it is : I look for my brotli.-r. Hits li^'lit. l.uovimf st.-p, 
 his (hcin-fnl t(jne. his every movement <)f the hand, are so visil.h- that I lo.>k 
 to the door and almost feel he will enter. He was cominK' '••''^ month to s,.,. 
 me. In the room in which I am writing,' are li>,rhters lie mad.- out of manu- 
 script he destroyed, and on one or two of them I ol)taine<l infonnation I 
 needed in ineparim,' his memoir, which is now in the printer's hands at New 
 York. One is taken and another left. Well! so it is. There is no .me 
 liviufi whose me.'kn.-ss and simple-heart. -d faith I so covet as yours. No lift- 
 that has passed under my notice has ^'iven me .so mnch .)f jdcasur.-and warm 
 approval. We are shadows, dear Judj,'e. Only t.)-day I saw in th.- j.ap.-rs 
 that William Welsh had dropped dead on a niission'of men-v. He was a 
 grand type of our redeemed humanity. For although he was" not tin- nuin 
 that drew men to him. he was a man <")f immense force in the Church work. 
 
 ••I still hoj)e I shall be able to get to see you in Jun.' for four days. 
 including a Sunday. I wrote a sermon on • wiping away all tears,' Ac, and 
 another on • He saw them toiling in rowing,' and to y.iu I wish to preach 
 them. For they are in accord with your wounded heart and mine. Love 
 irom Mrs. P. and Mr. L.. with deepest symjiathy. 
 
 '• Afl'ectionately, 
 
 "Hon. S. H. Huntington. W. P." 
 
 The Bishop, iu the letter he was iiccustomed to write to Mr. 
 Corcoran on his birthday, touchingly alludes to this death of his 
 brother : 
 
 " WASHiNfJTON, Dei'euihir 'iii, 1x77. 
 
 " ilY Dear Mr. CoKCOR.\N : Though it will not be in my power t.> join 
 you and the ladies at the Home, I desire to express to you my congratula- 
 tions on the recurrence of another birthday, which I trust OOI) in His 
 goodness will crown with the richest blessing. The incense of the alabaster 
 box which y<m have so often broken in this wearisome pilgrimage is still 
 shedding over your pathway its sweete.st fragrance. The memory of your 
 loving deeds is calling down upon j-ou a thousand blessings from those whose 
 hunger you have fed and whose sad hearts you have cheered. But after all. 
 my dear friend, it is the love that meets us in the manger and on the cross, 
 the love that lirst sought us oiit and then enkindled in the heart the true love 
 of our neigh Vjor, which is the richest cordial of our souls. 
 
 •• I was much obliged to you for calling on me, and was sorry that I was 
 not at home to give you a greeting. 
 
 " A dark shadow has passed over me since I saw you last. In my breather's 
 death I have sustained a loss I can never estimate. For twenty years we 
 shared the same bed, and there was never a divided heart between us. Ami 
 now that we are about to step from one year into an.ither, I trust that bright. t 
 skies will be over you and the brighter simshine of the three young h.-arts 
 whom GOD has given you to kee]j fresh and glowing the lov.'d ones who 
 have gone before. I trust that the graces of th.- spirit, faith. hoi)e. ami 
 love will acquire increasing strength each h.)ur. There is a beauty in that 
 yearly gathering at the Home. S.mie of the brightest ami the saintli.-st 
 have entered into their rest in Paradise, waiting the LORD'S own ap]iointed 
 time w-hen they shall enter the house of many mansions. To know that 
 you took them to your own house bef.n-e the Savi.mr called for them is a 
 source of the sweetest satisfaction. 
 
 " But I must not weary you. My heart is very sad. 
 " Affectionately, 
 
 • W. I'. •
 
 288 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 This letter was followed in a few days by another : 
 
 '- Beeemher 29. 1877. 
 
 " My Deak Me. Corcor.^x : Iliad written you a letter on your birthday 
 before I received yours so beautifully expressive of your sympathy. I was 
 saying to Mrs. Pinkney hov^- extraordinary Mr. Corcoran's signature is, and 
 how I wish I could write so fine a hand. It is a great accomplishment. 
 
 "I seem to have passed through a fearfiil dream. Three weeks ago and 
 my brother was writing at this table in the room which I recently put up 
 fdi- him, and which is called l)y his name. He was then in the flush of health 
 and full of earthly hopes. What a satire on the life that now is 1 You have 
 turned it to goodaccount, my dear sir. I thank GOD that a life so precioias 
 to multitudes is lengthened out, and I pray that you may be long spared to 
 guide, watch over, and direct your noble charities, which without your wise 
 and judicioiTS counsel might fail of the full increase of relief you designed 
 to afford a suffering humanity. * ♦ * 
 
 " Thanking you for the letter so beautifully expressive of your sympathy. 
 " Affectionately, 
 
 "W. P." 
 
 Some few months after the death of his brother, the Bishop 
 issued a brief memoir-, in mernoriatn, paj'ing a just tribute to his 
 professional and personal qualities. IJpon sending a copy of the 
 monograph to his friend, Dr. J. C. Welling. President of Colum- 
 bian University, he received from him the following letter : 
 
 •• Washington, May 16, 1878. 
 
 '• My Dear Bishop : I have very sincerely to thank you for your thought- 
 ful kindness in sending me the touching and beautiful memoir of your 
 uol)le-hearted and high-souled brother. I have read it, I need not say, with 
 loving reverence for the writer, and with tender respect for the memory of 
 him to whom you have paid this true and brotherly tribute — true, because 
 it comes from the brother who knew him best, and brotherly, because to 
 know him best was to love him most. 
 
 " I shall have great pleasure in placing the bound copy of the memoir in 
 our college library. 
 
 '• Y'es, the great and good Professor Henry, at once the apostle and Nestor 
 of American science, has fallen at his i^ost. He was ready and waiting for 
 the summons. He was a profound Christian as well as a profound philoso- 
 pher. Let me rather say, he was profound in his Christian faith and 
 experience hecauxe he was a profound philosojjher. I speak from personal 
 knowledge of his religious sentiments and opinions, as he always conversed 
 freely with me on these high themes. 
 
 " His death was as serene as his life was noble. It was my privilege to 
 watch and v.'ait by his side as he calmly yielded up his spirit into the 
 hands of the ' faithful Creator,' whom he loved and served. 
 
 " To-day I shall help to bury his remains in the grave, and on the long 
 to-momnr I shall wake to a sense of loss which will be to me irreparable. 
 But let us be of good cheer, for the sorrows of earth are transient as well as 
 its joys. 
 
 '' Ever affectionately yours, 
 
 "JAMES C. WELLING."
 
 LIFE OF lilSllol' I'INKNKV. t>S'.) 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 Convention of IHSO. 
 
 It w;is iipparcut before the meetiiij;- of the Diocesan Convention 
 of 1880, thiit certain matters connected with the action of the 
 Standin<:;- Committee in the case of Mr. "\Vm. D. Martin, a pos- 
 tulant for holy orders, and that of the Rev. Herbert 13. 
 Smythe, deacon, a candidate for priest's orders, would be brought 
 before the body. The prescribed testimonials in these cases, 
 signed by the rector and vestry of Mt. Calvary Church, Balti- 
 more, had been laid before the Standing Committee some months 
 prior to the meeting of the convention. It was well known that 
 the committee had declined to act favorably upon these cases, 
 and had withheld the " certificates " of satisfaction and recom 
 meudation reipiired by the canons to be presented to the Bishop 
 for the admission of the one as a postulant, and of the other as 
 a candidate for priests orders. 
 
 It is no part of the purpose or of the province of the writer to 
 enter on any discussion of the powers and functions of Standing 
 Committees. As constitv^ted under the general and diocesan 
 enactments, with their duties prescribed and regulated by the 
 canons, they form a co-ordinate department in the Church for 
 administrations in certain matters which, l)y sjiecitic provisions, 
 are committed to them for theii- independent action. 
 
 Their powers and functions preliminary to all ordinations to 
 the sacred ministry are most important and responsible. No 
 postulant for candidateship, and no candidate for holy orders 
 can be received by the Bishop until, in eitlier case, the party has 
 presented to the committee certain prescribed testimonials, and 
 has received from the committee a certificate of their approval 
 and recommendation. They are also constituted as a council of 
 advice to the Bishop whenever theii- advice is asked or needt-il. 
 In all cases of ecclesiastical trial in the diocese, they are reipiu-ed 
 to frame and make to the Bishop "a i:)resentment " for judicial 
 investigation by the ecclesiastical court. Durmg a vacancy in 
 the Episcopate they are empowered to act as the ecclesiastical 
 authority of the diocese, and do all acts of admhiistration excei)t 
 those of a strictly Episcopal character; also, during any pro- 
 longed absence of the Bishop from the diocese, they ciui act, 
 under his rescript, as the ecclesiastical authority. Moreover, 
 they have to act upon the papers of all Bishops-elect during 
 certain intervals in the sessions of the general convention.
 
 290 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 It is very clear, therefore, that they are vested with most 
 sacred trusts, and are under the gravest obligations to be con- 
 scientious, fair, and faithful in all matters committed to them. 
 "While they may err in judgment, and be not free from prejudices, 
 it is to be presumed that they "will act with all due regard to 
 law, and under the solemn sense of their responsibility to the 
 Church. 
 
 By the constitution of the General Church it is required that 
 in every diocese there shall be a Standing Committee. In Mary- 
 land there is the constitutional provision that the committee shall 
 be composed of presbyters only, seven in number, elected by the 
 convention at its annual sessions, to which bodj' the committee 
 "annually make report of their official acts." They are responsi- 
 ble to the Church and to the convention for their decisions and acts. 
 If they are found or believed to have transcended their powers, 
 or to have failed in their high trusts and duties, the membership 
 of the committee can be changed by the convention at the annual 
 elections. That is the only remedy which the Church provides for 
 any real or supposed malfeasance in office. The old committee 
 becomes a body defu^nct when the convention proceeds to con- 
 summate an election for the ensviing year : ancl the only way in 
 which past grievances can be corrected and theu- avoidance in the 
 future secured is by a reconstruction of the committee in its 
 membership by the convention. As this power resides in the 
 convention so in that bod}' rests the ultimate responsibility. 
 
 It was, therefore, enth-ely proper for those in the diocese who 
 believed that the Standing Committee had exceeded their powers 
 and failed in theii- duty in certain cases which had been before 
 them, during the year for which they had been elected, to call 
 attention, jDrior to the meeting of the convention, to the matters 
 complained of, and recommend a material change in the member- 
 ship of the committee. This was done in a cu'cular issued l)y 
 " a committee of gentlemen, representing an influential meeting 
 both of the clergy and laity of the city of Baltimore." The 
 cii'cular was plain and strong in its statement of the facts, as they 
 were understood. It was entirely respectful in tone. It claimed 
 to be issued, as they declare, " simply because we feel that a prin- 
 ciple vital to the peace and prosperity of the Church is at stake 
 in this matter." The circular was entitled " An Appeal for Justice 
 and Fair Play in the Diocese of Maryland," and was addressed 
 " to the members of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Dio- 
 cese of Maryland, and more especially to the clerical and lay 
 deputies to the convention of the Church about to assemble in 
 the city of Baltimore." The circular in'esented the names of four 
 new members to be voted for in the committee. 
 
 It was clear, therefore, that the floor of the convention would 
 become the arena for a disturbuio- contest toucliino- this matter.
 
 LIFE OF lilSHol- riNKXKV. 291 
 
 The writer refers to it here, and sul»sc<|ii('iitly to a similar case of 
 graver character, only so far as Bishoj) Pinkxkv, in liis dtlice as 
 bishop and in his position as the presiding officer of the conven- 
 tion, became connected with these cases and a hke case that 
 occurred in the year preceding the session of the convention in 
 1882. The writer does not pretend to sit in judgment upon the 
 acts of the committee or on the proceedings of the convention. 
 All that he is called to do is to present the facts as tliey 1)ore upon 
 the administration of the Bishop in the line of his duties as bishop 
 and as the president of the convention. 
 
 On the first day of the session of the Convention in ]\Iay. 1880, 
 Mr. Bernard Carter presented a memorial* from tlie rector and 
 vestry of Mt. Calvary Church. Baltimore, the puri)ort of which 
 was understood to be to "reflect " upon the Standing Committee 
 for their failure to act favorably upon the applications of these 
 gentlemen, already referred to, whose testimonials from the 
 rector and vestry of that church had been before the com- 
 mittee. 
 
 This memorial was ruled out of order by the president on the 
 ground that it was calling into cpiestion acts which came specially 
 and exclusively within the province of the Standing Committee 
 and over which acts the convention had no power or control. A 
 somewhat fuller statement of the Bishop's riding is contained in 
 the report of these proceedings in the Baltimore (Jhnrc/i \i'iris 
 to the effect that the Bishop " stated that the Standing Com- 
 mittee, against wliOf?e action this memorial was directed, is created 
 by a canon over which this convention has no power ; it is clothed 
 with functions which this convention cannot touch ; it is called 
 to exercise a discretion with which the convention cannot inter- 
 fere ; and the whole sul)ject therefore was out of order." 
 
 Mr. Carter appealed from the decision of the chair, called for 
 a vote by orders, and was proceeding to debate the api)eal when 
 he was called to order by a lay delegate. The chaii- decided that 
 debate on the appeal was not in order. A motion was nnide to 
 lay the appeal on the tal)le, and, pending this motion, the conven- 
 tion adjourned by a vote of ayes and noes. On the morning of 
 the next day, Mr. Carter rose to '' a (piestion of privilege," and 
 stated that " the uniform practice of the convention had been to 
 debate an appeal," and that such was the uniform parliamentary 
 usage. 
 
 The Bishop adhered to his decision, and declared the j in "per 
 business then before the convention was the motion to lay the 
 appeal on the table : and so the appeal was laid uikui the table 
 by a majority of both orders. 
 
 In 1880 there was no rule of order prescribing tlw time for the 
 
 * See Jovu-ual of 1880, p. 39.
 
 292 LIFE OF BISHOP PIXKNEY. 
 
 Standing Committee to make theii* ofl&cial report to the convention.* 
 But as twelve o'clock noon of the second day of the session is the 
 time appointed for going into the election of the Standing Com- 
 mittee for the ensuing year, the proper time for such report 
 would be somewhere previous to the election of the new com- 
 mittee. At this convention, the report of the committee did not 
 get before the body until after that election ; and hence it was 
 the report of a committee which had in fact already ceased to 
 be in life and tenure. However, at the evening session of the 
 second day, the report was presented to the convention, in which 
 there was no reference or statement respecting the action or non- 
 action of the committee in the cases of Messrs. Martin and 
 Smythe. It was moved by a clerical member of the convention 
 that the report be recommitted to the committee " for a report 
 of all their official acts ; " for which, as a substitute, by another 
 clerical meml:)er, it was moved "• that the report of the Standing 
 Committee be recommitted, with instructions to report their 
 proceedmgs in the case of Mr. "William D. Martin and the Rev. 
 Mr. Smythe. and the reasons for theii' action." 
 
 While these motions were under consideration, a clergyman, 
 who had been a member of the committee for that year, stated 
 that *'■ it had been the custom and the mvariable usage, since I 
 have (he had) been a member, to record everything of positive 
 action that was done. "When matters were brought before us, 
 unless some positive action was taken regarding them favorably, 
 it was expected that no notice of them should be taken in our 
 reports." 
 
 At this stage a motion Avas made bj' a clerical member " to lay 
 the whole matter on the table," on which motion a lay delegate 
 called for the vote by ayes and noes. Pending action upon this 
 motion, the convention adjourned. On the next day when the 
 motion to lay on the table came up, '• in answer to an inquu-y 
 from a delegate, the chair ruled that if the motion to lay on the 
 table was carried, it would carry the whole subject." The motion 
 to lay on the table was carried by a vote of ayes and noes. 
 
 On the last day of the session with the Aiew of obAdating like 
 sources of comi^lamt touching the acts of the Standing Com- 
 mittee, a clerical member offered the following resolution, which 
 was adopted and referred to the committee on canons, to report 
 at the next convention (1881) : 
 
 " Renolved, That the Standing Gonimittee, in case of their refusing favor- 
 able action upon papers submitted to them, and not withdrawn by those 
 presenting them, shall report to the conventimi such refusal, and the 
 reasons, so far as they think best, upon which such refusal is grounded." 
 
 * By a new rule of order the Standing Committee make their report on the 
 first day of the Session.
 
 LIFE OF DISHOr PIXKXEY. 293 
 
 Just before the finul adjournment in 18H() tlie l{cv. Dr. TlioniuK 
 Richie, of New York, who, as professor in tlm General Tlieo 
 logical Seminary, retained his seat as a member of the body, 
 presented a protest signed by himself an«l others, lK)tli of the 
 clergy and laity, against the action of the convention in its 
 "■refusal to receive the memorial presented by the rector and 
 vestrymen of Mt. Calvary Church;" and was i)roceeding to dis- 
 cuss the purjiort and grounds of the ])rotest, when it was moved 
 by a clerical member ''that the papei- l)e not received." For tliis 
 motion a lay delegate offered "as a substitute, that the ])ai)(r l)e 
 jn-inted in the Journal." This substitute was lost, and tlie motion 
 that the jjaper be not received was carried l)y a \ote of <nji'.'< and 
 
 So amidst much confusion and excitement the Convention of 
 1880 adjourned sine die. 
 
 In order to complete the naiTative of proceedings comiected 
 with the Standing Committee agitation, it is necessary to refer to 
 what took place in regard to it in the Convention of 1881, and 
 also in that of 1882, when all further contests about the matter 
 ceased. 
 
 The reference to these occurrences and the correspondence 
 that grew out of them is made, not to revive any old feeling of 
 discord and contention in the diocese, but simply to state, without 
 comment, the facts as they bore upon the administration of Bishop 
 PiNKNEY in his Episcopal office. 
 
 The committee on canons, to Avhom had been referred the 
 resolution of the last day of the session of 1880, made theii' 
 rejjort in 1881, as follows : 
 
 " That after careful study of the subject, they are couviuced that such 
 action is not desirable, f(jr the followiusjj reasons, viz : 
 
 "1. In the fiirst place.it would create, m the public mind, nonjevtnreti 
 unfavorable to the applicant. 
 
 "2. Again, it would oiivnaion, in the convention, needless and invidious 
 discussions. 
 
 "3. Again, it wo;ild tend t(j foment and foster jealousies and rancors in 
 the Church. 
 
 " 4. It would array the authorities of the diocese in unnecessary antago- 
 nisms, and so complicate the administration of the diocese. 
 
 "5. It would seem to reflect ui>on the competency and fidelity of the 
 Committee, and to cpiestiou the wisdom of the Church in constituting them 
 the judges of the fitness of the postulant to be admitted as a candidate fi>r 
 Holy Orders. 
 
 "6. A very serious objection to siich a change is also to be found in the 
 fact that it would compel each member of the Standing Committee to give 
 his own views and reasons for action in every case; and so we should have 
 as many explanations as there are nuMubers of that committee. We should 
 see the convention becoming the arbiter, in matters assigned by the general 
 and diocesan can(ms of the Church to a body especially clothed with 
 authoritv to determine (pialitications in morals and ductrine. 
 
 " We would further refuse the change proposed, because it would prepare 
 the wav for a gradual invasion ui)<)n the province of the Standing Committee
 
 294 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKXEY. 
 
 iu all their fuuctious, as a council of advice to the Bishop ; and would be in 
 opposition to a well established, and, for the most part, happy usage. It 
 would l)e opposed to the prevailing practice of the Church in other dioceses; 
 and there is nothing, iu the oisinion of the committee, to warrant the pro- 
 posed change, which wovrid be attended by such advantages as to compensate 
 for the above-named evils. They therefore recommend the adoption of the 
 following resolution, and ask to be discharged from the further considera- 
 tion of the subject." 
 
 Their resolution was, " that the ameuclment to the canon on the 
 Standing- Committee be not adopted." For this resolution a 
 substitute — the original resolution referred to the committee — 
 was offered, but did not prevail : and after a motion to recommit 
 the matter to the committee, '•' for report next year," the whole 
 matter was laid upon the table. 
 
 The matter, however, came up again towards the close of the 
 Convention of 1881, in a somewhat modified form under a resolu- 
 tion offered by a clerical member, " that it is desirable, whenever 
 the Standing Committee shall find it necessary, to refuse consent 
 to an applicant for admission as a candidate for holy orders, or 
 for ordination to the priesthood, that they should give a reason,, 
 or reasons, for their refusal to the ajjplicant and to the Bishop : " 
 and this resolution was referred to the committee on canons to 
 report to the Convention of 1882. 
 
 When the Convention met in May, 1882, the committee on 
 canons presented their report upon the resolution in regard to 
 the Standing Committee that had been referred to them at the 
 close of the Convention of 1881. The report was signed by four 
 of the five members that constituted the committee, and presents 
 so fully and strongly the grounds on which they declined to 
 recommend any action by the convention in the matter that the 
 report is tranferred to these pages : 
 
 *' The committee on canons, to whom was referred the resolution (on page 
 66 of Journal of 1881) stating that it is desirable, whenever the Standing 
 Committee shall find it necessary to refuse consent to an applicant for 
 admission as a candidate for holy orders, or for ordination to the priesthood, 
 that they should give a reason, or reasons, for their refusal to the applicant 
 and to the Bishop, respectfully report that on inquiry they find that the 
 record of proceedings of the Standing Committee contains all the p(jsitive 
 action of the committee, and is accessible to those who have a right to know 
 what the committee may have done upon any c^uestion. The reasons for 
 such action are never given as a part of their proceedings. In fact, they 
 may be as various as the members of the committee. While one member 
 may think the action of the committee was based upon the causes which 
 seem to his mind to have been conclusive, the others may have reached the 
 same result from very different causes. In legislative bodies, when in exec- 
 utive session, no member is permitted to tell what has taken place, unless . 
 the injunction of secrecy be removed by a vote of the body, which wise and 
 salutary provision enables members to be more open and free in their dis- 
 cussions than would otherwise Ije the case : and matters of a confidential 
 character, made known in bodies of this description, are regarded as privi- 
 leged communications.
 
 LIFE OF mSllol' I'INKNFA'. 'i'.l.j 
 
 " There is no more reason why a Ktanchn^j Conunittoe shmihl h« roquireil 
 to state the reasons which influence the minds of the members than a polit- 
 ical body of the character tt) which reference has been nnide. 
 
 " The canon of the general convention on the snltject jjrovides that the 
 Standinii Committee shall be a council of advice to the Bishop. They sliall 
 be sununoued on the requisition of the liishop whenever he shall wish fi>r 
 their advice : and they may meet of their own accord, and a^<reeably to their 
 own rules, when they may be disposed to advise the Hishop. 
 
 " The committee have not Vteen able to learn that the Standing Conmiitteo 
 has withheld from the Bishop any information desired by him in regard to 
 applicants for admission to holy orders, or for ordination to the priesthood, 
 or even to the diaconate, to which the resolution does n(jt refer ; an<l they 
 are unwilling to believe that when such close and intinuite confidential 
 relations exist as l)etween the Bishop and his c<juncil of advice, any infor- 
 mation proper to be known wcmld be withheld ; while in n-gard to ajtjili- 
 cants, the committee think that it is not proper that a feeling of distrust 
 should be fostered in their minds agiiinst the (tfficers selected by this c(jn- 
 vention to discharge the delicate, and at times, painful, duties imposed upon 
 them. They should rather l)e taught that, tlnmgh unexplained, some good 
 cause must exist for their action which, if the good of the Church required 
 it, will in the wise discretion exercised by the committee.be.. made known 
 to them. The committee are of oi)inionthat no legislation is needed <ju this 
 subject, and submit the following resolution : 
 
 " lie.soliV'd, That the committee be discharged £rom tlie fiu-thcr ccjnsidera- 
 tiou of the subject." 
 
 For which resolutiou a clerical member oftered, as a sif//sti(itte, 
 a resolution to the same effect as that against which the com- 
 mittee had reported, but with the additional clause that " when- 
 ever the Standing Committee shall decide that a testimonial is 
 not satisfactory, they shall give to the party, or parties, signing 
 such testimonials a reason, or reasons, why the testimonial is not 
 satisfactory." Upon the question being taken on this siil)stitute 
 after discussion, it was lost by a vote of orders, and the com- 
 mittee on canons stood discharged from the further consideration 
 of the subject.* 
 
 The matter, however, was still before the convention in another 
 form. Immediately after the report by the Standing Committee 
 of their official acts had been read by the secretary, on the first 
 day of the session, a resolution was offered bj' a clerical member 
 and carried, " that the report of the Standing Committee be 
 referred to a committee of two clergymen and one layman, to 
 report to this convention," to which was added afterwards a 
 resolution that "the committee of three,"" on the report, "be author- 
 ized to have access to the minutes and records "" of the Standing 
 Committee, and report on the next day. The majority of this 
 committee (one clergyman and the one layman) reported on the 
 next day that upon examination of the report of the Standing 
 Committee with its book of records, they found " that the com- 
 mittee had substantially reported to the convention all its official 
 
 * See Journal of 1882, pp. 37 and 10, and pp. oG. ~)S.
 
 296 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKXEY. ' 
 
 acts during the past year, as eouteraplated by the cauou of the 
 diocese in such case made and provided." They therefore asked 
 to be discharged from tlie further consideration of the subject. 
 The other clerical member presented a minority report to the 
 eftect that the Standing Committee had failed to '•• keep a faithful 
 record of all theii* proceedings " as requu-ed by the canon, and in 
 the report of their " official acts "' had failed to include their 
 " action, negative in form," in relation especially to a candidate for 
 holy orders, whose case had " awakened deepest interest through- 
 out the diocese." * To this minority report were appended the 
 following resolutions : 
 
 ^^ Hemlred, That the Stauding Committee are respectfiiUy requested, iu 
 their auuual reports to the conveutiou, to give more exact and careftil state- 
 ments, and names and dates. 
 
 '* He-solved. That by the words, ' their official acts,' in the cauou of 1876. 
 directing them to report, are to be understood that all acts (save such as in 
 formal council of advice with the Bishop may be counted confidential; and 
 proceedings are to be included, whether in form they be negative or affirm- 
 ative. + 
 
 By the negative action of the convention, at the close of the 
 second day of the session, these resolutions failed, and the dis- 
 cussions touching the Standing Committee terminating with, as 
 is usual in such cases, disaj^pointment on one side and satisfac- 
 tion on the other. 
 
 These occiu'ences were of a very exciting and disturbing char- 
 acter. They are here so fully referred to because grave exception 
 was taken to the rulings and declarations of the Bishoj) as the 
 presiding officer of the convention. In the one case of deciding 
 that " debate upon an appeal was not in order," the president 
 of the convention undoubtedly erred. The questions which arose 
 on points of order were somewhat perplexmg ; and a presiding 
 officer not versed in parliamentary matters is, on the spur of the 
 moment, liable to make decisions that may not stand the test of 
 strict jDarliamentary law or usage. Bishop Pinkxey did not claim, 
 as he said, to be '" infallible," and it is well known that, in his 
 desu-e to be fail" to all, he frequently allowed a freedom and range 
 of deljate not accordant with strict parliamentary rules, and not 
 always respectful to himself. In more instances than one. Bishop 
 Whittingham, whose ability and force as a presiding officer were 
 so marked, was thought by some to have exceeded the powers of 
 a presiding officer, and to have erred in his decisions in certain 
 cases. And it is entirely within the province of a legislative body 
 to decline to receive a memorial or protest, when there is ground 
 to believe that such a paper reflects upon the legitimate acts of 
 the body, or calls into question the acts of a co-ordinate depart- 
 
 *See Journal, 1882, pp. 52, 53. 
 
 t The case of Mr. Hutchius Chew Bishop.
 
 LIFE OF BIS!I()1' I'INKNFY. •_".>" 
 
 meiit over wliic'li, as in tlif convt'iition. llicrc was no ]i(t\\«r ImvoihI 
 that of continuing to elect, or refusing to eleet, its nicmbers under 
 the jn'ovisions of the canons. Whether it is well and wise in 
 certain cases to decline to receive such pajx-rs, the Ixxly must 
 determine for itself under its own responsihility. This was 
 notal)ly the case in the General Convention of iSd'i. when IJishop 
 Hopkins, of Vermont, in the House of Jiishops. and Judge 
 Chaml)ers, of ^Maryland, in the House of Deputies, oti'ered jtrotestK 
 against certain acts, respectively, of those bodies. Their jjrotests 
 were not received and could not be recorded. A legislative body 
 is not criminated by such acts. 
 
 Notwithstanding the agitations touching their acts of the pre- 
 <3eding year, the old Standing Committee, without any change 
 in the membership, was re-elected l)y the convention for the 
 ensuing year. An effort was made to change the composition 
 of the committee by the jDresentation of four new names to be 
 voted for, l)ut without success. 
 
 It was felt and claimed by the parties aggrieved that. l)y the 
 acts of the Standing Committee m these cases complainetl of. and 
 by the course of the convention in its refusal to take any action 
 in those matters, and bj^ the re-election of the same mendjers to 
 constitute the committee, a great wrong had been inflicted upon 
 the gentlemen whose testimonials had been before the committee, 
 and ujion the rector and the vestrymen of the church, by whom 
 those testimonials had been signed and presented. 
 
 On the other hand, it wias claimed that by then- powers and 
 responsibilities under the canons, the Standing Committee was 
 not a mere perfunctory body, to act as the simple medium of 
 transmission of certain statements laid before them ; that in the 
 solemn testimonials which they themselves were to give resi)ect- 
 ing parties seeking the pri\ilege of becoming, in the one case, a 
 jDOstulant, and in the other a candidate for holy orders, it was 
 necessarily implied that they were to exercise such consideration 
 and judgment as to the nature and sutticiency of the testimony 
 before them as would enable them to say that they believed the 
 jDcrsons worthy to be admitted as postulants, or candidates for 
 holy orders. Otherwise, it was perfectly nugatory to have them 
 interpose in any way between such postulants and candidates 
 and the Bishop. 
 
 And if, at the close of the year for which the Standing Com- 
 mittee was elected, it was found or believed that in any cases the 
 committee had acted from misjudgment. or from partisan feelings 
 and prejudices, then, when nominations at the time of a new 
 election were to be made, it was competent on the part of any 
 2)erson or persons making such nominations, to state on the floor 
 of the convention the grounds on which they were made. This 
 would seem to be the only way by which real or supposed wrongs 
 «ould be rectified.
 
 298 LIFE OF BISHOP FINKXEY. 
 
 Tlirougliout those contests. Bishop Pinkxey abstained from 
 pronouncing any opinion upon the course of the Standing Com- 
 mittee in these matters. He received then- action as tinal in the 
 cases. He had no right to interfere, and no power to control or 
 change the acts of the Standing Committee. 
 
 Intense interest, with no little excitement, was imparted to 
 these proceedings of the Convention of 1SS2. by the fact that, dur- 
 ing the preceding conventional year, the Standing Committee had 
 declined to act favorably upon the case of Mr. H. C. Bishop, a 
 colored candidate for deacon's orders, whose testimonials had 
 been laid before the committee. These testimonials, as requu'ed 
 by the canons, were one from the rector and vestry of Mt. Cal- 
 vary Church, and one signed by the Rev. Dr. Hodges, rector of 
 St. Paul's, Baltimore, and by the Rev. Dr. Richey, 2>i"ofessor of 
 ecclesiastical history in the General Theological Seminary, N. Y. 
 Mr. Bishop had been a candidate for orders for the three years 
 required by the canons, and had completed his course of studies 
 for the ministry at the General Theological Seminary. There 
 were no charges or imputations against him as to his religious 
 and moral character and life. It seems to have been with the 
 Standing Committee solely the question as to the sufHciency of 
 the testimonials before them, to justify them in giving the requu'ed 
 certificate to the Bishop for his ordination. 
 
 In reply to Mr. H. C. Bishop's application to the Standing 
 Committee to know what action had been taken in his case, he 
 received the following letter from the secretary of the committee : 
 
 " St. Bakxabas Rectoky, 
 " Baltimoke, December 29, 1881. 
 ••Mr. H. C. Bishop. 
 
 •'Dear Sir: In reply to your note of the •28tli, asking what action the 
 Standing Committee took upon your application to be recommenclecl to the 
 Bishoji for admission to the holy order of deacon , I send you a copy of the 
 preamble and resolution passed : 
 
 " * Whereas, Title I, canon 6, section 4, subsection 5. requires the Standing 
 Committee, in recommending a candidate for ordination to the diaconate, 
 to certify, their names being thereunder written, that the candidate hath 
 laid before them satisfactory testimonials that for the space of three years 
 last past he hath not written, taught, or held anything contrary to the 
 doctrine or discipline of the Protestant Episcopal Church ; and 
 
 " ' Whereas, The testimonials laid before the committee by Mr. Hutchins 
 C. Bishop, that he hath not, for the sjiace of three years last past, written, 
 taught, or held anything contrary to the doctrine or discipline of the Prot- 
 estant Eijiscopal Church, are not satisfactory: therefore, 
 
 " ' Jhxoh'ed. That thf Standing Conuuittee decline for the present to pro- 
 ceed to recommend Mr. Hutchins C. Bishop for ordination to the diaconate.' 
 
 "As we keep no record of discussions, I do not feel justified in under- 
 taking to give the reasons for the passage of the above resolution. 
 " I urn. Yours truly, 
 
 •A. P. STRYKER."
 
 LIFE OF lilSHOl' IMNKNT.Y. 'J'.l'.t 
 
 The Rev. Ciilbraith B. Perry, one of the cler^ry ,,r Mt. Culvary 
 Churcli, uuder whose pastoral care Mr. H. C. Jj'isliop had l)eeu 
 placed, addressed a letter to Bishop Pinknf.v deploriii},' the act 
 of the Standing Committee, and asking of the ]iisho]) what 
 course jMr. H. C. Bishop should pursue uuder the circumstances 
 of his case. 
 
 The reply of Bishop Pinkney to this letter is given because it 
 very clearly and strongly defines his jiosition as liishop, with 
 regard to the action or non-action favoralily of the Standing 
 Committee on all such matters as canonically and <'xclusiv<'ly ranie 
 before them for determination in their department. His' letter 
 is as follows : 
 
 ■' Kev. Calbkaith B. Perry. 
 
 " Rev. ani> Dear Brother: It is not my i)i<)vince to sit in ju<lt,nut'nf on 
 the action of the Staudiuij; Committee, a body ealh'd to act under law, and 
 in entire indejjendence of the ]?isho|). They have a discretion in their action 
 vestiHl in them by the general convention, and I have ui-> power of super- 
 vision. I am not admitted to their eoiincil board, nor shouhl I be. You 
 must therefore see, upon further reflectiou, that your reference tome iu tbia 
 junctitre is altogether out of })laee. I endeavor to keep within my province, 
 and should esteem it a gross infraction of mj- rights if iu any action of mine 
 appeal should be made to them. What I could not tolerate in them or 
 others iu matters strictly Episcopal, I could not do in matters placed by law 
 in the jurisdiction of others. 
 
 ••Eespectfullv yours, 
 
 >• W. riNKNFA', 
 
 "Jiinhop of Maryland.^'' 
 
 Again, subsequently in a letter to the Rev. Mr. C. B. Pei-ry, 
 
 the Bishop more fully exjiresses his views and sentiments, as will 
 be seen from the following paragraphs from a letter to him. dated 
 January 19, 1882 : 
 
 "Now, my dear brother, what the law makes obligatory on me I always 
 endeavor to perform ; but in a case where the constituted authorities are 
 empowered in their sole discretion to do a thing that affects a candidate for 
 orders, and do take action thereon, what direction or guidance can I give, 
 unless it \)e to counsel him to abide in patience ? That needs no counselling. 
 It is not for me to presume that he suffers unjustly, for that would be to 
 invade the sole prerogative of others, nor Avould it become me to make a still 
 further presumption, viz., that what has been done has not been well done 
 in the interest of the Church, for that would be a not less unwarrantable 
 invasion of i^rerogative. 
 
 •• I have sympathy for him because of the action of the connnittee. deemed 
 necessary by them, and have expressed it. All in trouble have my symjiathy. 
 
 " In tile present case the committee are made by hiw judges of the dis- 
 cretion they are called to exercise, and with them it must rest. I am still 
 clearly of the opinion that I, as Bishop, have no right to say more, or do 
 more, than I have said and done."
 
 300 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 Inhibition of Eev. Mk. Moktimek — Case of Mk. W. E. Webb. 1880-'82. 
 
 Very soou after sole jurisdiction devolved uj^ou liim by the 
 death of Bishop Whittingham, Bishop Pixkney felt called upon 
 to exercise his Ei)isco])al authority by an official act which, while 
 it subjected him to severe strictures from some, was regarded by 
 others as a wise and proper exercise of his Episcopal prerogative. 
 Towards the close of the calendar year 1879 he issued an order 
 inhibiting the Rev. Alfred G. Mortimer, of the Diocese of Penn- 
 sylvania, from officiating within the Episcopal jurisdiction of the 
 Diocese of Maryland. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Mortimer had been ordained to the ministry of 
 the Church in England. Upon his removal to this country he 
 became connected for some years with St. Clement's Church, 
 Philadelphia. St. Clement's was noted for its high ritualistic 
 teachings and practices. Its rector, the Rev. Mr. Prescott, be- 
 longed to the " Order of St. John the Evangelist," which order, 
 under the three vows of " poverty, celibacy, and obedience," had 
 been established in England some years before, by Father Benson, 
 of Cowdey. Under these vows and the rules of the order the mem- 
 bers devoted themselves to what was designated the " religious 
 life,'' to conducting revival missions and to holding clerical retreats. 
 
 The ritualistic practices in St. Clement's Church had created 
 considerable excitement in the Diocese of Pennsylvania, had been 
 matter of complaint and of action in the convention of that diocese, 
 and had called forth from Bishop Stevens an admonition to dis- 
 continue them as, •' in my (his) judgment, irregular and injurious 
 to the peace and welfare of the Church." * 
 
 When the Rev. Mr. Mortimer came to Baltimore, in the Advent 
 season of 1879, upon the invitation of the rector of St. Luke's 
 Church to be " the assistant minister," he brought no " Letter 
 Dimissory," the official transfer requu-ed by the canons, to the 
 Bishop of Maryland. It appears that he did not belong to the 
 Order of St. John the Evangelist, but having been connected, if 
 not identified, with the objectionable ritualistic teachings and 
 practices in St. Clement's Church, Bishop Pinkney considered 
 himself justified under the canons f iu issuing an order inhibiting 
 
 * See report of Committee of Inqiiiiy. ]). 30. 
 
 tSee Digest, title i, canon 14, § ii, und § vii, subsections 1 and 2; also 
 title ii, canon 3, § ii.
 
 LIFE OF lUSIlDl' IMNKNEY. ^01 
 
 or iH-ohibitiiig the Rev. :\Ir. Mortimer from offieiiitiuj,' williiu the 
 Diocese of Maryhiiul. Before doin^' so, however, with his ik-cuk- 
 tomed care and coiisiderateness he hehl an iuterview with Mr. 
 Mortimer, and called his attention to the proceeding's of the dit)- 
 cesan convention of Pennsylvania, on the re])()rt of a committee 
 of that body touchino- the matters of St. Clement's Cliurch, and 
 also to certain appendices attached to and })rinted in the Journal. 
 In a letter to Bisliop Pinkney, dated the 17th December, IHT'.I. 
 Mr. Mortimer entered ui)on certain explanations toucliin^f his own 
 views and practices and concerninj^- the action of the convention 
 of the Diocese of Pennsylvania in tlie matters com])l;iined of. As 
 Bishop Pinkney was not satisfied with tlie explanations given, and 
 as Mr. Mortimer brouoht no " Letter Dimissory " from his di< )cesan, 
 the Bishop issued the order of inhibition. This act of Bishop 
 Pinkney's created no little excitement in the Church, g-ave grave 
 offence in some quarters, and was pronounced l)y the rector of 
 St. Luke's, in giving the notice of the inhibition to his congrega- 
 tion, to be "unwise, unkind, uncharitable, and unjust." 
 
 Episcopal acts, as they come canonically within the si)here of 
 those discretionary powers which a Bishoj) may exercise, will be 
 criticised, and will l)e api)roved or condennied by the parties in 
 the Church, from their respective standjjoints. The Bisho];) must 
 take that responsibility, and Bishop Pinkney did not hesitate to 
 do so. He believed that his act was justitial)le under the canons 
 of the Church, and that it was his duty, not only under the can- 
 ons, but by the vow at his Episcopal consecration, to be " ready, 
 with all faithful diligence, to l)anish and cb'ive away from the 
 Church all erroneous and strange doctrine contrary to GOD'S 
 word ; and both privately and opeulj^ to call upon and encourage 
 others to do the same." * Acting under the solemn sense of his 
 responsibility to the Church and clear in his own convictions of 
 duty, he W'as prepared to abide the consequences, whatever they 
 might be, in respect to the judgments of others concerning his act. 
 
 In Bishop Pinkney's judgment, the case of the Rev. Mr. Mor- 
 timer was a very plain and clear one. He was in^•ited to become 
 •' the assistant minister " of a church in Baltimore : he brought 
 with him no " Letter Dimissory,'" as required by the canons ; he 
 labored under certain imputations res2)ecting his teachings and 
 practices in the Diocese of Pennsylvania. In the exercise, thei-e- 
 fore, of a lawful discretionary power under the can(ms. the Bishop 
 issued the order of inhibition. 
 
 It may be well to state for the information of those, other tlian 
 the clergy, who are not versed in the canonical regulations 
 respectmg the ministry of the Church, that every clergyman must 
 hold his ecclesiastical connection with some of the dioceses of the 
 General Church through the Bishop, or the ecclesiastical author- 
 
 * Consecrati(jn office, prayer book.
 
 .302 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 ity of the diocese iu tlie case of a vacaiicy in the Episcopate. In 
 passing from one Eijiscopal jurisdiction to another to engage in 
 stated or permanent ministrations, he must take Avith him the 
 requu'ed " Letter Dimissory," else he cannot be received, or be 
 recognized as rightfully and canonically engaged in such minis- 
 trations within the Episcopal jurisdiction. The canonical requii'e- 
 ment, however, has never been considered as disallowing such 
 occasional ministrations as cii'cumstances may call for, and mutual 
 fellowship in the one Church may render desirable, in the case of 
 a clergyman passing from one diocese to another, or briefly 
 sojourning in any one of the dioceses ; though even in the case 
 of a clergj-man coming temporarily into any diocese, if under 
 impvitation of having elsewhere been guilty of any crime or mis- 
 demeanor, by violation of the canons or otherwise, or shall mis- 
 behave in any of these respects, the Bishop may forbid him to 
 officiate in said diocese.* Even where '•Parochial Missions " — 
 which have recently been conducted in several of the dioceses — 
 are to be held by clergymen, as '' missioners," not canonically con- 
 nected with the diocese, it is in such cases proper, if not necessary, 
 that consent should be given by the Bishop, or the ecclesiastical 
 authority, for such extraordinary services. 
 
 Bishop PixKNEY was himself, in one instance, while yet a pres- 
 byter and rector of Ascension parish in "Washington, brought into 
 very unexpected collision with Bishop Meade, of Virginia, by only 
 .an occasional ministration in that diocese. It led to (juite a long 
 corresjDondence between the Bishop and the rector of the Ascen- 
 sion. The circumstances were, briefly, these : 
 
 In the church congregations in Washington quite a considerable 
 number of the members, holding office under the General Gov- 
 ernment, or temporarily resident in the city for public business, 
 still retain theii- legal residence in the States from which they 
 come, and only temporarily withdraw from their former parochial 
 connections. Among Dr. Pinkney's parishioners in Washington 
 were several such members and families. During summer and in 
 A^acation time they were accustomed to go to their homes. One of 
 such families persuaded Dr. Pinkney to go with them for a short 
 recreation into Virginia. The parish in which was their home 
 residence was vacant, had been vacant for more than a year, and 
 had no other services than those of a lay-reader. At the solicita- 
 tion of his friends, and with the apj^roval of the vestry so far as 
 its members could be consulted. Dr. Pinkney consented to hold 
 a service and preach, and also to administer the holy communion, 
 which had been celebrated in the church only once during the 
 year. It never occurred to him for a moment that by holding 
 such services he would be giving oftence in any quarter. But 
 Bishop Meade, hearing of these ministrations and being under 
 
 * Title ii, canon 3, § 2.
 
 LIFE or ]!lS||oi' I'INKM.v. ;{();{ 
 
 some misappreliensioii of tlic (•iiciiiiisfmiccs, Ic.ok «x('<'i)li()ii at 
 whiit Dr. PiNKNEY had doin-, uiul wrote to him comphiiniii^f sju- 
 cially of his having- ailmiiiistered the holy commiinii.ii without 
 previous consultation witli him (Bisho]) Meade), as //r was stand 
 ing somewhat in the relati(m of jjastor to that vacant jiarish. 
 Dr. PiXKNEV very fully explained to the Bishop the circumsliinceH 
 under which he liad acted, and after some corres])on(h'nce liet ween 
 them the matter ended. It is well known that Bishoj) :\Ieade 
 •combined with his ardent evangelic views and his zealous lab(»rs 
 a very determined sense of w^hat he conceived to be the Episcoijul 
 prerogative. 
 
 It was very gratifying to Bishop Pinknev to receive, soon after 
 his act inhibiting the Rev. Mr. Mortimer, the following strong 
 and emi^hatic letter, unsought, from the lit. Kev. Bishoii Kerfoot, 
 of Pittsburgh : 
 
 " PiTTSBtiRfJH, Pa.. J(iiniiiri) 1, ISSK. 
 
 '• My Deak IksHOP Pinkney : A Happy New Year 1 tli()Ut,'li it is the open- 
 ing of a year of anxious care to you. May GOD give you full grace for it all .' 
 
 " I have felt iuii)elle(l. since the papers have told us of your official act 
 about the clergyman inhibited by you, to send you a word of sympathy and 
 encouragement. We Bishops owe this to one "another. I more ami "more 
 see that canons and trials are not to be effectual means of protecting the 
 Church from errors. The Church's defence must be found in the Bishop's 
 office and action; and in his refusal to let his (jffice be made, by //taction, 
 the silent, though unwilling, instrument with which others work evil. All 
 men must have free use of all the rights that canons recognize. But if pres- 
 byters use up all their scope to teach and to guide worship as they think 
 right, the Bishop must not be required to limit his official duty and right to 
 control and guide merely what canons command him to do. He must meet 
 error early, and check its encroachments, as hi.s conscience and discretion 
 direct, by such use of his office as guide and i:)rotector of the Chur<-h in his 
 diocese as that office requires, keeping, of course, within the canonical limits 
 and means. The license on the one side must not be limitless, while the 
 duty on the other be made impracticable. The Bishop jnust incur the 
 responsibility of checking error. That is part of his office. 
 
 " In 187fi, I forbid a young jjresbyter rector pi'rmitting a presbyter of 
 this misleading school to officiate in any way in his cures in my diocese. The 
 one thus inhibited was then not yet canonically received into any of our 
 dioceses. He was yet ' foreign.' In that case (and I do it in every grave 
 case) I took counsel. I think that an able lawyer is essential to keep us 
 from mistake of law, civil or canon. May GOD give you wisdom and the 
 right will in all your task I I Itelieve that the Bishojj's office, as prirnti 
 counsellor and reprover, then, if need be, rebuking openly ; and then wait- 
 ing for the sound puljlic mind of his jjcople, will accomplish very much — all 
 that the Church needs. But the Bishop must l)e efficient and not misunder- 
 stood. I KNOW that Bishop Whittingham distinctly condemned the things 
 we agree in censuring. He nuide his judgment known to the men who would 
 not make their reverence and obedience practical and actual. I can reailily 
 see that your duty may be the more urgent now. I am. my dear Bishoj). 
 faithfully, "' Your friend and brother. 
 
 ••J. B. KEKFOOT." 
 
 Following not long after the act of the inhibition of the Rev. Mr. 
 Mortimer by Bishop Pinkney several other cases arose whicli
 
 304 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 caused great dissatisfaction on the part of many with the diocesan 
 administrations, and for several years kept the Church in the 
 diocese in a state of ver}^ painful excitement. Reference here is 
 only so far made to these cases as either dii-ectly or indu-ectly 
 Bishop PiNKXEY became personally or officially connected with 
 them. Nor could they be kept wholly out of the diocesan con- 
 vention, which for some two or three years was greatly agitated 
 by the dissensions growing out of them. 
 
 The rejection, or rather the declining^ for the time, by Bishop 
 PixKNEY to proceed with the ordination of Mr. W. R. Webb, a 
 candidate for holy orders, was deemed by some as an extreme, if 
 not unjust, exercise of the Episcopal prerogative. The case of 
 Mr. Webb was undoubtedly one of disappointment and hardship. 
 It came as one of those experiences in the Church, as in human 
 life, not unusual. On the one side a grievance was felt in failiu'e 
 for a season to accomplish a worthy and desirable end ; and on 
 the other there was a strict sense of high obligation to conscience 
 and duty which interposed to delay, but not ultimately thwart, 
 the sought-for object. In such cases there may be equal sincerity 
 and conscientiousness, and yet for the time and vmder the circum- 
 stances the results may be equally regretful and disaj^pointing. 
 So it was in this case. A simjDle statement of the facts is all that 
 is necessary. It appears that ]Mi\ Webb had been a candidate 
 for holy orders for the full length of time requu-ed by the canons ; 
 he had pursued a three years" course of study at the General 
 Theological Seminary ; he had passed the examinations before 
 the board of examining chaplains for the diocese : his testimonials 
 had been signed by the Standing Committee, and the preliminary 
 arrangements had been made by the Bishop for his ordination. 
 Under the canons the Bishop is required to personally conduct 
 the tinal examinations before proceeding to ordain.* For this 
 purpose he requested the presence and assistance of two well- 
 learned and faithful presbyters of the Church.t For three suc- 
 cessive hours, mider the examination, the answers of the candidate 
 to the Bishop and his assisting presbyters were so unsatisfactory 
 that the conviction was forced upon them that the young man 
 held such erroneous ^iews touching the doctrinal standards of the 
 Church and her authorized provisions for j^riestly administrations 
 in the sacred offices, that they could not conscientiously pass him 
 as a candidate jiossessing the proper qualifications for admission 
 to the sacred ministry. The Bishojo therefore declined to ordain -^ 
 and the assisting presbyters, under their* signatures to the pajiers 
 which they presented to the Bishop, declined to recommend the 
 candidate for ordination. The Bishoj:), if he had been satisfied 
 as to the fitness of the candidate, could have proceeded to ordain 
 
 * Digest ; title i, canon 4. § vi. 
 
 t The Rev. Drs. William L. Hyland and J. H. Elliott.
 
 LIFE (IF lUsilol' I'IMvNKV. ;{(l5 
 
 without the cKiu'iin-cuce of the assisting- prcshytf^rs. In mk-Ii 
 cases the Bishop performs a duty imposed upon him hy the 
 Chuieh ; and he is responsihk' for its faithful dischar<,'e. H<' 
 may err, indeed, but how else can he act than under the sdhiun 
 and conscientious sense of his responsibility ! The Hnal detci-- 
 mination rested with himself: and lie ilecided to jxistjione the 
 ordination, for it was not an absolute rejection of the cau<lidate. 
 
 In the excitetl state of Church feelinyf in the diocese at the 
 time, it was then and subsequently char<^^ed in pul)licatiou, that 
 the young man had been '• treated with needless severity," and 
 " with an apparent spirit of erdnioii and unfairness." 
 
 On the contrary, in an unpulilished letter written by one* (»f 
 the two clergymen who assisted the Bishop in the examination, 
 giving- a full and explicit account of the circumstances, it is 
 expressly and })Ositively declared "that the Bishoj) did not i-eject 
 the young- man absolutely : "' •• dealt as kindly and gently with liim 
 as possible ; " did not regard " his case finally and summarily dis- 
 l)Osed of:" and "recommended him to study approved authors, 
 revise his views, and in the end reach the object of his desires."' 
 
 Afterwards, Bishop Pinkxey, in response to a letter from the 
 young man's rector touching his case, states : 
 
 " In the exainiuation I held, I asked tlie assistance of two learned and able 
 clergymen, as the canon required. I considered them representative men. 
 The examination conducted was mine, not theirs. It was fairly and most 
 liberally ct)ndncted. I was not satisfied, and, in the judgment I formed. 
 I was strengthened by their joint testimony." 
 
 The Bishop, moreover, stated that — 
 
 " There was a tender proffer of a second opportunity for revision of stmly 
 and correction of doctrine." 
 
 But apart from such affirmative and positive statement of the 
 case, the well-known character of the Bishoj) for gentleness and 
 kindness in all his personal and official relations with others, and 
 the high standing- of the two presljyters who were present and 
 assisted in the examination, would surely warrant the behef that 
 both he and they earnestly and conscientiously sought to dis- 
 charge the duty devolved upon them with fairness, with kind 
 consideration, and with due regard to the requii-ements of the 
 canon under which they were acting. 
 
 Perhaps under other than the then existing state of things in 
 the diocese this case would have attracted little attention, and 
 would not have called forth any severe animadversi(»ns and strict- 
 ures. 
 
 It is to be added that the young man declined to i.rcscnt him- 
 self for any sul)sequent examination for holy orders, witlidrew 
 from candidateship in the Diocese of Maryland, and sought and 
 obtained candidateship and ordination in another diocese. 
 
 * Kev. Dr. Hvlaud.
 
 306 LIFE OF BISHOP FIXKNEY. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI Y. 
 
 CoxvEXTiox. 1881-'82. 
 
 The ConveBtiou of 1881 contmiied to he ag-itated by the ques- 
 tions touchiug the Standing- Committee that had been raised and 
 considered in the Convention of 1880. They came up under the 
 report of the committee on canons on a certain resokition that 
 had been referred to them at the preceding annvial session. Mat- 
 ters had quieted to some extent, though there was still an under- 
 swell of agitation and discontent, and a iixed purpose on the part 
 of some to secure, if possible, some action by the convention by 
 which the Standing Committee would be required to report all 
 theii- official acts and 'their non-acts in certain cases, with the rea- 
 sons therefor. The action of the Convention of 1881 and also 
 that of the Convention of 1882 touching this matter, have been 
 ah-eady given in the preceding chapter. 
 
 The Bishop, in his addi-ess, refrained from any allusion to these 
 disturbing questions. His position and Aiews were well under- 
 stood. He lamented the agitations that grew vip respecting the 
 course of the Standing Committee in the matters complained of. 
 He had not in any way interfered with their province, functions, 
 and powers under the constitution and canons of the Chui'ch. 
 He had explicitly explained himself touching those points. He 
 expressed no opinion as to whether the committee had erred or 
 acted wisely in the matters that had been legitimately before them. 
 It was in the power of the convention to change the constitution 
 of the committee in its membership at any annual election, if the 
 body saw tit to do so. He thought it his duty as the jiresiding 
 officer of the convention to keep the proceedings and debates, as 
 far as he could, within the rules of order, and only so far forth to 
 interpose for the protection of the Standing Committee as their 
 co-ordinate position in Church administrations required. 
 
 The Bishop opened his address at the Convention of 1881 with 
 a note of sadness. There had been during the year an unusual 
 number of deaths among the clergy and prominent laymen of the 
 diocese. No less than five of the clergy and sevoi of the laity 
 had been called to the rest of the faithful : to all of whom the 
 Bishop paid just tributes in commemoration. 
 
 Among those deaths there were two that called for special 
 memorial mention — the one that of the Rev. Dr. James A. McKen- 
 ney : the other, that of John Henry Alexander, LL. D. They 
 were both native Marylanders like himself, and, while prominent
 
 LIFE OF lUSIlol' I'lNKNKV. IIOT 
 
 in the councils :ui(l woi-k of tlic Cliuicli. tln-v were at the hiiluc 
 time his wannest unci closest pei'sonal tVieuils. 
 
 A Bisbops lite is ninch interwoven with other lives. It is so, 
 indeed, more or less, with all lives ; but a IJishop in the Church 
 of GOD is brought into sjx'cial and very close iclations with others, 
 not only in his ])ersonal friendshii>s. but also in his j)astoral and 
 ]iaternal character, in his counselling- oltices, in his sujiervising 
 government, i]i the weighty charge of his responsibilties. He 
 feels that his life is very iiitimateh' and sometimes most tenderly 
 iuterM^oven with other lives; and as his early friends and old 
 associates Avere summoned to go before him into the rest and joy 
 of the LORD, and as men came up to work with him as fellow- 
 helpers in the Gospel and the Church and were called to gfo forth 
 to meet the reward of true and laudable service from the Master. 
 the Bishop thoug-ht that it was due to the memory of the just to 
 render the tril)utes of loving' and grateful remembrance. Hence 
 whenever any sorrow or bereavement came to any family undei- 
 his pastoral charg-e he was sure to send a letter full of tender 
 reminiscences and of the sAveetest consolations of our holy religion : 
 and afterwards throughout his Episcopate, as one and another of 
 the brethren passed away, he never failed to make touching record 
 of their character and services. 
 
 These memorial tributes by Bishop Pinkney were not mere 
 words, of course, but genuine expressions of heart-felt convic- 
 tions ; and they are, in several instances, transferred to these 
 pages because they show how fully he could api:)reciate all real 
 excellence, and all that was beautiful and true and lovely in the 
 lives of others. 
 
 The Rev. Dr. James A. McKenney had l^een for more than fifty 
 years an honored presbyter of the diocese. Educated and trained 
 in the old Anglican theology, he was, as a High Churchman, 
 exceedingly tenacious of the doctrinal teachings of the Chui-ch in 
 her standards of faith, and of her whole system of wt)rshii). order, 
 and discipline, and yet most practical in the enforcement of the 
 strictest duties of the Christian life. To him, as well learned, 
 and as having much ex2)erience in Church matters, the Bishop 
 Avas wont to have " recourse for counsel and conference. Dr. 
 McKenney ardently reciprocated the Bishop's love and friendship. 
 The beautiful consistency of his Christian character and life, antl 
 the cultured refinement of his manners, made him a most con- 
 genial friend. For many years he was a member of the Standing 
 Committee ; and at times, in the absence of the Bishoj). he tilled 
 the position of President of the diocesan convention with dignity 
 and etiiciency. The Bishop justly characterized him as " one of 
 the oldest, wisest, and most richly furnished of our clergy : ' 
 
 "His mind was most admirably disciplined. To a memory of siuK'ular 
 retentiveness and accuracy lie united an imagination that was severely ohas-
 
 308 LIFE OF BISHOP riXKNEY. 
 
 tened by a judgment which, for soiiuduess, I have rarely seen equalled. Hisr. 
 mind was intensely logical. Loyal to the Church of his love he was. He 
 fully appreciated the beauty of her doctrine and ritual : and he maintained 
 and retained them with a resolute and steady grasp against all assailants. 
 In this age of restfulness and craving for change he stood, like a rock of 
 granite, firm and stable. His life had a great underlying principle, and to 
 that he adhered with a martyr's inflexibility of purpose. He possessed rare 
 ability as a preacher. Clear in his conceptions, he had the solidity of the 
 diamond." * 
 
 In Ms declining- years the Bishop deeply felt the loss of one so 
 loved and valued. 
 
 The other decease referred to touched the Bishop still more 
 nearly and tenderly. It was that of his early and life-long friend, 
 John Henry Alexander. LL. D. They had been companions in 
 their boyhood, were classmates at school and college, and gradu- 
 ated together. The early friendship thus formed strengthened 
 with advancing years. The one became as great an ornament to 
 the Church in the laity as the Bishop himself was in the priest- 
 hood. There have been few men who combined in themselves 
 more varied acquirements and accomplishments than Dr. Alex- 
 ander possessed. As linguist, philosopher, theologian, poet, 
 architect, artist, and civil engineer, he was eminent : and yet withal 
 so modest and retuing that comparatively few knew how varied 
 and extensive were his accomplishments. Between himself and 
 the late Bishoj? "Whittingham there had existed warm and strong 
 friendship : and for some years during the administration of the 
 latter. Dr. Alexander served the Church as the secretary of the 
 diocesan convention. Bishop Pinkney thus expressed his sorrow 
 and his loving estimate of the man : 
 
 '• As the shadows of the valley are creeping over me thick and fast, I sit 
 down in the twilight of memory and am sad — sad not on my brother's 
 account, for he is at rest, but on my own. wh(j am left to tread the battle- 
 field almost alone, so far as the companions of my childhood are concerned. 
 The retrosj:)ect floods my soul. The dearest friend I ever had. Dr. J. H. 
 Alexander, for he was the sharer of my brightest young dreams, thus wrote : 
 "' ' Then came the pictures blurred and canvas torn, 
 . Of deeds (mine own and others) that present 
 
 True scenes of what my real life has borne : 
 
 A sombre show of learning, strength missijen't, 
 
 A gloomy train of shadi)ws rearward Ijent, 
 
 Beneath the slant rays of a sinking sun — 
 
 A. funeral march of figures tremulant, 
 
 "Whose step no other music hurries on. 
 
 Than the dull heart-beats 'neath the haunted elm alone.' " 
 
 The Bishop felt called upon also to pay a just and brief tribute 
 to the memory of Bishop Atkinson, of North Carohna, who had 
 died during the year : 
 
 * The Rev. Dr. McKeuney left to the convention of the diocese a legacy of 
 about ijsS.SOO, which is designated as the "James A. McKeuney Fund." the 
 income of which to be applied to •' superannuate and disabled clergy," and 
 to "diocesan theoloLcical education."
 
 LIFE OF lUSJlol- I'INKNEY. :!<!'.» 
 
 '' The deatli of suoli a niun occasions a vacuum in our council l(i)ui<l wliicli 
 it will not be easy to till. The (."hurcli in all our Ijordr-rs deplori's it ; while 
 to this diocese, where for yeai's he emleared himself to so many hy the soft. 
 est and toiiderest ministries of love, tin- layiii;,' down of his ])a'sto'ral staff at 
 tlic l)i<l(lin!,' of the Master gives the truest sorrow." 
 
 He closes these notices with the words: " Biotliers. h-t iis 
 watch aiul pray and work, for the ni^dit conieth when no man 
 can work. " 
 
 As the diocese had not yet cahned (h)\vn into iiuiet and smooth- 
 ness, it was well and not inapposite that the thoughts of the con- 
 vention should be first turned to dwell for a few monn-nts upon 
 these noble and faithful sons of the Church, in both the ministry 
 and the laity, who had been called from wcjrk and duty in tlie 
 Church on earth to their blessed rest in the Church in Paradise. 
 The Bishop loved to pay such glowing tributes to departed 
 worthies ; and every word of praise he uttered was the true 
 expression of the feelings of his soul over their departure. 
 
 Our diocesan conventions, during the two or three days of their 
 sessions, are mostly occupied with matters of routine lousiness, 
 with j^roposals for changing old canons and adopting new ones, 
 and ver}^ frequently with iigitating discussions upon topics and 
 measures having little relation to, or bearing on. the great work 
 of the Church in the fultilment of hei' divine mission. ^Matters 
 of grave moment, presented by the Bisln^p for the consideration 
 and action of the body, are too often crowded out, or set aside, to 
 give place to propositions and debates that only create dissen- 
 sions, and tend to no practical good. 
 
 Perhaps it is inherent in our whole system of conciliar assem- 
 blies, which are necessarily composed of clergymen and laymen 
 of divers sentiments and views, and of intense convictions in 
 regard to certain favorite measures for the welfare and jn-ogress 
 of the Church. The safety of the Church is happily found in the 
 fact that, when the convention is over, and clergy and laity return 
 to their respective spheres of duty, the work of the Church goes 
 on as though no council had been held, and the excitements and 
 discussions are either forgotten or only regretfully rememliered. 
 There is a wholesome second thought in the Church, as in indi- 
 viduals, which leads to hopefulness for the best, and to endeavors 
 to make the best of what may not have l)een wisely considered or 
 rightfully done. 
 
 In connection with his detail of visitatitms. the Bishop was 
 careful to present matters which he deemed of great i)raitical 
 importance, such as the mission work of the Church, domestic, 
 foreign, and diocesan ; the introduction of lay workers, witljin 
 and outside the parishes : the matter of the Church Scho»)l for 
 Girls within the District of Columbia : better preparation of can- 
 didates for confirmation : more attention to el^'orts for the conver-
 
 310 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 sion of the Jews ; aud lastly, some action, if deemed advisable,, 
 for the promotiou of the temperance reform. 
 
 But beyond the appointment of some committees to report uport 
 some of the matters to which the Bishop had referred, nothing 
 eflectual was done. 
 
 The Bishop had, as early as 1874, and on subsequent occasions,, 
 referred, with anxious concern, to the pressing needs of the rural 
 clergy in those portions of the diocese where, owing to their own 
 straitened circumstances, the congregations were unable to 
 provide any sufficient supjjort for the clergy. There were many 
 such cases of sad distress. In his address at the preceding con- 
 vention, the Bishop had again expressed his solicitude upon the 
 subject, and had ventiu"ed a suggestion for relief : which, how- 
 ever impracticable it might be thought in this age, and under our 
 present system of clerical supply and support, was yet so char- 
 acteristic of the man in the fulness of his heart-sympathy, and 
 the outflow of his loving zeal, that the entu'e paragraj^hs concern- 
 ing it are here given : 
 
 •' Will you pardou me if I venture to express to you some thoughts touch- 
 ing the suljject which have exercised my heart aud mind for years ? I do 
 it with some hesitation, because I fear that it will appear to be Quixotic and 
 extravagant. Is it not within the verge of possibility for us of the ministry 
 to come to the rescue of our poorer brothers, aud, by the surrender of a part 
 of our means, as voluntarily made, add to the stipend of their present sup- 
 port ? As the leader of the avenging Church is now marching in battle array 
 against the Kingdom of Darkness, I am willing to bear more than my just 
 proportion of this measure of relief. The moral influence which would be 
 exerted on the public, in aud by the adoption of some such plan, would 
 greatly elevate the Church of our love and ennoble it. I known that there 
 are difficiilties in the way, grave difficulties. But I believe they are not 
 insuperable. A good, brotherly love would early bridge them over. For 
 one, I should labor with a millionfold lighter heart if I knew that I was in 
 any way, or to any degree, the helper of my poorer brethren. 
 
 '• And I believe that GOD'S blessing would descend on such a brotherhood 
 so copiously that there would not be room enough to contain it. This sug- 
 gestion is for my brethren of the clergy, for their consideration alone ; and 
 if we can adopt some plan, though never so inadequate, it seems to me that 
 we will do much to stimulate the laity to attempt and achieve more than 
 they have done before, for those who watch over them in the LORD. 
 
 ''It would be a grand step in the morally sublime. Coming to the Church 
 rule of this noble old diocese after ten years of such exhausting labor, experi- 
 ence, and sorrow, with only three or four years more for future service if so 
 many, I feel that something may be done by us, and ask you to help me to 
 find it out. If I seem to you to suggest what is merely Utopian, I pray you 
 throw over it the light of Calvary : and I believe you will find it to be a 
 sublime possibility. 
 
 " These brethren are, some of them, men of rare gifts, and all of them are 
 diligent dispensers of the Word and Sacraments. Anything we can spare 
 would be the earnest of our heart-felt sympathy ; and what we do, be it little 
 or much, would touch tlie hearts of our laymen to the very quick." 
 
 This portion of the Bishop's address, relating to clerical sup- 
 port, was referred to a committee of three prominent laj^men, who,.
 
 LIFE OF lilSHOr riXKNEY, 311 
 
 in their carefully -prepared report presented at the Convention of 
 1881, recognize the painful truth of the inadecjuate sui)port of 
 many of the clergy. After expressing their appreciation of tin- 
 Bishop's "suggestion" to the eft'ect "that the better-paid jxtrtiou 
 of the clergy should come to the rescue of tlieir poorer hrotlicrs '' 
 — which was " a matter for the clergy themselves to consider" — 
 they urge that a due attention to, and compliance with, the alrejuly 
 existing canonical re(iuirements respecting the duties of vestries 
 and congregations to their ministers would go far towards secur- 
 ing the desu-ed relief, and that out of a " })ermiinent sustentation 
 fund," which should be created, the s^dary of every pooi-ly-paid 
 clergyman should be raised to the lowest grade of Si, ()()(). 
 
 The Bishop never tired in bringing this matter of rlerlcnl tmj,- 
 port before the convention. He did so again in his address of 
 the next year, and urged attention to the admirable report upon 
 the subject which had been presented at the preceding conven- 
 tion. His visitations had brought him into such close ac(juaint 
 ance with the contlition and needs of many of the clergy that he 
 could not forbear the frecpient expression of his solicitude in their 
 behalf, and he reiterated, in 1882, his desire and readiness to 
 unite with his brethren of the clergy " in throwing all our sal- 
 aries into one common fund, to be distributed pro rata,'' for 
 the relief of the more necessitous. He could do no more, and if 
 he had had the command of a million of mone}' he would have 
 gladly dispensed it for the benefit of the poorer clergy. 
 
 The time of the convention Avas so wholly absorbed, as we have 
 seen, with other matters and excitmg discussions that this impor- 
 tant subject received no attention. 
 
 So, too, was it in regard to some measures for the establish- 
 ment of a " Church School for Girls " in or near Washington city, 
 which the Bishop again and most earnestly pressed for considera- 
 tion and action. The history of that nu)vement has been given 
 in a previous chapter. 
 
 In this same address the Bishop took occasion to refer to the 
 temperance reform movement ; expressed his •' deep solicitude " 
 on the subject of temperance, and stated what were his own views 
 and his practice in relation to it : 
 
 " I close this address by giving expression to the deep solicitude I feel ou 
 the subject of temperance, one of the gravest problems we have suV)mitted 
 to us, as Churchmen, for solution. It is a source of the iuteusest satisfac- 
 tion to me to know that a subject which has stirred to its lowest depths the 
 soul of your Bishop, and two of his prominent presbyters, the Kev. Dr. 
 Nels(m and the Rev. Dr. Fair, is now agitating the heart of the great J)i..cese 
 of New York. I had made up my mind to begin tliis work of ref.>rm when- 
 ever the door of entrance was opened by the clergy: and to receive the 
 declaration in one or other of the three forms adopted in England, revocable 
 at the pleasure of the signer; believing that Churchmen are called to band 
 together in an effort to stay the ravages of this terribk- jjlague. I would 
 commend it to the sympathy of the convention, and solicit in its behulf the
 
 312 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKXEY, 
 
 support of our people. As for myself. I have adopted the total abstinence 
 principle as the rule of my own conduct, because I am satisfied that the 
 surrender of my right to use in moderation is most beneficial to my people. 
 Use in moderation is temperance. Total disi;se is my privilege, and I think 
 it no ^Yroug to any to act on it. I wish the diocese to understand precisely 
 the position I occupy. In no parish will I make an effort without the con- 
 currence of its rector : while I shall (Mi all suitable occasions address myself 
 to the heart and conscience of all Churchmen, wherever I meet with a cord- 
 ial response. I hold myself in readiness to modify my action by the sug- 
 gestions which the profounder wisdom of the convention may dictate. I have 
 only waited for the opportunity to take my stand on this subject ; having 
 taken it, I shall bear my honest testimony where I can do so with propriety." 
 
 There bad been appointed at tbe Convention of 1880 a commit- 
 tee to consider and report to tbe convention of tbe next year 
 upon tbe subject of tbe temperance reform. Tbe following is tbe 
 action tbat was taken : 
 
 Tbe Rev. Dr. Nelson offered tbe following resolution, wbicb 
 was adopted : 
 
 ^''Remlved, That a committee of ^even, four clergymen and three laymen, 
 be appointed by the president of this convention to take into consideration 
 what is commonly termed the ' Temi^ei'ance Question,' in all its relations 
 and bearings, with especial reference to the interesting work which is being 
 carried on in the Church of England, for the suppression of intemperance in 
 the use of intoxicating drinks ; and report to the next convention." 
 
 Tbe Bisbop appointed as tbe committee on tbe above resolu- 
 tion tbe Rev. C. K. Nelson, D. D.. tbe Rev. Campbell Fan-, D. D., 
 tbe Rev. ^\m.. F. Gardner, tbe Rev. Artbur J. Ricb, M. D., and 
 Messrs. Franklin H. Pilling, Ed. Higgins, and Alexander Randall. 
 
 Tbis committee reported at an early period of tbe session of 
 tbe Convention of 1881. but tlieir rejiort is not printed in tbe 
 journal. On tbe second day of tbe session tbe cbairman of tbat 
 committee, tbe Rev. Dr. Nelson, offered tbe following resolution : 
 
 '^Resolved, That the Convention of the Diocese of Maryland express its 
 sympathy with the society recently organized in New York, under the name 
 of ' The Church Temperance Society,' and approve of a vokmtary ' Diocesan 
 Society,' constituted after the plan of, and in affiliation with, the general 
 .society : and, furthermore, recommend similar parochial organizations, under 
 the rectors of the several parishes." 
 
 ' "WTiicb, after some discussion and modification, was. on tbe third 
 day, passed in tbe form following : 
 
 '■^Resohed, That this convention expresses its sympathy with the work 
 carried on in the Church of England and among Churchmen in the United 
 States, for the suppression of drunkenness and the i:)r(^motion of the cause 
 of temperance." 
 
 No further or subsequent action was taken upon tbis subject. 
 Tbe Bisboj) ceased not to feel a deep interest m tbe efforts for 
 tbe promotion of temperance reform. He manifested tbat inter- 
 est not only by bis example of total abstinence, but by addresses
 
 LIFE (JF 1USH(J1' I-INKNKV. 31;^ 
 
 -sijecially upon the subject. wLiih lie delivered, from time t<. tiin»-. 
 in divers localities. 
 
 On the 23d of the month of June of this yeur. IHHI. ih«- Bishci) 
 was present at the consecration of the new chapel of tlw Vir;,'iniii 
 Theoloofical Seminary, near Alexandiia. and at the commencement 
 exercises of the institution. He was also ])resent at the meetin;j:s 
 of the alumni on that occasion. Here he met with tjuiti' a num- 
 ber of the bishops and of the clergy and laity of ^'irginia. It 
 was the ^\Titer"s pri\-ilege to accompany the Bishop on that \-isit. 
 He listened, as all did. with deep interest to the venerable and 
 reverend Dr. Joseph Packard, the Dean and Professor of BibUcjil 
 Learning-, &c., who gave in his sermon his reminiscences of the 
 early history of the Seminary and of the noted men, departe<l, 
 who had tilled professors" chairs in the institution. The Bishop 
 took pleasure in examining the Seminary buildings, and in going 
 over the beautiful surrounding gi-ounds. anil enjoyed the hospi- 
 talities so pleasantly accorded to the guests. But the Bishop was 
 not well at the time. He returned to his home in the evening 
 cpiite sick, and was ill all the next day. but on the day following 
 Jie rose from his sick bed to go to Upper Marlborough, where for 
 the Sunday he had an appointment for ordination. After which 
 he went on to fultil, without interruption, other appointments for 
 the summer. 
 
 The Bishop was present and presided, as usual, at the conven- 
 tion which assembled on the 31st of May, 1882, in the city of 
 Washington, at the Church of the Epiphany. 
 
 All must have noted on that occasion the absence from his post 
 of the late faithful and genial secretary of the last convention, the 
 beloved Dr. Dalrymple, who from 1871 had been annuaUy re- 
 elected and had ably served the church of the diocese in that 
 capacity. The Church militant cannot lose out of the ranks of 
 her clergy and laity those who have been faithful and valiant in 
 service without just tributes to then- memory. Some extracts 
 from the Bishops memorial notice of his death are given : 
 
 "Dr. Dalrymple was one of the most learneil of intr clergy. • * • .\ 
 truer man or a braver never breathed — a more genial cumpauiDn. or a 
 faster fi-iend. The decline in his health was very rapid. I saw that the end 
 was approaching, and last August I went to Baltimore to see him. I said, 
 ' My brother, you are too sick to be left so much alone, and I have come to 
 offer myself as yoitr nurse. I will forego my rest at the White Sulphur most 
 gladly if I can soothe your hotirs of sutlering. I know all abi>ut nursing. 
 for in early life I made it a sttidy.' He was deeply touched by the offer, but 
 replied. • No, my dear Bishop, that may not be : my brother comes to me 
 to-morrow, and then I shall not be akiue." I saw him only ouce afterwiiriLs. 
 We shall miss his sweet, pleasant smile and cpiiet humor as he pour»'d oil 
 over the heated debates of the conveuti<m. May we not hope that his image 
 will rise up to rebuke any spirit of bitterness tliat might otherwise obtrude 
 (HI OUT deliberations ":■ Happy will it be for us if. at the close of this con- 
 clave, we can cany away witli us to the verge of the dark river, and lieyoud 
 it. if GOD so will, as sw'eet memories of a love which no difft-reuces of opin- 
 ion could rtiffle. "We are here to-dav. gone to-morrow."
 
 314 LIFE OF BISHOr PIXKNEY. 
 
 From tbe Bishop's tribute to the memorj' of the Kev. Dr. J. F. 
 Hoff, who had (lied during the past year, a few sentences are 
 quoted : 
 
 •• Dr. Hoflf was a man of large gifts and attainments, strong in his convic- 
 tions and earnest in liis advocacy of them. He was well read, and singularly 
 careful in his statement of facts*. He was a very popular preacher, a loving, 
 sympathetic pastor, and a devoted friend to the poor. Beautiful in life, he 
 was as beautiful in death." 
 
 The Bishop also felt that it was due to the memory of the 
 Hon. Alexander Randall, of St. Aune"s parish, AnnajDolis, to refer 
 to his death. He had often represented his parish in the con- 
 vention of the diocese. The Bishop had known him from his 
 boyhood, and knew well his great worth : 
 
 '■Mr. Randall's piety was singularly sweet and sincere-. His liberality 
 distilled as the dew in 'never-failing drops. You had only to speak to the 
 nick and the waters gushed out. As Bishop. I never pleaded for a pot)r 
 l.irother in distress that his check for 2~) or .50 dollars was not brought to me 
 by return of mail, with the touching message, ' Call again, dear Bishop, if 
 need require.' He was honestly and most warmly attached to the Book of 
 Common Prayer, and he adhered to it. It was his directory, and he obeyed 
 it. Nor did his character end here. "WTienever there was one in need, he 
 found in our lamented brother a friend and helper. It was enough for him 
 that any were in need. He never paused to inquire either the creed or the 
 color, but gave out of a full heart, as occasion called for it. of that which 
 was his only in trust for his neighbor. Often on the floor of the convention, 
 where he represented the grand old church at Annapolis, he gave proof of 
 his broad conservatism of spirit. His domestic life was as beautiful as it 
 was meek and unobtrusive. The most tender and attentive of husbands, 
 and the fondest of fathers, he was the delight of the homestead. The dio- 
 cese has lost one of her noblest sons : I, the most tried and resolute of 
 friends : St. Anne's, one of her most able and loyal sous ; St. John's College, 
 one of its most steadfast champions. 
 
 The Bishop's record of work, as given in his addi-ess, showed 
 no abatement in activity and zeal. His confirmations were 1,399 ; 
 his sermons 115 : and his addresses 1(59. He had held also 
 during the year four of his '• Bishop's Missions." 
 
 The questions touching the Standing Committee that had agi- 
 tated the two preceding conventions still lingered to trouble the 
 Convention of 1882, and were not finally disposed of — as has 
 been previously stated — until near the close of the second day of 
 the session. However, matters had much quieted, a better feeling 
 prevailed. There was a general desire to go on with the regular 
 business of the convention. 
 
 Final measures were taken at this session to provide for the 
 due celebration of the Centennial Anniversary of the organization 
 of the diocese to be held at the next annual convention : in rela- 
 tion to which the j)roceedings and preparations will be given in a 
 following chapter. 
 
 The year 1882. and so nuieh of the next year as was allotted to 
 Lim under the Divine Providence, were marked with the same
 
 LIFE OF I'.ISIloI" I'INKNEY. 315 
 
 assiduous auil persistent work that had characterized Bisliop 
 Pinkney's labors in all the preceding years of his ministry and 
 Episct)pate. He sought not ease. He coveted not ap])lans('. 
 He was content to be, and go, and do where duty called, tliut he 
 might fultil the ministry which he had received of theLOKDJl'^SUS 
 under the mission of the Church. His time, his thoughts, his 
 labors, were concentrated u})on his work. Fortunately he was 
 not called to endure any prohmged serious illness. He was often 
 ailing, as we have seen. He suffered from occasional attacks of 
 vertigo. He notes one inteiTU})ti()n in visitations for about a 
 week from one of those attacks. There were some brief inter- 
 vals of rest and recreation. He Avas known at times to place 
 his hands upon his breast, when suffering some distress there, 
 and say, •' it will all soon be over," ov words to that effect. After 
 the death of his wife and under the painful weight of his respon- 
 sibilities, he seemed really anxious to wear himself out that he 
 might go to his rest. Those who were much with him at this 
 period could see from the sweet glow of his soul, the touching 
 l^athos of his words, and the unselfish devotion of his life how 
 his spirit Avas preparing itself for the rest of the blessed. 
 
 He felt very keenly the trials and troul:)les that had grown up 
 in the diocese the last few years. While firm in the maintenance 
 of his position as Bishop it grieved him to see how the peace of 
 the diocese was disturbed, and the progress of the Church hin- 
 dered by what he deemed needless sources of discord and con- 
 tention. He was a lover of peace and concord. His \evy nature 
 moved him to love and to sympathy. Firm and resolute where 
 principle was concerned, or duty involved, he could at the same 
 time cherish no animosity against those who differed from him or 
 felt called to oppose him. To a temperament and character like his, 
 as ao-e advanced, and the lovin<>- ties that bound him to home and 
 friends were being severed by death, and the grave interests of 
 the welfare of the Chuijch were pressing increasingly upon his 
 soul, it is not surprising that there were signs and indications of 
 failing strength and health. He seemed to realize this, and felt 
 more and more the need of Divine sustaining grace. A clergy- 
 man, who was a bedfellow with the Bishop on one of his -visita- 
 tions at this period, hearing some murmuring sounds as the 
 Bishop lay beside him, supposed that he was suffering some 
 bodily pain or distress, but soon found that the faint whisperings 
 which he heard were the utterances of prayer as the Bishoj) was 
 composing himself to sleep. And yet withal he was as sensitive 
 to everything that was beautiful, tender, and lovely in life as he 
 had ever been in the freshness of youth. He was as thoughtful 
 and careful for even the little things that enter into daily life or 
 would minister to comfort or pleasure in others as he had always 
 been. Apart from his official correspondence, and when on his.
 
 316 LIFE OF BISHOP PIXKNEY. 
 
 travels, be found time to seize intervals for some brief letters of 
 counsel or sympatby to tbose wbose remembrance be bore in his 
 heart. 
 
 After his return, at the close of the summer of 1881, from the 
 White Sulphur, alluding to his attack of vertigo, he thus writes 
 to ]\Ir. Corcoran : 
 
 '• Deak Me. Coecoean : I have beeu very sick, but am better to-day. I 
 liad a severe attack the day after my return, and until yesterday I C(juld not 
 take a steady step. I delivered a short address at the Navy Yard, T)Ut siif- 
 fered no ill c'ousequence. I was not strong enough to call, and t< )ld Lawrence 
 to tell yoTi, with my love, that I was not. I was sorry to hear that y<:)U were 
 complaining. I will call and see you in a day or two. Your life is far more 
 precious than mine. It lights up with smiles so many other hearts. I trust 
 that GOD will watch over it for their sakes, and give you more and more of 
 that sweet, warm sunshine which His grace alone yields. Bright as your life 
 has been in benefactions to y(jur own race, soft in sympathy as the dew falls. 
 He will make it brighter to you in the eventide, as it fades away in the mel- 
 low light beyond. You are in my thoughts each day, and the memory of 
 your love, of which I am so unworthy, sweetens my solitude. 
 •' Affectionatelv, 
 
 '• AV. W. CoEcoEAX, LL. D. " W. P." 
 
 By special invitation the Bishop spent some eight or nine days 
 in August, 1882, at Nantucket, Mass., as the guest of Charles 
 O'Connor, Esq., with whom, since the issue in 1878 of the Bishop's 
 pamphlet in vindication of his uncle from Harvey's aspersions 
 contained in his reminiscences of "Wel^ster, a very pleasant inter- 
 change of letters had been kept up. Only a few weeks before his 
 death the Bishop received from Mr. O'Connor a renewed invita- 
 tion to be his guest for the summer of 1883. 
 
 The following letter shows how pleasant and intimate were the 
 relations between them, though differmg so widely as to religious 
 and Church matters : 
 
 "Nantucket, Mass., Jvne 12, 1883. 
 
 " My Deae Bishop Pixkney : You were so kind as to express, last summer, 
 satisfaction with the attractions of Nantucket. They remain unaltered and 
 undiminished, save by the loss of your admiring friend, Peter Folger, wlm 
 has i^assed away. We are all anxioits and eager to see you, and I do ear- 
 nestly hope that you may not be tempted to abandon us. 
 
 " I have invited your kinsman, Judge Pinkney, thus doing my best to add 
 charms for you to our little isle. With most alfectionate esteem. I remain. 
 " Yotxr sincere friend, 
 
 '•CH. O'CONNOR." 
 
 The Bishop, had his life been spared, would, doubtless, have 
 gladly accejited this renewed invitation for at least a brief period. 
 No one enjoyed more than he the privileges of association and 
 companionship with those who were eminent for their talents, 
 their learning, and their social position. He possessed the happy 
 versatile facultj' of adapting himself in pleasant ways and with 
 
 J
 
 LIKE OF nisilol' I'lNKNEY. lil? 
 
 no assumptions of di^^nity to tlic jthiincst and lowliest in lift-, luitl 
 at the same time ol* heinj^- peifectlj- at ease and in lull aceord of 
 manner and bearin<>- with the' most learned and cultured in the 
 higher spheres of refined society, among whom were some of his 
 warmest friends and greatest admirers, wliile it was beiiutifiil to 
 see how the poor, sick, and decrejjit negro could lo\e and revere 
 him. 
 
 Soon after his return from Nantucket the liisiiop left Washing- 
 ton to spend a few weeks at the AVliite Sulphur as the giu*st of 
 his friend, Mr. Corcoran. F})()n his return to Washington he 
 wrote to Mr. C. as follows : 
 
 '* My Dear Mr. Corcoran : I havi' to tliank yoa for ii very i)lfiisiiiit sojoin-ii 
 at the White Sulphur, and a thousand othi'r tokens of your j^enerositv and 
 love. LauLCUa^e is weak thon<jh the heart is full. 'Tis oftt-n so. The power 
 of expression fulls below the magnetism of the heart. I should love to lin^'cr 
 longer in the nuauitains, and listen to their elocjui-nt utterances, wliili- I hfjd 
 sueh sweet converse with the choice spirits around nie. liut duty culls, 
 and I must obey. 
 
 •• I rejoice to think that you are so much better, I think, even strouj^er 
 than you were last summer. Hundreds then' are who will more than echo 
 my thanksgiving to GOD for this signal instanci' of His love, for they live 
 in the sunshine yoti diffuse, and drink of the dew-dro])s you scatter ontheir 
 paths. It is a blessed thing to be able to feel with lioly .Job. ' I was eyes 
 to the blind and feet to the lame,' ' when the ear heard me, tlien it l)lessed 
 me, and when their eye saw me it gave witness to me." ' I delivered the 
 poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him.' 
 
 " You are privileged to walk amid the flowers of your own planting, and 
 in the sweet consciousness that you give the hue, and the freshness, and the 
 blo(jm of flowers to others — not those flowers that fade, but live on and live 
 ever in the garden of the heart. A lienefactor of your race, you move among 
 men, while you acknowledge in all humility the grace which crowns you 
 from above which enables you to break the alaliaster box over the sulTeriug 
 members of your LOKD. I hope that the sun of your life will linger long 
 in its circuit, and when at last it goes down, I ho^je it will be in a golden 
 sunset where the light of the two worlds will meet, and mingle the light of 
 the love that has made glad the cottage of the poor, and light of the love 
 that feeds its fires in the bosom of the Infinite. 
 
 "The honor of your friendship is the honor of my life, and one of the 
 sweetest memories of that life is the love you have l)orue me, the least of the 
 many you haA'e taken to your confidence, though not the least selfish of 
 theln all. I cherish the thought that in all my intercourse with you from 
 the moment I first knew you to the j^resent hour, I have valued you for 
 what you are, aud not for what yon have. It is the gold of the heart — the 
 golden thotight and feelings and deeds which make up your character, that 
 so win itpon me — not the gold that perishes. I have felt the stimulus of 
 yoiu- example, and followed in your steps. May GOD keep you and bless 
 you in all your ways. 
 
 •• Affectionately, 
 
 •• W. W. Corcoran, LL. I). W. I'." 
 
 Early in September the Bishoj) resumed and cf)ntinued his visi- 
 tations, with scarcely an intermission, except for a few days, uji 
 to the meetino- of the Convention in ^Tav. 1SS8, when the church
 
 318 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 in the diocese engaged in the interesting services of the Centen- 
 nial Celebration. 
 
 His record of work for this last year of his Episcopate was as 
 follows : '' Deacons ordained. 5 : confirmations. 1.386 : sermons. 
 149 : addresses, 212." To which is to be added the consecration 
 of six churches. There were also visits to colleges and schools 
 at their commencement seasons. He never failed, if it was pos- 
 sible for him to go. to be present at the commencement of St. 
 John's College, Annapolis, and at the closing exercises of the 
 Hannah More Diocesan School for Girls. There were also several 
 private schools in which he took great interest, to which he gave 
 medals for best scholar shij^, and at the close of which he was 
 wont to be present. It is easy to see how the whole of a busy 
 life can be thus filled uj) with work. 
 
 At Christmas, while at home, he wrote to Mr. Corcoran this 
 letter : 
 
 •'Decemher 26, 1882. 
 
 " My Deak Mr. Cokcoeax : I have a desire to be icleutitied with the day 
 of yoiir birth in some humble way, and I therefore ask you to accept of a 
 little inkstand in token of my love. It is beautifully symbolic, simple 
 though it be. Pride, contentment, comfort are sweetly represented in a hen 
 with her little brood, that sort of pride which is most commendable, the off- 
 spring of a happy consciousness of blessings thankfully received and grandly 
 used. Contentment, which is a s\;V)lime acceptance of what GOD bestows, 
 and a meek submission of our will to GOD'S. Comfort, which is the repose 
 of the soul on the bosom of the Infinite. No one has had more cause to 
 rejoice in the ability to do kindly deeds to his fellows and the heart to do 
 them, than you. No one has had more cause to revel in the graces of con- 
 tentment and comfort. 
 
 "One thing is very toviching in this symbolic pictiire, and that is the 
 folding of the wings over a part of the little brood. You remember who it 
 was who said, ' I will gather thee i;nder My wings,' ' The everlasting wings 
 are over you.' And now in the calm simset of yoiir life, it miist be a comfort 
 to know that you have folded the wings of your charity over the daughters 
 of sorrow. Eighty-odd years are a crown of glory when they can find their 
 types in the dew-drops and the sun's warm ray. 
 
 •' May many more be added I This I could wish f^)r the good of others. You 
 have in a siibordinate sense, as an instrument of GOD, given ' beauty for 
 ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment (jf praise f(jr the spirit 
 of heaviness.' I have come t<j be grateful for the love you have shown me. 
 I may not live to greet you on another of these blessed anniversaries. You 
 will, then, greatly oblige me if you will now and then use this inkstand when 
 you sign yoi;r name to any of your letters of benefaction or heart greeting, 
 and when your sign it. think sometimes of (jne who often thinks of you. 
 
 " Affectionatelv, 
 • \V. W. CoKCOKAX, LL. D. ■ W. P." 
 
 This letter was followed, in February, by another, which is the 
 last we find in the MS. volume of the Bishop's letters carefully 
 ])reserved and filed by Mr. Corcoran : and from some of its inci- 
 dental expressions it is evident that his health was seriously 
 failing under his too arduous work : 
 
 I
 
 LIFE OF I5ISH01' I'lNKNKV. Ill'.t 
 
 '• Filiriiiiri/ '.t. iSHii. 
 
 "My Dear Mr. Corcoran : I ic^'ii't that I did uot r iv«> your curd \iiitil 
 
 just iis I was on the eve of leaviiiLC Washington. I will he in to-mormw, and 
 will eall to see you in the morning'. I was uji at clinrch to service, hut I 
 am very unwell: very, vory unwrll. I am not wont to sucoimh. hut I find 
 
 myself just now tasked to tlu' utmost. So far as my will jiowfr i- 
 
 eerned. that has never failed me. 
 
 " All'cct innately, 
 •• W. W. CoRCOR.\N. LL. D. \V. V.
 
 320 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXXV. 
 
 The Centenary Commemoration. 1883. 
 
 The Convention wliicL met on the 2ytli of May, 1883, in St, 
 Peter's Church, Baltimore city, will be memorable in the annals 
 of the Church in Maryland. It commemorated the 100th anni- 
 versary of the organization of the diocese. 
 
 As early as 1879, in the convention of that year, a movement 
 was made for "the appointment of a committee to unite with the 
 Diocese of Easton in commemorating the 100th anniversary of the 
 Primary Convention." 
 
 This movement originated with the rector of Grace Church, 
 Baltimore, the Rev. Dr. George Leeds, than whom the Church in 
 Maryland has never had a presbyter more honored and beloved. 
 AVhile particularly fitted by his culture, his urbanity, the sweet- 
 ness of his Christian spirit, and his active priestly ministrations 
 for his important pastoral charge, he brought to the work of the 
 Church in the diocese, and to that of the General Church in the 
 missionary departments, a wisdom and zeal marked by a judicious 
 comprehension and a broad Catholic spirit. Dr. Leeds felt that 
 it was due to the position of the Church in Maryland and to her 
 historic character, that there should be some fitting celebration 
 of the one hundredth anniversary of her organization. 
 
 The following is the resolution oftered by Dr. Leeds: 
 
 '* Itenohed, That two clergymen aud two laymen be appointed a committee 
 to unite with the Bishop and Assistant Bishop of the diocese, if it meet their 
 approval, in representing to the Convention of the daughter Diocese of 
 Easton the desirableness of a joint commemoration of the close of the first one 
 hundred years since the Primary Convention of the Church in Maryland, 
 A. D. 1780. And if the Bishop of Easton, with the clergy and laity of liis 
 diocese, concur, to make such arrangements as may l)e mutually convenient 
 for the celel)ration proposed, and report the same to the next convention. 
 
 " The chair appointed as the (•ominittee the Eev. George Leeds, D. D., the 
 Eev. James A. McKenney, D. D., and Messrs. Elisha .J. Hall and Wm. P. 
 Young, M. D." 
 
 At the Convention of the next year, 1880, the committee pre- 
 sented a statement touching the matter, as follows : 
 
 •• The Piev. Dr. Leeds presented the following report, which was mktpted: 
 •' The coiiiinittee appointed at the last convention to unite with the Bishop, 
 then happily with us. and the Assistant Bishop of Maryland, ' in represent- 
 ing to the Convention of the daughter Diocese of Easton the desirableness 
 of a joint commemoration of the close of the first one hundred years since 
 the Primary Convention of the Church in Maryland,' respectfully report : 
 With the hearty concurrence of both the Bishop and the Assistant Bishop of
 
 LIFE (IF lUsllol' I'IMsMV. II'JI 
 
 t lie diocese, the desiiableiiess of a joiut eoiiimeiuoratiou of the one hiiiulruihh 
 aiiniveisai y was duly siLjnified to the Convention >>t' Easton. whieh rcHiiundt'd 
 cordially and at once: and steps were early taken, in conjnnction with its 
 IJishop and a special coniniittee of the dani;hter diocese, to make sin'h 
 arrauijenieuts as should he mutually convenient ami satisfactory. The veuer- 
 alileBishop of Maryland promised, as his contribution, should(K)l) sjxire hiH 
 life, the ' History of an Episcojjate of Forty Years.' Chest ertown wa.s 
 selected as the place, and the Uth of November. IHH(\, as tlie time f(ir the 
 Centennial ^atherin;,' : and should it, for any n-asou, be found impractieabh' 
 
 to assemble <in the spot of the ))riniary council, it was iindersi 1 and a^'reed 
 
 that the ^atlierinij; should be in Baltimore. All i)relimiuaries for the meetiuj^, 
 beyond the appointment of speakers, were left, by consent, with the Com- 
 mittee of Maryland. 
 
 " Within a few weeks past it has been publicly annoimced that the Church 
 at Chestertowu must be taken down this summer to make way for a better, 
 and more recently it appt'ars that the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary 
 of the foiindiuLT of Baltimore is to be celel)rated in October, on a scale of 
 j)roportions which will throw into the shade all other counnemorations of a 
 local character. In view of which facts, and the yet uncompleted arran^"- 
 meuts for a proper observance of the ecclesiastical century, the Joint (,'om- 
 mittee of the dioceses, together with the Right Reverend, the Bishoi)s of the 
 same, recommend a postponement, or passing over, of the festival ilesigned 
 to have been held in Noveniljer : and this they do with the less hesitation, 
 becaiise the first onehuudred years of conventional history, according to the 
 journals of the Convention of Maryland, will not be rounded out until three 
 years hence, when fresh order can be taken, if then thought desirable. 
 
 ■• The committee, therefore, present, as a moti<m of their own, the recom- 
 mendation of the Joiut Committee, and ask to V)e discharged. 
 
 GEORGE LEEDS. Chniiinan. 
 
 J. A. McKENNEY. 
 
 WM. P. YOUNG. 
 
 E. J. HALL." 
 
 Final action upon this matter, of which the followino- is the 
 record, was taken in the Diocesan Convention of l.SS'i : 
 
 •' The Rev. Dr. Leeds offered the following resolution, which \\a^ adopted: 
 '' JResolved. That, as the next annual convention of this diocese will be the 
 one hundredth in order, since the organization of the Cluu-ch in Maryland, 
 a committee, consisting of the rectors of the three oldest churches in Balti- 
 more, viz., St. Paul's, St. Peter's, and Christ Church, of the venerable 
 parish of St. Anne's, Annapolis, and of the mother church, Christ Cluu-ch, 
 in Washington, together with Dr. John M. Bronie. of St. Mary's county, 
 Mr. E. J. Hall, of Montgomery county, and such other persons as saifl com- 
 mittee may select with a view to representing the various parts of the dio- 
 cese, be appointed to prejiare for an appropriate commemoration of this 
 centennial anniversary, in connection with the meeting of the ne.\t conven- 
 tion. 
 
 " On motion, the Rev. Dr. Leeds was added to the committee. 
 " The Rev. Dr. Hutton offered the following resolution, which was carried : 
 '•Resolred, That the committee on the centennial celebration be re(juested 
 to communicate with the Dioce.se of Easton, and to invite a delegation from 
 that diocese to-unite in the proposed centennial celebration." 
 
 To these resohitions was suliseqitently added another. i)reseiited 
 l)y the Rev. George A. Leakin, one of the t)hh'st of the native 
 Maryland clergy, who had made very considerable researches Luto
 
 322 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKXEY. 
 
 tlie early history of the parishes of the diocese, and had rescued 
 from olihviou many interesting facts in relation to their condition 
 in the Colonial and subsequent periods : 
 
 ' ■ The Rev. Mr. Leakiu offered tlie f ollowiug resolution, which was adopted : 
 " Wherens, This couveiitiou has taken order for the proper observance of 
 the centennial eelehratinn of the organization of the Church in the Diocese 
 of Maryland : 
 
 ^'Hesolced, That each rector be earnestly requested to co-operate in the 
 presentation of this subject before his parish or congregation, and to place 
 among the records of the diocese any sermon or address, together with any 
 manuscripts, which may illustrate oixr Colonial Diocesan History." 
 
 The whole narrative of this '• Centenary Commemoration." pre- 
 l^ared and published under the action of the Joint Committee of 
 Maryland and Easton, by the secretary, the Rev. Eobert "Wilson, 
 D. D., of the latter diocese, is so complete and mteresting. that 
 it is transferred verbatim to these pages : 
 
 COMMEMORATION. 
 
 " At the Xixety-Xixth Anxual Session of the Convention of the 
 Protestant Episcopal Chiu-ch in the Diocese of Maryland, held 
 in the Church of the Epiphany. "Washington, D. C. on Thursday. 
 June 1st (Second Day), 1882. the Rev. Dr. Leeds offered the 
 following Resolution, which was adopted : 
 
 Resolved, That, as the next Annual Convention of this Diocese will be the 
 One Hundredth in order since the organization of the Church in Maryland, 
 a Committee, consisting of the Eectors of the three oldest Churches in Bal- 
 timore, viz., St. Paul's. St. Peter's, and Christ Church, of the venerable 
 Parish of St. Anne's, Annapolis, and of the Mother Church, Christ Church, 
 in Washington, together with Dr. John M. Brome. of St. Mary's County. 
 Mr. E. J. Hall, of Montgomery Coirnty, and such other persons as said 
 Committee may select with a view to representing the various parts of the 
 Diocese, be a^jpointed to prepare for an aj^propriate commemoration of this 
 Centennial Anniversary, in connection with the meeting of the next Cou- 
 A-ention. 
 
 On motion the Rev. Dr. Leeds was added to the Committee. 
 The Rev. Dr. Huttou offered the following Resolution, which 
 was carried : 
 
 Heifolved, That the Committee on the Centennial Celebration be recjuested 
 to communicate with the Diocese of Easton, and to invite a delegation from 
 that Diocese to unite in the proposed Centennial Celebration. 
 
 In accordance with the above Resokitions a communication was 
 addi-essed to the Rt. Rev. the Bishop of Easton by the Rev. Dr. 
 Leeds, who also appeared in person lief ore the Convention of the 
 Diocese of Easton. holding its Fourteenth Annual Session in St. 
 James* Church, Port Dei^osit, on Thursday. June 7th, 1882 
 (Second Day), and extended to the Convention the invitation 
 contemplated by the above Resolution of Dr. Hutton.
 
 LIFE or l;iS||()l' I'INKNKV. 323 
 
 On motion of Kev. Dr. Barber flu- sul.jcct was ntVrr.Ml t.. a 
 special Committee, and tlie President apj-ointed us siieh dnn- 
 mittee the Eev. Messrs. George F. Beaveii aii.l James A. MUchell 
 and Messrs. AVm. R. Hayward and Jdlni S. Wiit. 
 
 The Eev. Mr. Leakin. of the Diocese of :\luryland. also ad<hess<(l 
 the Convention in reference to the subject. 
 
 After dne consideration the Rev. G. F. Beaven, from the 
 Committee to whom was referred the Conmiunication from the 
 Diocese of Maryland, i)resented the followinj,^ nqwrt. The 
 resolution proposed by the Committee was thereuixm adopted: 
 
 The Committee to whom wa« referred the Comimiuicatiun from the Di.i- 
 cese of Miirylaud invitino; the Diocese of Eastt.n to unite with her in cele. 
 bratiut,' the Centenary of the Organization of tlie Diocese. Ijey to report as 
 foUows : " 
 
 Whereas. The recent Convention of the Diocese of Maryhind. by resuhi- 
 tion. determined to celelnate the Centennial of tiie Orj,'anization'of"the Dio. 
 cese. and at the same time extended to the Dioce.se of East<m. its dau<;hter. 
 a cordial invitation to unite with her in this service of loving conmieTnora- 
 tion : therefore. 
 
 Rexolved, That this Convention, heartily sympathizing with the Mother 
 Diocese in everything pertaining to her past "history and future prosji.-rity. 
 hereby authorizes and requests its Presi(h'nt to ajjpoint a committee of three 
 Clergymen and three Laymen to eo-o])(Tate with the committee on the j>art 
 of the Diocese of Maryland appointed to arrange for the jirojMjsed Centen- 
 nial Celebration. 
 
 GEO. F. HEAVEN. 
 R. C. MACK.VLL. 
 JAMES A. MFFCHELL. 
 
 Ill accordance with the above Report, the President announced 
 as the Committee on the Maryland Celebration, the Rev. Dr. 
 Barton, the Rev. Dr. AVilson, the Rev. Mr. Rol)ert8. Messrs. I. L. 
 Adkins, M. D., G. R. Goldsborouo-h, and W. S. Walker. 
 
 On Thursday, July 6th, 1S(S2. pursuant to a call issued bv the 
 Rev. J. S. B.^Hodges, S. T. D., on behalf of the Comu'iittee 
 appointed by the Convention of the Diocese of ^Maryland, a 
 majority of the members of said Committee, together with a 
 majority of the Committee of Conference appointed h\ order of 
 the Convention of the Diocese of Easton. assembled in the Ves- 
 try-Room of St. Paul's Church, Baltimore, at 12 m. There were 
 ])resent, the Rev. Messrs. J. S. B. Hodges. S. T. D., Geoi-ge Leeils. 
 D. D., Julius E. Grammer, D. D., Walter W. Williams. D. D.. and 
 C. D. AndreAvs, and Mr. E. J. Hall, representuig the Diocese of 
 Maryland, and on the part of Easton, the Rev. Messrs. Jno. (). 
 Barton, D. D.. Robert Wilson. D. D., and Stephen C. Roberts 
 and Dr. Isaac L. Adkins. 
 
 After preliminary action, a permanent organization was eft'ected. 
 the Rev. Dr. Leeds being elected Chaii-mau and the Rev. Dr. 
 Wilson Secretary of the Joint Committee. 
 
 Under authority of the original Resolution of the Couveutiou
 
 324 
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP I'lNKXEY. 
 
 of Maryland, empowering the Committee to add to its numbers^ 
 the following General Execvitive Committee was appointed : 
 
 Membem of the original Joint Committee ns appointed by the Binhops of 
 Maryland and Eaaton under Resolution of their renpectite Conventions. 
 
 For Makylaxd. 
 
 Kev. Dr. Hodges, of Baltimoi'e. Rev. Mr. Andrews, of Washington. 
 
 Leeds, " •• " Soutligate, of Annapolis. 
 
 Grammer, '* Dr. John M. Brome, of St. Mary's Co. 
 
 •■ " Williams, " Mr. E. J. Hall, of Montgomery Co, 
 
 Kev, 
 
 Eev. 
 
 John 0. Barton, 
 
 , D. D 
 
 
 Dr. 
 
 Robert Wilson, 
 
 D. D, 
 
 
 Mr. 
 
 Stephen C. Roberts, 
 
 
 '• 
 
 
 
 
 Additional. 
 
 Dr. Huttou, 
 
 Rev. 
 
 Dr, 
 
 , Riddut, 
 
 " Gordon, 
 
 ■• 
 
 
 Lindsay, 
 
 " Addison, 
 
 
 Mr. 
 
 Chew, ' 
 
 " Sterns, 
 
 •' 
 
 
 Leakiu, 
 
 ' ' Barber, 
 
 i( 
 
 " 
 
 E.F.Dashiell, 
 
 " Rich, 
 
 
 
 Laymen. 
 
 Foe Easton. 
 
 Isaac L. Adkins, 
 William S. Walker, 
 George R. Goldsborough. 
 
 Rey. Mr. George F. Beaveu, 
 
 '• O. Ingle, 
 " " Wm. F. Lockwood, 
 
 " Wm. F. Brand, 
 , " " Hall Harrison, 
 
 " Walter A Mitchell. 
 
 Mr. 
 
 Wm. H. Perot, 
 John E. Hurst, 
 S. G. Wymau, 
 Henry sl Taylor, 
 Reverdy Johnson, 
 W. W. Corcoran, 
 James K. Harwood, 
 Levin Woolford, 
 Lewis J. Davis, 
 A. Bowie Davis, 
 Samuel Cross, 
 
 Mr. Charles Abert, Mr. 
 
 " J. H. B. Latrobe, *> 
 
 " J. Hall Pleasants, Dr. 
 
 " Wm. Woodward, Mr. 
 
 " Daniel M. Henry, 
 
 '• S. S. McMasters, " 
 
 E. G. Ferine. 
 
 " Skipwith Wilmer, " 
 
 " Chas. F. Taylor, " 
 
 " Wm. Keyser, 
 
 C. F. Mayer, 
 Robert M. Proud, 
 Saml. A. Harrison, 
 Saml. P. Thompson, 
 Thomas Cradock, 
 Chas. M. Matthews, 
 
 C. ^lorton Stewart, 
 
 D. W. Middleton, 
 Edgar G. Miller, 
 George T. Hollyday. 
 
 The Officers elected were the Rev. George Leeds, D. D., Chair- 
 man, the Rev. Robert Wilson, D. D., Secretary, and Mr. Robert 
 M. Proud, Treasurer. 
 
 A Resolution was adopted requesting the Rt. Rev. the Bishops 
 of Maryland and Easton to advise and co-operate with the Com- 
 mittee. 
 
 It was further resolved that the Order of Services on the occa- 
 sion of the i)roposed Celebration be as follows : 
 
 A Service to be held in St. Paul's Chiu-ch. Baltimore, on Tuesday. 
 May 2yth, 18S8. at 11 o'clock a. m., the Rt. Rev. the Bishop of 
 Easton being invited to deliver thereat an Historical Discourse 
 on " The Colonial Church in Maryland."' 
 
 A Service to be held in St. Peter's Church, Baltimore, on 
 Wednesday, May 30th, 1883, at 10 o'clock a. m., the Rt. Rev. the 
 Bishop of Maryland being requested to deliver thereat an His- 
 torical Discourse on "'The Church in Maryland since the Organi- 
 zation of the Diocese."
 
 LIFE or r.lSllol' IINKNKV. :{-J.') 
 
 [Bisho}) Piiikiu'v luivin-^- sul)sc(Hitiitly si^^iiilic.l lii^ iiuwilliii^' 
 iiess to change the tiuie-hoiioied custoiu of the DiiK-ese by thuH 
 taking the ^Maee of the usually appointed iireaclier l>efore tlie 
 Convention, at the retpiest of the Committee ai)pointe<l the Uev. 
 Dr. Hutton to deliver the contemplated discourse in his stead.] 
 
 A Service to be held in Cluist Clniich. Jialtimon-. on tlu' j-veu- 
 ing of Wednesday, at which the Rt. Kev. the Bishops of Western 
 New York and North Carolina, and the Uev. Chas. H. Hall. D. D.. 
 of Brooklyn, should be invited to deliver addresses. 
 
 The expediency of holding special Centenary Services at Ches- 
 tertown in connection with the Session of the Fifteenth Annual 
 Convention of the Diocese of Easton, was referred to the mem- 
 bers of the General Executive Committee from that Diocese under 
 advice of the Bishop of Easton. It was further resolved to give 
 a Collation to the mendjers of the two Conventions and other 
 guests at Lehmann's Hall, on the evening of Tuesday. May 2".tth, 
 1883, at which addresses should be delivered l)y invited and vol- 
 unteer speakers. 
 
 The following Sul)-Comniittees were then appointed and the 
 details of the proposed Celebration entrusted to their care : 
 
 I. On Religioi's Services. 
 The Rii^'ht Eev. the Bishop of Maryliind. Rev. Dr. H...li;es. 
 
 The Right Rev. the Bishop of Easton. " " (iraiiimer. 
 
 Williiiiii'i. 
 
 II. Ox HoSPIT.\LITY. 
 
 Mr. S. P. Thompson, Mr. E. (t. Ferine, Mr. Chas. F. Mayer, 
 
 " Reverdv Johnson, " Skijjwith Wihner, Rev. Dr. Graninier, 
 '' Henry S. Taylor, " Charh-s F. Tayh)r. " " Williams. 
 
 III. On Historical Discourses and Publications. 
 liev. Arthur J. Rich. M.D. Rev. R. Wilson. D. D. Mr. Lewis J. Davis. 
 " Hall Harrison. " C.D.Andrews. I. L. Adkins. M. D. 
 
 Mr. E. J. Hall. 
 
 lY. On Archives and Original Documents. 
 
 Rev. John H. Chew, Rev. Wm. F. Brand, Mr. G. R. Gol<lslM,roUi,'li. 
 
 '• George A. Leakin, •• W. F. Loekwood, •• William S. Widk.-r. 
 
 O. Hutton, D. D. " Saml. Ridout, M. 1). " A. Bowi.- Davis. 
 
 S.C.Roberts, '• Wm. S. Southgate, '• Wni. Woodward. 
 
 T. P. Barber, D. D. " S. R. Gordon, D. D. " Levin Woolford. 
 
 " E. J. Stearns, D. D. " O. Ingle, " Charles Abert. 
 
 •' J. 0. Barton, D. D. '• W. A.' Mitchell. Dr. S. A. Harrison. 
 
 Mr. Gro. T. II..llydav. 
 V. On Finance. 
 Mr. Robert M. Proud, Mr. John E. Hurst, Mr. C. Morton St-'wart. 
 
 •• Wm. H.Perot, " E.G.Miller, " Chas. M. Matth.-ws, 
 
 " J. Hall Pleasants. " Wm. Kevscr, •' Thomas Cradoi-k. 
 
 " W.W.Corcoran, " D. W. Middlet.m. 
 
 Meetings of the General Executive Connuittee were subse- 
 Cjuently held in Baltimore on October :3d ami December r)th. iSM'i, 
 and on January 30th, April 3d, :\ray 22nd and :^[ay 31st, 1SS3.
 
 326 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 These meetings were largely occui^ied by the routine business 
 necessarily incident to the carrying through of such a project as 
 that in hand. They were marked by hearty co-operation and an 
 active and discreet zeal on the part of individual members, which 
 signally contributed to ultimate success. These meetuigs were 
 saddened by the absence, on account of serious illness, of the 
 Chairman, the Rev. Dr. Leeds, and by the death of two of the 
 members of the General Committee, viz : the Rev. Wm. F. Lock- 
 wood and Samuel G. "Wyman. Another member of the Commit- 
 tee, the Rev. T. P. Barber, D. D., Rector of Great Choptank Par- 
 ish, was sorely tried by the destruction of his Parish Church by 
 fire on Thanksgi^•ing Day. In all these cases suitable resolutions 
 of sympathy were adopted. 
 
 Invitations were extended to the Rt. Rev. the Bishops of Con- 
 necticut and Pennsylvania to take part in the Centenary exercises. 
 Both, however, to the great loss and regret of the Committee, 
 were prevented from attending, the former by pressure of Dio- 
 cesan duties and the latter by indisposition. 
 
 The Rt. Rev. the Bishop of Maryland was respectfully requested, 
 if agreeable to his judgment, to take order for special selections 
 from Holy Scripture, and Special Prayers and Thanksgivings, to 
 be used at the Centenary Services. In accordance with this 
 request, a Special Order of Services was afterwards, by his author- 
 ity, set forth and used. 
 
 Opening Sekvice in St. Paul's Church. 
 
 On Tuesday, May 29th, 1883, the Services in celebration of the 
 Centenary of the Diocese of Maryland were opened by the admin- 
 istration of the Holy Communion in St. Paul's Church at 9.30 
 A. M. to a large assembly of the Clergy and Laity, the Rt. Rev. 
 AV. Pinkney, D. D., ofificiatiug. assisted by the Rev. J. S. B. Hodges, 
 D. D., and the Rev. George A. Leakin. 
 
 At 11 o'clock the Church was filled by an immense congrega- 
 tion, and as the rich tones of the organ pealed theii' glad welcome 
 to the day, the solemn and imposing procession of Bishops and 
 Clergy entered from the Choir-Room and proceeding down the 
 north aisle, advanced up the nave towards the chancel, chanting 
 the words of the 138th Hymn, ■' Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God 
 Almighty," the congregation joining their voices to swell the 
 mighty wave of melody which rolled upward in rhythmic jDraise. 
 It was an experience long to be remembered, and rarely known 
 by any worshipping assembly beyond the great cathedral walls 
 of our ^Mother Church of Englanct. " The Singers went before," 
 the suri)liced Choristers leading the procession, followed by 
 about one hundred robed Clergy, the Rt. Rev. the Bishops of 
 ^Maryland, Easton, "Western New York, Delaware and North Caro- 
 lina bringing up the rear. As the ranks of the clergy opened in
 
 LIFE OF lilSHol' I'INKNKV. ;{'27 
 
 the nave, the Bishops passed Itctwcfii. un.l ciitcnMl the fhuncel 
 followed by the oflficiatin-^- Priests. The rest of the clerj^'v took 
 places in the reserved })ews, where a lar^^e niuuber of their 
 unro])ed brethren had already asseinl»led. 
 
 The following Order of Service was then obsei'vecL 
 
 Morning- Prayer, with the viii Selection of Psiihns, -tlie Rev. 
 Robert Wilson, D. D., of Easton. 
 
 First Lesson, J^lvekiel xlvii : to v. 18, — the Rev. Ai'thin- J. IJich, 
 M. D., of Maryland, Dean of the Convocation of Baltimore. 
 
 Second Lesson, Jitc. xxii, — the Rev. Erastus F. Diishiell. 1). 1)., 
 of Easton. 
 
 The Creed and Prayers following, — the Rev. Orlando Hutton, 
 D. D., of Maryland, w'ith 
 
 After t/ie (ieneral ThaiikHfihinr/. tin foUinriny : 
 
 O Thou, who, iiecovdiug to Thy abiindaiit mercy, hath blessed us with all 
 spiritual blessings in Christ : accept, O God of our fathers, this our sacrifice 
 of most humble and hearty thanks for Thy goodness, which we this day 
 <'<)mmemorate, in giving i;s an heritage in Thy Holy Church. 
 
 We praise and magnify Thy Holy Name for our creation and preservation ; 
 for our redemption and regeneration : for our instruction in Thy Word and 
 the teaching of Thy Spirit: for Thy patience and long-suffering: for our 
 repentance and renewal: for the comforts of Thy grace and the hojjc of a 
 ha^jpy resurrection : for our communion with Thy saints anil the grace of 
 Thy Sacraments : for all who have done us good by their writings or dis- 
 courses, l)y their prayers or examples, l>y their reproofs or persecutions. 
 
 i'or all these we praise Thee and will praise Thee : we bless Thee and will 
 Ijless Thee; we thank Thee and will give Thee thanks forever, through 
 Jesus Cheist cub Loed. Ameit. 
 
 The Communion Office was said by the Rev. Samuel R. Gor- 
 don, D. D., of Maryland, with 
 
 After the Collect for the day, the folloiring : 
 
 Be mindful, we beseech Thee. O Loed our God, of Thy Church in the 
 Dioceses of Maryland and Easton : of the Bishops who preside over them ; 
 of the clergy who minister therein, and of all the members of the same. 
 Endure us with all spiritual gifts, and grant us grace to contend earnestly 
 for the faith once delivered to the saints : but not to the breach of charity 
 or to the denying of another's hope, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
 Oh Thou, who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth, remember 
 every work of Thine hand for good and visit the world in Thy mercy. 
 Amen. 
 
 Lord, Thoii Lover of Mankinil, think graciously of all our race, but 
 especially we pray Thee to bless Thine Holy Catholic Church, ami fill it 
 with truth and grace. Where it is corrupt, purge it ; where it is in error 
 direct it : where it is right, strengthen and confirm it : where it is divided. 
 unite it in holy love, and so establish it, even unto the end of the world, 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord. Atnen. 
 
 The lutroit was the 277tli Hymn, " AVith one consent let all 
 the earth."
 
 328 LIFE OF BISHOP PIXKXEY. 
 
 The Epistle was read by the Rev. Theo. P. Barber. D. D.. of 
 Eastou. and the Gospel by the Rt. Rev. Arthur Cleveland Coxe, 
 D. D.. LL. D.. Bishop of Western XeAv York. 
 
 The 202nd Hymn. '' The Church's One Foundation,"" was then 
 sung, and seldom has its rendering been excelled. 
 
 The Rt. Rev. Henry Champlin Lay. D. D.. LL. D., Bishop of 
 Easton. was then escorted to the pulpit h\ the Rector, the Rev. 
 J. S. B. Hodges, S. T. D., and delivered the appointed discourse, 
 his subject being " 77ie Chtrrch of England in the Colony of 
 Mdryland." 
 
 The Offertory Sentence was said by the Rev. J. S. B. Hodges, 
 S. T. D., of Maryland, and the alms of the congTegation Avere 
 collected by six of the younger clergy in their vestments. The 
 Anthem during the Offertory was the Sentence, " This God is our 
 God for ever and ever : He shall be our Guide unto death "" {Ps. 
 xhiii : 13), and was a grand and inspiring act of worship. The 
 Offerings at this SerAice Avere for Mission AVork in the Diocese 
 of Easton. under the Bishop of that Diocese. 
 
 This Service was conducted throughout in the most reverent 
 and churchl}' manner, and rai-ely has one so imposing been enjoyed 
 by the chu.rchmen of this country. 
 
 Service ox the Second D.\y in St. Peter's Church. 
 
 On "Wednesday morning at 10 o'clock, the One Hundredth 
 Annual Convention of the Diocese of Maryland assembled in St. 
 Peter's Church. Baltimore. The Rt. Rev. the Bishops of Mary- 
 land, Easton. Dehnvare. Western Xcav York and North Carolina. 
 Avere present in the chancel. In accordance Avith the custom of 
 the Diocese, the clergy, except those ajDj^ointed to officiate. 
 occui:)ied the body of the Church unrobed, together with the 
 lay-delegates to the Convention and a large and reverent congre- 
 gation, among whom were many of the clergy and lay-rejiresenta- 
 tives of the daughter Diocese of Easton. . 
 
 The SerAice was opened by the Rev. Meyer LeAvin, D. D.. Dean 
 of the Convocation of Washington, with the folloAving 
 
 Operdraj Sentences : 
 
 The Lord hath been mindful of us, and He shall bless us : even He shall 
 bless the House of Israel, He shall bless the house of Aaron. 
 
 He shall bless them that fear the Lokd, both small and great. — Ps. cxv : 
 12. 13. 
 
 O give thanks unto the Lord : for He is gracious, and His mercy endureth 
 forcA^er. 
 
 AVho can express the noble acts of the Loed, or sheAv forth all his praise ? 
 
 Blessed are they that always keep judgment, and do righteousness. 
 
 Kemend)er me, O Lokd, according to the favor that Thou bearest unto 
 Thy pcDjilf : O visit me thiit I may see Thy salvation : 
 
 That I may see the felicity of Thy chosen, and give thanks with Thine 
 inheritance. — 7^*. cvi : 1.2, 3, 4, 5.
 
 LIFE or r.lsilol- I-INKNKV. ;{'2<.| 
 
 The proper Psulius were : J's. Ixxxiv iuid cxxxiv. 
 
 The Fu'st Lesson: Jsniah xii, wiis read l»y the \[v\. James 
 Stephenson, S. T. D.. Dean of the Convocati(»n of C'lmilx-rlaiitl. 
 
 The Second Lesson : I 7'/i<',s.s. v : to v. '27, was icad l>v llic Rev. 
 Arthur J. Rich, M. D., Dean of the Convocation of lialtinioic. 
 
 The Service from the Creed was said hy the Ht. Hcv. Tlicoiloii- 
 B. Lyman, D. D., Bisliop of North Carohna, with 
 
 Aftir th( ('(Ittntl TlKinhsnlfiiKj. tin fulbnri nn : 
 Most Blessed and Glorious Loitu God. who art of infinite loudness, and 
 whose mercy is over all Thy works ; we. Thy servants, do offer nnto Thi-e 
 our thauksi;:ivin<j; for having s(j woudrously prosj)cred Thy Cluireh in tliis 
 Diocese and State diirini,' the past century. And we lieseeVh TIh-i- niaki- us 
 deeply sensible of Thy j^reat goodness, and give us liearts always rea<ly to 
 express onr thankfulness, not only by our words, but in our lives, by yiehl- 
 lug prompt ol)edience to Thy holy commandments in all things. Continue 
 this Thy goodness to \is, that we may joyfully serve Thee in all godly (juiet- 
 ness, through Thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who with Thee an<l the 
 Holy Ghost, liveth and reigneth. one God over all. Blessed fureverniore. 
 Amen. 
 
 The Office for the Holy Communion was said by the Ri;L,'ht 
 Reverend the Bishop of Eastern, assisted l)y the Bisho})s of Mary- 
 hind and North Carohna, the CoHect and Ejjisth' beino- those for 
 the 22d Sunday after Trinity and the Gospel that for St. Peter's 
 Day, with 
 
 AfUr the Collect, the fdlloiriiuj : 
 
 O Most Merciful God, bless Thy Church, increase in it unity and peace, 
 make all the mend)ers of it sound in faith, and holy in life : that they may 
 serve Thee acceptably, and that Thou mayest be their Guide unto death, 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 O Almighty God. who hast in all ages showed forth Thy power and mercy 
 in a wonderful preservation of Thy Church, and the protection of every peo- 
 ple and nation that profess Thy holy and eternal Truth, and i)Ut their sure 
 trust in Thee, we praise Thee for Thy goodness to us. and especially for the 
 signal mercies we commemorate this day. Not unto us. O Lord, not unto 
 us, but unto Thy name be ascribed all honor and glory in all the churches 
 of Thy saints, from generation to generation, through Jesus Christ our 
 Lord. Amen. 
 
 The Holy Communion was administered l)y the Rt. Rev. the 
 Bishops of Easton. Maryland, and North Caroluia, and the Rev. 
 Julius E. Grammer, D. D., Rector of St. Peters Church, Balti 
 more. 
 
 In place of the sermon, the Rev. Orlando Hutton, D. D., deliv 
 erecl an Hist(n-ical Discourse ujjon •• I'he Chio'ch in Mdri/Ininl 
 since thelVar <*t' tlit Ileroh(ti<>ti." 
 
 On Wednesd.w Evexint., a very larpfe conpfreofation asscml)lcd 
 in Christ Church, and the usual Missionary Services of the Con 
 vention Avere held, addresses bein^- made l)y the Rt. Rev. the 
 Bishops of Delaware and Western New York and the Rev. Chas. 
 H. Hall, D. D.
 
 330 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKXEY. 
 
 HOSPITALITIES 
 
 AxD Social Gathering at Lehmaxn"s Hall. 
 
 The Committee of Hospitality was charged with all the arrange ■ 
 meuts for the accommodation of its guests and the social featva-e 
 of the Centenary. 
 
 As a Centennial occasion, it was obvious that all sections of the 
 original Diocese should unite in the celebration, and the Diocese 
 of Easton was, therefore, considered on the same footing as the 
 Diocese of Maryland. But the Clergy of the former were re- 
 garded as special guests, and as such received the care and atten- 
 tion of the Committee. 
 
 In %-iew of the very special occasion it was deemed proper to 
 extend mvitations to all living clergymen, wherever located in the 
 United States, who had at any time been connected with the orig- 
 inal Diocese of Maryland. 
 
 Through the kindness of the Rev. Messrs. "Wilson and Leakin 
 and of the Secretaiy of the Convention, Mr. Packard, the names 
 of all were obtained: and in every section of the land. North, 
 South. East, and West, through States and Territories, special 
 invitations sought out those who had in former years labored in 
 this field. Of course in nearly all such cases, owing to great dis- 
 tance, this was more a matter of courtesy than of practical result. 
 But the tone of the replies indicated an abiding affection for the 
 old diocese, and for their associates of former years. There were 
 nearly seven hundred invitations issued. Some feAv guests from 
 without the limits of the State were in attendance. 
 
 The Committee was anxious that all the invited clergy should 
 be properlj' accommodated durmg their stay. Very many were 
 hospitably received in private families throughovit the city ; and 
 those not so provided for, or who preferred more freedom of 
 action, were very comfortably quartered at the Carrollton Hotel. 
 The proprietor, Mr. Coleman, desiring to contribu.te his part, as 
 a citizen, generousl}' placed the charge at a moderate figure, and 
 so earned the thanks of the Committee. 
 
 The Social Gathering on Tuesday evening proved an exceed- 
 ingly enjoyable reunion, gi\'ing to the members of the oldest 
 diocese the opportunity of welcoming back again for the hour 
 their brethren of the younger diocese of Easton, as well as those 
 who had strayed to more distant pastures, and to all a re^■ival of 
 old recollections in individual intercourse as well as in the public 
 addresses. 
 
 The Hall was especially suited to the purpose, which required 
 space and opportunity to combine the two features of a seated 
 audience, for addresses, and at the same time, and in the same 
 room, the service of a large banquet.
 
 LIFE or liisimi' iTNKM'.v. :;:il 
 
 To ht'i^liten t\w intcicst in tlit- •^athenn^f, tlic ]iortniits (»f all 
 the former Bishops ol' the Dioeese were nui^'-ed upon the wiill. 
 Bishops Chi^^-ett. Kemp. Stone, juul AVliittin^'hiim, Jin.l those of 
 the Rev. Dr. Beml. one of tlie early Rectors of St. Pauls, Balti- 
 more, and the Rev. Dr. Wvatt. for fifty years Rector at a later 
 l)eriod, also that of the late Hu^h DaveyEvans. 
 
 Many iuterestin<4- relics of the history of the Diocese were luin;,^ 
 up or phxced in cases for inspection. 
 
 The hall and the tables on either side were propei'ly decorated 
 with standing- plants and rare Howers, kindly sent hyMessrs. W. 
 H. Perot. "\V. W. Spence, Mrs. John Glenn. Mrs. Sanniel ^r. Shoe- 
 maker, and Mrs. John S. Gittings. 
 
 The guests were invited for seven and a half P. :M.. when 
 between four and five hundred of the clergy and lay-delegates 
 and other guests were assend)led. 
 
 In the hollow square l)etween the decorated tables, seats were 
 ranged for the first part of the programme. 
 
 The following Programme of Exercises had been issued by the 
 Committee and distributed about the Hall : 
 
 Cextenary of the Diocese of ^Marvl.^n'd. 
 
 LEHM ANN'S HALL. 
 Tuesday Evening, '29th May. 
 
 Programme. 
 nr. REV. BISHOP PINKNEY, 
 
 PRESIDING. 
 
 ADDRESSES 
 
 BY 
 
 liT. REV. nrsiIOP STEVENS, 
 RT. REV. BISHOP LYMAN, 
 RT. REV. BISHOP COXE. 
 REV. ('HAS. H. HALL. D. D. 
 Hon. JOHN II. B. LATROliE. 
 short volunteer addresses. 
 
 Punctually at 10 o'clock, 
 COLLATION. 
 
 This order Avas not, however, adhered to with exactness, owing^ 
 to the absence of the Bishops of Pennsylvania and AVestern New 
 York. 
 
 Brief addresses were made by the Rt. Rev. the Bishops of Del 
 aware and North Carolina, and more extended discourses In- the 
 Rev. Charles H. Hall. D. D., and the Hon. J. H. B. Latrobe (the 
 Rt. Rev. Bishoj:) Pinkney presiding). 
 
 Imj^romptu addresses were made by the Rev. Geo. A. Leakin 
 and Joseph H. Bradley. Esq., of Washington. 
 
 According to arrangement, at ten o'clock, the adtb-esses beiu},' 
 ended, the seats were rapidly removed, and ample space aftbrded
 
 332 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKXEY. 
 
 for social intercourse. The tables were served with abundaut 
 supplies of all the season could aflbrd. and after two hours of 
 hearty good-fellowshi}) the company dispersed. 
 
 LIST OF ARTICLES ON EXHIBITION. 
 
 Bishop Claggett's Mitre. [Made for him by the daughter of Bishop Seabiiry 
 from the pattern of her father's.] 
 
 Bishop Claggett's Certificate of Consecration, bearing the signatures of 
 Bishops Provoost. Seabury, White, and Madison, with the seal of Bishop 
 Provoost attached. 
 
 Bishop Claggett's certificates of ordination as Deacon and Priest. 
 
 His Diploma as Bachelor of Arts, from the College of New Jersey. 
 
 The Certificate of ordination to the diaconate of Samuel Claggett. father 
 of the Bishop. 
 
 Album, containing sundry Manuscripts, including the Consecration Certifi- 
 cates of Bishops Stone and Whittingham. 
 
 Letter of Ordination signed by Bishop "White. 
 
 Communion Service of St. John's Parish. Baltimore and Harford Counties. 
 [Very old and made of pewter.] 
 
 Two volumes of original letters of Bishop Claggett and others. 
 
 Manuscript of Bishop Kemp's. 
 
 Theological Common Place Book of Bishop Whittingham. 
 
 Bishop Claggett's seal. 
 
 Bishop Whittingham's seal. 
 
 Seal of the Diocese of Maryland — 1S26. 
 
 Manuscript Journals of the Couventicms of 1792 to 1807. 
 
 Extract from the Journals of the Lower Hcnise of Assembly, (1685,; sup- 
 posed to be in the handwriting of J. L. Bozman. 
 
 Hecord Book of St. James Parish, Anne Aritudel County — from 1694 to 1791, 
 in excellent preservation. 
 
 Record Book of Prince George Parish, Montgomery County, 1726 to 1771. 
 
 Sermon by Rev. Thomas Bacon — 1750. 
 
 Discourses and other Papers by the Rev. Dr. Bray. 
 
 R,ev. Dr. Bray's " Catechetical Lectures." 
 
 Prayer Book belonging to St. John's Parish. Baltimore and Harford Coun- 
 ties — verv old. 
 
 Rev. Dr. Allen's MSS. History of St. Thomas' Parish. Baltimore County. 
 
 Historical Account of the S. P. G. F. P., presented to Bishop Whittingham 
 by Bishop Selwyn."* 
 
 Happily there was nothing to come before this Centenary Con- 
 yention to mar the joyousness of the occasion and the unanimity 
 of grateful feelmgs. All agitating questions were, if not settled, 
 held in abeyance or buried in oblivion. It was well that it should 
 be so. It was strongly felt in all hearts that GOD had been lead- 
 infj His Church all alono- throu^-h those one hunch-ed years, under 
 many trying and disciplinary experiences, indeed, but with mani- 
 fest and increasing evidences of the Divine blessing. Her bishoj^s 
 in their succession had been faithful and true to their noble work ; 
 her clergy, as strong in holy zeal as they had become increased 
 in numbers ; her members earnest and active in devotion and in 
 
 ♦See "Commemoration," 1883.
 
 LIFE OF lilSllOl' l-INKNEV. '.y.'/.i 
 
 labors, and tluTf had been on tlic wlmlc mkIi iiijiik<'<l j>i«>",''i-css in 
 all material ami s])iiitual respects thion^^liout the diocese timt. 
 there was o-roiiud for special thanks<fiviii^s and i-ejoicin^-s. und fur 
 most hopeful anticipations for the future. 
 
 Could all those who wei'e thus happily and joyfully uiufiii;; j,, 
 these commemorative services have known that tlie loving and 
 faithful Bishoj) then presiding in the council of the Churdi would 
 in little more than one brief month close his earthly labors and 
 pass to his reward in Paradise, far deeper would haVe been the 
 interest, and a very solemn and subdued feeling would have l)eeu 
 imparted to the joy of the celebration. But it is not with man 
 to know how GOD worketh out his purposes of love and grace in 
 His Church. 
 
 It was the last convention over which Bisho]) 1'inknkv presided. 
 
 It was the fitting close of an Episcopate which had been marked 
 throughout with an amount of earnest and faithful labors i-arely 
 exceeded in that high otiice. 
 
 The Bishop opened his address to the convention with woi-ds 
 of congratulation on the happy occasion, and thus spoke : 
 
 " I meet with y<in to-day, in the t,'oo(l Providence of GOD. to conini.-nio- 
 mte oiir Centenary. I am free to eonfess tliat, whih' I was not ins.'iisilih< to 
 the poetic beauty of the idea. I did not at first catch the full entlmsiasni uf 
 the hoitr as some of my more Lfifted brothers have (h)ne. The snblinif belief, 
 which yon share equally with myself, and realize as fully, that the Church 
 is eighteen hundred years old, chilled somewhat the ar(h)r of my iunipina- 
 tiou and weakened the intensity of feeling which a huijdredth birthday in a 
 great and glorious country like this could not fail to excite iu the l)osoni of 
 those who felt that they were one hundred yeai's old. I could have wislied 
 to stand on the topmost peak of the next liU!i(b-ed years to see how far we 
 are going to realize the granchi'ur of our rich heritage of faith, the i)ure. 
 Catholic, Protestant faith, that was bequeathed to us by our fathers of the 
 Anglican Communion. 
 
 "And yet I was not without the welling up of gratitude for the marvels of 
 the grace wroi;ght out for us in the few years that have rolled by since we 
 found a cradle iu this magnificent western home. I have, therefore, opened 
 the Convention of the Diocese with an historical, centennial discourse. 
 
 ■' In selecting the orator and historiogra])her for the occasion. I was guided 
 iu my choice by the conviction that it was meet and right that I -^h.inld .li. ».■,.• 
 a Mary lander, one to the manor born."* 
 
 Referring to the historical discourse on "The Colonial Chuich 
 in Maryland," delivered by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Lay, D. D.. of 
 Easton, at the service held on the preceding day in St. Paul's 
 Church, Bishop Pinkney used the following gratifying language : 
 
 " The ante-revolutionary period was consigned to my brother of Eiuston. 
 who has so hai)pily executed the task we assigned him. He has laid us umler 
 a heavy and lasting ol)ligation l)y the masterly discourse he has delivered, a 
 discourse full of thrilling facts and the profoundest i)hilosoi.hy. This jiost 
 of honor was justly due to the Eastern-shoremen of the Church, who had 
 borne so distingtiished a part iu laying the fouudatiou-stoues of the mighty 
 
 *Kev. O. Huttou, D. D.
 
 334 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 fabric in troublous times, and who have added to the lustre of their original 
 claim to a grateful remembrance by giving us in the brilliant line of the siic- 
 cession such men as McKenney, Mason, and Spence : Chambers, the man of 
 unrivalled powers in debate, Eecleston, and the elder Carmiehael. who to- 
 day is so admirably represented by his nol>le son, the upright judge and able 
 counsellor of the Church — men who will live as long as the Chesapeake rolls 
 on in beauty, a silver bond i;niting us in one." 
 
 Cordial greetings were extended by Bishop Pixkxev to the 
 Bishops of Delaware, of North Carolina, and of "Western New 
 York, who were present at the commemoration, and also to dis- 
 tinguished presbyters of the Church, formerly connected with the 
 diocese, who had come to unite with their brethren of Maryland, 
 in the centennial services. 
 
 The Bishop's detail of work and travel, as given m this his last 
 convention address, presents the same features of active and un- 
 remitting toil in visitations that are to he found in all his previous 
 Episcopal addresses. He was always at work. "When the body 
 rested, the mind was busy. He allowed himself little sleep : al- 
 ways abstemious in diet, indiflerent to personal ease and comfort, 
 studious to think and do for others, he passed the last year of 
 his life in the same earnest way for GOD, the Church, and duty 
 with which he had commenced his ministry : and though oft m 
 weariness and suffering he succumbed not till the Master bade 
 His toil-worn servant enter mto the rest and joy of the redeemed. 
 
 Throughout his visitations during this convention year the 
 Bishop was much impressed with the activity of the clergy and 
 the i)rogressive and healthy condition of the parishes and congre- 
 gations. He felt the Ijurden of the weak parishes and then- illy- 
 supported rectors heavy upon his soul : and he did all that he 
 could for theii- relief. In all his visitations through the diocese 
 he pressed home upon the people the importance and the needs 
 of the diocesan mission Avork, and made most virgent and success- 
 ful api^eals for the cause. He was cordially received "VYherever 
 he went, and the churches were always crowded with interested 
 congregations. This last year was, jDerhaps. the most peaceful 
 year of his Episcopate, and it was certainly one of abounding 
 labors. Besides his regular A'isitations, ordinations to the diaco- 
 nate and tlie priesthood, and large number of licenses to lay-read- 
 ers, he had consecrated during the year as many as six churches, 
 nearly all of them churches of considerable cost and great archi- 
 tectural beauty. He was able in his address to the convention 
 to say : 
 
 " Never has more work been undertaken or more prayerfully and .steadily 
 prosecuted than in the past year. But we have more work in hand." 
 
 In some instances there were incidents of visitation peculiarly 
 cheering and gratifying to him, as may be seen in the account 
 which he o-ives of a visit to one of the mission works originated
 
 LIFK OF lUSIK.i' I'INKNKV. 335 
 
 and sustained l)y the piiiish of the Epi])hHiiy in Wusliiu^^fton citv. 
 The Bishop thus refers to it : 
 
 "My hfiirt was touc-lied. a few weeks ago, as it lias never lii-.-ii t«.n<-li.Ml 
 before. I was at the Epiphany Mission, and there I met titty «ir sixtv men. 
 from 18 to 70 years of age, in "the search of social cheer, •iatln-red ar"..un<l it 
 baud of ladies, who have jjrovided for them a (jnict home on Mundiiy ni^dit 
 of each week. It was marvellous to see how much of true heart-suushiue 
 they were sheddini; around them. It was a deliLrhtful evening:, and I enjoyed 
 
 it ijreatly. It was the brightest picture of the brotherh I of the t'hnrcli 
 
 ou which I have lieen called to look. After an evening spent in innocent 
 amusement in which I participated. I thanked (iOI) for the privilege. 
 Then we arose to rehearse the Creed, of which many had never heard before 
 they crossed the threshold of this asylum : not a voice was silent, and when 
 we knelt to say the Lord's Prayer, every knee was bent, and "the mighty 
 words were ou every lip. I say to the daughters of the Epiphany. Go on", 
 you are indeed fullilling woman's missiou." 
 
 The concluding- paragraphs of that address are g^iven, because 
 so expressive of his long-tixed and ardent devotion to the sure 
 doctrinal teachings of the Church as contained in her standards 
 of faith and embodied in her sacred offices and in the adminis- 
 tration of the Sacraments. 
 
 "In concluding this part of my address, I would implore you as ycnir 
 father in GOD, under all the solemnities that attach to my holy Iiffice. in the 
 language of the late Bishop of Exeter. Wil1)erforce. " to see to it that your 
 doctrines be those of the Prayer Book, taken in its simple sense and straight- 
 forward meaning, parting you altogether from Puritans by the doctrines of 
 the Sacraments, and from Kome by freedom from mediieval conceptions. 
 Earnestly, lovingly, wisely, carry out this system in your lives, and, I would 
 add. iu your teaching, and all will be well." 
 
 "Brave words, bravely sjjoken I Timely words spoken iu season I The 
 Prayer Book has a simple sense, and a straightforward meaning : ailhere to 
 it in your teaching and practice. This is my godly counsel. And at no 
 time could it be breathed in your ears so opi)ortunely. as in this centennial 
 celebration, while we are thanking GOD for the wonderful Providence that 
 guided our fathers aright when they laid the foundations in the Apostolic 
 order, true Catholic custom, and Scrij^tural conformity, prote>ting against 
 Rome, and iu nothing sanctioning change from the catholicity which the 
 Protestantism of this Church has alone conserved to us." 
 
 With these timely and godly counsels Bishop Pinknev closed 
 his last official address to the Convention of the Diocese of 
 Maryland. 
 
 On Friday evening, the 1st of June, after the usual devotions 
 and the benediction by the Bishop, the Centenary Convention of 
 1883 closed its session.
 
 336 LIFE OF BISHOP FINKNEY. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXYI. 
 
 His Death. 1.SS3. 
 
 The duties of the Bishop in presiding at the Centenary Cele 
 In-atiou, and immediately afterwards, for three successive days at 
 the diocesan convention, were somewhat arduous, and were ful- 
 filled with his usual promptness and efficiencj'. There were no 
 indications at the close of the convention of any special exhaus- 
 tion. Apart from presiding at the various meetings and ser\dces 
 much devolved upon him as the head of the diocese, in imparting 
 due solemnity and interest to the memorable occasion by render- 
 ing all honored attention and hospitalile reception to the visiting- 
 bishops, clergy, and laity from other dioceses. All felt the haj^py 
 influence of his cordial greetings as he welcomed them in his 
 genial and courteous manner. 
 
 Previous to the assembly of the convention the Bishop had 
 made, as usual, his appointments for the summer \'isitations up 
 to the time in August when he expected to take his brief rest at 
 the White Sulphur Springs as the guest of Mr. Corcoran. 
 
 The labors of the month following show no abatement in his 
 wonted activity. They are up to the full measure of Avork for the 
 same time at any preceding period of his Episcopate. From the 
 brief records of the month left by the Bishop, it appears that, 
 without a single day's intermission for rest, he started on the 2d 
 of June for his summer visitations. He fulfilled two appoint- 
 ments in Baltimore county, held two ordinations successively in 
 Baltimore city, and participated in mission services in connection 
 with them ; attended the reinterment of the remains of John 
 Howard Payne at Oak Hill Cemetery, Georgetown ; held several 
 visitations in Prince George county ; presided at the commence- 
 ment exercises of the Pinkney Institute, in Washington city, and 
 at those of the Hannah More Academy, near Reisterstown ; met 
 the convocation of Washington and confirmed the election of the 
 Rev. Dr. Meyer Lewin as Dean ; visited Anne Ai-undel county and 
 Annapolis city for Episcopal services : made on the closing days 
 of the month visits to Mt. Washington, Baltimore county, to Elk 
 Ridge, and to Ellicott City. 
 
 The Bishop's reference, m the above summary of his Episco])al 
 work during the month of June, to the removal and reinterment 
 of the remains of John Howard Payne, author of " Home, Sweet 
 Home,'' makes it proper that the narrative of the circumstances 
 should have full place and recognition in this biography. The
 
 LIFE OF mSHOl' riNKNKV. '.'/.il 
 
 cii'cumstances were iutimately identified witli Mr. Corconm'H 
 g-euerosity and with the last official act of sejjiilturc peifonned l>y 
 Bishop PiNKNEY only a few weeks before his own Inirial in the 
 same cemetery of Oak Hill. 
 
 The description followin<^- is in jiart taken fioni puhlications of 
 the press in "Washington city on June '.), 1.S83 : 
 
 One day in the autumn of 1S(S2, as ]\Ir. Corcoran was slowly 
 riding by the Ebl)itt House, his ear was greeted Ijy tlie music of 
 ^' Home, Sweet Home," which the Marine Band was playing in 
 honor of Engineer Melville,* of the ill-fated Ai-ctic steamer 
 J'eaiuiette, who had just reached Washington, and was a guest of 
 the house before ^\hich thej' were stationed. As !Mr. Corcoran 
 listened to the plaintive air, which never fails to touch responsive 
 chords in the breasts of all who hear it, his heart was moved by 
 tender memories of the poet whose words have made it immortal, 
 and his acquaintance with whom covered a period of neaily fifty 
 years, and he that moment resolved that the project he had formed 
 years before concerning the removal of ]Mr. Payne's remains to 
 this country should at once be carried into eilect. ^Ir. Payne, as 
 consul of the United States, had died at Tunis in 1852. A marble 
 slab, with appropriate memorial record, had been placed over his 
 grave by a grateful country, on which, besides the record of his 
 birth and death, and consulate, Avere carved these beautiful lines 
 following : 
 
 ' • Sure when thy gentle spirit fled 
 
 To reahns beyond the azure dome. 
 With arms outstretched, GOD'S angel said. 
 Welcome to Heaven's ' Home, Sweet Home.' " 
 
 With characteristic promptness, Mi'. Corcoran obtained the 
 consent of the only surving member of the ifamily ; and. the pre- 
 liminary negotiations through the Secretary of State having been 
 effected, the remains of the poet were disinterred and taken to 
 the small and beautiful Protestant chapel at Tunis and ])laced 
 near the chancel window, which bears the inscription, " To the 
 memory of John Howard Payne, author of • Home, Sweet 
 Home.' "' Appropriate services were then held, and the l)0(ly in 
 its encasement consigned ''to the United States Consul at INIar- 
 seilles, France." 
 
 The remains of the poet, upon their arrival in ^^ ashuigton. in 
 March, were placed in the chapel of the Oak Hill Cemetery. The 
 burial and the unveiling of the monument provided by ^Ir. Corco- 
 ran to mark his grave were delayed in order that they might take 
 place on the 9th of June, the anniversary of Paj-ue's bu-th. On 
 the night before the burial the coffin was brought from Oak Hill 
 to the Corcoran Art Gallery and placed under a guard until the 
 afternoon of the 9th, when, at i o'clock, the remains were placed in 
 a hearse provided for the occasion. 
 
 ♦Now Engiueer-in-Chief. U. S. Navy.
 
 338 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY, 
 
 By Mr. Corcoran's special request Bishop Pixkxey was invited 
 to be present and conduct the burial services, in which he was 
 assisted by the Rev. Dr. W. A. Leonard, of St. John's Church. 
 
 Preceded by a military procession, soldiers of the regular and 
 volunteer ser%'ice with reversed arms, and bands playing funeral 
 marches, and followed by carriages containing the President of 
 the United States, many members of his Cabinet, representatives 
 of the Diplomatic Corps, the Supreme Courts of the United States 
 and of the District, Mr. Corcoran. Bishop Pixkxey, Dr. Leonard, 
 and many speciallv invited friends, the procession marched to the 
 Oak Hill Cemeteiy. 
 
 The spot selected for the grave and monument was a charming 
 one, in a grove of fine old trees whose branches interlaced over- 
 head and formed a canopy that was protection from both sun 
 and rain. 
 
 On the platform which faced the open square and was deco- 
 rated with the British and American flags and a pah- of shields 
 with Tunisian emblems, were seated the President. ^Lr. Corcoran 
 at his left and Bishop Pixkxey and the Eev. Dr. Leonard, of St. 
 John's Church, on his right. At the left of this platform was 
 another crowded with distinguished persons from the city, and 
 on the right another platform for the Philharmonic Society and 
 the Marine Band. Opposite the President's stand was a dense 
 throng bounding the limits of the square, and behind them down 
 on the limits of the slope a dense crowd that could not be pro- 
 vided with seats. Perfect and reverent order was observed. 
 Instrumental music preceded the religious services, which were 
 conducted by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Pixkxey and the Rev. Dr. Leon- 
 ard. The portions of Holy Scripture read were : Genesis 23 : 3-11 
 and Genesis 50 : 24-26. and I Corinthians 15 : 50-53. A short poem 
 was recited by its author, Mr. Robert S. Chilson ; and the monu- 
 ment Avas uncovered, revealing a graceful pedestal surmounted by 
 a bust of the poet. •■ Home, Sweet Home " was sung and an ora- 
 tion was dehvered by Mr. Leigh Rol>insou. Bishop Pixkxey read 
 the recommittal and Rev. Dr. Leonard sprinkled dust upon the 
 coffin-lid. The '• Hallelujah Chorus " was sung, the coffin was 
 lowered into the grave and rolled into a cell Ijeneath the monu- 
 ment. The Bishop pronounced the benediction, and, while the 
 Marine Band played a familiar hymn, the great audience slowly 
 moved out of the cemetery gates. 
 
 In less than thirty days after these imposing solemnities of the 
 reinterment of the remains of the author of " Home, Sweet 
 Home." the body of the Bishop then officiating was borne to the 
 same Oak Hill Cemetery for burial — not, indeed, with the same 
 civic honors, but attended by a multitude, scarcely less numerous, 
 of sorrowing friends, clergy, and laity, grieving over the loss of 
 one universally revered and tenderly beloved as a Bishoj) in the 
 Church of GOD.
 
 Liri; OF IMsilol' I'INKNKV. :{;{<) 
 
 Bishop PiNKNEY liiul fxpcrtfd to atlciid. as iisiuil. tin- ciin 
 meiu-eiuent exercises of St. Joliiis C'ollef^re. Aiiimi»olis. lirld al.imt 
 the 1st of July. He was a devoted son of his Ahuti Mtit> i\ and, 
 bein^-- also a member of the Board of Visitors and Governors, he 
 never failed, whenever it was practical )le for him to attend, to be 
 present at the commencements and the meetinjifs of the trustees. 
 His Episcopal en^ao-emeuts for June and July of this yj-ai- j.re 
 vented his going- : but in his tlioughtfulncss he was mindful to 
 write beforehand to two young- friends of the gi-aihiating class 
 the following- letter, which was proba])ly the last letter of aiiv 
 length that he wrote, for it is dated the 'iHth of June, ami was 
 followed on the "icSth with a brief note explaining his absence from 
 the college commencement, which was only a few days l)cf(>re his 
 lamented decease : 
 
 "June 25. '83. 
 " Mr. Daniel Randall axi> Mr. Mckkay : ^ly friends, may I join y<>u 
 
 ti)i;etlier in my <,'reetings on fonimonffincnt diiy. who liavc Ihmmi so <-lost'lv, 
 and I trust tenderly, drawn to eaeh other in the ehiss-room 'f My idassmates 
 and I never knew a divided heart. Three of us are luider ground and tlirec 
 al)ove it ; the sweetest memories bind us to the sh'epin^^ ones, and one licart 
 is knitting the other three more (doselyas we dra\v near tlie river's hrink. 
 
 " You have each of you an inheritance of honor to j^uard and defend. N<> 
 truer man ever breathed than Ah'Xander Randall, and no fairer name is 
 chronicled on the muster-roll of Annapolis than that of Murray. You are. 
 I believe, both of you destined to the law. It is a noble profession if followed 
 nobly. It has no meretricious honors to ofl'er to any. Hard stu<ly, intense 
 application are essential to success. No ^ifts will (•omi)ensate for lack of 
 these. Your college record is proof that you have these gifts, and I iiresunu* 
 that that same record is proof that you are not without zeal and assiduity in 
 the use of them. Start right, aim to be learned lawyers. Keep u]) your 
 knowledge of the classics. Ciiltivate the art of public speaking. Some will 
 tell you that this is not the age for oratory: that it is too ])ractical and alto- 
 gether too metallic for so divine a gift. But in this they are mistaken. 
 Argument and eloquence are never without power. Only see to it that 
 your learning in the law- is profound, and you will lind courts and juries ever 
 ready to hang on the tuneful tongue. Aim to be good that you may be truly 
 great. But why detain you in such an hour, in the moment when the tuue- 
 ful tongue of your president is still lingering in your ear 'f 
 
 " Though far from well, I shidl (D. V.) be a witness of your closing hours 
 at college and bid you a Godspeed on your career in life. For both of you 
 I entertain a tender regard, for you are sons of honored sires, warm personal 
 friends of mine : the Randalls, Murrays, and Carmichaelstmght tostimulivte 
 ycm to mighty efforts in ycmr endeavor to master the law. and surely no higher 
 stimulus could be desired to awaken lofty asi)ir!ttionsin all that is noble and 
 good in thought and feeling than those honored names afford. 
 
 "Affectionatelv, 
 
 ••W. riXKNKY. 
 
 " N. B. — Excuse me if I have ventured too far in tendering you these words 
 of counsel, and take the wise counsel of your learned professors when you 
 cross the threshold of the law school. 
 
 "Finally, learn how to writeintelligilily, in a dear, liold iiand. It will save 
 vou and others much annovance. as this letter will abundantlv i)rove. 
 
 ••\V. P."
 
 340 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 The Bishop had arranged with the Rev. Adolphus T. Pindell, 
 the rector, to make a visitation to Sherwood Parish Church, at 
 Cockeysville, for the consecration of the church, on Thursday, the 
 5th of July, and, in order to spend the 4th in a quiet and restful 
 way at the rectory, he appointed to go to Cockeys^Tlle by a mid- 
 day train from "Washington on Tuesday, the 3d. He had written 
 to Mr. Pindell a few days before, asking him to appoint a sj)ecial 
 service for the evening of that day, and saying that he would 
 preach the sermon. The Bishop had requested his intimate 
 friend, the Rev. Dr. Meyer Lewin, to accomi^any him on this visi- 
 tation and preach the consecration sermon. It was, as the result 
 proved, a most happy circumstance that this very dear friend was 
 with the Bishop on the occasion. The Bishop and Dr. Lewui 
 arrived in the afternoon of the 3d, and in the evening the Bishop 
 took part in the services and preached the sermon. 
 
 He preached with even more than his usual force and unction. 
 His subject and the way in which he treated it were remarkable. 
 How singularly touching and beautiful that his thoughts and his 
 preached words should be upon the blessedness and triumphs of 
 the saints. He could not know that he was jn'eaching his last 
 sei'mon and passing his last evening upon earth, and that when 
 the next morning had dawned and the sun had risen, his soul 
 would enter into the sjDirit world ; and yet he spoke with the 
 same holy fervor and glowing anticijDations as if that fact had 
 been revealed to him. This last sermon was j^ublished soon after 
 his decease. His text and some paragraphs from the discourse 
 are here given : 
 
 But ye are come uuto Mouut Siou, and lanto the city of the living GOD, the heavenly 
 Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels. 
 
 To the general assembly and church of the tirst-born, which are \\Tltten in heaven, and 
 to GOD the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect. 
 
 And to JESUS the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that 
 speaketh better things than that of Ahel.— Hebrews xii : 22, 23, 24. 
 
 The Chiu-cli would have us pause in the whirl of business that is sweep- 
 ing over us : and in the calm and quiet hours that are given for meditation 
 and musing on heavenly things, she would bring before us the unnumbered 
 hosts whose godly doings are registered on high, however they may be with- 
 out chronicle on earth : so that, sitting in the light of their burning example. 
 Ave may be stimulated to like heroic deeds. It is not only the Augustines, 
 Chrysostoms. the Ambrose and Ignatius and Polycarj^s, men of whom the 
 world was not worthy, mighty men, who led on the armies of the LOKD 
 against error and falsehood, and who embalmed their virtues in an eloqiience 
 and enriched them with a learning that but few may hope to equal — it was 
 not these alone whom she would have us hold in sweetest memory. Oh, no I 
 it is the goodly company of saints, the little children of the Kingdom, who 
 prayed and watched and worked by the holy altars, and who shed over heart 
 and hearthstone the fragrance of a true-hearted sympathy, and gave an im- 
 pulse to the ark as they made heaven's arches ring with gladness — the poor 
 on beds of straw and in tattered garments as well as the rich, who all the 
 while recognized that they were GOD'S trustees for the poor — the true 
 daughters of sorrow, whose smile of love lit vip the darkened abodes of mis- 
 ery and shame, within the narrow circumference of whose retired life no
 
 LIFE OF UISHOP I'lNKNEV. 341 
 
 eye but GOD'S eye peuetrated, aucl yet whose numldinj; power for j^ood wiw 
 the salt of life and the liftht of the world- wlmsf j>ray«'rs wert- Uk- Ntr<)in» 
 cries and tears of faith, and whose un<«)nii)lainiii^' i)atifnr<' and K'"lly •■""- 
 stancy were woven aronnd the very pillars that sustain tin- universt- wlicse 
 names are written in the Lamb's book of life, the spirits of jiist men nia<l»< 
 perfect. These are they whom the Church would liold uj) before us. and 
 whom Saint Paul accounted as the ^reat cloud of witnesses who hold us iti 
 full survey I And now that we are standini,' in the liKht they diffust-d over 
 earth, she would have us <,dorify GOD in them, and ask for t,'ract' toso follow in 
 their footstcjjs that we too niii^ht come to the same unspeakable jovs whicli 
 GOD hath prepared for those who love Him. No life for GOD on this earth 
 was ever wasted. Like the motion of the lips which philoso]ihiTs tell us 
 gives a perpetual motion to the current of sound that is destined to live on 
 until time shall be no more, the life of the most obscure of the saints of 
 GOD — as men count obscurity — will live on in the good that is being done 
 until the sheaves are all gathered in and the reapers are cmwned in glory. 
 
 There is one thought that gives to this graphic picture a more than common 
 pathos, and that is. that from thetiresides where we weave golden links there 
 are going forth with each setting and rising sun loved ones to swi-U tlie 
 noble army of the redeemed in glory. To-day we may walk in the funeral 
 train which is bearing to the last resting-place the body of one whom w« 
 loved more than life: we may return to the homestead nevermore to be 
 greeted by the welcome smile, and never more to catch the music tones that 
 made life so attractive and joyous to us ; we may walk the dear oU\ ances- 
 tral hall and find it deserted, and sigh to think that we are left all alone out 
 on the great highway of life, or with one soul less to l)eat in unison with 
 ours : we may sit in the sweet eventime and meditate on the sad change 
 that has come over the spirit of our dream. The pictures on the wall may 
 be all that is left to us to bring back the image most dear to the heart. The 
 love-tokens we bear about our persons may be all that is left to whisper of 
 the joys that have flown from us. 
 
 But, oh I beloved, if the chords which death severs were linked to JESUS 
 — if those we mourn as lo.^^ to us now were knit together %vith us in the one 
 communion of fellowship of His body, they are this day and hour among 
 the spirits of just men made perfect: and the mighty impulses they gave 
 to the ark of the LORD, from the paths of (pxietude they trod, shall live 
 after them. They being dead, yet speak. They are ours still, though they 
 be removed to another department of the Master's house — the house of 
 many mansions. Eternity ])erpetuates the life they spent on earth. Be it 
 ours' to follow them in the meekness of faith and the constancy of hive a.s 
 they followed JESUS : Then, indeed, shall we taste of the bliss and grand- 
 eur of the destiny they enjoy when we come to the Mount Zion, the New 
 Jerusalem, Jerusalem the Golden. 
 
 At the conclusion of the sem-ice the Bishop returaed w itli his 
 host and friends to the rectory near the chiirch. There, after an 
 evening of cheerful converse, euhvened and sweetened as evenings 
 spent with him always were by his genial charm of manner and 
 rare conversational powers, he retired to his room adjohiing that 
 of Dr. Lewin at a comparatively early hour. 
 
 Nothing occurred during the night to indicate that his rest was 
 other than peaceful and refreshing ; but at six o'clock in the morn- 
 ing Dr. Lewin's attention was aroused by sounds of sighing, 
 about which there must have been something of that indescriba- 
 ble qualitv which assures us that they spring from physical 
 distress. 'He hastened to the Bishop's bedside, where be fouud
 
 342 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 liim sitting. In reply to bis inquiries, the Bishop asked him to 
 feel his pulse : finclino- this very feeble he persuaded the Bishop 
 to lie down again, and allo\y him to summon Mr. Pindell to bring- 
 some restorative. After doing so, Dr. Lewin went to his own 
 room for a hasty toilet, but within a minute hearing the sound of 
 a fall, he was, by hurrying, just in time to receive and support 
 the head of the Bishop, who had attempted to rise and fallen in 
 the attemjit. Here Mr. Pindell found him. Restoratives were 
 actively used and physicians summoned, but all was soon over — 
 the spu'it of the Bishop had departed. The physicians, Doctors 
 Hawkins and Benson, upon then- arrival could only confirm the 
 fact of death, assigning congestion of the heart as the immediate 
 cause. Rev. Dr. Lewin and Rev. Mr. Pindell reverently placed 
 the body in position for the undertaker, who was immediately 
 summoned. Prompt telegrams were sent to the relatives of the 
 deceased Bishop, to the Standing Committee of the diocese, and 
 to such of the clergy and laity as could assist in the arrangements 
 for the removal of the remains to Washington city. On the 
 evening of the day of his death Mr. Corcoran sent an undertaker 
 from Washington with express orders to remove the remains at 
 once, but this could not be done. At the early hour of six o'clock 
 on Friday morning the remains, attended by the Rev. Drs. Lewin 
 and Purcell and the Rev. Mr. Pindell, were placed in a special 
 car provided for the purpose by Mr. Geo. C. Wilkins, Baltimore 
 agent of the Pennsylvania Railroad. The train arrived in Balti- 
 more at 6.40, and w^as there met by a large number of the clergy 
 and some of the laity. Upon reaching "NVashington city, about 8 
 o'clock, the remains were conveyed to the Chvu'ch of the Ascen- 
 sion. There were in waiting at the station a number of the vestry 
 and meml)ers of the Church of the Ascension, with which the 
 Bishop had l^een so long connected as the rector. There were 
 l)resent the Rev. Dr. Elliott, the Associate Rector of the Church ; 
 Hon. "\V. AV. Corcoran, Colonel Casey. Dr. Lansdale, N. "\V. 
 Burchell. William Burgess, Major Davidson, Charles Hill, H. 
 W. Garnett, and William Shuster, the eight last named acting as 
 bearers. The Rev. A. R. Stuart, and Rev. E. H. Ingle, the 
 assistant minister, were also present. A jH'ocession was at once 
 formed and carriages Avere (h-iven to the Ascension Church. The 
 casket was placed in front of the chancel rail at the head of the 
 middle aisle, on a dais covered with purj^le cloth. A large cross 
 of white ilowers was presented by the Ladies' Association of the 
 church. The chancel, altar, and the organ-gallery were deeply 
 draped in black and j)urple. 
 
 The l)ody of the Bishoj) was vested with his Episcopal robes.* 
 
 * It is stated as an interesting incident, that wlieii the casket was opened 
 to adjust the robes, which had become somewhat disarranged by the removal 
 from Cockeysvilh' to Washington, tlu're fell from the jjocket of the robe a 
 handkercliii'f and a programme of the Payne obsequies. This programme 
 
 1
 
 LIFE OF I5I8H()1> I'lNKNKY. ',]4'A 
 
 The casket was plain aud sul)stantial, covered with ridi Muck 
 cloth, with a silver cruciform plate beariu«,' the iiiKcription : 
 
 " Rt. Rev. William Pinknky. 1). 1)., LL. D.. Hisht.i) of Marylaiul, <li«'«l 
 July 4, 1883, aged 73 years, iu the thirteenth year of his E|MS(o]iat<-." 
 
 His countenance was calm and untroubled, and wonderfully 
 well preserved. 
 
 All necessary arrangements for tlic fuiici-al were madr liv tlic 
 Rev. Dr. Elliott, who had succeeded to tlie sole i-cctDrsliip. l»'v tlu' 
 Rev. Dr. Meyer Lewin, president of the Standing Connuittci'. and 
 by Mr. C. C. Duncanson, for the vestry of his parish. 
 
 Six o'clock in the evening was apjiointed as tlie hour for the 
 funeral solemnities to be held in the Church of tlie Ascension. 
 
 Under the gloom of this sudden decease of Bishop Pinknev a 
 feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow pervaded the whoh' Diocese 
 of Maryland, and was most painfully exi)erienced in the city of 
 Washington, where for so many years he had ministered in his 
 pastoral offices, and where to the close of his life he had contiiuicd 
 to go in and out among its j^eople as a chief pastor in the Church 
 of GOD. So profoundly had he impressed his cliara<-ter upon 
 the minds and hearts of the people of "Washington, and uj)on all 
 who were privileged to know him, that there was one united feel- 
 ing of sympathy and sorrow upon his death. By the purity and 
 sanctity of his life, and by his patient, self -sacriticing. and devoted 
 labors in the ministry and in the Episcopate, he had greatly 
 endeared himself to the Church he so faithfully served. Suddenly 
 called to his rest he had dejiarted this life iu the midst of his holy 
 labors, in the fulness of spiritual peace, and in joyful antici})atiou 
 of the blessedness of the life immortal. 
 
 We cannot choose the moment, the place, and the suri-oundings 
 of our departure hence. No death is sudden when it finds the 
 watching servant of the LORD waiting for the ^Master's sum- 
 mons ; no death is untimeh^ when it comes in the fulness of 
 years of holy service for CHRIST and His Church : and no death 
 can be desolate when the spirit of the LORD is near to bear up 
 and cheer the departing soul to its promised and l)lessed rest. 
 Bishop PiNKNEY died, as doubtless he would have preferred to 
 die, not in the decay of mental and physical jiowers, and under 
 2)rolonged suffering unfitting him for active duty. l)ut rather 
 while actually engaged in those sacred offices which, for more 
 than forty years in the priesthood, and thirteen in the Episcopate, 
 he had earnestly sought to fill in all ministering love and duty ; 
 his mind as clear and strong at seventy three as it had ever been, 
 his heart as warm and expansive in Christian sympathy as in the 
 freshness of youth, and his bodily vigor, though aliated. yet not 
 seriously impaired. 
 
 the Bishop doubtless had forgotteii to remove, aud there it had remained 
 till loving hands tenderly took it after death had stricken himself with it« 
 cold embrace.
 
 344 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXYII. 
 
 The Funeeal Solemnities. 
 
 Outside of Bishop Pinkney's own immediate family there was 
 no one who more deiDlored his sudden decease than the venerable 
 Mr. Corcoran. As soon as the sad intelHgence of the death 
 reached Washington, Mr. Corcoran, as has been stated, sent an 
 undertaker to Cockeysville to provide for the removal of the 
 remains to Washington city. Moved by the tender love Avhich 
 he bore to the person of the departed Bishoj^, and desiring, in the 
 outflow of his generous heart, to express his devotion to the 
 memory of one whom he so revered and honored, he proposed, 
 and asked the privilege, to meet all expenses for the Bishops 
 burial in the beautiful grounds of the Oak Hill Cemetery, at 
 Georgetown. So gracious and noble a j^roposal could not but 
 receive grateful accej^tance by the family of the deceased Bishop. 
 Mr. Corcoran also asked permission from the family to remove 
 from the graveyard, adjoining St. Matthew's Church, in Prince 
 George county, the remains of the Bishop's deceased wife to be 
 l^laced beside those of the Bishop. 
 
 The hour of six o'clock p. m. was appointed for the funeral 
 services that were to be held m the Church of the Ascension. 
 AiTangements were made for the separate watches that were to 
 guard the body from twelve o'clock until four p. m., while it was 
 lying in state. At noon the doors of the church were opened, and 
 the people who had been long waiting outside were permitted 
 to enter to view the remains. The head-piece of the casket was 
 thrown back to reveal the face of the dead Bishop. The guard 
 of honor was comjDosed of clergymen, who sat within the chancel 
 stalls attired in their surplices. They were the Rev. Messrs. Brown, 
 Averitt, Gilbert Williams, Falls, Rev. Drs. Leonard, Forrest, 
 Hubard, Hyland, and others. The lay delegates Avho assisted the 
 guard of honor were Dr. Hawkins, of Cockeysville, Messrs. Nourse, 
 Venable, Hutchinson, Hill. Davidson, Young, Abert, H. D. Cooke, 
 Duncanson, Burchell, Dr. P. Lansdale, and representatives from 
 every Episcopal church in the District. 
 
 During the day there was a special meeting of the Standing 
 Committee of the diocese held in the vestry-room of the Church 
 of the Ascension, when the following minute was unanimously 
 adopted : 
 
 ' ' The Standing Committee meets under the shadow of a great sorrow. The 
 Bishop of the diocese, the Rt. Rev. William Pinkney, D. D.. LL. D., died
 
 LIFE OF BlSHOl' I'INKNEY. 345 
 
 on a visitution to 81u>r\voo(l parish, in tho nn-tory of said })urish. <in flu- 
 nioruin<i of the 4th inst.. at 7 o'chK-k. It was thi- privih-nc of an lionorfd 
 member of this Committee to be with him in his hist moments. He |ireaelii-(l 
 in the parish chnrch tlie eveninL; before, with his usual tench-rness and fer- 
 vor, about the state of the blessed dead, and the rest that renuiinetli fur the 
 people of GOD ; and in the morning' he departed to enter into that rest. 
 
 " We are thankful to GOD for the mercy that spared him i)rolonj,'ed bodily 
 sickness, and ordered that his transition should be so short, so iieaeeful. auil 
 blessed. 
 
 " We are deeply conscious of the inadequacy f)f words to express ourseuse 
 of personal bereavement, and of the loss which the Church and the diocese 
 has sustained in his death. 
 
 " We desire to record our gratitude to the Great Head of the Church for 
 giving to the Diocese of Maryland a Bishop whose life and doctrine have set 
 forth among us, during the years of liis Episcopate, Christ and Him cruci- 
 fied with Apostolic zeal and love and power. 
 
 " We are thankful for the spirit of devotion to duty, of wisdom, of self- 
 sacrifice, and of broad charity, which characterized his labors and his admin- 
 istration of the affairs of the diocese. 
 
 " We are sure that we express the feeling in every heart and home of the 
 diocese, both of the clergy and laity, that in the death of Bishop Pinkney 
 we have lost a pastor, a guide, and a true father in GOD. 
 
 " We would unite in the prayer that, for the peace and unity of the Church 
 in Maryland, and for our children's sake, that GOD nuiy keep his memory 
 green. 
 
 " Mesolved, That the Standing Committee tender their loving sympathy to 
 the family of our beloved Bishop in the hour of their bereavement. 
 
 '^Resolved, That we respectfully recommend to the rectors and vestries of 
 the parishes and congregations of Maryland to have suitable symbols of 
 mourning placed in their churches in token of our reverence to the memory 
 of our departed Bishop, and our sense of the irreparable loss we have sus- 
 tained in his death. 
 
 '■'■Resolved, That the Standing Committee, in accordance with the desire of 
 the family, attend the funeral, this afternoon at six o'clock, in the ChiU'ch 
 of the Ascension, in Washington, as honorary pall-bearers. 
 
 "A. P. STRYKER, 
 
 " Secretary.^' 
 
 At five o'clock, an hour before the time appointed for the funeral 
 solemnities, a meeting of the visiting- bishops, clergy, and laity of 
 the diocese, and others who had accepted the invitation, was held 
 in the basement of the church. The Rt. Rev. Bishop Lee, of 
 Delaware, j^resided, and the Re^-. Dr. A. R. Stuart, of George- 
 town, acted as secretary. Eulogistic addresses were made Ijy 
 Bishop Lee and by Bishops Lay, of Easton, and Peterkin, of 
 West Virginia, the only ones of the eight Bishops invited who 
 were able to attend. At this meeting the following resolutions 
 were rejDorted by a committee consisting of Rev. Drs. Julius E. 
 Grammer, W. L. Hyland, and O. Hutton. They were read by Dr. 
 Grammer and then adopted by a standing vote : 
 
 " It having pleased Almighty GOD (mr Heavenly Father, in His wise jirovi- 
 dence, to remove from his high and responsible office our beloved and 
 honored Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Willi.\m Pinkney. D. D., LL. D., we, the 
 clergy and laity of the diocese, here assembled to attend his funeral, and 
 bowing in submissive faith to the decree of the Great Head of the Chnrch.
 
 346 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 desire to record our sincere love aud veneration for this departed and emi- 
 nent servant of GOD. 
 
 " Distinguished as he was for those virtues aud attainments which adorned 
 his character and office, he united the gentleness of a child with the firm- 
 ness and courage of a man. In his death the diocese has lost the fostering 
 care of a father, the wisdom of a well-fnrnished and exi)erienced teacher; 
 the pulpit of a faithful aud eloquent preacher of the Gospel, ami every en- 
 terprise of philanthropy and religion a generous and effective advocate. 
 
 ''The church bends in loving and reverent sorrow over his grave, moistened 
 with the tears of her deep bereavement. 
 
 " His memory needs no aid of the sculptor or artist, nor the muse of the 
 poet, to preserve it from the oblivion common to most men. His monument 
 is to be found in the sermons, addresses, appeals, aud stirring words of coun- 
 sel aud encouragement he so often and so aljly delivered to his clergy and 
 people. His obituary is written in the sorrowing hearts of his diocese. 
 
 '' Bearing a name immortal in the annals of Maryland's forensic oratory, 
 he gave the lustre of piety and sacred learning to the highest office of the 
 Church of GOD. Decided in his convictions of truth, brave and faithful in 
 his testimony to the word of GOD, he was ' a workman that needed not to 
 be ashamed.' His Episcopate was brief, but rich in influences which will 
 stamp their impress upon the mind and heart of his diocese for all time. 
 
 " A stranger to all resentments, he was the unyielding friend of truth and 
 self-sacrificing servant of diity. His hand was ever open to dispense the 
 generous charities his noble heart devised ; and many of the clergy and of 
 the laity will realize that they have lost, not only a Bishop, but a liberal bene- 
 factor. His presence and efforts were never withheld in behalf even of the 
 lowliest and most obscure ; and his name is identified in Maryland with all 
 that tends to advance the cause of religion and learning. He continued in 
 the field of his labors with unbated zeal and energy, aud was found at the 
 last call of his Master, like a faithful servant, at his post of duty. Falling 
 with his armor on, his spirit has ascended to join the Apostles. He has left 
 the priceless legacy of a stainless name and an unblemished ministry. 
 " ' He taiight us how to live. 
 
 And oh. to(j high the price of knowledge, 
 He taught lis how to die.' " 
 
 The visiting Bisiiojjs in their robes, the clergy in their sur- 
 plices, seventy-one in nnml:»er, together with the lay delegates, 
 then passed in procession, under the direction of Mr. C. C. Dun- 
 canson, to the street and into the church by the main entrance 
 on Massachusetts avenue. 
 
 Long before six o'clock the buildingf was tilled, the crowd 
 extending far out to the sidewalk. The reserved seats in the 
 middle aisle Mere occupied by the relatives of the deceased 
 Bishoi^, by the clergy, the vestrymen of the church, and the lay 
 delegates. Mr. "SY. ^Y. Corcoran, attended by his relative, Mr. 
 0. M. Matthews, occupied seats Avith the mourners. The hono- 
 rary pall-bearers were the members of the Standing Committee : 
 Bishops Lee, Lay. and Peterkin, Rev. Drs. Lewin, Chew, Elliott, 
 and Hutton. The active pall-bearers were. Henrv E. Davis, N. W. 
 Burchell, A. J. Forl^es, H. W. Garnett, W. M.' Shuster, R. W. 
 Burgess, J. T. Stevens, and C. C. Duncanscm. 
 
 The services in the church were brief, but extremely impres- 
 sive. The opening sentences were read by Bishop Lee. The
 
 LIFE OF r.isiKii' riNKM:\. :;.t7 
 
 funeral autbciu swelled out sweetly and Kolenmly from tlw chnir. 
 under the direction of Professor G. AV. AValtci\ the or^'anisf, who 
 also had char-ice of the music when Bislioji Pinknky was conwe 
 crated. Bishop Lay then read the lesson finm the loth < Imi.tcr 
 of I Corinthians. The creed was read hy Bishoj) I'ctcrkiii, Tli.' 
 Eev. Dr. Elliott, the rector of the chun'h, nnnoiinccd the livnin. 
 " JESUS, Saviour of my soul." Bishop Lee otVcrcd tin- coiMlnd 
 ing- i)rayer, and tlie choir ended the sei'vice Iiy sin^Mn^-- tlie livnm. 
 " Jerusalem the o()l(]i.]i."" 
 
 The jiall l)earers, honorary and active, then took cliai-^fe of the 
 body, and the funeral i)rocession took its way towards Oak Hill. 
 
 The following- interesting descriptive account of the solemn 
 and impressive services at the cemetery is taken from one of tlie 
 iniblications of the city press issued on the day following the 
 funeral : 
 
 '* The twilight wiis fast bf'coming darkness when tlie jn-oeessicm. ei>iisistin<,' 
 of nearly one hundred carriages, arrived iit Oak Hill Cemetery. A larye 
 number of the residents of Georgetown had already obtained jilaees near the 
 chapel where the body was to be placed in the vault. Hardly a breatli 
 stirred. The low. rumbling peals of thunder and the freciiient vivid ligiit- 
 ning flashes caused many an anxious fear, and not a few umbrellas wi-n- 
 raised. Happily they were not needed. 
 
 "At alxmt the distance of fifty feet from the chaj)el a rope had been 
 stretched, forming an enclosure into which only the clergy and the invited 
 laity were to be admitted. 
 
 "At length the white robes of the general clergy of the diocese were seen 
 approaching in double rank. The ropes were lowered and the path cleared. 
 When they had advanced near the enclosure the rank was opened, and form- 
 ing two lines they stood uncovered, while the casket and the bishops and 
 .standing committee passed thnrngh. Then closing rank they followed, while 
 in their rear came the laity in double rank. As the cortege jidvanced Jiishop 
 Lay slowly pronounced the sentences from the prayer bo<jk, liishop Peter- 
 kiu following with other sentences. The sentence in the servi<n' beginning 
 ■ I heard a voice from heaven,' was read by llev. Mr. Chew, of Haltiniori-, 
 and repeated by the whole clergy. The casket was then lifted into the 
 chapel, which had been lighted. It was a most beautiful and inijiressive 
 scene, the silent and solemn cemetery slowly l)ei-oming iMishrouded in tlie 
 darkness of night, the light streaming through the brilliant little windows 
 of the chapel, the vast, still assembly standing uncovered in expectancy, an<l 
 the sknv, impressive tones of Kev. Dr. Lewin committing to mother earth 
 the last of his old friend, Bishop Pinkney. 
 
 "After the conchuling prayer by Dr. Hutton, of Montgomery county, the 
 benediction v^-as pronounced by Bishoj) Lee, and the vast crowd, awed by 
 the magnificent tribute the exercises of the day had lieen to the late bishoji. 
 cjuietly and slowly sought their homes." 
 
 Very soon after the decease of Bishoj) Pixkxev. who stood to- 
 wards them iuthe twofold relation of rector and bishoj). the vestry 
 of the parish of the Ascension held a meeting to exi)ress their 
 estimate of his character and their profound sorrow under the 
 bereavement. The following action Avas taken :
 
 348 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 '■'■Besolutionii of the Vestry of Ascension Parish. 
 
 " ReKolred. That in the death of Bishop Pinkney we recoguize a loss to 
 this parish and to the Diocese of Maryhind. the full measure of which is 
 incalculable by ordinary standards, and to the expression of which we feel 
 the hopeless inadequacy of human language. 
 
 "Steadfast of faith,' unfaltering in trust, gentle, unobtrusive, unselfish, 
 simple even as a child, tilled with" the charity that hopeth and believeth all 
 things, and to the end eagerly responsive to every suggestion of duty ; an 
 humble-minded but earnest servant of the living GOD, in the midst of his 
 devotion to his master's work, in the ripeness of years, in the plenitude of 
 matchless power and Christian grace, his was that farewell to earth which 
 is not death but glory. 
 
 "Living he was our guide, our loving counsellor, our trusted friend, our 
 more than brother ,- and dead, his memory and his name remain, themselves 
 the full measure of eulogy. 
 
 " Resolved. That this recognition of the unspeakable loss that has befallen 
 us be spread vtpon the jjarish records and communicated to the members of 
 his family, whose greater bereavement in vain challenges our just apprecia- 
 tion." 
 
 Soon after the decease of Bishop Pinkney, the Standing Com- 
 mittee of the diocese deeming it proper, and '' feeHng assured 
 that the entire diocese would commend their action." appointed 
 a special memorial service to " be held in the Church of the 
 Ascension, Washington, D. C, on "Wednesday, November 7, at 11 
 A. M." By their request the Bishop of Minnesota consented to 
 preach the sermon. 
 
 From the published account of that memorial service the fol- 
 lowing is transferred to these pages : 
 
 " The service was held on Wednesday. November 7th. There were present 
 and in the procession the Rt. Rev. H. B. \Miipple. D. D.. Bishop of Minne- 
 sota, the preacher on the occasion : the Rt. Rev. William Bacon Stevens, 
 D. D., LL. D.. Bishop of Pennsylvania, who inesided : the Rt. Rev. T. B. 
 Lyman, D. D.. Bishop of North" Carolina: the Rt. Rev. A. M. Randolph, 
 D'. D.. Assistant Bishop of Virginia; the Dean and Professors oi the Theo- 
 logical Seminary of Virginia, and the vestry oi the parish of the Ascension. A 
 very large congregation was present." 
 
 Some passages fi-om the niemoiial sermon of the Bishop of 
 Minnesota may very properly be here given. The text was from 
 II Tlmothi/, 4 : 7, 8. Towards the close of his sermon Bishop 
 Whipple thus spoke : 
 
 " In art and letters, in science and in theology, he was a diligent stitdent, 
 a man of varied learning : and all his gifts and gains were consecrated to 
 GOD. He was an intensely human man ; as guileless as a Christian child : 
 a heart as tender as a woman's, and yet united with the bravery of the 
 sturdiest manhood. He bore so many sorrows for others he quite forgt)t his 
 own. He gave so mitch, men wondered at the wealth of his self-denial. He 
 never courted i)raise : he never asked. What will the world say 'i He gave as 
 he preached and lived, as unto Christ. He was one <»f the most chivalrous 
 of men. He instinctively took his place beside the wronged. He took no 
 chances for the winning side. He saw the heart-ache and the sorrow in 
 others, and his great, tender heart was always ready with its sympathy in
 
 LIFE OF lilsnop I'lNKXEY. 'iV.) 
 
 the liour tif iici-il. 1 kiifw him first in thi> diirk ilays ..I' our Indian sorrow, 
 when my i)il),'riniu^t's to Washington were a il'donifiii ihiya \\h,-u niv lieurt 
 wouhl luivc broken hnt for the h)ve of men like Hall. 'Whittin^luiin. itml 
 PiNKNKV. who sent me home with a braver heart. From the chiv (iOD 
 called him to be your Bishop he was my bosom friend. He eanie'all th<- 
 way to Minnesota to see our work and to eheer us with his lovin^; words. 
 GOD only knows the debt I owe to his preeious memory. I think his visit 
 to Minnesota was one of the brightest of his life. Hi- eertaiidy won all 
 hearts. The poor Indians whom he met still remember him as one of their 
 truest friends. Through all these years I have received his messages of love. 
 Sometimes he sent my daughters sweet Christian l)allads so full of love and 
 CHRIST they touched every lieart. Each year he selected and sent with his 
 own hand a medal to the school. His name will always l)ea household word 
 in St. Mary's Hall. His last letter, written a few days before liis deatli, was 
 to tell me of his plan to help me complete the work lie loved so well. As I 
 look back on the sweet intercourse of years. I cannot recall one word that 
 dying I would blot. I never heard him speak one unkind word. I cannot 
 recall a single censure of any member of his flock. He had faults; but 
 who was ever so quick to acknowledge them and rejjair the wrong ? Who 
 felt so ki^eu a sorrow if by any chance he wounded another's heart ? He 
 would have confessed that he was a fallible, sinful man : ami so day l»y day 
 he carried his sins where we all must go — to JESUS CHRIST the Saviour. 
 
 '' Bishop PiNKNEY had passed the meridian of his life when (JOD called 
 him to his holy office. It was toward evening, and the day was far spent. 
 He saw in this ofltice what all thoughtful men must see — the loss of liome. 
 the giving vip of ease, the l)earing of heavy l>urdens, the censures of men 
 who do not know y(m, and a shorter road to an early giuive. It was the 
 Saviour's call. He obeyed it with a willing heart. He entered on his work 
 with all the l)uoyancy of youth. The thought that it was towards evening 
 roused every energy of his soul. Few of our youngest bishops couhl bear 
 the strain of his incessant toil. He was always in the forefr(jnt of busy work. 
 He brought up in an incredi1)le short space the arrearages of years. He 
 believed in the fatherhood of his office. He loved his flock with the teuder- 
 est love. I never knew a bishop who felt so keenly the trials and i)rivatious 
 of his clergy. His last act, to divide his salary with brothers in CHRIST. 
 revealed the law of his loving, unselfish life. 
 
 '' I cannot give the record of his ]>ishoj)'s life. It is written in your hearts. 
 it is written in heaven. Death came at last without warning. There was no 
 sound of foot-fall on the threshold. He laid down to rest : he awoke in 
 Paradise. It was not the sudden death from which in holy litany we cry to 
 Ije delivered. All his life he had been gathering manna for the last journey. 
 There were no days of pain and suffering, waiting on the jjhysician's skill. 
 In one moment the rift in the parted cloud opened upon the land afar off. 
 where they see the King in his beauty." 
 
 At the convention of the diocese, following the death of Bisho]) 
 PiNKNEY, held m May, 1884, a committee appointed for the pur- 
 I)Ose reported to the hndj an T/) ^Linor'uon minute, which was 
 unanimously adopted by a rising- vote and ordered to l>c placed 
 upon the joi;rnal : 
 
 '• Minute. 
 
 " The clergy and laity of the convention of the Diocese of Maryland 
 now assembled, iipon this the tirst occasion of the meeting of the U»\\ since 
 the death of our late lamented chief pastor, the Et. Rev. Wm. Pixkney. D. 
 D., LL. D., Bishop of Maryland, desire to record in grateful and loving 
 remembrance our high appreciati<ni of his character and life and services.
 
 350 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 ' ' It pleased our Heavenly Father to call him to the rest of the faithful in 
 Paradise, on the morning of the 4th of July last, while he was actively en- 
 gaged in the sacred duties of his office and with only a brief premonition 
 that the departing spirit was passing into that blessed rest. In the seventy- 
 fourth year of his age and in the thirteenth year of his consecration, our 
 beloved" Bishop closed a ministry and an episcopate signally marked with 
 enduring results of good and blessing to the Church. Called in the matu- 
 rity of his wisdom and experience, and in the ripeness of the graces that 
 adorned his character and life, to the duties and responsibilities of the Epis- 
 copal office, he met and fulfilled those duties iind responsibilities with 
 extraordinary zeal and unswerving fidelity. His whole soul was aglow with 
 the Spirit of CHKIST : his preaching full of the Gospel in eloquence, 
 earnestness, and power: his administration in office and government as firm 
 as it was loving, as faithful as it was gentle : his whole life beautiful in its 
 Gospel simplicity and rich in the friiits of holiness and Christian love. He 
 was ever vigilant as a faithful guardian on the watch-towers of Zion, firm 
 and lirave where duty called, abounding in labors in season and out of season, 
 full <jf sympathy and tenderness where need or troiible lay, and ever ready 
 to give liis own services and dispense his own means for help and comfort 
 wherever want or scjrrow was felt. 
 
 '• "While mourning the great loss to the Church we bow in submission to the 
 Divine will, and gratefully and lovingly cherish the memory of William 
 PiNKNEY. the late Bishop of Maryland. 
 
 " Resolved, That this minute of our memorial action be placed upon the 
 journal of the convention, and a copy be sent to the family of the deceased 
 prelate." 
 
 Very numerous and from many quarters were the memorial 
 tributes which came to the family of the deceased Bishoj). full of 
 expression of heartfelt sorrow, and of the high estimate in which 
 he was held for his holy life, and his unsparing labors in the 
 Church. These cannot be here transcribed, nor is it necessary. 
 
 Two other facts, however, in this connection, need to be stated, 
 and they both cluster alike around the memory of Bishop Pink- 
 NEY and the name and muuiticence of the venerable Mr. W. W. 
 Corcoran. 
 
 Soon after the burial of Bishop Pixkney, Mr. Corcoran caused 
 to be designed and executed a marl^le monument of heroic size, 
 resting on a granite pedestal, to mark the grave of the Bishop, 
 in the Oak Hill Cemetery. He took an especial interest in the 
 whole work of its preparation and erection, and spared no expense 
 for the completeness of the structure in durability and in its 
 sculjitural execution and finish. It stands in a conspicuous posi- 
 tion,* near the portals of the cemetery, and is an object of promi- 
 nence and striking beauty as one enters within the hallowed 
 precincts. It has been very truly said that Bishop Pinkney needed 
 no such monument for his commemoration. All along, for many 
 years, he had been, quite unconsciously to himself, building vip 
 
 ♦Permission was obtained from the authorities of the cemetery to place 
 the Bishop's grave and monument upon the lawn near the entrance ; a 
 section not appropriated for burial purposes, and opposite the J. H. Payne 
 monument.
 
 LIFE (ir I'.IMKil' I'INKNKY. .'{'jI 
 
 in the hearts of those who knew iiiid hived liim u iiioniiiiKiit umn- 
 j^recious tliaii bronze or niarhle. And heeauso it was so, Mr. Cor- 
 coran felt that he eouhl well devote a portion of that wealtli 
 which GOD had <>;iven him. to exju-ess his love and reverence for 
 such a character and life, by placin«,' a siil)stantial and costly 
 marble monument to mark the liishop's j^rave, and j^'ive its silent 
 though powerful teaching to the hearts of the living. 
 The inscrii)tious on the monument are as follows: 
 
 " (South front) : Mitre, scroll, and c-rozier. 
 " Ou the scroll, ' lu crnce sahis.' — Pixkxey. 
 
 " (East front ) : Sacred to the nieniorv of tin- lii;,')it I'lcvi-PMid Wilmam 1'ixk- 
 NEY, D. D.. LL. 1). Born April 17. ISKl. Died July 4. Ikk:}. A >,'uili'l.'s« 
 and fearless man of GOD. brilliant in intellect, steadfast in trial, tender and 
 true in friendship, he so adorned his life with manly virtues and Christian 
 graces, that his earthly career remains an imjierishahle memento of that 
 Apostolic sjiirit of which he was both the elixpient advocate and heautiful 
 example. 
 
 " Placuit Deo, et translatiis est in Paradisum. 
 
 " (North front) : A cross and crown. 
 
 " (West front ) : In memory of Elizalieth Lloyd Pinkuey. wife of the Ki^dit 
 Reverend William Pinkney, who fell asleep April 2.S. IMT'.I. Natural refine- 
 ment, high intelligence, and cultivated taste were seen in her dignitied wonnm- 
 hood as she drew' the serenity and beauty of her soul fi'oni the traminil 
 depths of a holy and consistent life." 
 
 Upon one of the bi;rial lots not far from this Pixknev moini- 
 ment may be seen another, far less costly and im])osing, but 
 appropriately marking the grave of one who was a very dc-ar ami 
 intimate friend of the Bishop, that of the Rev. Meyer Lewin, 
 T>. D., erected also by the munificence of Mr. Corcoran. As Dr. 
 Lewin was so closely connected with Bishop Pinkney by the ties 
 of friendship and by zealous co-operation with him in his Episco- 
 l^al work, it may be jn-oper in this connection to make brief refer- 
 ence to the circumstances of his death and to the arrangements 
 made by Mr. Corcoran for the burial in the Oak Hill Cemetery. 
 The sad occurrence of the sudden and lamented death of Dr. 
 Lewin took place on the evening of the 2Sth of ]\Iay. iSSd, only a 
 few hours after the close of the diocesan convention held that 
 year in the city of AVashington. Ou this ru-casion, with his char- 
 acteristic liberality. Mr. Corcoran came forward to prolVc r to bear 
 the entire charges of the sepulture of the remains in the Oak Hill 
 Cemetery near those of the deceased Bishop: and he also pro- 
 posed that the remains of Dr. Lewin's deceased wife slionld be 
 removed from Upper Marlb(nough and be placed beside those of 
 her husband. These generous proposals were fully carried otit. 
 and an appropriate tomb erected over the gravi". The fdUnwing 
 inscriptions were engraved upon it :
 
 352 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY 
 
 " Meyee Lewin, D. D. 
 Born at Tboru on the Vistula, in the Grand Duchy of Posen, in Prussia, 
 
 August 15, 1816. 
 
 Fell asleep in the City of Washington, May 28. 1886. 
 
 An upright and fearless man of GOD, he knew not deijarture from the 
 
 path of duty. 
 
 (Keverse side. J ' I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course, I 
 
 have kept the faith.' 
 
 (Mrs. Lewiu.) Eleanor Adams, 
 
 wife of 
 
 Kev. Mever Lewiu. D. D. 
 
 Born Feb. 15, 1832. 
 
 Fell asleep Feb. 23, 1885. 
 
 ' Blessed are the pure in heart.' " 
 
 At the request of the family and vestry of the parish the remains 
 were first removed to Upper Marlborough, to be placed in Trinity 
 Church, of which the deceased had been rector, for the funeral 
 services to be held there ; after which they were immediately 
 l^rought, with those of Mrs. Lewin, to "Washington, for interment 
 in the Oak Hill Cemetery. 
 
 At a meeting held in the Church a short time before the serv- 
 ices, the following minute was adopted : 
 
 " The Bishop, the clergy, and the laity of the Diocese of Maryland, here 
 assembled, on this solemn occasion of the funeral of the late" lamented Rev- 
 erend Meyer Lewin, Doctor of Divinity, desire to express the profound sense 
 of bereavement which the Church has sustained by the death of this eminent 
 divine and most faithful servant of our LORD. Suddenly called from our 
 midst at the close of the council of this diocese, where he had been honored 
 with most important trusts for the welfare of the Church, we deeply feel this 
 afflictive disijensatiou. In the midst of our sorrow we are cheered with the 
 most consolatory and animating reflections that our departed brother, so 
 pure and holy in his life, and so faithful and laborious in the priesthood of 
 the Church, has passed to the rest of the blessed in Paradise. 
 
 " We here record our loving tribute to his memory and our grateful appre- 
 ciation of the services which, for more than forty years in the sacred minis- 
 try, he has rendered to the cause of CHRIST and the great work of the Church. 
 By the massive strength and force of his mind and character, by his Godly 
 learning, so vast and varied, by his efficiency and thoroughness in all offices 
 of trust and duty committed to him, and by his unyielding courage in main- 
 taining the sincere and honest cotivictions of his soiil respecting all matters 
 of Divine truth and duty under the Gospel and in the Church of our LORD, 
 he has left a name and a record which will be long remembered and cherished. 
 
 "Not his afflicted family only, nor his friends and brethren in the minis- 
 try in this diocese alone, but very many throughout the church at large will 
 lament the loss by death of Meyer Lewin. 
 
 " We bow submissively to the Divine will in this dispensation, and recog- 
 nize in it a solemn call and warning to ourselves to be faitlifiil in the stew- 
 ardship committed to us in the Church of our LORD, and to be ever watch- 
 ful and ready for the summons of the Master when He shall call us to our 
 great account." 
 
 At this same meeting an admirable paper, in inet/iorlm/t of Dr. 
 Lewin, was read by the Rev. Thos. G. Addison, D. D. It was a 
 noble tribute to the character and worth of one who had been so
 
 LIFE (»r niSIKil' riNKNKY. 8r)3 
 
 prommeiit in tlic coimcils and activities i.f tlir Clmicli f..r ii,ai,v 
 years. The coiiclmliiin- ])ara-rui.lis ..f tl,at just aii.l u.ll mcnt.-il 
 tribute may be here inserted : 
 
 "Dr. Lewin was a man of stn.njjj convictions. He lm<l no \mtth- witli 
 doubt. The LORD JESUS CHRIST was a pivscnt roilitv to liim. Tlw Hil.l.- 
 was the vcri/ Wtad of GOD. The Cliurch which he scrvcl was to liim tli.- 
 Church of CHRIST, the livin<; Church of the living (;OI), surcharged with 
 livint,' energies for the sauctitication and redeini)tion of h.st men. He min- 
 istered as one who knew his ministry wouhl not lie in vain : f liat tlie faithful 
 discharge of his duties must resuh in good to men's souls. 'I'hus duiv 
 became to him the most sacred thing in the universe; anil so. as we all 
 know, no personal consideration of ease or inclination, no amount of ojipo. 
 sition, no peril of life, no feebleness of age, hindered him in the path of 
 obedience. We have all wondered at his persistent activity. H<' never 
 hesitated to accept any burden of work the Church imi)osed upon him. 
 Only a few weeks since he was called to Baltimore on matters of imjiortance 
 to the diocese. His i)hysician forljade his going, insisting that he should 
 remain quietly at home. The hour came ; the call of «hity was more im- 
 perative than the claims of health. The threat of a ])rotesfing conscienen 
 was more dreaded than the threat of death. He was in his ])lace in Haiti- 
 more at the appointed hour. Again the faithful ]>hysician. as the diocesan 
 convention drew near, assured him that he would not survive the excite- 
 ment incident to his duties in that body. This alternative was jiresented 
 to him — the convention or death. Duty, said the convention. Fear, said 
 death. His answer was. ' I accept deatli and embrace duty.' What a sub- 
 lime spectacle of heroism is here. That man. engaged in his duties, voting, 
 debating, exchanging greetings with his friends, gives no sign of alarm. 
 He moves among us calm and trancjuil. His interest in his work is unabated. 
 No tear is in the old hero's eye as he looks around upon many a jjrecious 
 friend, though he knows he will see their faces ntj more upon earth. He 
 will step from that convention into the grave. Yet his thoughts are not of 
 himself. A great cause — the interests of the Diocese of his l>eloved Mary- 
 land — absorbs him. No room is in his large lu'art for selfish rejiinings or 
 selfish fears. JESDS, his brother Jew, bids him work. He does the work 
 bravely — as bravely as ever mailed warrior riished to death upon embattled 
 hosts. He died. To the dear LORD whom he loved and served he had all 
 along committed his soul in perfect trust. He was brave — lirave unto death 
 in the Master's cause, because, loving not himself, he loved his Lord. 
 Maryland's ff/'fat presbyter has fallen — great in intellect, great in will, but 
 greatest of all in Heart." 
 
 The other fact, referred to on a precetlin*';' page, relates to the 
 memorial window of Bishop Pinkney, jilaced in 8t. John's Parish 
 Church, Washington city, by Mr. W. W. Corcoran. The Kev. Dr. 
 W. A. Leonard, then rector of the Church, now Bishop of Ohio, 
 kindly furnishes the writer with a descri]iti()n of the window. 
 
 Dr. Leonard writes : 
 
 "The Hon. W. W. Corcoran, whose affectionate friendship for Bishop 
 PiNKNEY manifested itself in a variety of tender and beautiful tributes, saw- 
 fit to place in St. John's Parish Church, Washington, I). C, a memorial 
 window to the deceased prelate. It is unique in design, and strong in its artis- 
 tic conception and develoiJUient, and is an ornament to this venerable and 
 historic church, which was always a welcome place of worshiji for the dear 
 Bishop, and a parish m which Mr. Corcoran was for years an honored vestry- 
 man and i^ewliolder. This window is of French glass, nuide at Chart res, 
 France, at the famous establishment of Lerin.
 
 354 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 " Immediately beneath it in the lower transept is a memorial window to 
 the Hon. Montgomery Blair, one of the Bishop's warmest friends, and one 
 of Maryland's honored laymen." 
 
 The description of the window and its inscription are taken 
 from the " Report of the Committee on Stained Glass "Windows " 
 in St. John's Church, pubHshed by the vestry (pp. 24-25) : 
 
 "The large semicircular window in the gallery of the north transept, 
 No. 13, represents the scene between St. Peter and St. John in the palace of 
 the high priest, which is described l)y the latter in his gospel f ch. xviii, v : 
 15-16), in the following words : 'And Simon Peter followed JESUS, and so 
 did another disciple ; that disciple was known unto the high priest, and went 
 in with JESUS into the palace of the high priest. But Peter stood at the 
 door without. Then went out that other disciple, which was known unto 
 the high priest, and spake lanto her that kept the door, and brought in Peter.' 
 At the left of the picture, through a door opened by the servant, we see St. 
 Peter, hesitating, and hardly daring to enter. St. John, the principal figure 
 in front upon the left side of the picture, makes a sign to him to come in. 
 To the right a servant is kneeling lighting the fire, spoken of in the 25th 
 verse of the same chapter, and in the 55th verse of St. Luke, ch. xxii. In the 
 rear on some raised steps we see the high priest sitting, and the Saviour 
 standing before him. Between the two groups are several figures deeply 
 interested in what is going on : some of them women, shocked by it ; others, 
 men questioning or deriding CHRIST. This picture, designed expressly for 
 this window, is a worthy and noble companion to the design from Raphael, 
 which it faces. It bears the inscription : 
 
 " The Gift of W. W. Corcoran. In Memory of the Right Reverend Wil- 
 liam PiNKNEY, D. D., LL. D. : Born, April 17, 1810 ; Consecrated Assistant 
 Bishop of this Diocese (Marvland) October 6, 1870; succeeded to the full 
 charge of the Diocese (Marvlaud) October 17, 1879 ; Died, Julv 4, 1883. A 
 GOOD Man, full of the Holy Ghost, and of Faith." 
 
 Referring to the career and character of Bishop Pikkney, the 
 Committee add : 
 
 " It is a privilege to our church to possess such a noble memorial of him."
 
 LIFE OK I'.ISIlol' I'INKNKV. 355 
 
 CHAPTER XXX VIIL 
 
 ('ONCLUSION. 
 
 The just portraiture of a man in his cliaiactci uml lilc iciimrts 
 as clear and full a statement as can be <jfiven as to wliat lie was, 
 and how he tilled his place and did his work. The facts and inci- 
 dents may be very simple, such as come up in all earnest work in 
 life, with uothin<>- to give to that work the cLiim of heroic action 
 or gain for it a wide renown : and yet they may illustrate the 
 noblest qualities of our humanity, as that liinnaiiity is chastened, 
 elevated, and sanctified by the S})irit of C'HlilST in the Holy 
 Commuiiicm of the Church. 
 
 The true eminence of a man is in tlie si)irit witli which he does 
 his work. It is by such a standard we must measure the life- 
 work of Bishop PiNKNEY ; and when we come to test it \)\ resultH 
 we find how efiective it was for good and blessing. That work 
 and life speak for the man, the priest, and the bishop, apart from 
 any words of commendation. There may be, as admittedly there 
 was, more or less of infirmity, mistake, error, failure, in short, 
 even faults — for who is exemi)t from these? — l)ut there were none 
 that could mar the beauty and reality of true and solid wortli, or 
 lessen the tribute due to one whose whole course tlirougliout 
 many long years Avas marked by an extracndinary devotion to 
 high principle, holy duty, and loving toil in the resjionsible posi- 
 tions of official trusts in the Church of GOD. 
 
 It has rarely liapi)ened in the experience of any clergyman to 
 be called to the Episcopate imder such peculiar circumstances as 
 those that existecl when Dr. Pinkxey was elected. For thirty 
 years Bisho}) Whittingham had filled the position with such noted 
 prominence of intellectual power, commanding iiifiuence, and 
 great force of character, that to be placed beside him as the 
 Assistant Bishop, and afterwards succeed him in sole jurisdiction, 
 was a severe test and a somewhat trying position for any clergy- 
 man, whatever his gifts. Moreover, there was the well-grounded 
 apprehension that, as the administration of the Diocese slionld 
 pass from the Senior Bishop to his assistant and successor, (|ues- 
 tions and difficulties, already existing though slumbering, would 
 rise up to call for the exercise of great wisdoui, jiatit-nce and 
 firmness on the part of the diocesan. It was the general feeling 
 and belief throughout the diocese, that Dr. Pinkxey possessed 
 the qualities specially fitting him for the E})iscopate. His 
 election was accordingly secured with a remarkable unanimity.
 
 356 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 His ripe culture in godly learning, his long experience in the 
 ministry as a devoted and laborious pastor, his sound and con- 
 servative church man ship, together with his sjDecially attractive 
 personal traits of character and manners, served to mark him out 
 for the position. We have seen that, from the day of his conse- 
 cration to the last evening of the thirteenth year of his Episcopate, 
 he gave himself with vintiring energy to the laborious duties that 
 devolved upon him — for nine years as the Assistant Bishop doing 
 all the active work, and for nearly four years following doing that 
 work with the superadded responsibility of sole jurisdiction. 
 
 Bishoj) PiNKNEY was no partisan. Broad in his sympathies, 
 Catholic in his views, and tenaciously adherent to the doctrinal 
 standards and liturgic requirements of the Church, he was a lover 
 of jDeace. His Episcopate was characterized, as all his preceding 
 ministerial life had been, by a spirit of love and a singularly earn- 
 est devotion to active work. His sole aim was to present in the 
 fulness of power, and with great persuasiveness, the blessed 
 trviths of the Gospel as held in and guarded by the Chui'ch. He 
 did not consider himself, his health, his convenience, his comfort, 
 or even the sacred claims of home, dearly as he loved his home, 
 in its sweet and pure enjoyments. It was enough for him to 
 S2:)end and be spent in his Master's service. Eager to accomplish 
 all he could, he made brief record of his work in one place and 
 hurried on to another. He was so wholly' absorbed in this work 
 that one wonders at the amount of readmg and writing which he 
 certainly accomj^lished, for he kept himself Avell versed in the 
 questions which were agitating the Church both in this country 
 and in England, never failed to be prompt in his large correspond- 
 ence, and was always prepared with freshly written sermons. 
 Besides, he was ever mindful even of little matters of detail where 
 any though tfulness or kindness for others was concerned, and 
 ever ready in lo^ing helj) for all Avho needed counsel, sympathy, 
 or aid. 
 
 No statistical records can adequately exj^ress or measure the 
 results of such an Episcopate. Far beyond and above such rec- 
 ords, whether meagre or notably great, are those intangible and 
 spiritual influences which are felt for enduring good in the souls 
 of all those who are privileged to come within theu" sphere. The 
 man does his work and passes away. Others come up on the 
 arena where his life-work was done to do in turn their work. But 
 no work for GOD and CHRIST in the Church and for sinful, suf- 
 fering mortals is ever lost. There is a cumulative power in the 
 lives of the righteous. " The memory of the just is blessed.'' 
 
 There are, however, records which show the healthful growth 
 of the diocese in material respects. Shortly after the Bishop's 
 death, the then secretary of the diocesan convention, Mr. Joseph 
 Packard, Jr., placed in one of the Church papers the following
 
 LIFK OF lilSllol' I'INKNKV. 'A'tl 
 
 statements, relative to the statisticK of the dioccKc at the time of 
 Bishoj) Pinkney's consecration in IKTd ;iii<l liis (hM-casc in .hilv 
 
 1883 : 
 
 "* * * 'fl'<'i't' is fiiou^'b in th(^ ti^,'uios t(. inaki- Mnrvlaiid clnirrhiu.-n 
 grateful for his lift- iiiul exaiui)le. The f.-llowiui; table is lua.l.' up fr..iii th- 
 convention j<jinnal for 1«7(), tlie year of his eonsecrution, and tlnit for 1nm:i, 
 the year of his death : 
 
 Number of cler-,'y i;{., i,;^ 
 
 Number of eoniniunieauts 12, 7i;i '*2 Xf)r, 
 
 Total contributions >!l7:<, 7(t'.i (M) >i:U2,»vr.i (Hi 
 
 Contributions for diocesan missions, includiiij^ 
 
 pastoral aid, per treasurer's report l,r,71 7h l(i,2<»«r);j 
 
 Superannuated clergy COl kJ 2. I'i'i (Ml 
 
 " These figures speak for themselves. The most mark.'.! incrras.- in ili.- 
 above table is in the contributions for diocesan missions. Tliis was n causi- 
 that lay very near the good Hishop's heart ; and the growth of these contri- 
 butions, which was mainly due to his earnest advocacy, was i)robably the 
 chief factor in the improved condition of the diocese in other respects." 
 
 The only interruption to the peace and harmony of the diocese 
 during Bishop Pinkney's administration grew out of the ritual- 
 istic controversy. This had disturbed and jierplexed his predeces- 
 sor in the EiHscopate ; and it is not surprising that it continued 
 to cause trouble under that of Bishop Pinkney. It occasionetl.as 
 we have seen, much excitement and great disturbance in the dio- 
 cese for several successive years. 8o far as he was in any way 
 connected with it, Bishop Pinkney's c(mrse was marked by tinn- 
 ness, and the decision of a man conscious of right and resolutr in 
 duty. Whatever may have been the feeling and judgment t)f 
 some in regard to that course, it must be confessed tliat he was 
 influenced and governed by his conscientious ctrnvictions of duty 
 and loyalty to the Church. He strove, as far as he otticially couhl. 
 to guard against the introduction of those doctrinal tcacliings and 
 ritual observances that contravened her standards and the order 
 of her liturgic services. Happily for his relief and the ])eace of 
 the diocese, there were no agitations upon these ritualistic mat- 
 ters during the closing year of his Episcopate : and there was a 
 disposition in all quarters to join harmoniously in the commeiu- 
 oration of the centenary organization of the diocese at tlie Con- 
 vention held in Baltimore, in May, 1883, just one montli before 
 the Bishop's decease. 
 
 We have seen from the foregoing narrative tliat the three last 
 years were probably the busiest in the Bishops life. They were 
 at the same time— for he had passed his 70th year — years of a 
 very decided failure in health, with fretiuent i)remonitii>ns that 
 he was nearing the end of his working time. He was very con- 
 scious of this, and it only quickened his energy and zeal. He was 
 a very uncomplaining sufterer. Sometimes he would drop words
 
 358 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 expressive of internal physical trouble, and in bis letters there 
 occur occasional references, quite touching and j^athetic, to his 
 failing strength and early departure. It is somewhat surprising 
 that in his emotional nature and fervid temperament he should 
 take such calm views of the closing up of life's work in death. 
 Living in the spirit of the truth and blessedness of the Gosj^el 
 promises, he waited patiently and worked on lovingly till the 
 LORD should call him. The last sermon that he 2:)reached, only 
 a few hours before his sudden departure, shows how he loved to 
 dwell upon the rewards and the glories of the saints in the new 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 Three years before his decease he wrote to a young brother in 
 the ministry, Rev. Charles D. Andrews, rector of Christ Church, 
 Washington, D. C, as follows : 
 
 "I am gettiug ou after a fashion. I wish I could hear some one else 
 talk. But I may not enjoy this rare privilege. GOD bless you, and give 
 you long life and health for your work. 
 
 " I have but the few hours of a fast gathering twilight to work in. But I 
 must be content. The twilight, you know, soon fades away in the darkness. 
 A wiser man will, I ti'ust, be given to the diocese, and a more loving heart 
 to the brotherhood." 
 
 Again, the next year, he Avrites to the same young friend, 
 whose health was temporarily failing : 
 
 " At your time of life it is all imj^ortaut that you should reciiperate. As 
 for myself, it matters not. To go out burning is as well as any other way 
 to one who has passed the threescore and ten. I go creeping on as abun- 
 dant in work, and with as much nervous energy in doing it as ever." 
 
 To which letter was added, on the same sheet, the following : 
 
 " Rev. C. D. Andrews: 
 
 "I do trust that GOD may restore you to perfect health, for my hopes 
 are largely built on you. Make a good use of your jjresent physical weak- 
 ness. The precious metal is tried in the fires. Get a mastery of the word 
 of GOD — that is the true knowledge. That is power. Should anything 
 occur to me, it is my M'ish that you should have the choice of my library, 
 and my watch and chain, if not worse than your own ; and if you accept it, 
 be carefid its tick is truer to you and more musical than it has been to me. 
 It rebukes me to-day. May it never rebuke you. Keep this letter, and, 
 should you outlive me, show this letter to Mr. Lowndes, and take all you 
 want. 
 
 '' Affectionatelv, 
 
 '>W. PINKNEY. 
 
 " The balance of my books I wish to go to the parish lilirary of St. Luke's 
 Church, Bladensl)urg. But remember, you come first. There are some books 
 that Mr. Everstield gave to me : you will note them by the fact that they do 
 not bear my name. These I wish to go to the parish here. Some of my 
 books are in my room in Washington." 
 
 He had but little else of earthly goods to give or bequeath to 
 any one. As his quarterly salary was received, he reserved just
 
 LIFE OF 15ISH01- I'lNKNKV. '{^U 
 
 enougli for his own plain ami ('coiiDinic supjidit, ami diHiu-nHod 
 all the rest in acts of beuelicence, chicHy iu hclpino- t,, „i!il«- up 
 deficiencies in the salaries of the rural clerf,'}-. 
 
 The following- paragraphs from a commnnicatirni ]>iil»lisli«-.| in 
 one of the Church journals,* soon aftei- the Jiisliop's (Icatli, iiiidfr 
 the well-known initials, "J. S. L. " t {thf then rector of St. 
 John's Chuich, Georgetown, D. C), are here transciibed as ]iapi)ily 
 and justly illustrative of some of the Bishop's characteristicH : 
 
 "He stood squarely and firmly upon the platforni of the traditional 
 churchmanship of Maryland, and opjjosed d^' pa Hares from that standard, 
 but tolerated them as far as possible. That his opposition sometimes 
 became heated is not stran<i;e, for he had clear convictions and strong feel- 
 ings, and they were not always dealt with considerately or kindly by others. 
 Doubtless he did err now and then, but his was the" error of one bent on 
 serving the Church and not advancing a jiarty or himself. 
 
 " There were characteristics of the man that should be remembered and 
 admired. One of the most striking was his manliness. You saw it in liis 
 look, you heard it in his tones, yoii marked it in his actions. He was fonil 
 of being with men, of talking about what interested them, of speaking U> 
 them when he preached; he liked their sjxn-ts, if innoi-ent, and encouraged 
 boys to pxirsue them by giving his cimntenance to their games and hel])ing 
 them with his money. He once show-ed me a letter from the secretary of a 
 boat club at a Southern university asking that the clul) might be allnwcd to 
 take his name. He was manifestly pleased by the comjiliment, but declined 
 it in a letter that the boys of that club applauded, I am sure, when they 
 read it. This quality of manliness sometimes showed itself in his courage, 
 which was cool and unflinching, whether the danger that threatened was 
 physical or moral. It gave him that influence over men that made his 
 Washington rectorship so rich in fruits and surrounded his Ei)iscopal chair 
 with a band of able, true-hearted men, who would have died for th(>ir bishop. 
 This man would have been great anywhere as a leader of men — as a states- 
 man, as a lawyer, as a soldier. In learning, in eloquence, iu intellectual 
 acumen, he was surpassed by not a few, perhaps ; in true manliness he had few- 
 peers. 
 
 " With this attribute of character was allied another that seems dissimilar, 
 and yet is of the same quality — tenderness of heart. Bishop Pinkney's love 
 for children, for his clergy, for his friends, for the poor and distressed, was 
 ever manifesting itself in forms that needed no inter])reter. In no position 
 was this tenderness more conspiciiously or l)eautifully displayed than wlien 
 he suspected himself of having wrcmged a fellow-man, however slightly ; 
 then it twined like a vine around his oak-like courage. I wa.s once in 
 attendance upon a meeting of a small body of clergymen, at w-liose last meet- 
 ing the BishoiJ had been present, and had made some chance renuirk that 
 wounded the feelings of one of the clergy, a man very unlike the Bishi"]) 
 in Church views, but a cultured, clever, kindly gentleman. Few nf us 
 noticed the offence given at the f()iiuer gathering, and we were surprised to 
 hear that a letter was to be read to us from the Bishoj) in e.\i)lanation of tlie 
 matter. It was read. And such a letter! It frankly acknowledged the 
 haste of the words objected to, retracted them unqualifiedly, begged the 
 pardon of the party offended, and declared that where the offence was given, 
 there the writer wished his apology to be made. A junior and an inferior 
 
 * The Sotithsrn Churchman. 
 t Kev. Dr. J. S. Lindsay.
 
 360' LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 could not have been more affectionate, more frank, more considerate, and 
 more humble. The genial, warm-hearted man who was the other party to 
 this affair made this comment, exhibiting the deepest emotion in voice and 
 manner : ' The words, the opinions, or the actions of the writer of that letter 
 may sometimes be wrong, l)ut it is imjjossible for the man himself ever to 
 be anything but right.' 
 
 " The Bishop's generosity was as well known to his friends as any other 
 quality of his chai'acter. He had a good income, and he sjient it all, but he 
 lived most simply, and gave to others the most that he received. Presents 
 delicately made to friends in need, gifts of beaiity to those with whom he 
 was thrown in social relations, contributions in various forms to schools and 
 colleges, large, liberal, regular offerings to general charities, and to the 
 Church of GOD. He often put down his subscription with that of the man 
 of large fortune ; they were parallel and equal. All this was quietly done, 
 but so constant and so broad and deep and full was the stream of his charity 
 that it could not be concealed. Ah ! fi-om how many a bare rectory in this 
 diocese does the praise of the good Bishop's generosity ascend. I once heard 
 a friend expostulate with him for his too lavish expenditures for others. He 
 replied : ' I do this not from transient impulse, but on principle and by 
 policy. I discovered in early life that selfishness was one of my besetting 
 sins, and I resolved to conquer it. This is my way of executing that resolu- 
 tion.' 
 
 " Much more might be written even in a newspaper sketch of the Bishop. 
 But I will mention but one more of his traits, that any acquaintance must 
 have noticed — his industry. He studied early in the morning and late at 
 night : he wrote almost innumerable letters : he was seemingly a ceaseless 
 traveller in his ei^iscopal duties, and he was always ready to i^reach. His 
 work was simply enormous. Three sermons on Sunday were not an unusual 
 task for him, with other arduous incidental duties, and on week-days his 
 labors were only a little less. 
 
 " If, by accident, he had an unoccuiiied Sunday, he would offer to preach 
 for some overworked clergyman, and would preach. 
 
 " I have known him to write three sermons in one week while taking his 
 brief summer vacation at a watering-place. If he was reminded of his need 
 of rest, he would playfully say, ' Better wear out than rust out.' 
 
 " One of his most intimate friends has said, ' He may have died of work, 
 but he would have died sooner if he had given up work.' How fitting his 
 end I He died in the harness, as he would have wished, preaching on the 
 night before his death. Literally, ' he ceased at once to work and live.' The 
 weary worker enjoys the rest in Paradise that he denied himself on earth. 
 ' His works do follow him.' 
 
 "J. S. L." 
 
 The paper following, unsolicited and volunteered, came to the 
 writer from 'the reverend rector of St. Peter's Church, Baltimore ; 
 and it is here inserted because it shows how a character like 
 Bishop Pinkney's, and an administration such as marked his Epis- 
 copate, could command the confidence and secure the heartiest 
 commendations of those who might not fully harmonize with his 
 stricter views of Church organization and polity. Bishop Pinkney 
 loved the Church because he believed that her whole system of 
 doctiinal teaching, sacramental ordinances, liturgic service, and 
 ministerial organization, as contained in the prayer book, was 
 thoroughly Scrij^tural and in conformity with what was taught 
 and held in the Church of the Apostolic and primitive age. He
 
 LIFE OF Itlsilol' I'lNKNKV. :U\] 
 
 well knew that there were, ami hiul hIwuvs hccn, vuivin^' vwwh 
 as to the relative importance and promiiicnc*' ti) Ix- altm-lu-<l to 
 parts iu that complex system of Chiircli dnctrines and ccclcKias- 
 tical order. There was nothinj,', liowcvcr, in his clinrchnianship 
 that precluded him from hearty sympathy with all «'anicHt work 
 ers in the communion of the Church. Stron-^dy as he coiKh-iuiicd 
 the ritual teachings and practices, he could yet appicciutc the 
 motives and zeal of those Avho, as he hclicved, were erriiiglv and 
 hurtfully brinoing discord into the Church in her great work of 
 })reaching the Gospel and bringing souls into blessed union with 
 CHRIST. And if he seemed specially drawn towards tluise 
 whose strong evangelic principles led them to take less stringent 
 views than his own, in regard to the ordinances of tlie Church 
 and the order of the divine services, it was because he felt the 
 I^re-eminent importance of the jilainest and most urgent presen- 
 tation of the great essential truths and duties of the Gospel. In 
 his Catholic sjDirit and broad sympathies he could compreheml 
 and feel the j^ower of love and the need of closer union among 
 Christians, both spiritual and organic, for the one essential fuith 
 of the Gospel and tlie fultilmeiit by the Church of ln'r di\ine 
 commission for the conversion of the world. 
 
 The Rev. Dr. J. E. Grammer's pajjer is as follows : 
 
 •' Bishop PiNKNEY was well known to me in the early years of my miiiiHtry 
 in Washington, my native eity. His bearim,', as a minister nf t!HUIST ami 
 a zealous clergyman of the Chiireh, always imj)ress('(l me so as to win my 
 respect and contidence. As the rector of the Church of the .\scensinn. Iiy liix 
 success iu reviving that church, and in gathering around him a hand of i-ar- 
 nest workers, he became prominent among the clergy of Maryland. His 
 manners were genial and attractive, ami his social gifts contrilmted largely 
 to his pastoral efficiency. His ministry among the poor, as well as those of 
 high degree, was distinguished for its sympathetic sincerity. Enjoying the 
 advantage of a name whose prestige was a ])assport to any society, he was 
 noticeably a man of unambitious mien and unaffected simidicity of sjiirit. 
 The clergy honored him with their <'ontidence in his wise and eaiitious eon- 
 servatism by electing him to the Standing Committee and to the (Jeneral 
 Convention, in which responsible jjositions he long served the diocese. He 
 was distinguished for practical and jdiilanthropic enteri)rise, in efforts to 
 relieve the orphan, and the lonely an<l alfiicted. His pulpit gave uo uncer- 
 tain sound, and he was a faithful dispenser of the word, and a minister of 
 mercy to the distressed; with a decided lovt> for iiis Church, lie was not so 
 blinded by prejudice as not to recognize tlie claim U]»cin his fordiai respect 
 and reverence of all who honored and magnitied CHRIST. His love for tlie 
 highest exhibition of ehxpuMice and learning often led him to the Semite and 
 the Supreme Court to stiuly the best models of the great art of convincing and 
 persuasive speaking. The fame and name of his renowned relative luwu- 
 ciated him with those gifts which are the most to be coveted by a minister 
 of CHRIST, next to the endowment of the Holy Cihost. 
 
 " He was valiant in his defence of the truth, and zealous of the order ami 
 worship of his Church. When clothed with the office of a Rishop. he united 
 decision with gentleuess, and was everywhere loved and admired for his 
 qualities of heart, as well as the rich furniture of his mind. His Episcopate 
 was of brief duration, compared with that of his imm.-diate predecetwor.
 
 362 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 but it was ' rich in good works,' and exercised a most wholesome restraint 
 upon tendencies to false theories of religion and of its institutional forms. 
 A lover of books, a man of poetic taste, and, above all, in accord with the 
 beautiful and pure and true in nature and in art, he drew to himself many 
 fi'iends, and won to the Chiirch loyal sous and servants in her benevolent 
 ministries. His generosity e.xceeded the capacity of his purse, and his sym- 
 pathies were identified with the whole work of the Church. Especially will 
 his warm intei-est in the Virginia Theological Seminary be long remembered, 
 as he encouraged the postulants of his diocese to seek the advantages of 
 that sacred school of the prophets, which has been a nursing mother to many 
 a missionary and herald of the Cross at home and abroad. In this connec- 
 tion he will be associated with Meade and Johns and Heushaw, and the 
 distinguished layman, Francis Key. 
 
 " There have been other Bishops in Maryland eminent for learning, elo- 
 quence, and administrative gifts, but the name of William Pinkney will be 
 second to none for those equalities which lead men in loyal and loving devo- 
 tion to each other as having a common cause, one Master, one faith, and one 
 sjiirit. Full of labors, he sank to rest, just after deiDicting the blessedness 
 of the departed in CHRIST. Over his grave the munificent fi'iendship of 
 his devoted parishioners has placed a statue, whose solid and pure marble is 
 the fit symbol of his strong and unstained character. 
 
 " As the generations of the sons of Maryland shall from time to time visit 
 his grave, they will pause with reverent step and uncovered brow to recall 
 the testimony of the unfailing word, that ' the righteous shall be held in 
 everlasting remembrance.' "
 
 A PP KN I) I \ 
 
 The coiTespondeiu-e here given, referred to in tlie text. l)#'tweeu 
 Dr. Pinkney and Bishop AVhittingliani, during the wiir. in the 
 years 1862 and 18()8, is phiced in this A}>pen(hx, not to revive any 
 old feeHngs or issues, ecclesiastical, of that ])ainful period, ('oii- 
 trary to his usual custom. Dr. Pinkney carefully copied, luhelled, 
 and filed the letters of this correspondence, as th<iugh he thought 
 there might be future occasion to publish it for his own vindica- 
 tion in the matters of dispute or cont)(>versy between himself and 
 the Bishop touching the rights of the Presbyterate and tin- pre- 
 rogatives of the Episcopate. Happily, the strained relations 
 between himself and his Diocesan jjassed away, and when Dr. 
 Pinkney became the Assistant Bisho]) of the Diocese the intt-r- 
 course between himself and the Senior Bishop was of the most 
 cordial character. Actuated by one spirit of accord and dev(»tion 
 to duty, they gave themselves unitedly and heartily to the great 
 work of the Episcopate. 
 
 Blfihnp WhittingJmm to the lieverend William Pinkuij/. 1). I)., Itn-t.'V ••j' 
 Ascension Parinh, Wfixfiinffton, I). ( '. 
 
 Reverend and Dear Brother: In accordance with S. XIV, ('iiiinn \'.\, 
 Title I, of the Digest, I tran.smit to yon the enchised prayer fur nse in your 
 parish on all occasions of pnljlic worship, within eij^ht days foUowin^j the 
 Sunday after yoiir receipt of this letter. 
 
 And ain, faithfnllv anil aflcctionatelv. v<mr friend and hrotlnT. 
 WILLIAM llOLLIXSOX WHITTINOHAM. 
 
 Iiixhop of Marylanrl. 
 Baltimore, March Xoth, 1862. 
 
 A Prayer of Thankngiciufj for Late ViHoriex. 
 
 O Almighty God, the Sovereign Ccnnmander of all the world, in whose 
 hand is power and might, which none is ahle to withstand: we liless and 
 magnify Thy great and glorious Name for the happy successes which Thou 
 hast of "late vouchsafed in so many instances to the arms of this nation, ami 
 more especially for the deliverance of this city and District from tin- terrors 
 of blockade and siege. And we beseech Thee, give to us and to all this 
 people grace to use this great mercy shown toward us to Thy glory, the 
 advancement of Thy Gospel, the honour of our country, an<l. as nnicli a.s in 
 ns lioth, the good of all mankind. Stir up our hearts, () Lonl, to a true 
 thankfulness, such as may api)ear in our lives by a humble, holy, und 
 obedient walking before Thee all our days; through Jesus Christ, our \^>u\, 
 to whom, with Thee, O Father, and Thee, O Holy (Jhost, as for all Thy 
 mercies, so in particular for these victories and this deliverance, be all glory 
 and honour, world without end. Amen. 
 
 nc.;t
 
 364 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 Bishop Mliittinghnm to J. Louis Cluhh. Esq., Register of Ascension Parish, 
 Washington, D. C 
 
 Deak Sir : I beg leave to acknowledge the receipt, this morning, of your 
 note, bearing date of the 6th, and enclosing a copy of a document extracted 
 from the Journal of the Vestry of Ascension Parish, and {purporting to be a 
 protest against certain procedures of the Government of the United States 
 of America. 
 
 That document bearing date of the Ifith of June last, its transmission to 
 me at this time, is, in my apprehension, unnecessary and inconsequential. 
 
 I shall, therefore, not trouble the rector and vestry with any opinion 
 concerning the contents of the document transuiitted", except on a single 
 point, in which my own official relations with that body appear to be con- 
 cerned. 
 
 Toward the close of the paper I find the following sentence : 
 
 " Our worship has been conducted in all respects according to the usages 
 and rubrics of the Church and the canons by her enacted. Ignoring every 
 other thing, we have kept it free from political taint." 
 
 If I am to understand this language in its natural, obvious meaning, I shall 
 have to rejoice in its explicit contradiction of an unhappy rumour, largely 
 circulated in the public prints, to the effect that my canonical provision and 
 prescription of a form of prayer for use in public worship had been wilfully 
 and flagrantly disregarded by the rector of Ascension Parish, in violation 
 of his ordination vows and canonical obligations, and that in so doing he 
 had been sustained by the vote of the vestry of the parish. 
 
 If such had been the case, it would have been with an ill grace that the 
 rector and vestry of Ascension Parish appealed to the consecration of their 
 Church as a ground of immunity from application to purposes of govern- 
 mental use in relieving the sick and suffering, when they themselves would 
 have been the first to violate the solemn pact by which the building had 
 been set apart to the worship of God according to ihe laws and usages of the 
 Church, and to desecrate it in the worst of ways by making it a public and 
 notorious visible symbol of rebellious proclivities, seditiously manifesting 
 ■disloyalty to the power ordained of God, in the refusal to render that power 
 a service expressly prescribed by His Holy Word. 
 
 As the rector and vestry of Ascension Parish do not ajjpear to have had 
 any call to introduce the mention of the usages, rubrics, and canons of the 
 Church, and the disclaimer of political taint, beside the purpose of refuting 
 prevalent rumours to the contrary, I am bound, construing their actions in 
 courtesy and good faith, to accept it as their denial of those rumours, of the 
 truth of which no evidence has ever been laid before me, to require investi- 
 gation by judicial process. 
 
 I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 WILLIAM KOLLINSON WHITTINGHAM, 
 
 Bishop of Maryland. 
 
 Baltimoee, August 8th, 18G2. 
 
 Bev. Br. Pinkney to Bishop Whittingham. 
 
 August 18th, 1862. 
 Right Rev. Sir : I regret the necessity which is imposed upon me of re- 
 plying to the letter you addressed to the register of Ascension Parish, dated 
 August 8th, for it seems t(j me well-nigh impossible to answer it fully and 
 without reserve, without pursuing a line of argument that a presbyter would 
 gladly avoid in correspondence with a bishop of the Church. But you have 
 left me no alternative.
 
 APPENDIX. 305 
 
 The transmissiou of a respectful inotest (a mere fact in tlic history of r«.. 
 cent transactions in the parish), not for your criticism or o]tiiiioii, l.iit ^..l-lv 
 
 for the purpose of informinji you of what lia<l transjtireil. is made l)i , 
 
 sion of an exhibiticm of feeling,' which the occasion did not call for. I ii. 
 portion of the protest whicii is made the ostensible v;ruund<if your Ktrictur«-H 
 was contained substantially in my letter to the ])rov..st marshal and com- 
 municated to you months a^co. It does not seem to have ])roduced on v<>nr 
 mind nt that time the impression which you now regard as " its nalural, ob. 
 vioiis meauinj,'." It was introduced into the protest for the same reason that 
 induced me to insert it into my letter to the jn-ovost nuirshal, viz., to inf-.rm 
 those who may come after me that my mode of crmductin^ the services had 
 been in accordance with the rubrics and canons, and it is surprisiuj^ to me 
 that human ingeiuiity ct)uld iuvi-nt any other. 
 
 Aft erdesitj;natin,i^ the rumor which youstate was larj,'ely circulated in no very 
 measured terms, you i^u on to say that you are bound in courtesy and ^ond 
 faith to accept our language as a denial t)f those rumors: and yet you taunt 
 us with the ill-grace (if I may be excused for using your language) of »j). 
 pealing to the consecration of our church as a ground of immunity from ap- 
 plication to purposes of governmental use, in case we had been guilty of the 
 deed charged. If you really regarded the passage y<ju cite as a denial of 
 the truth of the rumor, it is difficult to understand ir}ii/ yim indulged in that 
 bitter strain, which bears so strongly marked on its face an air of irony. 
 What I did as a presljyter of tin.' Church on the occasion referred to I never 
 sought to conceal. It was done jjublicly and inthe l)r<iad face of day. It 
 was done advisedly. It was made know-n by me to the members of the 
 Standing Committee unoflBcially, and I never doubted for a moment that you 
 were fully apprised of it. It was charged upon me by the public jirints in 
 almost every part of the country, and in terms distressingly like those em- 
 ployed by yourself, and was never deniedhy me. What you call your canon- 
 ical prescription I did not consider canonical. 
 
 You cited the law on which you rested your authority and my obedience. 
 I examined the law, and satisfied myself that it authorized no smdi act : and 
 in this 1 took time for consultation — time which your telegram would not 
 have allowed me had it not been providentially ordered that it should fail of 
 its lightning speed. I consulted, in Baltimore and Washington, gentlemen 
 learned in the law, and they fully sustained me in my interpretation of the 
 canon. One of the ablest canonists in the diocese, a strong su])i)orter of the 
 Government, wrote to me, without consultation on my part, in thorough 
 su^jport of the view I took of the siibiect, and, singular to state, based his 
 constriiction, totideni vei'/jix. on the very same grounds. 
 
 With this array of authority, and an honest conviction of the correctness 
 of my construction of the law, I determined on my course, and omitted the 
 prayer, and I resi:)ectfully suggest that my failure to use it was not the wilful 
 and flagrant violation of my ordination vows and c-anonical obligations, nor 
 " the public and notorious visilile symbol of rebellious ))roclivities, sedi- 
 tiously manifesting disloyalty to the powers ordained of God," unless, in- 
 deed, it be assiimed that your judgment of the law is law, and that l)ishops 
 have only to ordain and presbyters only to obey. My obedience was 
 pledged to the bishop in reference to acts based on the canon law just in so 
 far as those acts are in accordance with the terms of the canon, and no far- 
 ther. You did not predicate your order upon your Godly admonitions, and 
 for the best of all reasons, because you knew that your power to ])repareand 
 transmit a prayer was derived solely from the canon. If it be argueil that 
 my refusal to use the prayer carried with it the resjionsibility of a present- 
 ment for trial, none knew' it better than myself and none were more willing 
 to meet it. That I omitted the prayer was known to the diocese and the 
 country. 
 
 The 'late convention knew it perfectly well. If you were in doubt, you
 
 366 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 had nothing to do biat to make the inquh-y of me personally, which was no 
 novel mode of procedure, or else arraign me under the canon whose repeal 
 you so strenuously opposed in May last. 
 
 I repel the charge that the rumor subjected me to any such offensive de- 
 nunciation, as you by innuendo employ in the description of my sujjposed 
 act. 
 
 The rumor irax that I omitted the 'prayer. All else was the constructive 
 treason to the Church and State, which was assumed as proved, and imputed 
 to me by those who were as little versed in the canons as they were in the 
 gentle courtesies of the Gospel. I claim to have acted according to the law. 
 I believed that the course I pursued was in all respects right and proper. 
 I believe so still. If I erred in my construction of the canon, or indulged a 
 baseless dream of the imagination in supposing that I had a right, when a 
 law was presented to me as the basis of an act which I was required to do, 
 to look into it and examine it for myself, it was my misfortune, and mine 
 was the responsibility. But where in such a case is the wilfulness and fia- 
 grancy of the act ? I take final leave of this corresijondence thus painfully 
 forced upon me. I have never written against a bishop hut to his face, and 
 not even then until I have been wrongfully assailed. I would now gladly 
 hold my peace if I could. But I cannot permit such language as you use. in 
 writing to my vestry concerning an act of mine, which I believe to be canon- 
 ical and proper, even by innuendo, to pass without an unequivocal protesta- 
 tion of my innocence, and the denial of the justness of the charge. To arraign 
 me before my peers is your prerogative. But to speak of me or any rumored 
 act of mine, even by innuendo, in such language as yovi employ to my vestry, 
 without confronting me with my peers, is outside of your prerogative. Your 
 letter will be j^laced on the parish record. Mine by a vote of the vestry will 
 be jDlaced alongside of it. I cheerfully abide the judgment that will be passed 
 upon it. I am fullj' conscious of my many infirmities, but the wilful and 
 flagrant violation of my ordination vows and the desecration of the house of 
 God in the worst of ways is nor, one of them. 
 
 I deeply regret that a bishop, whom I have always obeyed in all his law- 
 fi;l commands, whose wishes I have always consulted, and to whom I have 
 never been wanting in Christian courtesy, should think himself justified in 
 si;pposing me capable of denying by indirection a deed I never directly dis- 
 owned; or that, assuming to himself the right to construe canons at his pleas- 
 ure, he should deny me the privilege of an honest difference of opinion, 
 while he charges without trial as a crime that which I hold to be just and 
 right. 
 
 One word upon the delaj' in the transmission of the protest, which has 
 already been sufficiently explained. The delay was not material, as the pro- 
 test was not intended for the Government. They were too speedy in their 
 action for it to be of any avail. The church building was seized without 
 notice, and I did not hear of it iintil late on Saturday night, and on Sunday 
 morning I found a number of carpenters at work within its consecrated walls 
 transforming it into a permanent hospital. Our jjrotest, a vain and useless 
 act, so far as the Government was concerned, was intended for the Christian 
 world, to be the after-witness to the fact that we had not assented to the 
 desecration ; and it surprises me to hear a bishop of the Church declare that 
 the transmission of that fact to him is deemed by him to be unmeaning and 
 inconsequential. 
 
 Yours respectfully, 
 
 WILLIAM PINKNEY. 
 
 Eight Kev. W. K. Whittixgh.\m, D. D., LL. D., 
 
 Baltimore, Maryland.
 
 AiM'KNDix. :{(;? 
 
 Bixliop Whittingham to Rererfiul WitUmn I'inkiny, I). />.. l{,ft„r of tl,r 
 Parixh of the AKCeu-siou, Wnxhiiujtoi, Citj/, J)Mrkt of Coliimfua. ' 
 
 Reverend and Deau Siu : It is no doulit a jvist suhject of oomtuoii rt-gri't 
 
 that such coirospondcncf as ours shouM In- ncccssiiry. It i», thiTofon*. tht> 
 more j,'ratifyin^ to inc that it is not of my orij,'iiiatioii. 
 
 After the transmission of my canonical communication uf thi- I'lth of 
 March, which went to the rector of Ascension Parish, in common with every 
 other chn\tj;yman ofWciating in the District of I'ohimliia, l>y onlimiry courne 
 of mail (the transmission only l)eiug notified by telef^raph;, I nuidi' no in- 
 quiry aliout its reception or the course of action of those to whom it hud 
 been sent. 
 
 I saw, with sorrow, statements in the public prints seriously coniprnniiHin^; 
 the character of some of my brethren, but deemed that no sufficient call to 
 institute otticial investii^aticms. 
 
 My attention was first directed to Ascension Parish by a communication 
 from the parish itself, occasioned by an act in which I had no jiarticipatioii, 
 and made when any interference of mine, if it had l)een desired, must have 
 been useless on account of the lapse of time. 
 
 As it was plain that the reason of this direction of my attention to the 
 affairs of the parish could not be the desire of official interposition. I wum 
 forced to infer the wish to bring to my notice the antagonism bi-twrcn the 
 a\ithorities of the parish and those of the Ignited States (lovernment. 1 
 therefore, in reply, intimated the possibility of an occasion given for the 
 action complained of Ijy the parish authorities, and, by assigning as a rea.sou 
 for expressing no judgment on the subject my want of authentic informu- 
 tion, challenged its communication. This left it with the vestry of Ascen- 
 sion Parish to open or avoid investigation. To do at least that mm-h wii-s 
 made incumbent on me by a clause in one of the documents laid liefon- me. 
 which, while I thought it either inaccurate in expression or else suscei)tible 
 of an unfavorable construction, as evasive, could not be understood other- 
 wise than as alluding to public reports concerning a difference between the 
 course in Ascension Parish and that in some other i)arishes in the District 
 on an occasion then recent. 
 
 " The services of the church," the rector told the provost marshal, •' have 
 heretofore proceeded in the manner ai)pointed by the canons of tlie diocese." 
 It was publicly bruited throughout the country that on the two Sundays 
 next before the day when that sentence was written the services in .\scension 
 Church had not i^roceeded in the manner })rescribed by the bishoj) of the 
 diocese. The sentence, therefore, might either mean that the jmblic rumour 
 was (as such things often are) unfounded, or else that in disregarding the 
 prescription of the bishop there had been no violation of the canons of the 
 diocese. 
 
 Now the last assertion, although true in the letter, would have been a 
 mere evasive subterfuge, as addressed to an otHcer of the United States. l)e- 
 cause the bishop's action had been based upon the canons, not of the di<)- 
 cese, but of the digest of the laws of the Church in the ITnited States. 
 
 It was due to the writer to discard .such iuterpretati<m of his meaning and 
 to accept his language, although inaccurate, as intended to signify an ad- 
 herence to all the laws and regulations V)y which members of tin- Protestant 
 Episcopal Church are bound. Then it was left me only to take the mean- 
 ing to be exculpatory of the parish in the sense of contradiction of the pub- 
 lic riimours. 
 
 I was not to suppose that the rector of the parish could, without any i)re- 
 vious communication of objection or remonstrance to the bishoj) himself. 
 arraign his bishop before a military officer as a violator of the law of the 
 Church ; still less that the vestrv of the parish could, after like sdence on 
 their part, adopt the arraignment and. without call for such i-rocedure, gra-
 
 368 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 tuitously thrust it upon the notice of the bishop. Refusing such construc- 
 tion of their course, it remained to nie only, by intimation of possible occa- 
 sion for the action of the United States authorities complained of by the 
 vestry and of want on my part of authentic information conceiming such 
 occasion, to afford the vestry an opportimity of complaint, if they had any, 
 against my own former action, their resistance to which, it was publicly 
 rumoured, had drawn to them the attention of the provost marshal. I did 
 so, and I did nothing more. The vestry did not see fit to offer any explana- 
 tion, and no information affecting the Parish of the Ascension was laid be- 
 fore me from any other quarter having claims on my official notice. After 
 the lapse of more than three months, in which no communication had been 
 made to me by or concerning the rector or vestry of Ascension Parish, and 
 nothing had been done by me in any way concerning either, I received a 
 formal communication from the vestry directing my attention to action taken 
 by it nearly three months before. I there find a reiteration of the preten- 
 sion which had attracted my notice in the earlier correspondence sent for 
 my insj)ection, but in a very different form. Instead of merely claiming that 
 " the services of the church had heretofore proceeded in the manner ap- 
 pointed by the canons of the diocese," the vestry now called my attention 
 to an assertion that their " worship had been conducted in all respects ac- 
 cording to the usages and rubrics of the Church and the canons by her en- 
 acted," and that, "ignoring every other thing," "they had kept it" (the 
 church Iniilding) "free from political taint." 
 
 The pul)licly rumoured charge against the rector and vestry of Ascension 
 Parish had been that they had defiled their church with the " taint " of 
 seditious proclivities, by making its worship on two successive Sundays an 
 open declaration of dissent from the prevalent thankfulness for recent bless- 
 ings on the arms of the United States in war waged against rebellion. 
 
 The thankfulness, from which they were thus charged with dissenting, had 
 found expression in an official provision, put forth in alleged conformity with 
 expressly cited canonical legislation. Neither rector nor vestry had ever 
 given the bishop any kind of intimation that they took objection to the 
 claim of canonical authority for the official action with reference to which 
 they had been charged with disobedience indicative of disloyalty. Could 
 he, then, in his official capacity, on the receipt of such an official communi- 
 cation, put any other construction on the language of the vestry than that 
 of denial of the rumours that had prevailed ? Yet, in an unofficial way, I 
 had heard too much not to have reason to be cautious lest advantage might 
 at some time hereafter be made of silent acquiescence in these claims thus 
 repeatedly, and for some set purpose, forced on my attention. On the first 
 occasion an inaccurate and apparently evasive assertion had only called for 
 expression of doubt and insutficient information on my part. 
 
 On the second, the changed form of th? pfatement called for a distinct ex- 
 pression of my understanding of its purport, lest its acceptance in silence 
 should hereafter be alleged as acquiescence in a very different meaning. 
 Siich is the explanation of what you object to, as " innuendo," " irony," &c. 
 You ap])ear to have forgotten that the Bishop of Maryland, in dealing with 
 the authorities of any of his parishes, is limited to strictly official grounds of 
 inference as well as action. 
 
 He may express his opinion of a hypothetical case, when he has reason to 
 fear that silence would be construed as connivance ; but he is bound to 
 distinguish between the facts officially before him and such possible alter- 
 native. 
 
 With regard to the language used in my late letter, you are under a two- 
 fold misapprehension. 
 
 1. The epithets " wilful " and " flagrant " were adopted as part of the un- 
 ha^jpy rumour, largely circulated, which you admit did preA'ail in almost 
 every part of the country in terms distressingly like those employed by
 
 APPENDIX. 309 
 
 me. By rolu'iiisiii^' thciii. I did iii-t iidc.).t tli.-iii ..tluTwiHo than a*, .-x. 
 IJi-essive of the fact thiit smh cnustnictiiin liad Imm-ii i»m uimn vour hUci^i-iI 
 action. 
 
 You now vohmtarily justify that cnnstiuctii.ii, alh.wanci' ln-in^; niadi- f..r 
 difference of regard l)y Dliscrvers in diaiMi-trically ojijKisite jiuintH nf virw. 
 
 What h)yal news-writers re])resented as •• wilful." yi>u avow as '• d<iii)< ml. 
 visedly," of set puri)ose after deliberation. What they eonipluined of ju» 
 " flagrant," you own as " d(me jmblicly in the broad face of day." I j^eatly 
 prefer your own characterization of your action : but, until you had made 
 it, I had no ri<^lit to assume its truthfulness by substitutin>.j it* for the shade 
 of another colour given by anonymous accusers. 
 
 Yoiir complaint of my language, in this resjject. tlier<'fore, is unfounded. 
 
 2. In suggesting that your " failure to use " the prescribed jjrayer " was 
 not" "the public and notoricnis visible symbol of rebellious prodivitieH," 
 &c., you show a misconception of the part of my letter from which those 
 words are qiioted. applying to your own action what I said in reference to 
 the effect upon the material building of the whole alleged joint action of tlie 
 rector, vestry, and congregation. After such action limited throughout the 
 land, a stranger in Washington w<mld hardly pass through H stn-ct without 
 looking upon the church of which the rector, vestry, and congregation would 
 rather violate a canon and piit an affront upon their bishoj), than join in 
 thanksgiving for the deliverance of the capital from protracted siege ami 
 blockade as a very telling " visible symbol " of the state of mind which alone 
 could be supi^osed to have proni})ted such procedure. I now. for the first 
 time, learn authentically that your desecrated church was, indeed, tlnis made 
 a monitor of disaffection, at least in the construction of the large majority 
 of the community. It is of no avail that its rector and vestry should, iu 
 privately recorded protest, assert that they " have kept " their chundi " free 
 from jxilitical tiiint." 
 
 Their public- action had called public attention to their place of worshij* 
 as the j)lace of assemblage of those whom one of themselves, writing at the 
 time, with reference to this very suljject, declared to " symjiathize with tlie 
 South, and, when the proper time arrives (which is not far off ). will gravitate 
 to the South." 
 
 The community understood what you now avow to have Ijcen the action 
 of the authorities of Ascension Parish to be a designed indication of stich 
 sympathy with a rebellion then still pressing hard in open war, and not 
 only iipon the Government of the country Cthe one only power to which 
 under God the members of Ascension Parish had any pretension to owe 
 allegiance), but upon its very Capital, to the daily peril of the lives and 
 goods of its inhabitants. 
 
 Of such sympathy the house of God in your occupancy became to all men, 
 for the time, a visible symbol. Could it undergo a worse desecration? Iu 
 my statement of the resiilt of your conduct, when I received it a-s a hypothesis, 
 I can see nothing to amend, now that, unhappily, I have to accept it as a 
 fact. 
 
 Your complaint of " offensive denunciation." liecause I spoke of the alleged 
 action of the rector of Ascension Parish as " violative of his ordination vows 
 and canonical obligatitins," is unfounded. The breach of vows depends upon 
 the violation of the canons; the vow. so far as in the purview of mye.\i)re.H- 
 sion, being to the observation of the canon. I now for the tirst time authen- 
 tically learn that you regard my action in ])rescribing the form of prayer 
 which you refusecl to use as uncanouical, and not even yet am made aware 
 on what ground it is that you so regard it. I have no doubt of the strict 
 correctness of my coiirse. 
 
 Is the bishop to assume, in every instance of what he considers ]ilain 
 violation of canon, that there is no such violation, so long as the presbyter 
 differs from him in opinion ?
 
 370 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY, 
 
 Is the law no law because the presbyter thiuks it none ? You had given 
 me no notice of your denial of my ground of action. For aught that you 
 had done to inform me— for aught that I could possibly know officially — 
 your course was taken in quiet contempt, as much of the canon as of my 
 construction of it. However conscientiously taken, with whatever purity 
 of motive, or exalted dignity of intention, such a course in one subject to 
 oversight can only be regarded by the official overseer as breach of law. As 
 such he is bound to treat it. in speech or action, whenever it may be brought 
 before his notice. 
 
 It has now, therefore, become my undesired and unwelcome duty to laj^ 
 your case before the Standing Committee of the Diocese, as one requiring 
 the attention of the accredited guardians of the law. The sufferance of your 
 course, after its avowal by you. would become the acknowledgment of what 
 I utterly disbelieve — my own liability to accusation for transgression of the 
 just limits of official action. While I could ignore your course, I was per- 
 fectly content to leave the case for quiet decision by the public opinion of 
 the Chvirch. But now that I find myself persistently called upon by silence 
 to confess a wrong, or else to lie under imputation of abuse when I assert 
 my right, appeal to judicial decision becomes compiilsory. 
 
 I purposely waive side questions imported into your letter. You have 
 imputed to me both admission of principle and action which I utterly dis- 
 avow : but they have nothing to do with the question of right in this matter, 
 and I desire to avoid useless discussion. For the same reason I take no 
 notice of your mention of action by other than the immediate parties in this 
 sad affair, on which I might otherwise have much to offer in the way of 
 comment. 
 
 I am. reverend and dear sir, in all faithfulness and true Christian love, 
 vour friend and brother, 
 
 WILLIAM EOLLINSON WHITTINGHAM, 
 
 Bishop of Maryland. 
 
 Baltimore, August 2'M, 1862. 
 
 Di'. Pinkney to Biihop Whittingham. 
 
 August 29, 1862. 
 
 Eight Keverexd Sie : I did not intend to trespass further upon your time, 
 but there are some things in your letter of August 23 which imperatively 
 demand a passing notice. 
 
 You speak of the gratification you derive from the reflection that this cor- 
 respondence is not of your origination. I persuade myself that the sequel, 
 with what has gone before, will prove that it is not of my origination. You 
 say that your letter, transmitting your canonical communication of March 
 15'. went by ordinary course of mail, the transmission only being notified by 
 telegraph. But surely when it is remembered that the 1.5th of March was 
 Saturday, and that the prayer was ordered to be used the Sunday following, 
 and that Baltimore is only a few miles distant from Washington, and that I 
 w^as in Baltimore the Wednesday before at a meeting of the Standing Commit- 
 tee, who were your lawful advisei-s, it will be seen that no time was intended 
 to be given for either deliberation or consultation, but that telegraph despatch 
 was to render action, on the spur of the moment, necessary. You say that 
 you saw with sorrow statements in the public prints, seriously compromis- 
 ing the character of "some of your l)rethren." Those statements met my 
 eye also. 
 
 The omission to use the prayer put forth was connected with the most 
 offensive denunciations and imputations of motive. A violation of canon, 
 assumed as proved, was charged upon me. Terms of reproach were hurled
 
 APPENIJIX. .{71 
 
 with the utmost freedom by those tmoiiyinous ncws-wiitirs. to wlmin %..» 
 refer elsewhere. And the hisho]) of the diu<-ese was cuiitfiitrd tti eiijnv lh<> 
 praise that was awarded to him. while hr perused, without oiu- word of Vmiij. 
 meut or remouslrance, these imputations cast upon Ills brethren. Wlien th« 
 provost marshal took formal military possession of my elnireli. I t<ild him 
 that there was uo reason t<j ai)i»rehend the disturlmnee of tlie jieuee, Ihm-uuhu 
 nothing had been done to justify it ; tliat the services were in conf<irniity 
 with the law, in my honest belief. In this I did not seek to arriii^Mi you he. 
 fore the military authorities, unless the simple assertion tliat, in n>y "view of 
 the canon. 1 was not recpiired to use the prayer put fortli. bean arraignment. 
 I was the person whom the press had held up to scorn and politii-al abuse in 
 a matter that only cimcerned the canon law of the Clnin-li. I acti-d solely 
 on the defensive. Y(m yourself admit that you saw statements seriously 
 comprisinsj; the character of some of your brethren : and yet yoji allowed 
 these statements to remain without one word of e.xphmation. whi-n the only 
 point at issue was the supposed infraction of the canon, and could be only 
 fairly viewed in that light. Was I to remain (piiet and utter no word in >elf. 
 defence when the armed ])ossession of my church by military autlioritv be- 
 came a fixed fact ? A military autliority which, in a countiy liki- onrs. wliere 
 the Church and State are happily independent of each other. i-oul<l hardlv 
 be supposed capable of punishing an net of diitobediencf to (tn trrltMi'tiMfiml 
 canon by military penaltif, although it had been, as \^m tell us, jmblicly 
 rumoured that our rexistance to your formal action had drawn the rittentiini 
 of the provoKt marshal to uh. 
 
 Your letter in reply to the communication of the fact of the military ]>os- 
 session of the church was not answered because its tone seemed to lis to 
 make it unadvisable. Your criticism of the language used by me in my let- 
 ter to the provost marshal (a letter that was not written without the aid of 
 the best counsel), w'herein I sjieak of the canons of the diocese. I pass by. 
 with the simple statement that, not being skilled in sixl)terfuge, nor given to 
 evasion, I thoiight the provost marshal would understand me t<» mean the 
 canons that were binding on the diocese. I merely stated to him my belief 
 that the ccmrse I ijursued was lawful. I did not assume to myself the 
 province of Judge. I do not now as.sume it. Nor did I use this language 
 until those statements, seriously com])romising my honor and integrity, had 
 been bruited through the land by anonymtms news-writei>, without one 
 word of sympathy or remonstrance from my bishop. You knew that the 
 canon law was the only thing at issue — that my offence, if offence I had com- 
 mitted, w^as the violation of the canon, and yet you permitted my name and 
 that of others of your brethren to be bruited' thnmgh the land, on charges of 
 another sort, and now you c(miplaiu that language used by me in self-defeuce 
 to the provost marshal and in the protest is my arraignment of you. 
 
 I have never thought that the violation of" canons, on whicli there is n 
 diversity of construction, was a proper cause for judicial j>rocess: and you 
 holdinVour possession proof positive that .such is my orticial opinion. I 
 would not consent to arraign an humblt> ])resbyter on such grounds. How. 
 then, could I desire to arraign my bishop ? All that I have done has been 
 done in sheer self-defence, with no view to the arraignment of anybody. 
 
 The misai)prehensi()n. under which yim say T lalior. I do not yet under- 
 stand. Y(m tell me that the epithets *'• wilful and flagrant." were adopted 
 as part of the " unhappy rumour largely circulated." etc., and that, by re- 
 hearsing them, vou " did not adopt them otherwise than as expressive of the 
 fact that such construction had been put upon your alleged action." Did 
 you not know that such epithets were the uncalled-for almse of a licentious 
 press, and that mv only ortenci' could have been the violation of canon law. 
 on the interpretation o'f which ycm might have known there was, to say the 
 least, a prevailing opinion the opposite of your own '; Sonn- of the members 
 of Trinity church, adopting my interpretation, or acting ujion it, published
 
 372 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 their dissent from the correctness of your construction of the law, and among 
 them is one of the first lawyers of the District, whose political opinions, as 
 far as I know, are coincident with your own. 
 
 I cannot express in words the surprise with which I read the following 
 succeeding paragraph : '' You now voluntarily justify that construction, 
 allowance being made for difference of regard by observers in a diamet- 
 rically opposite point of view. 
 
 ' • What loyal news-writers represented as wilful , you avow as done advisedly, 
 of set purpose, after deliberation. What they complain of as flagrant, you 
 avow as done publicly, in the broad face of day." 
 
 In reply, I affirm that I never acknowledged the censors of the secular 
 press as proper judges of the legality of the course of conduct pursued. 
 
 What they alleged was done by me, I deny was done at all ; and at the 
 time you penned the above you had my solemn denial before you. I omitted 
 the prayer. That is all I did. 
 
 When they affirmed that I irllfully mulnted the law, and from a mere 
 qiiestion of canonicity of action, on a point purely ecclesiastical, launched 
 out into a tirade of abuse, they uttered what I deny. 
 
 What \o\\ will gain by a rehearsal of this abuse, reijeated after solemn 
 protest from me, it is not for me to say. I had informed you that some of 
 the ablest lawyers in the Diocese, all of them skilled in canon law and de- 
 voted to the best interests of the Church, thought your rescript uucanonical. 
 Why you should prefer the characterization of my course by anonymous 
 news-wi'iters to those who are learned in the law it is not for me to decide. 
 I protest against an official act of mine in a matter purely ecclesiastical be- 
 ing mixed up with affairs of state. Youi rescript and my omission to use it 
 are the only points at issiie between us. You draw a picture of the feelings 
 that would rise up in the bosom of a stranger at the sight of the church on 
 H street, of which, to use your own language, the " rector, vestry, and con- 
 gregation would rather violate a canon and put an affront upon their bishop, 
 than join in thanksgiving for the deliverance of the Capital from protracted 
 siege and blockade," &c. I know what that stranger would have seen and felt, 
 if he had been led to enter it. He wotild have heard the rector, vestry, and 
 congregation praying as the bishop taught them, for those who are engaged 
 in the miserable strife that now distracts the land, and asking God to judge 
 between them ; while their thoughts were directed to the future eternal 
 world, and the Sabbath day was kejjt free from the ijrevailing excitement, 
 and made emphatically a day of rest. 
 
 I am contented to abide by the decision of the Standing Committee, to the 
 old members of which I communicated the gravamen of my offence, if of- 
 fence there be. But I deeply regret that the presentation of my case to the 
 ecclesiastical authorities for the omission to use a prayer, which I did not 
 believe the canon made obligatory, should proceed from a bishop who, in 
 case the legislature at its approaching session should decide on an imme- 
 diate secession of the State, authorized the clergy of the State of Maryland 
 to omit the President of the United States from the prayer for all in author- 
 ity, at a time when those authorities, who, he tells tis, are alone entitled to 
 our allegiance, were the authorities exercising rule over him and them. 
 
 I not less deeply regret that you were led to discard jowv own wise words 
 when you told tis " that we were commanded to live peaceably with all men, 
 to give no offence, neither to the Jew nor to the Gentile, nor to the Church 
 of God ; giving no offence in anything, that the ministry be not blamed." 
 Y'ou told us " that a great woe was denounced against him who shall offend 
 one of the Master's little ones," and you exhorted us to " let our prayers go 
 up Ijefore God in such form that all can join in them with a pure conscience 
 and single heart." 
 
 Animated by these great princijiles, which were enunciated by yourself, 
 and believing the canon did not compel me to i;se a form in painftU antago-
 
 APPENitix. :{7:{ 
 
 nimn to them. I kept silence; aud fur tliMt 1 am ik.w liillf.l in cju. . 
 
 yourself. I abido the ivpi)i'iil U, thf Staiidiii.^' Cuimiiitt f th.- lM.M.-.r. thi- 
 
 Hccredited j^niiirdiaiis nf tli.- law, Indon- win. in vim <-it<' me. Y.ui .jiL.t.- m 
 passage wliieh you say emanated fnMu one of ns. which r.-adH tlnm: "To 
 symi)athize with tlu' South, and. when the jji-ojxt time arrivi-s. whirh in not 
 far off, will gravitate to tli(> South." Tlie reetor and vestrv of .\se.'nHion 
 Parish stand in no way. direi-tly or indin-etly. conniTt.'d with thin pansa^i- 
 or its author. 
 
 All our communications bear our own signatures, and for thcni alone are 
 we responsible. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 WII.I.IA.M IM\K\r;V. 
 Right Rev'd W. K. Whittinoham, 
 
 J{/k/ii>P of Min-i/liiiiil. 
 
 liiKhop W/iitt/ufj/iam to Rev. Willium Pinknii/, D. I). 
 
 Reverend AND Dear Sir : Other matters have intervened to hin<l.'r my 
 earlier acknowledgment of your letter of August 2!lth. 
 
 My answer to your renewed coiii])laint about tlu- jiri'cipitani-y of my com- 
 munication of March 15th. and the alleged intention of the telegram aniioiine- 
 ing its di.spatch, needs only a single statement. On March lltli. the evacua- 
 tion of Manassas and its consequences became known. On the 12th. they 
 were puVdished in the papers at Baltimore and elsewheri". 
 
 On the 13th I was written to, and reijuested to furnish a form of tlianks- 
 giving for the recent victories, for the District of Columbia. 
 
 On the 14th I received the letters. I delil)erated, ami preferred to nnike 
 the deliverance from siege and blockade prominent in the thanksgiving, u." 
 the fruit of the victories, more directly of interest to the District, and les.s 
 likely to give umbrage to persons disloyally disposed. 
 
 On the 15th I sent the circular, and at the same time announced its send- 
 ing, that all to whom it was directed might be in possession of it on the first 
 Sunday after the deliverance. The sequence of occurrences \.'as natural and 
 not the result of any choice or j)urpose of mine. 
 
 Your complaint about want of time for deliberation is foiiuded on the as- 
 sumption of a right of which I can discover no trace in tlie canon on which 
 I acted. Y'our objection to my action, that it was taken without con.sultatiou 
 of the Standing Ci;)mmittee, which had met just befori-. is in many respects 
 ill taken. 
 
 1. The meeting of the Standing Committee took place just liefore my ac- 
 tion was called for. 
 
 2. I was in no way notified of the meeting of the Standing Committee- 
 still less of the views and dispositions of the members of that body concern- 
 ing the matter in question. 
 
 3. Nothing in the canon requires or intimates the propriety of such con- 
 sultation. 
 
 4. Outside oi the canon I know no such obligation or call t<i consultntiou 
 of the Committee as would in anywise vitiate or aflFect my action takeu 
 without it. 
 
 5. The constitution of the Standing Committee in the diocese is such iw 
 makes it impracticable for the bishop to consult that body in such sudden 
 emergencies as most frequently require action under the canon. 
 
 G. In like cases heretofore l"have never thouglit of such consultation, nor 
 ever learned of its having been expected. 
 
 I will enter into no further argument on the subject of what has thuB far 
 passed between us in relation to this affair. Every complaint of yours ap- 
 pears to me to grow out of misunderstanding of my actions or exi)re.s!*iou».
 
 374 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 any attemiDted con-ection of which on my part would, I fear, only lead to 
 wider diiferences. In all the course of your remarks you assume, and in one 
 place assert (with the inadmissible allegation that I ''knew it"j, " that the 
 canon law was the only thing at issue." On the contrary, I regard your 
 course throughout as a violation of the Divine law laid down in Scripture, 
 with regard to prayer for those in authority and duty to the powers ordained 
 of God, and of the established, invariable usage of the Church with regard 
 to a bishop's duty in the regulation of Divine worship in his diocese. 
 
 Neither will I engage in the discussion of the question of canonical right. 
 There is no prospect of its being settled by our interchange of correspond- 
 ence. 
 
 I do not yet know what your objectiim to my action is, as you have never 
 stated it. 
 
 I am quite ignorant of your authorities, learned in the canon law, and 
 equally so of the grounds of their advice. I have never heard of any differ- 
 ence of opinion in the Church on the interpretation of the canon in question 
 that would affect mv action, much less of any prevailing ojiinion unfavora- 
 ble to it. 
 
 Your " protest against mixing up affairs of state with your official act in a 
 matter jiurely ecclesiastical " is very strange. What gave your act signifi- 
 cance ? What made it a public scandal ? The fact that everybody knew, 
 and you could not honestly deny, that it had reference to the state of opin- 
 ion on " affairs of state." When did the Church ever ignore or disobey the 
 Lord's command to " mix up affairs of state" in her acts of worship by 
 making supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks for all 
 men, for kings, and for all that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet 
 and peaceable life in all Godliness and honesty 'i 
 
 Yovir reference to my circular, issued in expectation of an event which 
 never occurred, is irrelevant and hardly decorous. Irrelevant, because that 
 circular never concerned you or any member of the diocese resident in the 
 District of Columbia: hardly decorous, because, not having received the 
 paper yourself, you could only have obtained knowledge of it by a violation 
 of the confidence in which it was issued by some one of the receivers. That 
 circular provided against a contingency, so as to hinder a greater evil by 
 permission of a lesser. It provisionally sanctioned prayer for the civil au- 
 thority in general terms in order to stop the mouths of any who might be 
 disposed to turn the prayers of the Church into vehicles of rebellion. 
 
 Your own present use of my language in that circular, while it fails of the 
 end designed, bears evidence to my past endeavors to do my duty with least 
 possible offence of conscience to those whom, while I regarded them as in 
 grievous sin, I was desirous to retain in Christian fellowship. Before any 
 competent triliunal I have no fear of failure to establish my own perfect con- 
 sistency, throughout the whole course of uiy difficult task, in reconciling the 
 loyalty of a Bible-taught Churchman with the lenity of a loving father deal- 
 ing with erring children. 
 
 Very faithfullv, vour friend and brother. 
 
 WILLIAM ROLLINSON WHITTINGHAM, 
 
 Bhliop of Maryland. 
 
 Baltimore. September !itk, 1802. 
 
 Hev. Dr. Pinkuey tv the titatuliiig Cummittee. 
 
 September 24th, 18fi2. 
 
 I respectfully submit to the consideration of the Standing Committee of 
 
 the Diocese the following letter, received by me from the bishop, dated 
 
 September IfJth, 1802. You will decide, as the bishop states in the com- 
 
 miinication submitted to yoii, " whether, under the sixth canon of 1847 of
 
 AI'I'KM.IX. :}75 
 
 this diocese, it is proper that ii judiritil invcstif^ntiiin shall take phi. . | 
 
 cheerfully await that (h-cisi.m. hcin-,' contidcnt that I hav.- vi.)latf<l ii<> luw. 
 and haviii;^ the testimony of my own conscicnff that in this mut- \ H..)n,'ht 
 and obtained tin- very hest counsel I could gentlemen learned in the law. 
 whom I consulted, not as advocates, hut as friends of the ('hureh and tin- 
 law . 
 
 But I do protest a<,'ainst the monstrous i)retensions set uji hy the bishop, 
 and the threat, by him fulminated, that your decision, in a Certain con- 
 tingency. •" is not to be rc;^far(lcd as any settlement of thetpiestion raised by 
 you |nie], [I thou<,dit I was the resjiondent in this cause, answering,' to a 
 char^'c, not makin<^ one], and cannot be so accepted by me. I shall in that 
 event hold myself at liberty to resort to any other availalde means of estab- 
 lishin<j the official right which I conceive to have been unduly set aside." 
 This is a singular threat to be held in terrorem over you and me. The com- 
 mittee, I respectfully submit, are made, by the dth Canon of 1«47, the sole 
 judges of the propriety of a judicial investigation. The canon is e.xplicit. 
 It reads thus: •' Whenever the Standing t'onimittee. or a majority of them. 
 shall, from any information so laid before them by the bisho]>. A-<-.. A-c.. be 
 of opiitioa that it is proptr that n jitdiciid iiirixtio<itii>it of the fmnhirt ..f (mii 
 priext or dearjni shmild take phice, they shall jjresent that fact to the bishoji. 
 itc. It shall be the duty of the hishup, ujjon the lurdpt of such prmmt. 
 ment, to cmtse the charge or charges to be drawn uj), Ac., iVc." Shall a 
 bishop who seeks to bring a presbyter to trial for a breach of canon law 
 attempt to interfere with the free exercise of the powers conferred upon the 
 very tribunal to which he aj)peals, by a thr(>atcned disregard of their flecjsion, 
 when that decision shall be pronounced? Shall he, in exjiressly cited cases 
 in 1!S()1, which now constitute a part of their record, be allowed to fault their 
 official action, which was in strict conformity with the law, and a<lmonish 
 them that he, Wm. R. Whittingliam, will not emhtre a repetiti<in of such 
 procedure ? 
 
 I hold that the bishop's threat, in view of an adjudication of a case alremly 
 submitted by him to you. is a dangerous and oli"ensive intrusion ui>on your 
 prerogatives. I expect you tf) pronounce upon the law. I (h'sire it. Hut I 
 repel indignantly the imputation cast up(m the committee, and deny that 
 they have subjected themselves to the reproof of the bishop on account of 
 the decision they pronounced in 18(!1 : and I only regret that not so much 
 as the remotest hint was then given of the dernier rexm/rt with which I am 
 now menaced. It seems as though I were to be pursued with an extraonli- 
 uary outburst of the official authority of the diocese, so far as it is vested in 
 thebishop and beyond it, for in ISdl no such outburst occurred, and in IHC'i 
 I find myself alone in the onslaught. I do not comjjlain. IJut I do most 
 solemnly" protest against this attempted or threatened interference with the 
 canonical right of the committee to judge for themselves of the propriety of 
 institiiting judicial investigation: and the solemn repeal of the canon on 
 rumors by the late convention, against the earnest remonstrance of the 
 bishop, proves that the diocese thought that the power to settle that (pies- 
 tion had best be lodged in the hands of more discreet jiresbyt.-rs. ^^'hat the 
 bishop really means beyond this, that he will not abide by the decisi(»n you 
 mav pronounce if that'decisioii is against a jiresentment. for reasons of ex- 
 pedience, or otherwise, as in the cases in IHIH, and what, by the re.sort to 
 any other available means of establishing his otficial right, I know not. Nor 
 do* I care to lift the veil where such portentous omens are hung out over the 
 judgment-seat before which I am arraigned. But I trust that if the time 
 should ever arrive when a Ijishop shall attempt to set aside or in anywise seek 
 to invalidate the solemn adjudicatiim of the grand jury of the diocese, acting 
 under the authoritv of law (a law, too, ])assed by the diocese .luring the 
 episcopate of the present incumbent), and that iuacaseexi)ressly .■•.mmiited 
 by him to them, he will find a diocese as resolute of will aud determined lu
 
 376 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 purpose as the exigency of the case demands. What I Shall a bishop cite 
 a clergyman to apjiear before the tribunal which the diocese appointed to 
 stand between him and the odium of a trial before the court, and shall he. 
 in case they decide that it is not proper to institute judicial investigation, 
 for reasons satisfactory to themselves, of which they are made the sole judges, 
 declare beforehand his determination to disregard' their decision, and that, 
 too, in the very breath in which he appeals to them, in the terms of the canon, 
 as the parties who are to decide whether it is proper to institute judicial in- 
 vestigation ? There is no law by which any clergyman can be reached but 
 through your presentment. It is for you alone to issue the mandate for a 
 trial, if in your opinion it is proper to do so. 
 
 I derive a proud satisfaction from the belief that in your appropriate 
 sphere you will maintain the high prerogatives with which you are clothed 
 by law, and allow no such threat as that which is used in the letter forwarded 
 by me to you to overshadow and overawe your august tribunal, and per- 
 mit no such impeachment of the purity and legality of yoiir just decision 
 to divert you from the faithful discharge of your whole duty. I speak 
 strongly, but not more so than the case warrants. It concerns me to hear 
 the bishop declare that he will not abide by the decision you may pronounce, 
 if, as in 1861, you decide against presentment for reasons of expediency or 
 otherwise ; and that in a given contingency he will feel himself at liberty 
 to resort to any other available means, in defiance of your judgment pro- 
 nounced imder the canon of 1 847. 
 
 You have the sole control of the presentation of a clergyman for trial. 
 You have it by law. You have exercised the right already. In 1861 the 
 bishop himself acquiesced in the exercise of the right. It'is for the right 
 in the abstract that I now plead ; and I plead for it the more earnestly, be- 
 cause in that right I recognize the sovereign will of the diocese, who saw 
 fit to place a tribunal of their own choice between the clergy and the 
 bishop. It is the only shield that can save the priesthood in' the lower 
 orders from a spiritual despotism, that might otherwise burden them with 
 the scandal of a trial, ancl afflict the diocese with the arraignment of its 
 clergy on charges of a violation of canons, as needless as they would be 
 cruel. Once permit the bishop to mould this high tribunal by moulding its 
 decisions : once suffer the right of deciding on the i^ropriety of instituting 
 judicial investigation for reasons of which you are made the only judges 
 to be rifled from you, or your decisions to be unceremoniously ignored by 
 declarations made beforehand, and we have nothing left but to put our 
 necks under the iron heel of a spiritual despotism, where the will of one 
 man is to mould all things to itself. 
 
 It will be remembered that I make this protest only after the bishop, in a 
 letter to me, charges without cause past official dereliction of duty against 
 me. in common with yourselves (for I was a party to the decisions of 1861), 
 and usurps to himself the right to infringe upon your high prerogatives, as 
 the grand inquest of the diocese, by making himself the judge of the pro- 
 Ijriety of doing that which you may decline to do in a resort to any other 
 available means, when by the law of" 1847 your decision, if it be against pre- 
 sentment for any reason, is, and must be, final. The principle advanced 
 lirompts me, an one of your bndy, to make this solemn protest against this 
 extraordinary claim of the bishop. Debarred by the fact of my presentment 
 from any deliberation on the documents now laid before you, and yet 
 admonished that no regard in a certain contingency will be paid to your 
 decision when pronounced, and at the same time faulted in my action in the 
 cases of 1861, I cannot, in duty to myself, as a member of your body, 
 refrain from this earnest protest. I therefore submit this paper to your 
 especial consideration, and demand, as my right, that it be spread ui^on 
 your journal, together with the letter of the bishoj), to be the after-witness 
 to the Church that, while I was wholly unmoved bv the threat, I was not
 
 Ari'KMHx. ;{77 
 
 uiuuiiultul of tlu- ii.,'lits of the body of which I ain ii iim-iiiIht, l.ut wiw pr... 
 piired to defeiid thos.- rights to the uttennost iigiiiiist iisHunlt friiiii whutrv.-r 
 quiuter. The right of sok^ control of tlie wlmh- suhject of tin- |ir."^.T,tin.«iit 
 of 11 clergyman for trial ; th(> right of (h-ciding f„r or iigiiinst it i.r.-H..,.tm..nt 
 for reasons that iire solely within our jurisdiction, I irlU nrrrr Kurrtmlrr. 
 And as. in this case, I cannot share in your deliherations, I can only Hjin-ml 
 upon your journal my protest against the pretensions set up hy the liishnp. 
 and repel the unwarranted imix-achment of the eomniif tee's'action in the 
 past year in which I b.jre a part. I regard as linal your rlecision in every 
 case where that decisicm is against a presentment, "an<l will >ul>niit to n<> 
 authority which shall seek at any time by resorts nf any sort ti.sri a'-idr ihr 
 law, when you shall have ])ronounced upon it. 
 Your friend and brother, 
 
 WILLl.VM riNKNKV. 
 To the Standing Committee of the Diocese of Mahylanh. 
 
 Dr. Pinkney to Bishop Whitthtghnut. 
 
 Sept. itTH. 1KC,2. 
 
 Rkiht Rev. Sir : I have no desire to prolong the unhai)i)y di.scussion on 
 which I entered most reluctantly, and shall therefore pass over all that por- 
 tion of your letter which does not concern me immediately. Yon say •■ that 
 in the course of your remarks you assume, and in one place a-ssert (\\'\i\i the 
 inadmissible allegation that I ' knew it '), ' that the canon law was the only 
 thing at issue.' On the contrary, I regard your course throughout a^ a vio*. 
 lation of the divine law laid down in Scripture with regard to ])rayers for 
 those in authority and duty to the powers ordained of (Jod, and of the estab- 
 lished invariable usage of the Church with regard to a bishop's duty in the 
 regulation of Divine worship in his diocese." When you jja.ss from tiie canon 
 law and enter upon this wide mediterranean of undetined powers in the epis- 
 copate, you will scarcely e,\pect me to witness the transition without some 
 exclamation of sur])rise and astonishment. You cited the law on which you 
 based your authority and challenged my obedience. You said not one word 
 of any other powers you possessed in the premises. You issued your rescript 
 in virtue of that expressly-cited canon; and by the citation yon waived all 
 right to enforce obedience on any other grounds. AVhen you sjjecitied in 
 your order the law under which you acted, you committed yourself to that 
 as the only ground on which you could enforce my obedience. I take this 
 to be a well-established ])rincii)le of law. How could you supjiose that my 
 refusal to use your form of ])rayer was a refusal to pray for all in autiiority, 
 when I used the jjrayer the Church apjiointed for that very i)urj>ose y You 
 bade me use the prayer which you ])Ut forth not because it was indisj)ens4i- 
 ble to a compliance with the ajjostolic i)recept, but because you had put it 
 forth in virtue of the canon. I believed (and I sought counsel of those who 
 are learned in the law, and they confirmed me in the belief; that you <lid not 
 act in compliance with either its terms or its spirit ; and I ask. Can there be 
 any point at issue properly between us Imt the question of a violation of 
 the canon? Is it competent for a bishoj) to cite a canon and then fall back 
 upon his assumed Episcojial prerogatives as they loom befor.- his iniau'iiiatiou 
 in that most shadowy of all forms, established usage, which is itself all vague 
 and nndefined ? 
 
 You nse portentous language when you speak of a " bishoj^s duty in the 
 regulation of divine worship in his diocese." I thought that in our branch 
 of the one Church Catholic, the worship was detined and established by law. 
 and that bishops as well as presbyters were controlled by the law which the 
 Church has enacted. The canon" you cited, it seems to nie. settl.-s the quen- 
 tion. It tells us when a bishop may add a prayer, and under what circinu- 
 stances, and it prescribes the mode of its transmission : and by the expresw
 
 378 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 ineutiou of two other cases, it decides that there shall be no other departure 
 from the worship regulated not by the hi!<hop but by the Church. 
 
 You say that you are quite ignorant of my authorities learned in the 
 canf)n law, and that you have never heard of any difference of opinion in 
 the Church on the interpretation of the canon in question that would affect 
 your action, much less of anj^ prevailing opinion unfavorable to it. 
 
 This may well be. No authorities that could be adduced might be deemed 
 of sufficient merit to affect your action. 
 
 But still authorities there are, and I incline to the opinion that they will 
 be considered entitled to some weight by others. 
 
 One of them published his dissent from your construction of the law ; and 
 since I wrote to you last, I have the proofs before me that one of your own 
 presbyters, as far back as May, told you that he considered your rescript 
 uncanonical. 
 
 After this he refused to use the prayer. It seems that your sense of out- 
 raged oflficial authority slumbered in one case that runs pari passu with mine. 
 I rejoice that that beloved bristlier was not pushed to prosecution, while I 
 cheerfully abide the presentment of myself in his stead. 
 
 The Rev. Wm. Syle, in a communication over his own signature, thus 
 writes : 
 
 •' The prayer was uncauonically set forth, &c., <fec. I wrote to the Bishop 
 telling him this and giving him an oi^portuuity to withdraw it." Y'ou say 
 " What gave your act significance? What made it a public scandal? The 
 fact that everybody knew, and you could not honestly deny, that it had ref- 
 erence to the state of opinion ' on affairs of state.' " You herein encroach 
 on motive. By what law it is not for me to say. But I repel the imputa- 
 tion, and assert that I do honestly declare, that in this case I was actuated 
 by the belief that your rescript wiis uncanonical. It was a pure question 
 of law that I considered it : that was the only aspect in which I was called 
 to consider it. I did not believe, nor do I now believe, that St. Paul's in- 
 junction to pray for all in authority was dej^endent for its observance on the 
 form of ipordsyou set forth, nor did I consider that as the question involved. 
 
 The canon was cited and by the canon I was controlled. You say. In fine, 
 that my reference to the circiilar is "irrelevant and hardly decorous." I 
 leave its irrelevancy to the adjudication of others, only suggesting that it 
 was itx relevancy to yourself and not to me that induced me to recall it to 
 y<iur memory. Its want of decorum can be judged of by those who are 
 informed that my quotations were taken from a copy made by a layman 
 from one of the public prints of Baltimore. I have not the keeping of the 
 honor of my brethren in my charge ; but if they made public what you 
 chose to style private, it may have been because they do not admit your 
 right to veil so irajiortant an act of authority, assumed and exercised in 
 secresy. Of that they are competent to judge, as they are fully competent 
 to repel the impvitation yoii cast upon them. The privacy sought to be 
 given to the act is a novelty in cases of responsibility which I may not be 
 able to appreciate. 
 
 Viewing your brethren as in grievous sin, I cannot understand how you 
 could, by anticipation, encoiirage them in the sin you hold in such abhor- 
 rence. 
 
 How far this was a reconciling of the loyalty of a Bible-taught churchman 
 with the lenity of a having father dealing with erring children others must 
 determine. I will not allow myself to speak of the confident claim to being 
 Bible-taught with its implication of a deficiency in such teaching in others, 
 lest I subject myself to the imputation of want of decoriim. 
 
 I here close my correspondence. 
 
 Trulv, vours, 
 
 WILLIAM PINKNEY. 
 
 Right Rev. William Rollinson Whittingham, D.D., LL. D., 
 
 JiixJo'P <f Maryland.
 
 AprKNDix. :{7<> 
 
 Bishop Whittinghnm to the Meveretid Williiiin I'i'i/,n'i/, iK />.. /;,,•/.,,■"(' 
 Amrnnitm Parish. 
 
 Reverend and Dear Sir : While i-losiu^,' your own pint of our corrfHiioiKl. 
 ence by the last words of your letter of "the '.Itli, you couM liur.lly liii\ .• 
 expected of me that I should allow that letter to remain without reply. 
 
 I will be as brief as possible in taking the notice of it wliicii seems' to me 
 to be necessary. Much of its contents is owint< ♦'> '» continuance of the con- 
 fusion (pervadini; all your share of our correspondence) lietween ilisc-nssioii 
 of your i>osition as a (picstioii of amenability to Church discijiline and vin- 
 dication of your objections to my letter to your vestry of tin- date of tlie stli 
 of Aui>;ust. When your vestry formally laid before' me their protest, tliev 
 made it a le-^itimate subject of remark by me. Had it containiMl notliinj,' iii 
 my judgment al)solutely demanding notice, I could willingly Inive «l)stained 
 from all comment whatsoever. I have already explained at lengtli liow and 
 why I was compelled to do otherwise. 
 
 Every phrase, almost every word, of my letter to the vestry has luiw been 
 discussed between us ; and I, for my part, find no reason td be dissatisfied 
 with the result. 
 
 When I wrote that letter, I neither had certain knowledge what your 
 course had been, nor the slightest intimation from you winit were' the 
 grounds of your procedure. When your own avowal informed me r)f the fa<'t 
 that you had treated my circular of March 15th with silent contempt, it 
 became evident that the expressions used, first in your correspondence witli 
 an United States officer, and afterward, in more cxj)licit sha])e, in a fornnil 
 document entered on your pai'ish record as a memorial " to all after time," 
 had been designed to vindicate such treatment, as due to a proce<lurcon my 
 part unwarranted by law. The alternative left me was either, by silent 
 submission to your implied remonstrance and reproof, to accept (without 
 knowledge of the reason) the condemnation of my official action as unea- 
 nonical, or to seek the vindication at once of the law of the Church, as known 
 and iinderstood by me, of the office I bear (which your conduct, unnoticed, 
 woi;ld set at nought), and of my own official integrity in my jiast course of 
 action, by bringing you before a proper ecclesiastical tribune, to rendi-r an 
 account of your procedure, with its grounds and reasons. Of course I chose 
 the latter, and that choi<;e shuts uj) for the time, as between us, all further 
 discussion of your accountability to the Church forljreach f)f her canon law. 
 and the involved violation of ordination vows and canonical obligations. 
 Biit the clause of the protest of your vestry which had called for notice on 
 my part had not confined itself to an assertion of legal regularity : and my 
 comment had followed it beyond that limit. Stcj) by step your objeetions 
 to my comment, and my replies to those objections, took tin- discussion into 
 a widening range of topics. The question how far the jjopular construction 
 of such action as yours involved the "political taint " which your vestry 
 had disclaimed as inconsistent with the consecration of your building 
 naturally arose, and in its disciission deeper grounds of argument than the 
 mere letter hi canonical enactment came into view. 
 
 Want of attention to this must have been the cans.- of your "suriirise and 
 astonishment" at what ycm call my i)assage from the canon law into an un- 
 defined region of official jiowers. We were not pleading on an in<lictuicnt 
 before a court, but corresponding al)out certain matters on which, beside 
 the canonical question, there is serious difference of opinion between us. 
 Nothing in such correspondence limits me to gnmuds on which I might be 
 disposed or able to hold you to a vindication of yourself on a case of ecclesi- 
 astical discipline. 
 
 Although not at all allowing your assertion that I '• based my authority." 
 in what you call mv " rescrii^t,'"' on the canon which I cited, I might freely 
 admit your alleged "principle of law" a.s regards my power to enforce
 
 380 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 obedience to it, without having any the less right to argue with you against 
 the conduct of which the disregard of my circular might be the only feature 
 open to judicial investigation. 
 
 Your argument that you did not refuse to pray for all in authority, because 
 "you used the prayer the Church appointed for that very isurpose," is de- 
 fective : 1. Because it omits to observe the express distinction in the Divine in- 
 junction between prayer and " giving of thanks " — a distinction not neglected 
 by the Church, but honoured by distinct provisions; 2. Because it proceeds 
 on the assumption that my prescription of a form was uncanonical. If it 
 was canonical, then that form, and none other, was the appointment of the 
 Church. 
 
 The " prayer which the Church appointed for the very purpose " of fulfill- 
 ing the Scriptural injunction to make thanksgiving in behalf of those in 
 authority, on the sjiecial occasion of the deliverance which had been vouch- 
 safed, was that which your bishop had sent you, in conformity with unbroken 
 custom of the Church Catholic throughout all ages. There was none other. 
 Refusing its employment, you disobeyed, so far as in you lay as a minister 
 of the Church, the injunction of the Scripture, the laniversal and immemorial 
 usage of the Church, and the particular enactment by which our branch of 
 the Church had provided the mode in which Scriptural command and Cath- 
 olic usage should take effect among us. 
 
 It might easily be that some irregialarity of procedure on the part of his 
 Tiishop, or some technical flaw detected in a canon by men leai-ned in expe- 
 dients, should set a minister free from the punitive stringency of the pai-- 
 ticular enactment : would that release him from responsibility f<jr infi-inge- 
 ment of venerable use and neglect of Divine injunction ? 
 
 He might be able, with impunity, to defy tlie bishop's authority, and de- 
 Tide his judgment : but would that make him less really under obligation 
 before God, the Church, and his own conscience, to recognize the Episcopal 
 office in its exercise of the regulation of Divine worship, of which authority 
 the canon itself is merely the Church's recognition and enforcement ? 
 
 Y'^ou still leave me in ignorance concerning your authorities learned in the 
 •canon law. One of them, you say, " has published his dissent from my con- 
 struction." It has been my misfortune not to meet with his publication, of 
 which I now first learn the existence. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Syle seems to be relied cm by you as some kind of prece- 
 dent or authority. A publication made as I suppose by Mr. Syle, or by the 
 authorities of his parish, would inform you, if carefiilly examined, of differ- 
 ences between his case and yours amply sufficient to warrant me in making 
 the difference of which you seem to complain, if the difference had been of 
 my siDontaneous determination. But this very correspondence is evidence 
 to the contrary of that. I would as gladly have ignored your case as I did 
 gladly allow him the benefit of relief by the expiring of the time for compli- 
 ance with my circular during the continuance of correspondence — for while 
 you vouchsafed no notice of my communication, Mr. Syle immediately laid 
 his difficulties, such as they were, before me. 
 
 I am sorry to say that tlie sentence which you have quoted sCs WTitten by 
 Mr. Syle gives a representation of his correspondence not in exact con- 
 sonance with the fact. -'The prayer," it says, "was uncanonically set 
 forth, &c. I wrote to the bixhop telling him of tliis. and giving him the op- 
 portunity of withdrawing it." However great the obligation under which I 
 might have been laid by such information and conceded opportunity, a ref- 
 erence to Mr. Syle's letter of March 17th. as printed by himself, will satisfy 
 you that it was not bestowed on me. 
 
 After the time for using the prayer had expired, as the fifth of several 
 reasons against its iise, I received from Mr. Syle the statement, " others 
 demur to the singling out of this city and District from the rest of the dio- 
 cese as not indicated by the exigencies of the case, and «.■« of doubtful canon-
 
 APPENDIX. 381 
 
 icity." Those four words constitnti' tlif whok' extent .>f Mr. SvIo'h ex- 
 pressed decision that the jirayer was •• iineanonically set fi.rtli." Tbev 
 reached nie on the 24th " when." as I informed liis vestrv on tlie aotli. " tlii. 
 time for usint,' the thanksgivin-,' had e.\i>ired, ami I. tlierefore. ilid not con- 
 ceive it to be ne^edt'ul to make any answer." As for any •• opjuirHinitv vfiven 
 me of withdrawing the prayer becan.se wncanonical." I cannot discover on«' 
 word of the kind in either of Mr. Syle's letters. He asked me. after u Htnte. 
 ment oi reasons made with a frankness in strange contrast with the reticence 
 of otliers. ••whether I still wished the praver to be used in Trinitu 
 Church?'' • * 
 
 This was the extent of his ri'fusal, made in words. While lie was nntkin^ 
 it the time for deeds had overpassed. 
 
 I must leave it to you and Mr. Syle to reconcile the use you now make of 
 him with the facts of his case as they stand on record in the printed docu- 
 ment. 
 
 With regard to your reference to my contidential circular to the clergy of 
 Maryland, the tone of your reply to my remarks surprises me as much (i.s it 
 pains me. You surely know why I considered that reference irrelevant. 
 You are no stranger to the total dissimilarity of the civil jiosition and con- 
 serpient relative duties of those to whom that circular was addressed and the 
 Ijosition and duties of members of the Church in the District of Culumbiii. 
 It could not have escaped you that such dissimilaritv made the irrelevance 
 of your reference, which was an attempt to prove me inconsistent because I 
 deal with you, who have no government on earth except that of the Tnifed 
 States, diti'erently from the way in which, under a contingent emergency, I 
 proposed to deal with the multitudes in Maryland who have fallen into the 
 snares of the evil one and been seduced into sedition, jirivy conspirai-y, an<l 
 rebellion, led away by the specioiis sophistry of the doctrine of States rights, 
 and honestly believe that tlaere may be a conflict of allegiances when bodies 
 claiming to be State authorities are arrayed in opposition to the Govenimeut 
 of the United States. 
 
 Y'our comments on the confidential relations of a bishop to his clergy and 
 on my vindication of them I leave to your own cooler reflections at some 
 future day. 
 
 Verv faithfuUv, vour friend and brother, 
 
 WILLIAM KOLLINSON WHITTINGHAM, 
 
 liish'ip of Mfiri/liiitil. 
 
 Baltimore, September Idth, 186'2. 
 
 Bishop Wliiffinc/ham to tJie Standing Committee of the Diocexe of Mnri/Uiml. 
 
 Reverend and Dear Brethren : It is my painful duty to inform you tlnit. 
 I have reason to l)elieve that there are grounds for an investigation into the 
 conduct of the Reverend William Pinkney, Doctor in Divinity, Rector of the 
 Parish of the Ascension, in the city of Washington and District of Colum- 
 bia, and to lay before you the information in my jiossession upon which that 
 belief is founded. ItWill appear from the correspondence, copies nf which 
 I send herewith, that the said William Pinkney, D. D., i)rcsbyter of this dio- 
 cese, has disobeyed the fourteenth section of the first canon of the tirst title 
 of the digest of the canons for the government of the Protestant Eiiiscopal 
 Church in the United States of America, and thereby subj«^cted himself to 
 ecclesiastical trial and censure under the fifth canon of ls47 of this diocese. 
 On the fifteenth day of March, in the current year of our Lord, I set forth, 
 under the authority of the canon and section of the digest alrea<ly referred 
 to, a form of thanksgiving, of which I send herewith a copy. A copy of 
 this I transmitted to the Reverend Doctor Pinkney. to lie use.l in tlie church
 
 382 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 of which he is rector. It will appear by the correspondence herewith sent 
 that he did not use the form, but wilfully disobeyed the canon of the Gen- 
 eral Convention which has been mentioned, and under which it was set forth. 
 It will be for you to consider whether, under the sixth canon of IS^IT of this 
 diocese, it is proper that a judicial investigation of his conduct shall take 
 place. 
 
 Very respectfuUv, vour friend and brother, 
 
 (Signed) WILLIAM KOLLINSON WHITTINGHAM. 
 
 Bishop of Maryland. 
 Baltimore, September IPith, 1862. 
 
 Biiihop WhittingJiam to Reverend William Pinkney, D. D. 
 
 Reverend and Dear Sir : It has now become my unpleasant duty to 
 transmit to you the inclosed copy of a communication to the Standing Com- 
 mittee of the Diocese of Maryland made by me this day. In so doing, I am 
 reminded by the recollection of some passages in our late correspondence to 
 observe that, should the Standing Committee (as the action of that body in 
 certain cases in the year 1861 has given me reason to think it possibly might) 
 be swayed, by reasons of expedience or otherwise, to decide that it is not 
 proper to institute a judicial investigation of your case, such decision is not 
 to be regarded as any settlement of the question raised by you, and cannot 
 be so accepted by me. 
 
 I shall in that event hold myself at liberty to resort to any other available 
 means of establishing the official right which I conceive to have been unduly 
 set aside. 
 
 Very respectfuUv, vour friend and brother, 
 
 WILLIAM EOLLINSON WHITTINGHAM, 
 
 Biiiliop of Maryland. 
 
 Baltimore, September 16, 1862. 
 
 Bishop Whittingham to Rex. Dr. Pinkney. 
 
 Baltimore, April 28, 1863. 
 Eev. Dr. Pinkney, Rector of Awensi on Pariah, Washington. 
 
 Key. and Dear Sib : In regard to my bodily condition, it would be neither 
 convenient nor safe for me to make any addition to the confirmations which 
 I have undertaken for my visit to Washington next week. 
 
 I shall be happy to confirm any candidates you may think fit to present, 
 either at the Church of the Epiphany, on Wednesday evening, or at St. John's 
 Church, on Friday. This, as on former occasions in similar circumstances, 
 would meet the demand on behalf of your parishioners for the administra- 
 tion of the ordinance, and suit the limited convenience, as well as obviate 
 other difficulties which might arise on the part of 
 Your faithful friend and brother, 
 
 WILLIAM KOLLINSON WHITTINGHAM, 
 
 Bishop of Maryland. 
 
 Bishop WhittingJiam to Rev. Br. Pinkney. 
 
 Baltimore, May 9. 1863. 
 
 Rev. and Dear Sib : Y'our note of the 6th reached my hand the same 
 
 evening, but I had not opportunity for answer before leaving Washington. 
 
 I am sorry that you did not think it best to present your candidates at the 
 
 opportunity oflfering in the immediately adjoining parish. On more accounts
 
 Al'l-KMUX. HH.'J 
 
 than one it would have Ikhmi a rt'licf to nie and iin art of kind (■<iurtc>i«v on 
 your i)art. I find that a visitation is not canonically ihii' to AHc.MiHion riirinli 
 untd Septt'inhcr next. Hcfoic tlic fixed limit ..f iir.-vicius notin. i,f u vinii at 
 that period, I shall have had time for eonsidt-rution whctlier the i-xintin^ nda- 
 tions of the rector and vestry of Ascension Parish witli tlie hi^hop >•{ lh<- 
 diocese are such as to allow of my makinj< thiMlcsired appointment witli d\i<- 
 regard to the recpiirements of my office. 
 
 I am, very respectfully and truly, your friend and servant. 
 
 \V. 1{. WIiriTINCIl AM 
 Rev. William Pinkney, D. D., 
 
 Rector of Anc^'nm'on Parixh, \\'ii.sl,ii,iit,,ii . 
 
 Dr. Pinkiici/ to Hisjiop \V liittiin/lunu. 
 
 May I'nH. \M\',\. 
 
 Right Rev. and Dear Sir : I acknowledj^e the receij)t of yours of tin- '.ith 
 instant, and would rest contented with a simple a<-knowled^ment of its re- 
 ceipt if it were not for the two followini; ])araj,'raplis. .\fter expressinv; your 
 regret that I did not think it best to take my candidates to tlie Kpiphany. 
 you go on to say : " On more accounts than one it would have lieeii a relief 
 to me and an act of kind courtesy on your i)art." You then a<ld : " I shall 
 have had time for consideration whether the existing relations of the rector 
 and vestry of Ascension Parish with the bishop of the diocese are such as to 
 allow of my making the desired appointment," Ac, A'c. Hail yon forgotten 
 that in the very letter in which you asked me to take my candidates to 
 Epiphany you had intimated too clearly to be misunderstood tlie threat con- 
 tained in your letter of May 'Jth ? Could you have ex))ected me to ilisregard 
 the rights of my parishioners and comjjromise my own honor as a presbyter 
 in the desire to perform an act of kind courtesy to you? It is somewhat re. 
 markable that in your response to a simple and respectable retpiest that yon 
 should visit my parish, at your own convenience, you should force upcii me 
 the possibility of your refusal to come in I'ase I j)ersiste<l tn retpure it, and 
 then complain of me for not doing you an act of courtesy, the doing "f 
 which would have V)een a tacit acknowledgment of the ))ropriety of the in- 
 timated possible determination on your ))art, which I utterly rei)udiate and 
 could not honestly make. Your letter placed it out of my power to do the 
 kind courtesy to w'liich you refer, and that is my defence. Courtesies, how- 
 ever pleasing, cannot be extended where rights' are invatled or tlireatened 
 with invasion. "Rerte ct xnoritfr'' is a good old motto, and surely it were 
 an unreasonal)le draft upon the kind courtesies of another to acci.mi>any tin- 
 request of a favor by a threatened penalty. Y'our complaint, therefore, is 
 altogether unfounded, and the keenness of the rejn-oof loses its edge from 
 the fact that it is umerited. 
 
 Your allusion to the existing relations of the rector and tlie vestry of Ascen- 
 sion Parish with the bishop of the diocese is not more fortunate. I shall 
 not concern myself at this time with the vestry : they are abundantly able 
 to defend themselves. But permit me to ask, Vvhat are the relations of the 
 rector with the bishoi). and who is responsible for them ? Arraigned before 
 the Standing Committee for a violation of canon law, by yourself, on proof 
 alleged to lie contained in our correspondence (a i)art of which only was 
 laid before the committee), after I had been assailed befi>re niy vestry. I 
 was uuanimotisly acquitted and declared to be witlnrnt offence in the matter 
 charged. Arraigned, actpiitted— this is the first phase in the altered relationH 
 that unhappily exist between us. Not satisfied with bringing my ease be- 
 fore the connn'ittee, which you did under an exi)ressly-citiMl canon, and which 
 clothes them with the power of deciding whether a trial before the ecclesi- 
 astical court shall be ordered, you adiiioniKhed me hfi-nhand. that I was 
 not to consider their decision, if 'adverse to you, a final settleuu'nt. a.s in that
 
 384 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 event you would consider yourself at liberty to resort to any other nvailable 
 means — arraigned, unanimously acquitted, yet threatened before trial with 
 still further prosecution in a given contingency, notwithstanding my ac- 
 quittal, and that, too, against the expressed letter and spirit of the canon 
 under which you proposed to act. This is the second phase of the altered 
 relations unhappily existing between us. A second time the case was vir- 
 tually brought before the committee, and a second time iinanimously dis- 
 missed. 
 
 If the accusation of a bishop which falls to the ground by the unanimous 
 judgment of the body to whom the canon refers it is to be considered a 
 jiistifying cause for the withholding the rite of confirmation from the sheep 
 of the fold or the intimation of the possibility of it, why then indeed have 
 we fallen upon strange times. You have the letter of the law to justify you 
 in postponing the visitation at your pleasure for the sjiace of three years ; 
 bv;t when you undertake coolly to avail yourself of the allowed largest ex- 
 tent of time to justify you in seeking to punish a parish that believes itself 
 to be without offence, I hold that you are not acting in the spirit of the 
 canon. The canon was passed to guard the rights of the i^eople — to pre- 
 serve them from infringement. The course pursued by the rector and the 
 vestry is no new thing ; mouths have been given you already for consider- 
 ation. 
 
 How far the determination of the bishop to take four months more for 
 the making up of his mind to the detriment of the souls of a few faithful 
 sheep, in withholding from them the strengthening rite of coniirmation 
 whicli the Apostle places among the fundamentals of the faith, the Church 
 mvist decide. I enter my protest against it — not against the postponement 
 itself, but against the reason assigned for it. I now close this correspond- 
 ence with the sincere regret that it was necessary to write thus mi;ch. 
 Yours respectfully, 
 
 W. PINKNEY. 
 
 Eight Kev. W. R. Whittingham, 
 
 Bishop of Maryland. 
 
 Binliop Wliittingham to Dr. Pinkney. 
 
 Baltimore, May 20th, 1863. 
 Rev. and Deae Sik : I take opportunity in transmitting the inclosed paper 
 for the Standing Committee, to acknowledge the receipt, on the 18th, of 
 your notice of the approaching meeting of the committee : and yesterday, 
 of your reply to my note of the 'Jth in relation to your wish for a confirma- 
 tion at Ascension Church, and am. 
 
 Very respectfully voi;rs, 
 
 W. E. WHITTINGHAM. 
 Eev, Wm. Pixkney, D. D. 
 
 Note. — The long and serious illness of the author while this 
 work was going through the press has delayed its publication, 
 and will account for some errata that may have occurred in its 
 tyj^ograj^hical execution. One error of substance may be cor- 
 rected here. In the note to page 84 the names of the IVIisses 
 Burgess should be given as follows : Misses Sarah, Margaret, 
 Anna, and Alice. Miss Kate, erroneously mentioned as a sister, 
 is the niece of these ladies. 
 
 O. H.
 
 I N I) K X 
 
 Academy, Niival, S. 
 
 Addison", Kev. Thomas G. , D. D. , 352. 
 
 Addison's Chapel, 33. 
 
 Ahibama, Episcopate of, 103. 
 
 Alexander, Kev. John H., D. D., 17, 
 57, 74, 7(1, !)4, 133, 158, 3()(>. 
 
 Andrews. Kev. Charles D., letters 
 from Bishop Pinkney, 358. 
 
 Annapolis, 9, 11, ct xeq. 
 
 Ai^ostolical Succession, Dr. Pinkney 
 on, f)7, et xeq. 
 
 '' A Plain Appeal," tract, HO. 
 
 Ascension, Parish of. 40 ; Mr. Pink- 
 uey's call to, 80: resignation of, 
 204. 
 
 Ascension Church, Washington, im- 
 provements in, 88 ; seizure of, by 
 Government forces, 109 ; returned 
 to vestry, 123 ; erection of new 
 church, 245 : funeral solemnities 
 of Bishop Pinkney, 347, et «cg. 
 
 Atkinson, Kight Rev. Bishop, of 
 North Carolina, consecration of 
 Dr. Pinkney, 201 : memorial ser- 
 mon to Bishop Whittingham, 2r>6 
 memorial to, bv Bishop Pinknej 
 308. 
 
 Associations, 47, et seq. 
 
 Avirett, Kev. James B., r,2. 
 
 Beltsville, Church at, 41. 
 Binney, Mr. Horace. 120. 
 Bishop, Mr. H. C, 298. 
 Blair, Hon. Montgomery, 253. 
 Blenheim, 31, et seq., 83, 84. 
 Bowie, Gov. Robert, G. 
 Bladensburg, 31 ; church at, 39. 
 Boston, Pinkney's visit to, 63. 
 Bray, Dr., commissary under Bishop 
 
 of London, 10, 89. ' 
 Bradford, Mr. John, 256. 
 Brand, Rev. Dr., 265. 
 Brown, Rev. R. Templeman, 229. 
 Brown, John, Raid of, 92 
 Buck, Rev. James A., 253, et seq. 
 Burgess, The Misses, 84. 
 Burroughs, Rev. Dr., 61. 
 Butler, Rev. Dr. Clement M., ()7. 
 
 Carter, Mr. ]5ernard, 291. 
 
 Centennial (commemoration of djo. 
 cese, 322. 
 
 Chapel at Naval .Vcademy, 9. 
 
 Chambers, Judge, IIC), 297. 
 
 Christian, Rev. Wm., H7. 
 
 Church School for Girls near Wash- 
 ington, 253, et seq., 311. 
 
 Clay, Henry, 53. 
 
 Cockeysville, Bishop Pinkney's last 
 visitation to, 340, et seq. 
 
 Committee on Canons, Report of, ut 
 Convention of 1881. 293. 
 
 Convention of Diocese, meeting in 
 1880 and 1881, 291, etseq.; in 1884, 
 memorial minute to Bishop Pink- 
 ney, 349. 
 
 Convention, General, meeting at 
 Richmond, Va., 1859,92; change 
 in delegation 1862, 115: meeting 
 in Boston, 285. 
 
 Corcoran, Mr. W. W., tirst acquaint- 
 ance with Dr. Pinkney, 150; baj)- 
 
 ,.-''tismof, 15(> : letters from Pinkney, 
 ■'' ICA, etseq.,\m\: gifts for erecti.".n 
 of the new church of the " .\scen- 
 sion," 248 ; death of his daughter, 
 Mrs. L(miseM. Eustis, 152: fonnd- 
 ing of " The Louise Home," 155 : 
 removalof remains of J. H. Payne, 
 337; burial of Bishop Pinkney. 
 342, etseq.; erection of moininient 
 and memorial window to Bishop 
 Pinknev, 351, 353; burial of Rev. 
 Dr. Lewin, 352. 
 
 Corner-stone of Ascension Chunh. 
 Washington, Laying of. 245. 
 
 Coxe, Right Rev. C., 276. 
 
 Cummins, Rev. Dr., 85. 
 
 Dalrymple, Rev. Dr., 313. 
 
 Darlington, Miss, of "St. Marv'- 
 Hall," Faribault, 222. 
 
 Davis, Rev. Dr. H. Lyon. 11. 
 
 Decker, Rev. John, 21. 
 
 Dorcas Association of Ascension 
 Parish, afterwards called •' The 
 Ladies' Association,'' 1K3. 
 
 Duncanson, Mr. John M., 184.
 
 386 
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 Earnest, Kev. J., -ll. 
 
 Elliott, Rev. Johu H., call to Asceu- 
 
 siou Church as Associate Rector, 
 
 244. 
 Epiphauy Parish, Organization of, 
 
 75. 
 Episcopal Library, 267. 
 
 Fell, Dr. Thomas, 15. 
 French, Rev. J. W.. D. D., 75. 
 
 Goklsborough, Rear-Aduiiral Lonis 
 
 M., 280. 
 Governor's House, 8, et seq. 
 Giesy, Rev. Dr., 285. 
 Gillis, Rev. L. I., 80. 
 Grammer, Rev. Dr. J. E. , 3()0, et aeq. 
 
 Hannah More Academy, 336. 
 
 Hall, Rev. Dr. Chas. H., 38, 85. 
 
 Harper's Ferry, 54. 
 
 Harvev, in " Reminiscences of Web- 
 ster,'" 70. 
 
 Hambleton, Hon. Samuel, 36. 
 
 Herbert, Mr. John C, 32. 
 
 Hobbs, Mr. Henrv, 55. 
 
 Hodges, Rev. Dr.', 298. 
 
 Holtzman, Emma O., 131. 
 
 Hopkins, Right Rev. J. H.. pastoral 
 letter in 1862, 117, 297. 
 
 Humphreys, Rev. Dr. H. , 15. 
 
 Huntington, Hon. Samuel H., 97; 
 letters from Dr. Pinknev, 108, 124, 
 236, 286. 
 
 Hutton, Rev. O., election to General 
 Conventicm in 1862, 116; rector- 
 ship of Ascension Chiirch, Wash- 
 ington, 243. 
 
 Johns. Right Rev. Bishop, 201. 
 Jones, 'Gen. Walter, 177. 
 Judd, Rev. Mr., 1. 
 Judd, Chancellors. Corning, LL.D., 
 130. 
 
 Kerfoot, Right Rev. , sermon at con- 
 secration of Dr. Pinkney. 202 ; 
 letter to Bishop Pinkney, 303. 
 
 Kipp, Right Rev. Bishop,'70. 
 
 Lay, Right Rev. Bishop H. C. cen- 
 tennial commemoration, 322 ; ad- 
 dress at funeral of Bishop Pinkney, 
 345. 
 
 Leakin, Rev. George A., 321. 
 
 Lee, Right Rev. , Bishop of Delaware, 
 345. 
 
 Leeds. Kev. Dr.. 260, 320. 
 
 Leonard, Rev. Dr. , 338, 353. 
 
 Lindsay, Rev. Dr. J. S., 359. 
 
 Lewin, Rev. Dr. Meyer, first meeting 
 with Dr. Pinkney at association, 
 49, 50 ; consecration of Dr. Pink- 
 ney, 200 : fi'iendship with Dr. 
 Pinkney. 216 ; organization of 
 ' ' School for Girls." at Rock'Creek, 
 253 : illness of, 284 ; Dean of con- 
 vocation of Washington, 336: visit 
 to Cockeysville with Bishop Pink- 
 ney, 340 ; death of, 351 : memorial 
 to,' 353. 
 
 Lowndes family, 34. 
 
 Lowndes, Miss Anne Llovd, death 
 of, 65. 
 
 Lowndes, Miss Elizabeth Lloyd, mar- 
 riage with Mr. Pinknev, 34 : death 
 of, 258. 
 
 Lowrie, Rev. Mr., 184. 
 
 Martin, Mr. Wm. D., 289. 
 McDowell, Rev. Dr. John. 14. 
 McElhinev, Rev. Dr. Geo., 27, 28. 
 
 44, 45. ' 
 Mcllvaine, Bishop of Ohio, Pastoral 
 
 letter of, 117. 
 Meade, Right Rev. Bishop, 302. 
 Methodists, 19, et xeq.. 73. 
 McKenney, Rev. Dr., 215, 300. 
 Mission for Colored People in Prince 
 
 George's Couutv. 72. 
 Mortimer, Rev. Alfred G. , 300. 
 Mt. Calvarv Church. Baltimore. 289. 
 
 298. 
 
 Niagara, Dr. Pinkney's visit to, 70 : 
 
 poem on, 71. 
 Nelson, Rev. Dr. C. K., 312. 
 
 O'Connor, Mr. Charles, 70, 316 
 
 Packard. Rev. Dr. J., 313. 
 
 "Paint Chapel, The," consecration 
 
 of, 33 ; abandoned, 42. 
 Palmer, Sir Roundell, on parochial 
 
 system, 85. 
 Parish Missions, 49. 
 Payne, John Howard, 336. 
 Parochial system, 85. 
 Peterkin, Right Rev. , Bish( >p of West 
 
 Virginia, 345. 
 Perry, Rev. Galbraith B., 299. 
 Pind'ell, Rev. A. T., 340, et xeq. 
 Pinkney, Mr. Niuian, father of Bishop 
 
 Pinknev, official life of, 7: death 
 
 of, 16. ■ 
 Pinknev, Mrs. Anu-lia, inolluT of
 
 TM)i:.\. 
 
 3H7 
 
 Jiisliop rinkiu'v, characttT and 
 early triiiuiui,'. 3, d xeq.; h^ttm-s to 
 hcvsoii Wiliiaiii. T,, ',), 21. 2:J : iv- 
 turii to the ("luu<-li. ")(■( : MS. rt'iii- 
 iniwcences, 7;i ; death, KS : lettors 
 to her sons, !IC). 
 
 Piukney, Soiiierville, death of. 55. 
 
 Pinkuev, Dr. Niiiiau, brother of 
 Bishop Piukney. 22 ; death of, 285. 
 
 Piukney, Williiiin. Fifth Hishop of 
 Maryland, early family life, 1, et 
 nefj.; education, V,\ -. death of his 
 father, Ki: studies in the law, I'.l: 
 couueetiou with the Methodists, 
 20 ; preparation for the Ministry 
 at Princeton, 21 ; departure from 
 home, 22 ; return to the Chuicli, 
 
 24 ; interest in foreign missions, 
 
 25 ; a tutor in the Steele family, 
 2(5 ; studies on apostolical ministry 
 of the Church, 27; ordained dea- 
 con, 28 ; charge of Somerset and 
 Coventry parishes, 28, 29 ; offer of 
 TT. S. N. chaplaincy, 30 : parishes 
 in Prince George's County, 31, 32 ; 
 marriage, 33 ; Church work in 
 Bladensburg and Beltsville, 37, et 
 M(j.; call to Tallahassee, Florida, 
 4() ; characteristics, 51 ; call to St. 
 Anne's Parish, 57: " A Plain Ap- 
 peal," tract, fiO ; call to Rock Creek 
 Parish, 01 ; devotion to sick par- 
 ishioner, and memorial of, (>5, (!(> : 
 answer to Dr. Butler. pami)hlet, 
 (i7: i)ublished letter to Dr. Jiutler 
 " The Koad to Rome." (i8 : pub- 
 lished life of his uncle, Wm. Piuk- 
 ney, 69; "The Reviewer Re- 
 viewed," letter to publisher, 70 ; 
 letters to Dr. Alexander, 74, et 
 xeq.; delegate to General Conven- 
 tion in 185(), 75 ; call to Epiphany 
 (yhurch, Washington, 75; call to 
 Ascension Church, Washington, 
 80 ; letter from Bishop Whitting- 
 ham, 81 ; per-soual appearance, 8() : 
 last letters from his mother, 90 ; 
 corresponclence with Dr. Alexan- 
 der, 74, 76, 94 : views on political 
 troubles, 96 ; letters to Judge 
 Huntington, 108, 109 ; official 
 communic-ation from Bishop Whit- 
 tingham. 112 ; General Conven- 
 tions of 18(!2 and 1865, 118, etxeq.; 
 Bishop Wliittingham declines to 
 visit his Church, 121 : letters to 
 Judge Huntington in 1863, 124: 
 poetiy, 127; friendship with Mr. 
 
 \V. W. Coreoruii. 150; vinit u> 
 Europe, 161,, c ^,1,; work in As- 
 cension Parish, 172; eleetion un 
 Assistant Bishop of Muryliind. 
 194: coMHecration, 2<l(( ; reHJ^iiH 
 Ascension Purisli. 2til ; eorre. 
 si)oudence with Bishop \Vhittin^■ 
 ham. 2{»8. 232 ; work a.s AMHit.t)nil 
 Bishoi),215: niissionury tour, '220; 
 letters to Judge Huntiiigt«.n. 'I'Mt; 
 burial of Confederate dead. 23K ; 
 resumed rectorsliip of A-xeiiHion 
 Parish with Associate Ke.|..r, 2-II : 
 death of Mrs. Piukney. 258; let- 
 ters to Mr. Corcoran, 2(!2: ritinil- 
 istic movement, 275; EpiHcopnl 
 labors, 278; missions. 2M2 : illiii-sH. 
 284: collision with Bislio]i .Meade, 
 302: lett.-r from Bishop Kerfoof. 
 3(t3 : declines to ordain .Mr. Webb. 
 304 ; temperance movement. 312 ; 
 memorial of Dr. I)alryini)le. 313; 
 visit to Nantucket, 316; last visi- 
 tation to Cockeysville, 340 ; death. 
 342; funeral, 344 : memorial win- 
 dow, 353 : review of cliaracter and 
 work, 355; memorial i)a|)er from 
 Dr. J. E. Grammer, 361. 
 
 '• Piukney Institute." 84, 336. 
 
 Porter. Rev. A. Toomer. 181. 
 
 Portsmouth, 111. 
 
 Pro'scott, Rev. Mr.. 3()(». 
 
 Princeton. 21. 
 
 Purcell. Rev. Dr., 342. 
 
 Pyne, Rev. Dr. Smith. 85. 
 
 Rafferty. Rev. Dr. Wm.. 15. 
 Randall Hon. Alex.. 31-1. 
 Richie, Rev. Dr. Thos.. 2'.t3. 29K. 
 Richmond, Va., meeting of General 
 
 Convention, 92. 
 Ritualistic controversv. 27<l. r( sn/. 
 Rock Creek Parish, ca"ll of Dr. I'iiik- 
 
 ney to, 61; history of. I'.'if. 
 
 Severn, Fort, 7, et xiq. 
 
 Sherwood Parish Church. 340. 
 
 Silver Spring Parish. 12. it kii/. 
 
 Simmons. Josej>li. 12. 
 
 Smalhv 1. Rev. Mr.. 32. 
 
 Smvthe. Rev. Herbert B., 289. 
 
 Spa"rks, Dr. Edward. 22. 
 
 Sjirague. Rev. Dr.. 70 ; letters from, 
 131. 
 
 Stanley, Rev. Dr. Miirvey. 72. 
 
 Standing Committee. Meeting of. 
 April. 1862. Hi5. 1(16: action in 
 case of Dr. Pinkii.v. 113- '• -
 
 888 
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PINKNEY. 
 
 in, 115 ; action on death of Bishop 
 Wlnttingham, 266: candidates for 
 holy orders. -289. 304. 306: cen- 
 tenary commemoration. 320: action 
 on death of Bishop Pinkney, 345. 
 
 St. Anne's Church, 11, 19 ; Dr! Pink- 
 uey's call to. 57. 
 
 St. Alban's Parish, D. C. 87. 
 
 State House. 11. 
 
 St. Bartholomew's Church, 49. 
 
 St. Clement's Church, Phila., 300. 
 
 Steele, John Nevett, 26. 
 
 Stevens. Eight Rev. Bishop, 300. 
 
 St. John's College, 11, et seq. 
 
 St. John's Church, Washingt(m, 338. 
 353. 
 
 St. Luke's Church, Baltimore, 300. 
 
 St. Mary's Hall. Faribault, 221. 
 
 St. Mark's Church, or "The Paint 
 Chapel," 33. 
 
 St. Matthew's Church, or Addison's 
 Chapel, 33. 
 
 St. Paul's Church. Eock Creek 
 Parish, 256. 
 
 St. Paul's Church, Baltimore, me- 
 morial service to Bishop Whitting- 
 ham, 266 ; centennial service, 326. 
 
 St. Peter's Church, Baltimore, cen- 
 tennial service, 328. 
 
 Syle, Eev. Mr., 107. 
 
 Tallahassee, Dr. Piukney's call to, 46. 
 
 Temperance question, 312. 
 
 Thanksgiving sermon in 1850,64: in 
 1N74.'247. ' 
 
 "The Incarnation Parish." Organi- 
 zation of. 184. 
 
 The Ladies' Association, 183. 
 
 " The L(mise Home." 155. 
 
 ■' The Reviewer Eeviewed," \m])- 
 
 lished letter, 70. 
 " The Eoad to Eome." published 
 
 letter to Dr. Butler, 68. 
 Tvler, Mrs. Adeline Blanchard. or 
 
 ■"Sister Tyler," 183. 
 
 Van Ness, donation of property to 
 Ascension Chiirch, 80. 
 
 War, 1812, 5. 
 
 War, civil, 65. 
 
 War troubles, 93. 
 
 Webb, Mr. W. R., 304. 
 
 Webster, Reminiscences of, 70. 
 
 Welling, Dr. J. C, 143, 248, 286. 
 
 Wilniei-, Eev. Dr. E. H,, 103. 
 
 Wilberforce, Bishop of Oxford, 165. 
 
 Winslow, Eev. Gordon, 57. 
 
 Winthrop, Hon. Eobert C, 70. 
 
 White Sulphur Springs, 226. 
 
 Whittingham. Eight Eev., Bishop of 
 Maryland, 40 : election to the 
 Episcopate, 44 ; special forms of 
 prayer issued, 105 : commi;uica- 
 tions to Dr. Pinkney and the 
 Standing Committee, 111 ; de- 
 clines to visit Dr. Pinkney's 
 Church, 121 ; failure of health. 
 188 ; correspondence with Bishop 
 Pinkney, 208, 232 : visit to Orange. 
 New Jersey, to reciiperate, 261 ; 
 death. 265: memorial service in 
 Jialtimore, 266 : gift of his librarv 
 to the Diocese, 266. 
 
 Whipple, Eight Eev. H. B., Bishop 
 of Minnesota, 222 ; memorial to 
 l^ishop Pinkney. 348.
 
 a
 
 LITTLE WHILE, 
 
 A/ar and uigli. 
 Repose and peaoe ; 
 
 And dowy eve ; 
 Sweet hnrbinger o( lio] 
 The soul's reprieve, 
 
 Oil ! sweet imd Lappy tliougbl ! 
 
 A while to linger liere. 
 
 Oh ! bliBs complete ! 
 
 To fast nnd prny ; 
 
 Mid smiles and tours to bow 
 
 A little while to sow 
 
 At Jesus' foet; , 
 
 Besidp the way ; 
 
 Tben soar OQ vievless wing 
 
 While t«nrs my spirit feed 
 
 "Mid worlds unjtnown." 
 
 And darkness lowere, 
 
 An,IeA7.^?nmptQik.n 
 
 With Lore and there a my 
 
 Onr Priest and King. 
 
 To this poor, helpless soul. 
 
 That longs In eeo 
 The marvels of God's graee 
 
 ^
 
 
 
 
 WHILE. 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 ile 
 
 And drink the limpid stream 
 That flows beside 
 
 
 ■ sea, 
 
 The New Jerusalem, 
 
 
 low. 
 
 The Lamb's pure Bride ; 
 
 
 been 
 
 And walk the golden streets, 
 ' And ever sing 
 
 
 e waste, 
 
 Hosannas to the Lord, 
 Our Priest and King. 
 
 Glide on ye languid hours, 
 
 
 e ; 
 
 Tako swifter wing : 
 
 
 time 
 
 I count the moments o'er. 
 
 
 ds cease. 
 
 A weary thing 
 
 
 n 
 
 To this poor, helpless soul. 
 That longs to see 
 
 
 hope, 
 
 The marvels of God's grace 
 
 
 ve. 
 
 Revealed in me. 
 
 
 tr may fade, 
 
 As they will soon appear 
 The other side 
 
 
 'store, 
 
 Of life's deep mysteries 
 And turbid tide ; 
 
 
 breathe once more 
 
 When every deed is done, 
 
 
 3re, 
 
 And sorrow past ; 
 
 
 lepths, 
 
 I stand within my lot, 
 Complete at last. 
 
 
 py thought ! 
 
 A while to linger here, 
 
 
 te! 
 
 To fast and pray ; 
 
 
 rs to bow 
 
 A little while to sow 
 Beside the way ; 
 
 
 ?ss wing 
 
 While tears my spirit feed. 
 
 
 known, " 
 
 And darkness lowers. 
 
 
 on 
 
 With here and there a ray 
 
 
 hrone ; 
 
 To kiss the flowers. 
 
 
 

 
 A little while, uud then, 
 
 The palm in hand, 
 The river in its flow. 
 
 And golden strand, 
 The smile of God within, 
 
 The sweet repose, 
 The heart from sin set fre 
 
 As free from woes. 
 
 Oh ! sweet and happy day 
 
 I wish thee near ; 
 "No wrinkle on thy brow. 
 
 No briny tear ; 
 All hail ! a thrice all hail ! 
 
 I sigh for rest, 
 I long to lay me down 
 
 Upon His breast. 
 
 Who died that we might 
 
 Forever more. 
 And sweep a golden harp 
 
 On Beulah's shore. 
 He still in pity waits. 
 
 Locks wet with dew 
 Each spot of sin to cleans 
 
 Each soul renew. 
 
 I do not dare repine 
 
 At His decree. 
 Who has ordained that I 
 
 Should roam a sea 
 So swept by angry storms 
 
 And tossed at will ; 
 For I can see the bow 
 
 Bent o'er it still.
 
 Oh ! sn-eet and happy day 1 
 
 I wish thee near ; 
 "No wrinkle on thy brow," 
 
 Who died tbot we might live 
 
 \Who has ordained that I 
 
 Should roam a sea 
 So swept by angry fttonu 
 
 Before the time ; 
 I only afik that I 
 
 May hi-ar the chime 
 Of bells within tho heart. 
 
 Like that above. 
 
 r
 
 ^
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 Los Angeles 
 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 
 
 fe-
 
 -31 
 
 lutton - 
 
 5995 Life of the 
 P65K2 ri.b-h r 
 
 verend 
 
 William