of REESE LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. Received ^--..w-^^^T^^^/cScV 4^: • Accessions' No. "^A/rX -9"-^^ ^lelf No ^_. : c^ ^o V^ or THB ^ Ei:S r ^y ?. SaZjrD.,fnTm a-Bagt^erreotyje ^^^-'^- '^.^ 6406^^^''^:: ^ Priri/ai fy JLalim-^ A MEMOIR THE LIFE JAMES IILNOE, D.D. LATE RECTOR OF ST. GEORGE'S CHURCH, NEW YORK. BY THE REV. JOHN S. STONE, D.D EECTOR OF CHBIST CHUKCH, BEOOKI-TN. PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY, 150 NASSAU-STREET, NEW YORK. ^,^8-. -^<' H^s Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1848, by WILLIAM H. MILNOR, m the Clark's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New York. PREFACE. In accounting for the delayed appearance of the following Memoir, it is proper to state, that the work of collecting its materials was ob- structed by an efibrt to recover the foreign correspondence of Dr. Milnor, particularly that part of it in the hands of his friend the Bishop of Cal- cutta. About the time of Dr. Milnor's death, Bishop Wilson visited Eng- land for the improvement of his health. While there, it was ascertained, that he had left Dr. Milnor's letters among his other papers at Calcutta. Hence, much time was lost in waiting for his return to India, in the hope that something valuable from that quarter might at length be recovered. After all, however, it was found necessary to proceed to the work with such materials only as had been gathered in this country. Accordingly, the documents were put into the writer's hands, and he at once addressed himself to the task of their examination and arrangement. In this, miich time was necessarily consumed. Large masses both of manuscript and of print required reading, which were of no use. And when at last the required selection had been made and arranged, the labor of composition was constantly impeded by the daily and unshared care of a parish. Nor was this all ; for when that labor had been brought to a close, the work of publication was still longer postponed by the writer's recent unavoid- able absence from the country. As to his own part in the Memoir, the writer desires to say, that in the use made of Dr. Milnor's diaries, journal, and letters, he has taken no other liberties than such as he supposed his friend would himself have taken, had he attempted, while living, to prepare them for the press. Written as those papers were, amid the bustle of a busy life, and with no thought of their being ever embodied in their present form, they of course needed some revision. The clearing of the meaning of some sentences, by an occasional transposition in the order of their members, and by the occasional substitution of more exactly significant words for those which had been seized in the process of rapid composition, and which but im- perfectly expressed the author's thought ; and the softening, here and there, of a term, which in the confidence of familiar intercourse, was safe and proper, but which with a public necessarily ignorant of minute and explanatory circumstances, might be regarded as too strong : these are 4 PREFACE. the chief freedoms, which, in the execution of his task, he has felt at liberty to indulge. Generally, Dr. Milnor's expressions needed no cor- rection. Many personal references, however, both to himself and to others, have been dropped ; and as little, that coiild be painful to the feelings of the hving, has been retained, as was consistent witfi fidelity to the character and views of the dead,, and to those public interests and trusts under which he was called to act. Dr. Milnor lived to see the Church pass into, if not through troublous times — ^times during which public feeling was often most painfully alive ; and he felt called to act in many stations where he became himself the occasion of much of the feel- ing by which the public was affected. It was therefore difficult, if not impossible, to write the life of such a man after he had left the stage, without sometimes reviving memories more or less unwelcome to not a few of his survivors. It should be borne in mind, that in the following work are virtually two memoirs : one of Mr. Milnor as a man of the world, and another of Dr. Milnor as a Christian man. The former could not with pro- priety be omitted, because, though a distinct life by itself, with its own principles, character, and acts in full development, yet it is important to a just appreciation of the latter. In some things, Dr. Milnor as a Christian, is very like Mr. Milnor as a worldly man ; in others, quite unlike. These lights of likeness and of contrast combine, or stand out in distinctness, to give us the true idea of the whole man. Even the false and dangerous notions of religion which he . entertained in his days of darkness and self-righteousness, help to set forth in stronger colors those right conceptions of divine truth to which he was led by the great crisis of his life. Those, however, to whom the details of his early history would be likely to prove uninteresting, and who have known, or wish to contemplate him as a Christian only, will find the former part of the work as brief as it could weU be made, and wiU not have to turn over many pages before they reach what will more specially meet their wishes, and it may be, satisfy their desires. And now, all that remains is to say, that although the writer has felt that he was dealing with a character of uncommon excellence, yet he has not felt that he was writing the life of a perfect being. However much, therefore, he has found in that character to commend, he has en- deavored not so to shape his commendations as to make the praise redoimd to the man, instead of Him from Mchom alone cometh every good, and to whom alone, especially in the results of Christian excellence, all praise i£ due. CONTENTS. PART I. HIS EARLY LIFE, LEGAL PRACTICE, AND POLITICAL CAREER. Section I. — Quaker parentage — Family history — ^Youthful traits — Education — Law studies — ^Yellow-fever of '93 — Admittance to the bar — Debating societies — Commences practice at Norristown — Freemasonry — Return to Philadelphia — Early Abolition Society — Fire Department — ^Yellow-fever of '98 — Retreat to Norristown — Marriage — Read out of Quaker meeting — Reasons for keeping a diary — Character as a lawyer — Incidents of legal life — An honest lawyer — Business habits — Affecting incident — Value of business habits — A fashionable man of the world, . . . ,11 Section II. — Entrance on political life — Diary — Member of city-council — Troublesome political editor— The elder Adams — French Jacobinism — Milnor's popularity — Election to Congress^ — Takes his seat in the House — First winter's letters from Washington — Speech in Congress — Summer of 1811 — Second winter in Washington — Extracts ffom letters — Speech — Dinner with the President — War fever — Washington gayeties and war debates — Mode of life — Domestic feelings — Prospect of long session — Gout — Secret debates — War impends — Is declared — Address of the Federalists — Eventful speech — Philadelphia newspaper report — Difficulty with Henry Clay — Challenge — Correspondence — Review — Third winter in Washing- ton — Extracts from letters — Speech — Political excitement — Grand national ball — Political asperities — Quincy's severe speech — Short session — Ad- journment — Gout — Close of political life, 44 PART 11. HISTORY OF HIS RELIGIOUS CHANGE. Section I. — Early moral traits — Aquila M. Bolton — Serious letters — Mr. Milnor's remarks thereon — Milnor a Universalist — Examination of the Christian evidences, and study of the Bible — Universalism renounced — A rational believer — Dependence on works — Second diary — Attendance on Presbyterian ministry — Probable influence of Bolton's letters — Begins to attend Episcopal Church — Feeling after truth — New-year's reflections, 1810 — Forms of prayer — ^Dr. Pilmore — Election to Vestry of Associated Churches — Hearing sermons — Inward struggle — Views of the Sabbath — First recorded prayer — Influence of early Quakerism — Review of religious progress to 1812 — General Convention at New Haven, . . .85 6 CONTENTS. Section II. — Thomas Bradford — Anecdote in a law-office — Remarkable inci- dent — Religious letters from Congress to Mrs. Milnor — A praying Con- gressman — Religious letters continued — Weariness of politics — Solemn morning walk, Dec. 22, 1812 — Unfriendly influence of politics, . . 110 Section III. — Correspondence with. Thomas Bradford — Letters — Epistolary account of conversion — Views of death — Letters to Mrs. Milnor — Solici- tude for her conversion — Struggles with the world — ^Review, . .133 PART III. HIS MINISTRY FROM 1814 TO 1830. Section I. — Theological studies — Norristown — Lay-reader — Reflections on a change of profession — Prayer — Rules of life and study at Norristown — Visit to Rev. Mr. Bull — Journey into Virginia — Dangerous illness — Invi- tations to Baltimore and Richmond — Replies — Praying spirit — Return to Philadelphia — Temporal afi"airs — ' ' Evangelical Society ' ' — Letter to Aquila M. Bolton — Preparatory studies completed — Examinations — Ordination — First sermon — Assistant in the Associated Churches — Ordained Presbyter — Interest in the Bible cause — Letter to an afflicted mother — Correspondence in reference to St. George's, New York — Call — Visit to New York — ^Letter from Bishop White — Acceptance of the Rectorship of St. George's — Settle- ment in New York, 177 Section II. — American Bible Society — Correspondence with a doubting par- ishioner, and a cavilling inquirer — Opening of new Sunday-school rooms — Murmurs — Letter to Mr. Mcllvaine — Glance from 1817 to 1821 — Ingenu ous acknowledgment — Glance to 1825 — ^Perilous illness — Religious exer- cises — Public sympathy — Letter to Mr. Mcllvaine — Account of illness by Dr. Stearns and Wm. H. Milnor — Origin of American Tract Society — Sick chamber — Mr. Hallock — Espovisal of Tract cause — First sermon after re- covery — Public organization of Tract Society — Dr. Milnor's agency — Del- egation from New York to Boston — Dr. Woods, . . . .218 Section III. — 1825. Letters to a theological student — Bishop Hobart's return from Europe — Letter touching that return. 1826. Letters to Prof. Mcll- vaine during the revival at West Point — Letter to the student touching his Fourth of July address — Backslider reclaimed — General Convention of 1826. 1827. State of St. George's — Dangerous accident in returning from • Flushing— Death of Rev. Mr. Duffie. 1828. State of St. George's— Mil- nor Professorship. 1829. Course of lectures — " Protestant Episcopal Cler- ical Association of New York." 1830. Letters to Wra. H. Milnor, and Rev. J. P. K. Henshaw — African Mission school — ^Review, . . . 250 PART IV. MISSION TO ENGLAND. 1830. Section I. — American origin of the idea — Action of St. George's Vestry — Views of Dr. Milnor in accepting the appointment — Engagements on the eve of departure — Instructions and commissions — Embarkation — Extracts from journal of voyage— Reaches Liverpool, 299 CONTENTS. 7 Section II. — Liverpool — Mr. Sands — Curious chair — Deaf and dumb instruc- tion — Birmingham — Dr. Squiers — Mr. Gillet — Dinner at the high-bailiff's — Clergy of Birmingham — Dr. Kewley a Jesuit — ^First Sabbath in England — ^Rev. Mr. Morgan — J. A. James — Journey to London — Arrival, . 312 Section III. — London — Bible Society's House — Mr. Brandram — Lord Teign- mouth — Bromley and Beckenham — Auxiliary anniversary — Clergymen's widows — Dinner at Mr. Inglis' — Dr. Parker — Woolwich grounds — Royal marquee — First Sabbath in London — Bishop Blomfield — Preachers charac- terized- — British and Foreign Bible Society — Counsellor Marriott — Relig- ious Tract Society — St. Bartholomew's, and Rev. Mr. Wilkinson — British Museum, and T. Hartwell Home — Samuel Charles Wilkes — Zachary Mac- auley — Methodist Missionary House — Prayer-book and Homily Society, and Mr. Pritchett — Irish Society Anniversary — Hibernian Society — Statis- tics — Second Sabbath in London — Bridewell chapel, St. Paul's, and Fleet- street — The Rev. Mr. Denham, 317 Section IV. — Week of the great Anniversaries — Monday, May 3, Wesleyan Missionary Society — Dinner at Mr. Haslope's — Tuesday, Church Mission- ary Society — Dinner at Mr. Solicitor Forster's — ^Wednesday, British and Foreign Bible Society — Lord Bexley, Bishop of Winchester, Bishop of Chester, Mr. Wilbcrforce, Dr. Milnor, Hon. Charles Grant, M. P., Daniel Wilson, etc. — ^Introduction to the Bishops — Dinner at Mr. Williams' — Re- ligious exercises — Thursday, Clerical breakfast — Tract Society's western meeting — Prayer-book and Homily Society — Dr. Milnor's speech — Dinner at Mr. Bickersteth's — Literary company — ^Friday, Clerical breakfast — Lon- don Jews' Society — Dinner at Mr. Hatchard's — Saturday, Rural scene at Clapham — Mr. Gilliat — Mr. Mcllvaine's arrival — Blackheath Branch Bi- ble Society — Third Sabbath in London, 331 Section V. — Further Anniversaries — Religious exercises of the week, at breakfasts and dinners — Baptist Noel and Waltham-stow — Critique on country residences — Daniel Wilson, and breakfast at Islington — Lord Bex- ley — Anniversary of the Reformation Society — Bishop of Winchester, and St. James' Square — Guernsey custom — Capt. Gordon, and St. James' Place — Discussion revived — Animated scene at one of the anniversaries — Clark- son, Wilberforce, and others — Mr. Ewbank and Mr. Peckham, . 343 Section VI. — Sabbath at Camberwell — Melvill — Dulwich College — Green- wich Hospital — Breakfast at J. Haldane Stewart's — Caledonian chapel, and Dr. Chalmers — Social engagements — Woolwich, and Dr. Gregory — Sabbath at Paul's Cray, and John Symonds — Institution for Deaf and Dumb, and Mr. Watson — Dinner at Zachary Macauley's — Views of Millen- arians, Irving, McNeile — Interesting intercourse with Daniel Wilson at Islington — Stoke-Newington, and Dr. Watts — Business with Church Mis- sionary Society — Charity-school Anniversary at St. Paul's — Joseph John Gurney — Sunday thoughts of home — Trait in morals — Visits about London — Missionary institution at Islington — Professors Pearson, Ayre, and Lee — Daughter of Legh Richmond — Turvey — William Allen, and Stoke-Newing- ton — Hannah Kilham — Accident and peril — Sufferings, . . . 353 Section VII. — Visit to Paris — Accident on the Thames — From Calais to Paris — Beggars — Paris — Catholic service at St. Roche's — Vaults under the 8 CONTENTS. Pantheon — Bishop Luscomh — Visits to distinguished citizens — Professor Kieffer — M. Monod fils — Institution for the Deaf and Dumh — Sunday in Paris — Paroxysm of gout — Teacher for the New York Institution for the Deaf and Dumh — Mons. and Mad. Serrurier — Reminiscence of political life — M. Vaysse, Jr. — Dinner with M. Vaysse, Sen. — Literary company — Symptoms of revolution — Versailles — Return to England, . . 376 Section VIII. — Visit to Isle of Wight — Contrast between France and Eng- land — Sabbath at Ryde — Mr. Sibthorpe — Scenery — Tomb of " Little Jane " — Brading church — Sandown bay — Scenery of '• African Servant" — ^Natu- ralness of Legh Richmond's descriptions — Shanklin-Chine — Reading of "The Young Cottager" — Bonchurch and UnderclifF — Appuldercomb — Scenery of "Dairyman's Daughter" — Dairyman's cottage — Arreton church — Newport — Mr. Mcllvaine ill — Trip to Southampton — Western tour — Carisbrook castle — Clerical mayor — Shorwell — Scenery — Freshwater-gate — Caverns — The Needles — Return to Newport, .... 385 Section IX. — Departure from the Isle of Wight — Tour through England, Wales, and Ireland — Southampton — Winchester, cathedral and school — Exeter — Scenery — Expensive road — Humorous signboards — Ilfracombe — Romantic position — Ancient church — Linton — Striking scenery — Porlock — Amusing colloquy with an Innkeeper — Progress to Bristol — Mr. Prust — Clifton — Robert Hall — Visit to Hannah More — Bishop Hobart's letter on Dr. Milnor's speech — Controversy in New York — Dr. Milnor's reply — Mr. Pritchett's letter — Other letters — Departure from Bristol — Election mob — The four daughters of Droitwich — Election canvass at Bridgenorth — Rot- ten borough system — Lovely scenery — Beautiful vale of Llangollen^-Ro- mantic scenery — Welsh language — Passage of the moiintains — Snowden — Magnificent scenery — Bangor — Suspension bridge over Menai Strait — An- glesea — Holyhead — Embarkation — Sleep in a storm — Janting-car — Dublin — ^Rainy ride to Belfast, . . . . . . . .395 Section X. — Tour through Scotland, and north of England — Arrival at Glas- gow — Contrast with Ireland — Institutions of Glasgow — Statistics — Social engagements — Temperance meeting — Deaf and Dumb Institution — Depart- ure for Edinburgh — Dr. Byrne, and the General Assembly — A Scotch dis- cussion — John Sheppard — Mrs. Sheppard and Lord Byron — Long walk to Arthur's seat — Dr. Chalmers — Episcopal clergy — Breakfast at Dr. Chal- mers' — Discussion — Holyrood House — Asylum for Deaf and Dumb — Jour- ney among the Cheviot Hills — Assize Court at Carlisle — Lake scenery — Kendal and Manchester — School for Deaf and Dumb — Sabbath in Man- chester — The Rev. Mr. Stowell — Remarkable Infant-school teacher — Jour- ney to Sheffield — Derbyshire scenery — Sheffield — Montgomery — Social and religious scenes — Bible Society meeting — Valuable acquaintances — Vicar of Sheffield — Affecting parting with Montgomery — Touching reminiscence — Return to London, 429 Section XI. — Business engagements- — Recurrence to Bishop Hobart's letter- Adieus of the Bible Society — Lord Bexley — Parting dinner with Zachary Macauley — Robert Owen and his schemes — William Allen — Parting din- ner -wath Lord Bexley — Visit to Cambridge — Prof. Farish — Mr. Simeon — Pleasant traA'elling companion — Anecdote — Parting A'isit to Lord Teign- CONTENTS. 9 mouth — Departure from London — Mrs. Dixon of Henley — Religion at an inn — Oxford — Embarkation at Liverpool, 27th of September — Reception in New York — Reputation of Dr. Milnor in England — Results of mission, 446 PART V. HIS MINISTRY FROM 1830 TO 1845. Section L — Kenyon College, and Milnor Professorship — J. M. West — State of St. George's — Letter to a clerical correspondent — Clerical removals — Literary Convention — Letters to his son — Cholera season — Eleanor's ill- ness — Journey into Maine — Extracts from letters — Letter to his son against entering the Navy — Letter to Bishop Mcllvaine — Bristol College — Mission to Green Bay — Illustrative letters — Results of the mission, . . . 460 Section II. — Letter to Bishop Mcllvaine — Episcopal periodicals — Visit to Boston, Massachusetts Convention — General Convention, 1835 — Reorgani- zation of Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society — Secretary and Gene- ral Agent — Generosity — The Rev. J. W. Cooke — Labors as Secretary and General Agent — Reappointment declined — Influence on our Mission.s — Letters during his Secretaryship — Proposed mission to Persia — Tour to Cleveland — Ohio Convention — Letters on his tour — Close of labor as Sec- retary and General Agent, 488 Section III. — Rev. Mr. Cooke — Letters from Lord Bexley and Montgomery — Tractarianism — Letter against withdrawing from our Missionary organiza- tion, etc. — Letter to Bishop Smith on Church views — Board of Missions at Baltimore — Letter to Bishop Mcllvaine — Letter to H. Van Wagenen — General Convention, 1838 — Division of the Diocese of New York — Northern tour with Bishop Meade, 510 Section IV. — Case of G. Y. — Illustrative letters — Results of Dr. Milnor's efforts to save a fallen youth — Oxford Tract controversy — Letter to Bishop Mcllvaine — Gloomy forebodings — Charge on Justification — From Dr. Spar- row, resigning the Milnor Professorship— To Bishop Mcllvaine, " Oxford Divinity," 527 Section V. — Letter to Dr. Beasley — Visit to Alexandria — Letter from the Bishop of Calcutta — Splendid tribute to Bishop Mcllvaine's "Oxford Di- vinity" — Answer — From Bishop Meade, Missions to Western Asia — Let- ter to Bishop Mcllvaine, Dr. Fuller appointed " Milnor Professor " — Mary- land State Colonization Society — Carey Ordination— Letters from Bishops Meade and Smith — Semi-annual Bible Society meeting at Cincmnati — Dr. Milnor appointed to read an essay on " The Rule of Faith " — Letter to Bishop Smith, Oxfordism — Stormy Convention in New York, 1843 — Busi- ness at Buffalo — Letter from Dr. Aydelott, Dr. Spring's essay on " The Rule of Faith" — The Rev. P. P. Irving Assistant at St. George's — Letter from J. Haldane Stewart, . . . . . . . . . 553 Section VI. — Dangerous attack of gout, 1844 — Letters on recovery, from Mr. Irving, Bishop Eastburn, and W. H. Walter — From the Bishop of Calcutta — From Bishop Mcllvaine — Love of repose — Visit to Middle Haddam — Heavy domestic affliction — General Convention of 1844 — Ecclesiastical trial — Dr. Milnor's testimony — Latin letter — Bishop Smith's tribute to Dr. 10 CONTENTS. Milnor's conduct at the trial — Wm. H. Milnor's " Recollections " — Long- ings for repose, not for inaction — Free chapel movement — Mr. Irving' s letter — Action of the Vestry — Vigorous old age — Impressive incident at a meeting of the Directors of the Deaf and Dumb Institution — Sudden death — Wm. H. Milnor's account of the closing scene — Habitual preparation for sudden death — Public demonstrations of grief — The funeral — Discourses on his death, ........... 575 PART VI. RETROSPECT OF HIS LIFE AND CHARACTER. 1 . His connection with the Bible Society — Principle of action. — Dr. Brigham's statement — Influence of Dr. Milnor in the Society. 2. His connection ■with the Tract Society — Carrying out of principle of action — Mr. Hallock's statement — Illustrative documents — Preciousness of Dr. Milnor's name in the Tract cause. 3. His connection with the cause of Education. 4. His position in the Episcopal Church — A sketch — Prominence of Dr. Milnor in the Evangelical cause — His relation to the Church at large, and to the Diocese of New York in particular — Anecdotes. 5. Traits of character — Illustrative anecdotes and views — Intellectual traits — Theological traits — Pulpit traits— Dr. Cutler's sermon — Domestic traits, hospitality, cheerful- ness, the Christian gentleman, benevolence — Mr. Peet's sermon — Death to the good man never sudden — Anecdotes — Habits of sermon-writing, and pastoral duty — Favorite allegory — Idea of true Catholicism — Indifference to official elevation — Close, . . . . . . . .597 MEMOIR. PART I. EARLY LIFE, LEGAL PRACTICE, AND POLITICAL CAREER. SECTION I. It is peculiar to the true children of God, that before they reach that perfect life which awaits them in heaven, they will have lived two blessed and beneficent lives on earth. This made the apostle say of the faith of Abel, " By it he, being dead, yet speaketh." For thousands of years, men have had a knowledge of the name, and faith, and gracious acceptance of that early saint. Through that whole period, indeed, he has been sleeping among the dead. Yet has he all the while had a most precious life among the living. In the experience of eminent saints, the one of these two lives is, at the longest, short ; the other is, at the shortest, long. The one is spent by the living among the living ; the other oometh up to the living from among the dead. The one is the light of labor, and example, and influence, mov- ing rapidly towards the grave ; the other is the power of faith, . and love, and suffering, coming back in perennial memories from the tomb. In the one, the faithful may see rich fruits from the short summer of their toils ; in the other, they will hear of fruits richer still, because so many ages shall lie within their harvest- time. In the former, faith sometimes does its work, like Abel's, in one great sacrifice ; in the latter, that faith, living in some God-inspired record, often carries on its work through long gen- erations, and over distant realms. To those who have finished well the former of these two lives, religious biography seeks to secure the most beneficial results of 12 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR the latter ; and whether that biography swell to volumes, or be but as the brief paragraph which has brought down to our know- ledge the triumph of Abel's faith, yet, if it include all and only what God would keep alive, it doeth excellent work, and shall have unfailing fruits. The writer will add but this, that such is the work which he would fain do in penning the following memoir. James Milnor, late rector of St. George's church, New York, was born in the city of Philadelphia, on the 20th day of June, 1773. His immediate ancestors belonged to the society of Friends ; his father and mother, "William and Anna Brientnall Milnor, being by birth and education members of that respecta- ble body. Family tradition reports that they were both descend- ants of the early settlers of Pennsylvania, and has treasured facts showing that they were worthy of their descent. Without attempting to trace minutely the genealogy of the family, it may still be proper to bestow some notice upon those with whom Dr. Milnor was immediately connected. His father was born in the state of New Jersey, settled early near Falsington, in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, subsequently removed to his native state, and finally fixed himself with his household in Philadelphia. The original orthography of the family name was Milner, and so it is still written in England. When the subject of this memoir visited England, he found the Milners numerous in Lancashire. The name was changed to Milnor by the early pioneers of the family in this country. William Milnor, the father of the late rector of St. George's, shared largely the respect of his people and acquaintances. To the plain manners and characteristic integrity of the Friends, he added great energy and a cheerful disposition. His cheerful- ness was often tried, but never overcome, by that trying disorder to which he was a victim, the gout. Dr. Milnor has often been heard to say, that his father always preserved his equanimity of temper, even when suffering the most violent paroxysms of his disorder. He related that, under a peculiarly agonizing fit, his father was once sitting with his feet on a pillow, swathed in flannel, and too tender to be touched without distressing pain, when his daughter's dress, in her attempt to reach something on HIS EARLY LIFE. 13 the mantel, took fire. Upon rushing into the room, he found the old gentleman, wholly unconscious of pain, busily stamping out the flames with his gouty feet. In truth, the gout had left him ; nighly delighted, too, with the suddenness of his cure. The next day, however, his delight ended in bitter disappointment ; for his disorder not only returned, but came back with strong reinforcements of violence. According to the wholesome custom of those good old days, which provided every young man some^ sure means of livelihood, William Milnor was early bred to the handicraft of a cooper ; but developing talents for other pursuits, he soon engaged in trade, and at the period which introduced the Revolution, was extensively engaged in a fishery. At the same time, he was factor to Col. Washington of Mount Vernon ; and a valuable cor- respondence, now in possession of the Milnor family, shows that for sound judgment and strict integrity, he enjoyed largely the confidence of that great man. From one of the letters in this correspondence, it appears that they had a joint interest in one of the fisheries. " I have not been unmindful of my promise," writes Col. Washington, " in respect to the fish-house. Before the next season, I shall have one erected for your accommo- dation, not doubting but it may turn out to both our advan- tages." ' The salting of fish appears to have been, even then, an exten- sive business in this country. Inspectors of these articles were appointed by several of the local governments ; and in Philadel- phia, this post was held by William Milnor. It is important to note his connection in business with Col. Washington, as proof of his high character, and as having had no little influence on his subsequent life. When the drama of the Revolution opened, his patriotism took fire ; and in spite of the discipline of the Friends, which is opposed to all war, defensive as well as aggres- sive, he at once applied for a commission in the army. His attachment to his old friend, who had by this time become General Washington, was perhaps the spark which kindled his patriotism into a flame, and made so painful the disappointment which awaited him. The reasons for withdrawing his applica- tion for a commission are stated in the following letter. 14 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. To Gen. George Washington, January, 1776. " Honorable Sir — Your very kind favor of the 20th of De- cember came safe to hand, and gave me great relief. I am happy, inasmuch as I have not displeased your excellency in my conduct so far. I am unhappy, however, because I cannot get into the army. I had thrown in a petition for a captaincy, and had the greatest prospect of success. Mr. Franklin, in conse- quence of your letter, had made the way clear for me ; my spirits were elevated, and there appeared nothing in view that could stop me. My wife, from continued assurances of my unalterable intention of going, had got nearly reconciled to it. But alas, a few days before the appointment of officers, the old ferry was to be let. , I was immediately surrounded by my friends, insisting that there was no fitter person for that busi- ness than myself; and as it was a place of profit, I ought, in consideration of my large family, to prefer being with them to going abroad on any terms. Their reasonings, together with the entreaties of my dear partner, prevailed on me to withdraw my petition, and I am now a drudge at the old ferry, within two doors of where I formerly lived in Water-street. / thank my God, he has g-iven me a persevering disposition, equal to any task he is pleased to lay upon me in this life. I never found any prospect of fatigue an annoyance to any undertaking, when a probability of a good, genteel sustenance for my little flock offered in view; and this business would be a very agreeable one to me, if these unhappy disturbances were at an end. But I cannot conclude this letter until I have assured your excel- lency, that / shall remain a poor, unhappy wretch, as long as I am chained, and cannot take an active part in my country's cause. Whether a true patriotic concern for my country, or secret thirst after honor, or both combined, is the spring by which my spirits are actuated, I have the vanity to believe that the former is the chief motive, and that only experience is wanted to make me a soldier. I sometimes please myself by thinking, that, when my wife has gained experience in our pres- ent business, and if the troubles should increase in the ensuing summer as it seems probable they will, I will place some steady hand to assist her, and again offer myself to my country." HIS EARLY LIFE. 15 In this letter breathes the true spirit of '76 ; and to those who were well acquainted with Dr. Milnor, it will be evident that one at least of the characteristic traits of the father — his inflexible, self-relying perseverance in any high and worthy pur- suit — was largely inherited by the son. Although the former was constrained to abandon his suit for a commission in the army, yet he by no means remained idle during the great strug- gle on which his country was then entering. Even his position at the " old ferry," in his plain, (Quaker garb, gave him no poor facilities for acquiring important information of the enemy's movements ; and of those facilities he made the most. He was one of the many, whom the clear-judging Washington had the good fortune to attach to him, whose humble names have long since been forgotten ; but whose services, as in other matters, so especially in transmitting by various channels intelligence of great value to the cause of the struggling colonies, were truly invaluable. About the " old ferry," Mr. Milnor usually drove a chaise with an ingenious false bottom ; so that, though often suspected of being in the interests of the revolutionists, yet he was never detected by the enemy. Twice, indeed, he was obliged to fly for his life ; but the same good Providence which guided and guarded Washington, preserved him harmless to the close of the conflict. His services were not confined to the conveyance of intelligence : he did much towards furnishing supplies for the patriot army. His conduct during the Revolution, of course gave great offence to "the heads of meeting," and he was formally dis- owned. After the peace he, with other Friends similarly situ- ated, formed the society some time known in Philadelphia as " The Free and Independent Quakers." Their place of meeting was for many years at the corner of Fifth and Arch streets. A few years before his death he was reunited to the regular body, and died in the society's connection, at the age of 73. His wife had preceded him to the grave. Both, however, lived long enough to see their country in peace and prosperity, and their youngest son settled in life, and as a lawyer rising rapidly to wealth and honor. At his death the father held the office of city ganger, 16 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. to which, it appears, he had been appointed immediately after the peace, in consideration of his past services. It was, at that time, an important and lucrative office ; and after his decease, was continued to his son Isaac, and to his grandson Robert. The children of the family were five, two daughters ana three sons. The elder of the two daughters died at middle age. The younger, who was also the youngest child, was married to Dr. Joseph Klapp, a physician of eminence in Philadelphia; and after a life of sufiering from a painful disease, borne with Christian patience, died a few years before her favorite brother James. • Of the sons, Isaac, the oldest, was a merchant, and a man of strong mind and great energy. He died at middle age, of an acute attack of the gout. William junior was also a merchant, and stood high in the community. At one time he represented the city of Philadelphia in Congress. He was author of some political pamphlets popular in their day ; in later life was ap- pointed mayor of Philadelphia ; and on retiring from office, was elected one of the aldermen. When his brother James was in Congress, he thus wrote from Washington in a letter to his wife : " Gentlemen of the "first respectability for talents here speak of brother William as a man of great strength of mind, and a pleasing and sensible speaker in the House. They regret his non-reelection." In religious sentiments William was, until a short time before his death, a Presbyterian ; but he finally united with the Episcopal church in Burlington, N. J., whither he had removed. He was exceedingly attached to his brother James, and it was evident to the family that his . death was hastened by his grief for that dear brother's decease. He died about a year after the subject of this memoir. In passing, now, from these brief notices of the ancestry, and of the family kindred of James Milnor, to a detail of particulars in the life of this beloved " man of God," we find, as in other cases, little in his childhood that calls for record. His schoolboy days seem to have been bright and happy, because moral and industrious. At the Pennsylvania grammar-school, in his native city, he received the rudiments of his education ; and at an early age entered the university of Pennsylvania. One of his surviv HIS EARLY LIFE. 17 ing school and playmates, still living amid the scenes of their childhood, remembers well, that when a boy he was distinguished for the very traits which characterized him as a man, especially for soundness of judgment and kindness of disposition. By a sort of tacit election among his school-fellows, James Milnor was early raised to two important posts of distinction ; that of judge in their boyish controversies, and that of a student for his class- mates, whenever it was thfeir purpose to let play trench on the hours of study. They willingly submitted to his judgment in the former capacity, because confident his decisions would be ^ just ; while they gladly availed themselves of his diligence in the latter, because certain that the lessons which he prepared for them to copy, would be willingly as well as correctly done. His superior abilities were perhaps the more readily aekriow- Jedged, because associated with such superior kindness. \ After leaving the grammar-school and entering the university, his father's resources grew somewhat straitened. Unwilling, therefore, to exhaust on himself means to which he felt others had at least an equal claim, he generously resolved on the sacri- fice of leaving the university before taking his degree. This, with his sense of the importance of a thorough education, must have been a painful stop. It left him to supply, as best he might, the deficiency to which it doomed him. It did not, however, prevent his alma mater from subsequently giving him his degree of Doctor of Divinity. It may be added, that during Ms earlier studies, he had made considerable progress in the German lan- guage ; an acquisition of great service to him in his subsequent practice among his German clients about Norristown. ; He commenced the study of the law with Mr. Howell, an eminent Quaker lawyer of Philadelphia. This was probably as early as the year 1789, when he was no more than sixteen years of age ; for during this year we find him a member of a debating club, called " The Ciceronian Society," And, as one of its mem- bers, appointed to argue an important legal question. His whole argument has been preserved in manuscript ; it bears clearly the impress of the juvenile age at which it was penned, and shows, moreover, the disadvantages under which ho labored, from the interruption of his earlier classical studies. Still, it is an in- 18 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. teresting paper ; especially as it shows him to have become already warmly interested in the Pennsylvania penitentiary sys- tem, and in measures for meliorating the criminal code of the state ; and as it enables us to trace the progress of his mind, in style, and thought, and legal ability, between this period and that at which, four or five years later, he entered on the practice of the law. He continued his law studies with Mr, Howell till the year 1793, when that gentleman fell a victim to the yellow-fever, the fearful scourge which, at that time, almost desolated the city of Philadelphia, He then entered the office of Mr. Rawle, with whom he completed his preparatory legal studies. In the summer of 1793 occurred an incident deserving record, as illustrative of some beautiful traits in his character. When, from the flight of its inhabitants, the city had become almost a desert, and young Milnor was finally induced to retire to Alex- andria, where one of his brothers then resided, he embarked, with other citizens, in a schooner bound to that port. During the passage, he gave a striking proof both of real benevolence and af true courage. Soon after their embarkation, one of the passen- gers was seized with the well-known symptoms of the dreaded epidemic. The captain, crew, and all the other passengers for- sook the poor victim, and left him to. his fate. But in young Milnor was found another spirit. Although he had a peculiar dread of the disease, he yet remained by the sick man's side, and nobly acted as his faithful nurse. As the schooner's medi- cine-chest contained nothing but herbs, he administered to his patient a variety of decoctions, till, as the last spark of hope seemed expiring,; a profuse perspiration was induced, and the man most unexpectedly recovered. His admittance to the bar took place in the spring of 1794 ; and at the May term of the same year he was, on motion of his preceptor Rawle, admitted as an attorney of the court of Com- mon Pleas for the county of Montgomery. He was, therefore, in the practice of the law before he reached his legal majority. He was not twenty -one years of age till about a month after he be- came a practising attorney, or on the 20th of June, 1794. Previous to this date, however, he became a member, and HIS LEGAL PRACTICE. 19 was elected president of " The Law Society," in Philadelphia ; for on the 8th of February, 1794, he gave, from the presidential chair of the society, an extended and elaborate opinion, drawn up with all the gravity, precision, and learning of a judge, on the question, "Whether a jury, in an action of ejectment, can find the mesne profits in damages ?" and, apparently near the same date, he also delivered, as president of the society, an address at the first meeting after the adoption of its constitution. The fact of his being president of the association, as, well as the comparatively finished and very judicious character of both the documents to which I have referred, speaks well for his standing and attainments as a student of the law. In truth, between his first appearance in the Ciceronian, and his performances here as president of the Law Society, there is all the difference that can well be imagined between a boy of sixteen, and a young, but ripe and well- furnished scholar in legal science. His prominence in the Law Society, however, did not abate his interest in the Ciceronian. Shortly after his admission to the bar, and his settlement in practice at Norristown, he wrote a beautiful letter in reply to one from Aquila M. Bolton, "dele- gate for correspondence of the Ciceronian Society," assuring him of his continued zeal for the honor and prosperity of that insti- tution; of his purpose to persevere in the duties required by its constitution; and of his warm personal regard for many of its members. From the fact, lying on the records of the court, that when admitted as an attorney, he did not take the oath, but only gave an affirmation, it appears that he was then a regular and con- scientious member of the society of Friends. Though very young, and very youthful in appearance even for his years, yet his practice soon became respectable, and grew reasonably lucrative. It lay among the best families in Norris- town, and he retained it after his removal from the county of Montgomery. The date of his return to his native city is un- certain, but it was as early as 1797 ; since, in June of that year, he was again an active member of the Philadelphia Law Society; and in August of the same year was once more its president. 20 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR His membership in the societies which have been mentioned, was doubtless of great practical utility. It was there that he early acquired the somewhat remarkable readiness and accu- racy in extemporaneous discussion and debate, which enabled him to bear so active and prominent a part in the business of all the deliberative bodies in which he was subsequently called to act. The incidents of his life while engaged in legal practice at Norristown, are not at this time recoverable. He was yet un- married, though it was pi^obably there he formed an acquaintance with the lady who subsequently became his wife. It was there, too, that he was initiated, and entered, with the enthusiasm of youth, into the mysteries of the society of . " Free and accepted Masons." In a diary, which he afterwards began to keep, and under date of March 17, 1800, he writes, "I was elected master of Lodge No. 31, while I resided in Norristown; but since my return to the city, I have been a member of No. 3, and am now treasurer of the latter." " On St. John's day, December 27, 1798, I was elected senior- warden of the Grand Lodge ; and on St. John's day, December 27, 1799, was unanimously reelected to the same office." And according to the dates furnished by his son, William H. Milnor, M. D. — to whose valuable " Recol- lections" the writer is indebted for most of the facts thus far recorded — in 1805, after having filled many important subordi- nate offices, he was elected grand-master of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, and held that office, by yearly reelections, till 1813, the great turning-point of his life. His labors, during his grand-mastership, in disseminating the principles of the order, and in extending its prosperity, were most assiduous, and his annual communications to the lodges under his charge are said to have been replete with sound and wholesome moral instruction. He was mainly instrumental in the erection of the old Masonic Hall in Chesnut-street, Philadel- phia, and conducted the ceremony of its dedication, on the festi- val of St. John the Baptist, June 24, 1811. He pronounced his dedicatory oration, which his friend Bradford calls " graceful in delivery, and eloquent in itself," in St. John's Lutheran church, in Race-street • and it was on this occasion, that, as they left HIS LEGAL PRACTICE. 2|* the church together, his friend remarked to Mm, "Why, Right- Worshipful, you were cut out for a parson ;" little dreaming that the idea would one day be realized. Concurrently with his relinquishment of legal practice in 1813, he resigned his grand-mastership ; and, upon accepting ' his resignation, a beautiful and costly jewel, now in his son Henry's possession, was voted to him by the Grand Lodge, as a testimony of respect and attachment ; its delivery being accom- panied by appropriate formalities and a touching address. With many, peradventure, the last few paragraphs will throw more of a painful than of a pleasing interest round the name of Milnor ; nevertheless, as a faithful biographer, the writer could hardly with propriety keep out of sight so prominent a portion of his early life as was his connection with Free Masonry. Be- sides, whatever men's present views of Masonry may have be- come, none can refuse to believe that he considered the prmci- ples of the order to be pure. Oh the 5th of July, 1795, he was elected a member of " The Society for promoting the abolition of Slavery, for the relief of iree negroes unlawfully held in bondage, and for improving the condition of the African race." At the annual meeting of that society for 1796, he was elected one of its counsellors ; and for several succeeding years was annually reelebted to the same office. In 1797 he was made secretary, as well as counsellor ; and con- tinued to hold both offices for several years. In his diary of March 17, 1800, he writes, " For two years past, the partiality of my fellow-members has honored me with the appointment of the corresponding committee ; and besides various nominations on special committees, I was, in the year 1798, elected one of the delegates to ' the fifth convention of delegates from the several abolition societies in the United States.' Soon after I became a member, I went through my routine of service (nine months) on the acting committee ; and, having drafted the ad- dress of our society to the fourth and fifth conventions, I have been requested to prepare the one which is to be presented to the sixth convention, to be held in this city on the first day of June next." These elections and appointments were not unmeaning com- ^22 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. V pliments. They were selections of a man who, though young, yet entered with mature heartiness into the interests of the so- ciety with which he was thus incorporated. If he was not born with antislavery feelings, they were yet quickly generated in his heart by the whole moral nurture through which his infancy and childhood were carried by his Quaker parents. How long he continued to act in the affairs of this society, there are no means of deciding, since he either discontinued his diary a few days after the date last cited, or has suffered its continuation to be lost. In his son's " Recollections" it is stated, that, besides the various offices, already mentioned, which he filled, he was attorney to the society, and that on him devolved the burden of much of its business. The society, it is believed, was founded and supported chiefly by the Quakers ; and the zeal and ability with which he entered into its measures, made him conspicuous in its counsels and influential on its action. It would be a groundless inference to conclude, from what has been said, that when the more recent abolition movement took its rise. Dr. Milnor must have been found among its active supporters. Such was not the position which he subsequently assumed. His sympathies with the slave never abated; but as they enlisted him^ at a later period, in the cause of African Colonization, so they continued to flow strongly in the channel of that society's labors. The original abolition societies of this country, as we have seen, aimed at the improvement of the con- dition of the African race, and at the relief of free negroes un- lawfully held in bondage; while, if they contemplated the abolition of the slave-trade and of slavery itself, they still evi- dently looked at this latter result as a point to be reached, not directly, but indirectly, through the "improvement," the gradual elevation "of the African race." Under the quiet forms of such an organization, and amid the temperate influences which ema- nated from those forms, his zeal for the slave was early disci- plined; and by long use, he became habituated, perhaps it may be said, unchangeably habituated, to such action only as those forms and influences admitted. At an early period, he also became warmly and actively in- terested in the fire department of his native city. It was in HIS LEGAL PRACTICE. 23t December, 1797, that, as he says, "A number of young men, of whom I was one, associated together for the purpose of form- ing a fixe company. "We subscribed fifteen dollars towards the purchase of an engine, and near eight dollars each for the pur- chase of buckets. Our company is limited to sixty members. We have been full, but have now,^" March 17, 1800, " not more than fifty attending members. Soon after its formation, the company honored me with the office of president, and have since, at each successive election, continued me in that station." The company was called " The Resolution Fire Company." '-• The fire companies of Philadelphia were, at that time, evi- dently composed of respectable young gentlemen; and were voluntary, irresponsible bodies, acting without concert, and, to a great extent, without efficiency. In this state they continued till he had been about two years a fireman. Early in the winter of 1800, however, having deeply felt the serious evils incident to the condition of the fire companies, he attempted, as president of the Resolution Fire Company, to introduce a new order of things; and his labors, in conjunction with those of his fellow- firemen, resulted in giving existence to "The Philadelphia Fire Association ;" a body of form, and system, and efficiency, in the place of what had before been a formless, ungoverned, and in a great measure inefficient multitude of firemen. The details of his labors and of the posts of honor which he occupied, in connection with this association, as recorded in his diary, illustrate Mr. Milnor's talents for business, the readiness with which he engaged in every thing that concerned the public welfare, and the manner in which he infused life and activity into the various bodies to which he belonged. He evidently con- sidered the fire department a most important institution ; and felt that his post of service in it was highly useful, and because useful, therefore honorable. In the summer of 1798, during the last week in July, the yellow-fever again invaded Philadelphia, and continued, for sev- eral months, to rage with truly desolating violence. Early in August, his father's family, where he still had his home, broke up, and dispersed. He makes the following entry in his diary, August 11 : " The yellow-fever made its appearance in this city 24 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. about two weeks since. Preparations for escaping its destruc- tive ravages have so engrossed my time, that, for some days past, I have omitted to pay any attention to my diary. To-day, my father's family are removing to Mr. Aaron Oakford's, near Darby ; my sister Anna starts for Elkton; and I go to Norristown. Thus distributed, God knows when it will be our fortune again to unite at our home." The pestilence raged horribly. His diary for September 5, ^ves a lively idea of the state of the city, and at the same time of the tenderness of his nature. " The accounts from Philadelphia are to the last degree dis- tressing. On the list of victims to the ruthless destroyer, I find the names of several of my friends ;" especially that of " my ever-to-be-lamented friend Dr. Francis Bowes Sayre. This gen- tleman fell a glorious martyr to his philanthropy. ■ V- "A rhost affecting address has been published by the board of health. They declare their efforts to arrest the progress of pestilence and death to be vain. Safety is to b6 secured only by flight. Indeed, the greater part of those who have the means, have already deserted this dreadful place. But the poor ! How must the heart of every feeling man be melted at the descrip- tion which is given of their horrid situation. Never did time and opportunity offer when it more properly behooved the rich to extend relief and preservation to this unfortunate class of our fellow-men. Past experience authorizes the anticipation that the occasion will be embraced with a cordiality worthy of gen- erous minds." His next entry is two months later, November 4, 1798. "It is two months this day since I have made a minute in my diary. During all this time, I have led the dull and monotonous life of an idle man.. Expelled from home by the dreadful scourge which has unceasingly ravaged the city since the begin- ning of August last, I have had no business, except my small practice in Montgomery county, to attend to. Yesterday I re- turned to the city, my father and his family having arrived a few days before me. The streets have not yet resumed their usual cheerfulness ; nor c^n such a thing be looked for very soon, considering the loss, by death, of 3,446 of our inhabit- HIS LEGAL PRACTICE. 25 aiits, and all the variety of miseries attendant and consequent on such a mortality. Other accounts make the number of deaths 3,637." The principal object in referring to these ravages of the fever, is to show how they introduced important incidents in his life. During his temporary retirement, having resumed his law prac- tice in the courts of Montgomery county, he engaged as counsel for plaintiff in, trying an important cause ; the demand upon de- fendent being for £1,161. He obtained a verdict for his client, awarding the full amount claimed. His argument was regarded as one of his best efforts, and raised him high in public favor. He says of it in his diary, " I have the great satisfaction of finding my conduct in this business very generally approved ; and have received many flat-, tering encomiums from the jury to whom my speech was ad- dressed. I never felt riiyself better master of my subject, nor better inclination for doing justice to it ; but the weather is so excessively warm, that I find standing on my feet for an hour and a quarter has excessively fatigued me." But the most interesting result of his summer and autumn retreat from Philadelphia grew out of his intercourse, during that time, with the family of Mr. Henry Pawling, a substantial farmer near Norristown. Of this intercourse he gives some glowing accounts ; and it was doubtless the occasion of ripening in him a most true and tender affection for the only daughter of that gentleman, the amiable Miss Eleanor Pawling. She became his wife, and their marriage took place not long after his return to the city. His return, as we have seen, was on the 3d of November, 1798 ; and their marriage was celebrated the 28th of February, 1799. On the 2d of March, he brought his wife from her father's in the country to his father's in the city ; and on the 10th of April, removed with her to their own house in Arch-street, between Second and Third, which he had rented for $400 per annum. "With this lady he lived till the day of his death, in the enjoyment of a confidence, an affection, and a hap- piness, which soberly realized much, if not all of the bright im- aginings which he records on the day of their marriage. His record is as follows : 26 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. " February 28, 1799. This day, the happiest of my life, I was united in marriage with my best of friends, Eleanor Paw- ling, daughter of Henry Pawling, Esq., of Montgomery county. "' This was the day — the eager wished-for day, '' INIy greedy soul had treasured up so long, And, in contracting fancy, half-possessed, To blot out every blacker hour of life, "^ And pay, with double interest of joys, Courtship's dull toils and expectation's pangs; The day has now arrived, and brings more joy Thah keen imagination's self e'er hoped.' " This is the state to which all my reflections have taught me to look up, as the happiest with which it has pleased a be- neficent Providence to bless his creature man. In the possession of the woman who has my first and warmest love, and perfectly assured of a reciprocity of affection, I look forward to the en- joyment of many happy days." ' A kind Providence permitted him to realize his anticipations. They lived long together, and their long lives were happy. After their marriage, however, eight years elapsed before they were blessed with offspring. Their first-born was William Henry ; and after him were born six other children, two of whom died in infancy, and one, their daughter Eleanor, after long months of dreadful suffering, fell asleep about a year after her father. Four children, with their widowed mother, still survive, and are all settled, with or near her, in New York. Shortly after Mr. Milnor's marriage, occurred an incident which, peradventure, proved the remote antecedent of an im- portant consequence. Till his marriage he lived, as he had been educated, a Quaker. His education, indeed, had not been one of great strictness in the customs of the Friends ; still, it had induced him no,t to forsake the ways of his parents and remoter ancestry. But his marriage led to the severance of the bond which had thus far detained him among the religious fol- lowers of William Penn. The severance, moreover, was not, on his part, voluntary ; it was on their part, disciplinary. His wife belonged to an Episcopal family ; and they were married by a clergyman who was willing to receive a wedding fee. For these things he was, in due process of time and form, read out HIS LEGAL PRACTICE. 27 of meeting ; and thus, though not immediately, yet ultimately became a member and a minister of the Protestant Episcopal church. In later years, when he came to have some^ however inadequately serious thoughts, and had resumed his long-sus- pended diary, for the, special piirpose of preserving Sunday sketches of the sermons to which he listened, he thus alludes, in a passing note, to this penal consequence of his marriage : " On the subject of religion I have thought much, but not profitably. Born of parents connected with the society of Qua- kers, in my youth I attended their places of public worship ; but my education was little conformed to the strictness of their re- ligious discipline; and, with the utmost respect for the society, I could not but believe that there was, among its members, much of enthusiasm, and a degree of useless rigor in the non-essential articles of dress and address. My marriage to a lady not a member of the society of Friends, occasioned my disownment ; and since that event, which happened in the year 1799, I have seldom gone to their meetings." The form of his disownment has been preserved, and is here inserted. "At a monthly meeting of Friends of Philadelphia, held 29th of eleventh month, 1799, the following testimony was agreed to, and a copy directed to be given to the party, namely, , , " James Milnor, of this city, attorney at law, who had a birthright among us the people called Quakers, disregarding the order of our discipline, hath accomplished his marriage, with the assistance of a hireling minister, to a woman not professing with us ; and, in his dress and address, deviated from that plain- ness and moderation consistent with our religious profession; for which deviations he hath been treated with, but without the desired effect. We therefore no longer consider him a member of our religious society ; nevertheless, desire he may become duly sensible of his errors and seek to be restored." How sincerely they desired his restoration we may judge from the fact that a committee, probably that which was ap- pointed to " treat" with him, made a proposal, when they called, to reinstate him on some slight acknowledgment of error. They were evidently very unwilling to lose a man whose general life 28 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. was so irreproachable, and who was so rapidly rising to influence in his native city. He received their proposal kindly, but face- tiously replied to it, that it was "rather too much to ask of a man whose honeymoon was scarcely ended, and that he must decline." This summer, in August, 1799, the yellow-fever made its third entry into Philadelphia. Mr. Milnor therefore removed his family to the country, where they took up their residence with his father-in-law. By the 20th of October, however, they had returned to the city ; the pestilence having, on this occasion, assumed a milder type than on either of its preceding visits. It is now time to look at Mr. Milnor's character and standing as a lawyer ; for he had already given decisive proofs of what, in this capacity, he was to become. As we have seen, he commenced the practice of law at Nor- ristown, where his income exceeded his expenses ; so rapidly did his abilities and conduct, even at the early age of twenty-one, elevate him to a respectable standing in his profession. Some time after his removal to Philadelphia, he began the diary from v^^hich extracts have already been given. An entry, made so late as June 6, 1800, being a retrospect for the purpose of noting his success or his failure in realizing and investing pecuniary results, has a paragraph which throws some light upon his Norristown life ; while at the same time it illustrates the modesty with which he entered on legal practice. " I commenced my career," he observes, " with nothing but a small stock, say eighty pounds worth of books, the very mod- erate abilities bestowed on me by nature, and an education which gglve me no more reason to boast of my acquirements than I before had with regard to natural endowments. My outset in practice was made under heavy disadvantages. Removing, im- mediately after my admission, into Montgomery county, before I had quite attained the age of twenty-one years ; unacquainted with the world, and unknown to all the inhabitants of the county except two or three persons; possessed of very little of that great requisite, assurance ; and totally inexperienced in the practice of my profession, it is not surprising that I did not make greater progress in business during my residence there. Indeed, the HIS LEGAL PRACTICE. 29 progress which I did make was beyond my own expectations ; and though I feel no disposition to eulogize my subsequent ef- forts, yet I cannot say that, since^ my return to the city, my advances have been slower than I had been led to anticipate." . The views which prompted him to the commencement of his diary, are perhaps of sufficient interest to justify their insertion entire. "June 15, 1798. — The practice of making and preserving, notes of a man's daily transactions, connected with such occur- rences as are happening around him, as well in the private as in the public departments of society, with such reflections as his observation may suggest, has,. by many very respectable men in the literary world, been declared to be profitable and pleasing. " Their opinion of its utility has been founded upon actual experience, and is therefore entitled to the highest credit. It detracts not from the solidity of this opinion, when I acknowledge that the usefulness of a diary is diminished as the capacity of the man who keeps it is narrower, and as bis means of informa- tion and observation are more confined. Or perhaps it would place the matter in a juster point of light to say, that the jour- nal of a man of understanding and science is highly useful to himself and to all who enjoy the privilege of its perusal ; while that of a man who can lay no great claim to either understand- p ing or science, is profitable only to himself And its usefulness to himself depends not on the intrinsic value of his reflections, or the extent of his observations. It serves principally to recall to his recollection events which, from the feebleness of his re- tentive powers, would otherwise be lost to him. It may be an amusement to revive in his own mind the remembrance of cir- cumstances which are utterly unimportant to all the rest of the world. It may, in various contingences, be essentially service- able to him to be able to ascertain when events happened, which, in themselves, or in relation to other events eithet closely or remotely connected with them, it is of great importance to ascer- tain. We know what Hume and other writers have said of the association of ideas ; and every, one's own experience will supply him with numerous instances^ in which things have been brought to his recollection by the remembrance of circumstances trivial 30 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. in themselves, and apparently unconnected with what they bring to mind. " To these advantages, which a person of indifferent abilities may derive from a diary, it should be added, that the human mind is never in so degraded a state as to be incapable of im- provement. The custom of noting down reflections and obser- vations may induce a habit of reflecting and observing. This habit, no doubt, is the discoverer of faults ; and, in a mind pos- sessed of the least ingenuousness, the discovery of a fault is accompanied by regret that it should exist, and followed by res- olutions oi a corrective nature. Here, then, is a benefit amply compensating the trouble, a reward overpaying the labor of half an hour's clerkship each day. " How important are the inquiries which it satisfies. How have I spent my time ? What have I been doing ? Have I any knowledge of past times, except the ability of numbering the years and months that have rolled unimproved away? If I remember incidents that have occurred, did those incidents sug- gest profitable reflections ? If they did, have I retained the im- pressions which they made at the time ; or have they since been the foundation of advancement in intellectual improvement ? " If I find myself obliged to answer these inquiries in a way of which I am ashamed, it produces regrets and anxieties, which I shall not be willing again to experience. New resolutions are formed, and another self-examination results in emotions of a very difierent nature. '^ There is, in truth, no happiness, this side of the grave, superior to that of having done one's duty ; and present objects are often of so delusive a kind, that it is not until they have passed by, and their images are retraced on the mind, that we form notions in any way just respecting them. I do an act which, from present feeling, I believe innocent, perhaps praise- worthy. Let me note it down, and some time hence review it ; I may discover that, so far from being praiseworthy, it was not even innocent. It cannot be recalled, but the discovery which I have made will prevent its xepetition. - ^ " If the weakness of our nature produces self-satisfaction in the performance of our own actions, so it not infrequently leads HIS LEGAL PRACTICE. 31 US into unjust censures upon those of other persons. A good man will feel happy, in these cases, to find himself mistaken; and his diary may be the means of affording him this happiness. " While on this subject, it might be added, that as no one likes another as well as himself, why should not conversation with one's self be more gratifying than with another ? Happy, indeed, is he whose stores of intellectual acquirements afford a constant source from which that gratification may at all times be derived. To such a man no hour is vacant or heavy. He complains not of the leaden wings of Time ; he looks not anx- iously forward to the hour of rest; but, when it arrives, regrets that nature should require this temporary suspension of his faculties. The prospect of a visit in his slumbers from the airy goddess Fancy, and of his awaking with redoubled vigor and strength for new exertions, is his only consolation. , " Reflections like the foregoing have induced me to attempt a diary, and I mean to include in it all such matters of business, amusement, observation, sentiment, and reflection, as occasion and the routine of daily transactions may suggest. I do not mean to make it a minute or formal affair, nor that it shall be altogether uninterrupted; but as it is intended solely for my own perusal, its irregularity and want of order will be unim- portant." - From this opening of his diary, it is evident that nothing of religious motive or principle entered into the combination of ■views by which, at the outset of his active life, he was influ- enced. And yet, we perceive in it a disposition thoroughly to inspect, and honestly to judge, and a purpose practically to dis- cipline, and really to improve himself, from which self-know- ledge and self-culture might reasonably have been anticipated ; and which, if ever brought under the control of religious motive and principle, would be highly promissory of a thorough and eminent Christian character. The first entry in his diary illustrates a prominent trait in his habits as a man of business. " June 15, 1798. — Is there a greater evil than that of being in debt, without the means of getting out of debt ? There may be greater evils than this, and my imagination may give it a 32 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. coloring which it does not deserve ; but whatever foundation there may be for the belief, that it is not so great an evil as I suppose it to be, it would require some argument to alter my conceptions on the subject. " My next door neighbor is in debt. Upwards of two years ago he borrowed from me about two hundred dollars, and imme- diately afterwards one hundred and ten more. The latter sum he engaged to return in twenty-four hours, I have never received a shilling of these sums in money ; but as he is a book- seller, I have, at his earnest solicitation, taken books of him to the amount of nearly two-thirds of the demand. His note for the balance is now due, and he urges me to take books in pay- ment. I have agreed to take Yiner's Abridgment, which satisfies the debt, except thirty or forty dollars. " During the whole of the time Mnce the loan, he has perse- vered in a system of cringing prevarication and promises, which he must have known at the time he dealt them out, he never would fulfil. Various ai'tifices, false tales, shifts, and pretences, has he made use of ; and I have been the dupe of them. ■ I can- not believe him to be so destitute of feeling as not to be morti- fied and degraded in his own estimation, by the imagined neces- sity of resorting to them. But in the one case, or the other, I am unable to paint to myself a more humiliating situation for a human being to stand in. " I have derived from this transaction two pieces of instruc- tion, which are, in my view, an adequate compensation for the loss of the whole sum, had such an event happened. "1. To be cautious of hastily and unadvisedly lending money to a man of whose ability and punctuality I am not well assured, unless it be accompanied with adequate security. "2. To adhere religiously to a determination which I formed at the moment of my commencing business, nevef to incur a debt which I have the remotest apprehension of being unable, or even finding it inconvenient to discharge. And, in order con- stantly to possess the means of keeping this resolution, whatever my income may be, always to live within it." His next entry illustrates the same trait, and shows, besides, that his course, in the practice of the law, was, if not towards HIS LEGAL PRACTICE. (UNIVEESITY the confidence and the patronage, at least towards an acquaint- ance with the business transactions of citizens in the highest walks of life. " June 16. — ^When a man forms an opinion or hypothesis with which he is delighted, every new evidence of its truth or prosperity increases his attachment to it. This is the case with my reflections of yesterday." It seems that a gentleman " of high eminence in his profes- sion at the bar, and of the first reputation as a statesman in the, ' national legislature," had been building himself " a stately edifice at Easton ;" that he had hired two workmen from Philadelphia, who went with " a certain hope of a good job, in the gentleman's employ, for the whole summer ;" but that when they had finished their work, instead of receiving their pay in cash, they were obliged to content themselves with money enough to defray the expenses of their journey back to Philadelphia, and with their employer's notes " for the residue of their demand," at three, six, and nine months. The latest of these notes had long been due, and the holders of them had engaged Mr. Milnor in an attempt at their collection. But, "sheltering himself under his privileges as a representative in Congress," the maker of the notes " had, for many months, amused" his creditors and their lawyer "with"" protestations and promises, the making and the breach of which tallied exactly with each other." At length "fresh importuni- ties" from those whom he owed, brought a letter from him to their lawyer, of which Mr. Milnor writes thus. This letter "comes to a man his inferior with regard to abilities as a lawyer and a statesman, and in a station in life inferior and obscure compared with his. No one, however, would infer this from a perusal of the letter. The style is precisely such as a person in an inferior, would address to a person in a superior station. It exhibits a mortifying disclosure of his embarrassed circum- stances, and must have produced in him, while writing it, the most humiliating reflections. Pride, or more properly speaking, a commendable degree of self-respect, will ever preserve me from these horrible dilemmas, or the temper of mind which I at pres- ent feel must materially change." The result of the matter was, that the Congressman " agreed Mem. Hilnor. 3 34 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. to enter an amicable action on his notes in the Supreme Court," and Mr, Milnor afterwards bought them at their value from the workmen, and so became creditor to the embarrassed statesman. Four days later, the 20th of June, he thus notes the issue of his troubles with the bookseller. " After dunning to-day, and being shuffled off as usual, I am about to send him the following letter : " Sir — I am sure you can have no reason to believe, from 'my former conduct, that I would seek an occasion to destroy the friendship which has for some time subsisted between us. It is indeed with the most poignant regret that I have to com- plain of a series of unkind disappointments,, many of which, I cannot persuade myself to doubt, a very small exertion on your part might have prevented. As, however, my convenience has been uniformly postponed to your own, and as in this small matter I have heretofore exercised a forbearance for which any prudent man would justly censure me, I confess I now feel my- self perfectly at liberty to act as I conceive best for my own interest, "I have just told you that I am in want of a small sum to complete a payment. I am persuaded you can furnish me with it, if you have the inclination. If, therefore, I do not receive it before ten o'clock to-morrow morning, I shall hold myself at liberty to decline the acceptance of Viner, and shall do with your note whatever will most expeditiously supply me with money. I give you the refusal of it at a discount of nineteen dollars and thirty-five cents, and shall prefer your acceptance of this offer to taking the books which I hdve mentioned, " A trifling degree of pains will, I question not, enable you to comply with this last proposal, and the discount will com- pensate for the loss of the present opportunity of selling the books, "I conclude with assuring you that nothing could have given me so much uneasiness as to be obliged to cease calling myself, what I have ever done since our first acquaintance, " Your sincere friend and well-wisher, "JAMES MILNOR," « Mr, , June 20, 1798," HIS LEGAL PRACTICE. 35 Almost immediately after dispatching this significant epistle, he makes the following memorandum in his diary. " Mirabile dictu ! My letter has, in a few minutes*, produced me thirty-one dollars, with a promise of more before night." And before night, he adds, " The letter to produces the further effect of a pay- ment of the small remaining balance of seven dollars and thirty- five cents, which, with Viner's Abridgment, now agreed to be taken, settles all accounts between us to the present day. The books I am to receive to-morrow." • These extracts show with what feelings of high integrity Mr. Milnor entered on the business of life. The rules which he adopted from the outset, never to get into debt without the most reliable means of getting out of debt ; always to live within his income ; and never to lend money without adequate security, are unspeakably important to every man of business. To these rules Mr. Milnor was faithful, and to his fidelity he owed, under Providence, his uniformly increasing prosperity. His annual income always exceeded his annual expenditure, and so far as it can be ascertained from his diary, that income sustained a steady increase. He gives an occasional inventory of his effects, and a frequent statement of his income and expenses ; and the result uniformly shows that he was steadily, and not only so, but more and more rapidly rising in wealth. He was peculiarly strict with himself touching funds col- lected for his clients, never allowing himself to have on deposit to their credit less than the full amount of his collections for them. Once, indeed, on settling his accounts at bank, he dis- covered that he had drawn a small amount beyond what be- longed to him ; or had less left on deposit than the amount then due his clients. The discovery was disturbing, and he instantly took measures for putting his accounts in their proper state. "I have made it an invariable rule," he writes, in his diary, " since I have been in business, never to intrench upon clients' money, and although I am well persuaded that this first devia- tion will not subject me to any inconvenience, yet I have made a memorandum of it for two purposes : " 1. That I may with all diligence replace this $101 83 in bank. 36 MEMOIR OF DR. MILKOR. " 2. That I may be more careful in future, and not subject myself to the possibility of inconvenience or anxiety." He had a horror of debt, and of an unfaithful management of trusts, and the evidence of this gained him universal confi- dence, and won for him the honorable distinction of " the honest LAVTYER." A curious and pleasing illustration of this point was furnished at a later period, when he had been prevailed on to stand candidate for a seat in Congress. On the day of the elec- tion he walked to the polls, in company with his friend Bradford. As they approached they saw a gentleman busily engaged in distributing votes among the crowd. This gentleman was a warm personal friend of Mr. Milnor, a brother Freemason, and one of his clients, and yet opposed to him in political views. They saluted each other kindly, when the following brief colloquy ensued. "Well, Right-Worshipful," said the vote-distributer, " here am I, working against you hard as I can. I tell you, and our mutual friend Bradford, I would trust you with all my busi- ness, my property, and even my wife and children ; but I cannot trust you with my politics^ " I thank you," replied Mr, Mil- nor, " I thank you, my brother, for your confidence. Do your duty, and let the result be what it may, it shall never break our friendship." Justly, indeed, might such a tribute to his honesty mitigate, though it doubtless failed to extinguish his regret at finding in a personal friend a political enemy. As an honest lawyer, he would not undertake a case in which, so far as his judgment was clear, he saw that he would be obliged to argue and to act against truth, justice, and equity. He may not have judged so rigorously in these respects as he would have done in later years, but judging as an honest man of the world, he was faithful to his conscience. What this told him was clearly wrong, he would not undertake. But then, acting on this principle, he was all the more earnest, thorough, and persevering in the prosecution of a cause, when once under- taken — all the more faithful, zealous, and devoted to a client, when he had once allowed himself to be retained as counsel, or engaged as advocate. He never winked at the remissness of a brother lawyer by consenting to postpone a trial, especially when he would thereby jeopard the cause, or compromise the interests HIS LEGAL PRACTICE. 37 of his client. Nor did he withhold aught which untiring dili- gence and unslumbering vigilance could contribute, towards defeating the sinister arts and the embarrassing influence of his opponent, however powerful. His zeal in the causes which he undertook, was true and long-lived. Being fed with the good oil of an -approving conscience, it never went out, nor even flick- ered. He was not like the man whose zeal is quickly extin- guished by external difficulties, because it has first died at his own consciously hollow and dishonest heart. As illustrative of this remark, he had, in a certain case, for seyeral years been prosecuting a claim against the celebrated Stephen Girard. This gentleman, meanwhile, had been throw- ing in the way of a settlement every possible obstacle which immense wealth, and its accompanying influences, could raise. But finding that Mr. Milnor was determined to establish the claim, and that he could not be wearied out by " the law's delay," nor circumvented by any other of the arts of practice, he finally consented to abide the result of an arbitration. This result was in favor of Mr. Milnor's client, and when Mr. Girard handed Mr. Milnor a check for the amount awarded, he observed, " You have proved yourself, sir, a lawyer who will never desert a client. If I had not an attorney whom I very much respect, you would be my man." The observation shows that true fidel- ity to a client is not lost even on an opponent. Based on the foundation of such a character for honesty and fidelity, the structure of his influence as a lawyer was reared by a variety of causes. As his honesty gave him an unfainting constancy to the interests of his clients, so his prudent caution and sound judgment in forming an opinion, ministered to a decided promptness and energy of action when that opinion was formed. Grreat amiableness of disposition, and suavity of man- ners, won him hosts of friends. And then, he was distinguished for habits of great diligence, and close application both to business and to study. His industry was, in truth, as untiring as his zeal. By early rising, strict punctuality, and the closest economy of time, while he generally had an hour for a friend, he contrived to dispatch a great amount of business, and no small amount of legal and general reading. He was a strict adherent to method 38 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. in all things. His habits, in this respect, cleaved to him like an inseparable garment ; he wore them through life, and they proved of immense value to himself and to others. The following entry in his diary shows what these habits led him, in a moderate way, to attempt ; and though he was often prevented from closely fol- lowing the plan here sketched, yet it marks, on the whole, the general order of his life while he continued in the practice of the law. "June 20, 1798. — How inconsistent is the conduct of man I How frequently variant are his practices from his precepts J How much easier to conceive what is right than to execute it ! In one point, more particularly than in any other, I feel myself to be this inconsistent being. I have always been persuaded of the utility and indispensableness of method, in business and in study. It has always been the subject of my encomiums, and I have believed it to be equally useful to the man of genius and talents, and to the man of plain common-sense. In my professional prac- tice, although I cannot pique myself on my regularity, yet has it not been totally neglected. But in my studies I have, on this head, been careless to a very blamable degree. When I have chalked it out, something invariably intervenes to obliterate my plan. "What if I were now to begin upon a moderate scale, and without venturing hastily upon rash resolutions, limit myself to a certain system for a month to come? Suppose that system were something like the following : . > " 1. To rise early — say, at least, by five — ^take up Burrow's Reports, and apply myself to it till about a quarter of an hour before breakfast ; this quarter of an hour to be spent in dressing. "2. After breakfast, on entering my office, to attend to the most prominent and urgent business of the day, and devote the forenoon to matters of practice. This will comprise attention to the calls of clients, occasional out-of-door errands, keeping up docket, drawing declarations, preparing for trials and arguments, and attendance at courts, which, for a few days from this time, will engross part of the afternoon also. " 3, After dinner, some historical, classical, or miscellaneous book may occupy an hour ; say, for the ensuing montji, Smith's HIS LEGAL PRACTICE. 39 Wealth of Nations. The remainder of the afternoon may be devoted to" — perhaps, had he finished the sentence, he would have added, " lighter kinds of reading. " 4. The evenings during this month are short and warm, and may therefore be given to exercise, or to conversation. "I confess I like my scheme, and will endeavor to summon to my aid resolution enough strictly to adhere to it." And he liked it none the less when, his set month having expired, he found himself, from various interfering causes, con- strained to make the following record : "July 23. — I ought to note, on this day, that the plan which I marked out for my observance on the 20th of last month, has not been strictly, nor even tolerably observed. Shame, shame !" His reflections, four days later, appertain to the point in hand, and are therefore added. " July 27. — BufFon once observed to one of his Mends, that ' Genius is only a greater aptitude to patience ; but observe,' added he, ' that patience must be applied to every thing: patience in finding out one's line ; patience in resisting the motives that divert, and patience in bearing what would discourage a common man.' This is a very striking observation. It is one of those say- ings which may be the future making of a great man. Indeed, BufFon himself was a strong witness in favor of the remark, that he who passionately desires glory, is sure in the end to obtain it. This desire, however, must not be a momentary one. It must be an every-day passion. " Grlory and fame are things beyond my expectations, perhaps my wishes. I do not permit myself, for a moment, to indulge in such fantastically delusive hopes. I trust I have a better know- ledge of the extent of my capacities, than thus to deceive myself. I cannot, then, entirely accord with the sentiment of the great Buffbn. Perhaps it may be prejudice that induces me still to feel a reluctance in surrendering the old opinion, that there is a natural diversity in the understandings and genius of men. I am convinced, however, that this notion has been carried too far. Daily instances present themselves, in all professions, of the won- derful efiicacy of this 'aptitude to patience.' Would to God I possessed, or could acquire it. I might then be occasionally 40 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. cheered by the modest hope of attaining a share of that reputation in my profession, which I sometimes fear will only be the reward of an application, an industry, and a patience, which I feel, very sensibly, do not constitute my character. Whatever may be the result, I find myself obliged to go on. Perchance good-luck, which has favored some of my forerunners, may light also on me. Who knows ?" These passages were written, it will be remembered, when Mr. Milnor was no more than twenty-five years old. He was still a very young lawyer. At that early period, he seems to intimate that he had not, as an ingredient in his nature, BufFon's " apti- tude to patience." However this may have been, he was, ere long, able to acquire somewhat very like it, and thus to prove that if he were not horn to the philosopher's idea of genius, he could yet rise by effort to what perhaps served his purpose quite as well. But, whether patient, persevering industry were with him an element of nature, or a result of effort, the foregoing ex- tracts make one thing manifest : that, as yet, what ivas really elementary in his character was far from including any thing of religious principle, motive, or feeling. If he were already an honest, faithful, devoted, and rising lawyer, he had not yet, even in apparent tendency^ any thing of the true Christian. In his practice as a lawyer, cases of great interest often pre- sented themselves, calling for his offices both as a lawyer and as a friend. He has placed several on record, even at this early period of his life ; one of which, as it illustrates the remark now made, while at the same time it gives us a good insight into his character, and a look back upon the political and moral aspect of the times, may be here advantageously inserted. " Saturday, July 14, 1798. — An incident yesterday afternoon much affected me. W. D. — a person for whom I some time since commenced an action against Mr. B. for arrearage of wages due the former as editor of a newspaper, of which the latter is pro- prietor — called upon me. Never did I behold a picture of more perfect wretchedness. With a countenance expressive of the most agonizing sensations, and with a voice faltering from emotion, he informed me that his wife was then lying dead, having departed about an hour and a half before ; that he was destitute of the HIS LEGAL PRACTICE. 41 means of providing a coffin, or any other of the requisites for interment ; and that his only resource was to sacrifice a part of the debt due him from Mr. B., in order to obtain an immediate payment of the remainder. I advanced him as much as his present most pressing necessities required, and proceeded at once to make arrangements with Mr. B. The latter is what may be termed, in an old phrase, ' a hard manH To be sure, D. has behaved towards him in an indecorous manner ; but it is not a recent transaction, and there would have been a generosity in forgiving him, " My eloquence yesterday, to which I vainly thought my feelings had given an unusual glow, was well-nigh lost upon B. To-day, however, he has sent me an offer of twenty dollars in cash, a note at sixty days for fifty dollars, and another at forty- five days for thirty -three dollars ; making one hundred and three, which he alleges to, be Mr. D.'s right. D. claimed one hundred and thirty-eight ; but all considerations are lost, in circumstances like his, except that of present succor. He is obliged to accept the offer. And how does it relieve him ? He has twenty dollars in cash. The great humanity of church establishments calls for only sixteen of this, as compensation for a piece of ground six feet by two. Will the remaining four pay for the poor creature's coffin ? No. How heart-rending, then, the situation of this husband ! I can supply him with twenty dollars ; and opportunely he steps in to receive it. I wish to do more ; but am at present without the means, consistently with the punctuality which I must ob- serve in the discharge of a little engagement of my own. " The poverty of this man suggests very strongly the dismal effects of a misapplication of talents. In possession of abilities much above mediocrity, and with acquirements of an extraordi- nary kind, this man might, one would suppose, be an ornament to literature and a useful member of society. But, unfortunately, he has been deeply infected with the mania of the day. His principles are of the most Jacobinical sort. Blindly attached to the French Revolution, even now that its object is so obviously changed, he can see nothing that merits censure in tlie conduct of it. On the contrary, it is still with him the cause of liberty and republicanism ; while, at the same time, he believes our 42 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. own government to be on the high road, and advancing with rapid strides, towards monarchy. This man, had he but pos- sessed moderation and temper, and given a proper direction to his talents, would have made a truly meritorious character. For, however I disapprove of the violence of his politics, I am not so far in the opposite extreme as to impute to him the worst in* tentions. I see too much of this spirit of intolerance not to deprecate it heartily. I feel dreadful anticipations as to its ef- fects in this country. The conciliatory spirit, a disposition for mutual indulgence and forbearance, once gone, whither may not the storms of party drive us ? It is . the part of a rational man to convince by argument, not convert by force. But, from what w,e daily see, can we accuse the poet of injustice, when he says, "• ' Amid the wood the leopard knows his kind ; The tiger preys not on the tiger hrood. Man only is the conunon foe of man.' " The details thus given will enable the reader to form a suf- ficiently clear idea of Mr. Milnor, as a lawyer. His whole course of practice, a period of about nineteen years, was such, in its character and results, as might be expected from a man peculiarly mild and gentle in his ordinary dispositions, strong and ardent in attachments, affable and courteous in manners, and possessed, to an uncommon degree, of a sound judgment and a wise prudence, which rendered him, at all times and in all situations, an invalu- able friend, a safe counsellor, and a useful man. With no pre- tensions to the highest order of intellect, and with too much genuine modesty to overestimate his actual abilities, there was, in his mind, so much of those rare endowments — more directly valuable, perhaps, than the gifts of genius — ^practical common- sense, great industry, and a sprightly activity of faculties, that he was able, in addition to what he effected in connection with the various political, benevolent, and literary associations of the day, to accomplish an unusual amount of results in his strictly professional engagements. He was, besides, a man of undoubted and undaunted moral and physical courage ; a courage, however, trained into strict subordination to the good-breeding of a gentle- man. He was never double-faced, either in public or in private ; never offended any by an abrupt or obtrusive expression of his HIS LEGAL PRACTICE. 43 opinion ; and yet never shrunk, when occasion required it, from a sincere, frank, and fearless utterance of his views. All these traits of character were remarked, and are well remembered by the few surviving friends of his early life, and will be readily recognized by those familiar with him in later periods. The habits of business which he acquired in his legal practice were of great permanent value, as they rendered him useful in the management of pecuniary trusts, as well as safe in that ol his own affairs. When he first began practice, he was more suc- cessful in making' than in saving money ; and this led him early to study this latter branch of economy. His good judgment soon made him as judicious in the investment as he was skilful in the accumulation of funds. From the beginning of 1795, the year when his practice commenced, to the close of 1799, that in which his marriage took place, his yearly receipts increased from about $530 to nearly $3,000. They sustained a corresponding increase so long as he continued his practice ; and as his expenses were uniformly moderate, and for eight years after his marriage his family sustained no increase, he must have realized a rate of prosperity quite sufficient to satisfy the reasonable desires of any reasonable man. In short, he closed this part of his career a highly accomplished, truly respected, and moderately wealthy lawyer. But we shall not understand the first half of Mr. Milnor's life unless we are made aware that, notwithstanding the peculiarities which marked him as a prudent and prosperous man of business, rising constantly and rapidly towards wealth, he was yet, from the beginning to the close of his legal practice, a fashionable man of the world. Tasteful and liberal in his provisions for his fam- ily, generously hospitable in his entertainment of friends, and careful to maintain his standing in the ranks of fashionable so- ciety, he was in truth cordially fond of all but its foolish and ruinous extravagances. This appears luminously in his occasional letters to his wife ; who, it seems, though bred an Episcopalian, was yet, as to the gayeties of the world, more of a Quakeress than he desired. Constitutionally of a quiet, retiring, and gentle spirit, she would gladly have persevered in the simple plainness of her earlier life in the country. But he had marked out for 44 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR, himself a different course ; and hence, in his letters, occasionally exhorts her to more of sympathy in his tastes and to more of conformity with his views.. In a word, to use the language of his son's " Recollections," " He was still a man of the world ; fond of its amusements, and, to a great extent, governed by its maxims ; and he considered a mingling with fashionable society, provided it did not conflict with his moral and professional duties, as itself a duty and a means of advancement." He was a man of too much honesty and principle to be either dissipated or ex- travagant; was always strictly moral in his conduct, and safe in his expenditures ; but within these limits, he was fitted to enjoy and permitted to have whatever the gay world could furnish for his gratification. He was evidently fond of the theatre, and a frequent attendant at the play. As a man of the world, he was well fitted to rise and shine by the very combination which he presented, of gay, lively, so- cial, conversational qualities, with sterling good-sense and prin- ciple. The former made him popular ; the latter kept him from being ridiculous. He was far above the absurd littleness of those who live for the gay world ; as a sensible gentleman, he at least tried to make the gay world live for him. In other words, the amusements and pleasures of the world were of importance to him only so far as he saw, or believed, that he could make tliem minister to some useful end. SECTION II. We come now to that view of Mr. Milnor's character and course, which opens at last into the scenes of his religious life ; the view which presents him as a political man. Politics and religion have no affinities by which the former become generative of the latter. Their most frequent relations are those of contrast and of conflict. And yet, it was while Mr. Milnor was running his political career, that the Lord called him to a knowledge of his grace, and to faith in his name : a change of deep importance to the Church, as well as of eternal significance to himself. HIS POLITICAL CAREER. 45 Mr. Milnor's political opinions seem to have been early formed. Coming to the study and the practice of the law during the administrations of "Washington and the elder Adams, he was prepared by previous training for a manful support of the Amer- ican doctrines on which those administrations were based. From boyhood he was a Washington-federalist, and his principles cleaved to him unchangingly through life. As early as 1798 he began, in his diary, to insert notices of political events, and of his own views respecting them. After a jaunt into the country, which, with a few friends, he had taken on the 15th of July of that year, while some of the measures of the elder Adams were agitating the nation, he inserted in his diary the following note ; furnishing, indeed, no index to the nature of his political opin- ions, but illustrating the truly generous spirit in which he main- tained them. " July 16. — In the afternoon of yesterday, the 'Squire, (Mr. Summers,) Mr. Swift, Mr. Jones, and myself, had a dish of poli- tics. We found each other, notwithstanding the temper of the times and the great variance in sentiment between us, little inclined for loggerheads. When men hold each other in estima- tion, what a pity that a difference of opinion in politics should disunite them. There is only one case in which I would despise a man for his opinions, and that is, when he makes pretensions to them from motives of self-interest ; and this, whether it be in a pecuniary way, or in any other incompatible with honor and the real amor patriceP Upon the death of the model President, he entered the fol- lowing simple, but touching note. " February 22, 1800.— This is the birthday of Washington. It was once a day of festivity and rejoicing ; but alas, it is now spent in the most mournful dejection. Every face bears lines of deep grief strongly marked. Every voice sighs, ' Washington is no more.' The man ' first in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen,' descended to the tomb of his ancestors on the 15th of December, 1799 ; and Congress have recommended that, on this day, the people of the United States should assem- ble in their respective neighborhoods, and pay honor to his mem- ory by suitable eulogies, orations, etc." 46 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. And then, after alluding to the three orations wliich were to be pronounced in the city of Philadelphia, he adds, in reference to that which he attended, " The church was exceedingly crowded, but without confusion. A suitable awe and solemnity were generally observed, and every party consideration seemed merged in universal mourning for the irreparable loss which our country has sustained. " 0, Washington, when will mankind have another friend like thee?" A new change in the scenes by which the French Revolution was accompanied, in its progress towards the enthronement of Napoleon, gave occasion to the following reflections in Mr. Mil- nor's diary, which are inserted here because they indicate no little political sagacity, and show that, though he had yet been called to no political trust, yet with his well-knov^Ti talents for business and debate, the cast of his mind would be very likely, ere long, to point him out to his fellow-citizens as a suitable can- didate for some one of the various offices in their gift. " March 20, 1800. — ^Another constitution, it seems, has been adopted by the French nation. Buonaparte has availed himself of his popularity, and effected a complete revolution. The old constitution has been consigned to the grave, whither several others had gone before it. How soon the new-fangled essay shall take up its abode with them, I do not pretend to predict ; for I have seen too many wiser political prophets than myself disap- pointed in the fulfilment of their predictions, to be myself willing to attempt the office.- But I cannot avoid feeling strongly the expectation that a system like the present cannot last for ever. In my opinion, either the odious aristocracy which it imposes on the people, will induce them to prefer a restoration of the ancient order of things, or still further efforts will be made to establish a constitution more congenial with the principles of republicanism. Is it not truly extraordinary, that after all the panegyrics which the French writers and their imitators here have lavished on 'the airy fabric of a vision' which has just vanished, we should now hear that it has been almost unanimously rejected, and the present, with equal unanimity, adopted in its stead ? These are changeful times ; but the successive revolutions in France, which HIS POLITICAL CAREER. 47 have followed each other like waves on the sea-shore, each new order of things swallowing up that which preceded it, have aston- ished every one, and baffled all calculation as to political events in that country. To-day, a system, apparently the idol of every Frenchman, is adopted ; its beauties are extolled from one end of the nation to the other, and you would suppose every citizen ready to risk life and fortune in its support. To-morrow, it is declared at Paris to be the worst of all wretched contrivances, answering none of the beneficial purposes of a good government. It is therefore consigned to the flames, and a new constitution, ready cut and dried, is proposed to the sovereign people. The sovereign people at once join the revolutionizers ; every one exe- crates his former idol, and ' Live the nation and the new consti- tution,' instantly becomes the general cry. " With regard to the views of Buonaparte, who has obtained the executive chair, under the denomination of ' chief consul,' various opinions are entertained. Some are willing to believe him honest ; that, tired of a government possessing no energy, he has brought about the present order of things from a convic-, tion that it promises more stability and permanency to the con- stituted authorities of the nation, and a better assurance to the people of an enjoyment of liberty. I cannot subscribe to this opinion. The appointment of the several departments of the government, and, in fact, every article of the new constitution, shows so strongly the aristocratic principles upon which it is built, that I am fully satisfied there has been an abandonment of republican principles on the part of its framers. I look upon it as either the stepping-stone to monarchy, or the result of a conspiracy, on the part of its present supporters, to obtain pos- session of power and wealth on the ruins of the public liberty. And yet, these folks still brawl about liberty and equality. They still keep up the farce at the expense of the sovereign people ; who, at the same time that their tongues are tied, and their pockets drained by successive lists of ambitious usurpers, are consoling themselves with the idea of the abolition of monarchy, and rejoicing in the blessings of a free government. I protest, I have seen nothing like rational freedom in France for several years ; and yet, after all their follies and excesses, and the mul- 48 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. tiplied injuries which they have heaped upon this country, I have no wish that they should be brought under their ancient despotism. I would even wish them a republican form of gov- ernment, wise and solid as our own ; but a variety of reasons, which I have not now time to note, have long since convinced me, that the people must be radically altered in their dispositions, habits, and modes of thinking, before this can take place. I fear they must have a monarchy. If so, I hope it will be so limited as to make the people as free and happy as that form of govern- ment will admit." It is needless to say, his fear was realized, and his hope dis- appointed. They had a monarchy. Napoleon, at length, not only filled a throne, but wore imperial insignia. From a note in his diary, of about this date, it appears that during the year 1800, Mr. Milnor held, by election, a place in the city council, which, if municipal rather than political, was yet a discipline for public life on a wider stage. He says, " March 24, 1800. — This evening I spent at Common Council. Not a quorum. How blamable it is in men to accept of public trusts, and yet neglect the discharge of the duties which those trusts involve. I find my seat in this body very inconvenient to me. So much of my time is engrossed by the business of the council — ^though I do far less than many of my wprthy fellow- members — ^that, unless I alter my mind, I shall certainly avoid a reelection next year. And yet I think it incumbent on me, while I retain the place, to contribute my small endeavors to- wards the welfare and good government of the city." From 1800 to 1810, the notices of Mr. Milnor's life are scanty. That he continued in the distinguished and successful practice of law, and in his accustomed devotion to the benevolent and liter- ary associations of the day, is well known ; but the knowledge brings us no facts, because, during that period, or at least till 1809, there is no diary extant, nor any correspondence preserved or recoverable, from which those facts can be obtained. The most that are known, relate to his political career ; and even of that only naked facts remain. Thus, in his son's " Recollections," it is stated, that on the 8th of October, 1805, he was elected a member of the Select HIS POLITICAL CAREER. 49 Council of Philadelphia, for two years, in place of Robert Patter- son, who resigned his seat in the council in order to become master of the United States' Mint ; that on the 13th of October, 1807, he was reelected for three years to the same body ; and that on the 14th of October, 1808, he was raised to the preddency of the council for one year ; at the close of which, October, 1809, in con- sequence of a change in the political majority of the constituency, he was succeeded in that office by a member of the Democratic party ; although it is inferable that he continued a mengiber of the council till the close of the three years for which he was elected^ or till October, 1810. These naked facts are all that can, with certainty, be stated of his public political course until the year 1810. This date, however, brings us to the period at which he became more wide- ly known to the world, and after which there is less lack of docu- ments wherewith to illustrate his character and the principal events of his life. In October, 1810, took place his election to the Congress of the United States, as a member of the House of Representatives from the city and county of Philadelphia. On this event it will be interesting to pause a moment ; for when we remember that it was in Congress he became, in a sense before unknown to him- self, a subject of divine teachings and of heavenly grace, the de- vout mind will be ready and pleased to trace the hand of God in the circumstances which attended his election to a seat in the great council of the nation. .. : The city and county of Philadelphia had, in 1809, given token of a readiness to follow other parts of the state and nation in adopting the political opinions of Jefferson and Madison. And it was very natural to infer, that, at the next general election, they would succeed in sending a representative, of the same opinions, to the halls of the national legislature. It was under these circumstances, that in October, 1810, a committee waited on Mr. Milnor to learn whether he would permit his name to be used, as a candidate to represent — if elected — his native city in the Congress of the nation. This was, to his mind, a new and important question ; and he could not at onc^ give his answer. As soon as the committee had retired, he sent for his confidential Mem. Milnor. 4 60 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. friend and brother lawyer, Thomas Bradford, Jr., desiring hifn to call immediately, on business of great importance. His friend instantly obeyed his call ; when, after mentioning the visit and object of the committee, he thus addressed him : " Knowing as you do all my concerns, private and public, I want you to give me your opinion whether I ought to accept the proposed nomina- tion." " This is a serious question," replied his friend ; " and I must have time to consider before I can make up an opinion." Mr. Milnor gave him till three o'clock P. M. of the same day. " I left him," says Mr. Bradford in his " Reminiscences," " and ex- amined the matter in all its bearings upon his professional busi- ness, his private comforts, and the situation of his family during his absence ; and came to the clear and settled opinion that he ought not to accept. At the time appointed, I went to make my statement and to give my opinion ; when, to my surprise, he informed me, that during my absence, the committee had called again, and he had accepted the nomination. He did not perceive it, but the footsteps of Providence were already leading him to- wards his conversion. He was elected, and went to Washington" in the fall of 1810, or early in January, 1811. Says his son in his "Recollections," "He consented" to become a candidate, "with the expectation, and almost the hope of being defeated ;" so tstrong was the probability against his election, and so '^' fearful was he that his success would prove a serious detriment to his business. His election was a proof how much he had won upon the respect and love of his fellow-citizens ; for he was the only federal candidate who succeeded." And had he waited an hour for his friend's advice, he proba- bly would never have been even a candidate ; and thus, to human view, all the coloring which the work of the Spirit gave to his religious character during his congressional life, might never have appeared. His letters from Washington to Mrs. Milnor, show that he took his seat in Congress almost immediately after his election in 1810. The first of these letters which has been preserved, is dated January 6, 1811, and merely informs her of his safe arri- val. On the 9th of the same month he writes again, and says that he had been to dine at the French ambassador's, had attend- HIS POLITICAL CAREER. 51 ed Mrs. Madison's levee, and had received an invitation to the British minister's. And on the 14th, he forwards a communioa- tion, from which some extracts may be given as illustrative of his manner of life at "Washington, and as evidence that he went thither to do the business of his country, rather than to engage in the dissipations of the gay capital. To Mrs. Eleanor Milnor. - "Washington, January 14, 1811. "My dear Ellen — I was much pleased with the receipt of your very acceptable letter by Capt. Kerr, who, with Mr. Joseph Lewis, arrived here this day. They have just left me for their lodgings in Georgetown. Mr. William Bethell and William Newbold were also here several days, and dined with me yester- day. The arrival of my first-named friends will give me a good deal of occupation, so long as they remain, as it will be my duty and pleasure to attend them so far as my duties in Congress will permit. To-morrow I dine with them at Mr. Bowie's, in Greorge- town, and in the evening accompany them to the drawing-room ; and, if possible, I intend going with them, next day, to Alexan«- dria. They propose to remain until Sunday next. "Yesterday, I made the longest and most animated speech which I have yet delivered ; it was against a project of some of the wise administration folks of sending the militia to take pos- session of Canada. But why do I trouble you on subjects in which you feel so little concern ? My friends who do take an interest in them, will see my remarks, such as they were, in the newspapers in a few days. , ' " Capt. Kerr says, he was alniost obliged to promise our little angel to bring home her papa. Would it were in her papa's power to enable the captain to fulfil such a promise. Public business progresses so slowly and unsatisfactorily, and my family and business at home are so constantly present to my thoughts, that I cannot boast of the happiness of my situation. " You have in my letters the whole extent of my dissipation, which I would willingly forego for those more pleasing, because less formal associations with my friends, of which I partake when at home. We have had, however, fine weather ; and Acre, even that's a comfort ; but visiting in the daytime is so incom- 52 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. patible with attention to my public duties in Congress, our ses- sions are generally protracted to so late an hour — to-day, till after candlelight — and our dinners are consequently so late, that there is no visiting of families till after nightfall ; and then the distances are so great, and the walking so disagreeable, or car- riages so difficult to be had, that we hardly ever attempt it. I have never yet been at an eyening parti/, except Mrs. Madison's ; and when I have made calls, it has been only at some of the lodging-houses of the members tolerably near our own. " I often think it a little curious, that after so much talk about the dissipation of this place, I should not have seen a card played since I have been here. It is an amusement for which I have not the slightest desire. " I forget whether I told you that Saturday next is the birth- night of the queen of England, and there is to be a great enter- tainment at the British minister's, to which I am invited, where all the fashion of the place will be displayed to the best advan- tage ; preferable to all which rareeshow would be the salutation of my aftectionate partner and sweet little innocents, in the old fashion of the times that are past. " Ever your faithful and affectionate husband, "JAMES MILNOR." One other letter, dated " Monday, 25, 1811," but whether in January or in February it is uncertain, is all that remains of the correspondence of this his first winter in "Washington. In this, besides a little pleasantry about family matters and other things, he says, " My anxiety respecting my family and business is often very oppressive to my feelings, and I do not by any means enjoy my accustomed rest. The want of exercise, I think, makes me fleshier ; and although I uniformly avoid taking supper, yet I am always disturbed by an oppression and uneasiness at my breast, long before the morning light. I accustom myself to rise with the sun, who gladdens my room the moment he is above the horizon. In other respects than the circumstances alluded to, I have my usual health, and sometimes my usual spirits, but often fall considerably below par." ;..'v>, ; Although, however, these are all that remain of Mr. Milnor's HIS POLITICAL CAREER. • 53 first winter's correspondence from Washington, yet they are enough to show that he was there early in 1811 ; that he conse- quently spent three winters at the seat of governraent; that, even during the first, he was not an idle man in the business of the nation; and that, however ho may have entered into the gayeties of the capital, it was yet with moderation, and with an evident deadening of his mind towards the attractions of the world of pleasure. During the spring and summer of 1811, after his return from Washington to Philadelphia, he was variously occupied in the affairs of the church, as a delegate to our Greneral Convention in New Haven, and in his professional business ; till, in the fall of the year, October 28, 1811, he took his second departure for the seat of government. On this occasion, he was accompanied by a number of his political friends as far as th© " Blue Bell Tavern," on the Ches- ter road; at which place they paid him the compliment of a public dinner. He reached Washington the 1st of November, and took lodgings at the house of Capt. Coyle, with Messrs. Chauncey Goodrich and Samuel W. Dana, of the senate, and Josiah Q,uincy and Timothy Pitkin, Jr., of the house, as his fellow-inmates. Here, as he states, in his diary resumed, he "remained during an eventful session of eight months' continue ance, which resulted in a most calamitous declaration of war against Great Britain." ; Fqi the benefit of our memoir, this session was as prolific in letters from him as in events to the nation. It is from these letters chiefly, that illustrations of this important period of his political life will be drawn. The complexion of his political views we have already seen ; and it is sufliciently well known what was our attitude towards Great Britain, and what an incubus of anxi- ety pressed on the bosom of our nation, while, for eight months, in the halls of Congress, the grim Spirit of War was slowly, but sternly and relentlessly dragging forth his materiel of passion and prejudice and fierce debate, in preparation, once more, for his bloody work of death. On these points, therefore, we need not touch, but may proceed, at once, to look at the part which Mr. Milnor took in reference to them, and to see how his course 54 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. t affected him in his personal, political, and domestic relations. For light on these topics, we pass to an examination of his letters; merely remarking, as to those parts of them which are purely domestic, or which contain descriptions of the gayeties of the capital, though often highly interesting as specimens of familiar epistolary writing, that, as their insertion would too much enlarge the size of our volume, they will, for the most part, be omitted. Paragraphs relating to his public engagements of business and of ceremony, and an occasional extract touching himself and his family, will fill such space as may be at our command.- The for- mality of address, at the beginning and close of each letter, will also be omitted, and our extracts arranged according to their dates, giving them the form of occasional entries in a diary for the eye of his wife. Unhappily, none of his many contempora- neous letters to his political friends and correspondents have been preserved: had they been recoverable, this portion of his life would have been much more strikingly illustrated. "Oct. 30, 1811. — Baltimore. In the confusion of this im- mense establishment of Gadsby's, I assume my pen to give you the first information of my progress. My good friends, three or four and twenty in number, who accompanied me to the Blue Bell, parted with me without descending into the fi-olic which you had anticipated. It was indeed a ' feast of friendship ;' but the feelings excited in every breast at this parting evidence of regard, were calculated to prevent the slightest tendency towards the extreme of festal indulgence. Capt. Kerr, with his wonted goodness, offered his carriage to relieve my next day's ride, by taking me on to Chester, and my friend Bradford could not avoid adding to the many evidences already given of his friendship, by going with us." "Nov. 2, 1811. — Washington. I arrived in this place yester- day, in time for dinner, I lose no time in acquainting you that I have procured lodgings at Capt. Coyle's, near the capitol. The people appear kind and friendly ; and the house is said to be the best furnished, and the most commodious for lodgers in this city. Mr. Q,uincy is, at present, my only fellow-inmate ; but Mr, Dana and Mr. Groodrich are expected. The mess will not consist of more than four or five gentlemen ; and choice could not have done HIS POLITICAL CAREER: 55 more for me than chance has done in the persons of whom it is to, consist." " Nov. 3, 1811. — Sunday evening. I had scarcely uttered my complaint of the insufficiency of my writing aiccoutrements " — alluding to what he had written the day before of the non-arrival of his trunk, in which they were contained — " when I found my table covered with ready-made pens, inkstand, sand-box, wafers, paper, and every other convenience of the sort ; with which, I find, it is made the duty of an attendant of the house to supply each member at his lodgings. This evening we have Mr. Dana of Con- necticut added to our mess ; wiiorh, from his well-known charac- ter, we consider a valuable acquisition. Yesterday Mr. Q,uincy had the goodness to accompany me to the President's, where we left our cards ; his Excellency not having, as yet, become acces- sible to visitors. He is almost unremittingly engaged in council with the heads of departments on the subject (as i^ supposed) of the expected message to both houses. It is thought they will each form a quorum to-morrow." " Nov. 5, 1811. — We have at length had our first meeting, formed a quorum, and elected our speaker and other officers. To- day, the committees will be appointed, the message of the Presi- dent received, and general business proceeded in. Brother Wil- liam's reputation here has helped me wonderfully," in making calls of ceremony on a few public characters and some private families. "• Greatly as I knew him to be esteemed, I had no idea that his influence extended so far as I find it to have done. Gentlemen of the first respectability for talents speak of him as a man of great strength of mind, and as a pleasing and sensible speaker in the house : they regret exceedingly that he was not reelected. Tell him that my seat is the one heretofore occupied by Mr. Pit- kin, and that I wish I could bring into it as much good-sense and information as that worthy and intelligent gentleman possesses. Mr. Quincy sits on my right, and Mr. Bleecker, a new and very intelligent member from Albany, on my left." "Nov. 7, 1811. — Yesterday, I wrote you a scolding letter; and if the one received from William had not relieved my mind of its anxiety lest some untoward circumstance should have occurred, I should either in dudgeon have given over writing, or scolded .56 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. more severely than ever. And even now, were I not confident that this evening's mail will bring me evidence under your own hand corroborative of his, railing would be my only employment. But I forbear, and only hope, in a few days, to find you galloping along in your wnriting-gears, as if you had all your life been de- voted to the service. I wish the little cherubs, over whose slum- bers you are this moment watching with a mother's kindness and affection, were old enough to scribble to their absent father ; and I'll answer for it, the mail to this great city in the desert would come heavier freighted. But no more of this. " Yesterday, I went to Georgetown to deliver letters of intro- duction. I found it much more of a city than this magnificent metropolis. I\Ir. Quincy and I afterwards paid pasteboard visits to the British and French Ambassadors, the Secretary of State, Secretary of War, etc., etc." " Nov. 11, 1811. — I hope you will not seclude yourself from society. Have you had your evening party ? "When were you at the theatre ? Remember, the character of the family for attention to social intercourse is already almost below par. It depends on you to prevent it from entirely sinking during my absence." [He had other views of social intercourse before many months had passed.] In Congress, " We make slow prog- ress, sitting not more than two hours a day, and even then doing very little business. For myself, I feel a very languid degree of interest in the passing scene, and fear I shall never be able to excite in myself a relish for public duties sufficient to secure for their discharge the application of what little talent it may be my lot to possess." • " Nov. 16, 1811. — A long letter, with which I was grati- fied last evening from my friend T. Bradford, informs me of the continued welfare of yourself and our family. When the mail arrives, the letters for each family of lodgers are made into several packages. A bystander would be amused to see the eagerness with which each of our family looks for his letters, and the long faces of those who happen to be disappointed. I hope you will not let your husband be often laughed at on this account." [With all his artifices he never succeeded in making his wife a letter- writer.] " Yesterday I made my first appear- UlTIVFRSIT- ' HIS POLITICAL CAREER. \^^ ^ 5f ^J '01 ance on the floor of Congress, except that once merely to present a petition. The few observations which I made were on an interesting subject ; and' probably I owe to. that, rather than to any thing of my own, a compliment which few speakers have obtained this session'^a most profound atten- tion from the house." By his " first appearance on the floor of Congress," he means the first this session, for as we have already seen, the year before he .rose repeatedly to the discussion of topics before the house. " Nov. 18, 1811.- — Having written to you several times since I have had the pleasure of receiving any communication from you, I have now only to advise you of my continued good health, and the enjoyment of good spirits without recourse to any of that dissipation, which, I have reason to believe, was so causelessly apprehended as the inevitable concomitant of a resi- dence in this place. We find at our quarters, at those moments when business or study requires intermission, ample gratifica- tion in each other's conversation, without resorting to any of the too customary expedients for passing away time. The pleasur- able indulgences of the fashionable world, however, have not yet commenced, except attendance upon the weekly levee of Mrs. Madison. I propose complying with the requirements of custom by going there once, probably next "Wednesday evening ; after which, I suspect, my visits will not be frequent." " Nov. 18, 1811. — Evening. I fully intended to leave this place to-morrow morning for my desired home ; but the question on the apportionment bill, which has been taken this afternoon, and decided in favor of the ratio which I advocate" — he has been speaking again — "is left in such a situation as to make it doubt- ful whether it may not, in another shape, be brought up again to-morrow morning. I shall, therefore, be reluctantly obliged to wait till Friday morning; but I shall still, if no accident occur, reach home at the time proposed." " Nov. 24, 1811. — I had the happiness to receive, by the mail of last evening, your kind and affectionate letter of the 21st. The practice of letter- writing is, in my opinion, one of the best means of expanding the mind, and eliciting those latent powers, which in most individuals only want cultivation to ex- 58 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. hibit them to advantage. Facility in this employment is, in a good degree, the result of habit ; and there are few persons, to whom habit does not render it both easy and agreeable. The ppets talk of happy moments of inspiration, but this exercise is adapted to all occasions, and a flow of easy composition will never be wanting, if indolence do not prevent the beginning of the work ; provided the best affections of the heart prompt the assumption of the willing and obedient pen. For my own part, I boast of no elegance in this delightful employment ; but it is agreeable to me, and my language, such as it is, is the sponta- neous flow of natural feeling, without any labored effort after the beauties of a polished and ornamented style. I speak now of my letters generally ; but with reference to those more par- ticularly, which I write to the proprietor of all my thoughts, I should disdain giving them an artificial dress, or obscuring by the tinsel decorations of language the overflowings of a fond and faithful attachment, reciprocated, as I know it is, by as fond and faithful a return. Insulated as I am in a plaOe so little like that whose enjoyments surround you, separated from my best friends, deprived of all the endearments that sweeten the bitter cup of human existence, my chiefest happiness consists in pouring into your ear the effusions of an undiminished love, and in cherishing the sweet evidences, which you will, I hope, almost daily transmit me, of its being repaid with a full measure of that regard on your part, which I prize much more highly ' than gold, yea, than fine gold.' " [Let Mrs. Milnor resist that argument in favor of frequent letters, if she can.] ' ., • < After having attended Mrs. Madison's levee, where he met a splendid crowd of one hundred and fifty ladies and gentlemen, he says, in a letter dated, " Nov. 27, 1811. — ^Wednesday night. Looking at the dreary aspect of this wilderness of a city, I could not have anticipated a collection of so much elegance and fashion ; and I must say that Madam performed the graces of her drawing-room with great dignity, affability, and ease. At several times during the course of the evening, I had a few minutes' conversation with her. She had heard of my Quaker extraction, and observed that neither of us were very faithful representatives of that respectable sooi- HIS POLITICAL CAREER. 59 ety. Mr. William Sansom, who was a better one, dined with me to-day, and went to the levee in the evening. To-day I received an invitation from the President to dine with him on Friday next ; and to-morrow I dine at Georgetown." " Friday evening, Nov. 29, 1811. — I have dined to-day with the President. The party consisted of about five and twenty. Mr. Munroe and his lady, Mr. Hamilton, Secretary of the Navy, and other grandees were among the number. To-morrow Con- gress does not sit." " Dec. 16, 1811. — We are making slow progress with the resolutions relating to preparations for the war with Great Brit- ain. I begin to fear that the resolutions will not be disposed of before the time fixed for my return home. My friends make great objections to my leaving before they are disposed of; but I shall make every effort to get away. This suggestion is merely in order, if I should be delayed a day or two longer than I expect, that you should not attribute it to indisposition, or any other cause than the unavoidable detention of public business." He visited Philadelphia during the Christmas holidays ; and, in his first letter after his return to Washington, dated " Jan- uary 8, 1812," after describing a cold, perilous, inland winter journey, via Lancaster, and across the Susquehanna on the ice, in a black night, against furious winds, and obliged to walk, with gentlemen and lady passengers, by the aid of guides and lanterns, a mile and a quarter from shore to shore, amidst broken fragments of ice, and many involuntary prostrations, he adds, " I arrived here before the house had adjourned, and in time to vote on the army bill. My friends received me with the most affectionate welcome, and I am now reinstated in my old lodg- ings. If well enough, I shall attend iny friends Dana, Pitkin, and Quincy, to-day, to a dinner given by the French ambassador, M. Serrurier." " Jan. 13, 1812. — I am quite recovered from the cold and fever" — caused by his wintry journey — " and was able to-day to make a speech, of some length, on the volunteer bill." > The gay season at Washington had now set in ; and we ac- cordingly find, in his letter of << Jan. 19, 1812," the following reference to what was expected at the British minister's. 60 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. " All the fashionables, I am told, are on the tiptoe of expec- tation for Mr. Foster's ball and supper to-morrow night. Two hundred people are expected there ; but so far from anticipating it with pleasure, I wish it were over ; for, although etiquette obliges me to go, yet, as I know very few of the company, as I cannot dance and ivill not game, I do not look forward to the gala with any pleasure." \ " ■ ^ "Jan. 23, 1812. — ^AVe are here, listening day after day to debates, which, from their prolixity, have become tiresome, on the subject of making an addition to the navy ; in which, besides the mortification of being sentenced to the punishment of listen- ing so long to so many dull speeches, we shall have that of being completely defeated in our views." " Jan. 25, 1812. — The long pendency of the question respect- ing an increase of the navy, makes our day's work drag heavily ; but I presume it is now near a determination. I fully intended to have made a speech upon this subject, as it is one in which the commercial interests of our city are so deeply involved ; but our party concluded it was best to leave the debate in the hands of the majority until near the close, as there are several able advocates of the navy among themselves ; and it was thought our interference would only be calculated to inflame the minds of the more violent of their party against the bill as a federal measure. Two of our members submitted a few observations yesterday and the day before ; and to-day, Mr. Q,uincy-made the best speech which has been delivered on either side of the ques- tion. I have not positively concluded on my own course on Mon- day, when the debate is to be renewed. Every possible argu- ment has been so forcibly urged, and so fully illustrated, that I can hardly think of taking the floor only to travel over the same ground which others have travelled before me. I am mortified at not having had an earlier opportunity of coming forward on a question of so much importance ; but in deference to gentlemen of older standing in the house, I was induced to acquiesce in the silence agreed upon in the first part of the discussion, as well as to give precedence to the gentlemen of our party, who have already spoken. And now, the subject is so worn out, that even the masterly display of it by Mr. Q,uincy, in a form of as much HIS POLITICAL CAREER. >Q1 novelty as the nature of the case would admit, could scarcely secure the attention of the house. If brother William, or my friend T. B., or any other, should inquire whether I have spoken on the navy question, and my reason for not doing so, you will give that which I have stated. An apprehension of censure for holding back, as it would seem, on a question in which the mer- cantile part of the community feel a great interest, gives me uneasiness ; but it arose from the circumstances abovementioned ; and the business, I am satisfied, has been better managed by others than it would have been by me. Besides, I am by no means alone in my disappointment." "Jan. 28, 1812." — Speaking of the entertainments which he had attended, he says, " The pleasure which I have at these parties is, to meet and converse, in the course of the evening, with many intelligent persons, from whom much information of a general nature, as well as in relation to the public business which from time to time occupies our attention, may be derived. Tt serves also to relieve the oppressive tedium, arising from the continued sameness of our daily routine of engagements, wholly destitute as these are of that exhilarating variety and interest which my professional business and other avocations at home supply." It is true that he patronized by his presence the dancing and the gaming, of which he says he did not partake ; yet, from the above extract, we must give him at least the credit of being, in the midst of his gayeties, a sensible man. "Jan. 30, 1812. — The account of my political career, and the small part which I take in the affairs of the nation, it would be uninteresting to detail to you. These things I reserve for those of my own sex, who feel an interest in the passing events of the world's politics, and are always anxious to hear of the scenes acted in the councils of the country, at this critical and eventful period. Indeed, I feel less interest in them myself, than perhaps an actor should ; much less than many mere spectators of the comic-tragedy performances which are daily exhibited at the capitol. It is sickening to hear the eternal brawlings of clamorous demagogues for war, while a pitiful love of office, or fear of displacement, prevents their putting forth courage enough 62 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. ' to provide the proper means for so awful a state of things. This consideration will, of itself, be sufficient to prevent war " — his prophecy was not fulfilled — "though it may prolong the session, in order to give full time and scope for the oratory of the heroes who like to talk about it." But, if ladies felt little interest in mere political details, he concluded they were not indifferent to the manner in which their husbands passed their time ; and therefore, after a few farther paragraphs, he proceeded to give a short account of himself under this head. " The forepart of each day, that is, from my time of rising till eleven or twelve o'clock, I spend in my chamber, chiefly in answering the numerous letters which I receive; but when that duty does not require the whole time, the residue I devote to useful reading. My public duty then requires my attendance at the capitol, and there I remain till the hour of adjournment, which is frequently as late as four or half-past four o'clock. If not invited out to dine, the dessert to every day's dinner at home is the letters and newspapers which the mail brings to the dif- ferent gentlemen of our mess ; and a great regale they very often furnish. Our evenings at home are generally in great part spent in our respective chambers ; though sometimes we step into one of the neighboring boarding-houses, or receive calls from some of our friends. The frequent visits of gentlemen from Philadelphia tend to give a little variety to the scene." " Feb. 1, 1812. — I went with Mr. Astley yesterday, at twelve o'clock, to the President's, in fulfilment of a promise he had made to Miss M., to wait upon her for letters to her father and friends in Philadelphia; but the day being fine, she had gone out visiting with Mrs. Madison. The call, however, enabled me to see the President upon some congressional business about which I was appointed to wait upon him. I have been much neglected by my friends in the way of letter- writing, since my return to this place. Except yours, I know not that I have received one letter of mere friendship. The diminution of the number of those on congressional affairs I do not so much regret as I do the increase of those of another description ; I mean, applications for office, particularly for appointments in the new HIS POLITICAL CAREER. 63 army. If I were, as I thank God I am not, of the ruling party, I could not be more importuned. This is disagreeable, because it involves the alternative either of disobliging the applicants, or of condescending to ask favors of people against whose doings, as the servants of the public, I am often compelled to be opposed. "We make progress in our war measures, having the militia bill now before us ; but the war-fever seems every day to decline. Our valiant warriors begin to count the cost ; and they tremble for their places when the people begin to feel the pecuniary bur- dens which war will render inevitable." As the following illustrates his domestic feelings as well as any other of the numerous paragraphs of a likes character with which his letters abound, it is inserted in its place. The husband and the father were stronger in him than the politician was likely ever to become. " Feb. 3, 1812. — Your last letter was written ten days ago, and Henry was then confined by illness to the nursery. Since then no one has written me a single line. My forebodings are awful beyond measure. I went to bed last night at an early hour, to drown in the forgetfulness of sleep my gloomy, harassing reflections. But the bed was no bed of rest to me. This morn- ing I was up with the dawn. I saw the glorious sun rise in resplendent lustre, and hailed his welcome return. I wandered abroad, and rambled for two hours before breakfast. Nothing but the verdure of spring was wanting to give this charming morning all the exhilarating delights of that charming season. My contemplations have resulted in more serenity of mind, and a confidence in the goodness of divine Providence inspires me with hope. Yet why this unaccountable silence ? God grant it may have arisen from your irremovable dislike to writing, or from neglect, or even forgetfulness of me, rather than from the dreadful cause which I have anticipated. If trouble has assailed our peaceful mansion, let me become, I charge you, an early sharer of it. It is my right; duty as well as aflection entitles me to claim this at your hands. No public responsibility shall detain me here, if home demands my presence. If another vis- itation of Almighty God has fallen upon us, let me come and alleviate your griefs." 64 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. "Feb. 7, 1812." — Having received a letter which relieved his fears for his son, he prqceeds with his usual topics; alluding, among other things, to a great entertainment which was expected to come off at the British minister's, and adding, "The policy of the minister is evident. His course has a tendency to _allay a little the heat of party animosity against his country, and keep the folks in good-humor. He must take care not to overdo the business, and thereby excite the jealousy and resentment ctf those in power." "Feb. 22, 1812. — On Monday I am engaged to dine at Dr. Eustis', the Secretary of War, with a large party ; so that you see the folks here are making themselves very merry just on the eve of a war, as some suppose ; and no one contributes more to the merriment than the minister of the nation which we are threatening to attack. He had another evening party on Thurs- day, to which he gave me an invitation; but 1 was previously engaged, and, if I had not been, should have thought it best not to appear too often in so suspicious a place ; though, in fact, no persons are more fond of going there than the war advocates themselves." - r; " We go upon the new taxes on Monday next, and expect to see war in the ivigwam. They still talk of a long session, bust some think it will be impossible to keep as many members here as will be requisite to do the public business, throughout all April. Several have already gone home sick, and others begin to complain — ^the northern men of its being too hot, and the southern of its being too cold. For my own part, though I groan a little, now and then, for want of exercise, yet I never felt better than I now do ; so for the present^ I have no excuse of that kind to make." x ^ " March 1, 1812."— ^Speaking of his purpose "not to indulge his wife with another line till encouraged to it by her," he adds, "I believe, upon the whole, I have punished myself more severely than the flagrant little offender for whom it was in- tended. This is the kind of folly to which the boys allude, when they speak of a man's biting his own nose off to spite his face, and which many wiser persons, in the world's estimation, run into, when, in order to gratify their passions to the injury of mS POLITICAL CAREER. 65 others, they inflict severer wounds upon themselves. You and I know a memorable instance of this in the only man who ever, to my knowledge, cherished towards me a personal enmity. In the indulgence of an unhappy temper of mind towards all around him, the effects of his ill-nature are continually recoiling upon himself, and every one sees that, in all his purposes of vengeance, he is himself the severest sufferer. I bless Grod, that with a thousand of the frailties of human nature, this is not a ' sin that easily besets' me. There is not a human being in exist- ence, upon whom I would willingly and knowingly inflict a moment's suffering ; and the greatest pleasure I have ever en- joyed, has been in healing the strifes of others, and in being — in a very inconsiderable degree, to be sure, yet as far as I could — instrumental in adding to the sum of human happiness. You see, my love, how good sometimes flows out of evil. I began to chide a little — well, that you will agree was wrong ; but I have ended with a moral reflection, and that, were it not for the ego- tism which it involves, you will equally agrefe is very right, and altogether suitable as a matin employment of the sacred day." [More suitable than what he presently adds.] " During the past week, the business of the house has excited more than usual interest, by the discussion of the new taxes proposed to be raised for carrying on their ridiculous project of war against Great Britain. In these debates, the federalists have, by an under- standing among themselves, from motives of policy, taken no part. Our only employment in this department of the public business is, to listen and vote. There has been but little speak- ing among the majority njembers worth hearing, but the expec- tation of some oratorical effusions of more importance, and the fineness of the weather, have every day filled our galleries with the fashionable belles of Washington and Georgetown." " April 3, 1812. — I have the pleasure to inform you that I arrived in Washington about two o'clock to-day, quite well, though under the pressure of great bodily fatigue, not having slept since I left you." [He had been on a visit to Philadelphia.] "I immediately changed my clothes and went to the house, where my appearance was hailed with a joy and affection from my political friends much beyond any merits of mine, or any 66 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. service which I can render by being here. Already, however, I have been warmly at work, though, owing to the secrecy enjoined, I can give no account beyond what is already known, either to my political friends or to you." " April 17, 1812." — ^A disposition to grant a short recess of Congress, as a relief to the weary members, had recently been manifested by the majority, who held the reins of power ; but under this date, he says, " The majority, with whom the propo- sal originated, have changed their minds, and now evince a deter- mination to continue the session until the question of war with England shall have been decided. This is greatly to be lamented, because it will equally violate my sense of duty, and the expec- tation of my friends in Philadelphia, to be absent at so interest- ing a crisis. Indeed, that is absolutely out of the question." Almost immediately after the last date, a severe fit of the gout, of which he writes many amusing accounts to his wife, detained him from the house, except that he once hobbled down by the aid of a friend and a staff, in order to give his vote, in vain, in favor of the proposed temporary adjournment of Congress. At length, however, on the 1st of May, he wrote from his seat in the house, that he had so far recovered as to be able to attend again to business, by wearing a very easy slipper. But his health had suffered so much, that after a few days' hard service, in which, as we shall see, he made one eventful speech, he obtained leave of absence, and remained at home till near the 20th of May. Hence he writes, " May 21, 1812. — I have the pleasure to inform you of my safe arrival at this place, (Washington,) yesterday afternoon. Congress have had no session for two days, owing to the Speaker, Mr. Clay, having received an injury by a fall from his horse ; but I am told he is sufficiently recovered to attend in his place to-day." " May 26, 1812. — ^You used often to wish for the arrival of the Hornet, because that event promised to put an end to this tedious session. Well, the Hornet has at length arrived, and disappointed the hopes of Napoleon's friends. They had fondly expected from the universal robber a degree of justice and even of affection towards this country, which a knowledge of his mS POLITICAL CAREER. 67 character ought to have told them was impossible. What effect this will have upon the continuance of our session is uncertain. The ruling party are quite chopfallen, and as yet undetermined upon the course which they are to take : whether to continue their project of war against England only, or to wage it against both England and France ; or to stop short, and let the session end as it began. This state of incertitude may continue for some time ; and if either of the first two plans which I have mentioned should be adopted, more time, I presume, will be frittered away in making further preparations of a warlike nature." " June 6, 1812.— Whatever claims my greater age and longer close attention to business, and acquisitions of property, may have given me upon the suffrage of my fellow-citiziens, and however these things may have justified me in yielding to their request to leave my own concerns and attend to theirs, I shall never be unwilling to acknowledge the indiscretion of my de- cision, and its prejudicial consequences. It is true, I neither contemplated the event of my election as probable, nor antici- pated, in case of so unexpected an occurrence, such a wearying session as this has been. Had the latter circumstance been expected, I would, even after the commencement of the session, have made arrangements for having my family here;. in which case the loss of personal comfort would not have been added to the ruinous loss of business, which I now fear will be the effect of my continued absence from it." As to the close of the session, " The war people, in whose hands our fate is held, talk of the beginning of July, of the middle of that month, or of the first of August, as the whim of the moment, their own information, or their want of infor- mation ^uggestSi My fears, I confess, make me look at the most remote of the above periods as that most likely to disperse us. Congress is now fuller than it has been at any time during the session, our house wanting but nine of its full complement ; and of these nine, one has died and another resigned ; so that only seven actual members are absent. ■ " The important discussions, in which we have been engaged during this week within closed doors, lead to results that will 68 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. greatly prolong the session. New duties, direct taxes, and all the machinery necessary for carrying on the war, which these mad people are determined to wage against Great Britain, must necessarily consume much time in their consideration. Whether we shall be shut up from public view when these measures come under discussion, I know not. If we are, though our minds may be Vexed, yet our bodies will be comforted ; for our hall is abun- dantly cooler when strangers are excluded, than when we sit with crowded galleries. I can't say that our gentlemen-com- moners are influenced by this consideration to close the doors against their fellow-citizens, yet I believe their whole detail of reasons for this anti-republican proceeding does not furnish a better." " June 17, 1812. — The interesting question, to which all the proceedings of this long session have tended, still remains un- decided in the Senate" — the House, it seems, had settled it — " though it may probably receive its final decision in that body to-day. Whether war be, or be not the result, I trust the neces- sity of our remaining together cannot last much longer." " June 20, 1812. — ^Were it not that several matters are still depending in which my constituents are much interested, I would, for myself, break loose the latter end of this week. On one of these measures, the question of double duties on imported goods, I spoke yesterday; and if another, the relaxation of the non- importation law, were disposed of, I should feel myself at liberty to go. A few days more will give me a clearer prospect, both as to the probable duration of the session, and as to my own duty in either remaining till the end, or breaking loose a little sooner." Two days after the last date, he asked, and obtained leave of absence for the remainder of the session, and yet the privilege thus granted remained unused. The following extract explains the reasons. " June 26, 1812. — It is a great disappointment not to be able to leave Washington to-day, as I had promised myself I should do. Two reasons have detained me. In the first place, we " — a committee of which he was one — " are about publishing a pam- phlet, containing the reasons of the federalists in Congress for voting against the war ; and I wish to be here when it is ready HIS POLITICAL CAREER. 69 for circulation, in order to use my franking privilege in sending copies" — he had subscribed for one hundred — "to gentlemen in various places. In the second place, it is expected that within a few days some interesting questions may arise, in which a single vote will be of consequence ; and I should be much censured by my friends, as well as by my own feelings, were I, without the most pressing necessity, to leave my post at such a time." The pamphlet mentioned in this extract, is an able document of twenty-four closely printed octavo pages, entitled, "An Address of Members of the House of Representatives of the Congress of the United States to their Constituents, on the subject of the War with Great Britain ;" entering at length into the argument on the war question, and signed by thirty-four federal members of the House, of whom Mr. Milnor was one. As a public docu- ment, further reference to it in this place may be considered needless. At length, the early part of July, the great session closed, and Mr. Milnor was again at home and at his business ; while the war, which with others he had vainly striven to avert, was preparing to blaze over the breadth and length of our land. The extracts thus far made, give but an imperfect idea of his activity in Congress during the ripening of our hostile preparations. The letters to his political friends, in which that activity was more fully detailed, have been lost. We can therefore only say, in general, that, through the session, he was truly a working-mem- ber, in committees and on the floor of the House ; and a man of influence, so far as influence from his side was practicable, both within and without the halls of Congress. But one thing remains to be noticed, before we pass to a brief review of his last session, which was also the close of his politi- cal career. To that one thing we have already alluded, when speaking of a certain ^^ eventful speech'''' which he delivered on the last day of April, while as yet but imperfectly recovered from his severe fit of the gout. To the circumstance which made that speech eventful, the following extract from one of his letters refers. "June 20, 1812. — I am very much pained to hear that a report, calculated to increase the anxiety unavoidably attending 'fO - MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. our unhappy separation, should have reached you ; and whether there were any truth in it or not, I am vexed beyond measure at the want of common-sense as well as of common feeling mani- fested by the person who so injudiciously and unfeelingly com- municated that report to you. It is a matter which need not give you a moment's uneasiness. The report arose out of some dissatisfaction manifested by a certain gentleman at the publica- tion of a certain debate, in which I took a prominent part ; but nothing has occurred, and nothing will occur, which need excite any fears for the safety either of my person or of my reputation ; both of which, I am sure, are precious in the estimation of my affectionate partner." This extract will be rendered intelligible to the reader by stating, that the report which had reached Mrs, Milnor, was to the effect that her husband had been on the eve of a duel with the Speaker of the House, Henry Clay. The circumstances which had led to a challenge from this gentleman were briefly these. On the 30th of April, the Hon. William Reed, of Massachu- setts, " presented a petition, signed by upwards of 470 merchants of Boston, setting forth that they had an immense amount of property in the dominions of Great Britain, the safety of which was jeoparded by the state of the relations between the two countries ; and praying permission to draw their said property from Great Britain and her dependencies, under such provisions as shall be reasonable and just." The reading of this petition was ordered, but had not pro- ceeded far, when it was earnestly objected to by one of the ma- jority, on the ground that the petition was an insult to the House, inasmuch as it declared that the famous Berlin and Milan decrees were still in operation ; whereas the executive had declared them repealed. The Speaker, however, decided that the reading must proceed. After it was ended, Mr. Read moved that the petition be referred to a select committee, while Mr. Rhea moved that it be postponed till after the 4th of the ensuing July. Upon these motions arose the debate in which Mr. Milnor took such "a prominent part." Some days after the debate had been termi- nated by a reference of the petition to the committee of the whole. HIS POLITICAL CAREER. 7t a sketch of the day's proceedings, containing a report of Mr. Mibior's speech, was sent to the Philadelphia " Political and Commercial Register," as its editor stated, "Z>y a friend in Washington^ It was at this report that Mr. Clay took offence, and for it that he called Mr. Milnor to account. Or, more cor- rectly, the alleged ground of his challenge was, Mr. Milnor's refusal to answer his question touching the authorship of the report. ;, It will not be necessary to give Mr. Milnor's speech at length. It was a fearless and manly effort ; and during its delivery, he was repeatedly interrupted for saying things unpalatable to the ruling majority. His soul seemed fired at the evident disposition of that majority to embarrass the freedom of debate ; particularly at the passionate warmth of manner with which the Speaker twice called him to order for saying, and repeating the assertion, that Mr. Rhea's motion to postpone the consideration of the peti- tion to so late a day as after the 4th of July was, " in effect, to trifle with the sufferings of the petitioners." After the Speaker's second interruption, the report represents Mr. Milnor as thus concluding his speech. "I have scrupulously avoided arraigning the motives of the proposer of this resolution, or of any other member. I have spoken of the effect of the course proposed. I know, however. Sir, your powers, and those of the majority, too well not to feel the necessity of acquiescing in this interposition of your author- ity ; and therefore, although perfectly satisfied that I have made no observation inconsistent with a just freedom of debate, the rules of decorum, or parliamentary usage, I bow in submission to the mandate of the chair. I hope, however, I may be permit- ted to repeat, as an impressive reason for looking into the subject of this petition now, and an argument against its postponement, that the recent burnings of our vessels upon the ocean furnish an evidence of the existence of the French decrees, which, having happened since the President's assertion of their repeal, could not have entered into his consideration of the question ; and, of course, it can involve no possible disrespect towards him to examine it with this additional evidence. But I was truly astonished at the want of recollection manifested by the honorable chairman of the J'2 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. Committee of commerce and manufactures. He asserts, that we had no evidence of these atrocities, except protests made be- fore notaries-public, by captains and mates of vessels ; and that every body knew how easily such protests were made. Now, though the honorable gentleman might find so little difficulty in isupposing our citizens capable of fabricating these narratives and supporting them by perjury, yet I should have imagined, if he had recollected the documents produced not long since in this house, he could have given credit to the original authenticated certificate signed by the commandant of the squadron of French ships, by which ours wore burnt, declaring that these outrages were committed by order of the Minister of Marine of France. I have no hesitation in believing the fact." After a few further observations, Mr. Milnor concluded by expressing his " hope, that the house would consent to the reference of the petition, as pro- posed by the gentleman from Massachusetts." When the Philadelphia report of his speech reached Wash- ington, Mr. Milnor was on a visit to his family ; and just before his return to Washington, the house was for two days prevented from sitting by Mr. Clay's accident in falling from his horse. At the moment of his return, however, Mr. Clay had sufficiently recovered to be able to resume the chair. The two gentlemen, therefore, reappeared in the house on the same day, May 21. On that very day, the Speaker opened the following correspondence, which, with Mr. Milnor's appended " memoranda," will be suffi- cient- for a further elucidation of the difficulty between them. The point in the Philadelphia report of the speech, and its con- nected proceedings, at which Mr. Clay took umbrage, seems to •have been the charge, contained in that report, of intemperate warmth in the manner in which, as Speaker of the House, he repeatedly interrupted Mr. Milnor's remarks. (No. 1.) "HousK OF Representatives, 21st May, 1812. " To THE Honorable Mr. Milnor, ... " Sir — Your return to the city of Washington affords me an opportunity of inquiring of you, if the sketch of the debate on Mr. Reed's motion, upon presenting the petition of the Boston HIS POLITICAL CAREER. 73 merchants, which appears in the Political and Commercial Reg- ister of the 6th instant, was furnished by you ? The place and manner of the appearance, for the first time, of this sketch, will apologize for the trouble I give you on this occasion. "Yours, H. CLAY." 1 ' Answer. ■■ (No, 2.) " Cotle's, 21st May, 1812. **To THE Honorable Mr. Clay, " " Sir — Your note of this day was delivered to me in my place by the Sergeant-at-arms, during the sitting of the House of Repre- sentatives. However willing, under other circumstances, I might have been to give any information in my power on the subject to which you refer, yet, as an important principle, as it respects both my representative and personal independence, might be affected by an acknowledgment, on my part, of the right to make, and the obligation to answer, an inquiry of such a nature, I trust that my now declining it will not be attributed to any intention of personal disrespect. Yours, "JAMES MILNOR." (No. 3.) "Mrs. Donson's, 21st May, 1812. •'The Honorable Mr. MiLNOR, "Sir — Finding from your answer to my note of this morn- ing, that you have misconstrued the circumstances attending the place where it was delivered to you, and the mode of conveyance I employed, I think it due no less to myself than to you to declare, that there existed no intention to violate your independ- ence in any respect. As you have attached some degree of importance to these circumstances, altogether accidental, I have to request that, if they constitute the only bar to the information solicited, you will consider this as a renewal of my inquiry. " Yours, " H. CLAY." ' Answer. (No. 4.) " Coyie's, 22d May, 1812. ^' The Honorable Mr. Clay, ,, " Sir— I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your second note last evening by the Honorable Mr. Bibb, of the ^jpiftte. 74 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. " In my answer to the one previously received, the expres- sions, according to my apprehension, did not impute to you an intention of violating my personal independence, nor represent the place where your note was delivered, and the mode of con- veyance, as constituting the only bar to my furnishing you with the information asked for ; at the same time I appreciate, as I ought, the frankness with which you have disavowed the inten- tion alluded to. I am obliged, however, to repeat, that confirmed impressions of duty, as they respect the preservation of the priv- ileges both of my public and private character, do not admit of my conceding the principle, under circumstances like the present, of your right to make, or of my obligation to answer, the inquiry which I understand to be renewed by your last note. "Yours, M "JAMES MILNOR." , (No. 5.) "Mrs. Donson's, 22d May, 1812. " The Honorable James Milnor, , " Sir — I am gratified to learn by your note of to-day, deliv- ered to me by Mr. Groldsborough, that you have placed a proper construction upon the circumstances attending the delivery of my note to you yesterday morning. I have, at the same time, to regret that the sense entertained by you of your duty will not allow you to communicate the information sought for by me. Your determination leaves to my choice a single mode of repara- tion for an injury of which I conceive I have cause to complain ; and my friend Mr. Bibb is authorized by me to make the requi- site arrangements. " Yours, "H. CLAY." Answer . ,r t (No. 6.) -' " " ' ■"■ ■■'"■■ " Capt. Coyle's, 23d May, 1812. ' ' "Honorable Mr. Clay, , " Sir — Being utterly unconscious of having ever offered or intended you any injury, and having received from you no infor- mation of any part of my conduct against which you consider yourself as possessing cause of complaint, the same leading prin- ciple in reference to public and private duty that has hitherto regulated my course, obliges me to deem it improper to comply HIS POLITICAL CAREER. 75 with the intimation of your note of this day. Fox such a com- pliance, the most deliberate reflection that I have been able to give the subject, suggests no justification, on my part, in any thing that has occurred between us, either before or since the com- mencement of the present correspondence. " Yours, "JAMES MILNOR." Upon this correspondence Mr. Milnor made the following " memoranda." , " On Thursday morning, May 21, 1812, after being a short time in my place in the House of Representatives, after the com- mencement of public business, and, as nearly as I can recollect, about half past 11 o'clock, the Speaker, Mr. Clay, being then in the chair, sent me his note. No. 1, by the Sergeant-at-arms, who delivered it to me in my seat. About 5, P. M., of the same day, I sent him my answer. No. 2, by a servant. " In the evening, about 9, the Hon. Mr. Bibb waited on me, and handed me Mr. Clay's second note. No. 3, unsealed, in my chamber. I inquired of Mr. Bibb, whether a written answer was expected, or whether he wished to confer verbally with me on the subject. He said that he presumed Mr. Clay desired a written answer, but did not wish to hurry me. I told him I would send Mr. Clay a written answer in the morning ; and in the meantime, had no hesitation in stating to him, that although I certainly thought it an unusual thing to receive a note of such a nature, in such a time, place, and manner, yet the difficulty I felt in answering the inquiry, arose from other and more impor- tant considerations; that I deemed Mr. Clay not to possess a right to call on me to answer such an inquiry, because, if admit- ted, it would lead to very injurious consequences ; that it would recognize a right in any individual, affected by an anonymous publication, or thinking himself to be so, to call upon as many individuals as he chose to select, and demand of each of them whether he was not the author of the offensive publication. Suppose an anonymous letter from Washington to be published in a l^hiladelphia paper ; suppose it even to purport to be from a member of the House of Representatives ; would I be bound to answer a formal demand in writing whether I was the author,? 76 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. I apprehend not. I also stated, that the difficulty was increased in this instance, by the formality given to Mr. Clay's communica- tion, and by the concealment of its object and of the use intend- ed to be made of my answer. Mr. Bibb said he was wholly un- acquainted with the course intended to be pursued by Mr. Clay ; that he had never seen the publication referred to, nor did he know wherein it was offensive ; that Mr. Clay had showed him a copy of his note to me, and my answer, and requested him to be the bearer of the reply ; which constituted the whole of his in- formation on the subject. I again referred to my objection, as founded upon a denial of Mr. Clay's right to make such a de- mand ; but suggested, that in all probability, if the same request had occurred in the course of a familiar, verbal communication, I should have felt no disposition to withhold any information in my power, though not on the score of a right in Mr. Clay to require it of me. In the morning, I added, I would answer Mr. Clay's note. After some conversation on our foreign relations, Mr. Bibb left me. " On the morning of the 22d, some difficulty in finding my friend Mr. Goldsborough, prevented my getting my answer, No. 4, into Mr. Clay's hands, as I intended, before the meeting of the House. He called on him immediately after the adjournment which took place, but did not meet with him at home. Mr. Goldsborough, however, delivered it personally to Mr. Clay before dinner. " In the evening of the same day, Mr. Bibb, I understood, called at my lodgings, but I was out. " Between 10 and 11 A. M., Saturday, 23d May, Mr. Bibb brought me Mr. Clay's third note, No. 5. I prepared my answer, and went in search of Mr. Goldsborough, but after some time dis- covered that he had gone to Georgetown. I left a note at his lodg- ings, requesting him to call on me immediately on his return. Mr. Goldsborough did so about — o'clock, when I gave him my note to Mr. Clay, No. 6, which he delivered to Mr. Bibb about — o'clock in the evening of the same day, (Saturday,) and had some Conversation, which he can detail." What that conversation was, is to us unknown. Probably 4t had the design and effect of disposing of the affair, without its HIS POLITICAL CAREER. 77 being bruited to the satisfaction of the public's ever " itching ear." Bishop Kemper, in a letter containing some notices of Mr. Milnor's life, says, that Mr. Clay " sent him a challenge to fight a duel, but withdrew it when convinced that he had misunder- stood his opponent." And Mr. T. Bradford, in his "Reminis- cences," says, " The matter was settled by the intervention of friends." Perhaps both these remarks refer to the effect of the conversation between Mr. Bibb and Mr. Goldsborough, of which Mr. Milnor speaks. At that conversation, explanations may have been made which induced Mr. Clay to "withdraw" his challenge, and thus " the matter may have been settled by the intervention of friends." Virtually, however, the matter was settled when Mr. Milnor declined the challenge of his opponent. After that decision, if Mr. Milnor persisted in withholding information, Mr. Clay had no alternative but either to drop the matter, or take personal satisfaction, if not by brute force, by the more reputable, but scarcely less senseless mode of posting his opponent as a coward. Towards dropping the controversy he may have felt by no means disinclined, but to either of the modes named for ob- taining further reparation, he was not likely to resort. He was doubtless too high-minded for a mere brute assault on such a gentleman as Mr. Milnor, and he must have known well, that to advertise him as a poltroon, would excite laughter at himself rather than scorn of his opponent. Both the personal and the moral courage of the latter was undoubted. In truth, he gave the highest proof of both by declining Mr. Clay's call to the field. Those were times, emphatically, when the mere sending of a challenge was deemed reason enough for its acceptance. Gren- tlemen of honor, so called, would ordinarily have been afraid to refuse the call, though given in the spirit of angry, yet reasonless caprice. Argument like the following would have been likely to rise in their heart : " My opponent calls ; that is enough for me ; I must meet him." So reasoned not James Milnor, though yet in his unconverted state. He saw a principle, which his decision was either to support or to sacrifice, for others as well as for him- self ; and even if we may suppose that, as a man of the world, he had no conscientious scruples against duelling, still, as a man of PRINCIPLE, he would not permit the most distinguished oppo- 78 MEMOIR OF DR. MILXOR. nent to demand and enforce from him what was not his right. He had the highest kind of courage — ^that which stands to the RIGHT, and sets arbitrary and all but omnipotent custom at defiance. Years after the occurrences which we have now been review- ing, when Mr. Milnor had been long in the Church, and Mr. Clay had risen higher than ever in the political world, these two gen- tlemen met again on terms of mutual respect and amity ; and the circumstances of the meeting show that Mr. Clay thought none the less favorably of Mr. Milnor for the course which he had formerly taken. The account of the meeting is furnished by the gentleman who was instrumental in its occurrence. While Mr. Clay was Secretary of State, Dr. Milnor had occa- sion, in common with several other clergy of our church, to visit Washington. His friend, the Rev. Gr. W. Ridgely, formerly a student of the law in the office ' of Mr. Clay, was one of their number. During a call which Mr. Ridgely made upon his old patron, Mr. Clay inquired who of his clerical brethren were with him at the capital. In reply, the names of several were men- tioned, particularly that of Dr. Milnor of New York. Mr, Clay immediately expressed a high regard for Dr. Milnor, and asked Mr. Ridgely whether he thought the Doctor would come and dine with him ; assigning as a reason for his inquiry, the unpleasant circumstances under which, several years before, they had parted. Mr. Ridgely replied, he had no doubt of Dr. Milnor's willingness to meet Mr. Clay again on friendly terms, and at once offered to open the way for the acceptance of an invitation. An invitation was accordingly sent, and accepted. Others of the clergy were guests at the dinner which followed, and were, of course, highly pleased with their entertainment. But Mr. Ridgely, being aware of the circumstances under which the two principal gentlemen met, felt a deep interest in silently observing their manner to- wards each other. It was that of the utmost frankness and high bearing. Not a word was said, not the shadow of a look passed over the countenance of either, to indicate that the past was remembered. The maimer of Mr. Clay showed that the highest respect for Dr. Milnor had buried that past away from his feel- ings ; while that of Dr. Milnor made it perfectly evident that he V- OV TEE HIS POLITICAL CAREER. ife K I "^ ^79^ ^ V* * knew how to meet the advances of Mr. Clay. He wa^^ijSfl^IEfi to say, by either his actions or his looks, " Sir, as a Chriskan I willingly forgive what, as a gentleman, I do but civilly forget." On the part of both there was a warm open-heartedness which pledged mutual respect for the present, and which put the past, in effect, where each wished it might have been in fact — out of existence. The conduct of both was such as to raise them higher than ever in the estimation of their silently observant friend. I In still later years, Dr. Milnor voted for his former opponent as a candidate for the presidency. He had a high admiration for that gentleman's abilities and patriotism, and he strongly mani- fested it during the great statesman's public visit to New York, when a splendid civic honor was awarded him. Dr. Wm. H. Milnor remarks in his "Recollections," " I shall never forget my father's enthusiasm as the procession passed our door, during Mr. Clay's memorable visit to our city. He forgot, for the moment, his ecclesiastical position, and as his thoughts glided back to the past, his youthful political ardor returned, and he shouted with the loudest his welcome to the city's guest." We pass now to a brief review of the closing scenes of Mr. Milnor 's political life. Early in November, 1812, he left Phila- delphia for his third winter in Congress, and after " a most tedious and irksome passage," reached Washington on the 5th of the month. He was soon settled in his old quarters at Coyle's, and as soon engaged in the business of the session. But a great change, dimly shadowed as yet to his own perceptions, was al- ready beginning to come over his mind ; and it is here men- tioned, not because this is the time to trace its progress, but because a knowledge of the fact will help us to understand why he took so much less part in politics than during the previous session, and why his letters say so little of the part which he did take. The following extracts contain his only notices of what was passing in the great world of war and politics. " Nov. 10, 1812. — The weather has been so bad, and the walking so dreadful, that I have been barely able to get from my lodgings to the capitol since my arrival. To-day, however, I took a carriage, and paid the usual visit of compliment to the Presi- dent, with whom I had about half an hour's conversation. He 80 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. was communicative and pleasant, but Mrs. Madison did not make her appearance. Business makes very quiet progress. No mani- festations of heat or violence have yet appeared, and I sincerely hope they may not." " Nov. 20, 1812. — I have had much more leisure since my arrival than I had last session. Going less abroad, and being upon but one important committee, together w^ith an unusual exemption from letters of either politics or business, with only two fellow-boarders, of retired and quiet habits, and, added to all this, with but short daily sittings of the house, have altogether contributed to give me retirement without weariness, and the luxuries of reading and reflection without the bustle and anxiety of public or professional concerns." "Nov. 21, 1812. — Yesterday, very unexpectedly to myself, I felt constrained to take the floor upon two interesting questions, arising out of the needless and calamitous war in which our rulers have unfortunately plunged us. The subject was, an act for increasing the facility of raising troops by enlistment. One of its objectionable provisions was, an authority to enlist boys from eighteen to twenty-one years of age, without regard to the claims, interests, or feelings of parents, guardians, or masters; thus authorizing a bribe to profligate young men to violate every duty of obedience towards those who have charge of them, and ruining their prospects in life by taking them from the acquisition of a useful calling into all the profligacy and vice of a camp. The other provision which excited my feelings, was an exemption to debtors from being arrested by their creditors, after enlisting as soldiers, whatever be the amount of their debts, and whether contracted before or after enlistment. Two more scandalous violations of true policy, the civil rights of the citizen, and the principles of religion and morality, cannot be conceived. May a merciful Providence shield our country against participating in the ruin which must await such shameful means for bolstering: up a wicked and unnecessary war. Pray excuse this diversion to the rugged and unpleasant path of politics. I shall soon be permitted to leave their management to others. But, whilst my term of public service continues, they claim and must unavoid- ably receive a portion of my attention." HIS POLITICAL CAREER. 81 ■' "Nov. 24, 1812.— You will not think me very deeply en- gaged in the affairs of the nation, when I tell you, that instead of preparing speeches, and studying the intricacies of political controversy, my hours, when not spent at the capitol, or in social converse, or in writing to you, are chiefly passed near my cham- ber-fire in the perusal of books, such as I meet with here, and find adapted to the feelings of my mind." "Dec. 3, 1812." — Giving an account of a dinner-party at the President's, from which he had "just returned," and at which the guests were "quite select," he says, "I bad the honor of a seat near the queen, and was treated with great civility and attention both by her and her royal consort, notwithstanding my recent well-known opposition to his reelection. ^ " The discussion of the question of releasing the merchants from the penalties incurred by them in bringing in British goods, was commenced in our house this day, and is likely to continue for some time. I am prepared to speak in their favor, if it should be deemed expedient. " I shall not make my letter more of an olla podrida by add- ing any thing of a serious cast to the foregoing details of fashion and of politics. My allotted term of ceremony and of public business must be filled; and then for the moments of domestic comfort, the endearments of wife and children, and a regular but not morose attention to duties of the most pleasing and impor- tant nature, because they are fitted to gild with cheerfulness the passage through life, and to brighten the prospects of a future world." "Dec. 9, 1812." — ^Having been compelled, as a member of the naval committee, to attend a ball given to Captain Hull and others, as officers of the navy, he thus describes a scene which took place in the course of the evening. "The Secretary of the Navy, his wife, and two daughters were of the company. About 9 o'clock in the evening, it was announced that the son of the Secretary, Mr. Hamilton, had ar- rived with, official despatches Sot his father, announcing the vic- tory gained by Commodore Decatur, of the frigate United States, over the British frigate Macedonian; and that he brought with him the colors of the captured vessel. A few moments after- 82 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. wards, the ingenuous youth was ushered into the ballroom, and fell upon the necks of his overjoyed mother and sisters. They had not seen him for more than a twelvemonth, nor since he had miraculously escaped from the dreadful conflagration of the theatre at Richmond, where he happened to be at the time of that calamitous event, on his way to Norfolk to take his station on board the United States. He had now returned, flushed with victory, and found the city universally illuminated on account of the gallant action in which he had shared ; his family engaged in doing honor to the brave men who had gone before him in the career of glory ; and himself — happy man — bearer of the ensigns of another conquered foe. Soon after the scene I have described, the colors of the Macedonian were introduced, borne by. Cap- tains Hull, Stewart, and Morris, with other naval officers, amid the loud acclamations of the company. This was a part of the entertainment so unexpected and so much in consonance with the feelings of pa,triotism, that I confess it very much diminished the sentiment of disgust at all around me, in which I had been indulging. I glory in the evidences we have had of the prowess of our little navy, and am convinced that it is the only true method of defending our national rights." Though opposed to the war, he was not blind to the ability with which it was conducted — at least, so far as it made the broad ocean its field. " Dec. 16, 1812." — The holidays were approaching, and he had promised to spend them at home; but he says, " Congress are still engaged on the question relating to the release of the merchants' bonds ; and I am not without apprehensions of a severe conflict between contending duties at the moment when I shall wish to leave this place. Yet I hope we may previously get through it, and no other public object shall detain me." Again : " Dec. 18, 1812. — The interesting question with respect to the relief of our merchants from the forfeitures and penalties incur- red under the non-importation act, which affects individuals in our city alone to the amount of four and a half millions of dol- lars, is not yet decided ; and the division in the House is so uearly equal, that a single vote may turn the decision one way HIS POLITICAL CAREER. 83 or the other. Under these circumstances, I deem it a conscien- tious duty to submit to the necessity of remaining here till the question is settled, which I hope will be in the course of the ensuing week." The debates on the merchants' relief bill detained him, as nearly a§ can be ascertained, till about Christmas. The moment he could with safety leave, he visited Philadelphia, and was in his place again after the close of the holidays. Hence he writes, from the House, "Jan. 13, 1813. — I have arrived here, in good health >and without accident, just in time, as upon one or two former occa- sions, to give a vote upon the army bill. Randolph is now making a very long speech ; and we have before us the prospect of a night-session, as the majority are determined to take the final question to-day." "Jan. 16, 1813. — While I was absent, I find the political asperity of parties has risen to its highest pitch. Mr. Q,uincy's severe attack on the administration brought upon him an abun- dance of abuse. I found Mrs. Madison, to whose drawing-room entertainments Mr. Q,uincy (improperly, I think) made some allu- sion, by no means unaffected by the passing scene. She spoke freely and feelingly to me on the subject, though without anger ; and I confess, between ourselves, I cannot but deem it a departure from the principles of liberality and decorum in a member of Con- gress, to make such reflections as fell from Mr. Quincy. I hope he will see the propriety of omitting them, or of assuaging their severity, in the publication of his speech which he is about to make ; and which, barring this and some other parts of it un- necessarily severe, our friends all concur in saying was an aston- ishing display of gonitis and eloquence." Possibly this brilliant but discourteous assault on the admin- istration is what Mr. Milnor refers to, in a letter some days before his visit to Philadelphia, in which he says, " I write in the House with a speech from Mr. Q,uincy thundering in my ear." His political course was now drawing to a close. His letters to Mrs. Milnor all breathe of the diviner themes which have filled his soul, and his allusions to the business of Congress disappear from their pages. On the 27th of February, he names the day of 84 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. ' . • his intended final departure for Philadelphia; his last being one of the short sessions, which terminate the 4th of March. Unex- pectedly, however, a gentle visit from his ancestral friend the gout, detained him for several days after the adjournment ; and " whilst all "Washington was crowding to the capitol on the 4th, to witness Mr. Madison's re-inauguration, he had more pleasure in sitting down in the solitude of his chamber to relieve any anx- iety which his wife might have suffered" by his previous day's announcement of his expected detention. He was well enough to leave Washington on the 6th of March, but for safety's sake preferred taking his seat in the coach on the 8th. On that day, the coach, when it came along, was too full to receive him, and he did not finally leave till the 9th. ' Thus close all the notices which remain of Mr. Milnor's polit- ical life during his last session in Congress. He faithfully did his work for his country, but said little about it in his letters. He had other things on his heart, and other things for his pen, even while busily occupied in public duty. His letters to Mrs. Milnor and others were more frequent than ever ; but they were almost undividedly filled with concerns mightier than those of nations. They will come into view as we proceed to trace that work of the Spirit which transformed him from a man of the law to a disciple of the Gospel, and from a political servant of his country to an eminent minister of Christ. . RELIGIOUS CHANGE. • 85 PART II. J: HISTORY OF MR. MILNQR'S RELIGIOUS .CHANGE. ' \ SECTION I. '; - In proceeding to trace the formation of Mr. Milnor's Christian character, we have the advantage of a previous knowledge of what he was as a fully, developed and maturely ripened man : unstained from boyhood with the too frequent vices of life, yet formed to the fashion and the manners, and governed by the spirit and the maxims of the world; warm and generous in his friendships, especially in his domestic attachments ; scrupulously honest and upright in his dealings ; industrious and methodical in his business ; active and influential in the benevolent and lit- erary institutions of his age ; a peacemaker, who yet, for the sake of peace, would never sacrifice truth and right ; incorruptibly pure and high-minded in his social and political principles ; pecu- liarly popular with all the associations into which he entered, and in all the relations which he sustained ; an able and successful lawyer, of that order who seem formed to sit with grace, dignity, and reputation, on the bench of justice; and a legislator, ani- mated with the truest patriotism, and gifted with no little insight and sagacity in the philosophy of politics. In short, had he. been constitutionally as much in love with legal and political life as he was practically successful in both, he might have risen — such was his popularity in his native state^to her highest posts of trust and honor. At the time when he was about to disappear from the scenes of civil life, he was already talked of as next governor of Pennsylvania. But amid all this, and up to the period at which we have now arrived, he was without any just perceptions, and evidently without any real experience of the true nature of the religion of Christ. He was, indeed, far from thoughtlessness about religion; 86 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. yet his thoughts were any thing but true to the interior power and spirituality of the Gospel. Of this, the intelligent religious reader will have already seen evidence ; and evidence more sat- isfying to such will appear, in what we have further to examine. In school-boy days, and in legal studies, James Milnor had a playmate and a friend in Aquila Massey Bolton. Mr. Bolton was evidently, in mature years, a man of handsome talents ; gay, volatile, and witty ; the soul of social parties ; but, withal, loose, and in secret not merely sceptical, but utterly infidel in his views of religion. Amid the vicissitudes of life, however, it pleased God to make him, if we may judge from his letters, a monument of awakening grace, if not of recovering mercy ; and in the faithful dealings which he at once opened with the con- science of his friend James, we have our first glimpse into the earlier religious notions of the latter. , As early as the 3d of March, 1800, somewhat more than a year after Mr. Milnor's marriage, Mr. Bolton addressed to him a letter, from which the following are excerpts. Explaining a " somethingy of which he says his mind had, "for a considerable time, been full," he proceeds : " Know, then, my dear friend — for I think you nearer to me than ever — ^that, like the Prodigal Son, I am seeking to be restored to the favor of my heavenly Father, through the mediation of his Son Jesas Christ, whom I have so long turned from and cruci- cified in my heart. This confession, I doubt not, will subject me to even your mockery, as I know it will to that of the world. The latter is a matter of indifference ; and even the former I think I could bear^ if it would not be an evidence to your own condemnation. You may well say, ' Is Saul also among the prophets?' for I have been a cruel persecutor of Christianity" — [by the way, that is not the first time that the Saul of the Old Testament has been put in the place of Saul in the New'] — " to a greater degree, I believe, than any but the Holy Spirit has had knowledge of. Few of my friends, I think, have known to what monstrous lengths I had gone from the faith which is in Jesus. Thanks be to the Lord, I was arrested on the high road to de- struction, and have been taught, as Saul himself was, that it was Jesus whom I persecuted." RELIGIOUS CHANGE. 87 " If you knew how much I have your welfare at heart, and notwithstanding our' past friendship, you cannot know, you would be disposed to believe one who, to his sorrow, avows that he was carried by a speculative philosophy far, very far beyond Deism. Indeed,- 1 think I was never more fixed in any one opin- ion than in a total disbelief of all divine revelatioii; and for a long time I valued myself upon having overcome every kind of superstition and prejudice, which I thought had their origin from the Old and New Testaments. But, notwithstanding I was as firmly fixed in my opinion as Voltaire himself ever was, I can now declare, that I have no more doubt of the Scriptures having been dictated by the Supreme Being, than I have of my own existence. '■<'''' " Oh that I Could communicate to you a full sense of what I have been taught in the school of Christ. Your eyes would then be opened indeed. You will remember, and I have not forgotten, the time when we used to laugh at serious people affecting to know something, which we, in our vain imagina- tions, could not believe to be of any importance. You have now an opportunity to renew the laugh at my expense. But, for your own sake, not mine, beware ^ deceive not yourself : be as- sured there is a Grod to whom every knee shall bow, and whom every tongue shall confess ; and no man can come unto the Father but by that Son, whom I fear you have long ago dis- claimed. " Bearing in mind how ineffectual were remonstrances upon my own mind when in a state of apostasy, (the reason of which inefficacy I can now discern,) I am indeed without much hope of being able to arouse you to a sense of your condition. Yet, when I reflect upon the great, the important change in my mind, and upon the friendship which has subsisted between us, I am tempted, and I trust permitted, at least by that Holy Spirit under whose awful influence I hope ever to continue, to sound an alarm, which I fervently pray may not be disregarded. "This conversion," (which he had experienced,) "I can only call strange, ' passing strange.' Oh, could you know the gratitude which I feel towards that Redeemer whom I have so long and so flagrantly offended, for having opened my eyes to see my con- 88 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. dition when upon the very precipice of hell, you would feel very little concerned about the trash of this world. And this change, believe mes, you must experience, or you will be lost to all eter- nity. Flatter not yourself -that the Lord conforms himself to man's wisdom, or that you can save yourself from perdition in any other way than by reliance upon Christ Jesus. Believe me, I am in my perfect senses, when I tell you, that I know these truths as plainly as I know that two and two make four. "I thought I could do no less than write you as I have done, although it may be the means of breaking our friendship; for you must not expect to find me, in future, the same as you have found me in the past ; and I am afraid that you will not relish any thing from one who wishes not to violate the covenant he has made with his God. Our future intercourse depends upon yourself. If you think that I am not too gloomy a correspond- ent, I will gladly retain my place in your affection. As to mine for you, be assured it is increased most wonderfully ; for once I supposed our friendship would end in death; now I cannot but hope it will be eternal^ And if, friend Aquila, thy own faith was steadfast to the end, thy hope is already certainty. On the fifth of April, he wrote again to Mr. Milnor as follows. " Dear Tames — 1 feel fearful that I may have said something in my last at which you have taken umbrage ; for several weeks are now elapsed, and I have not received a line from you. In- deed, my dear friend, notwithstanding the resolution I have most seriously made, to have less converse with the world, yet I cannot consent to give up your friendship. Perhaps, how- ever, this is not as I please ; and you being willing to give up mine, the continuance of a mutual fellowship is not to be ex- pected. I am not ignorant' how it is with the general run of mankind ; and how, in some instances, it has been with myself When I have seen some one of my acquaintances drawn, as if by the hand of God, from the circles of mirth, to deliver him from temptation, I have felt a kind of contemptuous pity, that he should wish to be no longer cheerful ; and, by seeking soli- tude, should fall into a state of melancholy, not to say sullen- RELIGIOUS CHANGE. ' 89 liess. If you should feel this kind of contempt for me, what could I say or do to prove that I know I act rationally, and that you— yes, you, gay and wanton as you now are— must come to a like state of seriousness and solemn stillness, in order to com- mune with your own heart, and thus discover its deceitfulness ; or else— the alternative is dreadful, but not more dreadful than true — or else lose your salvation. This may not appear to you, at this time, a necessary truth ; but I pray that a merciful God will ere long open your eyes, as he has been graciously pleased to open mine. Be assured, that the unconcerned and wicked among men — and I fear they are the major part — walk in dark- ness ; but, believe me, there is a day of visitation to every son and daughter of Adam, in which, if they resist not the monitor of truth in their own bosoms, they may come to know how they are entangled in sin. I know that my zeal, to convince you would be in vain, use what arguments I might, unless the Spirit of God disposed your heart to believe. If, however, you have any regard for me, as an old friend, you will not slight the ad- vice I offer, which I will comprise in two words — be serious. " Believe me your friend, "AQUILA M. BOLTON." To both these letters Mr. Milnor thus refers in his earlier diary : , . " , "April 7, 1800. — How singularly astonishing are some of the incidents of this life ! I received, some time since, a letter from my old friend Aquila M. Bolton, that really surprised and affected me exceedingly. The gay, the volatile, the facetious Bolton, has become a zealous convert to religion ; and his letter, which is handsomely written, is an appeal to my feelings, and a solemn warning of the danger of my present state, as he calls it, of apostasy and unbelief. He reprobates, in the strongest terms, his former opinions, discards all philosophy and reasoning on the subject of religion, declares his present belief to be produced by a clear and solid conviction, and concludes with a warm and affectionate call to embrace the truths, of which he says he is as clearly satisfied as that two and two make four. " My acquaintance with Bolton has been of longer standing than any which I at present know. It commenced when we 90 -MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. were children, and grew into a friendship of the warmest kind, when we both began the study of the law. Bolton, soon after his admission, became disgusted with the practice ; and Mr. An- thony Butler offering him his patronage, he determined to enter into commercial life. He went out supercargo for Mr. Butler to the West Indies ; and afterwards, a favorable opportunity occur- ring, he settled himself in th^e island of St. Domingo, and entered into partnership with a Mr. Lewis, a native of the place. He received from Mr. Butler and others considerable consignments, and appeared to be in a fair way to riches. But in the midst of these prospects Mr. Butler failed, with property of Bolton and Lewis in his hands to a very large amount; and the political relations between this country and France obliged Congress to interdict all intercourse of our citizens with that nation and her possessions. The large consignments made to Mr. Butler being principally purchased on credit, the bills drawn on him being protested, and the trade with this country totally suspended, Bol- ton's high expectations were blasted in the bud. Whether these reverses have depressed and weakened my friend's nerves, and produced a habit of melancholy calculated to lay him open to the attacks of enthusiasm, or whether his state of mind is the result of sober inquiry and real conversion, I cannot pretend to deter- mine. , - •• ■ '- ; • - V ?•. " I have received another letter from him to-day, much in the same strain with the former, and it tends to increase my belief in the sincerity of his professions ; but I have seen so many changes of this sort effected by the despondency of the moment, which have been only coeval with that condition of the mind, and have given way at the dawn of better prospects, that I cannot give full credence to the solidity and unalterableness of his pres- ent resolutions. " In the usual style of young and enthusiastic converts, my friend speaks in terms of perfect carelessness as to the reflections and contempt of the world. He even fears he shall be obliged to bear my reproaches ; for he looks on me as an absolute apostate from the faith, and in a state nigh unto destruction. He observes that he does not expect success to attend his persuasions, unless it be the allotted moment of visitation ; but he repeats the most RELIGIOUS CHANGE. 91 fervent strains of eulogy on his own^ and the most earnest dec- larations of anxiety for my conversion. " Bolton is wrong in supposing that I would ridicule or con- temn his sentiments. I believe religion to be the grand bulwark of society ; and I have long deemed it unjustifiable to insult its" professors, even though I may believe their notions, in some par- ticulars, absurd, or themselves too enthusiastically devout. I confess, the religion which I wish to see prevalent, is that which is comprised in a monition not likely to be too often repeated, to do to others as we would be willing they should do to us. I have never been able to persuade myself that one-half of mankind can, under any circumstances, be sentenced to eternal perdition ; es- pecially, as zealots say, though they have fulfilled all the requi- sitions of the moral and social law. But I respect even this zeal in those whom I think unnecessarily devout, because I think they intend well ; and I believe that enthusiasm itself has been pro- ductive of good effects among a numerous class, whom it has led from destructive habits of irregularity and intemperance to a sober, orderly, and quiet deportment, . " Whatever doubts and difficulties may envelope my concep- tions of certain doctrinal tenets, and mysteries in religion which I cannot understand, Grod forbid that I should ever attempt to shake the faith of any man." Two days after this long note, he makes this brief entry : " April 9, 1800. Answered the two letters of my friend Bolton." Would that this answer were at this day recoverable. From the foregoing extracts, however, it is easy to see what were Mr. Mil- nor's religious notions at the time when that answer was written. They were what, many years later, when rector of St. George's, he thus describes, in a long letter to one of his female parishion- ers. She had written him a minute account of her sceptical doubts and difficulties on the subject of the Christian scheme, with an evidently sincere and earnest desire to be relieved of her embarrassments, and to reach a settled and comforting faith ; and he was about to advise a particular course of inquiry with a view to her relief. He introduces his advice by saying, "Now, the recommendation with which I am encouraged. to follow this suggestion, is warranted by my own experience of its 92 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. benefits. I acknowledge to you, that I was once a subject of like temptations with yourself; and that, for a time, I pacified my conscience by avoiding' an absolute rejection of revelation^ and substituting an unintelligent acquiescence in that miserable scheme of universal salvation, which I am happy to find you have been enabled more promptly to reject. So many rational, as well as scriptural arguments, however, continually arose against those which seemed to support that specious plan, that I was determined to satisfy myself, by abandoning all conjectures on the subject, and betaking myself exclusively to the plain dec- larations of Scripture, But before I took this step, I began to question whether I was a real believer in the Volume of Inspira- tion. It occurred to me that I could not so continually find fault with the providential arrangements of God, and with the declar- ations of his word, if I were certainly convinced of the truth of this sacred book. I therefore concluded to examine the evidences of its pretensions. I did so. My rational understanding was convinced. I had no mor6 doubt of the genuineness and authen- ticity of the Scriptures than of "my own existence ; nor have I now. Still, I was staggered at some of its parts ; and as I now dared not reject them, I was disposed to put my own interpreta- tionon their import. My views erred principally in the reception of unevangelical notions of the doctrines of the New Testament, These led me to an undue appreciation of human effort, and to a mischievous conceit of the merit of works, I was disposed neither to sink myself, nor to exalt the Saviour. But, thaaks be to God, this state of things was not to last. I became concerned for a deeper acquaintance with the fundamental doctrines of the Gos- pel. I read my Bible more — more too in the spirit of a learner. I ventured to pray. By the light of God's word, and, as I trust, by the help of his Spirit, I discerned the character of man. I saw my own character in its proper colors, I perceived, on the ground of an authority to which my understanding unhesitating- ly assented, that I was a sinner — by the sentence of the Law, a condemned sinner — and had no hope of mercy but through a Saviour, I was convinced that such a being as I was, never could be admitted to the presence of a holy God, but through the atonement and mediation of the Redeemer ; that a change, also, RELIGIOUS CHANGE. 93 in my heart and affections was indispensable ; and that God's Spirit alone Could bestow the needed blessing. As I firmly be- lieved my eternal salvation depended on an experience of 'a death unto sin, and a new birth unto righteousness,' I sought it in deep repentance and in vigorous exercises of faith in Christ, in earnest supplication, and in the prayerful study of sacred writ, and when emboldened to do so, in, the ordinances of religion. I hope I was careful to take no merit to myself for any of these exercises, but to give the glory of my salvation wholly to my Grod and Saviour." Thus ran his own experience ; and to the adoption of a simi- lar course of inquiry and of prayer, he proceeds to urge his doubt- ing and troubled parishioner. It appears, therefore, that friend Aquila, though he evidently underrated his "dear James's" high- mindedness and generosity, by supposing him capable of treating his friend's views with ridicule or contempt, was yet, after all, not far in the wrong in considering him the subject of a pretty thorough scepticism in regard to the true system of the Gospel, at the time when he addressed to him those two faithful and searching letters. The state of Mr. Milnor's mind was then evi- dently what he describes in the forrner part of the extraot above given from the letter to his doubting parishioner. He supposed himself to have avoided an absolute rejection of revelation by adopting, unintelligently, the theory of a universal salvation ; and yet he found, upon afterwards looking into his mind, that he had all along had too little reason for regarding himself as really a believer in the inspiration of the sacred Scriptures. At what period he began his prayerful study of the Bible and of the evidences of its truth and divine inspiration, as described in the latter part of that extract, we have no means of ascertain- ing ; but it was probably soon after the receipt of his friend Bol- ton's letters. We know, however, very well, when the resulting state of a thorough rational conviction of the truth and inspiration of the Bible passed into those deeper convictions of the heart which he mentions, and which, by revealing him to himself as a condemned sinner, drove him, in vigorous faith, to the Lord Jesus Christ, as his only hope of pardon and eternal life. That state, then, of mere rational conviction, attended, for a series of 94:' MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. years, with an " overvaluation of human effort and a mischiev- ous conceit of the merit of works," continued, with a tendency perhaps towards juster views, -till after the close of his second session in Congress ; and it was then, more especially during his third winter in Washington, that it unequivocally passed into those interior experiences, in which his true religious life took its beginning. This general course of his mind on the subject of religion we shall see marked with sufficient distinctness when we proceed to look further at his resumed diary, and at his let- ters to Mrs. Milnor, and to his friend Thomas Bradford, Jr. As ta his friend Bolton, whose letters evidently affected his mind deeply, and may have been the blessed occasion of turn- ing it away from its early looseness and scepticism towards juster religious thought, subsequent letters from him show, that after the breaking up of his opening fortunes by the failure of Mr. Butler, he had a life of various adventure in various lands ; a series of enterprises and ill-successes, of hopes and disappoint- ments; struggling hard, the while, to abide in faithfulness to his God and Saviour ; till finally, we find him returned to his native country, and quietly settled — with bright prospects once more, and, judging from the style of his address, a gay and cheerful member of the society of Friends — in the village of Wheeling, in Western Virginia : having, as to denominational peculiarities, landed in the very haven from which his friend James took his departure, when read out of the Quaker meeting. By what steps the latter reached so different a resting-place, and attained to the character and station in which we are mainly to contem- plate him, and in which he stands forth an object of so much interest to the church of Christ, we are now to see. - Mr. Milnor's earlier diary broke off in the year 1800. His later was begun in 1809. In character and object the two are very unlike. What the former aims at, we have had an opportu- nity of judging. What the latter contemplates, will be under- stood when we state that it consists almost wholly of a series of reports or abstracts written from memory, and sometimes very full, of the various sermons which he heard preached in the years 1809, 1810, and 1813, chiefly in one of the three associated churches in Philebdelphia, of which Bishop White was rector. RELIGIOUS CHANGE. 95 This diary, however, if it may be called such, is valuable to us in exploring an earlier period of his life than any included in its dates, from the circumstance that, on several occasions, he pauses from his homiletic reports and indulges in serious retrospects, which enable us to see along what track his mind had been moving. Sometimes, too, he intersperses his reports with remarks of his own, which reveal to us the tone and spirit of his religious views during the years in which those reports were written. These reports were evidently begun after his examination of the Bible and its evidences had so thoroughly convinced his reason that the book was God's. His habit of writing them was inter- rupted by his elQption to Congress ; but was for a short time resumed, with more of interspersed journalizing, in the year 1813, after he had left Washington and political life together, and had resolved to devote himself to the work of the Christian ministry. Upon this temporary resumption of his habit, he thus laments the effects of the cause by which it had been interrupted, under date of March 25, 1813. Early in October, 1810, " I was elected a member of the 12th Congress ; and my mind being soon very much bccupied with arrangements preparatory to leaving home, was most prejudicially drawn from, that attention to religion which I had previously found increasing upon me in a most encouraging manner." His weekly exercise in writing out what he could remember of the sermons which he heard, was designed to assist him in reaping better fruits than he had been wont to realize from his religious instructions. He was in fact, even then, darkly feeling his way towards a light in which he was to walk rejoicingly, as one who could see his Leader. After taking brief notes of three sermons to which he had been listening on Sunday, the 17th of September, 1809, he appends the following reflections. "If I did not know the inconstancy of my, resolutions, and even doubt the possibility of my adhering to so good an one, I would propose to note occasionally the text and subject of such sermons as I may hear. It is astonishing how evanescent has been the impression made by those, to which I have heretofore listened. I have supposed myself attentive, have been pleased, instructed, sometimes feelingly affected ; but the impression has 96- MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. passed away like ' the morning cloud and the early dew,' and' the lapse of a few days has effaced all memory of the text and the commentary. To what is this owing ? In a great degree to the want of a retentive memory, though such a memory is so necessary in my professional pursuits ; but conscience tells me it arises principally from the want of a feeling of real interest and concern in the business of religion. The heart must be engaged : it will then enlist all the powers of memory on its side. I listen to sermons as to a speech at the bar, or a recitation at the theatre. I listen for amusement, and from habit. I go to church because I have been used to go thither at statedly recurring periods. I do not reflect afterwards on what has been said, nor ask myself, * Am I wiser, am I better for what I have heard?' , v- " A knowledge of one's fault is said to be the first step towards amendment. I wish it were so with me ; but I have long known my errors aiid inattentions, yet they are not removed nor les- sened. I would still hope for a change, if I dared rely on any determination of my own, or dared to ask for a superior influ- - ence to effect tt.^^ This is one of those points already mentioned, at which he pauses from his weekly work of writing out abstracts of sermons, and throws his mind back into thoughtful retrospect. Accord- ingly, after recording the fact of his disownment by the Quakers, soon after his marriage in 1799, he proceeds to some remarks on the preaching to which he was in the habit of listening, especially on the ofFensivenesS to his mind of certain doctrinal discussions which he could not relish, and to which, in his keen pursuit of wealth and pleasure, and in his self-righteous " conceit of the merit of works," it may fairly be assumed he was not qualified to do justice. He writes, " The Rev. John Blair Linn was pastor of the first Presbyte- rian church in Philadelphia, and incited by a great fondness for his style of preaching, which was liberal and unsectarian, though at once evangelical and moral, I took part of a pew in that church." [This appears to have been not long after his separa- tion frorri the society of Friends.] "In a few years death de- prived the congregation of this valuable minister, and he was succeeded by the Rev. James P. Wilson, a man of great learning RELIGIOUS CHANGE. 97 and most exemplary piety, but so devoted to the peculiar doc- trines of the Calvinists, and the discussion of intricate points of theology, and though amiable in an eminent degree in private life, yet so illiberal, austere, and sour in the pulpit, that I could not, with satisfaction or profit, continue my attendance on his administration. My aversion to many of the dogmas of the Presbyterians, and to Mr. Wilson's style of preaching, induced me to take a pew in the new church of St. James, where I now attend." ' , It will be remembered, that although this was written in 1809, it goes back in its retrospect to at least the beginning of 1800, and therefore to the time when friend Aquila's letters were written. And yet a passage in his diary, too long for in- sertion here, clearly implies, that while Mr. Milnor attended the Presbyterian church, he admitted the truth and inspiration of the Bible, and even agreed with his preachers, Mr. Linn and Mr. Wilson, if not in all points of speculative faith, at least in what he deemed the essential doctrines of revelation. His study of the Bible and its evidences, therefore, and his rational conviction of its divine origin, must have been very soon after the receipt of Mr. Bolton's letters. They could not have had an earlier date, because, as we have seen, his contemporaneous comments on those letters show him to have been at that time, however unintelligently, yet practically a believer in the notion of an uni- versal salvation ; while his own subsequent letter to his doubt- ing parishioner proves, on his own acknowledgment, that so long as that notion continued to occupy his mind, he was virtually without faith in a revelation. It was, in fact, his discovery of this that impelled him to his investigations, and thus led to that mere rational faith — that assent of the reason to the truth of the Scriptures, without the heart's experience of their power — of which we have spoken, and with which he so evidently sat under the teachings of the Presbyterian church. In all probability, then, the conversion of his reason took place very soon after he received his friend Bolton's letters ; while that of his heart was deferred to a long subsequent period. From this comparison of dates and circumstances, we gather increasing evidence, that the letters of Mr. Bolton, -yvhioh so " ex- 98 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. ceedingly sur^prised and affected^'' the mind of his friend,- may- have lain at the very beginning of that series of providential means by which he was led away from his earlier cold, practical unbelief, first to inquiry, then to intellectual assent, and finally, after long years of self-righteous trustings, to that " belief of the heart which is unto righteousness, and that confession of the mouth which is unto salvation." So late as the autumn of 1809, he was not only unstable as water, " in any determinations of his own," but without prayer for divine aid. He " dared not to ask for superior influence to effect a changed In truth, dur- ing the whole period from 1802 down to 1812, he was evidently striving to confirm himself in those " unevangelical views of the doctrines of the New Testament," which " led him to an undue appreciation of human eflJbrt, and to a mischievous conceit of the merit of works ;" and his fighting, meanwhile, with the dogmas of Calvinism^ be the truth or error of that system what it may, was just a convenient shield against deeper self-knowledge, used to protect himself yet longer in his overestimate of mere out- ward morality. His friend T. Bradford, Jr., has a paragraph in his " Reminis- cences" which touches a portion of the above period. " He was for several years a worshipper in the First Presbyterian church in Market-street, under the pastoral care of the Rev. James P. Wilson, D. D. The acuteness, discrimination, and learning of the doctor, who had been for many years an eminent lawyer in the state of Delaware, and whose sermons were peculiarly marked by the characteristics of a legal mind, were highly interesting to him, though he could not then accord with the strictness of their theology. The subject of religion became frequently the topic of conversation in our daily walks, and we often discoursed on the Calvinistic system — he opposing, and I, according to my view of the Bible, raaintaining its correctness ; whilst neither of us, ^t the time, had any spiritual light or knowledge." In the last extract from Mr. Milnor's later diary is stated the fact, with the reason for it, of his leaving the Presbyterian, and beginning to attend the Episcopal church. From the circum- stance, then, that His practice of taking notes of sermons in St. James', and his assignment of reasons for transferring his attend- RELIGIOUS CHANGE. 99 ance thither, are both mentioned for the fif st time under the date of Sept. 17, 1809, it may perhaps be rightly inferred that this transfer of church relations took place a short time before that date, or when he was about thirty-six years of age. That change, whatever we may think of the reason for it, may have been favorable to his religious hopes, inasmuch as Mb evidently intense dislike of Calvinistic doctrines was no longer irritated and kept open, like a frequently fretted sore ; while his mind, freed from such a source of annoyance, was the more likely to reflect calmly and seriously upon those uncontroverted truths of the Gospel, to which he listened both before and after the transfer was made. This inference seems supported by his diary, so far as it sheds any light on the progress of his religious views ; for although ho continued three years longer to cherish unevangelical notions of the doctrines of the New Testament, yet there is evidence that he was all that while feeling after something to which he knew he had never attained. The very fact, that he was so earnest in taking careful and often copious notes of the sermons which he heard, shows that he was resolved, so far as his weak resolutions were of any worth, to press on from the mere rational belief which he had reached, to something which he might regard as a corresponding experience of the heart. And besides this, his notes of sermons are, as we have said, occasionally interspersed with remarks of his own, which indicate at least a growing ten- derness of feeling, and reflectiveness of habit ; however little they may, as yet, show of the true light breaking on his spirit. Some of these remarks occur at the opening of the year 1810. During the latter part of 1809, he had suffered his new habit of noting down sermons to be interrupted. He therefore began the new year with this sober record : " Jan., 1810.— Various reasons, which it is unnecessary to enumerate, because, when combined, they furnish no Sufficient apology for the neglect, have occasioned a breach of my resolu- tion to note very briefly the substance of the religious discourses to which I attend ; not that my attendance on the devotional exercises of the Sabbath has been interrupted, but that causes, sometimes of more weight than at others, have induced a yield- ing to my habitual indolence of disposition. This I have contin- 100 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. nally to lament, as ' the sin which does most easily beset me.' It produces its effects on all my habits, as well professional as others ; and although I cannot deem myself at all times and in all respects its victim, yet I am so in a degree injurious to my concerns and oppressive to my feelings. It is easier to resolve to shake it off, than to do so — to form resolutions of industry, than to adhere to them." Doubtless he stands alone in thus urging against himself the charge of the sin of indolence. " The close of the old year, and the commencement of the new, have given birth to many sermons on the value of time and the brevity of life ; the uncertainty of terrestrial enjoyments, and the certainty of irrespective death, and of a future accountability at the bar of an almighty Judge, for our negligences and omis- sions of duty, as well as for the transgressions of this life ; and yet, how many, like myself, listen to these solemn truths and awful warnings as to ' a twice-told tale !' "We hear — we assent; but where is to be seen the beneficial result ? Seldom in our secular concerns ; much more seldom in those of our immortal souls." Thus entered he on the year 1810 — questioning solemnly, yet coming to no decision. He had not yet looked far enough, if at all, into the hidden cause of his deep prejudice against the truth, and of his long and frequent failures to make progress in a better life. A sight into the dark deeps of sin in his own heart was yet to be vouchsafed him, before he could do more than run round a circle of oft-formed and as oft broken purposes — ^before he could start on a really onward and upward movement in the divine life of the soul. Immediately after his new year's reflections, he proceeds, through several pages of his diary, to discuss a topic which had «vidently been for some time occupying his mind : the propriety of forms of prayer in the public devotions of Christians. This question, he says, was long a perplexing one to his mind. But it had ceased to be so, from first doubting the claims of his for- mer associates, the Friends, to immediate inspiration in the duty of public prayer ; and from next observing that his later associ- ' ates, the Presbjrterians and others, although they had no estab- lished written forms, yet proceeded from Sunday to Sunday in "^'' OK THB '^ mVEESITl RELIGIOUS CHANGE. Vi?/5*4,m vr\^- the use of nearly the same words in their devotional exercises. Reasoning on from these doubts and observations, he comes out in the conclusions, first, that in public worship, written prayers are proper ; second,^ that if proper, and therefore used, they ought , to be established by ecclesiastical authority ; and third, that if they are to be thus established, no better can be expected than those already furnished in the Common Prayer of the English find American Episcopal church : all these conclusions being sub- ject to the condition, that in private worship, the individual may adapt his supplications to the circumstances of the moment ; using either prepared forms, or the pious and feeling effusions of his own mind. The whole disquisition is interesting, but too long for insertion. It is enough to say of it, that although he had been but a few months a worshipper in the Episcopal church, yet it shows him to have been no unreflecting observer of her forms, and that he had already become, in one point, a sound Episcopalian, if not an experienced Christian. The next extract to be given from his diary is interesting, not so much from the fact which it records, as from the allusion which it contains. It is part of his entry on the evening of "Sunday, Jan. 27, 1810. — In the evening went to hear Dr. ,', Pilmore, at St. Paul's church. " This gentleman, in his mode of preaching, departs from the general practice of Episcopal clergymen in two respects. He does not write his sermons, but speaks from short notes ; and he is much more evangelical in the treatment of his subject, and much more fervent in his delivery. This, as may be expected, increases the admiration of the more pious members of his flock, while it diminishes his popularity with others. For my part, as , he is a man of undoubted talents, and, from his long service in the office of a public minister, is fluent in his style, and sufli- ciently methodical and perspicuous in the distribution of the heads of his discourses, and very ready in his scriptural quota- tions and allusions, I feel no great repugnance to the circum- stance of his sermons being, in a considerable degree, extempore. " As to the evangelical character of his discourses, it is, in my opinion, unobjectionable, because he allies it with, and makes it auxiliary to the inculcation of morals ; and he sets forth the 102 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. . atonement of our Saviour, in the general way in which it is viewed by most Christians, without proposing the perplexing, intricate, and dark theology, which the stricter Calvinists deduce from it. He enters upon no critical disquisitions upon nice and disputable doctrinal points, but endeavors to fix the faith and the affections of his hearers upon the blessed Redeemer, as the alone means of salvation, as the great propitiation for sin, as the divine Inculcator of morality, as the glorious Intercessor for his people at the right hand of Gkod, and as the everlasting Judge of all the earth, who, in the great day of final retribution, will give to every man according to his works," This extract, it was said, is interesting, not so much from the fact which it records — ^that Mr. Milnor went to hear Dr. Pil- more — as from the allusion which it contains, to the difference between Dr. Pilmore's preaching, and that of the Episcopal clergy generally in his day. That able and holy man of God, it is be- lieved, was, after the times of Devereux Jarrat, among the first, if not the very first of those whom God raised up, when the effects of the war of our Revolution had, in the main, passed away, to be his instruments in quickening at least parts of a church, which had been left all but spiritually dead, not only under the ruthless and iron hoof of war, but also under the chilling and deadening influences — worse than those of war — exerted by long years of most " unevangelical " teachings. The obloquy which such men as Jarrat and Pilmore were compelled to endure, has been fruitful of precious results. They have suc- cessors to their spirit, and, God favoring, shall continue to have, till the church in which they served becomes, as nearly as the lot of man admits, all life, and full of " the fruits of the Spirit." But, not to anticipate too largely a topic which may again pass under our notice, it is evident from the above extract, that Mr. Milnor was not only growing in orthodoxy of faith, but also examining for himself all points, as they came along, of practi- cal interest ; and that, so far as his examinations were carried, he was quietly tending towards more serious views, and even losing some of his repugnance to evangelical doctrines — ^provided, always, they stopped short of the much-dreaded Calvinism of the stricter sort, against which he had so long warred. The RELIGIOUS CHANGE. 103 moderate Calvinism, if so it may be termed, of the evangelical preacher did not offend him, because he saw how it included and produced the moralities of life. The doctrine of atonement was not unacceptable, because he heard deduced from it no decree of " unconditional reprobation." Soon after his connection with the Episcopal church, as an attendant on its worship, he was elected one of the vestrymen of the parish to which he belonged ; and, for several months after the new-year of 1810, continued, with increasing interest, his weekly exercise of writing out sermons from memory. In the summer of that year, however, this exercise was again interrupt- ed ; not now from indolence, but from other causes. Hence, when he resumed this exercise, it was after leaving a blank page of his diary, on which are written simply these words : " Hiatus, valde, valde deflendus" — expressive of the deep regret which he felt at the interruption; and followed by this short note. " Sept. 1, 1810. — Frequent absence from the city during the summer months, has prevented a regular attendance on public worship. I shall, on the morrow, resume the duty with real pleasure; for, after all, Sunday is to me not only a day of f est from the vexatious cares of life, but a much greater source of real enjoyment, when employed as religion and conscience enjoin, than when devoted to recreations of a lighter kind." Once, had he written as he felt, Ke would probably have said, that recreations of a lighter kind were more pleasing to him than a Sunday spent as religion and conscience enjoin. Thus far, then, had he been led. Habit, and perhaps the secret teach- ings of the Spirit, had made his mode of spending the Lord's day a source of more real enjoyment than he could find in worldly amusements on the Sabbath. How far he had recently been trying those amusements during his summer absences, he does not say ; but he leaves something of room for the inference that he had been indulging in them, and had "after all" found them more than usually unsatisfying in connection with the day. On the afternoon of Sunday, the 2d of September, he heard a sermon from the Rev. Dr. Abercrombie, on " The Christian life 104 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. viewed as a warfare.'''' To a somewhat brief notice of the dis- course he appends the following remarks. They are inserted for the view which they furnish of his religious creed at that period of his life. "Although, in this discourse, no allusion was made to the Calvinistic doctrine, which would puff up any individual whose pride, .egotism, and self-righteousness led him to suppose him- self of the number of the elect, and his warfare of course at an end, yet I never hear the Christian life referred to as a state of warfare without feeling more and more convinced of the falsity of that doctrine. I believe no human being, until he has shaken off mortality, is exempt from a liability to fall into sin; and although the Calvinists would persuade us that the regen- erate cannot presumptuously sin, yet I think Scripture and all experience are against the supposition of any such state of per- fection in this life. It is true, they talk of his having about him some of the remaining corruptions of his nature, which may lead him into transgression; but they consider this not as wilful sin, and rely on its not being imputed to him as such. How much more consonant with the principles of right reason and of the Gospel is it, to suppose that, at no period of our temporal exist- ence, are we exempt from the infirmities of our nature, from ex- posure to the temptations that surround us, and, in our best state, from the danger of falling from rectitude into error and wicked- ness. The degree of danger, no doubt, depends on circumstances. The man who entertains just conceptions of the character of God, as a being of infinite wisdom, power, and goodness ; who views him as the God of providence, constantly superintending, influ- encing, and controlling the works which he has made ; who, con- vinced of his divine omnipresence, considers all his actions and all his thoughts as every moment passing the ordeal of unerring inspection; who, believing in the Gospel of Christ and the plan of salvation which it displays, adds to his faith obedience to its principles and precepts, and who loves his fellow-men, and is under an abiding impression that, for the glory of God, the hap- piness of man, and his own salvation, it is necessary for him ' to do with his might whatsoever his hands find to do :' such a man, I say, has the vantage-ground of his enemies; he may confi- RELIGIOUS CHANGE. 105 dently rely on the pleasing prospect before him, of, in the end, overcoming all his foes, and of being permitted, as his reward, * to eat of the tree of life, that is in the midst of the paradise of God.' " But does not even such a man as this at times remember — if not with a feeling apprehension of danger, yet with that dis- position to be ever on the alert which characterizes the real sol- dier — the sacred admonition, ' Let him that thinketh he stand- eth, take heed lest he fall ?' Although he may be sensible of a strong faith in Christ, and in the promises of the Gospel, and may modestly hope the seeds of divine truth have fallen into his heart as good ground, which he may determine to ' keep, and bring forth fruit with patience ;' yet, will his trust be unmingled with the apprehension lest he should finally prove one of those * who, when they hear, receive the word with joy ; but, having no root, for a while believe, and in the time of temptation fall away ?' Surely, this life is a state of trial and probation, and as surely do the trial and probation continue to the end of life. Let no one, therefore, plume himself on having gained a victory which entitles him to lay aside the weapons of his warfare, and retire into a life of peaceful security and inaction. He has done much. One victory gives a comfortable hope of mqre, and every enemy subdued lessens the labor of his future conflicts ; but let him not suppose that his opponents are altogether destroyed. In a moment of fancied security, they may steal upon his repose ; their attacks may be met by an unarmed soldier fatally sleeping on his post, and he may fall an easy conquest in consequence of his dreadful mistake of supposing there was peace when there was no peace." This extract almost betrays a struggle in Mr. Milnor's mind. It seems as if you could see, under his words, a concealed effort to justify to himself his cherished dislike of Calvinism, while at the same time, he is seeking for something on which he could rest as a rational view of the Gospel. It is not our province, even were it our wish, to defend Calvinism ; but were a Calvin- ist to do so, in reply to the argument of the above extract, it is easy to see he would proceed by showing that the writer does not accurately represent the theory which he opposes ; that he 106 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. is, apparently, biassed by liis feelings ; and that in most, if not all of the defensible points of his argument, he and the Calvinist might not, after all, find it so difficult to agree. The extract shows a progress towards the Gospel, with no slight mixture still remaining both of an unevangelical spirit and of an unevangeli- cal creed. The next extract from his diary will exhibit a similar state of mind on the subject of the Sabbath — an evidently growing reverence for the institution, and yet, as evidently, a lingering dread of running into an over-rigid and austere mode of observ- ing the day. " Sunday, 16th Sept., 1810, A. M.— The return of this day of devotion and rest is grateful to my feelings. The abstraction, for a time, from the pursuits and cares of business ; > the leisure for contemplating the character and perfections of the Most High, and the opportunity for humble endeavors to offer accept- able worship in sanctuaries dedicated to his service ; for perusing the oracles of a divine and infallible revelation ; for reflection on past errors and offences, and for using the means of future cau- tion and improvement which the season furnishes, as well in silent meditation as in an attendance on the advices of those appointed to minister in holy things, all contribijte to render this a blessed holiday. "Alas, how is it abused by the inconsiderate and thought- less ! How have I abused it ! Let me endeavor, in this respect, to ' sin no more.' Let me, God, reverence this day as I ought, but preserve me from those errors of superstition, or fanaticism, which would exclude from its enjoyments the delights of social converse and innocent association with the friendly circle. Let revelry and intemperance be kept far away ; let no trifling occa- sion induce an omission of attendance at the house of prayer ; let a season for private reading and meditation be afforded, but let the heart remain open for the cheering emotions of friendship and regard to those we love, and let not a narrow and contracted disposition be induced by a mistaken apprehension of the true duties of thine holy religion. Next to thee, we are taught by the lessons of a blessed Saviour, to ' love our neighbor as our- selves.' May we rightly appreciate this teaching as calling for RELIGIOUS CHANGE. 107 the performance of the duties of our various allotments in life, ' visiting the widow and the fatherless in their affliction, and keeping ourselves unspotted' — not removing — * from the world.' " This is the first of Mr. Milnor's recorded prayers ; and it is indeed the prayer of a beginner : not so much a supplication for grace to keep the Sabbath holy, as a petition to be preserved from keeping it too rigidly. how was he struggling in the dark ! laboring for a better life, yet laboring in bondage, with little or nothing of the freedom of a son ; the Spirit, it may be, teaching him, but leading to success at last, through the suffering of fail- ure at first. Sunday, Oct. 7, 1810, gives us the last of the " annotations" which Mr. Milnor made on the sermons preached at St. James' before his election to Congress, and the consequent unfavorable change in his habits of spending the Lord's day, which have already been noticed. His principal notes that day were on a sermon by Bishop White, upon the parable of the prodigal son ; a sermon, which apparently struck him with much force, and which he wrote out at almost its full length. The change just mentioned, in his habits of spending the Sabbath, has been termed "unfavorable." Such we must admit it to have been ; for, although the opening of his congressional life found him still unevangelical in his views of Christian doc- ■, trine ; in feeling, if not in theory, opposed to salvation by grace ; yet is it past dispute, that on religious subjects, there had been progress in his mind, and that this progress was distinctly away from that loose freethinking, and its accompanying enmity against the Grospel, which characterized him in early life. He was edu- cated in the freer and more liberal notions of the people to whom from childhood he belonged. With those notions he passed, at the time of his marriage, from his fellowship with the Quakers, through his supposed adoption of the tenets of Universalism, which was, after all, but another name with him for real scepticism on the subject of revelation, into an outward attendance on the min- istry of the Presbyterian and Episcopal churches. Soon after he left the Quakers, and probably under the influence of his friend Bolton's faithful appeals, examination made him, in his rational understanding, a believer ; though it left him still amid the nat- 108 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. ural wilderings of "an evil heart of unbelief." But as years rolled by, and as he approached the opening of his congressional career, it is too plain for concealment, that, like "the scribe" whom Christ addressed, he was, though still out of it, yet " not far from the kingdom of Grod." Legal practice had already be- come distasteful ; the spirit and maxims of the world held a far less undisputed sway over his mind ; the general subject of relig- ion had become interesting to his thoughts ; he was evidently giving it much reflection ; the cast of his mind had even grown theological ; on some points he seemed " wiser than his teachers ;" and what is more, though he still continued to fight with Calvin- ism, and was by no means evangelical in all his doctrines, yet his prejudices against stricter views were much softened, and he could listen dispassionately, and with some satisfaction, to one of the leaders among that little band of despised ones, who had already begun to constitute a portion of our church. This may probably be regarded as a fair view of his religious progress and state of mind, up to the period of which we are now speaking. His election to Congress checked that progress, though it seems not materially to have affected this state. As he was, at his election in October, 1810, such he appears to have been, at the opening of his third Congressional term, in October, 1812. The mo^t distinct notices, in the interim, of his inner being, i^elate to his ever-growing distaste for politics and for legal practice. Let- ters, yet to be examined, are strong on this point, and show, that if he had not become a Christian indeed, still, he was not likely to have remained either a politician in his pursuits, or a lawyer in his practice. Passing now, with these remarks, over his first two years in Congress, we are ready for an advance to his own account of the grand turning-point, the great crisis of his whole life. We have viewed him in every important light in which his natural charac- ter needs to be placed. "We have traced him from his parentage ; through his education ; into his professional studies ; among his social, civil, literary, and benevolent relations and pursuits ; and along his legal and his political career: and, amid all these, we have followed him through that darkly winding way which he tracked, from the blank wastes of scepticism, through secret RELIGIOUS CHANGE. 109 strugglings with the shadowy forms of Universalism ; through more open, manly, and intense toils among the records and the evidences of the Bible as a revelation ; through barren years of cold, unproductive belief, and of unsatisfying, unevangelical the- ory ; and through fierce fightings with the Genevan giant and his offspring : till finally, we find him — ^with much of the light of truth in his head, and that light apparently beginning to beam downwards into his heart — walking earnestly, and standing, amid raised hopes and expectations, " not far from the kingdom of God ;" though, as yet, wanting that one thing, without which he might have stood at the gate for ever, incapable of entering among the wonders which lie within. What this one thing was, he soon learned by the manifest teachings of God ; and the brief account which he gives of it, is contained in his diary, once more resumed when he had taken his final leave of Washington and politics. Writing in Philadel- phia, after he reached home, he prefaces this account with a few ordinary particulars, some of which have already been noticed, and others of which, as they belong to this period in the history of his religious life, may be here introduced. Under date of March 25, 1813, he says, " In my relation as a vestryman of the United Episcopal churches in the city of Philadelphia, I was considerably engaged in the secular affairs of the parish. I also served as a lay dele- gate in the (Pennsylvania) State Convention of 1811; and in May of that year was sent, in the same capacity, to the " Trien- nial" (or General) " Convention of the Episcopal Church at New Haven." On his way to New Haven, he spent a Sunday in New York, where he met and had a pleasant interview with Dr. Hobart, whom, in a letter to his wife, written in New Haven, he styles " one of my earliest and most intimate friends." Dr. Hobart was then Bishop elect of the diocese of New York. Dr. Wm. H. Milnor says, in his " Recollections," " They had been school- boys together." When they met in New York, " how little did either of them think of the relations which they would bear to- wards each other in a,fter-years." 110 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. SECTION II. "We proceed now with Mr. Milnor's account of the change which gave a new course and color to his whole life. Writing still, as in former extracts, under date of March 25, 1813, he says, ., _ "During the past fall and winter," that is, through the whole of his last session in Congress, " the interesting concerns of religion pressed themselves upon me with renewed force. The immense importance of the soul's salvation ; the inefiicacy of mere human exertion in effecting it ; the abominable nature of sin ; my own character as a sinner ; the riches of grace in Christ Jesus ; and the necessity of embracing his precious merits, as alone calculated to redeem me from hell, renovate my nature, and fit me for ' an inheritance among the saints in light ' — all these considerations agitated my feelings for many weeks in their successive operations, until, by Grod's grace, I experienced some sense of his pardoning mercy, and was made willing to assume his yoke. ' r-^ "My friend Thomas Bradford, Jr., being at the same time engaged in similar exercises, we exchanged sundry letters, which I have thought proper to transcribe, as containing a faithful record of my spiritual engagements during the time alluded to, and of the nature and result of my religious experience." Such is the '^ brief account" of his change, referred to near the close of the previous section. He wrote contemporaneous letters to his wife, and to a few others, full of the same theme ; and they may all be taken, with those to his friend Bradford, as containing his more prolonged, though still informal account of the process so briefly sketched in the above extract from his diary. A few connected incidents, however, of peculiar interest, may well be allowed to introduce such extracts as it m:ay be necessary to make from the series. In his letters to his wife, during the winter of 1812, his second session in Congress, he makes repeated reference to the sudden and strange neglect of his friend Bradford, with whom he had been in habits of most intimate correspondence as a political RELIGIOUS CHANGE. Ill associate, but from whom he had all at once ceased to receive any letters. He wondered and was offended at the silence, and determined to write him no more till its cause should be ex- plained, and the correspondence be resumed by his friend. That cause, he soon after learned, was his friend's decided conversion. The suspension of their correspondence, however, continued till after Mr. Milnor's third and last departure for Washington. For substance, the further account of the introductory incidents is from Mr. Bradford's " Reminiscences." In a season of affliction, during the year 1812, Mr. Bradford was made more reflective and considerate than it had been his wont to be ; and the consequence was, the decided change of which we have spokien, in his whole character and course of life. For his own comfort, he found it necessary to withdraw from all intimate friendships and associations of a worldly nature. But when he came to the point of giving up the society of his friend Milnor, he found it the severest of duties. He says that friend was as closely knit to him as was ever the soul of Jonathan to that of David. Nevertheless, he resolved on the sacrifice : their correspondence ceased ; and when Mr. Milnor was in Philadelphia, even their personal interviews became less frequent. Mrs. Brad- ford, by birth and education an Episcopalian, and up to the pe- riod of their domestic affliction, an essentially worldly lady, sym- pathized with her husband in his change, . and thenceforward became a devoted Christian. In this -state of their relations, and just before the opening of his third session in Congress, Mr. Milnor called on his old friends, to give them his farewell. He found Mr. Bradford in his office, and on inquiring for Mrs, Bradford, was shown into the parlor; whence, after saying his adieus, he returned to his friend. "Why," said he, "you have made your wife a-Calvinist. I found her reading Scott's Force of Truth. J don't relish your spoiling a good Episcopalian. You Presbyterians are always talking about Paul, Paul. You never talk of what the Gospel says, but always of what Paul says." His friend made no reply : they exchanged their farewells ; and Mr. Milnor was soon again in Congress, engrossed, as Mr. Bradford supposed, with his usual zeal, in the politics and the pleasures of the capital. 112 y MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. Meanwhile, the short session was passing rapidly away. Early in January, 1813, Mr. Bradford was absent from Phila- delphia, having received no letter from his friend, and not caring to receive any, as he could look for nothing but the usual budget about politics, or the customary triflings about fashion, of both which his soul had grown weary. Upon his return to the city, however, on the 25th of January, he found on his table an evi- dently long communication, directed in the well-known hand of his friend. Supposing it to be a tedious talk about political affairs, his first impulse was not to open it. On reflection, how- ever, he concluded to look into it. He did so ; and, to his won- der and delight, before he finished the first page, he learned that his beloved Milnor was, if not a Christian indeed, yet absorbed in those deep, inward stragglings with sin, and strivings after Christ, which plainly foretokened that the day of his deliverance " from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God," was at hand. He read on, and soon came to that part of the letter in which Mr. Milnor says, " In the expressive language of St. Paul, ' I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing ; for to will is present with me, but how to per- form that which is good, I find not.' ' I delight in the law of God, after the inner man ; but I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into cap- tivity to the law of sin which is in my members. wretched man that I am ; who shall deliver me from the body of this death ?' I embrace, cordially, and pray the aids of the Holy Spirit to do it effectually, the answer of that eminent minister, ' Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord.' " The reading of this passage constrained Mr. Bradford to break out in joyous rap- ture, exclaiming to his wife, " Brother Milnor has found Paul to be as precious as we did." It is needless to say that Mr. Bradford entered eagerly into the reopened correspondence ; doubly thankful to God for giving him back not only his old friend, but more, his now dear friend in Christ ; not only his brother in the law, but better, his brother beloved in the Gospel. The opening of this interesting correspondence between the two friends was, as we have seen, in the latter part of the month RELiaiOUS CHANGE. 113 of January. But, for more than two months before that time, Mr. Milnor's mind had been engrossed with the subject of relig- ion as a personal concern ; and he had, meanwhile, written several letters to his wife, which, as they mark the opening and' progress of his views and feelings, it will be proper to examine before taking up those which passed between himself and Mr. Bradford. Extracts from the former, arranged according to their dates, are all that need be given. To Mrs. Milnor. "Nov. 10, 1812."— The letter of this date is a long one of two full sheets. The first part dwells seriously on the near ap- proach of the time when he was cheerfully to lay down the honors of civil and political life, and return to the bosom of his family ; and on the deep peril to all his hopes and prospects as a Chris- tian man, of the scenes in which he had been acting his part. It is a sweet, beautiful letter. The following are some of its passages. " You will, no doubt, be surprised at the seriousness of this letter. But my mind always recurring, at some seasons, to religious contemplations, and never, I hope, wholly without relig- ious impressions, has, ever since I left home, been much engaged in the duty of self-examination, the only means of discovering the truth of that awful confession, which we so often make with our lips without realizing in our hearts, that ' We have left un- done those things which we ought to have done; and we have done those things which we ought not to have done ; and there is no health in us.' I have recurred to my baptismal vows,* and find much more care necessary, on my part, in their future, as there has been much neglect in their past observance ; and I have had deeper impressions than heretofore of the necessity of ac- quiring that temper of mind, and of pursuing that course of conduct, which will prepare us for conforming to all the duties incumbent on us as members of the Christian church, especially for a participation in the sacrament of the Lord's supper ; a duty * Having been educated a Quaker, he was not baptized in infancy, but received adult baptism after his connection with the Episcopal church. Mem. Milnor. O 114 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. SO strongly enjoined, that whenever my mind has been drawn to the subject, I have felt much self-condemnation for having so long neglected to make suitable preparation for becoming a com- municant. This, with God's help, I am now resolved to do. The reception of this ordinance, I am persuaded, is ' our bounden duty' as Christians. If we are not prepared for it, we ought to become so ; and our unpreparedness will, in the great day of account, be no apology for the omission. It is one of the means for making us what we ought to be, and must be, if we purpose becoming candidates for a heavenly inheritance. If some ill- natured or misjudging people should deride, or censure our con- formity to what they cannot deny to be legitimate and moment- ous ceremonials of the Christian Church, instituted and com- manded to be observed by our Saviour himself, it is no more than has fallen to the lot of all professors of religion, in a greater or less degree ; and it will cease, when more of those who are far removed from the character of fanatics and enthusiasts, have courage to avow openly, yet not with vanity, ostentation, or illiberality towards others, a full union with the Church in all her rites, and to pursue a course of conduct answerable to their Christian profession, yet comporting with a full discharge of pro- fessional and civil duties, a cheerful intercourse with virtuous society, and a moderate indulgence in the innocent relaxations and amusements of life." Both the date of this letter, and its style of remark, indicate its place at the very commencement of his new experiences, and show that it was written while his mind was as yet embarrassed with his earlier views of the sacraments, and of the world — that he was, in truth, but just beginning to feel his way out of dark- ness. The next extract indicates, among other things, as deep a sensibility to the perils of legal practice, as the last had expressed in regard to those oi political pursuits. " Nov. 18, 1812. — I intend, so far as I can without unneces- sary singularity, to keep myself at home, where I find a satisfac- tiqn, which increases by habit, in the labor of study, and the varieties of miscellaneous reading, writing, and serious contem- plation. It is only by inuring one's self to retirement, that we can learn fully to appreciate the value of that injunction, ' Com- RELIGIOUS CHANGE. 116 mune with your own heart, and in your chamber, and be still.' I am far from being an advocate for entire seclusion from society. It is a scriptural position, that religion does not call a person out of the world, but teaches him how to live in it. Particular situ- ations and pursuits, however, are particularly exceptionable on account of being attended with more pain to a tender conscience, more distraction, more occasions of irritation than others. Such I have long deemed a lawyer'' s life. He is often obliged to advo- cate one side, when his own understanding and sense of justice would, if freely exercised, induce him to espouse the other. He lives in a crowd, and witnesses a scene of perpetual strife. Yet his is a necessary and useful occupation ; may be pursued by an honest man with advantage to the community; and is highly honorable in the estimation of society. As a, mode of life, prefer- able to others, I have never, from the beginning, been attached to it. I now sigh for retirement. I am haunted by a perpetual feeling of disgust at the prospect of reentering the scene of con- tention, and of enduring the pertnesses of that tribe of young competitors, every day increasing in number and diminishing in respectability and worth. And yet, many difficulties lie in the way of any scheme for retirement ; and this has prevented my saying more to you in conversation on the plan suggested to you ' in my letter last winter." He alludes to a letter, not recovered, in which he indulged in what he termed " a Sunday day-dream ;''"' a pleasant imagining of rural life, devoted to an easy mingling of literary with agricultural pursuits, and adorned with the fruits of the competence which he had acquired. " I wish not idleness : it is the parent of discontent, and of many vices. My desire is for a situation attended with tranquillity, with intervals of ab- straction from general intercourse, and with consequent opportu- nities for varied reading, embracing the improvement of the un- derstanding, the innocent amusement of occasional leisure, but, above all, what I am at times awfully afraid of neglecting till it be too late, a solid preparation for eternity." " My next leisure shall be devoted to an attempt at solving the difficulty so pathetically stated in your letter, where you say, * I know not what to do.' Your difficulty is precisely that which ought to be felt at the beginning of a change of life. Oh how 116 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. sensibly do I feel it at this very moment ! So did one in the earliest days of the Church, when he exclaimed, ' What shall I do to be saved ?' I wish I ^elt more experimentally the weight of the answer which was given. Read the Scriptures ; pray humbly and fervently ; lay aside dependence on self; embrace the merits of a crucified Redeemer, as your deliverer from sin ; rely on him and his grace for humility, contrition of soul for past' offences, and strength to maintain resolutions of future amend- ment ; use all the means which his goodness has provided, and which, next to the Gospel, are to be found in our excellent forms of devotion, and in the ordinances of our holy religion. " You see that a train of serious thought, which I believe it to be my duty to encourage, has, in a few words, given you the answer which I meant to reserve for a future letter. God forbid, that while I thus attempt to instruct you, ' I should myself be- come a castaway.' " The thoughtful reader will mark in the above passages, as striking encouragements, the writer's awful fear of missing a solid preparation for eternity ; his deep sense of his own ignor- ance of the way of life, as being a mere beginner in the search ; and his impressive dread of becoming himself a castaway, while engaged in teaching others how to be saved. The next letter has so much of the character of a profession of faith, that it may well be given in the main entire. It is not peculiarly evangelical in its views ; and yet it embodies much sound orthodoxy. "Washington, Nov. 20, 1812. " My dear Ellen- — I do not wish to importune you with too many letters of so serious a cast as those I have lately written to you ; but I obey a strong sense of duty in pursuing my reflec- tions in this way, until, in my broken and unsatisfactory man- ner, I shall have laid before you a transcript of my feelings on the subject of religion, as they have lately, with much more force than usual, weighed upon my heart and understanding. " I believe theologians and schoolmen have entrammelled this interesting theme with very prejudicial intricacies, unintelligible distinctions, and strange deductions ; as inconsistent with the simplicity of the Gospel as with the manifest goodness and be- RELIGIOUS CHANGE. 117 nevolence of its divine Author. Is it not beyond measure aston- ishing, when you look at the parables and other instructive les- sons of our Saviour, wherein he, so fully displays the purpose of his coming, and sets forth in the plainest manner the universality of his mission, the love which prompted it, and the way which he has set open to all for a restoration to the divine favor, that men should bewilder their minds in the mazes of doctrinal discus- sion, to find out terms, and phrases, and dogmas, such as never proceeded from the lips of our heavenly Teacher ? He could not have intencjed to keep back any part of the whole counsel of God" — [Christ evidently did intend to keep back some things till after he had risen from the dead, and had thereby completely laid all the great foundation truths of the Grospel] — " and yet we discover, in all that he said and taught, not a word about predes- tination, election, and reprobation ; involuntary grace ; the impos- sibility of falling from grace, and many other harsh and perplex- ing doctrines, wliich stagger the faith, and give a death-blow to the hopes of many a well-intentioned person. I do not mean to advance an illiberal sentiment with respect to the professors of these doctrines. Many of them are among the most sincere and devout friends of religion ; nor do I believe that at the judgment- day, an involuntary error in respect to doctrines not vitally im- portant in their nature, will be to any a cause of condemnation. The sincerity of our faith and repentance will be tested by the amendment of our lives ; and we shall be judged according to the deeds done in the body, whether they be good or evil. " The theory of my views in religion is very simple, and is derived, I apprehend, from the obvious tenor of the writings of the Old and New Testaments. I would set forth its outline in some such way as this : " A supreme, self-existing, all-powerful, all- wise, and eternal Being is the Creator of all things, and sustains, by an ever-active providence, all the works of his hands. He is known to us in these characteristics by his ivorks, as you find it beautifully and sublimely expressed by David in the nineteenth psalm ; a part of which was elegantly paraphrased by Addison, and now con- stitutes the fifteenth hymn" (old collection) "in our Common Prayer Book." ■'118 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. " But it is in the Yolume of Inspiration (Oh, how negligent have you and I been in its perusal ! ) that we find those clear dis- plays of the character and attributes of Grod, which must make the daring atheist tremble, while they excite the love and adora- tion of every pious believer. By this sacred book we are taught, that man originally proceeded* from the hands of his Creator pure and upright, formed after the image of God himself, but with a freedom of action that enabled him to choose between good and evil, to obey or to disobey the divine commands. He yielded to the temptations of the evil one, disobeyed an express injunc- tion of his Creator ; and thereby ' brought sin into the world, and death by sin.' His posterity have been visited with the awful consequences of their first parents' departure from strict obedience ; human nature became depraved, and man inclined to evil ' as the sparks fly upwards.' ' He lay in the open field of ruin, with no heart to pity and no hand to save ;' and if a reme- dy had not been found in the mercy of that God whom he had offended, he must have been irrecoverably lost. " But his heavenly Father, in the riches of his goodness, ordered otherwise. He formed a plan of redemption, whereby ^he could be just, and yet the justifier of them that believe.' With unparalleled condescension, the God of universal nature assumed human flesh, came down from the realms of everlasting glory, appeared in the humblest form of degradation, suffered every indignity and reproach from that world which he came to save, and finally laid down his life in the agonizing death of the Cross. By this astonishing sacrifice, he atoned for man's trans- gression, and placed it in the power of every hapless victim of the fall to become reconciled to his Maker, and to appease divine justice by laying hold of the offers of pardon and reconciliation offered in the Gospel." [Man does not appease God by laying hold on his mercy : it is on the mercy of a God already appeased in Christ Jesus, that he lays hold.] "Faith in the all-sufliciency of this atonement, repentance for past sins, and an undeviating obedience to the precepts of the Gospel, are the conditions of salvation; and the lip of truth has promised the assistance of the Holy Spirit in his regenerating work, to all who sincerely desire it. Perfection is unattainable in this life" — [How so, if "an undevU RELIGIOUS CHANGE. 119 ating obedience" be a condition of salvation ?] — " and a perpetual conflict with the enemy of our peace and our own rebellious pas- sions must be maintained by the most virtuous, A divine bless- ing, however, is promised to sincere endeavors. ' Ask, and ye shall receive ; seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.' Christ earnestly solicits us to embrace his offers, but he does not compel us. His Holy Spirit works in and with us in the regeneration of our hearts, and strengthens and supports us in our Christian course ; but on ourselves, so strengthened and supported, it depends to maintain a constant watchfulness, 'lest we turn aside to the right hand or to the left.' He who is 'the way, the truth, and the life,' will never leave us, nor forsake us, to our lives' end, if we do not wander from him. But this, the infirmity of our nature and surrounding temptations constantly incite us to do ; and hence the propriety of our reiterated penitential acknow- ledgments of having ' erred and strayed from his ways like lost sheep ; of having left undone those things which we ought to have done ; and of having done those things which we ought not to have done :' and hence, also, our constant recourse, in the same part of our service, to the Fountain of mercy for pardon and for- giveness, and for ability to live ' hereafter a godly, righteous, and sober life, to the glory of God's holy name.' Next to reading the sacred Scriptures under the influence of the grace of God's Holy Spirit — the only true guide to a right understanding of those divine doctrines and precepts, ' which are able to make us wise unto salvation ' — our aids in ' pressiiig towards the mark for the prize of our high calling of God in Christ Jesus,' are the preach- ing of the word, public and private prayer, (alas, how little do we know of the latter !) and the ordinances of the Church ; espe- cially the holy eucharist, or sacrament of the Lord's supper, instituted by our Saviour himself, which has been the consolation of the pious in all ages since its establishment, and unto which our Church constantly entreats us, ' for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, that we will not refuse to come, being so lovingly called and bidden thereto by God himself.' "As a preparation for this interesting and solemn rite, let us attend to those previous duties which our Church in the com- munion-service directs. 120 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. " Although we have sometimes smiled at the frequent recur- rence of the fourth psalm in our Sunday worship, yet we cannot have better advice, preparatory to going to the table, than these verses of it contain : '■'■ ' Then stand in awe of God's commands, Flee every thing that's ill, ' ^ Commune in private with your hearts, And bend them to his will. The place of other sacrifice Let righteoQsuess supply; And let your hope, securely fixed, On God alone rely.' " And the consequence to the practiser of the precepts in the last verse, is highly encouraging: " ' Then down in peace I'll lay my head, And take my needful rest ; No other guard, O Lord, I crave. Of thy defence possess'd.' " That we may one day be less involved in the entanglements of the world, and more capable of realizing the sweet consola- tions of a religious life, is the sincere prayer of your ever-affec- tionate partner in life and in death, "JAMES MILNOR." "Mrs. E. Milnor." In its introduction, the theology of this letter is still stoutly anti-Calvinistic. Indeed, the writer never became an extreme Calvinist in his creed, though he did cease to wage his strenuous warfare against the system of Calvin ; and the style of his subse- quent preaching was so highly evangelical, that many considered him, though no controvertist, yet a moderate Calvinist in his views. In the remaining part of the letter, the theology is by no means erudite ; and yet, for one who had been all his life a fash- ionable man of the world, and who was then involved in the duties of a political station, it may be regarded as evincive of a degree of thought and reflection, under such circumstances, not altogether common. The next letter exhibits a scene not often ( RELIGIOUS CHANGE. 121 witnessed amid the influences of political life^a praying con- gressman, beginning to seek his Saviour, with a readiness to take up his cross and follow Christ. " Nov. 21, 1812. — Whenever accident or choice throws me into solitude, the interesting concerns of the soul and of a future state press upon my thoughts and feelings in a manner calcu- lated to produce the best effects ; whereas much forgetfulness of these things is always the result of extreme engagedness in the perplexities of politics and business. My desire is to become so grounded in the duties of faith and obedience, and so strength- ened in a religious course, by habitual study of the Bible, and a sincere and lively performance of all the public and private, ex- ternal and internal requirements of religion, that I may go into the world and take a moderate share in its affairs, while I escape its pollutions and vices. I speak of my desire only, for I tremble at the prospect of my weakness and deficiency in the perform- ance. God will do his part, but I have little confidence in my own perseverance and fidelity in the performance of mine. A sad experience of past defections alarms me for the future. From infancy to the present moment, a sense of religious obliga- tion, of its violation in my conduct through life, and of the neces- sity of a change, has occasionally impressed me very forcibly, and prompted resolutions of amendment, and a temporary adhe- rence to them. But too much mixture in general society, ex- cessive involvement in the affairs of the world, and neglect of the means provided in the Gospel and in the institutions of the Christian Church, have conspired with the infirmities of human nature, and induced deplorable relapses. " Thanks be to God, a proud spirit has latterly yielded to one of lowly prostration at the footstool of divine mercy. I am not ashamed, in the privacy of my chamber, to bend my knees and implore a blessing on my feeble endeavors ; to suppli- cate divine assistance in the duties of the day, and to implore a heavenly covering of protection from the dangers of the night ; and with the aid of divine grace, I will not be ashamed nor afraid to assume the cross, and make a public profession by a nnion with the Church in the solemn service of the sacramental supper." 122 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. From the close of this extract, as well as from other expres- sions in his letters, it would seem that he had been the subject of a strong feeling of shame, keeping him from what he had regarded as the weakness, or the absurdity of conforming to the outward rites of the Church, Perhaps lingering influences from his early Quaker education, so unfriendly to all external ordi- nances, may have kept alive this strong sentiment, and rendered what is to others, when brought to Christ, an easy duty, to him one of the severest of trials. His next letter is chiefly an account of some books which he had purchased, and had been reading — The Apostolical Fathers, and the Life of Sir William Jones. From the latter he quotes, as specially interesting to him, " Sir "William's translation of four beautiful Persian lines." "On parent knees, a naked new-born child, Weeping thou sat'st, while all around thee smiled; So live^ that, sinking in thy last long sleep, , Calm thou may'st smile, while all around thee weep." At this period he was evidently much engaged in reading, and in one of his letters describes his manner of reading good books to good account, having been recently much delighted with "the inimitable, saintlike Cowper." But with "the best of books " he was most concerned to make himself familiar. As a statesman, devoutly studying his Bible, he was, to the best effect, learning how to do his country good ; while, at the same time, his ovtn soul was most effectually growing " wise unto salvation." He writes, undet date of " Nov. 25, 1812. — I mean to read the best of all books, accom- panied by the use of the pen, in extracting or noting remarkable passages ; for my ignorance of its blessed contents is a perpetual source of self-condemnation, which cannot be diminished but by ' letting the time past suffice for having wrought the will of the Grentiles,' and by endeavoring in future to find some other use for this invaluable book than that of making its blank leaves a record of family blessings and family misfortunes. Join heartily with me, my best friend, in so good a purpose. God will give the aid of his Holy Spirit in our sincere obedience to his own RELIGIOUS CHANGE. 123 injunction to ' search the Scriptures,' as the fountain of ' eternal life,' and as t;he oracles ' which testify of him.' Then may we expect to find, what '"too many do not know, That Scripture is the only cure of woe. That field of promise — how it flings abroad Its odor o'er the Christian's thorny road ! The soul, reposing on assured relief, \ Feels herself happy amidst all her grief, Forgets her labor as she toils along, Weeps tears of joy, and bursts into a song.' " " Through thy commandments I get understanding; there- fore I hate all evil ways." Such was the experience of the Psalmist ; and that of Mr. Milnor was coincident. The study of the Bible gave him understanding, especially of himself; therefore he hated all evil ways, particularly those of his own heart. Accordingly, in the next letter to his wife which comes under our notice, he goes deeply into self-examination, with special reference to those sins and faults which had occasionally overcast, with a fleetly passing cloud, the otherwise clear sun- shine of their domestic happiness. After using, with a faithful hand, the moral probe which divine truth had furnished him, he adds: "Dec. 7, 1812. — Forgive me for recurring to these unpleas- ant topics. In looking forward to a closer union with our God, in the blessed sacrament of the body and blood of his dear Son, a primary duty is self-examination. In this work, a review of one's past life is indispensable ; and, as I write now under the inspection of the all-seeing eye, one of the sins which I have felt it peculiarly necessary to confess, and, by divine grace, to abandon, has been that of not duly appreciating his blessings, of giving way to improper feelings induced by trivial occurrences, of not curbing a temper too quickly excited, and of falling into a consequent indulgence of language and conduct from which a real Christian ought ever to abstain." In reply to the inquiry why he pressed this subject upon his wife as well as upon himself, he adds, " Because I wish to make you the depositary of all my thoughts ; because I wish you to begin with me a new life ; and because a sense of mutual folly, 124 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. and united resolutions of future amendment, are necessary to that happy passage through the residue of our span of life, which I have a confident persuasion Grod will afford us, if, by upright- ness of heart and holiness of life, we merit it at his hands. Do not misunderstand me in the use of this term, '■merits I am more and more convinced," [we have seen the reason why he needed to be so, in his acknowledged "mischievous conceit of the merit of works,"] "as I give the important subject of religion deeper and more solid consideration, that our performances are no otherwise acceptable in the sight of God than as they are produced by the spirit of the Gospel ; and that, with respect to our ultimate hopes of eternal happiness, these hopes are worse than vain, if they have any other ground to rest upon than the atonement of the blessed Saviour, whose all-sufficient merits have given that satisfaction to offended justice, which our im- perfect obedience never could have done." On the day next after the date of the last extract, Mr. Milnor wrote to Bishop White a statement of his views touching the Lord's supper, and proposed to become a communicant so soon as propriety and the good bishop's consent would permit. But as those views are identical with what we find in the letters to his wife, extracts are needless. Perhaps, however, the reader will be surprised to learn, that in the evening of the very day on which he thus wrote to his bishop, he attended a ball. But it should be remembered, that he was not yet wholly in the light on the subject of his former worldly amusements, although he had light enough to make him go reluctantly, and only in obedience to what he supposed a call of duty. " It was the ball given by naval officers to Captain Hull and others then in Washington ; and his position as a mem- ber of the naval committee, seemed to render it necessary that he should attend and participate in the compliment. He went late, came away early, and enjoyed little satisfaction in his reluc- tant compliance with the call." His comments on what he saw further illustrate the state of his feelings, and show that, if his views of Christian duty were not yet perfectly clear, at least the tendency of his religious tastes was in the direction of what is thoroughly right. RELIGIOUS CHANGE. 125 " The crowd was great, and no Parisian assembly of equal numbers ever exhibited a greater proportion of extravagantly painted women. The people of this place " ' Still sacrifice to dress, till household joys And comforts cease. Dress drains their cellars dry, And keeps their larders lean ; puts out their fires • And introduces hunger, frost, and woe, Where peace and hospitality might reign.' Never was satire more just than this of Cowper, applied to the people of this place, clerks and others, depending on the pub- lic for support, and receiving salaries abundant for domestic com- fort, but insufficient for the purposes of extravagance and show. Every deprivation is submitted to in private, in order to be able to mingle, with some display of brilliancy, in the fashionable throng. Happy would it be for their infant families, if they bet- ter accommodated themselves to their situation in life, and if they could be convinced before they verify, in their own experi- ence, how truly the same delightful moralist describes the nature and end of these amusements : " ' The rout is Folly's circle, which she draws With magic wand. So potent is the spell. That none, decoyed into that fatal ring — Unless by Heaven's peculiar grace — escape. There we grow early gray, but never wise ; There, form connections, but acquire no friend ; Solicit pleasure, hopeless of success ; Waste youth in occupations only fit For second childhood, and devote old age To sports which only childhood could excuse. They are the happiest who dissemble best Their weariness ; and they the most polite, Who squander time and treasure with a smile.' " I believe I did not play my part so well as to dissemble mi/ weariness ; but I think that, with a view of so much frippery and folly, I gained one advantage, and that is, a confirmation of my resolution to mix as little as I can in these extensive scenes of gayety, and to cherish the society of a few chosen friends. I am not satisfied with myself for having done otherwise in this instance ; but I hope my heart is free from the influence of any of the poisons of this pernicious, unsatisfactory intercourse." 126 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. His letter of December 11, 1812, contains, among other things, a beautiful little essay on " the golden mean," as occu- pied by the real Christian, between the hermit, the monk, and the recluse on the one hand, and the dissipated rake and the indis- criminate follower of pleasure on the other. In composition, it is uncommonly elegant ; but in thought, perhaps, it still finds the golden mean somewhat too far from the extreme of the recluse, and proportionally too near that of the devotee to pleasure — a mean somewhat on the wrong side of the middle. On the 14th of December, he had received a kind letter from Bishop White, encouraging him to visit Philadelphia, with a view to communion on the 25th of the month. He determined to ac- cept the invitation ; and so anxious was he that his wife should accompany him, that his letters, at this period, are full of the one labor of persuading her to the duty. The thought seems to have occurred to him, that possibly she might be influenced to delay, by the supposition that his feelings were but temporary excitement, and would soon pass away and be forgotten. To meet this supposition, he wrote as follows : " Dec. 16, 1812.-^-! fear you little relish the style of my late letters, and that you probably consider it the result of a mo- mentary depression of spirits, arising from my lonely situation, and my dissatisfaction with public life. If you should have entertained such an idea, I hope it is a mistaken one. I say ' hope,'' for God knows, considering the opportunities which I have had for religious improvement, and the unquestionable goodness of my heavenly Benefactor, in the unceasing tender of the aids of his Holy Spirit, through the medium of the Gospel and other appointed channels of grace ; considering also the many secret purposes of a better life which I have heretofore unavail- ingly formed, and the continual deviations to which I am daily yielding in thought, word, and action, that I dare not too confi- dently anticipate a firm and undaunted perseverance in a relig- ious course. As to my retired situation, it need not be so if I desired otherwise ; for a man here has only to put himself in the way of fashionable dissipation, and he would be engaged in it almost every day. I avoid it as much as a decent conformity to custom \yill admit, both from a present sense of duty, and from RELIGIOUS CHANGE. 127 a feeling of dislike to it, which every day increases. As to dis- satisfaction with public life, I plead guilty to the charge ; but this mode of life does not depress my spirits, because the period of its termination is so near at hand. No, my love, the reading of the Scriptures, a perusal of the writings of good men, attend- ance upon public worship, and silent meditation and reflection, have long ago convinced me of the truths of our holy religion, and of the necessity of our observing punctually its sacred ordinances." The remainder of the letter is devoted to his usual theme, urging seriously and solemnly on Mrs. Milnor the duty of imme- diate preparation for the Lord's supper. The business of Congress, however, soon became so urgent that he was unable to visit Philadelphia in time for communion on the Christmas festival. He felt the disappointment severely, but without a murmur ; and it may, perhaps, be regardied as a kindly wise providence, that kept him yet a while in Washing- ton, amid the dealings of God in the secrecy of his chamber. For it is almost impossible not to see from his letters, that as yet he had not looked deeply enough into himself, nor felt with suffi- cient power the workings of the Holy Spirit, convincing him of sin, and throwing him, as his first step, not on outward ordi- nances, however seriously prepared for, but upon Christ alone for pardon, peace, and life. Had he gone to Philadelphia at the time proposed, there was danger, after all, of his resting on out- ward ordinances as the way to Christ, instead of finding^n Christ, first, the life, and power, and significancy of all subsequent ordinances. In a letter, written about a week after the last extract, the truth of the above remarks appears to be confirmed. Rising with the early sun, and commencing his morning walk with a repining feeling in his heart, as the memory of his recent disappointment was revived, he seems to have been led into higher views of God, and into deeper views of himself, than any before described. " Dec 22, 1812. — It is now between eight and nine o'clock in the morning, and I have just returned from a long, solitary walk. The morning is unusually serene for the season, the roads dry, and every thing propitious to travelling either in carriage or 128 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. on foot. I could not help repining a little, though I know it was wrong, at the untoward circumstances that have intervened to prevent the execution of my purpose to avail myself of such pleasant weather for my journey home. Reflections of this kind, however, quickly gave way to contemplations of a very different character. The immensity of that Being who formed the scenery around me, which even winter had not robbed of its charms ; his goodness, in making such rich provision for his creatures ; his kind providence, in preserving, sustaining, and superintending all the works of his hands ; and, above all, his unspeakable love, in the redemption from eternal death of a rebellious world, that had, by sin, forfeited every claim to his favor, broke in upon my mind with unusual force, and excited a rapturous feeling of thankful gratitude, which I am unable to describe. But alas, when, from such high-wrought, glowing contemplations, my thoughts were turned upon myself, how different the sight pre- sented to the mental view : a poor, frail child of the dust, ' con- ceived in sin, and shapen in iniquity ;' ' prone to sin as the sparks fly upwards ;' and daily offending, in thought, word, and action, the glorious Being to whom my reflections had ventured to ascend : endowed with reason, blessed with the light of revela- tion, furnished with all ' the means of grace,' and encouraged, in the use of them, to indulge ' the hope of glory ;' yet still cleaving to the earth, yielding to unsubdued appetites, the victim of every surrounding temptation, and, in short, a rebel against the sov- ereignty of heaven. Surely, said I within myself, such a trans- gressor cannot look for pardon to that God whom he has offended ; he cannot claim the benefit of that sacrifice for sin which he has so often slighted ; he cannot be again supplied with the aids of that Holy Spirit, to whom he ' has done despite,' and whom he is continually grieving by his sins. These harrowing reflections were, however, relieved by suggestions of the most soothing kind, derived from the long-suffering goodness of our heavenly Father, and from the comforting promises held forth in the Gospel of his blessed Son. I felt new force and beauty in the penitential con- fession at the beginning of our service, and let it flow from my lips with heartfelt sincerity and humility. " Such is the result of a morning's walk in Washington, I RELIGIOUS CHANGE. 129 came into my chamber with humble confidence in God, but stripped of all reliance upon myself; being firmly persuaded, that He alone can fit us for every good word and work, and that it is by his gracious assistance only that we can accomplish our best purposes, or persevere to the end in a course of living well- pleasing in his sight." How plainly does this passage tell of the strong onward move- ment of the divine Spirit in his work of new-creating grace. How does it show the great character of God rising on the view of his servant with more power than a universe of splendors ; and influxes therefrom, pouring in as from a full-coming tide of bless- edness ; and then the soul, driven down from her unwonted ele- vation, into deep inward searchings ; self, detected as a rebel against the divine sovereignty ; and the sinner stripped, as by an almighty hand, of all self-confidence ! It is true, the refer- ences to Christ are yet but incidental. He occupies not the fore- ground of the view. The chief objects which fill the field of vision, are, God in his glory, stirring a heart that yearns to bo reconciled ; and the sinner in his ruin, knowing no salvation but in that God upon whom he has been looking. But then, glimpses at least of Christ are had, as though the Cross were in sight, how- ever dim in the distance ; and light from the Sun of righteous- ness is filling the soul's firmament, as if that Sun were himself about to mount above his horizon. As might be expected, his next letter to Mrs. Milnor touch- ing the subject of religion, under date of January 26, 1813, ex- presses stronger dislike than ever both of the politics and of the fashions of Washington, as having a most unfriendly influence on his religious progress, and keeping him from those full comforts of hope in Christ, for which his recent experience made him thirst with all the earnestness of a new-born soul. In truth, one of the greatest wonders presented in his case, is the fact, that such a w^ork as that in his heart, was begun under such hostile influ- ences, and carried on against such accumulated opposition as met him in the circumstances amid which he was placed. But that work was of God, and not of man ; and the divine power was the more manifest in his behalf, inasmuch as fi-om every other quar- ter the prospect was so unusually, so absolutely hopeless. Mem. Milnor. 9 130 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. From the remainder of this letter it also appears, that neither Gonscienee nor current events would allow him to remain an idle spectator of the business of the nation ; and that he was even specially active in his place, although the speeches which he made at this time in the House, earnest and zealous as they were, were yet in a manner forced out of him against the longings of his -spirit for more congenial occupation. Indeed, this letter may be regarded as a dim foreshadowing of a change of profession, so soon as the hour of his release from political life should come. In a yet later letter, this foreshadowing becomes even lumin- ously distinct ; and as it is so full of Christ, the Cross, and the work of the Spirit, and gathers up, besides, all that need now be said about his change of profession, it may well be given, with slight omissions, entire. "Washington, January 27, 1813. "My dear Ellen — I wrote you yesterday, and know not why I should again trouble you to-day ; having nothing amusing to communicate, arid having already sufficiently fatigued you on subjects in which you cannot feel an interest until your mind is awakened, in a more lively manner than it has yet been, to the realities of religion, and the indispensable necessity of receiving the Saviour through the exercise of faith in his atonement, and the sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit. Suppose not, my beloved, that I mean unkindly to reproach you. It would ill be- come me to do so. My own attainments little qualify me for the duties of a censor, or a counsellor. I feel too forcibly, as applied to myself, the weight of that injunction, to take the beam out of one's own eye, before we nicely discern the mote in the eye of another. I think I see the better way, and would fain walk in it. I believe my happiness, both here and hereafter, depends on my doing so. Natural pride has so far been brought into subjection to the Cross, that I dare humbly venture, before I close my eyelids, and when permitted again to awake from the death of sleep, to address my thanksgivings and praises to the great Creator and Preserver of my existence, confess my unworthiness of the bless- ings with which I am favored, implore better dispositions for his service, and, above all, solicit an interest in the all-prevailing' intercessions of a once crucified, but now risen Redeemer. RELIGIOUS CHANGE. 131 " Yet, though a rebellious spirit has, I trust, through God's grace, been subdued within me, so far as to compel me to repent in dust and ashes for my multiplied transgressions, and to seek divine aid in the maintenance of a better life, I see futurity beset with a thousand difficulties. I know not how I can avoid those smaller follies, as the world would call them, arising out of the manners and customs, the fashions and associations of a large city ; and yet conscience tells me, in a voice of solemn warning, many of them must be abandoned. Abstinence from glaring and proffigate wickedness, which a regard to the decen- cies of life and to personal character prevents in many who are destitute of a principle of Christian piety, will not satisfy the requisitions of the Gospel. Many even of the lawful pleasures of social intercourse must be abridged in their frequency and de- gree ; and levity and thoughtlessness must more frequently give place to solid reflection and seriousness of mind and deportment. In this respect, I solemnly believe it is indispensably necessary to assume the cross, and to subject natural inclination to an im- plicit obedience to the precepts and spirit of the Gospel. How hard the task is to the beginner, is evident to me from my own daily struggles ; and it was evident to you, when, on my last visit, I gave you such imperfect testimony to my stability in a course of practice conformable to the profession which, in my preceding letters, I had avowed. "A still more formidable difficulty lies in my professional pursuits. In the conduct of them heretofore, I have endeavored •to maintain fidelity towards my clients, and integrity towards all. But I have often advocated causes against which, as a judge, I would have pronounced; and sometimes have been obliged to make myself the organ of the passions and feelings of others in a way that it would not be possible for me to do here- after, and yet preserve that consistency of character, and that peace of mind, at which it is my settled purpose, with divine help, to aim.* * And yet he was called, by eminence, " The honest lawyer ;" and thereon rise reflections which it were well for every man to entertain, who is already engaged in the practice of the law, or who is inquiring if that practice would be safe to his soul. 132 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. " On what to determine, I am utterly at a loss. I wish to con- sult your happiness and wishes, and the welfare of our dear chil- dren, in whatever course I may adopt. But I think their chance of respectability and happiness will not be much increased, by my continuing to toil in a dangerous profession to acquire for them a large estate ; nor do I believe, that with a continuance of unremitted industry on my part — in the present state of business and of competition for profits, with the loss of a great proportion of my share in business during my engagements in public life, and with the feelings which I shall carry back when I resume it — if I were ever so desirous of accumulation, I could count upon success. I am persuaded, however, that no duty towards our beloved children requires me to give them more than, if they survive me, will be their portion ; and that I shall render them a better service by giving them a good education, and endeavoring to instil into their minds early principles of piety, than if I could heap upon them the riches of Golconda or Peru. " These are the unpleasant views presented to my mind by the prospect of entering again upon my former track of business and social intercourse. But in abandoning the former, and in some degree the latter, I am aware that deprivations not very pleasant to the natural feelings, must be submitted to ; and that there is still very great difficulty in fixing upon some other occu- pation by way of substitute. Idleness is the root of all evil, and I do not mean to encounter its dangers. If, therefore, I quit my present business, it will be to engage in some other. "What that shall be, is a question to be solved before an abandonment of pres- ent occupation takes place. A small farm for some bodily exer- cise, and a library for the employment of the mind, together with a close application to interests of much more importance than all the perishing concerns of this world, are what present them- selves to my mind as the most likely means for insuring tran- quillity during the residue of our stay in this probationary part of our existence, and a title to happiness when called to our final and unchangeable lot in the world to come. "Ever yours, "JAMES MILNOR." RELIGIOUS CHANGE. SECTION III. We have now fully reached the time when the interesting correspondence between Mr. Milnor and his friend Bradford com- menced. The first letter in that correspondence, Which was from Mr. Milnor, was written on the 22d of January, five days before the date of this last, which we have inserted, to his wife. This letter to his wife, therefore, will be found to breathe much the same feelings with those which pervade his first to Mr. Bradford. Indeed, it must be evident to the careful reader, that ever since his " long, solitary walk," on the fine winter morning of Decem- ber 22,, which he began with repinings at his recent disappoint- ment, and ended with such enlarged views of Grod and of him- self, the style of his letters to his wife has been different from that of his previous communications. He has talked less of the outward, and more of the inward things of the Christian life. His main themes have been, sin and the Saviour, the merits of the Cross and the work of the Spirit, a growing weariness of the ways of the world, and a growing conviction of the necessity of a change in the business of his future profession. Even at the time, however, when he wrote his first letter to Mr. Bradford, although he may be considered as having become " a new creature in Christ," yet his religious views wanted some- thing of that clearness and fulness which were desirable, and which they finally reached. A few other letters to Mrs. Milnor, written after the 27th of January, contain passages, hereafter to be given, which, in their unusual earnestness for her conversion, will furnish most convincing evidence of the growth and genu- ineness of the work of the Spirit in his own heart. "We proceed, now, to the correspondence with Mr. Bradford. It would be interesting to publish the whole, just as it passed ; but this would swell too largely the size of the Memoir. Al- though, therefore, Mr. Bradford's letters abound in remarkably clear views of the new-birth of the Spirit, and of the course of life which the new-born Christian is required to pursue, yet, with the exception of one or two passages, they will be reluctantly omitted ; and even when we take up the letters of his correspond- 134 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. ent, only the most important parts of those of Mr. Milnor him- self will be inserted. Near the close of the series, Mr. Milnor uses the following language : " Forgive me, I once more ask it, for filling my letters with so much of myself. But I judge of the satisfaction it gives you to have a free communication of the course of my religious expe- rience, as well from your assurances as from the pleasure which I derive from your less verbose and more comprehensive commu- nications. Alas, my heart has, for so short a time, savored, as it ought, the things of Grod, and is, even now, so ' troubled about many things ' which ought to have no place there, that you must excuse my wanderings, and condescend — if per adventure they may be found at all — to seek, amid much chaff, for the few grains of wheat which I have endeavored to send you." Our object, in the selection about to be made, will be to gather some of " the grains of wheat," not because they lie " amid much chaff," but because the most for which we can find room will be those more precious kernels which are the seeds of his spiritual growth, or which show the gradual development of his ChrLstian experience and character. To Thomas Bradford, Jr. "Washington, 22d Jan., 1813. " My dear Friend — Ever since my return to this place, I have contemplated writing you a long letter, but have been pre- vented by a succession of engagements, which occupy much of my time. I ought not, however, in candor and fair dealing, to deny that I have been a little discouraged from recommencing a correspondence with you, by the abruptness with which that of last year terminated. Yet, I neither doubt your friendship, nor be- lieve that you doubt mine ; and I feel as if a more intimate and profitable intercourse than ever were about to take place between us. "We have, I trust, entered on a course in which, whatever may be the difference of our views on minor points, being agreed in the grand vi^ay-marks of our journey, and designing, by God's help, to reach the same destination, we may travel harmoniously together, and lend one another a helping-hand, in surmounting the impediments which we may expect to find in our way. RELIGIOUS CHANGE. 135 "My best resolutions are frustrated, or interfered with, by surrounding temptations, and I seem to experience increased occasion for the penitent acknowledgment of having renewedly * erred and strayed from God's ways like a lost sheep ;' of having ' left undone those things which I ought to have done, and done those things which I ought not to have done.' Or, in the expres- sive language of St. Paul, ' I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing; for to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good, I find not. I delight in the law of God, after the inner man ; but I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in.jmy members. wretched man that I am ! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death ?' I embrace cordially, and pray the aids of the Holy Spirit to do it effectually, the answer of that eminent min- ister of (jrod : ' Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord."* Let us look to Him, as ' the author and finisher of our faith ;' be persuaded that ' other foundation hath no man laid ;' rely upon his all-sufiicient atonement ; receive him as our Prophet, Priest, and King ; and depend upon the sanctifying influences of the blessed Spirit to prepare us for maintaining our present con- flicts with the world, the flesh, and the devil, and for obtaining ultimately a place among the saints in glory. Since my mind has become more seriously impressed, experience has convinced me, that when deep conviction of sin has seized upon the heart, when penitence and prayer have become its daily employment, and the soul is panting after righteousness, worldly engagements, both of business and of pleasure, slacken and impede its progress in grace, and hourly suggest fearful apprehensions of losing all that has been gained. how dreadful is the thought, that when called by God's Spirit to a view of one's lost, undone con- dition, when encouraged to lay hold of the hope set before us in the Gospel, and feeling with humility and thankfulness some advancement in the work of piety, we should relapse into our first estate. Truly, ' the latter end of such is worse than the beginning.' God preserve you and me from such an event. His power alone is sufficient for the purpose. "After a long profession of religion," ( sacramental communion 136 MJIMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. in the Church is not here intended,) "accompanied by vain at- tempts to accommodate it to the fashion and folly of the world, it has pleased God — in the midst of gayety and pleasure, and with- out that pressure of calamity which is so often made the means of turning the thoughts to the only sure Refuge, and while, too, the opportunity of public waiting upon him in his ordinances was, in a great measure, denied — to arrest me in my course, con- vince me of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, arraign me at the bar of my own conscience as a heinous partaker in it, and then, in mercy, to open to my view the way of escape, provided 1 no longer neglected the great salvation. " By a singular coincidence it has happened, that without a mutual knowledge of the fact, you and I have been similarly engaged. To whom, therefore, with more propriety than to your- self could I impart my feelings ? Let me hear from you. Dis- close fully your religious views, for it will be done to a friend. Fellow-travellers on the road to Zion, I rejoice to wish you ' God speed' on your journey, and shall not cease to pray for strength to accompany you, though it should be — ^ haud passibus mquis^ — at an unequal pace. Affectionately yours, "JAMES MILNOR." Though Mr. Bradford's part of the correspondence thus opened must necessarily be omitted, yet a few passages from his first letter will be given, as evincive of the spirit in which he re- sponded to the feelings of his friend. "Philadelphia, January 26, 1813. "My dear Friend — Never did I read a letter with more de- light and joy than yours, received yesterday. I had been absent from the city for ten days, and just returned from the gayeties of a wedding at Dover, with a mind diseased and corrupted by the intercourse into which I had been obliged to enter with a gay and fashionable world. The contents of your letter warmed my soul, and enlivened all my affections. For, my dear friend, among the crosses which I foresaw I must bear in my Christian course, was that of separating, in a great degree, from you and many others whose pursuits and pleasures were different from those which I was following. The goodness of God in awakening your RELIGIOUS CHANGE. 137 mind to a sense of its true condition, while it has excited, and should continue to excite in you a holy zeal and gratitude, has produced no less emotion in my own mind. A dear friend, in whose society I have ever delighted, and with whom I have so often controverted points of religion, when we were both stran- gers to God, has been taught of Him, and is restored to me in the bonds of a covenant, which, I trust, will never be broken. How delightful is that friendship, whose basis is religion, and whose object is the promotion of our eternal welfare. Thanks be to God for restoring to me one so beloved. "With you, I am every day constrained to bemoan the little progress which I make ' in grace and the knowledge of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,' and almost to fear that I have no in- terest in his atoning sacrifice ; so cold and lifeless, so hard and flinty is my poor wicked heart. This body of sin weighs me down to the dust. ' Take from me, my God, this heart of stone, and give me a heart of flesh.' Truly, my friend, St. Paul was never more correct than when he said, ' The carnal mind is en- mity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.' how precious does the bleeding Lamb of God appear to a soul, sinking under the conviction of its guilt and ill-desert; and how all-attractive and endearing are the promises of this blessed Saviour : ' Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest ;' ' Come, buy wine and milk, without money and without price.' "What, nothing to do to obtain this great salvation ? Nothing. Not a rag of self- righteousness will be accepted here. ' It is for my name's sake,' saith the great Jehovah, 'that I do this thing.' How constantly ought we to pray, ' For thy name's sake, Lord, pardon mine iniquity, for it is great.' ' Examine me, Lord, and prove me ; try my reins and my heart.' "Persevere, my dear friend, in beseeching God to have mercy on you ; fight the good fight of faith ; put on the armor of the Christian warrior, for we have to contend with most wicked and powerful enemies; trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, and he will give you victory over them all. " How pleasant will be our future correspondence. Leaving a jarring world and its concerns to those who love them more, we 138- MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. will tell each other what the Lord hath done for our souls, how' we travel along the Christian path, what new beauties strike our view, what snares and perils we have escaped, what trials and con- flicts we have endured, and what crosses we have borne. Thus animating and counselling each other, we shall find an epistolary intercourse more interesting and instructive than ever. How dif- ferent will this he from that which we kept up for a part of the last session. Instead of the affairs of this world, we shall con- verse about a world higher and better : instead of ' Who shall rise to honor and distinction here ?' our question will be, ' How shall we attain to that unfading honor, in the mansions of eternal rest, reserved for the people of God ?' But, my friend, in all things be watchful, guarding yourself from the deceitfulness of your own heart ; for saith our blessed Lord, ' Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.' The terms of discipleship are plainly proposed to us by Him. ' If any man will come after me, let him deny him- self, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.' May God bless and preserve you, my dear friend ; and may we, like David and Jonathan of old, be united in a sure covenant, and say, that, as for others, they may do as seemeth meet unto them ; but, in the lan- guage of Joshua, ' as for us and our house, we will serve the Lord.' " Write to me, and believe me, more than ever, " Your friend, «T. BRADFORD, JR." " J. MiLNOR, Esq." 'To this letter Mr. Milnor replied in the following, among other passages of his second letter, dated, "Washington, 29th Jan., 1813. " My dear Friend — Your affectionate letter of the 26th has afforded me much satisfaction on every account but one. I fear I am to iiifer from your kind expressions, that you unduly appre- ciate my progress in religion, and that I have myself occasioned the mistake by using language in reference to the state of my mind, calculated to give you an idea of its subjection to the influ- ence of divine grace which the real fact does not warrant. If I have done so, ascribe it to any cause rather than a deliberate intention to deceive either you or myself : a greater than either, I know I cannot deceive ; for although I trust I may say, with RELIGIOUS CHANGE. 139 the pious Job, ' I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear ; but now mine eye seeth thee ' — in faith and mental vision is my meaning — ^yet the glorious view does but excite in me the hum- bling sentiment with which he followed this declaration, ' Where- fore, I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.' Truly, my friend, I should falsify every hour's experience, if I denied the enmity of the carnal mind against God ; the ingratitude of a cor- rupted heart for innumerable external and internal benefactions ; and its guilty murmurings at every parental chastisement for mul- tiplied transgressions. The reason why we do not discern its rebellion against the Almighty, and its tyranny over ourselves, is because we have been so long willing slaves to its dominion, and have so often aided its struggles against the Spirit of God, that we love its' corruptions and defilements better than all the graces of purity and holiness. This I have deplorably experienced in my past life ; and now that I perceive with a clearer light than heretofore, a heavenly index pointing to the right road, with the emphatic direction, ' This is the way ; walk thou in it ;' an ' evil heart of unbelief,' still inhabiting this miserable bosom, would dissuade me from my course with the beguiling suggestion, that ' the ways of wisdom are not ways of pleasantness, nor her paths peace.' 'Yes,' suggests this rebellious spirit, 'you are entering on a rugged and impracticable journey ; it is beset with briars and thorns ; few of those whom you most love will be your com- panions, and all from whom you separate will pronounce you a fool, a hypocrite, or an enthusiast, for your pains. You must assume new habits and manners, and on many topics, new opin- ions, that will be the ridicule of your acquaintance, and will unfit you for the duties of your station ; and after all, having made trial of your undertaking, you will only come back into the world with its scorn and derision for your folly and fickle-mindedness.' Thus is it that the arch-adversary — who dared presumptuously, though in vain, to assail the sinless purity of our Redeemer at his entrance upon the duties of his blessed mission, by tempting his supposed vanity, and love of power, and cupidity of wealth, with an offer of ' all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them' — more successfully spreads his snares for the souls of weak, irreso- lute, and guilty men. Thus has he heretofore induced you and 140 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. me to stifle convictions ; permitted us in some general way to acknowledge the truths of religion, and join in its public duties ; and allowed us to avoid open profligacy and direct opposition to many even of the stricter rules of life observed by others ; while he has prevented our following the good example of the truly pious, and made us content ourselves with a decent system of morality, mixed with some of the semblance of religion and the exercise of a disposition of charity and good- will to our fellow- men ; and then has assured us that these would carry us as suc- cessfully to heaven as godly sorrow for sin, repentance, faith in the atoning sacrifice of the Son of Grod, regeneration by the Holy Ghost, and newness of life produced by the spirit and regulated by the precepts and the example of Christ. " As to myself, it pleases God at times to obscure my views, and to allow my corrupt heart to fear the difficulties which I have mentioned ; and thus am I threatened with the dangers of backsliding, if not the perils of apostasy from the faith of Christ. My religious strength is very weakness, yet I will not despair ; because, blessed be the Author and finisher of my faith, my sal- vation either from sin here, or from eternal death hereafter, de- pends not on my unassisted efforts. My help is laid on One who is mighty to save, and who will save, to the uttermost, all that come to God through him." After a somewhat prolonged and striking train of reffections on the perils of his future practice of the law, much in the style of those already quoted, he thus proceeds : " I sometimes think, that were I some years younger, and yet favored with my present views, my course of duty would be pretty obvious. But the want of capacity, and of religious and other knowledge, and the diminution of that aptitude to new acquirements which belongs to the youthful mind, with other obstacles that need not be mentioned, banish every hope of being useful in the profession to which you will easily understand me as intending an allusion." This is the first distinct reference, with which we have met, to the new direction of his thoughts towards the work of the min- istry, and it shows how little qualified he then was to judge of what God was designing for him in the future. RELIGIOUS CHANGE. 141 " Farewell, my friend," he concludes ; " ' Quench not the Spirit ;' ' prove all things ; hold fast that which is good ; abstain from all appearance of evil ; and the very God of peace sanctify you wholly ; and I pray God your whole spirit, and soul, and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.' This is heavenly advice, not mine. May we both adopt and pursue it in all time to come." " Jan. 31, 1813. — Thanks to my heavenly Father, that he has been graciously pleased in some measure to prepare me for wait- ing upon him, on this his holy day, in that way which is alone acceptable, ' in spirit and in truth.' I say, in some measure ; but 0, how small a dispensation of divine grace is yet my portion ! Lord, ' take not the word of thy truth utterly out of my mouth ; for my hope is in thy judgments.' My desire to avoid the scene of political discussion, which, in this city, is everywhere, save at church and in the chamber, induces me very often to seek a retreat in the latter, where, I thank God, I may undisturbedly * commune with my own heart, and be still.' " He closes the letter in which the foregoing brief passages occur, with a Sabbath evening's " song of ardent praise ;" and then, as if feeling a slight return of his once strong dread and distrust of all high-wrought feeling in religion, adds in a postscript, " Excuse the foregoing transcript of my feelings. The full heart must speak out, or it will burst. I would place a whole- some restraint upon any tendency of my religious affections towards enthusiasm. This spirit is often more honest than the Pharisaical formality of mere outside-professors ; but it obscures those clear perceptions of divine truth at which we ought to aim, and brings disrepute upon religion. Let the Scriptures be our only, as they will prove themselves our infallible guide. Let us never submit to the strange persuasion that the affections are not to be engaged — ^warmly, feelingly engaged, in the work of relig- ion ; but let us avoid the evil of yielding them an ascendency over the word of God. ' To the law and to the testimony.' " After this characteristic caution to himself, he subjoins, " Farewell, my dear friend. God is teaching me to pray aright. 1 am a stubborn and backward scholar ; but in his good time, he will enable me, as I hope he has already enabled you, to mount 142 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. boldly, though not presumptuously, that ' true ladder,' as Lord Bacon expresses it, ' which he has fixed in the person of a Me- diator, whereby God descends to his creatures, and his creatures ascend to God.' " " Feb. 5, 1813. — Since I last wrote you I can pretend to but little progress in that work, the root of which, I humbly trust, is laid in my heart. The necessity of circumstances, or rather the seeming' necessity, carried me yesterday to an entertainment at the Russian minister's, from which I returned in the evening with a heart less prepared for communion with itself, or with its God, than if I had been drinking at the fountain of his blessed word, or employed in the duty of private meditation. To-day, your worthy brother, and a party from Philadelphia, have claimed my attention, and the offices of friendship, pleasing as they are to the natural disposition, have made me partaker of conviviality, on which by any austerity on my part, I feared to throw a damp ; but which the retirement of this chamber, where my best affec- tions have had their birth and nurture, reminds me must be abandoned, or I myself shall be abandoned by the Spirit of the Most High." After quoting some sentiments from Lord Bacon, who seems to have been a favorite author with him, he adds, " You see how a mixture with gay society disqualifies me for resorting to higher authority. I am more and more convinced, in respect to myself, that these occasions and temptations must be avoided ; and that the limits of propriety assume so equivocal a character to the mind, and may be so easily exceeded in com- panionable intercourse, that the tyro in religion must beware how he exposes himself to the danger of losing, by his own folly and in- discretion, all that he has gained. May the time soon arrive when I shall be less ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, better practice his blessed precepts, and have more courage and success in subduing inveterate habits, and in devoting myself, as a consistent disciple of the Cross, to the promotion of the Redeemer's kingdom." His next letter contains an account of a visit to Washington — on his way from Philadelphia, southwards— of a young Presbyte- rian preacher, the Rev. Mr. Skinner, who brought him a letter of introduction from Mr. Bradford, and whose eloquent and faithful RELIGIOUS CHANGE. 143 preaching at the capital left a deep and most salutary impression. Mr. Milnor thus narrates two incidents connected with this visit. " Feb. 8, 1813. — ^An amiable friend of mine," apparently a fellow-member of Congress, "who would have been much offend- ed to be told he was not a believer, was frank enough to acknow- ledge to me, that he went home after morning service, retired to his chamber, and wept bitterly at the reflection, that, at the age of fifty, this young stripling should have so laid open his deformi- ties, and set before him truths to which he had so long been ex- perimentally a stranger. A conversation held with him to-day, induces me to believe that an abiding impression has been made on his mind. " On Sunday afternoon, at the close of service, a lady, who had been much affected, went to speak to Mr. Skinner ; but her tears choked her utterance, and she withdrew." The occasion was apparently blessed to himself likewise, for he soon after subjoins : " My mind becomes more stayed upon God. The realities of religion begin to fasten more steadfastly on my understanding and my heart. The Holy Spirit graciously assists my infirmities in making prayer and supplication at the throne of grace, and I patiently wait for an answer to my petitions in God's own time, confiding in the unchangeable faithfulness of his gracious prom- ises. How dare we distrust that God who has promised to be ' rich in mercy to all who call upon him ?' " " Feb. 11, 1813. — You ask, ' Is it painful and injurious to me to mingle with the world, and to partake of its pleasures ?' Yes. Nothing so much disqualifies me for all religious duties as promiscuous company, especially if it be of such a cast as that in which you and I have been accustomed to delight. "Whenever a seeming necessity has drawn me reluctantly into it, I have returned to my chamber with heaviness of heart and the keenest stings of remorse ; so true is the observation, as to the effect of such associations, which Solomon applies to the excessive use of one of their ordinary accompaniments : ' At the last, it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder ;' or, as he elsewhere says, 'Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful, and the end of that mirth is heaviness.' For any real delight which these things 144 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. have given me, theix loss is as nothing. The cross lies in sub- jecting one's self to the imputation of a hundred motives for a new course of life different from the true ones, and in offending many amiable friends, who cannot, unless enlightened by divine grace, discern any just reason for an alteration in our conduct. " Hospitality and friendliness towards all who have claims on us, may be lawfully indulged, but revelling and carousal must be avoided; and, for myself^ I add all those places of public amuse- ment where God is insulted or forgotten, and religion and mar' als are set at open defiance. If religious convictions had not already divorced me from that fascinating syren the theatre, I should have been completely satisfied by the conclusive argu- ments of Dr. Miller, in his sermon preached on the occasion of the conflagration at Richmond. " Many thanks for your clear, experimental views of ' the truth as it is in Jesus.' On the fundamentals of his blessed, glorious religion, we shall never disagree. If on any obscure, controverted point we should happen to differ, we will follow the conscientious dictates of our respective minds, appealing to the Searcher of hearts for the honesty of our views, and exercising charity towards each other. My feelings must indeed be changed much for the worse, before I can refuse Christian charity to every sincere follower of the Lamb, whatever be the denomination under which chance or choice may have thrown him ; fully be- lieving that, as ' in every nation,' so in every body of Christians, ' he that feareth God and worketh righteousness, is accepted of him.'" To this part of his letter is appended a note, beginning with the following passage. " Chance. Allow me to recall this hate- ful expression. How careful ought we to be, ever to bear in mind the all-pervading providence of God. The language, as well as the thoughts of the days of our carnality, is an effective means in the hands of the tempter, of sullying our Christian purity, and of annoying us in the warfare in which we are now engaged." , , " Feb. 12, 1813. — I know not whether I am to consider ra^ residence in this place, with all its privations, as an evil. Per- haps it has been a blessing in disguise. It engaged me in politics till my heart sickened with disgust at the contentious scene RELIGIOUS CHANGE. 145 around me. It involved me in the frippery, and parade, and foolery of fashionable life, till I was surfeited with their wretched insipidity, and alarmed at the dangers lurking beneath their taste- less sweets. Depriving me of the enjoyment of a regular at- tendance on public worship, it taught me to prize that blessing more highly than ever. Abstracted from my professional pur- suits, and the many engagements which the cares of a family bring with them, and finding little satisfaction in the passing scene, the solitude of my chamber has afforded me precious op- portunities for meditation, self-examination, communion with my own heart, and finally, by God's grace, intercourse with heaven. This work has been in progress for many years." [It evidently began the moment when examination had convinced his " rational understanding," as he terms it, of the divine inspiration of the Scriptures, and had driven this belief of the head into what proved its long conflict with the self-righteousness of the heart — a con- flict in which nature stoutly withstood grace, and made disputes about religion and an exterior semblance of it a shield against inward conviction, and an opiate to conscience ; till, finally, the very excess of this world's noises — God speaking through them — awoke him from his dream of saving himself, and drove him for eternal life to the only immovable rock, Christ Jesus.] " In the midst of much worldly business, political anxiety, and pleasura- ble occupation, the ' still small voice ' has unceasingly whispered in my ear, that these could never constitute my rest; that there was an awful eternity before me, and a work of grace to be ef- fected in my heart, if I wished for final happiness. You say, in one of your letters, that you and I used to dispute about religious doctrines, when we were wholly ignorant of the power of religion upon our souls. The observation is most true; but do you not believe that God's Spirit was then at work upon us, and that, though the obduracy of our hearts would not then yield to his requisitions, but we daringly sent him away till a more con- venient season, yet ho has been pleased, in matchless goodness, still to strive with us to the present day ? Such is my persuasion ; and the desire of my soul now is, to ascribe to him praises too exalted for my polluted lips to express, for his long-suffering mercy and goodness; and fervently and constantly do I implore Mem. Milnor. 1 3b46 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. that I may be preserved, by a power superior to my own, froni all manner of sin and wickedness, and be, one day, presented blameless by my dear Redeemer before the throne of his Father." Alluding soon after to Christ's " gracious promise of making us partakers of ' the kingdom prepared for us from the foundation of the world,' " and to the assurance that " so shall we ever be with the Lord," he breaks forth in the following strain : " transporting, rapturous contemplation ! Inspired by such hopes, founded on the unchangeable faithfulness of the God of truth, vain pomp and glory of the world, we hate you. Honor, fame, riches, become empty sounds; and our whole happiness consists in the fulfilment of the noble purpose which you have intimated, of knowing ' only Christ Jesus and him crucified.' " He proceeds to advise the preservation of their letters, in order that, if their hearts should ever grow cold, and lose the sweet sense which they then enjoyed, of "heavenly moments, unseen by any but their Father," a recurrence to what they had once written might be blessed to the rekindling of their fires, and the reviving of their unearthly joys. This again put in movement the balance-wheel of his caution, and therefore he adds, " But let us avoid enthusiastic delusions, and test all our emotions by the written word of God. Let our ecstasies, if haply God inspire us with some portion of the spirit that ani- mated them, be such as were felt by David, and Job, and regen- erated Paul. Then we need not fear that our affections will run into enthusiasm and rant. At least, though a gainsaying, igno- rant world might pronounce it such, yet such will not be the judgment of the redeemed of God. They have felt the transports of a soul emancipated from the slavery of sin, and favored, in mental vision, with a glimpse of the glories of the heavenly world. my friend, may your heart be as light as mine is to- day. Last night was a happy night. Dare I be so presumptu- ous as to say, that God was present with me in my ardent sup- plications, and vouchsafed me an answer of peace ? Knowing, as I do, my ignorance and blindness, I could not, of myself^ have so poured out my soul unto him. Thanks be to his adorable name, the Spirit gave me utterance, and I feel a humble hope that I have not wrestled for nauofht." RELIGIOUS CHANGE. 147 The farther we advance in these transcripts, the more are we struck with what must have been the uncommon depth and strength of Mr. Milnor's early antipathy to Calvinism. Even with those who allow that his objections against that system were just, there can be no doubt that his antipathy was so excessively sensitive as to render him, for a long period, all but incapable of the true and full comforts of a Christian hope. For no sooner was he brought to something like the dawnings of that hope, and to an expression of the holy joys to which it naturally gives birth, than he was seized with an uncomfortable fear, lest his friend should understand him as admitting the doctrine of ^^ assurance," or as professing to have become one of "the elect." Hence, im- mediately after writing the letter from which the last extracts are taken, he sent forward another to set himself right on this point. " Feb. 13, 1813. — I did not intend so soon to trouble you with another letter ; but I fear, lest, in the warmth of my feelings when I last wrote, I have expressed myself presumptuously and unadvisedly. I would by no means ' lay the flattering unction to my soul,' that my spiritual warfare is accomplished. God forbid that I should take up a false rest, and cry, ' Peace, peace, when there is no peace.' There is no danger so great, in my eyes, as a false security in present attainments. It stops the progress of piety in the heart ; shuts out those affusions of divine grace, which would continue to be dispensed, were the mind kept in a meek and humble state ; and is, I believe, not infrequently a road which imperceptibly carries an awakened sinner back to the world, and makes his latter end worse than the beginning." These thoughts are just ; but what was there in his previous letter to justify the "fear" which prompted them? That "God was present with him," and heard his prayer with "an answer of peace ;" that "the Spirit gave him utterance," and filled him with the " humble hope that he had not wrestled in vain ;" and that the night should have been made "happy" amid the refreshings thus kindly vouchsafed him; were surely no reasons why he should distress himself with the fear that he had "taken up a false rest." Nor, it is presumed, would he have felt this fear, had he not once filled his mind so crowdedly with the theory that 148 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. all strong hope borders somewhere on presumption ; and that enthusiasm, though often " honest," is yet, almost necessarily, mischievous. From some passages in his next letter, he seems to have been already thrown far back into darkness and discomfort. " Feb. 17, 1813. — Except when I seek the privacy of my chamber, I am in the midst of a continued whirl of politics and fashion; and after subjecting myself to much censure for the languid interest which I take both in the one and in the other, I find my own conscience, in my closet, upbraiding me with mix- ing too much in their contaminations. With respect to politics, my heart loathes their corrupting and uncharitable dissonances ; and as for the parade of drawing-rooms, it can afford little pleas- ure to a mind bowed down under a conviction of sin, and humbly seeking the regenerating and sanctifying influences of the Spirit of God. Solitude and retirement, during some part of each day, can on no account be dispensed with. If secular occupations de- prive us of them during the hours usually allotted to the world, let us abridge the unnecessary quantum of sleep in which our sluggish natures too often invite us to indulge. My religious impressions have induced me to consider this useless waste of time as a sin to be abandoned ; and I find a late retirement to the pillow, and an earlier desertion of it, by no means injurious to health. " I have to thank you for the interesting extract relative to the conversion of the Bishop of Carthage. It confirms the obser- vation made by you in a previous letter, that truth is a unit, and that believers in all ages will be found to have undergone, what- ever be the diversity of their circumstances, substantially the same operations of divine grace in the regeneration and renewal of their hearts. It is not, however, for us presumptuously to expect that we shall be favored in the extraordinary manner allowed in God's providence in this instance of Cyprian, and some other cases." " I am but at the threshold of this great undertaking of ' working out my salvation with fear and trembling.' My course is much less successful than you suppose. If ' the Day-spring from on high' seem now and then to shine into my corrupt and darkened mind, its rays are ever and anon obscured by more OV TBK f^ ' RELIGIOUS CHANGE. than midnight gloom. The very ' blackness of darkness^^i^pears — sometimes to blot out all my hopes, and my only solace is the still continued promises of the Gospel, which the combined efforts of the world, the flesh, and the devil, will never, I trust, be able to defeat." He had recently attended, in Alexandria, the preacliing of a charity sermon by the Rev. Mr. Wilmer, in the Methodist church. Of this he remarks, " Judge Washington since observed to me — not with a view to censure, for he afterwards highly applauded both the preacher and the sermon — that he had seen me in Alexandria ' listening to a Presbyterian sermon from an Episcopal minister in a Metho- dist meeting-house.' that all Christians agreeing in the fun- damentals of religion, would feel that glowing love towards one another, enjoined by that commandment of our Lord, which he does iiot hesitate to assimilate in dignity and importance to the first and greatest." " Feb. 18, 1813. — What a precious privilege is it to such worms of the dust as we, to have such a door of access opened to us into the holiest ! My heart burns with rapturous gratitude and praise at this wonderful condescension in that infinitely ex- alted Being of beings, who dwells in light inaccessible and full of glory, and before whom even angels veil their faces." " You see I keep on with my letters, destitute as they are of novelty, and, except to minds exercised as ours are, of interest too. Do not criticise their language, or their method ; for I at- tend to neither. Such as it is, you have my heart laid open to your view, with all its obliquities and alternations : now tossed on an ocean of fears and doubts almost at the will of the tempter ; and now, with the impetus from that Heavenly Wind which ' blow- eth where it listeth,' and under the pilotage of that unerring guide, the revelation of God, gently steering towards ' the haven where it would be.' " A large part of his next letter, which is very long, is occupied on a theme to which he often recurs — ^the difficulties thrown in the way of his religious progress by his professional pursuits, and his former entanglements amid the pleasures of the world. After dwelling on the subject at such length, he proceeds, under date ot 150 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. " Feb. 20, 1813. — ^Accept, my friend, these Saturday night effusions. They come from a heart more and more convinced of its innate and obstinate depravity, yet excited by divine grace to pant after that ' laver of regeneration ' spoken of by the pious Cyprian ; and though moving with a faltering and unsteady pace in the appointed way, yet having no dependence on itself, but looking towards a bleeding Saviour as its only hope and stay, and consoling itself with an assurance, that what it could never have accomplished for itself, has been freely done by an adorable act of unmerited mercy on the part of the Son of God. amazing condescension ! Love unparalleled ! Well might the apostle so feelingly declare, ' Scarcely for a righteous man will one die ; yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die : but God commendeth his love to us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.'' " Alluding to the danger of " expecting, too soon, conclusive evidence of God's favor," in what he calls, though without theo- logical accuracy, "the complete regeneration of our hearts" — language which seems to confound our original new-birth of the Spirit with final, perfect sanctification — he proceeds : " His own time is the best time. Let us beware of the sug- gestions of the tempter, who would have us outrun the openings of divine light upon our souls, and upbraid the Almighty with the tardiness of his operations. Hearts, so lately at enmity with God, and even now constantly prone to forget that ' his ways are not our ways, nor his thoughts our thoughts,' should be bowed down in humility, and patiently wait for God to be fur- ther gracious to us, by giving us a sensible assurance of our be- ing wholly his. If this be withheld, a scriptural caution should silence every murmur: 'Who art thou, man, that repliest against God V ' He that reproveth God, let him answer it.' " After he began this letter, he received one from his friend, mourning under an unusual darkness, which had come over his soul. Among other comforting suggestions, therefore, he offers the following in a postscript : " Feb. 21, 1813. — It is good for us, my friend, and an evi- dence of God's love, that he chastens us, and does not permit us to relinquish our warfare by a false security of its having been RELIGIOUS CHANGE. 151 already accomplished. Talk not of ' delusion.' It is the sug- gestion of the Evil One to shake your faith in the Redeemer. The Holy Spirit has begun a work, which he wUl assuredly ac- complish, if you and I do not wilfully resist his strivings. What though our prayers are weak and languid ? We have a prevail- ing ' Advocate with the Father — Jesus Christ the righteous ; and he is the propitiation for our sins.' Into his hands let us resign our cause ; let his blood and merits plead for us ; and let us not dare to doubt but his intercession will procure for us a full dis- charge of all our sins, and a renewal of our hearts unto holiness and newness of life. If our desires and prayers have ever wan- dered from the ground on which they must rest to be prevalent with God, let us apply to ourselves the Redeemer's rebuke, obey his divine injunction, and rely, yes, boldly and confidently rely on his faithfulness to the annexed promise : ' Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name. Ask, that ye may receive, and that your joy may be full.' ' If ye abide in me, and my word abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.' The Psalmist, too, assures us that ' God forgetteth not the cry of the humble :' and again, ' This poor man cried ; the Lord heard and delivered him out of all his distresses.' " My confidence in the Lord is strong this morning : I fer- vently beseech him to make yours so." He was learning to "comfort one who was in trouble, by the comfort wherewith he himself was comforted of God ;" and so experienced the truth of the divine assurance, " He that water- eth" others, " shall be watered also himself." " Feb. 25, 1813.— I have need of an apology for the length of my last letter, rather than so soon to trouble you with another ; but I hope it is one evidence of my continued love to the blessed Saviour, that I delight to hold converse with one of his acknow- ledged disciples, and to be employed in so often speaking forth the praises of his holy name. If there be one sentiment at this time predominant in my mind, it is that of gratitude for his long-suffering goodness and merciful loving-kindness to sinners, especially to me, who am the chief of sinners. He has been pleased to call me out of darkness into some degree of his mar- vellous light ; and thanks be to the adorable faithfulness of his 152 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. .character, no doubt dares intrude into my mind of his perfectly i'ulfilling towards me every promise of his gracious word to pen- itent offenders. My prospects are, it is true, sometimes most lamentably darkened. Since I last wrote to you, I have, at times, been greatly discouraged. My devotional exercises have more than once been destitute of the life and power of religion, and, of course, have been followed by none of the cheering consolations, expected on the ground of a Gospel assurance, from communion with heaven. I accept these evidences of God's displeasure with humility, as chastenings due my transgressions ; and pray afresh that they may be efficacious in bringing down every vain imagi- nation, and in teaching me to rate still lower every performance of my own — to forsake, more and more, evil ways and evil thoughts, and to rely wholly on the grace of God for ability to do so, as well as to offer up acceptable sacrifices of praise and thanksgiv- ings for his numerous mercies, and humble supplications for a continuance of his unmerited favor. The world, the world, my friend, is the great obstacle. We must take a firm stand, and tread it under our feet." " I have received a most pleasing letter from the Rev. Mr. Kemper, written in the true spirit of a gospel minister. No man more earnestly desires to see the Church rise out of the cold and lifeless state in which she now lies, or more fervently rejoices at the prospect of these days of coldness fleeing away. ' My heart,' says he, ' is indeed cheered at the prospect ; my spirits revive. When the hands of those who are appointed to minister in holy things are upheld by their lay brethren, victory in the Redeemer's cause is certain. I anticipate the time when we shall take sweet counsel together, for the purpose of promoting this best of causes. Nor will we be long alone. Many have become sensible of the vast importance of their immortal souls, who, if they continue seeking, will soon glory in the Cross of Christ.' " I will show you the whole of this letter when I see you, because I am persuaded you view the Church as I do : not as con- fined to any sect bearing the Christian name, but as embracing, in its wide-spread arms, the redeemed of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, in whatever branch of the great family Provi-< dence may have cast their lot. Gospel charity, like gospel faith, RELIGIOUS CHANGE. 153 working by love upon the heart, breaks down that unhappy wall of separation, which too much divides brethren of the same house- hold ; who, however they may differ about forms of worship and of government, or even on some controverted doctrines, unite in cordially embracing the great fundamental and peculiar doctrines of our holy religion. I thank God for favoring me with an ex- pansion of heart towards all the members of the mystical body of Christ, to which I desire to be united as one of the humblest and the least." Perhaps we have met with no evidence of his own adoption into the true family of Christ more convincing than that contained in this last passage : the expansion of his heart's love to the limit of embracing all who are in Christ by faith. " We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the breth- ren," the entire Christian brotherhood. Another passage from this letter shows, that though Mr. Milnor had become tired of po- litical life, yet he had not done serving his country ; for, perad- venture, he did that country more good by his prayers than by his speeches. He says, " The mischievous policy which has involved us in a most disastrous war, has perhaps been permitted in divine wisdom, as a judgment for our sins. Let us hope that it may yet be over- ruled for good to our beloved country ; and never let us omit to pray to Him who governs all things, that he would rule our rulers, counsel our counsellors, and teach our senators wisdom ; so that, in due time, the days of prosperity and peace may once more return to our hitherto highly favored nation." By this time he had received his friend's reply to his long letter of consolation, dated, February 20, 21, and 22. The fol- lowing passage will show that his offered comforts had not proved like waters poured on the desert, which carmot be gathered up again. " Feb. 26, 1813. — Independently of the happiness which it gives me at all times to hear from you, I have, in this instance, a special happiness, from the assurance that you have been fa- vored with those consolations which were denied you at the time of writing your previous letter. I am indeed rejoiced, if, under God, the counsel of one who so much needs it as I do, has been 154 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. of any service in this good work ; and yet I would not claim the smallest portion of merit, for I am a debtor for all things myself to the inexhaustible treasury of the blessed word of God. I trust the time will arrive, when, instead of the bufFetings which the noviciate in religion experiences, we shall be raised above them ; and although we may have to ' call to remembrance the former days, in which, after we were ' partially ' illuminated, we en- dured a great fight of afflictions,' we shall yet have the full assurance in our hearts, that ' there remaineth a rest to the people of God,' and that we are of the happy number of those who are entitled to claim it." In the letter which Mr. Milnor is here answering, his friend, having been comforted, found his heart courageous and his tongue loosed, so that, in adverting to the best means of counteracting the evil tendencies of legal practice and other necessary inteir- course with a wicked world, he was led to make the following quotation from Watts. "As to our duty on such occasions, I have been struck with these stanzas as peculiarly apt. " '.Whene'er constrained a while to stay With men of life profane, I'll set a double guard that day, Nor let my talk be vain. I'll scarce allow my lips to speak The pious thoughts I feel, Lest scoffers should occasion take To mock my holy zeal. Yet, if some proper hour appear, I'll not be overawed. But let the scoffing sinner hear That we can speak for God.' " In his remarks on this quotation, Mr. Milnor lets us look into one of the constitutional peculiarities, perhaps we may say faults of his mind — -a peculiarity, indeed, in which he has many fol- lowers : we refer to his great caution, tending to reserve, in mak- ing religion the subject of direct personal appeal to sinners. Some talk to these too much, because they talk indiscreetly ; others talk too little, because, when they do open their mouth, it gpeaketh right things. The former need a bridle on their tongues; RELIGIOUS CHANGE. 155 the latter should pray against bemg tonguetied. But to the remarks. " I concur with you in your views of the danger not only of business pursued, and of pleasure indulged as heretofore, but also of the vain and trifling intercourse, to which we must every day be unavoidably subjected" — [supposing the continuance of their legal practice.] "Your poet's advice is excellent, but a man must be well grounded in religion to make it safe for him, in general, to introduce topics connected with it into ordinary con- versation. There are undoubtedly times when it may be expe- dient and profitable to do so ; but commonly so sacred a subject should be reserved for the private intercourse of kindred minds, shut out from a giddy and thoughtless world, to commune with each other on God's dealings with their souls, and to build each other up in their most holy faith. This, I trust, will often be our sweet employ." "Feb. 28, 1813. — 'The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong.' Thou, Lord, art the only giver of victory, and vain are the efforts of men who rely upon their own strength, and call not upon thee for aid. be pleased to teach us every day our entire dependence upon thee. Give us true repentance, saving faith, willing obedience, enlarged love, perfect humility ; so that, having exercised all the graces with which thy Holy Spirit may endow us, we may still avow ourselves ' unprofitable servants,' and thankfully acknowledge that it is of thy free mercy only we are saved : — " Such have been the aspirations of my heart this day, both in the house of God and on my knees in this chamber. The gratitude which I feel towards this gracious Giver of every good and perfect gift, for his infinite condescension in inviting us to these approaches to his throne, burns at this moment in my bo- som with an ardor not to be described. Let holy David supply the song of thankful praise. ' I will praise thee, Lord ; even thy truth, my God. Unto thee will I sing upon the harp, thou Holy One of Israel. My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee, and my soul which thou hast redeemed. I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more. My mouth shall show forth thy righteousness, and thy salvation all MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. the day. I will go in the strength of the Lord God ; I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only.' " How greatly am I astonished when I look back at my for- mer misconceptions of religious truth. I refer not merely to its practical influence on the life and conversation, but to a theoret- ical view of it as a system. Those doctrines of the Gospel, on which, if I know my own feelings now, I consider all my hopes of eternal happiness as resting, were, to my understanding, so repulsive, that my constant effort was, not daring utterly to reject them, to qualify them so as to suit my own dark, limited, and perverted views. Forgetting that the great Supreme ' will never give his glory to another,' my endeavor was, to make poor, finite, feeble, and depraved man, the efficient cause of his own salvation ; in this delusion losing sight, in a very great degree, of the glorious and complete atonement of Christ, and evading the agency of the Holy Spirit in appropriating its benefits to the soul of the believer. Then did I employ myself in hewing out broken cisterns, and in amusing myself with many inventions calculated to strip the blessed Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ of all that I now see in it as most estimable and important. That ' it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps,' but that his deliverance from the thraldom of sin, and his hopes of everlasting happiness, rest wholly upon the offering made by ' the Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world,' and upon the regen- erating, converting, and sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit upon the heart, are now the pillars which support the whole -fabric of my religious faith. Without these fundamental doc- trines, the word of God degenerates into a mere system of ethics ; and the only surprising thing is, that such a mission as that of our Saviour's, his sufferings, and ignominious death, should have seemed necessary for so trifling an effect as that ascribed to them by those who thus depress His glorious merits, sacrilegiously, shall I say, to exalt their own. Such, once, were you and I. Such was the burden of our unprofitable, unsanctified discussions. Let our prayer to God be, that ' we may obtain mercy, because we did it igriorantly, and in unbelief.' For my part, I humble my- self before God for this and all my multiplied transgressions ; and confess, that were he strict to mark iniquity, I could not RELIGIOUS CHANGE. 157 abide it. But with him there is mercy and plenteous redemp- tion. Let us not despair of their extension even to us. He will yet give us to ' rejoice in the Lord, and to joy' even abundantly ' in the God of our salvation.' " " March 2, 1813. — L hope there is not an undue spice of self- complacency in the gratification which it gives me to hear from you, arising out of the kind things you are pleased to say of me ; for although I will not be so fastidious as to deny the value which I set upon your good opinion, yet the insight which it has pleased God to give me into my heart, and the hostility which it daily and hourly evinces to the operations of the Holy Comforter, will, I trust, sufficiently warn and guard me against spiritual pride, and the too favorable opinions of friends so partial as yourself." Yet this, or something else, as he says, " seemed to have obliterated the impressions of the Sabbath, and to have prostrated all his religious affections." " At an early hour in the evening, I retired to my chamber, and opened the sacred volume. It seemed to have no word of comfort for me, and I laid it aside, disposed to retire to my slum- bers without this their usual prelude. Happily, however, I have not latterly dared to go to my rest without a previous prostration at the footstool of the throne of grace. I wept bitterly at the necessity of entering on this solemn exercise with icy feelings ; nay, I fear, with almost a disposition to evade the duty. I am sure, I should have been glad to have a Christian friend with me, whose tongue might have relieved my own from a service for which I felt utterly unfit. But it was best for me to be deprived of this seeming blessing, this praying friend. Our heavenly Father did not suffer my apathy and torpor to continue long. The humble petition, that he would be pleased ' not to cast me away from his presence, nor take^his Holy Spirit from me,' but that he would ' give me the comfort of his help again, and stab- lish me with his free Spirit,' was not unanswered. My soul, before full of heaviness, and disquieted within me, ready to cry out unto the God of my strength, ' Why hast thou forgotten me ?' received new life from the warming, animating beams of divine love. My praises rose into rapture, and I left my requests with 158 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. the God of all grace, with a renewed confidence in his unchange- able goodness and truth ; exclaiming with holy David, I will ' put my trust in Grod ; I will yet thank him, who is the help of my countenance and my Grod.' I will only add, that thus prepared, the sacred volume gave me sweet employment until the lateness of the hour obliged me to retire to rest. To no one but yourself would I be thus particular. I am so to you, because the result of this conflict furnishes a consoling assurance of the efficacy of humble, fervent prayer ; a privilege and blessing so little prized, so much neglected." He goes on to say, " To-morrow is the last day of my public life," and to take a sort of review of his political principles and conduct during his membership in Congress, under the light of his new and higher views ; and then he adds, " But how I fatigue you with this endless talk about myself. Let me turn to the more grateful duty of congratulating you on your increased composure of mind, your consequent determina- tion to unite with the people of God in the holy comm anion, the gratifying circumstances of Mrs. Bradford's association with you in this solemn profession, and the consolations which you derive from your stated family observances. All these sources of hap- piness will, I hope, be one day mine. How long some of them may be postponed, I cannot tell. Some appeals to my nearest earthly friend are not answered as I could wish. But conversa- tion and prayer may, with higher aid, make more impression. My appeals are not rejected or negatived, but passed over slightly With a sort of acquiescence bordering on indifference. But per- haps I am mistaken in my opinion. Mrs. Milnor is too kind and affectionate, if it were for my sake only, to let me travel on alone. The heavenly Teacher will, I hope, make her, for her own sake, my companion in this, as in all the other duties of life." His next letter was written on the 4th of March, the day of President Madison's re-inauguration, while the writer was con- fined to his chamber by his old enemy, the gout. It turns chiefly on the event of the day, and the character of the war in which the country was involved ; and has, therefore, little or nothing to the purpose of these extracts. But, two days later, being still confined, he wrote again ; and his letter was full of interest. RELIGIOUS CHANGE. . 159 . " March 6, 1813. — I sit down, my worthy friend, to write you, in all probability, for the last time from this place. " In the series of letters already transmitted, I have endeav- ored to give you a faithful transcript of my feelings on the all- important subject of religion. Unless I have been under a great delusion, they describe to you a work of God upon my soul, pro- duced by the free and unmerited dispensation of his Spirit, for which I desire ever to be most thankful, and to manifest my gratitude by devoting, as he may enable me to do, the residue of my life to his holy service. Not that I expect to pay, by any imperfect labors of my own, the incalculable amount of obliga- tion which I owe my heavenly Benefactor. My blessed Surety has done for me what I never should have been able to do for myself, though an angel's powers had been mine. But although my Ransom has been offered and accepted, and I would not dare presumptuously to claim the merit of having contributed any thing towards it, yet, does not this astonishing goodness call upon me, by God's help, to '■ walk in all the commandments of the Lord blameless ?' And although Christian humility must make every redeemed sinner acknowledge, that after his best performances, he is '■ an unprofitable servant,' yet, does it exempt him from ex- ertion, and entitle him to 'stand all the day idle?' My former blindness on this plain and easy doctrine of our religion amazes me. The inseparable union of saving faith and good works, as cause and effect, whilst no reliance is placed on the latter as the efficient means of our salvation — this depends wholly on the atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ, the benefits of which are appropriated to ourselves by a lively faith, the gift of God's Holy Spirit working in us — is at this moment as clear to my appre- hension as the simplest proposition of which I can conceive," [though it were friend Aquila's " Two and two make four."] " However I appreciate — and I do most highly — the labors of pious men employed in the investigation of religious truth, it is a cause of rejoicing with me, that my hearty reception of this doctrine is derived from a higher authority, the fountainhead of know- ledge, the unerring word of God. My heart bounds within me, that I can add, the doctrine is sealed upon my conscience in an- swer to fervent, importunate supplication at the throne of grace ; 160 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. and every day gives me new evidence of its being the basis of every system of doctrine that can rightfully claim the Gospel of Christ for its support." All this is not unlike friend Aquila's ^^ solid conviction''^ of the truths which he found so precious ; and if this letter had been addressed to him, he might well have exclaimed, with thankful surprise, " The gay, the popular, the worldly Milnor has become a zealous convert to religion." " how comfortless would be our situation, how dismal our prospect for the future, had we to depend on any thing short of the right arm of God to bring us salvation ! Yes, thou self- righteous, presumptuous Pharisee, who art vaunting thy own performances before thy fellow-men, tell me, durst thou do so in the retirement of thy closet, and to thy God ? Dost thou ever pray ? If so, wherefore this unnecessary trouble ? But dost thou in secret acknowledge thy infirmities, and ask divine assistance ; while, before men, thou disolaimest both ? Strange inconsis- tency ! Tremendous infatuation ! Verily, unless thou art brought down from thy towering imaginations, and humbled at the feet of Jesus, and unless thou acknowledge to the world that thy help is laid upon One that is mighty, the most daring profligate might refuse to exchange his situation for thine. Divine truth may, at some moment, reach his heart, and subdue his love of sensuality and pleasure. But thou art wise above knowledge ; thou art wrapped in an impenetrable cloud of arrogance and self-conceit. Thou hast darkened counsel, rejected the Saviour's plan, and made a system for thyself ; forgetting that ' other foundation can no man lay, than that is laid,' without sinking into ruin with the tottering, baseless fabric of his own invention. Yet, the mercy of God is infinite, and a timely resort to it may prevent even thee from feeling how ' fearful a thing it is to fall into the hands of the living God.' " Such, I have thought, were I a commissioned officer of God, would be my address to those self- worshipping men ' who, profess- ing themselves to be wise, have become' such 'fools' as to sub- tract from the all-sufficiency of the gospel plan of redemption, and supply ' a cunningly devised fable ' of their own : to reject vir- tually, if not confessedly, the merits of an almighty Saviour, even RELIGIOUS CHANGE. 161 an incarnate God, by the substitution, or at least addition of some fancied merits of their own as necessary to salvation. Ah, it is cursed infidelity, however disguised ; it is the enmity of the carnal mind against God, that produces such delusions. In the work of repentance, wrought by God upon my heart, this ' root of bitterness ' has, I humbly trust, been extracted for ever ; and. now my prayer to God is, that every high thought and vain^ imagination may be laid low, and that, as the only fit prepara- tion for an entrance into that ' rest which remaineth for the peo- ple of God,' I may be ' washed in the blood of the Lamb,' be ' sanctified^ by divine grace, and be ^justified in the name of our Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.' "It is a great source of humble praise and thankfulness to Almighty God, that he has led me to love and obey him, or to attempt, in some sort, to do so ; that he has endeared to me the word of truth ; that he has opened to me a door of access, in prayer and supplication, through the blessed Mediator ; that he has revealed to my mind, by his Holy Spirit, some sense of par- doning grace for past transgressions ; and that he has given me a humble, but firm hope in the promises of the Gospel." The remainder of the letter is occupied with considerations calculated to guard his friend and himself from the entangle- ments of. business, and from the beguilings of pleasure ; accom- modating to these dangers the language of Solomon, when speak- ing of a peculiar class of perils, "Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can a man go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?" and closing with this reference to a future improvement of the means of Christian steadfastness : "We shall find, in their daily use, a comfort and security, that will minister to our souls' peace, and arm us against the fiery darts of the Evil One, and against all the efforts of his followers to seduce us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Although he supposed that the above would be his last letter from Washington, yet, on the evening of the same and the morn- ing of the next day he wrote another, a few extracts from which will close the account, furnished by this correspondence, of the development of his religious views and character. Mem. Hilnor. 1 1 162 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. "March 6 and 7, 1813. — ^What, another letter? Yes, my friend; but, with more truth than the announcements of our theatrical gentry import, 'positively the last performance in this city.' "My lameness, thank Grod, nearly removed, my accounts settled, and my passage taken in the close coach for Baltimore on Monday next, I shall, with divine permission, be then on my homeward way. "What pleasure have I in the prospect of a permanent reunion with my family and friends during the residue of such term on earth as Grod, in his wisdom, may be pleased to allow me. may he grant to you and me, when we are 'ready to be offered, and the time of our departure is at hand,' that complete and glorious assurance which enabled the great apostle, in view of death, exultingly to exclaim, ' I have fought a good fight ; I have finished my course ; I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteous- ness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.' Let us avail ourselves of the last encouraging as- surance, and seek, devoutly, perseveringly seek to be of the number of those who love the Lord's appearing." " In my former communications I have said but little on the awfal subject of death; but much, I hope, having a relation to the requisite preparation for that event. The truth is, that without meaning to undervalue the solemn incitements to duty, arising out of the denunciations of the G-ospel against the finally impenitent, which often affect me with deep and afflicting anxi- ety, I have to praise Grod that he has brought my mind to a real- izing sense of religion rather by the soothing and inviting prom- ises than by the soul-awakening terrors of his word. I feel as if I must love my Saviour for himself, for his own intrinsic excellence of character, independently of his love to me, unde- serving as I know myself to be of the smallest of his many favors. But when I look into my past life, and view myself the slave of sin and the bond-servant of iniquity ; living at the full meridian of gospel light, yet choosing darkness because my deeds were evil ; being almost without a sense of God's righteous government, and of my accountability to him ; and offering hira RELIGIOUS CHANGE. 16& external worship, the service of the lips, while my heart was far from him; when I consider that, in so hopeless a condition, his love should have reached even me, 'the chief of sinners,' and given me a comfortable prospect of pardon and acceptance; I find abundant cause for cleaving to him, even if an eternity of punishment did not — as assuredly it does — await a contrary course. So fully do I feel a Saviour's love shed abroad in my heart, that methinks, though a dreadful hell did not await ray desertion of him, I could never leave or forsake him. In this view of the ' constraining love of Christ,' the terrors of the law seem absorbed and lost, and the soul contemplates the great Je- hovah only as ' the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffer- ing, and abundant in goodness and truth, kee;ping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin.' Aithough I would not take from this sublime description of his charactei the remaining essential attribute of justice, exhibited in the con- cluding clause, that he ' will by no means clear the guilty.,' yet the idea which I wish to convey is, that the drawings of his love, rather than the threatenings of his law, have been the means of turning my heart to Grod. "Under such feelings, how do an attachment to life and a fear of DEATH diminish ! This it is that destroys the comeliness of all created things, and disrobes the tyrant of his terrors whenever he may approach. This it is that makes us see the mercy of God in all our earthly afflictions, and death itself to be but the pas- sage to ever-enduring happiness. The love of God in Christ dis- arms him of his sting, and robs the dark valley of the shadow of death of all its horrors. It was this that could make the great apostle say, ' For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain ;' and with all his desire of usefulness to the Church on earth, and of some prolongation of his life for that purpose, yet to acknowledge his ' desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.' " He had recently been reading Lindley Murray's " little book, called ' the Power of Religion on the Mind in affliction and retire- ment, and at the approach of death ;' " and had been much affected by its contents. He had also been studying "the eloquent and impassioned sermons of the late President Davies, of Prince- ton college ;" and gives a striking extract from one of the presii- 164 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. dent's letters to a friend, descriptive of his feelings on a supposed near approach of death. He adds, further, some extracts from the sermons, of great interest ; with one of which, and a few remarks thereon, he closes the correspondence with Mr. Bradford. This last extract from President Davies' sermons, with Mr. Mil- nor's remarks thereon, is as follows : " Finally," says the President, " let me congratulate my reverend brethren on their being made ministers of the New Testament, which reveals that glorious and delightful subject — ' Christ crucified ' — in full light, and diffuses it through all their studies and discourses. ' The Lamb that was slain,' is the theme that animates the songs of angels and saints above ; and even our unhallowed lips are allowed to touch it without profanation. Let us therefore delight to dwell upon it. Let us do full justice to the refined morality of the Gospel ; let us often explain and enforce the precepts, the graces, and the virtues of Christianity, and teach men to ' live soberly, righteously, and godly in this world ;' but let us do this in an evangelical strain, as ministers of the crucified Jesus, and not as the scholars of Epictetus or Seneca. Let us labor to bring men to a hearty compliance with the method of salvation through Christ, and then we shall find it comparatively an easy matter to make them good moralists. Then, a short hint of their duty to God and man will be more forcible than whole volumes of ethics while their spirits are not cast in the gospel mould." " I have little prospect," adds Mr. Milnor, " that I can be use- ful in the way suggested ; and yet I wish I could be, for I think I always loved my fellow-men ; and never so much as since I have convincingly felt the love of Christ on my own soul. The thought of being instrumental in saving one soul out of hell besides my own, would be more to me than the wealth of the Indies." This letter, as a whole, furnishes a fit close of the series to which it belongs. Mr. Milnor's remarks on death, and his refer- ence to President Davies' feelings in view of its "supposed near approach," were, as we shall see, sweetly illustrated in his own case, in the year 1825. His experience, too, in being drawn to Christ by love rather than driven to him by terror, famished the key-note to the harmony of his subsequent preaching of the RELIGIOUS CHANGE. 165 Gospel. He delighted in winning souls to heaven by the love of Christ, more than in terrifying them from hell by the thunders of wrath. And it is probable that every faithful preacher of Christ, when he comes to proclaim the Saviour to others, un- studyingly follows the course of his own experience under the work of conversion. John's preaching was fullest of love ; Paul's of light ; James's of practice ; and Peter's of warning and con- firmation for the brethren. His last extract, moreover, from President Davies, shows that a radical change had taken place in his own theological system, as well as in the temper of his heart. Formerly, he used to put morals before the Gospel, and even as a substitute for it, while yet he never reached a morality which was more than superficial and earthly ; but now, he had learned to put the Gospel before morals, not because morality is useless, but because he had found in the Gospel the power of God for producing such morals as live in heaven. And finally, his closing remarks on that extract prove that his mind was already ripe for the work of the ministry of reconciliation. His last words breathe the true spirit of Christ and of Paul, and of every largely successful preacher of the Cross: "The thought of being instru- mental in saving one soul out of hell besides my own, would be more to me than the wealth of the Indies." Allusion was made, some time since, to several letters to Mrs. Milnor and others, written during the progress of the foregoing correspondence, and containing passages of interest in their bear- ing on this period of Mr. Milnor's life. Those to Mrs. Milnor in particular, as breathing intense desires for her salvation, furnish the best evidence of the genuineness of his conversion. A few of these passages, therefore, will now be given ; and with them will close the view, proposed to be taken, of the work of grace in his heart, as presented in his own prolonged account. The letters to his wife, from which extracts have already been given, spoke mainly of external conformity to the ordinances of the Church. Those from which passages are now to be furnished, say little on those subjects, but abound in thoughts calculated to awaken her mind, and to lead her to an immediate turning unto God. " Jan. 30, 1813. — Do you begin to feel the power of religioil upon the heart ? Do you ever dare to hold communion with youl 166 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. Saviour in the privacy and stillness of your chamber ? Do you find pleasure and consolation in reading the sacred book of God ? Oh, it is to the true Christian a most invaluable treasure of know- ledge and of comfort ; and if my heavenly Father enables me to overcome the seductions and temptations of a wicked world, I will regulate my faith and my practice by its blessed doctrines and precepts. I am covered with shame and remorse at my past inexcusable folly and neglect. Boundless riches of grace before me, and I so poor, and needy, and miserable, and naked ! A gar- den, abounding in every variety of spiritual pleasure, so near me, and I roaming in pursuit of the gilded but perishing vanities of this world ! "What madness ! What infatuation ! But, thanks be to God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, this winter has been to me a precious winter ; and, since I left you, almost every day has given me new cause to adore and magnify the goodness of God in opening my eyes to a view of the exceeding sinfulness of sin ; of the absolute want of personal merit in myself, and of any ability to save myself; of the astonishing display of divine mercy in the gospel scheme of salvation ; and of my duty rever- ently and gratefully to accept its beneficent terms." " Give your mind to the contemplation of this all-important subject. I will pray daily for you, as for myself, that we may each receive the openings of divine illumination. Only rernem- ber one thing, God requires the heart, the ivhole heart, to be surrendered to him ; and when this is done, he will change it, regenerate it, wash it from every defilement, and prepare it for its final state of perfect happiness." " Feb. 12, 1813. — -From the brevity, infrequency, and reserve of your letters to me this winter, I conclude that those with which I occasionally trouble you, afford you but little pleasure." [They had not, like those of the previous winter, abounded in pleasant details of gay life in Washington. The truth was, as he goes on to say,] " The experiment has been long tried of making a compromise between religion and the world. I find it will not do ; and if I am strengthened by divine grace to maintain my resolution, I am determined to abstract myself as much as possi- ble from the haunts of pleasure. All associations inconsistent with the innocence and purity at which I desire to aim, must by .'HELIGIOUS CHANGE. 167 me be laid aside, because the book of God and the teachings of his Holy Spirit direct such a course of self-denial as absolutely- necessary to a soul resolutely bent on the cultivation of the Chris- tian life, 0, my dear Ellen, can you not be my companion and ' help-meet ' on the way to heaven ? Thitherward all my desires and wishes tend. Come with me, my best earthly friend. " I doubt not your willingness to renounce the gayeties of life. In these you have hitherto little mixed. In this respect, I have abundantly more to answer for than you. But, my love, you must do more than this. You must not talk of intending to be serious. Consider the brevity and uncertainty of life, and the awful consequences of dying in an unconverted state. ' Noio is the accepted time ; now is the day of salvation.' Now, if we call on the blessed Saviour, he will hear our voice, and grant our humble supplications. let us see in its proper light the de- formity of sin. It was that which nailed our bleeding Lord to the accursed tree. It is that which now separates us from him, and prevents these cold and flinty hearts from breaking out in rapturous strains of love and praise for such an astonishing dis- play of grace and mercy to a perishing world. Shall he have bled and died for us in vain ? Assuredly this will be the case, if we refuse to accept the terms proffered in the Gospel. "What are they ? A turning unto God by faith in Christ, and repent^ ance for past transgressions ; and even these things are not ex- pected to be done by us in our own natural strength : divine assistance is promised to every humble penitent. Christ's all- sufficient grace will never be withheld in time of need. No matter what have been our offences, though they be red like scarlet or crimson, he will make them white as snow. He re- quires nothing on our part but the surrender of ourselves into his hands, as a faithful Shepherd, who never abandons his flock. Neither does he expect us to come to him in a state of holiness : he knows our infirmities, and the natural depravity of our hearts. We are to approach the footstool of sovereign mercy just as we are, owning ourselves sinners by nature, and sinners by practice ; giving up every claim of self-righteousness or self-dependence, and relying wholly upon him to make us what he would have us to be. Be persuaded, my Ellen, to read the Scriptures, especially 168 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. the New Testament ; and try to lay hold, by faith, of the gracious promises which there abound. Doubt not the love of the adora- ble Saviour. By his Spirit, he will fan the fading embers of piety in your heart into a flame of glowing devotion ; and you will find a pleasure, and take an interest in the exercises of public and private worship, such as you never before experienced. I am awfully convinced, that if we are not finally saved, it will be our own fault ; for God has put all the means immediately within our reach. Let us cordially, and with full purpose of heart, make use of them. Neither let us be ashamed of assuming the Cross of Christ. I mean not by putting on any affectation of extraordinary sanctity — that was the vice of the Pharisees, which Christ so severely reprehended — no, let our faith and piety be evinced by the holiness of our lives ; by attending regularly on public worship ; by joining in the ordinances of the church ; by reading attentively the word of Grod, which contains the message of eternal life ; by charity and kindness to our fellow-men ; by a renunciation of all sinful pleasures ; and, dare I venture to sug- gest it ? by family prayer. These things will recommend us to the favor of our heavenly Father " — [a remnant of his olden phraseology still cleaving to him^ which, a month later, he would have cast away as a filthy rag of self-righteousness] — "and though a gainsaying world may sneer at our course, we shall yet have inward peace, and the hope that ' we may die the death of the righteous, and that our last end may be like his.' "0 do not give me a cold answer, in a single sentence, to these well-meant suggestions. Lay them to heart. Take up this letter a second and a third time, and then tell me unreserv- edly your feelings. If I did not love you most sincerely, I would not write thus to you. If I had not, in a measure, felt the grace of God on my own heart, I should not dare to invite you to seek after a change of yours. My attainments are infinitely small, but I have ' laid my help upon One who is mighty to save,' and who will ' save, to the uttermost, all who come unto God through him.' I solicit you to do the same ; and then there is no danger but that, persevering in the ways of his appointment, we shall spend a happy life, so far as it is attainable in this vale of tears, and a happier eternal life in the Paradise of God." RELIGIOUS CHANGE. 169 The only remaining letter to Mrs. Milnor from which we shall quote, was dated, " Feb, 27, 1813. — If," says he, " the cause of your increased reluctance" to write " arises from a secret dislike to the serious tenor of my letters this winter, it would grieve me much more" than if it were found in your mere want of fondness for the pen. " For, as I wish you to be a partaker with me in every earthly enjoyment, so do I most ardently desire that we may be joint participants in that happiness which is laid up for the righteous in the world to come. Every day enamours me more and more with the beauties and consolations of religion. It has been the pleasure of Grod to turn my heart to it with increased ardor, and to cheer me with the prospect of that great ' recompense of re- ward,' which has been purchased for us by the atoning blood of the dear Redeemer, on whose merits only do I desire to rely for every hope of future blessedness. There is no enthusiasm, no delusion, in these enlivening prospects. They are founded on the immutable promises of God in the word of truth, and are of more value than all the riches, and honors, and pleasures of an unsatisfying world. My future life must, therefore, be conformed, so far as weak and wavering human nature wiU permit, to the rules of the blessed Gospel. All other things must be held sub- ordinate to this ; and you too, my endeared partner, must arouse your slumbering affections, take up your cross, and follow after Christ." Perhaps God was then teaching her to do what her husband so earnestly urged, and thus her neglect of writing may have had no other than its old cause. The other contemporaneous letters, to which allusion has been made, were addressed to Bishop "White and the Rev. Jackson Kemper, the latter an assistant minister in the parish of which the bishop was rector. From those to the latter a few extracts are subjoined. " Feb., 1813. — Rev. and dear sir, I write to you confidentially as a friend, and most seriously and respectfully as an ambassador of God, and one of those appointed to minister among us in holy things. It is on a subject upon which, though, in the Laodicean state of too many among us, it may be unusual for individuals 170 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. to make their feelings known to you, yet, if I rightly apprehend the measure of your zeal in the cause of religion and the salva- tion of souls, a disclosure, whenever made in sincerity and from right motives, will be properly appreciated, and receive its merited attention. Religion has, in a vague and unsettled manner, af- fected my mind occasionally from my earliest recollection. Some- times it has warmed and animated my heart. Sometimes I have been involved in speculations calculated to lessen its effect as the governing principle and rule of life and conduct ; and sometimes, by subtracting from the peculiar doctrines of Christianity, I have weakened its divine authority and made it a mere system of morality, which the human mind, limited as it is, might have been competent to frame without the intervention of the wisdom of the Most High, or the sufferings and death of his blessed Son. " In the providence of God, I have had my mind drawn to this interesting subject in a way which I have never before ex- perienced." He then proceeds to a brief account of the progress of his change, coincident with that already laid before the reader in the extracts from his letters to Mrs. Milnor and his friend Bradford; after which he adds, " I do not state these things to you boastingly. ' God forbid that -I should glory, save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.' My heart tells me that I have nothing to boast of It is of the goodness of my heavenly Father that my eyes have been partially opened, and I rely wholly upon his all-sufficient grace to enable me, ' forgetting those things which are behind, to press towards those things which are before — ^towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.' " Then follows a proposal to present himself for Confirmation and the Lord's supper, at the first convenient opportunity after his return to Philadelphia ; to which he subjoins, " I am suitably aware of the awful responsibility of such a measure ; but entering upon it, as I trust, under the direction of God's word impressed by his Spirit upon my heart, with a con- firmed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, in his atonement for the sins of a lost and ruined world, and in the gracious promises of his Gospel, on them will I depend for the performance of the RELIGIOUS CHANGE. 171 duty, and for aid to follow it by a corresponding obedience to the commandments of God in my subsequent life and deportment. " I am sure you will pardon this egotism. It is an observa- tion of the great Lord Bacon, that 'the communicating of a man's self to his friend, worketh two contrary effects ; for it re- doubleth joys, and cutteth griefs in half; arid there is no man that imparteth his joys to his friend, but he joyeth the more ; and no man imparteth his griefs to his friend, but he grieveth the less.' Such is the only apology I now offer for opening my mind to you, whom I desire to consider not merely in the formal relation of my spiritual instructor, but in the still more tender one of a friend and brother in Christ." The rest of the letter is occupied in requesting Mr. Kemper's " counsel and assistance in his future course," particularly in the selection of works for a practical religious library, and in rejoic- ing anticipations of a speedy return to his family, and the privi- leges of the Church. To this letter, Mr. Kemper returned the answer formerly noticed in the correspondence with Mr. Brad- ford, after which Mr. Milnor addressed him a second, dated, " Feb. 27, 1813. — I thank you sincerely, my dear sir, for your kind and affectionate letter, and cordially accept it as a pledge of our union in the cause of Christ. For myself, I can promise but little. Every day furnishes new evidence to my mind of the necessity of abandoning self-confidence, and of placing my reliance upon Him only who is ' mighty to save.' Since my attention has been turned with more closeness than heretofore to the interesting concerns of religion, the dangerous hinderances with which I meet to the Christian's progress in holiness have filled me with apprehensions, such as, in my recent state of self- security, were wholly unknown to me." "I entreat your prayers that I may be succored by the aids of divine grace, so that I may fall ' into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger.' " I rejoice at the intimations given in your letter, of an in- creased concern in some of our members about their immortal souls, and pray God that it may manifest itself in an open pro- fession of religion on the part of many. How strange, that we should be ashamed to be known as Christ's real disciples ! Yet I speak both from observation and from experience, when I say, 172 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. that a fear of this world's censure and criticisms, and of an abridgment of its pleasures, deters many, who are not without a respect for religion, nor without occasional alarms in their con- sciences for their want of conformity to it, from openly acknow- ledging themselves the followers of Christ. Even at this mo- ment, with all my strong desires after a saving interest in his merits, and resolutions to embrace every means of grace which his goodness has provided, the tempter often assails me with such suggestions. A loss of business, arising from more scrupulous- ness in its selection ; a loss of acquaintance, proceeding from the same cause ; a relinquishment of some long-established schemes of pleasure ; the world's scorn, and evil imputations ; a dread of singularity, and a numerous train of similar difficulties, are pow- erful in weakening good determinations, and in diverting the mind from ' the one thing needful.' And yet, when rightly viewed, some of these have no foundation ; and with respect to others, religion would be valuable, independently of its holier ends, if its only effect were to destroy an ill-judged fondness for many things alike unprofitable both for this world and for that which is to come. But when considered in relation to our duties to God, as the great author of our existence, and in relation to ourselves as rebels against his divine authority, yet reconciled to him and freely pardoned through the sacrifice of his Son, how insignificant appear all other things compared with ' the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord,' and an assurance of an interest in his blessed atonement ! Here, by his gracious aid, WILL I TAKE UP MY REST ; iu all my weakness relying upon his strength, and in the midst of trials and temptations depending wholly upon him, who has promised that he ' will not suffer us to be tempted above that we are able to bear.' " Such, then, viewed in the light of his private journals and of his own letters at the time and since, was that eminent work of grace in his heart which — after long years of indulgence in the dream of a universal salvation, in "a mischievous conceit of the merit of human works," or of man's virtual sufficiency to save himself, and in a strenuous warfare against evangelical truth in general and Calvinism in particular — the Holy Spirit accom- plished in the once unbelieving and worldly subject of this me- RELIGIOUS CHANGE. 173 moir. It has been supposed that the process had its beginning during his congressional career, and that it might be traced to particular incidents lying within that period of his life ; but our researches have shown that, in reality, it dates from a point much further back in his history.* It is plain that his first step towards the truth, under the divine leadings, was taken soon after the receipt of his friend Bolton's pungent letters, during the sec- ond year of his married life. He began his course by resolving to search the Scriptures, that he might see whether they taught his creed of a universal salvation. This, however, drove him, as a preparatory step, to examine the evidences of revelation, the claims of the Bible to divine inspiration. In this search, he seems to have acted like a lawyer only, in the weighing and sifting of testimony ; and he accordingly came to no more than a lawyer's conclusion, a mere faith of the rational understanding, that the Bible is God's word. He now proceeded to the reading of its contents, and, in doing so, soon found that they do not teach his then favorite theory of the salvation of all men. Still, he was not prepared to receive their plain, obvious meaning ; he there- fore set himself to his protracted labor of interpreting them in * Dr. Wm. H. Milnor, in his "Recollections," has the following remarks : " There have heen many reports respecting the instrumental cause of his con- version ; none of them, I believe, entirely correct. Some of the circumstances related very probably promoted the change ; but none, I think, originated it. One incident doubtless made a powerful impression. On one of his visits to Philadelphia, during his term in Congress, his little daughter Anna met him, as he entered the house, with the exclamation, ' Papa, do you know I can read ?' ' No,' said he ; ' let me hear you.' ' Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,' were the words which she happened to select. A chord in his heart vibrated in harmony. It seemed to come as a solemn ad- monition. Out of the mouth of babes God was teaching him. Still, human agency had little to do with his change. The Spirit of God was moving within him, and gradually drawing him from worldly thoughts and scenes to the retirement of his closet, where he could commune with his own heart and be still." His friend Bradford also, in his " Reminiscences," mentions the following incident. " Religious subjects were evidently interesting to him for a long time before his conversion, though he was not distinctly aware of it. I well remember calling upon him one evening at his house in Walnut-street, when he remarked, that he had just read ' The Dairyman's Daughter,' and had wept over it; and that his wife had read it, and Patty the cook had read it, with similar feelings." 174 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. accordance with what now became his equally favorite theory of the merit of works, of man's supposed ability to save himself. Thus he entered his long warfare against the truth — at first un- der the Presbyterian ministry of Linn and Wilson, and afterwards under the Episcopal teachings of "White and Abercrombie, Kem- per and Pilmore. In that warfare, evidently, he was now and then hit by the arrows of light, shot by the hand of some evan- gelical archer ; so that, when he finally entered the strife of the political arena, he went with a strange mixture of light and dark- ness, and with the risings of a mysterious interest in religion, which, as yet, he did not comprehend. His political career lay amid scenes agitated by the awakening of the savage demon of war ; at fij-st stirring the blood of the nation for fight, and then maddening that blood with the hot passions of conflict. Against all this, his spirit and his principles, derived perhaps from early association with the peace-loving Friends, and fostered by his own peace-making dispositions, led him, with unusual vehemence, to protest on the floor of Congress. Politics, as embodied in war- making and war- waging measures, became more and more the loathing of his soul. His heart sickened at the exhibitions which he beheld, of strife, intrigue, and party bitterness. His difficulty with Mr. Clay, though met and averted with firmness and dig- nity, may well be supposed to have deepened the sentiment, already settling down into his nature, of utter aversion to politi- cal life, as distinguished from political science. In the longings of his spirit, he turned away towards something quieter and more loving, as better fitted to a right discipline of mind and a rational enjoyment of life. His first thoughts seem to have been of union with the Church by compliance with its outward forms, in con- nection, it is true, with some creditable measure of his former habits of easy conformity with the world. Even these thoughts, however, brought him, more directly than ever, into secret inter- course with himself; and, ere he was aware of it, the Holy Spirit was leading him down, below outward, visible forms, into deep, inner experiences. Doubtless, there was much in his condition favorable to some new development of character. A man in Congress, who cannot grow fond of its business and excitements, will very likely be RELIGIOUS CHANGE. 175 driven into himself, or towards some form of life different from those around him. This tendency in Mr. Milnor's case was even peculiarly strong. Peacefully and domestically attempered as he was, he was yet compelled to hear war thundering almost at the gates of the capitol, and politics filling every place with its din of angry words. Home, too, with its endearments, to him peculiarly dear, was far away ; and even the fashionable amusements of "Washington, however agreeable in themselves to his old, long- cherished tastes, were so identified with the actors and the actings of the strifeful scene around him, that he grew more and more sated and incapable of finding in them what his earnest longings asked. Hence, his own private chamber became the place of his frequentest resort, and books and thought his pleasantest entertain- ments. The very wearisomeness of the outer world drove him into the home of his own mind, and to the company of his own re- flections ; and, considering the current of his thoughts before he entered Congress, it is not surprising, that the influences, by which he was now surrounded, led him into meditation on those aspects of religion which had hitherto lain nearest his view, its outward institutions. But there the train of tendencies must have stopped, or turned, had there not been a higher impelling and guiding power. That power was not absent. Far back in his soul, be- hind the disgusts and longings which he felt ; deep in his heart, underneath the movements and tendencies to which he yielded, the Holy Spirit was doing his own proper work. While the weary congressman was thinkir;ig of union ^yith the outward Church, that divine Agent opened his heart to a sight and a sense of his sins ; uncovered and touched the sore, which self-delusion had so long been hiding ; stripped him of every remnant of his old self-righteousness ; showed him his utter inability to save himself by any work or merit of his own ; opened, as though at his left hand, a door into the world of woe, through which, for a moment, came up low but deep whisperings of the wrath and misery which he had deserved ; and then, closing the dismal pit, and opening golden portals at the right, led him gently on, till he stood more and more fully in the light of the love of Christ, and felt his whole soul drawn and bound to the glorious Redeemer by responsive gratitude and praise : in a word, till he learned to 176 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. love Jesus for his own sake and loveliness ; and religion, because he saw in it the spirit of Jesus, and found in it so deep a spring of pure and heavenly joy. , This, doubtless, by those who have read the foregoing pages, will be recognized as, though a condensed, yet a true history of the process by which the mind of Milnor was led from its earlier darkness and hostility to the truth, to its later light and love for Him who is the truth. He knew well what is meant by deep convictions of sin and of his own deservings of everlasting death ; and yet he was, in an eminent sense, drawn to Christ by the power of love. He felt the terrors of wrath ; but he yielded to " THE ATTRACTIONS OF THE Cross." In his casc, the most power- ful teachings of the Father were given in the light of love ; and in the light of love the offices of the Son stood most winningly manifest. Hence, the character into which he was formed, was one of ardent love /or Christ, and of realized love /rom Christ. He felt much, because he had received much, of that love which is unspeakable, in that it " passeth knowledge." These were the earlier rudiments of his Christian character ; and they came out in all its after-growth and combinations, amid the changes and the trials of life. He was from the first a loving disciple ; and all his further activities were truly the " labor of love." HIS MINISTRY. 177 PART III. DR. MILNOR'S MINISTRY FROM 1814 TO 1830. SECTION I. Mr. Milnor's ultimate dislike of legal practice was more a principle than a sentiment, as his distaste for political life was rather feeling than judgment. He loathed political life, because he saw it steeped in so much strife and corruption on the part of others : he dreaded the practice of the law, because he saw it would be dangerous to his own new-born faith and hope. He abandoned political life, because his soul was sick of its unprin- cipled demagoguism : he shrunk from the renewed practice of the law, because his conscience was afraid of what seemed its almost necessary dishonesty. He could have loved politics, had politicians been all fair men and true ; he could not have been satisfied with the practice of the law, unless the very principles of that practice, as too generally held, had been reformed. Hence, so soon as he found, clustering in his heart, evidences that he was indeed become a new-born child of G-od, he came to the simul- taneous conclusions, that he would not continue in political life if he could, and that he could not resume the practice of the law if he would. His heart leaped to get away from Congress ; his judgment dreaded a return to the bar. No sooner, therefore, was the great question for eternity settled, than uprose a subordinate question for time : How should he spend the remainder of his life? Upon what new course of action and of usefulness did duty now call him to enter? During his last weeks in Wash- irigton, a dimly traced shadow from his future profession seemed to fall upon his mind, but it soon passed off; and it was not till after his return to Philadelphia that it reappeared. There, how- ever, its reappearance was in clear and distinct outlines, because Mem. MUnor. 1 2 178 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. he stood in stronger light and nearer the reality from which the shadow fell. A thought, that he might be called to preach the Gospel, glided, for a moment, into his mind while at the capital, and then flitted out again ; but, when he reached home, it came back and settled with him, and grew into a big conviction, and got to be imperative, and finally ordered him, as by a voice from God, to go his way, put his hand to the plough, and never look back, till he should have sowed and reaped — ^till, from the harvest in eternity, he could remember and rejoice over his going forth to the work in time. Upon that portion of his life, spent in obe- dience to this divine behest, we are now to enter. It commenced when he was about closing his fortieth year. His decision in favor of the work of the ministry as his fu- ture profession, seems to have followed very closely his return to Philadelphia, and his temporary resumption of legal practice. He left Washington the 9th of March, 1813, and on the 3d of April " waited on Bishop White, and acquainted him with his deter- mination to relinquish the profession of the law, and with the views which he entertained of entering on the study of divinity." On the 5th, he announced the same determination to his friend and pastor the Rev. Mr. Kemper, and on the 7th applied, through Bishop White, to the standing committee of the diocese, for ad- mission as a candidate for orders ; having already, as he remarks in his communication, " entered upon the course of studies pre- paratory thereto, as directed by the House of Bishops." From that time till the first of June, he was engaged, chiefly, in arranging his temporal affairs with a view to his retirement into the country for the more quiet prosecution of his studies ; and on the 2d of that month he removed his family to Norristown, the neighborhood of Mrs. Milnor's birthplace, and the scene of his first practice in the law. Here, by permission from his bishop, be soon connected with his preparation for the ministry the labors of catechist and lay-reader in St. John's church, a new Episcopal parish; evincing thus a desire to do some good, even while pre- paring for a fuller measure of usefulness. It is a fact of some interest, that Norristown, which gave him his partner for life and the mother of all his children, became also the scene of his earliest labors, both in the law and iu the Gospel. HIS MINISTRY. 179 Very soon after his change of views, and his intended change of profession, became known, almost in the first weeks of his theological study, he received very encouraging testimony to the esteem in which he was held, and to the value set on his expected labors. This testimony came in the shape of pressing invitations to two of the most important parishes in our Church south of Philadelphia : one in Baltimore, vacant by the removal of Dr. Beasley to the provostship of the Pennsylvania University ; the other in Richmond, just built on the site of the theatre which perished in the melancholy conflagration of a previous year. Each of these parishes wished to engage his services in advance ; the one was willing to receive him as a lay-reader, the other to wait the time of his ordination. He however respectfully de- clined the solicitations of both, and left the choice of his place of labor to be decided when he should find himself ready for the field. It was, indeed, Bishop White's wish, and that of many friends in Philadelphia, that he should reserve himself for a place in the united churches of his native city ; and to a compliance with their wishes his heart was evidently inclined ; but even on this point he avoided committing himself so long as he continued a mere student of divinity. His duties as catechist and lay -reader at Norristown were of unexpectedly short continuance. They were interrupted during" the summer by an almost fatal sickness, which fell first on him- self and then on Mrs. Milnor, who had nursed him ; and this sickness was followed by their return to Philadelphia, late in the autumn of the year, whiere he resumed and continued his studies till the period of his ordinatipn, August 14, 1814. Illustrative of this whole period of study, from the spring of 1813 to the summer of 1814, several passages in his diary and letters must here be inserted : they will put life into what would otherwise be a mere dry skeleton of events. The first of these passages will show by what feelings his mind was agitated when he came, amid old friends and associates in Philadelphia, amid the scenes of his former gayeties and the clustering of his former interests, to the practical task of publicly announcing his total change of religious views, and his proposed change of professional pursuits. The hold of fixed habits in gay society upon one of 180 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. its cherished votaries, and of flattering prospects of honor and emolument upon one of their favorite candidates, was seldom stronger, or called for greater firmness of soul in order to their breaking, than in the case of him whose character and course we have hitherto been tracing. He felt deeply the power of the associations by which he was begirt. There was a sacrifice to be made, a cross to be taken up, and he realized how heavy, to mere nature, they were to prove ; but he also found how light, to the power of grace, they may be made, and rejoiced in giving up, for Christ's sake, all that forty years of intense existence had made most attractive to his heart. He writes, in his diary, under date of "April 2, 1813. — The impressions of religious truth made upon my mind at Washington, have continued since my return ; and the suggestions made in some of my letters to Mr. Bradford, with respect to the difficulties of my profession, have recurred with great force, in consequence of the resumption of my pro- fessional pursuits. So many cases occur not to be reconciled with that profession of religion which I feel myself called upon to make, and so majiy entanglements and distractions are connected with all its pursuits, that, after much meditation and prayer to God for divine direction, I have determined on a relinquishment of practice. At the same time, while it has pleased Almighty God to point out this, as the only safe course for me to pursue, he has also directed my choice to the ministry, as a means of being, in some small degree, useful during the residue of my days. It is some time since distant prospects of this sort have glanced across my mental vision. A sense of my unworthiness of so high a calling, in respect to the qualifications both of head and of heart, has, however, soon obscured them; until, more recently, an abiding impression of duty has pointed me to the assumption of this cross as on my part indispensable. My de- cision, therefore, can be no longer delayed. I resign, I trust cheerfully, all prospects of fame, fortune, and worldly pleasure, to enlist myself as a soldier under the Captain of my salvation; and trust in his support to aid me in every trial and conflict to which this measure, so strange and unexpected to my friends, will expose me. It were idle, however, to conceal either from HIS MINISTRY. 18] myself or from others, the conflicts through which my mind has passed in reaching this result. The natural man assents not readily to sacrifices of wealth, ambition, style of living, acquaint- ances, and a thousand other ligaments which tie him to the world and its enjoyments. But, through God's grace, I hope to over- come the world, and willingly to relinquish every thing that may come in conflict with the work of religion in my own heart, or the improvement of such humble means as the Lord may vouch- safe me of being useful to others. " Nevertheless, God, let me presume on nothing in my own strength. Grant me the all-sufficient aids of thy Holy Spirit ; and enable me thereby, when I shall have laid my hand to the plough, to look not back, but to follow the leadings of the heav- enly Guide, and become, if not a highly useful, at least a truly faitiiful laborer in the vineyard of Christ. I ask it in his name, and for his blessed merit's sake. Amen." He evidently felt that now, of a truth, he was at the great turning-point of his life ; and every step which he took was with much pondering of his way, and with much prayer for guidance. He had, some time before, associated with himself, as law-partner, and manager of his business while he was in Washington, his nephew, William Milnor, a young man of promise in his profes- sion. To thig young beginner his experience and patronage were of great value ; and he deeply felt the painfulness of disappoint- ing the hopes which his relative had been building on the ground of their partnership. The trial thus brought upon him quickened his sensibility to all his other trials, and drove him with increas- ing earnestness to the throne of grace. On the evening of the day on which, as we have seen, he first communicated to Bishop White his intention to devote himself to the work of the minis- try, he made the following entry in his diary. His written prayer is valuable as evincing the views with which he looked forward to his new profession. " April 3, 1813. — In the evening I communicated for the first time, to my nephew and partner, my intention to give the whole of our practice into his hands ; and expressed to him the regret which I could not avoid feeling, at being obliged to withdraw from him that assistance in professional duty which he had ex- 182 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. pected from me on my return from Congress. He expressed his regret at the change, but at the same time his perfect approba- tion of the motives which induced it, and a willing acquiescence in our separation. " I have other crosses and trials to meet in fulfilling my in- tentions ; but the Lord, in whom I trust, and whom I desire to serve, will support me in them all, if I steadily maintain my faith- fulness towards him. " Yes, blessed God, my confidence is in thee only. enable me to persevere manfully in the work which thou hast assigned me. Enlighten my mind with a knowledge of thy truth, and endue it with ability, when the time shall come, to communicate that truth to others ; and 0, gracious Father, grant that, if it should be thy will to prolong my life until the allotted term of preparation for the ministry of thy word shall elapse, I may be enabled to preach thy Gospel in its own purity ; and that, while I warn others, I may not myself become a castaway. Give me solemn views of the immense importance and responsibility of the oflice on which I purpose to enter. Grant me the refreshings of thy Spirit from day to day. Open to me more and more the mysteries of thy word ; and forbid, merciful God, that I should either hold the truth in unrighteousness, or in any manner mistake the mean- ing and intention of the divine oracles. Grant me mental activ- ity and persevering diligence in the acquisition of religious know- ledge ; ability profitably to digest whatever I may read or hear ; and both the disposition of heart and the capacity of mind to ren- der all my attainments beneficial to myself and others. But, God, in a more special manner keep me constantly and fervently affected with love for thee and thy dear Son ; fill me with brighter and more evangelical views of the greatness of that salvation, wrought out by Him for perishing sinners ; and fix indelibly on my mind the determination to know only Jesus Christ and him crucified. May the great atonement, and the divine character of the blessed Saviour, be prorhinent objects of my daily contempla- tions; and may I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. Strengthen my faith in the all-sufficiency of his blood and cross for the salvation of sin- ners ; and when utterance shall be given in his righteous cause. HIS MINISTRY. 183 enable me to hold him forth as a propitiation for the sins of the world, in such a manner as may induce many to accept his merits, to exercise a lively faith in him as a Saviour, and to renounce for ever the filthy rags of their own righteousness for that wedding- garment of the Lamb, which can alone qualify them to be guests at the marriage-supper provided for the redeemed of God in the blood of Christ." This is a truly appropriate prayer to be left lying on record amid the trials of the period in which he broke from the entangle- ments of human law, and sought seclusion for the study of the divine counsels. Meditating the work of the Christian ministry with such views and aspirations, and under the pressure of those alLconstraining motives which his spirit felt, his subsequent abounding usefulness was but a result of God's faithfulness to his gracious promises. At the time of his entry, April 5, we find him engaged " in sec- ular concerns," but not without mingling therewith an effort to do good to his friend J S , whom he found to be "feeling somewhat after religion." He also records an account, " as sin- gular as it was pleasing," of the conversion of L M , "an emipent lawyer in Baltimore, advanced in years, who had been equally celebrated for his powerful eloquence at the bar, and for his notorious sacrifices at the shrine of Bacchus." After noticing this man's appearance at a public religious meeting, where he engaged in exhortation and prayer, in a manner " which for fervor and sublimity astonished all who heard him," the adoring diarist exclaims, " Thanlcs be to God, his power is infinite. He shows mercy where he will show mercy, and can as easily convert the fliaty heart of the oldest and most obdurate offender, as the soft and tender one of the most willing and yielding suppliant at the throne of grace. Glory be to God for the riches of his grace in Christ Jesus." Amid the incessant activities which now engrossed him, we hear nothing further from him till he was ready to leave Phila- delphia for Norristown. He then felt that his severance from the world, so far as outward associations were concerned, was com- plete, and was enabled to look back upon what he was leaving without a sigh. " The separation," says his diary for June 1, 184 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. " from so many objects of attachment, I am thankful to God, has not cost me many pangs. To my beloved partner, it has been a more severe trial ; but her mind at length acquiesces more cheer- fully than I could have expected ; and when once we shall be quietly seated in our new abode, I have no doubt she will be better pleased, than she has been with the gayety and frivolity of a city life." On the 3rd of June, he was busy in setting their new abode in order, and especially in arranging the furniture of his study. He found that abode " agreeable," and that study, though " small," yet " airy and commodious ;" and having taken possession, he proceeded to record a suitable act of dedication, in which, amid the hallowing strains of prayer, he consecrated himself, his house- hold, and his little study, to Him whom he had covenanted to serve. Bending in that quiet retreat which was to witness his sacred studies, we may easily conceive with what fervor h^ . poured forth his heart's dedicatory act, in the following fervent but chastened strain. "Vouchsafe, God, thy special presence and direction in all the exercises in which I may here from time to time be occupied. Afford the aids of thy Holy Spirit in every act of devotion, that so I may learn to pray aright, and offer thee the unadulterated homage of the heart. Open thou my understanding, that I may understand the Scriptures. Chase away every rising doubt in- cited by the subtlety of the Tempter. Banish error, unbelief, and every unhallowed thought from this place. Teach me to know, and reverence, and love thee with all the faculties of my heart and mind, and to hate sin and all its defilements with a perfect hatred. Cleanse me from all my impurities, keep down rebel- lious passions, and arm me with strength effectually to resist every temptation from without and from within. I desire, merciful God, to consecrate myself unreservedly to thee and thy service. But I am humbled and abased at my own unworthiness of the least of thy favors, and my inability to make thee any ade- quate return. Yet, through Christ, my weakness may be made strength, and the imperfect performances of an imbecile and sin- ful creature may be accepted for the infinite merit's sake of the blessed Redeemer. For his sake, then, merciful Father, accept HIS MINISTRY. 185 of me and mine ; make us happy in the smiles of thy counte- nance here, and elevate us hereafter to the joys of th^hea¥#ftl^ kingdom. vr^^^fC^^ ^^^^ J/'^^S' n? THE " ' Let cares like a wild deluge Game// ^ " iin^ c« T T* V And storms of sorrow fall, I/tT 'JiTT'y-&»*'*^ May I but safely reach my home,* My God, my heav'n, my all. Mim"^^ There shall I bathe my weary soul In seas of heavenly rest, And not a wave of trouble roll Across my peaceful breast.' " Having thus appropriately set in order both his outer and his inner house, he proceeded, on the following day, to settle the course in which his daily duties should proceed. ' Though con- stitutionally inclined to system, he had yet found it difficult to reduce either the labors of legal practice, or "the pursuits of legal study, to any thing like invariable rule. He felt that his mind needed stricter discipline, and resolved, at this important crisis of his life, to make an effort to bring it under the power of fixed habits of thought and application ; knowing that if he were ever to feel the benefits of such a discipline, now was his best, if not his only time to insure them. He writes : " June 4, 1813. — This morning we commenced our new plan of living, in which I have had in view the divesting of myself, as much as possible, of secular engagements of every kind, that so my theological studies may be pursued without distraction, and my heart become more and more weaned from the world, and habituated, by divine grace, to a righteous, sober, and godly life before God and my fellow-men. My unsettled affairs in Phila- delphia will make two or three visits of business necessary, after which nothing of importance will be likely to withdraw my attention from the interesting pursuits in which I desire to be exclusively engaged. The varied occupations of a professional life, in which a thousand things called for immediate attention as they occurred, have been wholly irreconcilable with any settled plan of study. But it will now be necessary, however difficult, to bring my mind and its habits under a strict discipline ; and for this purpose, to prescribe to myself some routine of study and /A. 186 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. employment for each day. I propose, for the present, the follow- ing course. " Morning. Rise, if possible, at or before 5 ; private devo- tion ; Greek, composition, or other writing ; family devotions ; BREAKFAST ; Bible, with commentaries ; Church history. " Afternoon. Dinner ; miscellaneous reading and writing ; endeavor to read, every day, one sermon of some eminent divine. " Evening. Exercise and conversation ; family devotions, with occasionally a chapter of Scott's Bible ; private devotions. Rest, when in health, to be limited, if practicable, to six hours," Such was the "plan of living" which he prescribed to himself during his retirement, and which he followed, while his retire- ment continued, at least so far as the orderings of Providence ^ permitted. He thus refers to it, in his entry for " June 19, 1813. — Since the above note, I have, as far as practicable, conformed to the plan of study above marked out ; but I have, in the interval, been obliged to go twice to the city — once on my private concerns, and again to be present at the annual meeting of the state," diocesan, " convention, which was held on the 15th inst." But systematic study, in connection with necessary business, was not the only occupation of his retired life. He endeavored to gain some practical acquaintance with pastoral duty. Hence, he not only engaged as lay-reader and catechist in St. John's, Norristown, but also availed himself of his vicinity to St. Mary's, Warwick, the parish church of the Rev. Levi Bull, a cousin of Mrs. Milnor, to become familiar with other forms of parochial usefulness. He has this note, under date of " June 21, 1813. — I have just returned from a visit to Mr. Bull, with whom I spent the evening of Saturday, and the whole of Sunday. Sunday morning, at 8 o'clock, we went to St. Mary's church, in the vicinity of Mr. Bull's residence ; and found a con- siderable number of people assembled to attend a prayer-meeting, which is held during the summer season for one hour before the regular service of the morning begins. The exercises consist of prayers by the pastor and different members of the church, offered extemporaneously, and accompanied with singing and a short exhortation. For the first time in public, I was induced, at Mr. X\ HIS MINISTRY. 187 Bull's solicitation, to address the throne of grace. I felt the pres- ence of that God who, when two or three are assembled in his name, has promised to be in the midst of them ; and was much refreshed in the inner man by the various services of the forenoon, as well as by those of the afternoon at Churchtown, to which place, distant eight miles, I rode with Mr. Bull." His services as catechist and lay-reader in St. John's, com- menced July 11, but were soon interrupted by the dangerous illness of which he speaks. " Nov. 17, 1813. — Philadelphia. The interval between the date of the last memorandum and the present has been to me a very interesting one. I officiated for the first time as a lay- reader, on Sunday, the 11th of July last; and a few days after- wards went upon a journey with my brother-in-law, Levi Pawl- ing, Esq. Our object was to pay a visit of friendship to Mrs. Johnston, of Franklin county. Pa., a relation of my wife ; but on arriving at her house, we found that she had gone for her health to the springs at Bath, in Virginia. To this place, being only forty miles further, we concluded to follow her. We did so ; but I had so little relish for the amusements of the place, that we re- mained but two days, and then set out on our return. Our jour- ney to Bath was by the way of Reading, Harrisburg, Carlisle, and Chambersburg. We returned by the way of Martinsburg, Ya., Harper's Ferry, York, and Lancaster. The sedentary life which I had passed at Norristown, had unfitted me for exercise of so constant and severe a kind as that which I used during my fortnight's absence ; and the consequence was, that I became in- disposed on my way home, and the night of my arrival I was taken seriously ill. My complaint at first appeared to be a ner- vous debility without fever, and so continued for a fortnight, when it assumed the type of an intermittent, and after some time was accompanied with a most distressing bowel-complaint, which lasted for eight weeks, and brought me to the verge of the grave. Soon after I became convalescent, Mrs. Milnor was at- tacked with the same complaints ; and when apparently recover- ing, relapsed into so low a state as to be despaired of by her phy- sician and friends. Her illness lasted about the same time as my own. But, for ever praised be the adorable Giver of every good 188 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. and perfect gift — the God of our lives, and the Saviour of our souls — ' though he has chastened us, yet he hath not given us over unto death. We shall yet live to praise the name of the Lord.' " In a review of this providence of Almighty God, I desire to be humbled under a deeper sense of his justice as well as mercy. That my sins deserved such an infliction of divine correction, I submissively acknowledge ; that I am wholly undeserving of the sparing mercy which has continued my life and that of my beloved partner, I most seiisibly feel ; and that our dear children have been preserved in life and health, is a cause of unceasing thanlifulness. ' What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me ? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord.' " Since the recovery of Mrs. Milnor and myself, in conse- quence of a great desire on her part to return to the city, and a belief on my own, that it would tend to the advancement of my studies and to my growth in spiritual improvement, I have taken a house in Tenth- street, near Arch, into which I have now re- moved my family. The afflicting dispensation through which I have passed, and my beloved Ellen's long and dangerous illness since, have interrupted my regular plan of study ; and I am now only about to resume it. God grant that I may do so in his fear, and with a sincere desire to proceed under the guidance of the , Holy Spirit ; to be preserved from all false doctrines ; to advance in piety towards God, and in love to my fellow-men ; and steadi- ly to keep in view the blessed Jesus, as ' the Author and Finisher of the faith' set forth in the Gospel." The illness, of which he has given us the foregoing account, was the same with that thus mentioned by his friend Bradford in his " Reminiscences." " In the latter part of the summer he became alarmingly ill, so that for a time his life was in jeopardy; and it seemed to us, blind mortals as we are, as if all hopes of his attaining to the usefulness in prospect, were about to be blasted. God designed the affliction for his sanctification. He was re- stored to health." During his journey to Bath, letters reached his residence at Norristown, earnestly soliciting his acceptance, or his promise to HIS MINISTRY. - 189 accept, of the two important parishes to which reference has already been made ; the one at Baltimore, the other at Richmond, Virginia. He embraced what he supposed to be ^^ the first mo- ment of returning strength" — though it proved to be but an intermission of his disease, and was followed by all its most per- ilous stages — -io return the following answers. To Mr. Coales._ "NoRRiSTOWN, August 4, 1813. " My dear Sir — I returned yesterday week from a long jour- ney, so> much indisposed as to compel me to keep my bed almost continually since, and to disable me from either reading or writ- ing. I embrace the first moment of returning strength, though with a feeble hand, to answer your kind letter of the 25th ult., and sincerely to thank you and the other gentlemen of our com- munion in Baltimore, for the very flattering offer of so respecta- ble a situation as that which the Rev. Mr. Beasley's removal to Philadelphia has left vacant. "On a subject of so much importance, I shall be glad of an opportunity of consulting with our venerable diocesan, to whose friendship I am greatly indebted, and without conferring with whom I should hesitate, at this stage of my progress towards ordination, to take any decisive step in regard to a settlement. He has more than once intimated, in the most affectionate man- ner, that he calculated on my remaining in his diocese ; and many of my friends in Philadelphia speak in very determinate terms, of the expectation there that my labors should be commenced among them. With respect to myself, as my views in proposing to enter the ministry have, so far as I know my own heart, no selfish considerations mingled with them, I am willing to render my little portion of service to the cause of religion wherever the providence of Grod may seem to direct. My present impressions, however, are, that it would conduce neither to the good of the Church, nor to my future usefulness, to undertake the duties of a reader and continue them for so long a period as will elapse before, according to the canon, I can expect ordination. A year from ray annunciation as a candidate will not have expired till the middle of April next. For the intermediate time, I have 190 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. removed to this pleasant little village, among Mrs. Milnor's friends, where I am retired from all bustle, and have very much the unin- terrupted command of my own time, except as my attention is, now and then, unavoidably engaged in the winding up of my pro- fessional and other concerns in the city ; which, indeed, for some time to come, require me to be within convenient distance of my successor in the law. I have also, at the request of the vestry of a new parish in this place, consented, under a license from the bishop, to officiate as a lay-reader for them during the time of my stay ; so that, all things considered, a change of my situation, at present, would be attended with considerable inconvenience. " Another very important consideration affects my mind ; and that is, the apparently unbecoming presumption of a candidate for orders, in anticipating his duties in a place of so much impor- tance as your city, and perhaps standing in the way of a regular clergyman, who would be more acceptable, and to whom the sit- uation might be very desirable. In short, after repeating my thanks for your kind intentions, I have to express my wish that you may be successful in finding a faithful pastor, of better qual- ifications than myself, to take at once full charge of the Church, and prevent the inconveniences of such a plan as that which you have suggested. I think it, however, due to so unexpected and friendly an intimation to say, that I will avail myself of the first opportunity, after Grod shall be pleased to restore my health, to speak with Dr. White and one or two other friends upon the sub- ject ; but beg that I may not, in the meantime, stand in the way of any arrangement for the welfare of your Church, that Provi- dence may offer to your acceptance. " I lament the illness of your venerable mother ; but she has lived long enough under the blessed influence of the religion of Jesus to know its consolations ; and I trust, if it be his will to require it, she will resign her soul without a murmur into the hands of her Redeemer. Her advanced age, and the long-con- tinued enjoyment of her society, with which her children have been favored, should reconcile them to her departure, if such be the purpose of God ; knowing that their loss is her everlasting gain, and that the separation now made, unless it be their own fault, will not be eternal. You all have my affectionate prayers HIS MINISTRY. 191 for your support under this and every trial, and for a full share in the riches of grace in Christ Jesus, the true foundation of solid comfort and happiness in this world, and of all our hopes of ever- enduring felicity in that which is to come. "Be pleased to present my best respects to the family, and to the Rev. Dr. Kemp ; and believe me to be, "■ With affectionate regard, yours sincerely, "JAMES MILNOR." The letter which he next answered, was from the Rev. Oliver Norris, of Alexandria, who appears to have written in behalf and by the authonty of the congregation iii Richmond, over which Mr. Milnor was urged to think of a settlement. To the manu- script copy of his answer is prejfixed the following note: " Sketch of letter to Rev. Oliver Norris, Alexandria. Note— r-the letter sent varied materially from this sketch ; but I have no other copy." This sketch, therefore, is here given, not as his exact answer to Mr. Norris, but as an exposition of some important views which he entertained. It was dated, "NoRRiSTOWN, August, 1813. "My dear Sir — I thank you very sincerely for your affec- tionate letter of the 14th ult., to which I should have made an earlier answer ; but, at the time of its arrival here, I was absent on a journey of a fortnight, from which I returned about twelve days ago, so much indisposed as, for the greater part of the time since, to have been confined to my bed. My sickness is still such as will oblige me to write this short letter with many in- tervals of rest. "You appreciate justly my motives in venturing, as I humbly trust under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to take upon me a portion of the ministry of reconciliation. 'I am as a wonder unto many,' who, unacquainted either with the duty of submis- sion to the manifested will of Grod, or with the operations of divine grace upon the renewed mind, whereby alone true Chris- tian obedience can be produced, are astonished at my voluntary surrender of a lucrative practice, of associations of the most varied and attractive kind, and of encouraging prospects of pub- lic honor and distinction. Yet, strange as it seems to them, to 192 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. me not one relinquished object of former attachment occasions the smallest regret. But it is a source of painful reflection to me, that so much of a short lifetime has been so unprofitably spent, and that I am now able to make an offering to God of the small, remnant only of my days, when the whole ought to have been his. "With respect to the future sphere of my labors, my best reflections and the advice of friends have led me to postpone, for the present, any decisive determination. My probationary year will not expire till the middle of April next ; and there seems a want of delicacy towards the proper authorities of the Church, in anticipating their decision upon my qualifications, of which every day's experience opens a humbler view to myself; or in entering into engagements at present which circumstances here- after may render it difficult, perhaps impracticable, to fulfil. "I trust I shall not be so misunderstood as to be supposed to set a light value upon so very respectable a proposition as that of a settlement at Richmond, if, besides the general reason above stated for now withholding a decision, I were to add, that, honor- able as the post will be, and extensive as may be the good to be done by him who fills it,^ I doubt whether it is adapted to my opinions or habits. My impressions against slavery were early and deep; and, with my present views of the universality of divine love, they are strengthened and rendered unalterable. 1 do not think I ought to go voluntarily into the midst of it, and perhaps become, from necessity, a partaker in it. " There is also, I understand, at Richmond, a fashionable gay- ety of manners and disposition, far exceeding the general style of those to which I have been accustomed in Philadelphia, in which it would be painful for a Christian minister to be compelled to participate, and which, perhaps, it would be useless, nay, destruc- tive of even partial usefulness, to oppose. " To these suggestions I might, as a subordinate considera- tion, add, that the heats of summer are extremely unfavorable to my health ; and that, even in this cooler climate, I scarcely ever pass through July and August without an attack of sickness : and, as a more important item, might again add, a friendly wish, more than once expressed by our venerable diocesan, that I would HIS MINISTRY. 193 not leave this state ; and the kind and earnest requests of my Episcopalian friends in Philadelphia, that I would remain in that city, where many circumstances lead to the belief that my poor exertions may be so directed as to be profitable to many. " To every thing now said, I should be unjust to my own feelings if I did not add, still further, that considering the grand scale on which the church in Richmond has been commenced, and the expectations raised with respect to the services to be per- formed in it, the moderate estimate which I am taught to make of my talents and acquirements would render me apprehensive of falling very far below the standard which, has been set up. To the gay and volatile, ' Christ Jesus and him crucified' is but a dull and simple theme, poorly supplying the place of those flowers of rhetoric and charms of diction with which genius de- lights to embellish the merely moral theme. Yet it is my deter- mination, through grace, to preach nothing else to the people whom God, in his providence, may allot to my charge, than the Gospel of Christ ; for ' I count all things but loss for the excel- lency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord :' I believe it to be ' the power of God unto salvation unto every one that be- lieveth;' and that there is great danger of preaching in such * wisdom of words as to make the Cross of Christ of none effect.' " In all that I have said, it is far from my intention to give offence. The friendly nature of your communication required that I should detail some of my reasons for doubting whether Richmond were an eligible situation for me ; and I have done so. I leave you to judge of their weight. " I congratulate you, my dear sir, on your settlement in Alex- andria, which, I hope, you will find an agreeable residence, and a situation where you may be the means of winning many souls to Christ — praying that you may meet the double reward of pres- ent peace of mind, and of future endless bliss. " Be pleased, as it may fall in your way, to present my re- gards to Col. Deneale, Mr. John Roberts, and their families ; also to Judge "Washington and the Messrs. Lee ; and believe me to be, with sentiments of sincere affection, " Your faithful friend and brother in the truth, "JAMES MILNOR.". Hem. Milnor. ^. 1 ^ 194 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. These letters are interesting, both as the productions of a sick man, scarcely able to hold his pen, and as proofs that the good work of the Spirit in his heart was in progress, shaping him more and more perfectly according to the pattern of the true minister of Christ. To this latter point, all the traces which he has left of his feelings at the close of his long and perilous illness, bear a decided testimony. It is particularly manifest, that at this time the spirit of prayer in him was actively alive. It mingled in all his engagements, and breathed through no small part of his diary. Thus : " Nov. 18, 1813. — The unsettled state of my family," he writes, " for some time past, has prevented attention to the inter- esting duty of family worship. My dear Ellen's state of health now admitting of her attendance, and our arrangements in a new residence being made, I this morning commenced prayers, and hope to continue them , every day, morning and evening. May God give us the aids of his heavenly grace to perform this duty with cheerfulness and regularity ; to enter upon it, at all times, with prepared hearts and with engaged minds ; and to profit by our daily communion with him on the throne of his mercy. Grant, Almighty Father, to thy servant, a spirit of prayer and supplication ; enable him to pray with the heart and with the understanding; put thou, Holy Spirit, right words into his mouth, and grant that we may never be found offering the sacri- fice of fools. may every member of this family rejoice in the privilege of access by prayer to God, through the blood and inter- cession of the Redeemer, and pay their daily vows, with unvary- ing fervency and zeal, to the blessed and triune God, to whom be ascribed never-ending praises. Amen." His return to the city enabled him, with increased expedi- tion, to close the settlement of his temporal affairs, and at an earlier period to give his mind to uninterrupted study. He writes, no longer after his return than "Saturday, Nov. 27, 1813. — My beloved partner's bodily health being restored, and her strength in some measure regain- ed — purchases of furniture for our new residence being nearly completed, and many other temporal cares being either removed out of the way, or lessened — I hope, hereafter, to be more closely HIS MINISTRY. 195 and methodically engaged in theological studies. My prayer to Almighty God is, that I may be enabled to pursue them with a zeal and industry proportioned to their importance ; but that, while the head is acquiring knowledge, the heart may not lose the ar- dor of its aflfections ; its love to God and the Saviour ; its desire after more grace and inward holiness; its unceasing gratitude for countless mercies and undeserved blessings ; its wrestling with God for their continuance, unworthy as I am, for the Redeemer's sake ; and its faith and hope in his precious sacrifice and inter- cession. Let me not lose, merciful God, my convictions of sin,' my hatred of its contaminations, my sense of unremitting depend- ence on thee for ability to resist its baneful influence, and my continual applications to thee for thy support. Be thou, ' Lord, a shield for me, my glory, and the lifter up of my head.' " To-morrow is the Sabbath of the Lord ; that day, of which he has commanded us to ' remember that we keep it holy.' I feel, as it draws near, fresh reproaches from my conscience, that I have not kept it more strictly and spiritually in times past, and that I have profited so little by its sacred exercises. how lan- guid and wandering have been my devotions ; how cold and spir- itless my confessions, prayers, and praises ; how indifferent my attention ; and how irretentive my memory of the precious truths delivered, by God's ambassadors, from the sacred desk ! Inspire me, God, with grace to amend my ways : give me more zeal, more sincerity, more of the vitality of true religion — more heart- felt, deep, and untiring engagedness in thy service. ' turn unto me, and have mercy upon me ;' ' Teach me thy way, Lord ; I will walk in thy truth ; unite my heart to fear thy name.' Then, ' I will praise thee, Lord my God, with all my heart ; and I will glorify thy name for evermore.' " These aspirations seem not to have been repressed by what he heard the following day. " Sunday, Nov. 28, 1813.— ^In the morning, attended divine service at St. James'. Mr. Kemper preached a forcible and im- passioned sermon from part of the first verse of the sixty-third Psalm : ' God, thou art my God ; early will I seek thee.' " The discourse was addressed principally to the younger part of the congregation, but in the course of it Mr. Kemper took 196 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. occasion to make an earnest appeal to those more advanced in years. He referred to the causes of the present Laodicean state of the Episcopal church. We were, in a considerable degree, com- posed of the rich and respectable, the gay and fashionable ; we were willing to be religious on our own terms only, and therefore desired no stricter conformity to Christ than what comported with the full enjoyment of all the pleasures and frivolities of life ; we had cultivated an empty system of morals, having nothing in it of the peculiar doctrines of Christianity and of the gospel method of salvation, but substituting for them a vain reliance on our own performances, and in a great degree rejecting Christ as our Saviour. He declared, that no reliance was to be placed on so fallacious a scheme ; that without genuine, heartfelt repent- ance, and a living faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, none of us could be saved ; and that without these essential prerequisites, all our works were unproductive and useless, if not sinful in the sight of God. We are justified by faith, and until its power is felt in the heart, and, whatever our rank or influence, honors or wealth, we come as suppliants to the foot of the Cross, crying out, ' What shall we do to be saved V and there, through free and sovereign grace, receive remission of our sins and a renewal of our nature, we can have no reason to hope for happiness in heaven." Here, certainly, was nothing of baptismal regeneration, nor of the notion of justification by the sacraments. No wonder that Mr. Milnor, as he proceeds, breaks forth in this impassioned language. : .-' - " how my heart went along with bur zealous young pastor. These are the doctrines which, if frequently pressed home upon the consciences of our congregations, would indeed make a stir- ring among the dry bones. God grant that he may be encouraged in his course, that he may continue to be increasingly bold in his divine Master's cause, and that, through his instrumentality, 'the hearts of the disobedient may be turned to the wisdom of the just,' and many of those who are now under the power of Satan and their own delusions, unto God." At the close of the year 1813, Mr. Milnor was engaged, with some others, in organizing an association in the city of Phila- HIS MINISTRY. 197 delphia for " the improvement of its members in religious know- ledge, the invigorating of their pious affections, the promotion of a spirit of Christian fellowship, the increase of their attachment to the doctrines and ritual of our holy apostolic church, the obtaining and communicating of religious intelligence, and the enjoyment of the pleasures and advantages of social worship." The secular affairs of the church were excluded from the exer- cises of the meetings. Those exercises were to consist of reading the Scriptures and approved religious authors, prayer, exhortation, singing, and religious conversation. Members were admitted by election only. Visitors, from the city exclusively, and to the number of six only, might be invited to attend at any one meet- ing. When a clergyman was present, he was always to conduct the religious exercises, unless he chose to devolve the whole or a part on one or more of the lay members. A draft of the constitution of the society, " agreed to, Deo. 29, 1813," in the handwriting of Mr. Milnor, and embodying the above features, denominates the association, " The Protestant Episcopal Evangelical Society." How long it continued in oper- ation we have not the means of ascertaining ; but its organiza- tion and Mr. Milnor's share in it show how early he began to transfer his fondness for this mode of action from political and literary to religious interests. He was seldom more in his ele- ment than when engaged in conducting the concerns of the vari- ous societies of which he was a member. The following letter, found among Dr. Milnor's papers, though without name or date, yet leaves no room for doubt on the ques- tion to whom it was addressed. It was probably written, whether earlier or later, about this period, and is therefore here introduced. It excites a somewhat sad foreboding as to the close of the relig- ious life of his old friend, Aquila M. Bolton. And yet, who knows but that this later remonstrance from one whom that friend so early warned of the peril of impenitency, may have proved the means of reawakening his own soul, and of saving him from the peril of apostasy ? The letter was as follows : " My dear Friend — I have received the first number of a Miscellany, of which the well-known letters on the cover apprise me you are the editor. Has the long interruption of epistolary '198 MEMOIR OF DR. MIL^OR. intercourse so far deadened our sensibilities to one another's in- terests, and so completely estranged us from each other, as to preclude a free and candid intercommunication of sentiments ? I trust not. The evidence which you have just given me that I still live in your remembrance, and the throbbings of my own bosom as I am now communing with you, convince me that our friendship is not dead, though it has slept ; and it is this persua- sion that encourages me to unburthen my mind with the most unbounded frankness. " For several years past I have heard but little of you, for we' had ceased to interchange letters, and I seldom met with any of your friends who could tell me any thing about you. You have now suddenly risen to my view in a shape so new and unexpected as greatly to surprise me, without affording any of that delight which those precious communications — still preserved and fre- quently recurred to — from Jersey, frOm Spain, and from Wheel- ing, have afforded. 0, my valued, my earliest friend, has your relish for divine things deserted you ? Has the love of God in Christ Jesus, once, as I believed, so liberally shed abroad in your heart, waxed cold ? Does religion no longer court your feelings by those sweet endearments in which you once so much de- lighted ? Can you have become willing to relinquish the solid and durable pleasures of piety for the light and frivolous amuse- ments of the day, even though they court you under the mask of literature and taste ? Believe me, when I look at those awful admonitions with which you once addressed me, and in which your whole concern was to induce me, like yourself, to take up the cross of the Redeemer, and to ' count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord ;' when I recollect my being told, by one of your friends, that you had become a public champion of his glorious cause, and when I look at the title and contemplated plan of your Miscellany — ^useful as some of its proposed objects may, no doubt, be — I am at a loss ta decide whether astonishment or grief be the predominant feeling of my mind. Not one word in your prospectus, or in your first number, of Christ or his blessed religion ; and but a trivial glance towards even morality, good as the product of the Spirit, but a mean and barren substitute for genuine religion. Ah, this, I HIS MINISTRY. 199 feair, evinces too plainly, that you have become satiated with the fountains of ' living water,' of whose delightful streams you once partook, and have betaken yourself to ' cisterns, broken cisterns, that will hold no water.' " With such apprehensions, permit an old friend, who has abandoned the pursuit of the wealth,^ and honor, and pleasures of this world, for the riches of eternity, the unfading honor of his Redeemer's crown of righteousness, and the enjoyment of the light of his divine countenance, to solicit you to pause and con- sider the awful danger of apostasy from Jhe faith of Jesus. Can it be possible that he who once, with so much feeling, admonished the friend — 'Who now sincerely thanks him for, while he recipro- cates the kindness — of the necessity of closing with the offers of mercy, is willing to become a castaway ? beware, my friend, I entreat you, that the evil spirit which has gone out from you, do not ' return into his house, and find it empty, swept, and gar- nished,' for the reception of himself and 'seven other spirits more wicked than himself,' and so make your 'last state worse than the first.' I shall probably hereafter write you more fully, and give you some account of the Lord's dealings with my soul ; but in the meantime will conclude with an apposite quotation from an author with whose style you are well acquainted." The manuscript closes without the quotation, and our notices of his friend Bolton's religious life must be dismissed without any certain light as to its issue. From the close of the year 1813, Mr. Milnor continued his theological studies until August, 1814, four months after his re- quired term of candidateship had expired — apparently in conse- quence of the long interruption of those studies by his own illness and that of his wife, in the summer and fall of 1813. He would have continued them for a still longer period, but for a circum- stance which hastened his ordination, and which he thus records in his last entry in his diary : "August 9, 1814. — Once more I resume my brief annotations. Since my last entries, my life has been that of a student, much abstracted from the world, and laboriously engaged in the acqui- sition of theological knowledge. My prospect has been to apply for orders in October next ; but circumstances of an unexpected 200 ^ MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. nature have hastened the measure. The Rev. Mr. Kemper having been invited by the Society for the Advancement of Christianity to go upon a mission through the state, the vestry have requested me to anticipate the time of my ordination, that I may supply his place during his absence. The desire of the bishop and of all my friends concurring in this arrangement, I have consented ; and have accordingly undergone, agreeably to the canon, four separate examinations at Bishop "White's, conducted by himself, Dr. Hutchins, and the Rev. Mr. Wiltbank: the first, on Friday last, for two and a half hours ; the second on Saturday, for two hours; the third yesterday morning, for two and a half hours; and the last yesterday afternoon, for two hours. My ordination, with God's permission, is to take place on Sunday morning next, in St. James' church." In a record which he soon after opened, for the simple purpose of "preserving a note of each sermon preached by him during his ministry," he adds, "I was ordained deacon by the Rt. Rev. William White, in St. James' church, Philadelphia, on Sunday morning, August 14, 1814." So brief was his notice of that interesting event, which lay between all his past life of pleasure and of politics in the great world of men, and all his coming life of labor and of usefulness in the sweet service Of Christ ! His first sermon was preached in St. Peter's, the afternoon of the same day on which he was ordained. This, with St. James' and Christ church, constituted the parish of which Bishop White was rector ; having associated with him as assistants, the Rev. Dr. Abercrombie and the Rev. Mr. Kemper. The text of his first sermon, chosen with peculiar appropri- ateness, was Rom. 1:16: "I am not ashamed of the Grospbl of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth : to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." We can well conceive the interest with which a sermon before such an audience, from such a text, and by such a man, must have been received; preached, as it was, in the very centre of that round , of fashion in which, for so many years, he had been moving; before many of his former companions in gayety and business; and on a text which called him to exhibit the Gospel of the lowly f/ ^ OJ TBE 'r HIS MINISTRY. \\^ ^^ ■*■ 201 »^ * * ^ Jesus in all its humbling peculiarity, and with mnrf^^AjUoTUBk* J^ ^ to take up the cross of proclaiming Christ crucified among men. That he was, for once, "a prophet not without honor in his own country, and among his own kin," may be inferred from the fact, that on the 21st of December next after his ordination, he was "unanimously elected by the vestry a minister of the united churches;" his election being announced to him " by Gen- eral Gurney, Commodore Dale, and Mr. Wayne," on the evening of "Wednesday, after he had been out of the city to preach in " Spring Garden Academy." The three united churches were now furnished with a rector and three assistants; an arrangement, in consequence of which each had one "leisure" Sunday out of every four. This leisure each seems to have spent in preaching in the neighboring par- ishes and destitute places. Such was the use which Mr. Milnor, at least, made of his leisure Sundays, as appears from his record of the times and places of his labors. The first fruit of this ar- rangement was the organization of St. John's church. Northern Liberties. Mr. Milnor commenced this enterprise by preaching, Sunday evening, February 19, 1815, "in the Commissioners' Hall," or town-house, in that dense suburb. The service was in "a large and crowded room," and the sermon to "a deeply at- tentive people." On Sunday morning, August 27, 1815, he was admitted by Bishop White, in St. James' church, to the order of presbyters; and on the next Sunday morning, September 3, in Christ church, he " for the first time administered the holy communion." The only incident out of the usual routine of duty, which he records during the year of his diaconate, was the following. "At night," Sunday, October 23, 1814, "at the request of the Rev. Mr. Broadhead, pastor of the Dutch Reformed church in Crown-street, who was absent on a religious visit to the camp, near Wilmington, Delaware," [those, it will be remembered, were times of war,] " I preached to a very crowded congregation on love to Christ, especially addressed to youth, from Prov. 8 : 17 : * I love them that love me ; and those that seek me early shall find me.' N. B. — In the service I used the forms of our Church, and complied with Mr. Broadhead's request, after conferring with 202 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. Bishop "White, who declared there was no ecclesiastical impro- priety in my compliance ; and expressed himself pleased with the liberality of Mr. Broadhead's proposal," The two following letters, written during this period, indicate very distinctly the acceptableness of his labors ; the stand which he at once took as an evangelical preacher ; his temper in regard to ecclesiastical dissensions ; and the manner in which he sought to do good "in season, and out of season." The former was addressed , To the Rev. Levi Bull. "Philadelphia, January 16, 1815. "Rev. and dear Brother — It will be best, I believe, to com- promise all our differences about want of punctuality and atten- tion in the interchange of letters, by an understanding that we mutually attend to it as other duties permit, and that, where seeming negligence occurs, it shall be ascribed to sufficient cause. "I thank you for your kind communication of the 10th ult. The good opinion of so experienced a fellow-Christian as yourself is confessedly grateful to my feelings ; whilst I desire that neither that, nor any other expression of human approbation may seduce me into those ' vain imaginations and high thoughts,' which are so destructive of true religion in the soul. Every day's experi- ence tends to lower me in my own estimation ; for I know the inadequacy of my talents and attainments, and that I am neither so ardent and laborious in my external labors, nor so devout and spiritual in my inward exercises, as becomes the sincere follower of Jesus, more especially a worm who has taken upon himself to speak to others in his holy name. My prayer to God is, for daily supplies of his all-sufficient grace, to strengthen me in his work, and to enable me to press forward with a steady aim to the promotion of his glory, and the good of souls. " In relation to the character and conduct of others, associated in the same duties, I think myself bound to act, where I believe error to exist, with much moderation. Many such act honestly, according to the conclusions, however wrong, of their own judg- ments; and give no offence to religion in their lives and Conver- sations. Others let religion sit more loosely upon them ; and the HIS MINISTRY. 203 injury, which their errors in dbctrine might otherwise occasion, is prevented by the ill appearance which its practical influence exhibits in their conduct. ' To their own Master they stand or fall.' The course of those who profess deeper views in divine things, and endeavor after a closer conformity to the requisitions of the Gospel, is, in my opinion, to remain firm to their principles ; to adhere to that strictness of life which conscience and the word of God exact ; and to proclaim* the evangelical truths of religion with holy boldness, but without useless ofFensiveness of language. Parties in the Church, my dear friend, should not be counte- nanced. If an upright and consistent discharge of duty invite odium or persecution from others, let us receive with meekness and^ resignation any consequences to which it may lead. But opposition to the persons of men, the distinction of names, and the array of each other into conflicting ranks, must produce, whatever be the sincerity of intention, disastrous consequences to the interests of our Zion. My views lead me to shrink from any situation that may excite in my mind those turbulent and unruly passions which divine grace has yet so partially subdued ; and religious controversies, of all others, do excite them in the most lamentable and pernicious degree. Forgive the egotism into which your suggestions unavoidably lead me, when I declare my per- suasion that God has not formed me for an agency in any such scenes. " But, whilst I wish to meddle little with others, God has clearly pointed out to me my own line of duty. For myself, I am 'determined to know nothing,' in my ministerial labors, 'save Jesus Christ and him crucified;' to preach nothing but his pre- cious Gospel to perishing sinners ; and, according to my poor measure of ability, to call men from a reliance on their own works to an entire dependence upon the free grace and meroy of God in Christ. The native depravity of man, his utter helplessness, the necessity of repentance and conversion, the agency of the Holy Spirit in these evangelical exercises, and the manifestation of the blessed fruit of a change of heart in the work of holy obedience to the revealed will and word of God, are themes which fill my mind, and upon which, both publicly and privately, I shall con- tinue to dwell. If others preach differently, may God forgive 204 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. them, and bestow upon them better views. I trust the Spirit of God will illuminate the minds of many, so as to enable them to discern where the truth rests ; and that he will not leave his faithfal servants without the reward of their labors. Without finding an apology in this trust for any negligence on my part, I feel, my friend, more and more deeply convinced that we do not sufficiently refer to the faithfulness and the omnipotence of God, in our estimate of the effects to be produced by the labors of the ministry. Let us rely upon his promises and his power, and we shall feel less desponding as to the success which in his own time will attend his preached word. Although the pleasing occurrence has not taken place within the pale of our own communion, yet the late revival of religion in the college at Princeton is a just evidence of the truth of this position, and a cause of pious felici- tation among Christians of every denomination. I have heard the letters of Dr. Green on the subject read with astonishment and delight. One of them contains fifty-two names of young men, a part of whom, it was believed, had 'passed from death unto life ;' while another part were 'not far from the kingdom of God,' and the remainder were under strong convictions of sin. ■ Surely, 'this is the Lord's doings, and it is marvellous in our eyes.' May the dews of his heavenly grace descend more copi- ously on that part of his vineyard, in which his providence has called you and me to labor. We have, it is true, very great dis- couragements ; and latterly not many appearances here of a con- trary description. But, ' as the husbandman waiteth for the pre- cious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it until he receive the early and the latter rain,' so let us also 'be patient.' Let us ' establish our hearts ; for the coming of the Lord drawfeth nigh.' " Mrs, Milnor unites in affectionate remembrance to your father, family, and Mrs. Bull. Believe me, in the bonds of that everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure, wherein we desire ever to abide, ' " Your faithful brother in Christ, "JAMES MILNOR." The latter of the two communications which have been men- tioned, was addressed to a young gentleman — possibly one of the HIS MINISTRY. 205 '•'■fifty -two ^^ to whose case reference was made in the former. It was dated, , "Philadelphia, Aug. 3, 1815. " My dear Sir — I acknowledge, with great pleasure, the re- ceipt of your letter of the 15th ult. How sorry am I that a com- munication which encourages me to think so favorably of your religious steadfastness, should give so disheartening a prospect of that of some of your associates. This is lamentable, indeed, as it respects the individuals, for it is a tenfold increase of their guilt and condemnation, to have been placed, by the grace of Almighty God, in the road to eternal happiness, and then wil- fully to forsake it ; and the shocking sin of ingratitude for past mercies lessens awfully the hope of those mercies being renewed to them. Surely, these infatuated youth are sinning against the clearest light, against the convictions of conscience, and have abundantly more reason than its author to adopt the language of the heathen poet — and to fear the righteous vengeance of Almighty God for its presumptuous truth — who declared of himself, ' Video meliora proboque ; Deteriora sequor." Let us not, however, cease to pray for them, and remonstrate with them ; and let us beware how we ourselves, by the indul- gence of sloth, by exposure to temptation, or by any of that infi- nite variety of means which Satan and our own evil hearts are so ready to suggest, fall into the like condemnation. •^ " But if the effect of these secessions from the truth as it is in Jesus be thus deplorable upon the individuals themselves, it is equally injurious to the general interests of religion. Already the enemies of evangelical righteousness begin to take great credit to themselves for the truth of their predictions as to the in- stability of the subjects of the late revival ; infidels find in these events excitements to blasphemous merriment, and cold moralists plume themselves on the superiority of their unfeeling system of reason and expediency over one which they allege to have no foundation but in the effervescence of animal excitement. " But let none of these things, my dear young friend, move you. However ignorant blasphemers may revile, or lukewarm Christians undervalue the work of grace begun by the good Spirit 206 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. of our God in your seminary, I trust that in the hearts of many it will be carried on unto perfection, and that you, who have, in some good degree, ' tasted and seen how good and gracious the Lord is,' will maintain your confidence, 'knowing in whom you have believed, and that he is able to keep that which you have committed unto him against that day.' Never, however, expose yourself to the seductions of temptation, and the arts of the adversary of souls ; never yield to the suggestions of that re- mainder of a corrupt nature, which you will find still luring you back to former habits, or lulling you into indifference about holy things, or beguiling you into self-security and satisfaction with your present measure of attainments : strive to ' forget those things that are behind, and to reach towards those that are be- fore ; pressing daily towards the mark for the prize of your high calling of God in Christ Jesus.' How anxiously should we aim at that glorious assurance which, after the most trying conflicts, crowned the religious experience of the great apostle, and enabled him to say, ' I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.' "Accept, my Christian brother, the humble prayers of an unworthy aspirer after these blessings, for your attainment of so happy an advancement in the divine life ; give him an interest in your approaches to God, and believe him to be, with that love which the true Christian only knows how to feel and to cherish, "Your fellow-traveller to Zion, and faithful friend, "JAMES MILNOR." From the former of these two letters it is evident, that his early ministry was received with such flattering commendations as made him feel the need of a strong guard against high thoughts of himself ; and that he found that guard in those teachings of the Spirit, which filled him with lowly self-esteem. It is also evident, that he was early urged to assume the attitude of a con- troversial leg-der of the newly rising evangelical interest in the Episcopal church; and that, from the first, he took the stand, wliich he ever afterwards maintained, of avoiding religious con- HIS MINISTRY. 207 troversy, and especially party names, except as he was forced to bear them in his adherence to what he considered matters of ■principle. His temper in this respect was beautiful. "Where his views of truth and duty required, he took his stand fearlessly and firmly, and then calmly met the consequences of his stand. His position often drew upon him violent assaults ; but he always contented himself with the dignified defence which self-respect demanded. Assaults upon others he never made. The eyes of thousands were early and long turned upon him as one of the most prominent men, if not the most prominent, among the evangelical portion of the American Episcopal church ; but no one was ever able to look upon him and say, ^'^ Milnor is the leader of our partyP The letter on which these comments are made, may be taken as an index, not less true than early, to his whole course as an evangelical minister in the Church. The latter of the two letters, while it shows his aptness to do good as occasion was offered, exhibits also the interest with which he ever regarded the great question of revivals of religion. He never doubted that such revivals are in full harmony with the genius of the Gospel, and with the promised influences of the Spirit ; although he never shut his eye to the perils attend- ant on remarkable seasons of revival, through the wiles of Satan, the frailty of man, and the deceitfulness of the sinful heart. He was disposed neither to overrate the good found in revivals as the work of God, nor to be blind to that good because of sometimes attendant evils as the work of man. He prayed for God's bless- ings through revivals, and he labored to avert mail's abuses, when they came. From the period of his admission to the order of presbyters, in August, 1815, he continued to labor in Philadelphia, as one of the ministers of the united churches, until his removal to New York, in September, 1816. During this early period of his min- , istry , the only incident of importance that occurred out of the line of his uniform and diligent labors, was the part which he took, in the winter of 1816, in the action of the Philadelphia Bible Society. This Society undertook, at that time, to extend its operations by the formation of Bible associations throughout the city and its populous suburbs, and for this purpose appointed 808 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. a committee to carry its resolutions into effect. Of this commit- tee Mr, Milnor was a member, and at its first meeting was ap- pointed secretary. The committee detailed itself into four sub- committees, and under this distribution, carried out the work with which they were intrusted. In doing so, they incidentally took measures for organizing a " Marine Bible Society." They also ordered the circulars, which were intended to accompany the Society's report when published in the newspapers, to be sent to each of the presidents of the Bible Societies of Boston, Hart- ford, Providence, New York, Albany, Baltimore, Charleston, Richmond, Savannah, and Lexington, as well as to the presi- dents of the Auxiliary Bible Society, and of the Female Bible Society, of Philadelphia. These proceedings were had in January, 1816, and it is wor- thy of remark, that on the 11th of May of the same year, the American Bible Society was organized in the city of New York ; an organization which brought nearly all the disconnected Bible Societies of the country into union with one mighty agency for the dissemination of the word of God among all the families of the earth ; a fit associate in this work, with the British and Foreign Bible Society of London. How far this grand central movement in New York grew out of the measures adopted in Philadelphia the preceding January, it is not intended to inquire ; but it is pleasing to know, that Mr. Milnor not only became most actively engaged in the American Bible Society immediately after his removal to New York, but was similarly engaged in the Bible cause before its central organization had a being. Among his papers written during the winter of 1816, is found the following copy of a letter addressed to an afflicted parishioner, which is here given, both as a touching allusion to his own earlier afflictions, and as a happy example of his tenderness in comfort- ing the sorrows of others. To Mrs. M . "Philadelphia, February, 1816. " My dear Madam — Permit me to express my sympathy with you in the deep distress which your recent loss of a beloved child has occasioned. Having twice experienced a similar bereave- HIS MINISTRY. 209 ment, 1 know how difficult it is, in the first transports of grief, to take to ourselves the comforts of religion ; and yet, where shall we find comfort, under such dispensations, but in the hopes and promises of the Gospel ? Did I not believe, with an unshaken faith, that the two lovely infants which I have followed to the grave, are now part of that heavenly throng that 'circle the throne of God day without night rejoicing,' that their happiness is unchangeable and eternal, and that, through faith in the Re- deemer of mankind, I may be allowed hereafter to see them, and partake of their glory, I should not only be destitute of any ground of solace for myself, but could not presume to pour the balm of consolation into the heart of a weeping mother. Yes, your dear boy, whose engaging countenance has so often, in church, attracted the attention of Mrs. Milnor and myself, is now in heaven. A thousand anxieties respecting his future destiny, by which your maternal feelings would have been assailed, had he grown towards manhood, are now prevented. You know he is of that happy number whose salvation has been purchased by the blood of the precious Lamb of God ; and what are the honor, and respect, and riches, and long life, which were apparently in store for your son, compared with the unceasing love of God, and the joys of a never-ending eternity ? Your loss is great, and tears must pay the debt of nature. A compassionate God will not lay to your charge, as sin, the temporary indulgence of affec- tions which he has implanted. But in the midst of your tears, let them not blind you to the views that have been presented. Your boy is now encircled by the arms of the venerable Father of the faithful whose name he bore. The loss of his mourning rela- tives is his eternal gain. "Having understood that the duties of pastoral condolence have been discharged by our respected and beloved diocesan and one or more of my senior brethren, and not willing to increase the number of visitants at a time when, no doubt, retirement is desirable, I send you a small volume, which I hope may admin- ister that comfort to the heart of Mr. M. and yourself, which its sentiments have formerly afforded to " Your obedient servant, "JAMES MILNOR." Mem Milnor. 14 210 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. Early in the month of May, 1816, he became aware of a movement in St. George's church, New York, tending towards his future rectorship of that parish. He received a letter from the Rev. H. J. Feltus, dated the first of the month, intimating that a committee from St. George's might soon visit Philadelphia, with the view of hearing him in his ^^ undress" This intimation was probably not realized ; but Mr. Milnor soon after received from Dr. Kewley, who had just resigned the rectorship of the parish, a letter dated May 4, and covering a resolution from the vestry of St. George's, which invited him to visit New York for the purpose of "performing service and preaching" before the congregation. To take off as much as possible the appearance of asking him to officiate on trial. Dr. Kewley proposed to put the visit on the ground of "an exchange of services" with him. The following is an extract from the answer which Mr. Milnor returned to Dr. Kewley : "Philadelphia, May 7, 1816. "Rev. and dear Sir — Your favor of the 4th inst. was duly received, and I have to thank the vestry of St. George's church for their friendly invitation, and you for the kind manner in which you have been good enough to make known to me their wishes. "It is difficult for me to return an immediate answer, because a compliance with the request to visit New York, thus officially made, would imply a willingness on my part to receive the situ- ation, if it should be offered ; and that is a point of too embar- rassing a nature to be decided at once. I am attached to my present place of residence, and to the congregations in which I minister, by so many strong and endearing ties, that nothing but a sense of manifest duty could induce me to separate myself from either. If, however, the leadings of divine Providence ap- peared to demand a different direction of my labors, I would submit to any sacrifice for the furtherance of that precious cause, to which, by the help of God's grace, I purpose my remaining days shall be assiduously consecrated, I will, therefore, ask per- mission to keep for a few days under consideration a request with which I could not comply without a pretty decided determination in my own mind to accede to ulterior measures, should the vestry HIS MINISTRY. 211 and congregation of St. George's judge favorably of my capacity to serve them, and propose my becoming their rector." The remainder of the letter proposes to Dr. Kewley some in- quiries concerning the parish in New York, politely declines the proposed exchange of services, and promises a farther seasonable reply. On the 11th of May, Dr. Ke\\rley, under instruction from the vestry, earnestly repeated to him their invitation to visit New York, and furnished him with the information for which his in- quiries called. He returned his answer on the 14th, declining their invitation, and apologizing for the promptness of his reply oil the ground of a wish to prevent disappointment in the supply of St. George's for the following Sunday. The tenor of his reply may be gathered from the following letter to the Rev. H. J. Fel- tus, who had been in correspondence with him on the subject of the proposed visit. "Philadelphia, May 14, 1816. " Rev. and dear Sir — I received yesterday your favor of the 11th inst., and at the same time a letter from Dr. Kewley, accom- panied by a very respectful resolution from the vestry, answering some inquiries which I had made in relation to the extent of duty intended to be required of their rector, and repeating their desire of a visit; "I have just transmitted my reply, by which, in terms I trust of suitable gratitude and respect, I have declined a compliance with their request. I have not thought it material to go into a detail of my reasons; but have stated in general, that, in part, they arise naturally out of the circumstances of my present con- nection, where, besides the minor consideration of personal feel- ing, my future usefulness might, in one event, be materially aflfected by my having made such a voluntary advance towards its relinquishment; and, in part, out of the contemplation of a possibly different result of my visit, involving anticipations of so painful a nature to myself and family as to require clearer con- victions of duty than have yet been felt to induce a willing sub- mission to the trial, " It is in vain to conceal the fact that this business has occa- sioned me many anxious hours. On the one hand, my situation 212 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. here is, in most respects, as eligible as could be desired. The duties incumbent on me, though sufficient to occupy me, are not burdensome. My associates are friendly and accommodating ; our bishop one of the most amiable men in existence ; the people, among whom I minister, affectionate, kind, and manifestly im- proving in piety ; and my worldly circumstances easy and com- fortable. In addition to these considerations, some plans of use- fulness, in which I am more immediately engaged, have endeared tome in a high degree the younger people of our charge ; and I take a deep interest in some of the pious and benevolent institu- tions of the city, not immediately connected with the Church ; and besides all, at the age which I have now attained, the aban- donment of so many relations of social life, that bind my attach- ments here, for the uncertainty of their being supplied in a new place of residence, would necessarily induce a solemn pause in my determination, had the resolutions, to which you attach the importance of a virtual call, actually assumed that shape. " On the other hand, a single congregation, under the imme- diate and entire charge of one pastor, presents many advantages for a useful application of ministerial effort, which a collegiate charge does not ; and it is this circumstance, principally, that would induce me to listen for a moment to any suggestion of a change of situation. "It is very probable, that the one to which our correspondence has had reference, will be no more thought of in the quarter where it originated ; and from the sensation which it has produced in the minds of my friends here, it had indeed become very desirable that the questions by which I am assailed on the subject, should admit of a decisive reply on my part. " I return you many thanks for the kind interest you have been pleased to take in this business ; request your remembrance at tlie throne of the heavenly grace ; and remain, " Your faithful brother and obedient servant, "JAMES MILNOR." Mr. Milnor's letter received from Dr. Kewley a speedy reply ; regretting the decision announced, and intimating a determina- tion, so soon as the question of a successor to the rectorship of St. George's should be decided, to depart for Europe. It has since HIS MINISTRY. 213 become known, that at this time, Dr. Kewiey was a Romanist in heart, perhaps by commission ; and that his return to his native country was for the purpose of appearing in his appropriate char- acter, as a priest in the church of Rome. On the 24th of May, Mr. Feltus also wrote again ; and the following extract from his letter will show the position in which matters then stood at St. George's. " Your last letter " (to the vestry through Dr. Kewiey) " was worthy of yourself, and has done you much honor. It has placed you on that high ground, which your friends should have wished you to occupy. There was dignity in the position you assumed ; and I trust God had much to do in directing both your mind and your pen. " I am certainly informed, that the vestry met yesterday, and have appointed a committee to be in Philadelphia next Sunday. They set out to-morrow: two from the vestry, Mr. Van Wagenen, and Mr. Brackett ; and two from the congregation, Mr. Hicks, and Mr. Tredwell. How far they are authorized, I cannot pre- cisely say, but believe they are to return and report ; whereupon a call is to be immediately forwarded. Don't resist the leadings of divine Providence. The whole is unsought by you. I trust and pray that God may sweetly incline your mind to his most blessed will ; and prevent you, if the whole measure would not be to his glory." The way was now open for decisive steps. Accordingly, on the 6th of June the vestry of St. George's met, and made out their official call of Mr. Milnor to the rectorship of the parish ; accompanying it with the following brief, but interesting letter. " St. George's Church, New York, June 6, 1816. "Rev. Sir — It is with feelings of. great satisfaction, that we present you the resolution inclosed. Convinced we can offer you no motive for accepting this call but the prospect of more extend- ed usefulness in the cause to which you have so disinterestedly dedicated your future life, permit us to observe, that our congre- gation, now large, is capable, under the blessing of God, of being very greatly increased ; and considering the anxiety prevailing among us to hear the tidings of salvation, we cherish the confident 214 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. hope, that under your ministrations, our Zion may be brought to rejoice in the strength of her Lord. We believe the harvest may be great, but the laborers are w^anting ; and we trust you will not decline what we hope you and all of us may be led by the Spirit of God to consider the summons of the Lord of the har- vest. " We are not conscious that any circumstance can exist, to induce a doubt in your mind of this being a call of duty ; but, anxious to omit no proper means of securing to our congregation your useful labors, if any such circumstance exist, we trust you will give us an opportunity to explain ; which we believe can be done, on all points, in a manner entirely satisfactory. "Requesting your communications may be addressed to either of the undersigned, we remain, with sentiments of great respect, reverend sir, " Your friends, "GERRIT H. VAN WAGENElSr, ) ^ "HARRY PETERS, J wakdens. " The Rev. James Milnor." The following was his first reply. "Philadelphia, June 10, 1816. " Gentlemen— I have to acknowledge the receipt of your favor of the 6th inst,, and to return you my thanks for the friendly and obliging terms in which you have been good enough to communicate the call of the wardens and vestry of St. George's, to the rectorship of that church. " Flattering as I consider an invitation to that respectable charge, I trust that on a subject so interesting as that of a per- manent removal from the place of my birth, to which so many attachments, relative, social, and religious, bind my affections, you will not be surprised at any hesitation which has been man- ifested on my part, in encouraging the measure, or that may now be evinced in regard to a compliance with your offer. " Of one thing I assure you, gentlemen, that if, after proper consideration, duty appears to require of me the surrender of personal convenience, it shall be made ; and that, should divine Providence direct my course to New York, as a measure of re- spect towards the congregation of St. George's, and with a view HIS MINISTRY. 215 to a better determination of a point of so much importance both to them and to myself, I propose to visit New York the latter part of the present week, and if it be agreeable, preach in your church on the ensuing Sunday. " In the meantime, the subject will be deeply reflected on by me ; and I trust I shall have your prayers associated with my own, imploring such a result as shall be for the glory of God, and the promotion of the kingdom of his Son. " I am, with sentiments of great respect, " Your obedient servant, "Gerrit H. Van Wagenen, } hardens etc " "Harry Peters, S ^^'^*^®^' ^^°- "JAMES MILNOR." In pursuance of the intimation thus given, Mr. Milnor was in New York on Saturday, the 15th of June ; and on Sunday, officiated all day at St. George's. His first sermon there was that which he first preached after the event of his ordination — from Rom. 1 : 16 : "I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ ;" and it was received, as were all his services there, with the greatest satisfaction. Assiduous attentions gathered round him from all parts of the congregation ; and before the close of his visit, it became evident to his own mind, that he could not, con- sistently with duty, decline the call which he had received. He intimated as much in his letters to Mrs. Milnor ; and in Philadel- phia, before his return, it was known to be a settled matter, thsit they were to lose him from among them. He spent two Sun- days in St. George's, and then returned to his native city, to meet practically the trial of a final severance from persons and from places so long and so deeply loved. While in New York, he signified to Bishop "White the prob- able issue of his visit ; and as the answer which he received was characteristic of that venerated man, and withal short, it is here inserted. "Philadelphia, June 20, 1816. "Rev. and dear Sir — I have received yours of yesterday, not without sensibility at the prospect of the dissolution of a con- nection begun with my approbation, continued to my entire sat- isfaction, and expected by me to be as lasting as the remainder 216 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. of my life. Being aware, however, how incompetent we are to determine on the comparative probabilities of usefulness in dif- ferent fields of labor, I do not permit myself to sit in judgment on the question of the wisdom of the measure adopted by you, but most sincerely wish that it may be for the benefit of the Church, and to the comfort of yourself and of the amiable lady who is equally interested in the issue. " Had my feelings been ever hurt by any thing which has passed during our connection, I should have made the allowance, intimated in your letter, of its being unintentional ; but there has been no cause of such an allowance. I will flatter myself that there has been as little appearance of offence on my part ; since, otherwise, you would not have declared so friendly regret for the ceasing of the relation in which we have stood to one another. " I wrote the above, intending to send it by Mr. Bo wen ; but after his leaving me, there ensued some interruptions, which con- tinued beyond the hour of his expected departure from the city. " I remain, your affectionate brother, "WK WHITE." While Mr. Milnor was in New York, an effort, full at first of sanguine hope, was made to retain his services for Philadelphia, by calling him to the rectorship of St. Paul's ; but it was, with sad regrets, abandoned, when it became known that his views inclined so strongly towards St. George's. His acceptance of the latter was signified to the vestry in New York before his return to Philadelphia, his letter of acceptance bearing the same date with the above from Bishop White. He wrote thus : "New York, June 20, 1816. " Gentlemen — Having suspended my decision upon your obliging call to the rectorship of St. George's, until I had an op- portunity of visiting the congregation, and they of hearing me perform divine service and preach, the unanimity which, I am since assured, prevails both in your body and amongst the people, leaves no doubt in my mind of its being my duty to comply with your wishes. ,«^ . "I accordingly accept the call, and implore the great Head HIS MINISTRY 217 of the Church to accompany with his blessing the connection thus formed between us. " Some time will be requisite for procuring a dissolution of my present engagement in Philadelphia, and for settling my con- cerns there. Any accommodation, therefore, in regard to the time of commencing my labors, that may be found convenient to you, will be acceptable. " I remain, gentlemen, with gratitude and respect, " Your obedient servant, "JAMES MILNOR." " To the Wardens and Vestrymen of St. George's." He had prepared a longer form of reply, in which he proposed to place the call again in the power of the vestry, to be renewed or suffered to expire, as they and the people might feel disposed, after having heard him in their desk and pulpit ; but, upon sec- ond thought, he laid aside the letter which he had written, and trusting to the evidences which he saw around him, of a unani- mous desire for his acceptance, penned and sent the brief letter just given. The canonical requisitions in order to his dismission from the diocese of Pennsylvania, and his settlement in that of New York, were in due time complied with ; the formalities in Pennsylvania bearing date June 28, 1816, and those in New York a few days earlier. His rectorship and emoluments in St. George's com- menced the 10th of July ; though he had leave of absence for the settlement of his affairs in Philadelphia, and did not remove his family till September. In the meantime, however, he twice vis- ited New York, spending two Sundays in July, the 21st and the 28th, and two in August, the 18th and the 25th, with his new parishioners. On the last of these occasions, he for the first time administered among them the Lord's supper ; the number of communicants being 135. The removal of his family, which was at the expense of his New York vestry, appears to have taken place before the 22d of September ; since, from that date, his services in St. George's were uninterrupted. His institution by Bishop Hobart, as rector of the parish, took place on Monday, September 30. The severance of one of the last links in the chain of his 218 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. connection with Philadelphia, was effected by his receipt of the last check of the accounting warden of the united churches for $375, the balance of his salary to the 10th of July ; accompanied by a kind note, in which the writer signified that his brother wardens in New York might send Mr. Milnor bigger checks, but could not give him better love. SECTION II. Mr. Milnor now entered on that long and uniform period of his ministerial career, which closed but with his life, and during which, as he kept no diary save that of the summer of 1830, it will be impossible to trace, in their order, the events of his his- tory. Such of his letters as have been recovered, will furnish our best knowledge both of his Christian and ministerial char- acter, and of his history from year to year. To these, indeed, much additional interest will be given by extracts from his diary in the summer of 1830, and by several contributions from others, touching the most interesting points of his life. "With the hearts of his people from the first united in him, and kindly yielding to his wise and gentle sway, his labors were not long in assuming that direction which, with little variation, they held to the end of his ministry. To his regular services in the pulpit, were soon added those of his favorite Tuesday and Friday evening lectures ; of his unceasing attention to parochial Sunday-schools ; of his management of the parish organization for the promotion of missionary and other benevolent operations ; and of his watchful care of the social meetings of his communi- cants for prayer and exhortation. Within his own parish, the stream of his ministerial life ran ever smooth. His preaching was always most favorably received, and encouragingly blessed. His Sunday-schools became large, prosperous, and, in a short time, several in number. His Friday evening lectures, which, when given in the lecture-room, were always opened with forms from the prayer-book, but usually closed with extemporaneous prayer, were uniformly to large au- diences, and often scenes of deep and powerful interest through ZUKof *'7' £:ruUcoit * C. AHD B.EGTOB.T, BEEKMAN St. NEW YORK. SS ^ee/zmoji St. •V- }^rk.. y THE", ■ I'uitiversity; HIS MINISTRY. 219 the evident presence of God's Holy Spirit. The benevolent opera- tions of his parish, conducted with wise reference to system, and sustained by constant manifestations of liberality, were steadily prosperous and increasingly productive. And the weekly meet- ings of his communicants for social prayer and conversation, sometimes attended by himself, but more frequently without his presence, were seldom if ever omitted, and not often destitute of truly pleasing tokens of the divine favor. Out of his parish, however, his course of labor lay through much opposition, and his day of action was often stormy. The extemporaneous close of his lecture-room exercises, and the meet- ings which he countenanced among his communicants for social prayer without forms, encountered the constant and earnest dis- pleasure of his bishop ; while the public stand which he felt it his duty to take, in cooperating with Christians of other denomina- tions in distributing the Bible without note or comment, and in circulating religious Tracts of an unsectarian character, drew upon him reiterated expressions of disapprobation, not only from his bishop, but also from a large portion of the Episcopal church. The manner, however, in which he met all this opposition, stand- ing, as he always did, mildly firm to his principles, his rights, and his sense of duty, displayed at once the strength of his char- acter and the beauty of his religion. Offensively or officiously, he urged his peculiarities upon none : from the ground which he felt constrained to take, he was moved by the reproaches of none. He blamed none for the different views of ministerial duty to which they chose to adhere : he suffered the interference of none to disturb him in those which he was led deliberately to adopt. He sought no party distinctions and no personal ends, either for himself or for others : he suffered not the stigma of offensive names, by whomsoever fastened on him, to withdraw his eye for a moment from the one great cause of Christ in which he was enlisted for life, and in which he sought to enlist his fellow- creatures ; but true to the line of duty by which a scripturally enlightened conscience bade him walk, and intelligent of the rights with which the laws of his church and of his country in- vested both himself and his brethren, he quietly took his course, and neither turned from it, nor faltered in it, until death. 220 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. His interest in the cause of the Bible before he left Philadel- phia, has already been noted. It has also been seen, that the American Bible Society was organized May 11, 1816 ; at the very time when he was in correspondence with the vestry of St. George's. At his settlement in New York, therefore, in Septem- ber, this central organization was but just beginning to put its machinery in motion ; and as he lost no time, after his removal to this city, in identifying himself with its friends, and had been previously engaged in those expanding activities of the Philadel- phia Bible Society, which, if they did not originate the general institution in New York, were at least in close connection and full sympathy with its originating causes, he may be considered, if not one of the first founders of that blessed institution, yet one of that noble band of Christian spirits of various name, but of harmonious views, and of united hearts, through whose influence its earliest foundations were laid. The history of his valuable labors in this Society belongs properly to a later page in this memoir. The mere fact of his early connection with its operations, is all that it is here necessary to state. For the present we have nothing to do but to trace the course of his labors and his life as well as we may, by the help of those few letters which have been recovered, and which he either wrote or received in the course of his prolonged and very varied correspondence. The following from a doubting parishioner, presents us with an interior view of his parochial life. An extract from it has already been given, in illustration of that early period of his relig- ious inquiries, when he was attempting to test his theory of a universal salvation by the word of God. "New York, July 31, 1817. " Rev. Sir — Emboldened by the permission which you gave me, of stating to you some of the impediments which prevent me from joining the company of travellers to Zion, I have taken the liberty of enclosing a few thoughts. I hope I have not written with too much boldness and disrespect, on a subject of which I wish to think and speak with reverence ; and that you will favor me with your opinion of them, and say whether you do not think HIS MINISTRY. 221 that one so faithless and wavering had better abstain from the table, lest, partaking with an unbelieving heart, she eat and drink condemnation to herself. Your candid sentiments on this sub- ject will much oblige, " Rev. sir, your friend, «C P . '' Rev. Mr. Milnor. " I am much pressed by those interested in my spiritual wel- fare to come forward as a public professor, and join the number of those who seal their faith and love by partaking of an ordi- nance, recommended by the Saviour as a memorial of himself. My not doing so is, I fear, misunderstood as obstinacy or indif- ference. But it proceeds from neither. Indeed, I feel sincerely sorry that I cannot go up with the assembly of saints, and feed upon those precious memorials with true faith and a thankful heart. But while I feel no assistance of faith ; while I know I do not experience the power of religion in my soul ; while I do not embrace the whole gospel plan with all my heart; while I cannot place such dependence on it as to say, ' Here is fu-m footing, here is solid rock ' — would it not be acting the hypo- crite to substitute appearance for reality, the shadow for the substance ? " Let it not be said I indulge a sceptical mind. Oh, I lament the disposition. I would fain believe with all the simplicity of a little child. But, alas, the evil spirit of unbelief is continually rising and starting objections. Some stumbling-block is ever in the way. Some doubt that cannot be solved constantly impedes my progress in the Christian course, and renders me cold and indifferent. Am I asked to mention some of these doubts ? They are not always present ; but often show themselves in many dif- fering forms. One of the most besetting and hardest to answer, is, that the gospel plan of salvation appears a confined one, allowing its utmost latitude, except as explained by the Univer- salists, and theirs is a creed which I dare not adopt. The Pre- destinarians say, that Christ's blood was not shed in vain ; that human nature is so depraved, so averse to good, so far gone out of the right way, that, although a remedy is provided for them, . tjhey will never turn and embrace it ; but that Christ, by his 222 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. sufferings, purchased the redemption of all that shall he saved ; that they are bought with a price ; that they are his ; and that therefore none of them shall be lost, but his Spirit will operate so powerfully on their minds, as to transform them, and make them willing to accept his offered grace. This is generally re- jected as a cold, contracted thought ; as derogating from the gen- erous motive that brought the Son of Grod from the abode of unceasing happiness to suffer and die, that guilty man might be fitted to partake of his endless glory. " ' He left his radiant throne on high, Left the bright realms of bliss, And came to earth to bleed and die ; ~ Was ever love like this V " 'Tis, indeed, a proof of love and mercy enough to thaw the frozen heart of apathy itself into feeling and devotion. Why, then, is mine so refractory ? Why will it not believe and accept? Alas, because I am a doubting Thomas. I have not faith, even as a grain of mustard seed. When I am about to stretch out the withered arm, and make a feeble attempt to lay hold on the hope presented in the Gospel, this thought arrests it : Can it be that those transactions have taken place, and were necessary for the salvation of men? And is it also necessary that they should believe and depend on them to be saved? Then, why is the knowledge of them so confined? If Christ came to save the world, and the world cannot be saved but by faith in him, what is to become of the greatest part of its inhabitants, who cannot exercise faith for want of knowledge ? How many of the ancients, who were endowed with great capacities, and seemed illumined by a light divine, have died without faith I They could not be- lieve what they had never heard. How many good men have died ignorant of the contents of the Bible ! Nay, how many in modern times have been sceptical, who have appeared to be sin- cere searchers after truth, and who have possessed capacious minds ! Are we not taught to believe this to be the first stage of being, that we are now fitting for the stations which we are hereafter to fill ? Does it not seem probable, then, that a com- prehensive mind, which here just began to unfold, will expand and enlarge when it enters that world where faith shall be swal- HIS MINISTRY. 223 lowed up in vision ? And if so, was it — with powers superior, in the order of being, to common minds— created for no purpose ? Does it not appear to have some part to act hereafter, and that its powers of perception will increase, when, freed from its dark prison-house, it can soar and view what mortal eye hath not seen, ear heard, or heart of man conceived ? Yet many of these have died unbelievers, and we are told, that ' without faith it is impossible to please God.' " There are other difficulties, not so formidable, indeed, which still create doubts. One is, the want of charity among profes- sors. If the fruit of the Spirit be love and gentleness ; if Christ said, ' By this shall all men know ye are my disciples, if ye love one another,' what testimony to the fulfilling of this command do different sects exhibit in their charity for each other ? Al- though travelling to the same place, they yet obey not the injunc- tion, ' Fall not out by the way ;' but because they understand not all the directions alike, a spirit of acrimony and contention usurps the place of brotherly kindness. Forgetting that they are all equally sincere in their interpretations of their Master's com- mands, and that he alone can judge who has best understood his orders, they ' snatch from his hand the balance and the rod,' and are often more inveterate against their fellow-Christians that differ from them, than they are against Infidels. Where, says unbelief, is the transforming influence, in all this, of a religion that changes a sinner into a saint ; or if so many paths lead astray from the right one, why are we left, blind as we are, to grope our way with such obscure directions ? " I do not encourage these difficulties ; they force themselves upon me : they weaken my confidence in revelation ; take from me that prop on which my hopes, my affections, would fain lean, and leave, instead, a cold, insensible, doubting heart. Would such a sacrifice be acceptable ? Or can it possibly be brought to the table of the Lord ?" Answer. "New York, Aug. — , 1817. " My dear Madam — To the question with which you close your communication, I answer, without hesitation, in the nega- tive. With your present feelings, it would be wrong in your 224 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. friends to press you on the subject of communion. But the cir- cumstances which now restrain your approach to the table of the Lord, are of vastly more importance when viewed in reference to eternity, than when considered in reference to this prelimi- nary ordinance. They form a most alarming barrier to those hopes, which its participation is designed not to create, but to strengthen and confirm; and therefore, in regard not to this measure alone, but to that heavenly happiness after which its faithful recipients aspire, it is of infinite interest to you that the doubts with which you are harassed should be removed. Noth- ing, indeed, but a superior Power can do this ; but if ho be ap- pealed to with earnestness and sincerity, and if fervent prayer he accompanied by the use of all those means of knowledge with which we are favored, I have no doubt that the truths of reve- lation will shine into your mind with a radiance that shall dispel from it every cloud of unbelief " Your letter, though leading to a fear that your mind is dis- turbed on other points, yet appears to me to embrace, substan- tially, but two difficulties ; the latter of which, as the less im- portant, I will notice first. This is, the want of charity among professing Christians. The existence of this evil, to a lamenta- ble extent, cannot be denied ; yet perhaps it is not so generally prevalent as you imagine. "Where the errors of some sects affect the vital truths of religion, those on which salvation is deemed to depend, they are assailed by others with a vehemence and even intemperance of language, which the maintenance of truth, im- portant as it is, will not justify. And yet, where this is the case, so far from hostility to individuals being felt, the unhappy per- sons who are believed to be in error are often borne on the hearts of their opponents in secret prayer to God, and in sincere suppli- cation presented in their behalf. Acrimony, violent and unpar- donable, it is admitted, is sometimes indulged, and not unfre- quently on points of minor importance. But may not much sin- cerity in these persons, though so improperly manifested, really exist? And even where blamable motives prompt contending parties, does this affect the truth of that religion, all whose prin- ciples and precepts are directed to the rectification or removal of those motives ? It proves the deep and radical corruption of hu- HIS MINISTRY. 225 man nature. It furnishes ground for apprehending, that the per- sons in question have not experienced the transforming influence of that religion whose very basis is love, or that it has but par- tially operated its effects on their minds. If, on a recurrence to the system in w^hich they profess to believe, that is found to jus- tify, even towards enemies, hatred and animosity, then reject it as inconsistent with the nature and attributes of Deity ; but if, on the contrary, it is seen exacting of all its professors the culti- vation of love to God and man ; if its great object of conscien*. tious pursuit, as there delineated, be that ' wisdom which is from above,' and which is characterized as being ' first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy ;' then, surely, it is wrong to transfer the blame, to which false or mis- taken professors are justly liable, to a system which condomns their conduct. 'AH are not Israel that are of Israel.' Hypo- crites and self-deceivers have ever infested the Church of Christ, and on other minds than yours have produced prejudices against the religion which they disgraced. Nay, might we not as well condemn the eleven apostles, because their remaining associate was a traitor ; or the blessed Jesus and his instructions, because they failed in producing the same benign effect on the heart of Judas, which we know they did produce on those of the others; as to say that, because hypocrites obtrude themselves among the sin- cere, or because the inveterate deprg^vity of the human heart has, in many professors, been but partially subdued, therefore that system which stamps condemnation, and pronounces the most fearful threatenings on their misconduct, is false and unfounded ? " But is the spirit of which you speak of universal preva- lence? Are ally or the greater portion of Christians, chargeable with a want of charity ? If it were so, this would justly excite doubts of the power of Christianity to transform even its sincere adherents. Do the various methods by which the hostility of Christian sects has, in our day, been so much lessened, furnish no answer to your objection ? Is there no proof that this acri- monious disposition is every day yielding to the bland affections which swayed the soul of the Redeemer, and which his precepts and example are calculated to infuse into all his true disciples ? Mem. Hilnor. - 15 S36 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. Do Bible societies, composed of ajl religious sects ; missionary associations, uniting several denominations heretofore deemed hostile to each other ; charitable institutions for the succor of the miserable and the instruction of the indigent, embracing a harmonious union of almost every department of the Christian world : nay, does the intercourse of private life afford no testi- mony that, if not in all, yet in many hearts the doctrines of the Gospel have produced the happiest, most glorious effects? I really think, that on consideration, you will perceive there is, in your suggestion, some indication of the very fault in yourself which you condemn in Christians ; and that, in fact, one of the strongest evidences of the truth of our blessed religion is the obvious effects which it has produced in ameliorating the man- ners and feelings of society, and in its begetting a love among its professors, which we may in vain look for in any country where it has not obtained an entrance. " The other difficulty which besets you, you state to be the confined character of the gospel plan, ' allo'wing the utmost lati- tude, except as explained by the Universalists ; and theirs,' you say, ' is a creed which you dare not adopt.' I am glad of this latter remark, because this, as well as other expressions of your letter, shows that your mental embarrassments have not only failed to prepare you for rejecting wholly the system of revealed truth, on which our immortal happiness depends, but also left you sufficient discernment to see the iniquity of a plan that, with a fair show of benevolence, would prostrate all distinctions between good and evil, and consequently between the opposite results, which reason, even without revelation, teaches us ought severally to follow. " You allude to the confined aspect of the predestinarian scheme. Except under modifications which its strict adherents will not admit, my past reflections have not led me into this view of the gospel plan. Of course I am not obliged to defend Chris- tianity attended by this incumbrance. Rejecting, then, this view of it, where is the ground for your objection ? So far from being liable to it in its own nature, the whole system is predi cated on the purest and most extensive principles of universal benevolence. - : . HIS MINISTRY. 227 " The race of mankind lose their integrity and become rebels against God. A restoration to purity and a title to forgiveness are, by human means, unattainable. Mere mercy, under the direction of infinite wisdom, in accordance, too, with the princi- ples of justice, provides a method whereby both may be procured. This is offered to all, urged upon all. Not one of the human family is excluded from a right to its participation on the terms prescribed. A church, a ministry, and ordinances, are established for the promulgation of this expanded scheme of beneficence to all the nations of the world. Through the agency of these, with the written word and the accompanying influences of the Spirit, it is making progress over the earth, is now daily accelerating its march, and will not stop till all ' the kingdoms of the earth become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ.' "But 'it has not been made known everywhere at once. Why,' you ask, ' is the knowledge of it still so confined ? What is to become of those who, for want of knowledge, caimot exer- cise faith ?' Might not the question be as well settled, first, Why does not God conduct all the operations of his providence by miracle ? Why does he operate at all by human means ? As to the gradual progress of Christianity, though it would be easy to advance many conjectural reasons for it, I find the difficulty, if it be one, answered in my own mind by a reflection, which, I believe, ought to satisfy yours. Not only according to the declarations of Scripture, but necessarily, it is of the very es- sence of Deity, that his ways should be inscrutable. If our finite apprehensions could fathom all his plans, then indeed would be realized the fallacious promise of the tempter to our first parents : we should ' become as God.' If we could understand, or recon- cile his transactions in a thousand other particulars, on which we are equally blind ; if we could, for instance, without falling into Atheism, account in any other mannier than that in which Scripture accounts for the origin and continued prevalence of evil ; if we could tell why Omnipotence has made the circum- stances of nations, and the lots of individuals, and their grades of happiness so unequal— one nation free and happy, another enslaved and miserable ; one individual born in a climate mild and genial as Eden, another freezing near the poles or burning 228 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. under the line ; one almost uninterruptedly prosperous and happy, another ever unsuccessful and wretched ; and if, in innumerable other instances, we could see the reason of circumstances and events which, if we believe in a God, we must certainly admit to be under his control, then we might, perhaps, be able to say why, by an instantaneous and of course miraculous operation, he does not communicate the light of the Grospel to every portion of the globe. I forbear, therefore, to assign reasons for the Almighty, which it has not been his pleasure to reveal. I bow in silent submission. ' Even so. Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight.' ' We know not the thoughts of the Lord ; neither understand we his counsels.' It is a presumptuous arraignment of his providence in me to doubt, though I cannot by searching find out the reason of his ways, that they are ordered in infinite wisdom and goodness, and will issue in those results that shall most promote his glory. "As to the condemnation of those to whom the Grospel has not been revealed, your difficulty is founded on an assumption, to which, I apprehend, but few enlightened Christians would accede ; that is, that the heathen will be condemned for not exer- cising that faith which his want of knowledge makes it impossi- ble for him to feel. This is not my creed. St. Paul says, 'When the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these having not the law, are a law unto themselves, which show the work of the law written in their hearts ; their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing, or else excusing one another.' The heathen world are certainly in a deplorable state of ignorance and wickedness, and every endeavor should be made for their illumination and conversion ; but my mind rejects with abhor- rence the sentiment which involves them indiscriminately in a sentence of condemnation. Notwithstanding the passage which you quote, that 'without faith it is impossible to please God'— which I think should be restricted to those who are capable of its exercise — there are many considerations furnished by the Bible in support of the rational conclusion, that God, who is *no respecter of persons,' will not condemn, for the want of this grace, those who, without fault of their own, are incompetent to J HIS MINISTRY. 229 its attainment. This opinion is advanced and supported by Drs. Macknight, Whitby, Clarke, and many other writers of unques- tionable piety and learning. It is assumed in an approved body of Calvinistic divinity now before me ; and if many of a persua- sion deemed so rigid are willing to allow, as the author declares, that ' the heathen will not be condemned for not believing in Christ, whom they never heard of, or for not complying with the gospel overture, that was never made to them ; and that invinci- ble ignorance, though it be an unhappiness and a consequence of our fallen state, is not a crime ;' I see not why we should perplex ourselves with a difficulty which is of our own creation, and which arises not out of any just view of the declarations of Grod's word. " But if we were constrained to leave the question of the pos- sible salvation of unconverted heathen undecided, to me it seems not to affect that of solicitude about our own. We have the light of the Gospel ; and whatever may be the doom of those who have it not, if we remain heathen amid the blaze of divine light with which we are surrounded, we cannot doubt our own. And this remark contains my answer to your difficulty about those mod- ern sceptics, who appear to you to have been sincere inquirers after truth, and who, with eminent talents for its discovery, have yet continued unbelievers. If you are acquainted with the writ- ings of these persons, I ask you whether they seem to have ever sought after truth in a disposition suited to its attainment, or in a manner that will excuse an ignorance which I cannot but be* lieve to be wilful ? I declare that my knowledge of their writ- ings convinces me, that their only search was after fresh food for scepticism ; that the depravity of their hearts is manifest in the manner as well as in the substance of their assaults upon relig- ion ; and that there is no evidence of any of them having availed themselves of the assistances with which God is ever ready to supply real inquirers after truth. As a believer in the Bible, I give full credence to its declarations, that ' the world by wisdom knows not God,' or his ways; that 'the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him ; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually dis- cerned.' These men were strangers to prayer, deniers of the 230 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. supernatural light which we Christians believe to be requisite and attainable, and presumptuous admirers of their own natural and acquired powers. Can it be wondered that they were left in spiritual blindness, and destined to endure the consequences of wilful unbelief ? "And now, madam, will you allow me, with a frankness which the candor of your communication justifies and calls for, to make an encouraging suggestion, and to follow it by a recom- mendation of that course which I believe it to be your duty and interest to pursue ? Many of your expressions indicate a sensi- bility that would seem inconsistent with actual unbelief ; espe- cially that desire, which you say you feel for the attainment of a true faith, and your aversion to entertain doubts, which, never- theless, involuntarily obtrude themselves, and appear to be the causes of much mental uneasiness and distress. On these favor- able circumstances do I rest my hope — what pleasure will it give me to see it realized — that God's blessing will attend your endeavors to come to a better mind. " Now the recommendation, with which I am encouraged to follow this suggestion, is warranted by my own experience of its benefits." [Here follows the account of his own experience, given in a former extract, vide pp. 91-93, after which he thus proceeds :] " I know the charge of egotism, to which this plain narrative would, in many minds, subject me. But I hope I shall be acquit- ted of any desire to boast when I declare, that my only view is to incite you to pursue a course which, from a persuasion of its effi- cacy, I can safely recommend ; and this, not on the ground of any very elevated personal confidence to which it has raised me, but on that of its having dismissed from my mind every shadow of doubt as to the true way of salvation, and of its having excited in my heart fervent desires and a humble hope of an ultimate attainment of that happiness to which it leads. " No exertions of our own, unblessed by the great Supreme, can give us genuine faith, or qualify us to bring forth the fruits of righteousness. After all that we have done, we shall, if prop- erly enlightened, be brought to a simple reliance on the merits and atonement of the Saviour for acceptance with God. Still, HIS MINISTRY. 231 we are called upon to strive ; and we are encouraged to do so by many great and precious promises. But if, instead of ' working out our own salvation with fear and trembling,' and imploring God to ' work in us to will and to do of his good pleasure ;' that is, if, instead of uniting laborious effort with implicit faith, we neglect our own interests, and are cavilling at the revealed decla- rations, or the providential arrangements of God ; if we entertain every phantasy which the enemy of our souls or our own wicked hearts may raise ; if we neglect prayer, and instead of attending to our own souls, and ' striving to enter in at the strait gate,' we are impatiently asking whether there be 'few that be saved,' or involving ourselves in other matters too high for us to reach, we shall probably be left to the delusions of our own hearts, and fail of our hopes of heaven. 0, madam, as you value your soul, let me entreat you to turn your thoughts inward ; and instead of em- ploying yourself on subjects which the wisest heads have never been able fully to unfold, go to Christ with the simplicity of a little child, and be willing to learn of him. You will find one evi- dence of his favor an ample substitute for a thousand conjectures ; and he will succeed it by tokens of love, that shall fill you with 'joy unspeakable and full of glory.' For ' they shall know, who follow on to know the Lord.' ' If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God.' ' "Wait on the Lord : be of good courage ; he will strengthen thy heart.' Per- severing in your endeavors, you will be made ' free from sin ;' and becoming 'the servant of God, you will have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.' " I pray God to give you his blessing, and remain, " Your obedient servant, and affectionate pastor, "JAMES MILNOR" This may be called a wise as well as faithful piece of Christian teaching and advice ; and if she to whom it was addressed be not finally found one of the gems in Milnor's crown of rejoicing, it will not be because his letter failed of the duty which he owed as her spiritual guide. The next two letters are of a different character ; though they also give us an interior view of his parochial life. 232 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. " New York, August 18, 1817. " Sir — You will, I hope, excuse the liberty I take in troubling you with the perusal of these lines ; but the urgency I have to be informed respecting many points in religion, has, prompted me to this method of being satisfied, and must furnish my excuse ; while the high ground on which you stand as an ecclesiastic, pointed you out as one fully competent " to satisfy my inquiries. " I have, within this last year, imbibed — how, I scarcely know — ideas that vary very little, if any, from the principles of Deism. I have lately commenced an acquaintance with a young man, who has advanced many things to stagger my faith in the authenticity of the Bible, and, of course, in the being of a Saviour. You will probably start at a young person's avowing so much ; for I am but nineteen, and was brought up with strictness in the Episcopal persuasion. His chief argument is the contradictions which appear in the Bible, and which would not be found had it been written by inspiration of God." The letter then proceeds with a catalogue of these alleged contradictions from the Pentateuch ; after which it thus concludes : " I have, as yet, proceeded no farther in conning the different parts of the Scriptures ; but a satisfactory explanation of the preceding passages will go far, if not entirely, to remove my doubts, as I am open to conviction. I hope you will think me right in proclaiming my doubts, that I may have them, if possible, removed. I shall wait with impatience till I receive an answer. " I remain yours, etc. 5) "Rev. James MiLNOR. " P. S. Please direct Charles H. Fitz Edmond, to be left at the po^t-office till called for." This anonymous young sceptic seems to have been one of those sincere inquirers after truth, who boast of their openness to con- viction, while evidently deeming their objections against the Bible irremovable. He had an answer probably different from what he expected. " Beekman-street, No. 27, Aug. 20, 1817. " Sir — With the sincerest disposition, I trust, to assist, so far as I am able, any sincere inquirer after truth, it will afford me HIS MINISTRY. 233 very great pleasure, should such be your pursuit, to be service- able to you. But it comports neither with my sense of propriety, nor with my personal convenience, to do this through the medium of an epistolary correspondence, which may run into much length, and in which, for want of explanations, too minute to be put on paper, misunderstanding may take place. If you have been seduced into a connection with a persoii who has hardened his heart into Deism, and, with the malignant disposition which characterizes the Infidel, is not content to destroy his bwn soul, but seeks to make you his companion in misery, I beseech you, my young friend, break off your intercourse with him ; seek the establishment of your mind in the most interesting of all con- cerns ; and when God has enlightened you to a clear discovery and reception of religious truth, he may make you a means of converting the unhappy young man. He has my prayers that he may not, by cold unbelief, experience a fate as calamitous as that of the Egyptian prince, whose being given over to the delusions of his own heart, instead of exciting a cavil against the Bible, should be a warning to us, lest we also fall into the same con- demnation. " Every objection stated in your letter has been successively urged by all the infidel writers who have, in turn, opposed their puny efforts to the truth of Grod, and as often been with readiness refuted. They constitute but a small part of the trivial weap- ons by which a system; has been assailed, whose foundations are as eternal as the heavens, and by no exertions of mortal man can be overthrown, or even shaken. On them, as well as other diffi- culties, I shall be happy to converse with you at any time, in my own house, provided you are disposed with seriousness and sin- cerity to seek satisfaction on points that have unhappily disturbed your belief in the Scriptures. "I have myself known the evil of an unbelieving heart. I bless God that I have been brought by his mercy into a stead- fastness of faith that men and devils cannot shake. It is my daily happiness to enjoy a confidence that smooths every difficulty in life, inspires a serenity and peace which the infidel cannot know, and directs my view to an eternity of happiness, which Grod has reserved for those who believe his promises, and devote 234 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. themselves to his service. Such, my dear sir, will be your expe- rience, if you use those means which a merciful God has given us for attaining his forgiveness and favor. " I am your sincere well-wisher, "JAMES MILNOR." Judiciously differing responses to sceptical inquirers, according as their appeals were prompted by a serious solicitude to know and obey the truth, or by the spirit of precocious and self-compla- cent cavil. It is evident from both appeals, that the first year of Mr. Milnor's ministry in St. George's had given him a deep reach into minds of various habits ; and that his teachings were working with power among the surrounding elements of scepti- cism and unbelief, as well as among those of humble honesty and earnestness in the concerns of our higher life. The summer of 1817 was occupied by the vestry of St. George's in erecting the Sunday-school and lecture rooms, which have long stood on the rear of the church-grounds ; rooms conse- crated by better forms than those of man's device — ^the overshad- owing presence and the inworking power of God's ever-gracious Spirit — rooms in which some of Mr. Milnor's best labors were performed, and many of his best fruits gathered. The building in which these rooms are contained being fin- ished and ready for use, it was first opened for religious services on the evening of Sunday, November 9, 1817. At the hour for service, the vestry of the parish, accompanied by the officers of the New York Sunday-school Union Society, the superintendent, teachers, and children of the parochial schools, and a number of respectable visitors, proceeded to the upper room ; where, after appropriate prayers, a short address was delivered by the rector, and a suitable hymn sung by the children. In due order, they then proceeded to the adjoining church, where a large congrega- tion were awaiting them, and where, after prayers by the rector, and a psalm by the congregation, a hymn was sung responsively by the children and teachers. The rector then delivered an interesting address ; and the whole service closed with a third hymn, sung responsively by the congregation and the children, and with the customary benediction. The occasion was one of abiding interest. It was an evidence HIS MINISTRY. 235 to Mr. Milnor of his first year's prosperity in his work ; and it opelied means by which, for nearly thirty years longer, his labors were rendered increasingly effective and fruitful. Many plants of his heavenly Father's planting, are now growing in heaven, whose roots first struck into the good soil of graciously prepared hearts in old St. George's Sunday-school and lecture room. The occasion, indeed, had a more ephemeral, though, for the day, a more stirriipig memory, from the very vigilance with which the new rector of St. George's was watched in certain quarters, and from the representations made there to the effect, that before his Sunday-school address, he had omitted the regular church- service. His parish Sunday-schools were at this time connected, not with the Episcopal, but with the New York Sunday-school Union; the latter being a society composed of different Christian denominations. This relation of his schools was distasteful in the quarters referred to, and disposed his vigilant observers to seize, for censure, the first irregularity with which he should be found chargeable. Hence the promptness with which his noised omission was assailed. The ferment, however, suddenly subsided upon its becoming more accurately known, that on the occasion referred to, he had really been chargeable with no irregularity. The noise of this brief stir was heard in other places besides New York, as he learned by a letter from a friend in Philadel- phia, of which the following is an extract. ,j ' "Philadelphia, January 6, 1818. ■*, " My dear Friend — I feel much disposed to write a very long letter, and to give you a vast deal of interesting information, both about yourself and those who are keeping an eye on all your movements and irregularities, particularly on Sunday-school occasions. But as I fear you have lost much of the interest which you once felt in Philadelphia and Philadelphia friends, I will confine myself to the main object of my letter. I must, how- ever, by the way, just let you know that the hints, and insinua- tions, and innuendoes, which passed pretty freely among certain individuals, and those not a few, relative to your omission of the church-service on the occasion of your late Sunday-school meet- ing, when you delivered your address, have all recoiled on their 236 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. own heads; and it has been pretty satisfactorily proven, to the regret, I fear, of some, that you are yet a regular man," , From the date of the letters which Mr. Milnor wrote to his two sceptical inquirers in the summer of 1817, the period of almost four years, running on to April, 1821, is, so far as letters and other documentary traces of his course are concerned, an almost total blank; but little, touching that period, having been recovered from the absorbing gulf of the past. Of his life, however, dur- ing that period, a sufficiently distinct idea may be formed from the next letter which we are enabled to present. It was ad- dressed to the Rev. Charles P. Mcllvaine, and dated, " New York, April 9, f821. " Rev. and dear Brother — I have to return you my sincere thanks for the pleasure which you afforded me, in introducing to my acquaintance your friend Mr. Robinson; from whose so- ciety, so far as it was my privilege to enjoy it during his stay in New York, I derived no little gratification. One of the most interesting topics of our conversation was yourself, and the mo- mentous interests which the favor of a kind Providence is per- mitting you, as an honored instrument, so signally to promote. I congratulate you, my very dear young friend, on the success which I learn from other sources, as well as the one just men- tioned, is accompanying your labors in the gospel field ; and de- voutly pray that God, whose we are, and whom we serve, to continue his blessing on the good work to which I have no doubt his Spirit has called you. "I am happy now to have it in my power to reciprocate your kindness in making known to me your friend, Mr. Robinson, by presenting to you one of mine^ the Rev. Mr. Tyng, a recent pupil of Bishop Griswold, who is anxious to be employed without delay in the work of an evangelist. I have thought, my dear friend, that God has given me an opportunity in him of gratifying all Mr. Robinson's wishes. He is a young gentleman of good talents and acquirements; of personal piety and agreeable maimers; of decidedly evangelical views; a moderate churchman, who loves his own communion, but does not exclude from his affections any HIS MINISTRY. 237 who love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, and a pleasing speaker. I am persuaded that Mr. Tyng's heart is so much in the work as to promise great success to his exertions ; and that, should he become an inmate of our friend's family, he will com- mend himself to their friendship and esteem. "Although I feel myself very much to blame in delaying so long to write to you, yet I hope you are prepared to receive an apology, which will mitigate in some degree the severity of your censure. Since last fall, I have had two lectures in the week, besides my services on Sunday ; catechetical exercises ; superin- tendence of Jive Sunday-schools ; various agencies in public insti- tutions ; and from my peculiar situation here, a greater amount of parochial and extra duty than usually falls to the lot of a sin- gle presbyter. I dp not mention these things boastingly. Alas, I am afflictingly sensible how little I do for Him who has done so much for me. A better qualified man would, no doubt, with much greater facility get through such a course of duty as that in which I am engaged. But for me, the situation which I fill is an arduous one, and requires my unremitted and laborious atten- tion to go through its exactions with any tolerable satisfaction to my own mind. " I wish I could give you more favorable accounts than I hon- estly can of the state of spiritual things amongst us. Luke- warmness and formality, error in doctrine and latitudinarianism in practice, deform, in a greater or less degree, all our churches. In all of them are to be found a few who have not bowed the knee to Baal ; but I am afraid our city, large as it is, would not, out of the Episcopal churches, furnish theprophet's number. In St. Greorge's, we continue to have a goodly number of devoted, praying people ; our Sunday-schools are flourishing ; and every season of communion exhibits some addition to the number of Christ's true disciples. The congregation have now, for near five years, been proof against every attempt to sow dissension among them ; and those who have not experimentally felt its power, are still willing to hear the truth. But what cause of grief is it to any minister, whose heart's desire and prayer is the salvation of his people, to see so many, young and old, still stran- gers to a crucified Saviour ; still living to the world ; still un- 238 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. mindful of the interests of their never-dying souls. It is a ground of unspeakable gratitude that any should, through the divine blessing on our labors, be plucked as brands from the burning ; but when we are filled with a sense of the value of the souls committed to our charge, how feelingly alive should we be to the consideration of the immense danger to ourselves, if one be lost through our negligence or remissness! God grant, my endeared fellow-laborer, that neither you nor I may be the sub- ject of this awful guilt." After alluding, in rather pointed terms, to the opposition which he had been called to encounter, he adds, " But if much more serious consequences than I have occa- sion to apprehend, were to follow my adhereuQe to that ministe- rial course, which the finger of Grod marked out for me at its beginning, and to which, by divine grace, I have been enabled hitherto to keep, I trust nothing would terrify or allure me from it ; unless, which may God prevent, I should merit the withdraw- ing of those influences from above, which alone can enable sCny of us to persevere to the end. " Your affectionate brother, "JAMES MILNOR." *' P. S. Mr. Tyng can give you information, if you have not before had it, respecting a splendid testamentary benefaction to Bishop Hobart's seminary. May the great Head of the Church overrule its application to the promotion of his own glory and the salvation of sinners. If the General Seminary had remained in New York," (it had been removed to New Haven,) " the legacy would have been theirs. Some think, if it be brought back into this state, they may yet claim it. But Bishop Hobart's lawyers say it is a clear case for him. As I am a minister and no law- yer, it becomes me to listen to others, but to abstain from giving any opinion myself. ' iVe sutor ultra crepidarn.'' " Yours truly, « j. m." The legacy mentioned in this postscript, was "The Sherrid Legacy ;" and the " Bishop Hobart's Seminary," a diocesan school of divinity, organized, under that bishop's patronage, after the removal of the General Seminary to New Haven, and, as being HIS MINISTRY. 239 in New York, claiming the legacy under the terms of the be- quest. The General Seminary was afterwards restored to New York, Bishop Hobart's school merged in it, and the Sherrid legacy settled as a part of its endowment. As to the account, contained in t^ie foregoing letter, of the engrossing character of his avocations, it might be taken and spread over his entire life in New York, and be found a suffi- ciently accurate description of the whole. His thorough busi- ness habits before he entered the ministry, made him a thorough business man after his entrance. "Wherever ecclesiastical inter- ests called for business talents, he was sure to be called ; except, indeed, in those quarters where opposition to his theological views and his ministerial course kept him, to some extent, out of posts of labor which he might otherwise have filled to profit. This, however, only left him a more available man in the general relig- ious institutions of the city, with many of which he became, as years rolled by, more and more closely identified, and through which he became more and more widely useful. In consequence of his rare qualifications for business, he became emphatically a busy man, not in the select world of letters and of authorship, but in the great world of action and of live results. He became embodied^in the living Christianity of his age, and his memoirs will be found best written, not on the pages of any book, but in the effects of the many institutions which he served — in the souls of those multitudes whose salvation he has been, and yet will be one of the instruments of securing. Beyond the general application of these remarks to his labors, , during the years which we have seen so blank of letters and other documentary traces of his course, little remains to be said. . The following bare incidents are all that have been recovered. Within that period he received from the University of Pennsyl- vania the degree of (^octor of divinity. On the evening of Sun- day, December 20, 1818, he preached a sermon in St. George's for the Protestant Episcopal Missionary Society of New York, the effectiveness of which had its evidence in the collection ensu- ing, of $505. His list of sermons, moreover, and of the times and, places of their delivery, shows that his labors in the pulpit were arduous and- unceasing ; save that from August 27, 1820, to 240 MEMOIR QF DR. MILNOR. September 17 — four Sundays — he was confined to his house by a painful disease which he describes as an " abscess." Passing, now, with the current of events, we meet one which suggests a reflection. No man^ is perfect. Perhaps he is most perfect, or most likely to become so, who cannot sleep well, till in the ear of a wronged fellow-man, he has acknowledged his infirmity, and any act of injustice into which it may have be- trayed him. Miserable sinners that we are, we can confess our trespasses to Gtod with tenfold more courage than that with which we can acknowledge a wrong to a fellow-sinner. Dr. Milnor was not perfect, but he was perfect enough to do this difficult thing. Witness the following interchange of letters, which are to the credit of both the parties concerned. The indi- vidual whom Dr. Milnor addressed, is still living ; his name, therefore, is withheld. " Beekman-strebt, Wednesday evening, Nov. 13, 1822. " My dear Sir — I have felt concerned, since I left you this afternoon, lest, under a momentary warmth of feeling, excited by the expression of opinions on your part, in reference to Bible Societies, for which I was wholly unprepared, I may have made a remark or two calculated to wound you. The institutions which you condemned, have a stronger hold on tny aifections than any in existence of merely human origin ; and to their sup- port I have devoted, and shall continue to devote my best exer- tions, under the impression that, next to my immediate duties as the pastor of a congregation, I can in no other way so efficiently subserve the cause of Christ. But on this subject you have a right to your opinion, as I have to mine ; and therefore, though I lament the change of sentiment which you professed, yet I also regret that any allusion to it should have been made in the rapid conversation which passed between us, that might interfere with our future good understanding upon the many subjects in which, as ministers and Christians, we no doubt agree. "Although I acknowledge myself as tenacious as any man of opinions, formed after as long consideration as I have given to the Bible cause, and shall not shrink, on all proper occasions, from their maintenance ; yet I wish to hold these, and all others, HIS MINISTRY. 241 in a spirit of meekness, and if at any time betrayed into improper warmth of expression, it will give me as great pleasure as it now does, to own my sorrow. I write to you in Christian confidence, being, with much regard, " Your brother in the Lord, ^ "JAMES MILNOR." "Rev. Dr. . Reply to the foregoing. "New York, Nov. 18, 1822. " Rev. and dear Sir — I have been prevented, by an engage- ment which completely occupied my thoughts, from replying to your note of the 13th inst., and beg you will excuse the delay. " My feelings, it is true, were somewhat wounded by your remarks, particularly in imputing to me unworthy motives for changing my opinion on the subject upon which we formerly agreed, but now differ. But attributing those remarks to a mo- mentary excitement, which it was very natural to expect, I did not suffer the unpleasant impression to remain on my mind ; and I most cordially reciprocate your desire, that, though we may continue to disagree in opinion on a particular mode of dissemi- nating religious knowledge, yet nothing that has passed should interrupt the harmony and brotherly love which ought to subsist between tis as ministers of the same church and disciples of the same Lord. " In haste, but with great respect and esteem, I remain, "Yours, "The Rev. Dr. Milnor.'" Here, again, from the close of 1822 till towards the spring of 1825, another period, of more than two years, must be passed over, with no other notices of his life than those which lie on the silent records, and live in the spiritual results of his ceaseless activities. • ' At the beginning of 1825, he was suddenly seized with gout in the stomach ; and the attack proved so severe that, at last, he seemed to be yielding up his spirit. His family, his physioiany himself, believed, on Sunday morning, that while his parishion- ers were mournfully entering the doors of their sanctuary, he wa» in articulo mortis, passing through the very gates of death. In* Mem. Milnor. 1 6 M2 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. deed, it was reported through the city that his decease had actu- ally taken place ; and the writer of this, who was then a mem- ber of the General Theological Seminary, remembers with great distinctness, the sensation which ran through the hearts, making itself visible in the saddened countenances, and audible in the low sighs of his fellow-students, when the announcement came that morning that Dr. Milnor was dead. The afflictive intelli- gence, however, was soon contradicted ; and it was found that, at the time when he was pronounced in a dying state, he was passing a critical point in his disease, after which he began sen- sibly to recover. In the rapid progress of his disease, he sunk, lower and lower, till his feet touched the earth at the very brink of the grave ; but at that point, as if the touch had brought him where the power of God was waiting to arrest his descent into the dark chambers of the dead, he at once rebounded, and by slow but steady degrees sprang up again to the cheerful day of health and duty. His first sermon after his illness was preached the 13th of March. The peril through which he thus passed, made the public aware of the great value of his character and influence ; and showed, in the most touching manner, the depth and strength of the hold which he had obtained upon the respect, the love, the veneration, of his fellow-citizens. For weeks, the whole religious community of New York, without distinction of name, were laboring in prayer for him unto God. From Sabbath to Sabbath scarcely a sanctuary was open in which the throne of mercy was not besieged with most earnest supplications in his behalf. The lecture-room and prayer-meetings of his own dear flock, in par- ticular, became almost daily scenes of solemn, tearful, trembling wrestlings with the angel of the covenant, that yet a little while he might be spared. Faith, hope, pleading faith, humble hope, were there ; bowed down, indeed, and almost awed to silence ; but laboring all the more intensely and strugglingly, from the very pressure under which they bent ; and seeming to say, though in words it came not, " Lord, we cannot give him up ; his work is not done : we cannot give him up." And the Lord heard and spared ; and many were the adoring disciples^ who thenceforth went on their way, and still go on their way, strong in the feel- HIS MINISTRY. ((U H I "^ ''S'ISI ^ ^ ^ ' ing and the faith that the twenty added years of theif pai^toi''^ liffiN. if\^y^ were the gracious gift of a Father in heaven to those unwontedly earnest and persevering prayers. But it will be asked, what were his own views while passing through the scenes now described ? His own pen and those of his nearest observers shall answer. Here is a letter, which he wrote from his chamber after he had regained strength to write. It was to his friend Mcllvaine. "New York, Feb. 22d, 1825. " My dear Brother — I thank you for your kind favor of the 15th. In the eighth week of confinement to my chamber, it is refreshing to my spirits to hear from my Christian friends ; and among them I can name no one whose letters are more accept- able than yours. " On the evening of the 3d ult. I was suddenly attacked in the street with the gout in my chest, and soon became §o ill as to be obliged to take shelter in the house of a friend until I could be conveyed home in a carriage. The complaint continued to resist every effort for its removal, and daily to increase in vio- lence until the Sunday following its commencement, although four of our firstrate physicians were in attendance upon me, and their exertions unremitted. On the day just mentioned, the impression of all around me was, that a few moments must ter- minate my existence. Such was my own persuasion ; and, blessed be God, the prospect was unaccompanied by the least alarm. There was given me not only a spirit of calm submission and quiet resignation to the divine will, but a hope full of immor- ' tality. how precious was the Saviour to my rejoicing soul in that never-to-be-forgotten hour. "With what an unshaken faith, as a helpless, hell-deserving sinner, was I enabled to rest my assurance of pardon and expectations of approaching glory on his righteousness and blood. Although drenched with medicines, which, under other circumstances, would not only have taken away my reason, but been destructive of life itself, yet my un« derstanding was unimpaired, and my speech articulate and clear ; so that I was permitted to bear testimony before my surrounding, friends to the unspeakable consolations of the Holy Spirit, to the S44 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. unfailing faithfulness of God, and to the abundant love of the Redeemer, of all which I had the joyful experience. " After an awful season of bodily suffering, during the whole of which faith in a crucified Saviour was triumphant, my pains were, for a short time, alleviated ; but it proved to be merely a transfer of the disease from the chest to the bowels, which by no means lessened the prospect of dissolution ; and when it again returned to its original seat, every hope seemed to vanish from the minds of my mourning relatives and friends.* But God was pleased to answer the prayers of his believing people, and to spare me, perhaps for some further usefulness in the Church. A long life of the utmost devotion to his service, if allowed me, will very inadequately repay the manifestations of his loving kind- ness, with which, during this providential visitation, I have been favored. " I am now quite well as it regards my general health ; but have had several slight attacks of gout in my feet during my convalescence, which, added to the excoriations occasioned by blisters and mustard applications, disable me from walking more than a turn or two at a time across my chamber. I endeavor to be patient under this long suspension of the delightful duties of the miinistry ; but it is somewhat of a trial. "I was rejoiced to hear of your appointment," (to a chap- laincy and professorship at West Point,) "partly from the strong persuasion which I have felt of your present residence being entirely unfavorable to your health, and partly from the selfish consideration of having one whom I so much love so nea> me. I pray God to overrule this change for good to your constitution, and for your spiritual advancement and usefulness in the Church. When you come to New York I hope you will calculate on mak- * This shifting of the disease from place to place, seemed to show that the enemy had been driven from his first stronghold ; and though he again returned to it, was yet, in fact, conquered. It was evidently the crisis of the attack. Probably, the movements here noted all took place on the same eventful Sab- bath, inasmuch as the ''intervals of relief'^ on that day, are described, by his physician and himself, as "so short,^' or continuing only ''for a short time ;''^ and as "the prayers of God's believing people," to which, mediately, his "sudden" deliverance is ascribed, were then most unitedly and imploringly ascending to a throne of mercy. " '•' ' ""^ '■' "'' HIS MINISTRY. 245 ing some stay, and give my people dnd myself the gratification of at least a Sunday's service. You will, of course, immediately on your arrival, come to my house. Kind regards to Mrs. Mcll- vaine, and to all our brethren. "Affectionately yours, "JAMES MILNOR." ' " The Rev. Charles P. McIlvaine, ) Georgetown, D. C." ) Here is another document, from his family physician Dr. Stearns, who had attended him through all his sufferings from the gout, in its repeated attacks, from the year 1821. " These attacks," says Dr. Stearns, " however painful, never disturbed that placid equanimity which so remarkably character- ized his whole deportment in every condition of life. Always cheerful, always communicative while strength remained, he improved every opportunity for producing reciprocal feelings in others. In 1825, the gout, for the first time, was translated from his feet to his chest. This happened while he was walking in the street. He was immediately taken into an adjoining house, and thence conveyed home. A few minutes after his arrival, I found him laboring under a great oppression in his chest, a great diffi- culty of breathing, and intense agony. His symptoms were of the most dangerous character ; and the paroxysms continued to increase until the following Sunday, when the disease assumed its most critical form. So violent were the paroxysms, and so short the intervals^ that, upon every succeeding attack, it seemed impossible for him to survive. Conscious that every breath might be his last, he improved every interval of relief m express- ing his resignation and his reliance upon divine grace. Never did I hear such impressive words from a dying man. The so- lemnity of the scene, the anguish of his countenance, now and then yielding to smiles, an index to the peace within, like the occasional brilliancy of the sun shining through a dark cloud, his grBat efforts to speak, and his deep-toned utterances, made impressions never to be effaced, melted every heart, suffused every eye, and palsied every tongue. The solemn silence was never broken, save when he spoke. Often and impressively did he bear witness to the great truths which he had preached, and ^^ MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. often and fervently did he repeat his love for his congregation; Addressing me, he said, ' Tell them how I love them ; and that, if God spare my life, I vv^ill improve it in doing more good than I have done. Tell them, also, to call a successor who will preach the same evangelical doctrines which I have preached, and not a formalist.' And then he exclaimed, ' my precious Jesus. How I love my God. How I love the Son of his love. How I love the Holy Comforter.' "At another interval, addressing the Rev. Dr. Lyell, he gave him the following message for Bishop Hobart, who was then in Europe. ' Tell the bishop I have always loved him from our ear- liest acquaintance ; that, although I have been obliged to differ in opinion with him on some points, particularly in reference to Eible societies, yet I have always loved and respected him. I did think he had done wrong in introducing my name into the controversy with Mr. Jay ; but I freely forgive him. Tell him, also, that I have never been the author of any publication against him. Although I have been often urged by some of my friends to do so, yet 1 have never, in opposition to him, put pen to paper.' " Such was our beloved rector, and such the evidence which he exhibited of the true Christian character, during that danger- ous illness when he and all around him supposed that he was on the verge of death. "JOHN STEARNS." Here, finally, is another, though a briefer note, from one who bore to him a still nearer relation, and who was his medical attendant for several of the last years of his life. The note is from the " Recollections" of his son. Dr. Wm. H. Milnor. " How often have I seen his Christian faith and hope tested, when suffering excruciating torture, which, apparently, death only could relieve ! That faith never wavered, that hope never sunk ; but steadily the Christian soldier bore himself through the conflict. The infidel may smile at the assertion, but it is cer- tainly evident, that the efficacy of prayer was strikingly mani- fested, when, in his most dreadful attack — his case surrendered as hopeless by the ablest physicians — ^the united prayers, not only of his own church, but of Christians of other denominations, went up to the mercy-seat, and the hand of the destroyer was HIS MINISTRY. 247 suddenly stayed. I remember, that on the Sunday when his death was momentarily expected, it was proposed to stop the ringing of his church-bell," (the parsonage being closely along- side of St. George's tower;) " 'No, no,' he murmured; 'let it ring on : to me there is no sweeter sound on earth. I shall soon listen to the harmonies of heaven.' " [Not so soon, dear saint : even then prayer was entering into the ear of the Lord of Sab- aothj and he was yet to live.] " Like good old Hezekiah," con- tinues the "Recollections," "he was spared for longer years. His measure of usefulness was not yet full." It was, while yet in his chamber, though able to attend to various affairs, that he received a visit from some of those who were most active in the steps which its friends were then taking towards the formation of the American Tract Society. As this truly great institution is founded on the principle of publishing those religious works only, in the circulation of which all evan- gelical Christians may unite, the object of this visit was to enlist Dr. Milnor in its organization and support, as a suitable repre- sentative of the Episcopal church. Weak as he still was, he entered with zeal into the proposed measure, and became, from the first, one of the founders, and to the end of his life, one of the most active officers of the Society. As in the case of the Bible cause, so in this, the history of his connection with it belongs to a future page of this Memoir. For the present, therefore, the following account of the visit just men- tioned, from the pen of one of the visitors, with a few other no- tices connected with the same period, will be sufficient. "When I came to this city," says the Rev. Mr. Hallock, Cor- responding Secretary of the Society, " as a medium of communi- cation between the Tract Societies then existing in New York and Boston, Dr. Milnor lay apparently at death's door ; and the hope of his recovery seemed to rest much in the unceasing prayer, offered by Christians of different name, that he might yet be spared to the Church of God. When he had so far recovered that he could be seen in his chamber, we had drafted a Constitution of the proposed Society ; and I called on him, I think with Mr. Arthur Tappan, to lay the subject before him. From the public reports of his relations to institutions already existing, I had im- 248 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. agined that Ke was a very grave and aged father in the Church, whose aspect and manners might indicate him as belonging rather to the past than to the present age. Judge of my surprise, when, as health was rapidly returning, and the delicate flush on his cheek was perhaps increased by his late confinement, I beheld all the bloom of youth, and one of the most bland, buoyant, and attractive countenances, I had ever seen ; with manners corre- spondent, and breathing out a heart full of benevolence. He entered at once into the design ; took the draft of the proposed Constitution ; examined carefully every item ; suggested a few verbal improvements, which yet remain in it ; and, while he intimated a fear that Christians might not be ready to engage in such a union, expressed his strong and decided wish that, seek- ing direction from God, the enterprise might go forward, and his own willingness to do whatever he could to promote so excellent a design." Soon after this visit, Dr. Milnor preached his first sermon in St. George's after his long confinement. The interest of the occasion may possibly be conceived, though not easily described. His affectionate congregation received him as a messenger from heaven, come back to speak to them of things which he had all but . seen and heard ; while he, on his own part, looked like one new- born into the world. His face shone with a heavenly radiance ; so freshly beautiful was the glow of new health, and so joyous, so divinely peaceful the expression which the inner man sent out, to talk silently through his transparent countenance with his devoutly listening flock. And then, from the fulness of the heart the mouth spake ; and his words had, plainly, the same secret with his looks. Twenty-two years ago that scene was present, and that sermon preached. During that time words have passed away ; but the messenger from the borders of the grave ; the face which looked as if it had just come, not from Sinai, but from Zion ; the feelings, which rose fresh and pure from their spring, as though they flowed, not through a defiling world, but from a heaven close by — these are still like things of yesterday, not only to the writer, but also to multitudes besides. But to return to the Tract Society. A feeling in favor of organizing a national institution at New York, awoke so early as HIS MINISTRY. 249 the preceding August, in the summer of 1824, At that time, important and flourishing, but separate Tract Societies existed both at Boston and at New York ; and the question at first was, which of the two should become auxiliary to the other. This question, however, was ultimately decided by a determination to organize a national institution at New York, independent of both ; and that to it both should be invited to become auxiliary. Ne- gotiation was somewhere near this point, when Mr, Hallock and his friend made their visit to Dr. Milnor's chamber. Thencefor- ward, progress in the formation of a national Tract Society was rapid. On the 11th of March, two days before the sermon just mentioned, a public meeting of the friends of the cause from New York and its vicinity, preliminary to the organization of such a Society, was held at the City Hotel ; at which a temporary Ex- ecutive Committee, and officers for the receipt and management of funds, were appointed ; and twelve thousand five hundred dol- lars, soon after raised to about twenty-five thousand, towards the building of a Tract house, were subscribed. On the 15th of March, two days after that sermon, the first meeting of the tem- porary Executive Committee was held at Df, Milnor's study, apparently in accommodation to the still tender state of his health, when he was requested to act as their chairman. On the 10th of the following May, delegates from various Tract Societies throughout the United States met in New York, at the call of the Corresponding Secretary. Of this meeting, also. Dr. Milnor was appointed chairman, and the Constitution of the proposed Society was calmly considered and matured. The next day. May 11, 1825, at a large public meeting in the City Hotel, the Society was solemnly organized, by the adoption of the Constitution, and the election of officers; and immediately afterwards the corner-stone of the Society's house was laid. Dr. Milnor was placed on the Executive Committee ; was made chair- man of that and also of the Publishing Committee,- and held both places till the day of his death : places, too, of the highest im- portance, and filled with large and most fully accredited ability. Very soon after this, the first anniversary meeting of the Society, a delegation from the national institution in New York was appointed, and proceeded to Boston, to meet a delegation ■25(>' MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. from that city, for the purpose of finally settling the deeply in- teresting question, whether the American Tract Society, located in Boston, would identify itself with the national society in New York, which had taken the same name. Of this delegation also, Dr. Milnor was made chairman. The joint action of the two delegations was completed before the 30th of May ; and Dr. Mil- nor's influence on the happy result which followed, was felt and acknowledged. Twenty years after this, Dr. "Woods, of Andover Theological Seminary, one of the vice-presidents of the Society, writing to apologize for his absence from the anniversary meeting in 1845, thus alludes to the doings of this delegation in 1825: "I take this occasion to express my increasing conviction of the usefulness of the Society, and my entire confidence in the wisdom, integrity, and untiring diligence of those who manage its concerns. It is one of my comforts, that I had a part in the first planning and early labors of the Tract Society. I remember with unutterable satisfaction the time when we met, in Boston, a committee from New York to deliberate on the best way of promoting the Tract cause, and when we knelt together in the parlor to seek wisdom from above, and our dearly beloved Dr. Milnor led us in prayer. The Lord be praised that that excellent man was continued to us so long ; and that, by his labors and prayers, and holy example, he did so much to promote the pros- perity of the American Tract Society." ,m SECTION III. We approach now that part of Dr. Milnor's ministerial life which will be somewhat more copiously illustrated by his own letters. The first which occur shed a beautiful light on that trait in his character which presents him as the generous and fatherly patron of those young brethren in the ministry, and in their studies for the ministry, whom Providence brought within the sphere of his influence and kind offices. These letters, in- deed, were addressed to a single student ; but his was a case by ;io means solitary. Others, as well as the individual alluded to, HIS MINISTRY. 251 have had occasion to take grateful knowledge of the lovely trait about to be exhibited. Before proceeding to these letters, it will be proper to add, that the person addressed was, at the opening of the series, a student in the General Theological Seminary ; but entered soon after into orders, and for many years had the privilege of regarding Dr. Milnor as one of the kindest of friends, and one of the wisest of counsellors. To a Theological Student. " St. George's, June 20, 1825. " My dear Brother — The object of the present brief commu- nication is to assure you of the lively interest and sincere sym- pathy which have been awakened in my breast towards you by our interview on Saturday evening, and to proffer you, along with my earnest prayers in your behalf at the throne of grace, any personal service that may be helpful to you in your future course. " With all the difficulties that may arise out of your happy change of views on the most interesting of all concerns, I am persuaded you will find that you have chosen the path of true wisdom ; and that God, who has called you by his grace from darkness to light, will fulfil, in your rejoicing experience, all the encouraging promises of his word to his faithful servants. How thankful will you have reason to be, if, besides filling your own heart with a hope that maketh not ashamed, he should honor you, even before the commencement of your public ministry, by mak- ing you an instrument of good to some of your present associates. How delightful a hope to indulge, that holy example, and a word fitly dropped, and fervent prayer — ^means which I trust a gra- cious God will enable you to use — may, with his blessing, be rendered effectual in bringing to right views of divine truth even one of your fellow-students. How animating the thought, that the consequence pf so happy an occurrence may be the salvation of multitudes, whom, instead of helping onward, by his own errors in doctrine, to their everlasting ruin, he may, by his work of faith and labor of love in the ministry of reconciliation, con- duct to eternal blessedness in heaven. " I am well aware of the delicacy of your situation, and how 252 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. much religious prudence and discretion will be requisite in union with the desire which, as a disciple of Christ, I know you must feel for his honor and the truths of his glorious Grospel. My counsel is, that you should ever act in the spirit of meekness ; that, by your deportment, you convince your young friends that you are influenced by feelings of love only in connection with deep convictions of truth ; that you avoid every thing which might bear the aspect of dictation, or of assumed superiority ; and above all, that you give them a large share of your intercessory suppli- cations in the closet, and in those social prayers which I rejoice to hear a few of you daily have in your chambers. " Be of good courage, my dear friend ; I pray God that your faith fail not ; and if it be the product of God's Holy Spirit, I know it will not. His providential dealings with you will be as propitious to your success in the work which he has for you to do, as his grace has been in calling you to enter upon it. Make the promises of his word your constant dependence, and believing prayer will not fail to supply you with continual evidences of the truth and faithfulness of God. "In our conversation, you intimated, I think, a preference, of which I approve, for the completion of your theological course, by remaining another year in the seminary ; but intimated that cir- cumstances, which you did not explain, might render it imprac- ticable for you to do so. I believe I am not a stranger to those circumstances ; and trust that I shall not offend you by the inti- mation, that, if they be such as I suppose, they will be remedied in a way that shall not be offensive to your feelings. To be quite plain on the subject, whatever reasonable addition to your pres- ent pecuniary resources may be necessary to your continuance in the seminary, will be made by the agency of " Your faithful and affectionate brother in Christ, "JAMES MILNOR." , The generous offer, with which this letter closes, it did not become necessary to accept. The student addressed received an unexpected appointment to a tutorship in college, and therefore did not return for his closing term of study in the seminary. The following letter was addressed to him about the time of his entrance on his new duties. HIS MINISTRY. 253: "Nkw York, Sept. 17, 1825. " Dear Sir — ^I have been gratified by the receipt of your favor of the 12th inst., to which it would have been convenient, on some accounts, to have delayed a little my answer. But you mention a circumstance, in which I presume it may be in my power to render you a small service ; and that is my motive for writing so soon. The books which have a relation to the depart- ment assigned you in the college, you must, as soon as possible, be supplied with ; and you must allow me to assist you in their purchase, and to make the necessary advances in your behalf. Let me, therefore, be forthwith furnished with a list, and every exertion shall be made to obtain the best editions with as little delay as possible ; and if besides this there be any other particu- lar, in which it may be in my power to assist you, I pray you not to be reserved in your communications, but frankly tell me how I can oblige one to whom I rejoice in bearing the relation of a brother. " Oh, how sweet and endearing that tie which unites fellow- Christians in the bonds of the Gospel ! Among the other eviden- ces of our being real disciples of Christ, how delightful that of our loving one another. It is one of the most gratifying circumstances of my earthly pilgrimage, to live in affection for my spiritual kindred in Christ, and to believe that I also live in their love for me ; and that we mutually bear each other in our thoughts, when approaching the throne of grace in the grateful duty of interces- sory supplication. " AVTiile I heartily congratulate you, my beloved brother, on your accession to a situation, which, while you occupy it, may, with God's blessing, enable you to prepare for a different and more extensive field of usefulness, I sympathize with you in your anti- cipation of some difficulties in the way of spiritual improvement, with which it will certainly be attended. It is good, however, to foresee evil, because it will excite to watchfulness, and set in- vention to work in the contrivance of the best means for averting the effects of exposure to that most awful of calamities to a re- newed Christian, spiritual declension. Set out, my friend, with the resolute determination, that, by the help of divine grace, you will daily redeem sufficient time from your secular studies and^ 25^ MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. employments to attend to ' the one thing needful ;' and often re- volve in your mind the solemn inquiry suggested by Him who died for our redemption, ' What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul ?' There is no such help to our growth in grace as frequent retirement to the closet, there to investigate, with no eye upon us but that of the Omnis- cient, our true character and condition ; to look back impartially on our outward walk ; to dive into the secret springs and motives of our actions ; and, with fervency, to pray to the Author of all our mercies for those which we especially need. It is good, too, in our seasons of devotional retirement, to open our Bible, not for criticism — let that employ some other moments than those of secret communion with God — but to warm our hearts, and elevate our desires, and strengthen our resolution, and increase the ardor of our love. " In reference to your time of life, and your recent experience of the goodness of Grod, allow me to suggest to you a thing, which I have made multiplied duties and cares an apology in my own case for too much neglecting — ^the keeping of a religious diary. It will be a wholesome as well as pleasing exercise ; and it will be hereafter cheering and encouraging to look back upon all the way in which God has led you ; to see the dangers from which he has delivered you ; and to be able, from past evidences of divine benignity and power, to maintain the persuasion, that you will be ' kept by his power through faith unto salvation.' " But pleasing as it is to me thus to converse with one, in whose present happiness and future usefulness I think I feel a most affectionate interest, I am so near the limits of my paper, that I must defer to future occasions much of what my feelings of attachment would lead me to add. " On your part, my dear friend, you need not hesitate to com- municate with the greatest freedom to him who rejoices to have a place in your affections, and to subscribe himself, - " Your faithful brother in the Lord, "JAMES MILNOK" From the following reply which he received, it appears that his generous offer was, this time, gratefully accepted. HIS MINISTRY. 255 " — College, Sept. 24, 1825. " Rev. and dear Sir — This speedy answer to yours of the 17th inst. is owing to the unexpected offer contained in that communication. An expression of the feelings excited by your Christian kindness and brotherly affection on this and on a for- mer occasion, shall be reserved to another part of this letter. For the pf esent, I will show how I esteem your generosity by attend- ing at once to what you have enjoined upon me." Here follow a plan for collecting books, and a list of books to be purchased ; after which the letter continues : .j " I will now enter on a more pleasing subject of interest. I can hardly hope, however, to give you a just idea of the feelings which arose in my mind, on reading the kind assurances and the Christian counsel which your letter contained. how different now are the emotions which start up at the name of Christian brother, from those which one year since awoke at the mention of that sacred appellation ! To be a fellow-subject with others of God's renewing grace, and a fellow-heir with others of the hope of glory ! There are a breadth, and lengtii, and depth, and height, in the thought, which none but the renewed mind can measure. For myself, dear Christian brother, I am not always able to realize the idea. At seasons, hoM'"ever, when I obtain refreshing views of divine things, it comes over my mind with a joy so big, that I almost hesitate to admit it. The peculiar cir- cumstances which modify the relation of Christian brotherhood between yourself and one so unworthy as I am, might furnish scope for many remarks ; but for the present I forbear, with the assurance that I deem my acquaintance with you one of the providences with which Grod has been pleased to mark my hum- ble life. The gift of friends, especially of Christian friends, is from the hand of God. While, therefore, in the present instance I am enjoying that gift, may the gracious Giver send me special grace for its improvement. ^' When I wrote last, I spoke of the influence of college life on a life of piety, from speculation. I can now speak of it from a short experience. In consequence of the unusual number of classes in the college, and of the yet small number of instructors, I have, for the last week, had an exceedingly laborious task. 256 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. Five recitations each day, with the study necessary, in me, to prepare for them, have given occupation to all my time, except such as I have been able to save for devotional and necessary duties. But amid all this crowd of cares, I have been much blessed in my religious state. God has been pleased to make his own word and promise, and my weak attempts at prayer, at all times comforting, and occasionally sweet and refreshing. How full and satisfying the assurance which I have at such seasons felt ; how elevating and blessed the hope which I have then en- joyed ! Pray for me, dear Christian friend, that the evils of a college life may be always thus averted by the good grace of God. " Your suggestion as to a religious diary, is one on which I have regularly practised ever since reading the memoirs of Henry Martyn last winter ; a little book which I believe was God's in- strument of a great blessing to my soul. I have already found the practice a great profit, as well as a great pleasure, and I shall use your suggestion as an encouragement to persevere in what I have thus far so beneficially prosecuted. ' • " Without room to write more, I remain, " Your obliged and affectionate brother in Christ, The next letter from Dr. Milnor being almost wholly confined to an account of the books which he had purchased and forwarded to his friend, a brief extract only will be given, as referring for- ward to others in the series. "New York, Oct. 6, 1825. — Churchmen are all alive here in reference to two very interesting events ; the expected arrival of the bishop," from Europe, "and the doings of your trustees yesterday. A few days will elicit things of most portentous bearing on the interests of our Zion." Accordingly, he says, writing soon after, under date of "New York, October 15, 1825. " My dear Friend — Before this reaches you, you will probably have heard of the return of Bishop Hobart. The clergy attended him yesterday art St. John's, to return thanks for the goodness of Almighty God in restoring him to his diocese and family. I HIS MINISTRY. 25V never saw him when he looked better, though he says he is still subject to attacks of dyspepsy. He 'made a very feeling address to us in the vestry-room ; in which he declared that he came home with the liveliest feelings of affection towards all his brethren ; that he was sensible of his infirmities, and besought for them the indulgence of his friends; that he would at all times be ready to receive counsel from them; and that, whatever might have been, or might still be, his errors, he trusted thos'e who most differed from him would not impute to him other than pure and disinterested motives. Nothing could be more conciliatory or affectionate than his demeanor towards myself; nor could con- gratulations be warmer than those which he expressed on my merciful preservation last winter. I am to dine with hini oh Monday next, and he with me on the following Thursday. "I mention these things as a source of gratification, because indicative of an enlargement of views on the part of Bishop Hobart, which he has acquired by his general intercourse dur- ing the last two years, and which, if maintained, will greatly contribute to his own peace of mind and the prosperity of the- Ohurch. I have ever entertained a warm personal friendship for the bishop, with whom I have been intimate for at least five and thirty years ; but I have ever regretted his intolerant views, and determined) at all hazards, to maintain iriy own convictions upon religioti and church politics, until convinced of their error. I do trust in God, he will see the necessity of allowing to others a liberty which he so largely claims for himself; and then, with a very considerable diversity of opinion, harmony and Christian love may be maintained. I am persuaded that firmness, united with moderation and meekness, on the part of those who wish to see our church not only advancing in outward prosperity, but, growing in evangelical purity and attachment to the distinguish- ing doctrines of Christianity, will, in the end, be blessed of God; and that, when our opponents shall be convinced that we have no personal objects in view, and are under the influence neither of fanaticism nor of party spirit, they will feel more charitably disposed towards us, and approximate more nearly that course of sentiment and of action which the providence of God is now so manifestly forwarding within the limits of our church. Mem. Milnor. 1 7 358 MEMOm OF BR. MILNOR. "I rejoice to hear that our friend ^ talks of spending the winter at , and still more at the motive which prompts him to the measure. The Lord make your influence successful in bringing his heart into closer union with that glorious Saviour whose minister he designs to be. Grod bless you, my beloved brother. Every letter you write me gives you a deeper seat in the affections of your faithful "JAMES MILNOR." The next letter was mainly in reply to one in which the writer had stated some difficulties on the subject of intercourse with the world ; and it shows how thorough, on this point, had become the change in Dr. Milnor's views, in passing from his natural to his religious life. "New York, Nov. 29, 1825. " My DfiAR Friend — I thank you for addressing me by a title to which I hope you will always allow me to maintain a claim. And I pray God, that when we are both removed from our terres- trial conflicts, the friendship now begun may be continued with more purity and fervor in that better state to which, I trust, we are looking forward with delight. If there be one thought which, more than others, fills my mind with sweet anticipations in hours of retired meditation, it is that of the renewal of those cherished intimacies which a common love of our dear Redeemer has led me to form with kindred minds on earth, and which, I verily believe, will be cemented and made eternal in the paradise of God. Let us deport ourselves so as to insure that blessedness, and find an alleviation of all the difficulties and trials of life in the delightful prospect of the peaceful enjoyments of the heav- enly state. " The steady contemplation of that state will, I think, re- move every embarrassment in regard to the extent in which we should mingle in the pleasures of this. I am free to say to you, my dear brother, that I feel every day growing apprehensions of worldly conformity, and that I find my peace of mind requiring an unequivocal renunciation of amusements such as you have mentioned.. Since I consecrated myself to God, it has been no cross to me to reject them. "When I acquired a taste for religious enjoyments, I lost, in a good degree, my relish for such trifling. HIS MINISTRY. 259 But the censure of the world it was, for a time, unpleasant to encounter ; until I found — :as I believe, by a mild but firm per- severance in duty, you also will find — that it is better, if need be, to incur the world's displeasure, than that of God ; and that, in truth, he is pleased so to regard his faithful servants as to con- strain even that world secretly to admire what it affects to dis- approve. I never yet knew a minister, whom a conduct incon- sistent with his profession did not bring into contempt, not merely with the pious, but even with the ungodly themselves ; nor one, whom unaffected, earnest piety has ever permanently injured. Let the manner of rejecting or evading the calls of fashionable pleasure be discreet and temperate, and the general tenor of con- duct show the hallowed motives by which abstinence from the gayeties of life is induced ; and you will find, as I have done, that you will be left to pursue your course with no more of cen- sure than, as a good Christian, for Christ and conscience' sake, you can, by the help of your divine Master, very easily bear. Nor does this required sacrifice imply, that cheerfulness is in itself sinful, or that our dispositions are to become sour and morose, or that intercourse with those "Cvho live not by our rule, is to be entirely withheld. But I would say, that it should not be more fre- quent than circumstances render necessary ; that, when allowed, it should not be long continued ,*^ that, if practicable, it should always be improved to some religious end ; and that, on no ac- count, should the world be permitted to entrap us into scenes where we can receive- no benefit, but must return to our closets with minds unfitted for communion with God, less inclined to all our spiritual duties, and harassed with intimations from the inward monitor of vows forgotten, character lowered, and use- fulness impaired, and with the apprehension not only of having wounded the feelings of tlie pious, but also of being sneered at and despised by the very persons who have delighted to find us, with all our professions, so much like themselves. There is a cler- gyman, not many days' ride from your present residence, whom I have heard mentioned by the very persons whose worldly pleasures he habitually shares, in terms corroborative of what I have said as to the estimate which such people form of Christians, espe- cially ministers, who thus desecrate their characters and destroy 260 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. their usefulness. I know -many similar instances. But I never knew a real man of God, who did not ultimately, by forbearance and moderation in the article of pleasurable intercourse, where he united with them suavity and kindness of feeling and de- meanor towards all men, command the respect and esteem of all whose opinions were worthy of regard. A bishop of our church once said to me on this subject, * Let a minister of God begin his course by marking out for himself a strict line of conduct, and then take care to keep a great way within it.' ' The tongue of the wise is health :' ' A word spoken in due season, how good it is !' But I am fatiguing you with remarks which, I trust, your own feelings have anticipated, and at present will say no more on the subject. " On the proceedings at our late Convention, I wish to say but little. My conscience acquits me of any ill design ; and as I wish, in no unnecessary way, to incur censure, I am glad, in this matter, to have been involved in none, 6n the part of either the bishop or his friends. By the latter, if I desired the praise of men, I was abundantly complimented. The former remarked to irie, after the rising of the Convention, 'You behaved towards me personally, in that instance, as you have always done, like a gentleman and a Christian.' I would not mention this but to allay any fears which persons of our acquaintance might ex- cite in your mind, lest some new offence had arisen between the . bishop and myself. He is more cordial than I ever knew him ; and as I have not a tittle of animosity against him, so long as I am allowed to pursue the ministerial and religious course which I believe duty requires, I will endeavor not to make his cordiality less. But I will never sacrifice principle for the sake of retain- ing any man's regards. That I very partially concur in the church politics of this diocese, I am obliged to avow. But as I cannot alter a course of which I am obliged to disapprove, I am content to be put out of the question in every thing but what relates to my immediate duties. With these, I will allow no man, except in the way of counsel, to interfere. While I walk according to the law of God and the written rules of the Church, and continue to discharge my duties in the fear of God, I feel no inward disquietude, nor any apprehensions of what man can do HIS MINISTRY. 261 unto me. And all this I hope to find consistent with the avoid- ance of schism, and of any improper disrespect towards those who are set over us in the Lord. "0 how I mourn over the spiritual state of some whom your friend has left behind in the seminary ; and how; gloomy are the anticipations which involuntarily afflict my mind, at the prospect of a diminished number of those who love the Lord Jesus in sincerity, in an institution which is called ' The hope of the Church !' Our friend D. has left ' The Society of Inquiry,'* on account of the Princeton business ; that society having deter-. mined to hold no intercourse with Presbyterians. I thank God ^ Iv ' have not so learned Christ.' " I have many more things to say to you ; but though you see how I have husbanded my paper, yet it is run out. I have still room, however, to invoke on you and your pursuits the bless- ing of God, and to reiterate that I am ^ , "Your faithful and affectionate brother, "JAMES MILNOR." In ordef to understand the allusion to Bishop Hobart and the Convention, towards the close of this letter, it will be necessary to give a short explanation. Soon after the bishop's return, and upon the assembling of the Annual Convention of his diocese, it was deemed highly proper to pass resolutions expressive of .the : feelings of the clergy and laity upon again receiving their dioi cesan in health and safety; and responsive to the aifectionate, unbosoming salutations, with which he had just greeted them in his annual address. In doing this, a strong desire was felt to frame the resolutions in such language as should insure their * This was a society, then recently organized in our General Theologicfil Seminary, for promoting among the students a missionary spirit. Its chief object was, inquiry as to the state and progress of the missionary work throughout the world. Soon after its organization, it was proposed, at its deliberations, to open a correspondence, for the interchange of missionary intelligence, with a similar society in the Princeton Theological Seminary. Such a correspondence, however, was deemed, in high places, inconsistent with attachment to the distinctive principles of the Church. It was, there- fore, abandoned; and it is believed the society itself soon after ceased to exist. Perhaps this was one of the " things of portentous bearing on the in- terests of our Zioa." which " a few days" from October 6 were expected to "elicit." 262 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. ^ unanimous adoption; and as there were known points in the bishop's course of church policy which could not be unanimously- approved, it was determined, in reference to those points, to avoid any expression of opinion, and to construct one of the resolutions in the shape of a simple pledge of devoted, personal confidence, friendship, and affection. Accordingly, the bishop liaving tem- porarily retired from the Convention, the committee to whom the subject was referred, introduced a series of resolutions, which were received with unanimous approbation. But on presenting them to the bishop, he expressed his decided dissatisfaction with that which referred personally to himself; and declared, that if the resolution were to stop short of an approval of his whole epis- copal course, he must decline receiving it. This unexpected stand threw on the majority of the Convention the necessity of either abandoning their complimentary measure, or withdrawing the unsatisfactory resolution for a substitute framed in accordance with the bishop's wishes. Of course, the latter part of th^e un- pleasant alternative was adopted ; and a resolution, expressing the confidence of the Convention in " the soundness of his policy,'''' was introduced, in company with those which greeted his latp return and responded to his pathetic address. This movement raised a debate on the passage of the resolutions ; and this debate brought Dr. Milnor upon the floor in a speech, which, for ability and Christian courtesy, presented him in a most attractive light as an accomplished debater and as a Christian gentleman, and raised him high in the esteem even of those who most differed from him in his views of church policy. While he did full jus- tice to the personal and Christian excellence of his bishop, and to the known friendship subsisting between them, he did not hesi- tate freely and frankly to avow his dissent from some of the opinions of his diocesan, and openly and manfully to vindicate his own resistance to measures calculated to bring odium upon him for the exercise of what he felt to be his Christian liberty. The scene which this debate presented, has long since faded from general remembrance ; but it was thrilling, and constituted a beautiful triumph to one who, although he moved in a little minority, was yet able to command admiring approbation from an overwhelming majority. , ^ ,. . HIS MINISTRY. 263 Other letters to the same correspondent will hereafter be found on these pages ; but those which date next in order, are part of a correspondence with the Rev. C. P. Mcllvaine, then professor at "West Point; His labors as chaplain of the Military Academy had already been largely blessed ; and before the summer of 1826 the academy was agitated with the movements of that great awak- ening, from the fruits of which our church has selected several of her bishops and other clergy. About the first of June, Dr. Milnor was induced to visit West Point, for the purpose of spend- ing a Sunday with his friend, and assisting him in the atduous labors to which he was then specially called. It was about the same time, that the correspondence, of which a portion has been preserved, was opened. The first of the series from Dr. Milnor is wanting; The second is dated, " New York, June 8, ,1826. " My dear Brother — My mind dwells with inexpressible de- light on the transactions of the last Sabbath. Especially when I reflect on our evening interview with those dear youth who had given themselves to the Lord, and with their anxious companions, I cannot be sufficiently thankful that, in the kind providence of God, I was permitted to witness such a scene. The Lord God Almighty be with you, direct you to the best means of prosecut- ing a work so manifestly the product of his Spirit, and be your ' refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble,' should per- secution assail you on account of the unexpected reward bestowed on your labors in his service. In the fulness of my gratitude to God, of my love to you, and of the deep interest which I feel in the increase of this Wonderful instance of the Spirit's power on the heart, I have hesitated whether I should say a word to you that might operate as a discouragement. Perhaps some things in my former letter are calculated to have that effect, and what I am about to add may increase it ; but, on the whole, I think it best to acquaint you with any thing coming to my ear that may have a bearing on the subject ; trusting that it may be the means of preparing you for those difficulties which some are plot- ting to throw in your way, and of enabling you, by prayerful meditation, to determine on the best method either of evading or 264 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR of removing those difficulties. The enemies of truth are busy in spreading here the grossest misrepresentations of the character of the revival, of your manner of conducting it, and of its ' un- happy' effects on its subjects. From various quarters, since my return, I have heard it declared to be a mere burst of enthusiasm, a sudden excitement of the animal passions of the young men, produced by your eloquence : as having led to actual insanity in one, and, according to the comforting prognostications of these sagacious opponents, being likely to have the same effect on many others ; and as having disgusted the officers, and so alienated them from you as to make them forsake public worship on Sundays : in short, it has been said that measures would be taken either to ' stop these disorderly proceedings, or to effect your removal. " Yesterday I met a gentleman in Broadway, who wears the title of major in our militia, which, of course, makes him, in his own opinion, a competent judge of all matters connected with military life. He began his remarks by saying he had been dis- appointed in his hope of hearing me last Sunday ; but understood that I was at West Point. He then made some complimentary remarks on your talents as a preacher ; but soon followed them by an expression of his deep regret at your fanatical proceedings. You were, he said, turning a military academy into a theolog- ical seminary, and aiming to make young men soldiers in the Church militant, (he meant ministers,) whom the government ■ intended to train for its army ; he understood that you met them for prayer every morning at daylight, and encouraged them to neglect other studies for that of religion ; that the most serious apprehensions were entertained of the consequent degradation, if not ruin of the institution ; and that the subject would be brought before the board of visitors, with a view to an expression of a disapprobatory kind to the Secretary of War. Some of his representations I contradicted, others I explained ; and left him with a declaration of my belief that no investigation would result to your prejudice in the estimation of the wise and good ; and that every subject of God's grace at West Point would, by his. deportment, prove himself faithful to every duty incumbent on him as a member of the academy, without abandoning his enlist- ■ ment under ^;he banner of the Captain of his salvation. HIS MINISTRY. 265 " Now, my endeared brother, let not these things alarm you. It is right that you should know the machinations of the enemies of truth, that you may be prepared to meet, them; but to you, and the precious seals of your ministry, I would say, ' Be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled ; but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts; and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear : having a good conscience, that whereas they speak evil of you as of evil-doers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ ;' and then, ' if the will of God be so, it is better that you suffer for well-doing than for evil-doing.' Yet it must be admitted, that your situa- tion is inexpressibly trying, and that you have much need of prayer, and patience, and self-denial, and forbearance towards opposers. May God give you the wisdom of the serpent, and the harmlessness of the dove, and overrule all for his own glory. , " Your affectionate, "JAMES MILNOR." After an answer to this letter from Mr. Mcllvaine, he wrote again: n "New York, June 14, 1826. '' " My very dear Brother — ^You have rightly understood every intimation which I have ventured, on the subject of prudence and discretion in conducting what belongs to human agency in the work of grace at West Point. I would do nothing from mere motives of regard to self, nothing from the fear of man ; but I would, so far as may be consistent with the paramount duty which you owe to God and the souls of men, avoid all that would furnish a ground of objection to the world, with whose opposition you will be sure to see associated that of nominal, lukewarm, unevangelical professors. I would put no weapon in the hands of enemies, nor furnish them with even a pr«tenco for objection. Especially would I have our dear young brethren confute, by practical arguments of the most conclusive kind, that which I now hear from many quarters, of the deleterious effects of this revival on the immediate duties of the students — its inter- ference with the proper objects of the institution at West Point. I feel a most intense interest in the uninterrupted progress and •266 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. propitious result of this work of God, and every day wish to know whether more are added to the awakened, whether the inquiring are advancing to the consummation of their desires, and whether the dear brethren who have assumed Christ's yoke, bear it as they ought, and enjoy the sweet comforts of their calling. " When does your examination close ? How will matters stand next Sunday week ? That is the day of our next com- munion, and if all things suited, the company of as many of our young disciples as could come would be gratifying. I dare not say a word of the delight which it would give me to have him present, who, under God, has been made an instrument of good to their souls, because such an event is not, I presume, within the compass of probability. " Last Sunday, hot as it was, I preached three times, besides preaching the previous evening. I am looking as anxiously for the descent of the dews of divine grace on my thirsty spiritual vineyard, as the husbandman is now desiring that of the rain upon his parched fields. The Lord gratify the expectations and desires of both. On Sunday night a crowd of believers joined Kie in supplications which, I hope, reached the mercy-seat, for a rich blessing on you, and all interested in your present trying labors. Give my warmest Christian salutations to the dear cadets, to Mrs. Mcllvaine, to your amiable sisters, and to all whom we salute as brethren in Christ, and accept for yourself the assurg,nce of my undiminished affection. "JAMES MILNOR." Mr. Mollvaine's answer to this letter, soon called forth an- other. "New York, June 17, 1826. " My dear Brother — Your letter of the 15th, just received, has relieved my mind of some distressing apprehensions in regard to the character and influence of the opposition, which I found was rising to the work of divine grace at West Point. I pray God that the only retribution awarded the enemies of truth, may be the conquest of their own hearts, and their introduction into the ranks of the soldiers of the Cross. Tell our dear young friends, each of them, to make, in his private devotions, every inveterate opponent the subject of special prayer ; to forgive from HIS MINISTRY. 267 the heart every injurious expression which that opponent may have used, and to manifest, in necessary intercourse with them all, feelings not of resentment, but of love. "I think the course which you have resolved to pursue in regard to the Wednesday evening meeting a very proper one, and have no doubt your much-respected superintendent will find in the written assurance of the cadets a solid pledge of the most dutiful and exemplary behavior on their part. What can even unbelievers object to the operation of inward religion On the minds of these young men, when its practical effects are seen, not in the deterioration, but in the improvement of their charac- ter as members of your very excellent and useful institution ? To the mind of your colonel, happily not given over to the delu- sions in which some others are enveloped, it will give a confi- dence in the maintenance of his present course, which I am sure all your personal agency in the affair will Strengthen and con- firm. "I thank you for the explanation of that ominous 'amen;^ and hope that every Christian cadet, whatever prudence may direct in regard to the utterance of the lips, will always be ready, with the feelings of his inmost soul, to make this response to such a desire as that which you expressed at tha conclusion of your sermon in behalf of the beloved youth whom you had bap- tized into the name of Christ, and the open profession of his Gospel. "I have just finished a discourse for to-morrow morning, from Rom. 15 : 13 : ' Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.' The object of the discourse, as you may suppose, is to explain, and as explained, to defend the doc- trine of ASSURANCE. ' The God of hope' be praised, that some of our dear young brethren have experimentally realized its truth by the witness of God's Spirit with theirs, that they are his chil- dren. The Lord keep them by his power through faith unto salvation. Though * it doth not yet appear what they shall be,' yet may every day's advance in the divine life enable them more assuredly to ' know, that when he shall appear, they shall be like him, for they shall see him as he is.' ^ 268 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. " My family having removed to Flushing * last Thursday, I am left w^ithout the means of inviting our young friends to dom- icile with me during their stay in New York. But I shall rejoice in giving them all the aid I can in facilitating their acquaintance with our religious institutions, and hope they will attend the Tuesday evening prayer-meeting of the brethren of my congrega- tion. It will particularly delight me to find you their fellow- traveller. Tell dear little Bledsoe," a very young cadet, "that that declaration and promise, ^ I love them that love me ; and they that seek me early shall find me,' are assuredly his, if he persevere. Salute all your beloved flock with the truest affec- tion. God bless them, and keep them, and make them ministers of good to all with whom, in his gracious providence, they may be called to associate. My kindest regards await Capt. D. and your own dear family. Let me continue to occupy a corner of your heart, and an interest in your prayers. ^ "Your brother in the best of bonds, ^ "JAMES MILNOR." • „ Some of the cadets, with Mr. Mcllvaine himself, having paid their desired visit to St. George's, and to the religious institu- i;ions of the city, especially the newly erected Tract Society's house, whence they carried back large supplies of the Society's publications. Dr. Milnor, after their return, writes thus : "New York, June 28, 1826;- ; " Mv DEAR Brother — The refreshing intercourse with which we were lately favored, has left so sweet a savor in my mind, that I feel as if I wanted, every now and then, a few minutes' converse with you. And yet, I do not know that you require a word of encouragement or of counsel from one so incompetent as myself to offer either; for your heart is fixed on your Master's work : you are as fully aware as any of my suggestions can ,make you, of the difficulties which you have to encounter ; and you see the necessity of uniting, in the required conflict with * For several years, during his rectorship of St. George's, Dr. Milnor owned a farm and a summer residence at Flushing, L. I. ; but finding considerable inconvenience in the arrangement, it was subsequently abandoned, and his residence confined wholly to the city. HIS MINISTRY. 269 them, the wisdom of the serpent with the harmlessness of the dove. Still, I feel an anxiety, greater than words can express, in regard to the progress and issue of this manifest visitation of the Spirit to the dear youth at West Point. I wish it to proceed in a way which, if it fail to convince infidel gainsayers, will lessen the apprehensions of its running into enthusiasm, which many professors who have inadequate views of such matters, are beginning to express. for that wise, discriminating spirit which may enable them to distinguish between the extrava- gances sometimes exhibited in revivals, and the deep, silent work of grace now in progress with you. I fear that the accounts, given by a clergyman of our church from , of the revival in that place, will have the effect of increasing among our brethren their opposition to every thing of the kind. Allowing for some exaggerations in the statements of this clergyman, there are many circumstances, which he narrates as facts positively known to him, which certainly prove a great want of sound wisdom, and no inconsiderable religious error, on the part of the leaders in that revival. And yet, while we lament these aberrations, which, I doubt not, too much of what Bishop Hobart calls ' animal excite- ment ' has produced, I have as little doubt that signal interposi- tions of divine mercy have occurred ; and that, while some have mistaken the workings of their own imaginations for those of the Spirit, many have been truly born of God, and will look back to this revival with rejoicing through eternity. " I have hesitated, but upon the whole think it best to state to you, that I have conversed with one of the visiting committee,* who has left West Point with strong prejudices, which I hope I have somewhat diminished. He stated to me that a very general impression in the academic staff was, that your proceedings were fanatical, had a tendency to interrupt attention to study, and made it indispensable that there should be some interference ; and that the subject was discussed by the board of visitors, and an attempt made to express a very unfavorable feeling towards you and your doings. But it was at length concluded that it should not be done in their official document, though my inform- * A committee annually sent by government to conduct the examination of the cadets in their studies at the national academy. 270 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. ant regretted that your removal would probably be the result of a less formal exhibition of the matter to the war 4epartment. " What he expressed as a matter of regret, Ifeel; for if your removal should take place, though I am sure the Lord would give you the ability to suffer patiently in his cause, yet the effect would be disastrous as it respects West Point, and injurious in a vast variety of ways, which .will as readily suggest themselves to your mind as they have to my own. One thing, my very dear friend, I do desire you to bear in memory ; and that is, that the peculiar circumstances in which you are placed require a course of conduct very different from that followed in ordinary revivals, and that, as far as duty will permit, those circumstances should be constantly regarded. " We are full here of ecclesiastical builders, busily engaged in the construction of the external temple. that every heart were the place of His hallowed residence, for whom that temple is designed. Christian regards to all our dear brethren in the Lord. " Your faithful brother, "JAMES MILNOR." Here close the letters touching the West Point revival. If more were written — and this is probable — they have not been preserved. Those which have been given are characteristic of their author, full of love and zeal for his Master's work, and equally full of sanctified wisdom and prudence in guarding that work from danger. His fears of the removal of his friend from his professorship were not realized. The work of grace at the military school was fruitful in blessed results ; and our church herself has reason to rejoice in what God there wrought among the youth of our national institute. We have next another letter to the theological student, then in orders. By a committee of his fellow-citizens of different religious denominations he had been invited, and, though opposed by his clerical brethren in the college and neighborhood, yet, on account of the superior size of the building, he had consented, to d^eliver a Fourth of July address in a Presbyterian meeting- house, at a religious celebration of the first semi-centennial anni- versary of our national independence. It is to his conduct on this occasion that a part of Dr. Milnor's letter alludes. HIS MINISTRY. 271 " New York, July 13, 1826. " My dear Fjriend and Brother — I was actually musing, "with feelings ef painful regret, on the interruption of our corre- spondence, when your very welcome letter of the 7th was handed me ; and my feelings were probably a little more excited than they would have been, by having just read, perhaps for the twen- tieth time, the first letter which you ever wrote me. The' ingen- uous statement which that contained of an experience so corre- spondent with the course through, which the Lord led me between thirteen and fourteen years ago, has always deeply affected rrty heart ; and its undoubted sincerity has inspired me with a per- sonal affection for you, which I can allow no trammels of cere- mony to prevent my expressing in a manner the most hearty and unreserved. And I cherish the grateful sensations with which it fills my bosom the more ardently, because I do believe that affection to be reciprocal ; while I long to see you freed from the shackles which I know hold you back from the formation of such alliances, and from the direction of your talents in such a way, as your love for Christ and his dear people would render gratify- ing to yourself and most useful to his blood-bought Church. My dear brother, you must not much longer bury your talents in the monastery at , nor live so nearly in contact with ecclesiasti- cal icebergs. I want to see you neither a fanatic nor a disor- ganizer ; but I do want to see you where you can give free scope to those animated conceptions of your high and holy calling, with which, I trust, the Spirit of our divine Master has filled your heart; and where, with every required attention to matters of form, the grand purposes of the gospel ministry can be kept steadily in view, and prosecuted by you without the fear of man. Your conduct on the Fourth was exactly such as became you, and will commend itself to the approbation of God and of good men as it does to your oAyn conscience. I am more and more persuaded, that while we should not forget the meekness which becomes us as the followers of our lowly Saviour, we gain nothing, eyep in the estimation of our opposers, by a want of firmness in maintaining that ground which duty to God and love for the souls of men require us to take. Notwithstanding my apparent difficulties, I find more peace of mind, more free communication 272 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. with a throne of grace, more respect from my opposers as well as from my friends, and more animation in my various duties, when I can rise above the fear of man, and go straight forward in the path which I believe the providence of God has marked out for me, and which his grace directs me to pursue. Do not understand me, my endeared brother, as recommending incivility ot demeanor, or an unrequired obstinacy in things indifferent, or a hasty self-determination, taken without cautious inquiry and earnest prayer. But where we know we are right by the best of tests, the outward word and the inward witness, let us beware how we make shipwreck of faith and a good conscience, in accommodation to the views of ungodly men, or of misjudging Christians. ^ " You see how I open all my heart to you, and I want to open it still wider ; expecting in return just as much of your confidence as you are pleased to give." i i> The language of this paragraph has no little strength ; perhaps it may be thought to carry somewhat of severe earnestness. But when the circumstances of the w"riter are considered — placed, as he was, at the centre of an opposition more easily felt than coun- teracted, and the more irritating in proportion as it was irrespon- sible — his expressions, perhaps, will not be deemed too strong. The letter is important in its place, as disclosing more plainly than any yet presented, the relation in which he stood to the ruling influences of the diocese ; a relation coeval in its origin with his rectorship of St. George's, and encompassing him with its more or less painful pressure to the end of his days. The next letter from him was to the same correspondent, and seems a fulfilment of the promise, at the close of the last, of more " hereafter." A part of it only, is of value to this memoir. . ^ , HIS MINISTRY. 275 "New York, Nov. 17, 1826. " My dear Brother — I have just returned from Philadelphia. The General Convention was a very interesting one, not so much for the amount and importance of the business actually done, as for the variety of the subjects brought before it, and their bear- ing, if eventually consummated, on the feelings and interests of the several classes of clergy in our church. " The magnificent project of a Book Society, brought forward by the Rev. Mr. B., met with a reception very different from that which he expected. Bishop White was much opposed to it, and the other bishops concurred with him in refusing to give it their sanction as a house. In the house of clerical and lay depu- ties, Mr. B, being himself a member, defended his plan ably ; but after much warm discussion, that body also refused to give it their recommendation. Although I subscribed to this object, some time ago, at the solicitation of its proposer, yet I am not sorry for this result, nor shall I be for its entire failure ; the aus- pices under which the selection of publications is to be made, being, in my view, not such as would secure the appearance of those most congenial with the opinions and feelings of the friends of evangelical truth. " It will give you pleasure to learn, that notwithstanding a warm opposition from a certain staunch advocate of canons and rubrics, and from others equally high-toned with himself, both houses adopted the report of the committee on hymns, of which we shall now have over two hundred, most of them very good. The contemplated improvement in the psalms was not effected, the committee not being ready to report on. that part of their duty. They were, however, continued, and will report to the next General Convention. Bishop Hobart was warmly in favor of the hymns, and professed to regret very much the opposition with which they met. The hoiise of bishops adopted them Unanimously and promptly. " Your neighbor, the Rev. Mr. C , will tell you what the house of bishops have attempted to do with our Liturgy. On the suggestion of Bishop Hobart, they proposed not only that the clergyman officiating in the Sunday services should be allowed, at his discretion, to shorten the lessons and psalter, but also, that 276 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. it should be at his option to omit the Litany. This also excited a warm opposition in the lower house. Even our friends, so far as the litany was concerned, were against the proposed innova- tion; and the bishops, finding it so much objected to, withdrew that part of the proposal. After much debate, the other altera- tions were adopted, and according to the constitution, are to be transmitted, for their consideration, to the several state," dio- cesan, " conventions, and will be finally acted upon by the next general convention." But the most ominously important movement of this session was, the attempted passage of new canons, designed to augment the power of bishops in our church. In his letter. Dr. Milnor characterizes them as " Certain canons, making a bishop's rejection of a candidate irreversible and conclusive ; crippling clergymen in regard to let- ters dismissory from one diocese to another ; obliging candidates to apply," for admission, "to the bishop of the diocese in which they reside ; and giving new powers to that officer in regard to clergymen of other dioceses officiating in his." " These canons," he adds, " passed the upper house ; were referred to a committee in the lower ; by that committee were remodelled ; and finally, thank God, instead of being passed in any shape, were referred to a joint committee, who are to report to the next convention. They will never, I trust, be heard of again, and would have been rejected now, had the vote been taken. " Though you may not like its style, yet you will be de- lighted when you read it, with Bishop Bowen's very conciliatory convention sermon, from the words, ' For meat destroy not the work of God ;' as I was to see the great accession of strength to the evangelical cause, which has been gained since the last convention. I feel sanguine, that, under the continued smiles of the great Head of the Church, the next triennial convention will be decidedly right ; and even at this, I am confident no high-handed measure of the exclusive churchmen could have obtained a majority of both orders, if of either, in its favor. This circumstance, with the delightful change which has been effected, and is every day becoming more marked in Pennsyl- HIS MINISTRY. 277 vania, is a cause of grateful acknowledgment to God. May it all redound to his glory. " Have me much on your heart in prayer, and believe me, " Most affeetionately yours, "JAMES MILNOR." His anticipations of the rightness of the next triennial con- vention were in a measure realized. Nothing more was heard of the new power-giving canons ; at least, they have never yet been passed ; and the proposed grant of discretion to our clergy to shorten the services of the Church, was, when the measure came up from the various diocesan conventions for final action, by gen- eral consent, withheld. Nevertheless, his hopes of a decided in- crease of evangelical influence in the councils of our church, are proved to have been rather "sanguine" than solid. Other influ- ences have since arisen ; and sad it is to be said, the tendencies of our body have received a melancholy change. But we must proceed with the letters. His next to the same correspondent was dated, "New York, Feb. '20, 1827. " My dear Friend and Brother — ^It is with great pleasure that I now congratulate you on your emancipation from the drudgery of teaching as a secular instructor, and the assumption of your more appropriate work of teaching men how they may become ' wise unto salvation.' Now that you are settled down in a new parish and a new diocese, I want a long letter from you to tell me all your feelings and doings, with all your prospects and hopes of usefulness. I hope, my dear brother, you will ex- cuse the interest which I feel in whatever relates to you; for I have lost none of that cordiality of attachment which I have so often had occasion to express, and which, I trust, will be con- tinued beyond the little time we shall be allowed to converse together this side of eternity. There is a hallowed character in Christian friendship, which gives it a stability as well as a warmth unknown to the friendships of the world. It is this cherished enjoyment, that fills my breast with some of its most delightful emotions. Next to the love of Christ, how sweet to love his disciples, to mingle our sympathies with theirs, to inter- change evidences of affection, to repose in each other's faithful 278 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. counsels, and to pray for spiritual blessings on each other's be- half. I bless God, that while I am compelled to mourn over the coldness of feeling among our clerical brethren, and am obliged, here, to look for what seems lacking in them, to those of other names but of kindred minds, I am still solaced by the correspond- ence, which it is my privilege to hold from week to week with distant brethren of more congenial sentiment^ and views. With one of these, our dear brother Mcllvaine, it has recently been my happiness to hold a few days' personal converse. He preached for me twice, the Sunday before last, in a most powerful manner ; and the following evening we had a most interesting and affect- ing social meeting at the house of one of our brethren. When you next write to me, you must tell me when you mean to give me the like pleasure. In visiting New York, you will, of cjourse, think of no other residence but with us. "It will give you pleasure to hear, that Christians in St. George's have become more alive to the necessity of combined prayer and effort in behalf of the unconverted. Though a few only of encouraging indications have appeared among the latter, yet there is evidently more intense interest manifested both in the services of the church, and in my weekly lecture; which latter I continue to find profitable to myself and to those who hear me. How stand matters with you? Will your people bear the truth ? I am sure you will preach it, whether they will hear or whether they will forbear. The Lord bless and prosper you in all things. "Affectionately yours, , . "JAMES MILNOR." To the same. "New York, May 28, 1827. "My dear Brother — I feel ashamed, on recurring to a large bundle of unanswered letters, to find two from you, for which I believe no return has been made. I will not waste my paper and your precious time in long apologies ; but only beg you to believe, that I do not intend to forego the pleasure and advantage of your friendship, nor, little as is its value, to withhold from you mine, until the one or the other of us shall have severed that bond of union which connects us-— our common love of the '^BR^ ^. HIS MINISTRY. / ^ 270 he Redeemer — or have received his summons to thatVbleab abode, where I pray God we may be permitted to dwell ^^ifij^Qi^T^'ryt > '55s.** ever. That faith, which I find the great support of all m; and exertions, encourages the persuasion that thq former event is not likely to occur. The latter we will unite in leaving to the disposal of Him \iv^ho doeth all things well. " I was much interested by your account of the state of re- ligion in your parish. What with the prevalence of immorality in some, and of formalism and cold-heartedness in others, your difficulties are no doubt great; but God can magnify his grace in overcoming all these obstacles to the spread of his own truth ; and I trust the encouraging symptoms of awakening, noticed in your letter of last month, have already strengthened your faith and animated your exertions. I am not opposed to such a pru- dential regard to circumstances as may consist with a faithful discharge of duty ; and I feel confident that it will be your study to combine wisdom with harmlessness. While we should not flatter the wicked, nor withhold, either in public or in private, needful and timely reproof, it is both lawful and expedient to temper all our communications with Christian suavity, and thus convince those who would oppose themselves, that we really love them, and seek to do them good. It has been my aim to with- hold no part of the counsel of God; to give no countenance to either error in opinion or viciousness in life; and to let all my views on every point, whether of doctrine or of duty, be fully known. But I have never thought that there was no hope of a sinner's conversion but by making him angry. Our best intend- ed communications may have that effect; and, in such a case, whether they harden or convert, we must be satisfied with having done our duty. Certainly, however, we should not study to of- fend; and ever should we keep a most prayerful and watchful guard upon our own spirits, and be well assured that our motives are such as will commend themselves to the great Searcher of hearts. So doing, we may confidently leave our labors to the disposal of his providence and grace. "You have heard the deplorable issue of things in Pennsyl- vania, where our friends managed the whole business, from be- ginning to end, as badly as was possible." [He refers to meas- 280 MEMOIR OP DR. MILNOR. ures M'^hich led to the election of an assistant-bishop.] " I have much to write you on that and other topics ; but I have now only room to solicit your prayers, and to assure you that, so long as you will allow me, I will remain, " Your affectionate friend and brother, - : "JAMES MILNOR." Before his next letter to the same correspondent, he had met with an accident, which came near proving instantly fatal. In passing to the city from his summer residence, he was thrown upon the pavement, his head striking the curbstone, with a vio- lence which for some days rendered his recovery very doubtful. "New York, Aug. 21, 1827. " My dear Friend and Brother — I have before me your letter of the 26th of June ; and if it were not that I presume you to have heard of my calamity in falling from the Flushing stage the early part of July, I should deem it necessary to apologize for my long silence. This is the first day since the 11th ult. that I have taken a seat at my desk ; and I wish you to consider it as one evidence of my continued and warm affection, that one of the first hours of my recovered strength is devoted to you. " During my confinement, I have often looked for the letter 'Which you ought to have written me ; but if this be the means of drawing from you an early communication, I will not com- plain. ' Indeed, I fear you will not discover much of any other object in my writing to you ; for a prisoner, just released from a protracted seclusion from the world, is much better fitted for receiving than for communicating information. " I have, however, some melancholy tidings to transmit. Our friend arid brother, Mr. Duffie," the originator and first rector of St. Thomas's church, N. Y., " died last night ; and, if my strength permit, I am to assist as a pall-bearer at his funeral this afternoon. A few weeks ago he was at my house, and had much more reason then to anticipate his being called to such a service for me, than that I should be called to assist in the last respects to his remains. Thus mysterious are the "^ays of God's provi- dence. how unutterably important to be prepared for the most sudden call ! The Lord grant that all these visitations may HIS MINISTRY. 281 have their due effect upon all our minds. No reflections should be more abiding with us of the ministry, than the importance of a fixed arid continued assurance, that while we preach to others, we do not ourselves become castaways. My personal warnings have impressively taught me the value of personal religion, and the absolute necessity, in the midst of all our complicated duties to others, to see that matters stand right between Grod and our own souls. " I congratulate you, therefore, my dear brother, that your accession to the ofiice of presbyter was accompanied by feel- ings so appropriate to that interesting step in your ministerial career. The God whom we serve, preserve you and me in a constant feeling of our high responsibilities, and fill us with the hopes resulting from a conscientious discharge of our mo- mentous trusts. : . " Your ever affectionate "JAMES MILNOR." On his return from Washington, whither he had gone to attend a meeting of clergy, he wrote again to the same cor- respondent. "New York, Nov. 30, 1827. " My dear Friend and Brother — Gn my return from the south I found on my table your kind communication of the 5th inst., of which, if incessant occupation had not prevented, I should have transmitted an earlier acknowledgment." After alluding to the temporary ill health of his correspondent, he pro- ceeds: "Fn spiritual things, I am willing to trust you in the hands of that God, to whom I am assured you have given your- self, body, soul, and spirit ; and by whose power you will not only be kept through faith unto salvation, but also, as I trust, be made, in your day and generation, a blessing unto many. "I have abundant cause for discouragement in the little fruit which results from my own labors, and in the opposition of the enemies of truth within our church. But, so long as God allows me, I will strive to do something in his service ; and will pray for grace to enable me to meet the difficulties, which will ever, more or less, attend the faithful laborer in his vineyard. "We have need of much firmness, in upion with great meekness of 282 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. tamper, in the present state of things. By divine aid, I will not barter the hopes of eternity for the approbation of man ; nor swerve from a course of clearly indicated duty, whatever offence it may give. At the same time, 1 am willing, and do desire to put my feelings under proper restraint, where undeserved injuries are offered ; and therefore I have refrained, though much incited to it by my friends, from answering the partial and unfair repre- sentation of a conversation between the assistant-bishop of Penn- sylvania and myself, which has been appended to the reasons published by the Episcopal college for the consecration of that most strenuous of high churchmen. I hope you have read the well-considered, moderate, and able pamphlet of dear brother Mcllvaine, Though I felt averse to his writing, yet I am satis- fied that what he has done will not only vindicate his character, ( that was unnecessary, ) but give information to the public, which was much wanted, as to the sentiments and opinions of the evangelical clergy. Every minister and layman on the moderate side, from whom I have heard any expression of opinion respect- ing it, has given it his unqualified approbation. * " In regard to Pennsylvania, I verily believe that our breth- ren, in all their procedures, have been actuated by pure motives ; but there has been a great want of practical wisdom in their plans, and some intemperance of feeling in their publications. For their errors they are severely scourged in having set over them so unconciliating a man as their present assistant-bishop. " The Recorder, I fear, must necessarily, at least for some time, maintain a character that will be unpleasant to those who take no interest in the exciting controversies in the place of its publication. But they have no other vehicle for communicating the views of those whom, in his convention address, and in his consecration sermon, Bishop Hobart has so clearly misrepresented ; and, unless they give up the evangelical cause to the unanswered attacks of their opposers, the paper must, for a while, bear a con- troversial aspect. I wish, as you do, that we had a miscellany, * The reference in the above paragraph is to the controversy, which for a while agitated the Church, upon the retirement of the late bishop of Pennsyl- vania from his parish in Brooklyn, and upon the settlement of the Rev. Mr. Mcllvaine in his place, as the rector of St. Ann's. HIS MINISTRY. 283 decidedly of the same cast as to doctrine, but free from any reference to the local concerns of the church in that distracted diocese. At Washington, however, it was not found practicable to do any thing on this subject. Indeed, it was not formally dis- cussed ; but in conversation, the view seemed to prevail, that "The Repertory" was identified with the interests of the Vir- ginia Theological Seminary, and of the Maryland and Yirginia Education Society ; and " The Recorder," at present, with the defence of the principles and conduct of the evangelical brethren in Pennsylvania ; and that, on the whole, it must be referred to a more propitious moment to originate a publication of a more general character, in which the others should be merged. For various reasons, it was also thought best to defer the formation of a foreign missionary society. I was, however, delighted with the devout and ardent spirit of piety, which animates our south- ern brethren. Their new building for the Theological Seminary is about three miles from Alexandria, on a charming eminence ; and they had an expectation of twenty students for the present session. They have already sent forth several pious and well- qualified laborers, and I do believe that seminary is destined to be a great blessing to the church. " Farewell, my very dear brother. Pray, if your health per- mit, sit up an hour later than usual on some early evening, and let me hear from you at large. I love your letters, and I love them to be long, not in coming, but in compass. " With the warmest affection, "Ever yours, "JAMES MILNOR." ■J" . To the same. " New York, April 21, 1828. " My dear Brother — The Lord be thanked, that you are still able Xo work, and that he is pleased to give you souls for your hire. Should the encouraging account which you give me of the state of things in your congregation be followed by the result of a manifest revival, you must avoid a name so offensive to many, and call it ' an increased attention to religion.' All will then be well. It is a pity, when the Lord has of late years been so evidently pleased to accomplish the work of his grace by special 284 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. effusions of his Spirit, that in such a church as ours, the opera- tions of that Spirit should be denied, though proved by the very- evidence to which Christ himself refers as decisive — ' their fruits."^ That there have been alleged revivals which deservedly lost all credit with considerate Christians for want of this evidence, none of the best friends of those merciful visitations will deny ; and it cannot be questioned, i;hat many enthusiastic excesses and cen- surable circumstances of various kinds, have accompanied true revivals. But with every needed abatement, I have not the least doubt of their having been, in countless instances, the means of salvation to multitudes ; and that they are, and will be among the means of hastening the latter-day glory of the church. Let us pray earnestly that an anxious concern for the best interests of our fellow-men may be revived in our own hearts, and in those of our lay-brethren ; peradventure the covenant-keeping God whom we serve, may grant us a more signal blessing, in pouring out his Spirit upon our people, than we have yet known. - " Our increase of communicants in St. George's has not, of late, been very rapid ; and yet my Sunday and week-day services ^ere never better attended, nor the prayer-meetings more regu- larly held and fervently conducted, nor the six Sunday-schools of my church better supplied with teachers and pupils. Nor does God leave himself without witness among us, in the ingathering of souls. Since the last Convention, I have received to commun- ion about twenty. We have now some earnest inquirers ; but still, I mourn the coldness of my own heart, the feebleness of my labors, and their inadequate results, and would hail with un- speakable gratitude such an evidence of the divine favor as has been afforded to many congregations in our land, to whatever odium it might subject me in the minds of many around me. " Can you tell me whom I ought to appoint to the Milnor professorship in Kenyon college ? If I had dared to hope that a certain friend of mine, not a hundred miles from you, would have accepted it, he would have been promptly named. iBut I have had no hope. What think you he would have said to such a proposal ? "With unabated affection, ever yours, "JAMES MILNOR. • HIS MINISTRY. 285 To the same. "New York, Eeb, 26, 1829. . *^ My DEAR Brother — I am now engaged, in addition to my stated Friday evening lecture, in a course of lectures, every Wednesday evening, preparatory to Confirmation, which is to take place about Easter. I have already lectured on the author- ity and inspiration of the sacred Scriptures ; the being and attri- butes of God ; the primeval and present state and character of man ; and salvation by grace through a divine Redeemer ; and shall proceed with the course on the offices of Christ ; the per- sonality. Deity, and influences of the Holy Spirit ; repentance ; faith ; justification ; sanctification ; obedience ; the Church ; the sacraments, etc. An unusual interest has been excited by these communications, and I pray God that the spiritual profit of many may be the result. " But in telling you this, I have only afforded my testimony to the truth of that article of our church which declares that the ' infection of nature doth remain,' etc. ; for what but the natiiral selfishness of the heart could lead me to speak about myself Etnd my doings, when the immediate and proper object of this letter is, to answer the inquiries which you have made on the subject of your contemplated voyage across the Atlantic ? I do sincerely congratulate you on the favorable prospect before you of effect- ing an object which, in your case, I think on many accounts peculiarly desirable. If I were twenty years younger, and less encumbered than I am with responsibilities, you might be bur- dened with an unprojfitable fellow-traveller." The rest of the letter is occupied with answers to the inqui- ries of his correspondent ; in furnishing which. Dr. Milnor little thought, that notwithstanding his age and responsibilities, he was himself so near his own more important visit to Europe. Only a single narration and a letter or two remain to be given, before we proceed to an account of that interesting portion of his life. At the close of the year 1828, and the beginning of 1829, Dr. Milnor passed through one of the most trying scenes of his ministerial course. It was the part which he took in the organ- ization and dissolution of " The Protestant Episcopal Clerical Association of New York." 286 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. ' During the summer of 1828, a feeling, which had for some years been rising in the Church, began to express itself in a half- audible call for some association of a specially clerical character, "for the purposes of prayer, religious conversation, expounding the Scriptures, and other similar exercises." One of the first utterances of this feeling was in the ear of Bishop Hobart, by " the rector of one of the principal congregations of the city." This address to the bishop was evidently prompted by a desire to engage him as the head and leader of the movement, it being well known that whatever of a religious character he should either favor or oppose, would be either favored or opposed by the great majority of the clergy and laity of the diocese. Unfortu- nately, although the suggestion came to him from one with whom he had " the happiness to agree substantially as to principles and policy," yet, while he "approved the contemplated object," he had " various objections to the proposed plan of accomplishing it," But as the interview was friendly and unofficial, the sub- ject being "kindly discussed" between the parties, it was not supposed that the bishop's objections would lead him openly and officially to oppose the niovement. Accordingly, when the An- nual Convention assembled, in October, 1828, it was determined by the clergy who were favorable, to proceed to the contemplated organization. A preparatory meeting was held, and a second appointed for "consummating" it. In these steps, no further consultation with the bishop was had, because it was thoroughly felt that all such consultation would be unavailing, and because it had been determined to pro- ceed in the prosecution of an object, which the movers considered of great importance, and from the prosecution of which no earthly power had a right to restrain them. A few hours, however, before the meeting for " consummat- ing" the organization, the bishop "accidentally heard" of what was passing, and " immediately resolved on seeing two of the four or five clergy of the city who, as far as he could learn, were as yet engaged in this measure, in order to a frank and friendly communication with them." These two clergymen were the Rev. Drs. Wainwright and Milnor. " To them he stated ear- nestly and solicitously the reasons which convinced him that the HIS MINISTRY. 287 plan which they proposed for accomplishing their object, was inexpedient and unnecessary." Still, as in these interviews, es- pecially in that between Bishop Hobart and Dr. Milnor, the former expressly disclaimed addressing the latter in an official capacity, and more than once desired to be considered as convers- ing with him " not as his bishop, but as a friend," it was not deemed either necessary or advisable to desist from the work upon which they had so seriously entered. They therefore per- severed, and on the evening of that day completed the organi- zation of " The Protestant Episcopal Clerical Association of the City of New York," having " for its object the promotion of the personal piety and the official usefulness of its members, by devo- tional exercises and by conversation on missionary and such other religious subjects as might conduce to mutual edification." From its inception, this society was composed of clergymen representing the various shades of opinion in the Church, and was otherwise guarded against the danger of abuse. Its meet- ings were opened and closed with approved forms of devotion; any clergyman of our church in New York and its vicinity, of whatever shade of opinion, might become a member by signify- ing his wish to the secretary in writing, with his approbation of the nature and object of the association ; and any member might invite any other clergyman of our church, not resident in either New York or its vicinity, to attend any of the regular meetings of the society. Besides, by mutual consent, the ordinary topics of theological and ecclesiastical controversy were excluded from the discussions of the members, and their exercises directed to "the promotion of harmony of feeling and of character," and not to that of "perfect uniformity of opinion." This latter re- sult they professed to consider "just about as feasible as to regu- late the proportions of the waves of some mighty river." Thus organized, constituted, and designed, the association commenced its regular meetings. It was some months, however, before the printed constitution and forms of devotion could be furnished for the use of the members. The pamphlet containing these documents, printed, not published, came from the press at the close of the year 1828; but being "at first inaccurately printed," "many corrections were necessary," and it was not 288 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. ready for distribution until several weeks later. At length a copy of the corrected impression, bearing the imprint of 1829, fell into the bishop's hands. Indeed, " it had been intended to send a copy to each Protestant Episcopal clergyman in the city." Before this could be done, however, and even " before the mem- bers received their copies," one "accidentally" met the bishop's eye. He immediately issued his memorable "Pastoral Letter,'' addressed "to the clergy and laity" of the diocese. This docu- ment appeared the 21st of February, 1829, " before the first meet- ing of the association" after the correction of their constitution and forms of devotion ; so that the members received the Pastoral, in all its formidableness, before they were favored with a sight of their own simple regulations and ritual in print. It came " not merely to the surprise, but to the utter astonishment of every member, some of whom would not believe the rumor of its pub- lication, when it reached them." To rumor, however, quickly succeeded ocular demonstration, and they were left with nothing to do but to gather up their scattered powers of reflection, and forthwith consider the question, whether they would dissolve the association, or continue it against the officially expressed disap- probation of their bishop. Meanwhile, they published to the world their constitution and forma of devotion, with " Prefatory Remarks," explaining, and mildly defending their course, and taking a brief but respectful notice of the "Pastoral Letter." This drew forth a "Vindica- tion" of the "Letter," anonymous in form, but evidently from the pen of the bishop. This, in its turn, was followed by a full " Account of the true nature and object op the Association," witji " A Defence" of the same from objections which had been urged against it. And this, finally, was succeeded by a " Brief Notice" of the Account and Defence, probably from the same pen with the " Vindication." The public papers, too, took up the doings of the bishop and the association; the noise was heard from end to end of the land ; even from beyond the eastern limits of the states came back an echo of the sound ; and various movings in the atmosphere of feeling disturbed the quiet of the Church. In the midst of all this, the fate of the association was decided HIS MINISTRY. 289 by the movement of one of its members, who had been the first actor in the business. He withdrew, and in a published letter to his brethren of the association, assigned his reasons for the step. Immediately after the receipt of his letter, the remaining members decided upon dissolving the organization. Their " Ac- count and Defence " was accordingly accompanied with a state- ment of reasons for the dissolution. The feeling of the associa- tion had previously been in favor of its continuation, but the withdrawment of one of its leading members changed the aspect of the question before it, inasmuch as its continuation after that event, would have seemed to justify the charge of partisan design. The members, therefore, no longer deliberated, and the dissolution was publicly announced in their very able " Account and Defence " of the organization. Such is the history of the brief-lived "Protestant Episcopal Clerical Association of New York." - •• It has been given because Dr. Milnor was one of the two leading presbyters under whose auspices it was organized, and that one emphatically on whom the heaviest weight of odium fell, in consequence of the position assumed and of the course pursued by Bishop Hobart. It is not necessary to enter here into a defence of Dr. Milnor's agency in the matter. It may be well, however, to add to the foregoing statement some few general reflections, inasmuch as the case involves a great general prin- ciple. The members of the association, in their reasonings on the case, alluded to the fact, that so far as schism in the Church is found to follow those actings of the religious life which sought expression in the exercises of their body, the evil flows, not from the nature and tendency of such associations in themselves, but from the unreasonable opposition with which they so uniformly meet. This fact has been specially observable in the case of the continental Reformation in Europe, and in those of the Puritans and Methodists in England. Had the ruling majority, during those great crises, abstained from contumelious treatment, oppo- sition, and persecution, the manifestations among them of relig- ious life would have wrought no schism. That life would have spread quickeningly and purifyingly in and through the Church, Mem. Milnor. ■ 1 9 290 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. till the whole would have felt the blessed and the needed in- fluence. Humanly speaking, popes and bishops had the control of this result in their own hands ; and by putting themselves at the head of the movements around them, and directing instead of opposing them, might have made the Reformation, or the re- vival of the Church, a safe and peaceful process. The same principle governs the humbler cases, in which these same actings of the religious life seek to develope themselves among us. Were they left unopposed, especially if ruling ma- jorities would, with a prudence sought from above, favor and guide them in their course, the peace as well as the unity of the Church would remain undisturbed ; and its religious life, diffus- ing itself more uniformly, would reach and maintain itself at a higher and more satisfying point. It is when opposed and treated with harshness and contumely, that extremes follow its stronger movements. In the best actings of this religious life, there is always enough of human infirmity to feel keenly the injustice of such treatment. It must be remembered, too, that when extremes begin to evolve themselves, they are never found all on one side. If what may be termed the spiritual element be driven into an extreme on the one hand, the ritual element, as it may be called, will, by an invariable law of moral forces, certainly be found in an equal extreme on the other. In thus distinguishing the spiritual from the ritual element, the meaning is not, that the former is incapable of expressing itself in ritual forms, or that it is a spirit which seeks freedom from external order and ceremonies. It is, undoubtedly, a spirit which refuses to be bound, as if in chains, at all times and under all circumstances, to one prescribed mode of worship. At the same time, however, it is a spirit compatible with consistent and most profound attachment to one prescribed, if scriptural mode of worship, and with enlightened and most reverent regard for all the appointments of Grod's visible Church. To suppose, on the one hand, that this spiritual element must, at all times and under all circumstances, be bound to one prescribed mode of wor- sship, is to claim for that mode a divine original, imposing itself on the observance of Christians with a divine obligation. It is to lose sight of the truth, that in the Christian Church, all par- HIS MINISTRY. ^(^ tieular modes of worship are confessedly matters of mere human arrangement and expediency ; and therefore cannot, by ecclesias- tical authority, be made obligatory beyond the times and occa* sions for which they are avowedly designed. And on the other hand, to suppose that the spiritual element in the Church cannot express itself, with full and entire satisfaction, in ritual forms, at the times and on the occasions for which those forms are de- signed, is to admit, either that the particular "routine of pre- scribed formularies" is indeed "dull," spiritless, without food for the soul in its intenser moods of action ; or, that such routine is unscriptural, superstitious, corrupting to religious character : neither of which will be admitted by those who love to be always bound to forms ; certainly neither will be alleged by those who plead for liberty of action at times and on occasions for which existing forms were not designed. if- ■' It is important to observe, that these two elements — ^ttie ritual, or that which loves to confine itself to prescribed forms and cer- emonies ; and the spiritual, or that which, while capable of most reverent attachments to lively and scriptural forms, and of full enjoyment in them, still claims the liberty wherewith the Church as well as Christ hath made it free at times and in places not contemplated by public rituals — either always are, or at any time may be, present in the Church. Should any church be- come thoroughly and literally dead in ritualism, as distinguished from a rational love of forms, it would still be impossible, unless God had for ever cast off that church, to prevent the revival and growth within it of the spiritual element, as just defined. The world rolls round ; and it would be as impossible to make night perpetual in any one region, as it would be to make utter spirit- ual death perpetual in any church not for ever deserted of God. The revolutions in the spiritual world may be slower than those of the natural, but they are not less sure. Generally, however, the ritual and the spiritual elements coexist in every church, especially in every church which has chosen to adopt in its pub- lic worship prescribed forms of prayer ; and they coexist, not as necessarily invidious and antagonistic distinctions, but as possibly rational and harmonious developments. There is no more reason for supposing that the true religious life must always deyelope $93 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. itself in one of these forms, than there is for supposing that the natural life must always develope itself under one invariable temperament. Grace does not annihilate nature ; it does but renew and sanctify it in all its peculiar developments. Allowing, then, that in any particular church the ritual ele- ment is enlightened and rational as well as devout and reveren- tial ; still, it has no more right or reason on its side in endeav- oring to expel, or even to repress from activity, the spiritual element, than the latter would have in endeavoring to expel or to repress the former. To assume the converse of this proposi- tion, is to assume that this spiritual element is sheer delusion, the work of Satan, or of mere corrupt nature, with which the Spirit of God has no intercourse or concern : a position which the most strenuous advocate of forms dare not assume. In as- suming it, any sane and reflecting Christian would be afraid of being smitten with some irrepealable curse. It is futile to at- tempt to avoid this by saying, that the spiritual element is liable to dangerous mixtures with mere animal heats and delusions, and that therefore the ritual element has a right to war against its movements ; for if such a danger exist on the one hand, it is equally true on the other, that the ritual element is liable to dan- gerous mixtures with mere animal chills and pharisaisms, and that therefore the spiritual element has a right to drive it out of the Church. Thus would be established the right to ceaseless warfare within what was designed to be the ever-tranquil fold of the Prince of peace. The truth is, under any of its developments, grace cannot come into fallen human nature, without liability to abuse from that nature ; and there is no more reason for suppos- ing that the Spirit of God holds exclusively with the ritual, than there is for believing that he holds exclusively with the spiritual element in the Church ; and therefore the true inference is, that both should be prayerfully watched, and prayerfully cultivated, that thus unbroken peace and brotherhood may always prevail within the household of Christ. To apply this to such cases as that of the association whose brief history has been given : If the Spirit of God have intercourse and concern with the spiritual element in the Church, which it were profaneness to deny, then it is not merely the interest, but HIS MINISTRY. ' 298 also the duty of the Church, while seeking wisdom from God to regulate it, to cherish and direct it also to its intended good results ; and niore than this, to secure for it the free privilege of its own peculiar modes of action and expression-^so long, at least, as it respects, reverences, and observes those which the Church has rightfully prescribed. It shpuld be well understood and cordially admitted, that this element is a part of the Church, and its actings a part of the Church's action ; that this element and its developments are just as normal, and as Christian, and therefore as privileged, as any other element and its developments. Christ designed that this element should be in his Church, and should have scope, not merely for its private opinions and judg- ments, but also for the appropriate action of its peculiar sympa- thies, capabilities, adaptations, and tendencies. It has work to do, and results to evolve ; and it comes forth in the Church, not " bound hand and foot," but " Christ's free man ;" under law to him always, under law to his Church, where she hath rightful authority ; yet under his commission still to go free, and do its work openly, unimpededly, efficiently, for his Church and in his Church, as well as for the world and in the world. In this work, it is not merely the interest, it is also the duty of. the Church to cherish and defend it. It is not enough to let it alone ; to keep off from it the persecuting hand and the persecuting tongue ; to treat it as a merely tolerated, endured, yet displeasing presence : it must be cordially welcomed, honored, provided for, as a most glorious part of the Church, and as doing in it a portion of Christ's most glorious work. In the church to which Dr. Milnor belonged, it may be be- lieved, this treatment of the spiritual element would be not only safe, but peculiarly safe. It is surrounded with, perhaps, just that provision of safeguards, which, so far as the injfirmities ot fallen man may render its action, under any circumstances, un- safe, is best calculated to counteract the danger, while securing all the richest benefits which this modification of the religious life is designed to yield. Instead, then, of frowning upon it, and setting themselves against it, let the ruling powers fearlessly and cordially put themselves at the head of all its manifestations, and cherish, while directing them, in the spirit of a heavenly wisdom. The MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. world may then see a Church, combining all the best life of purity and efficiency with all the best beauty of order and decency. The opposite of this treatment, we may be assured, inflicts on the Church, in the long run, one of her most sejious wounds. Treated with persecution or harshness, this element must flee, as it did in the Puritan and Wesleyan movements, if not to the mountains, at least to independent positions, where it can defend, maintain, and expand itself. And then, when any church has lost that portion of its members in whom this element had mani- fested itself, it is impossible to prevent the revival of the same spirit among those who remain. Hence, a new portion must bo driven for refuge and activity out of its pale ; and thus that church will be successively drained of portions of its life and substance which it can least aflbrd to lose. No church can afford to undergo continually-repeated depletions. We can en- dure the thought of the world's losing successive portions of its population, when drawn off" to be made alive in a living church ; but not the idea of any church losing such portions of its own soul and body, though drawn off" to be nourished and kept alive under other auspices. No local church can bear such a process without the peril of falling at last into either a moral atrophy, or a literal depopulation. Christ designed not that his Church, or any portion of it, should be continually parting with its numbers, but that, in every portion, it should be continually adding to its multitudes. This design cannot be realized under the circumstances which we have been reviewing. It is plainly too much to expect of hu- man nature, even in its best state on earth, that individuals in whom the spiritual element is developed, can be kept in a church, yet always in fetters ; tolerated in their private opinions and judgments, yet restrained from all peculiar modes of expressing their own sympathies and activities. Theirs is a spirit which loves law and order, and will abide them ; but it is also a spirit which loves liberty and action, where Christ and true cliurch authority have left it free to act ; and such liberty and activity it must and will enjoy, or it will either expire where it stands, or go and seek what it needs elsewhere : leaving other and perhaps more vigorous manifestations to revive in its vacated place, and HIS MINISTRY. 295 to work out its postponed, but appointed mission and destiny. It has common sympathies and susceptibilities, which fit it to live and act in harmony with its ritual companion, and to make the companionship a blessing to both ; but it has also sympathies and susceptibilities, wants and necessities, which ask for other and freer exercise ; and this exercise it must and will have. It is not a thing of opinion and judgment alone, which may be privately entertained, and with private entertainment be satis- fied ; but a thing of life and activity also— assimilated, in some of its living and active attributes, to ritualism — peculiar to itself in others, and as such demanding other and peculiar modes of expression. It is a spirit which may be traced through the Church from Christ's time to our own ; and enough is known of its history to show, that it is one of the offspring of God in his great kingdom, and not a mere progeny of man in his fallen es- tate. Let it, then, be treated according to its true origin and character. It will thus work out its mission and its destiny peacefully and blessedly, bringing high glory to its Author, and wide good to its objects. But it is time to return to the memoir. His next letter, on the list of those which have been recov- 1 ...... ered, was on a subject deeply interesting to its writer, that of a school for training colored missionaries to Africa. -•5 To the Rev. J. P. K. Henshaw. "New York, Jan. 27, 1830. *!i "Rev. and dear Brother — I sympathize sincerely with your young friend, whom I presume to be Mr. Cleveland, in the anxiety which he has so long felt to direct his efforts into a channel of usefulness, for which there has yet appeared no opening. The school attempted some years ago in New Jersey, for the in- struction of colored youth having a view to the ministry of the Presbyterian church, fell through, partly for want of support, and partly in consequence of the licentious conduct of some of the pupils. A subsequent attempt, principally by gentlemen in New- ark, and, on their invitation, a few from other states, who con- sulted together at a meeting in that place which I attended, wa» followed by no beneficial results. It was then hoped that a con- siderable sum left by General Kosciusko, might be secured for 296 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. this purpose ; and Mr. Lear of Washington, who is administrator, cum testamento annexo, and who has the funds in his hands, gave encouragement for such a hope. Afterwards, however, General Kosciusko's will was contested by his relatives; and whether it is still in litigation or not, I do not know. " In the African mission-school at Hartford, there are four young meuj and the wife of one of them, receiving instruction preparatory to a removal to Africa. Three of these young men Bishop Brownell intends to ordain. One is not expected to have all the qualifications requisite to a clergyman, but is to go out as catechist and schoolmaster. The woman, it is hoped, will make a good schoolmistress. That school is ready to receive other pupils of piety and promise, who, like those already there, will be taught by a suitable instructor in secular learning, and by Bishop Brownell and Mr. Wheaton in theology. The bishop al- lows them to hold a weekly religious meeting for colored persons, and to exercise themselves in extemporaneous preaching. rj.Sj " ' But what are these among so many V If the wants of Africa received the sympathy and commiseration to which they are entitled, a large seminary, with a special view to their sup- ply, would be at once established. But the variety of other calls, the distance of the object, the supposed difficulty of obtaining well-disposed pupils having a view to emigration to that country, the prevalent denominational distinctions, and the monies re- quired to accomplish any thing on an extended scale, all seem to be barriers in the way. If we had, I will not say a Wilberforce, but an Anthony Benezet among us, who would arouse public attention to this interesting object, something perhaps might be done. But talents, exertion, and what must be their associate influence, are required ; and our young friend, with all his zeal and abilities, could effect nothing until some master-spirit should arise among the class of more advanced Christians, whose hold upon the public mind would enable him to rally in his cause not only those who wish well to Africa, but also those who would prove the sincerity of their feelings by liberal contributions to her spiritual relief. Unhappily, almost all our colored population in this city are opposed to colonization, and of course look with jealousy on all attempts that may seem to favor it ; and many of HIS MINISTRY. 297 their white friends partake of their feelings. The result of the whole is an entire inability on my part to suggest any thing that would assist the benevolent aims of your young friend, " I wish I had room for more than the assurance that I re- main* " Your affectionate brother, "JAMES MILNOR." The letters which have filled so many pages of this memoir, though they furnish no connected view of the incidents in the outer life of Dr. Milnor, yet, as revelations of his inner life, are peculiarly valuable. They show how various current events af- fected him ; and illustrate the position in which he was provi- dentially placed in relation to his own church, and to various religious institutions in our country. Profoundly actuated by convictions so different from those which governed the majority of Episcopalians, particularly in the diocese to which he be- longed, he was, for many years, called to few posts of action and of influence among them. With the fewer engrossing cares, therefore, was he left to devote whatever of time and of talent he could command to the working of those great Christian asso- ciations, with which our country was beginning to abound, which were designed to embody the influence of all truly evangelical denominations, and of which both his judgment and his heart constrained him to approve. Originally, it is true, he engaged in the service of those noble institutions because he loved their spirit and their objects, without stopping to inquire whether there were not other channels through which he might pour the re- sources of his influence into the general stream of Christian be- nevolence. But it is likewise true, that the mere withholding of his cooperation from those institutions would not have opened to him, as substitutes, any important places of trust and influ- ence in his own church. Under a system of ecclesiastical tactics which effectually excluded him, those places were always care- fully, or at least controUingly, filled by others of very different religious views ; and never would have been opened for any effec- tive exertion of his influence, save on an abandonment of those Christian principles and sympathies which he cherished, and which constituted an indestructible part of his character and experience 298 " MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. as a disciple of Christ. Virtually, therefore, the question with him was, whether he would throw his main strength into such institutions as the American Bible and Tract Societies, or be content with those narrow limits of a parish, which would prac- tically shut him out of the great world of Christian action and movement. Of course, such a question, proposed to such a mind, could not remain an hour undecided. He knew, indeed, that his decision would expose him to opposition; he knew the quarter from which, mainly, that opposition would come ; and he knew that it would be an opposition all the more formidable because backed by the forces of an early and still sincere friendship. Yet all this could not move him from his course. Many, now living, know well the peculiar pain which it gave him to differ from his early friend, especially when appearing in the later character of his bishop. Still, he felt that, so long as he walked with scrupulous care according to all the prescriptions of his own church>^he had a Christian man's liberty to walk, in other things, according to his own best judgment of duty. It was, doubtless, a difficult path to tread; and if, while following it, his private correspondence shows, that in alluding to the measures of his diocesan, he expressed himself, though never with discourtesy, yet sometimes with warmth, it must be ascribed to the peculiar shaping and power of that influence in which early friendship and later office were brought to bear against him. For it must be confessed, that if any thing can excite a Christian to speak with an earnestness beyond what his own calmer thoughts would prompt, it is that influence with which office arms itself, when it attempts, through the tenderness of friendship, to enforce what authority may not enjoin, or to prevent what authority may not forbid. Precisely this sort of influence was Dr. Milnor repeat- edly compelled to encounter. It cannot, therefore, be a matter of wonder if his letters sometimes show, that the sensibilities both of the Christian and of the friend had been somewhat disturbingly touched. The disturbance was always momentary; for his na- ture was of the kindlier sort, that carries anger as the flint bears fire — Which, much enforced, doth show a hasty spark, '*' And straight is cold again." - - i\' jf..-*^"' MISSION TO ENGLAND, 299 PART lY. c MISSION TO ENGLAND. SECTION I. ■ We have now reached the period at which Dr. Milnor was called to undertake a most important agency — ^that of delegate from the American Bible Society and other religious institutions in this country, to those noble kindred associations in England, which the month of May annually brings together in the city of London. These societies, though originating in different lands, yet have the same parentage. They were all born of the active benevolence of Protestant Christianity. The same spiritual blood flows in all their veins. No wonder, then, that they desired to know one another face to face ; and it is much to the credit of the American sisterhood, that they were the first to propose and bring about the meeting. The idea of sending Dr. Milnor as a delegate from the American to the British and Foreign Bible Society, had for some time been entertained, but never till now could those who conceived the idea bring it into realization. The account of Dr. Milnor's visit cannot be better introduced than by an extract from the records of the vestry of St. George's, containing their assent to his proposed absence from his parish. That extract is as follows : " At a special meeting of the vestry of St. George's church, in the city of New York, held in the vestry-room, Feb. 20, 1830, " The rector stated to the vestry, that since his application, several years ago, for leave of absence for the purpose of visiting England, when the vestry were kind enough to grant permission for that purpose, although circumstances prevented his availing himself of it, he has been frequently and much importuned by his religious friends to fulfil what was then expected of him on behalf of the American Bible Society and other institutions of 300 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. our country, with which he has been long officially connected ; that at this time, in consequence of renewed applications of the same nature, urged upon his attention by many powerful consid- erations, his mind has become impressed with the , persuasion of its being his duty, if practicable, to attend the ensuing anni- versary of the British and Foreign Bible Society, the Church Missionary, the Prayer-book and Homily, the Tract, and other religious societies in London, in the month of May next; and while in England to avail himself of whatever means may be presented for furthering the interests of institutions of a similar kind in the United States; and that, adding to these views a hmnble hope, with the help of God's grace, of improving by the same means his own mind, and increasing his own zeal in the discharge of his duties to his beloved congregation on his return, he was induced to solicit of the vestry leave of absence for the space of about six months. It was therefore unanimously • >j^ ^^ Resolved, That although the vestry cannot, without deep concern, look forward to so long a separation between their pastor and his congregation, to whom he is so faithful, and by whom he is so much respected and beloved, yet — convinced that the proposed mission, by leading to a more friendly and intimate intercourse between the eminent and useful associations in this and our parent country, which have for their object the extension of religious knowledge, and by collecting much useful information as to the state of religion abroad, and the means of propagating the knowledge and influence of the Gospel, as well as in various other ways, may promote the interests and advancement of the institutions formed here for such purposes, and of the common cause of our holy religion — this vestry approves of the design, and consents to the absence of the rector for the requisite time; ex- pressing their satisfaction at being thus permitted, in their en- deavors to promote such interesting objects, to contribute, as they trust, to his personal gratification, by adding to the means of extending his own usefulness. And they affectionately com- mend him to the care of the great Head of the Church, and pray that he may enjoy a speedy and pleasant voyage, and a safe return. > ; ' ■ "Attested, THOMAS BLOODGOOD, Clerk."* • MISSION TO ENGLAND.' 301 The feelings with which he undertook this enterprise, were characteristic at once of his usual modest estimate of himself, of his pious devotion to the cause of his Master, and of his heart- felt interest in the societies which he was to represent. Illustra- tive of this is the following extract from a letter to the present writer. "New York, Feb. 20, 1830. " Rev. and dear Brother — You will be surprised to learn, that I shall not have the pleasure of seeing you as you pass through New York, and still more so when you know the cause. I have yielded to the importunity of my friends, and with the unanimous consent of my vestry, have agreed to sail for England on the 16th of the ensuing month. Perhaps it might, by some, be considered affectation in me to say, that I have acceded to this measure with reluctance, and that nothing but a sense of duty would have led me to consent to so long an absence from my family and flock. But I am sure you will believe me when I say, that with advanced age, much of the curiosity that would have made such a proposal delightful in my earlier years, has subsided, and that, besides other feelings of repugnance to cross- ing the ocean, a conviction of my incompetency for many duties which will probably be consequent on my arrival in England, has oppressively increased it. I shall, if God permit, attend the principal anniversaries in London, and perhaps may be called to take some part in their proceedings ; and much as I have spoken in public in my own land, I do shrink at the thought of doing so before such assemblages as those occasions bring together. But if God enable me to become an instrument in opening a more effectual communication, and of exciting a more feeling interest between the evangelical clergy of England and those of this coun- try, and between the great benevolent institutions there and here, it will be no imbittering reflection, during the residue of my brief term of existence, that I have been so honored, and to God shall be all the glory and the praise. Let me ask of you your ear- nest supplications in my behalf, for divine preservation and support in the enterprise to which his providence appears to direct me. "Your faithful and sincere brother in Christ, "JAMES MILNOR." 90d MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. Although, however, his appointment as delegate from the American Bible Society and its kindred associations was the prime mover of the enterprise, yet the missionary and other sooi eties under the control of his own church were not without a share in his attentions abroad. This is evident from the follow- ing letter. "PHH.ADELPHIA, Feb. 22, 1830. " Rev. and very dear Brother — Our mutual friend Mr. Tb- botson has made me acquainted with his urgent endeavors to enlist you in an undertaking which, for more than a year, has been very near my heart. Should he prevail in pleading a cause in which I have been so unsuccessful, I must, even if I go pur- posely to New York, have an interview with you previous to your departure. While, however, the decision is pending, I trust you will not consider it out of place for mo to run over with you a very hasty and condensed schedule of the benefits which I think cannot fail to result from your voyage. "1. In connection with the Bible and Tract causes, * the lay of the land ' is more entirely before your mind's eye than that of any other man. "2. The Sunday-school, Bible-class, and infant-school cause must receive benefit by an interchange of minute knowledge of facts and details. " 3. In your interviews with the editors of the Christian Guar- dian and the Christian Observer, you can help a correct impression of the true state of '■revivals'' and many kindred points, besides opening a free communication, of inconceivable use to the Recorder,* but of which I despair if left to mere letter- writing. They feel no deep sympathy, no lively concern in our views, with regard to bring- ing the evangelical interests of the two countries nearer together. " 4. You could do much for dear Bishop Chase and the noble work at Konyon college. "5. But after mentioning of how great use you might be to the Recorder, in collecting pamphlets, tracts, sermons, oto., not accessible in this country, but extracts from which would be delightful, and most intluentially useful, I must hasten, • Tlie writer of this letter was then editor of "The Episcopal Recorder," a paper published in Philadelphia. MISSION TO ENGLAND. 303 " 6. To the main thing — intimate, thorough, cjfFective inter- views with Mr. Bickersteth and Daniel Wilson on the subject of Missions. Do you know that an order has been repeated again and again to our secretary, to open a correspondence with all the church societies for missionary objects ? It must be done through you, if you go. But chiefly for our own sakes must we know the routine of business at the Church Missionary Society's house ; its cardinal rules, modes of dividing labor, keeping books, and conducting correspondence ; its lessons of experience, warnings, cautions, etc. "We must sometimes get at fields through them, and they sometimes through us. We must exchange intelli- gence, and interchange laborers. In a word, as much of the benefit of their labor as we can get, without buying the like wis- dom and success by all the hard cost of experience, and as can be brought cheaply across the Atlantic, we ought to have ; and you are the very man, from your large acquaintance with the Bible Society's movements, to obtain it. Wo want all manner of missionary documents, files of reports, and series of publica- tions from all our three societies — from the London Missionary Society, from the General Baptists, and from the Wesleyan Meth- odists. But I have done. " Your brother in Christ, "B. B. SMITH." " p. S. I had just closed this, when yours of the 20th came to hand. I desire, first of all, to bow my knee in unfeigned thankfulness to God, that my heart's desire and prayer to him, in relation to this great movement, have been so unexpectedly answered. Next I must say, that we must meet. Should your engagements render it difficult for you to come to Philadelphia, I will, the Lord permitting, visit you as soon as brother Robert- son's business here is put in train ; say, after the 10th of March. By the way, will you please to bear in mind so to bring the Greek mission before your people, previous to your departure, that brother Robertson and brother Hill may work to advantage among them in April or May ?" For the information of the general reader, it may be stated, that the Rev. Mr. Robertson was our first missionary to Greece ; and that the Rev. Mr. Hill became early his associate. 304 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. The former of the two following letters gives an idea of the manner in which Dr. Milnor continued to employ himself amid the engrossing cares of preparation for his voyage ; the latter furnishes one of the many instances in which his private influ- ence was blessed to the good of others. ■ / "New York, Feb. 23d, 1830. " Rev. and dear Brother — I called a special meeting of the Publishing Committee of the American Tract Society yesterday, for the purpose of considering your interesting communication on the subject of the progress of ' Catholicism.' My colleagues and myself concur in opinion, that the time has arrived when some- thing must be done to check, if possible, the alarming advances of popery in this country. It was therefore resolved to be expe- dient to issue some Tracts of the character which you describe ; and that, if our absent members concur in our views, measures be immediately taken for that purpose. You will be made ac- quainted, as soon as possible, with the final determination of the Committee. I sincerely hope that they may concur in entering on the defence of Protestantism in such a spirit as will commend itself to the approbation of the great Head of the Church, and to the feelings of the community. " I have the pleasure of informing you, that permission has been given me to visit England, and that I shall sail by the packet of the 16th of March. Will you be good enough to men- tion this to brother Johns. Both from him and yourself let me have fraternal counsel as to the best means of improving my op- portunities of intercourse with our dear brethren in England for the benefit of evangelical religion in our own country ; and if in the power of either of you, please favor me with letters to clergy- men there. Hoping to hear from you soon, I remain, " Your affectionate brother in Christ, "JAMES MILNOR." " To the Rev. J. P. K. Henshaw, Baltimore." ^ ' The other letter was from a near neighbor in New York, to whom he had written on the subject to which it refers ; and whose reply doubtless furnished him as welcome a cheer as any that greeted him on the eve of his departure. MISSION TO ENGLAND. 305 From . "New York, March 15, 1830. " Rev. and respected Sir — I received the letter which you did me the favor to write ; and I thank you for the friendly and affectionate counsel therein contained. " Believing, as I do, that the communication will give you pleasure, I hasten to inform you that I was last night brought to the determination to abandon the sale of distilled liquors, and to cast myself and family on the good providence of God ; getting rid of the enemy in the best way I can, and looking to Him who alone is able to bless me in this my humble attempt to serve him. • " May the God of the ocean, whose servant you are, be with yoti on the sea as well as on the dry land. May you do good and get good among the people whom you are about to visit ; and may you be abundantly prospered in the object of your mission, and in due season returned to Zion here, and to the flock of your charge, and be continued to both a rich and a lasting blessing. " I am, reverend and respected sir, " Your obliged and humble servant. In a note on the back of this letter, Dr. William H. Milnor remarks, " I remember this person well. He had frequent in- terviews with my father on the subject. I am under the impres- sion that he was himself much addicted to the use of liquors. After this letter he was a regular attendant at church, and be- came a respectable citizen." So soon as it was publicly known that Dr. Milnor was going to England in a public capacity, and for purposes of business, commissions of various kinds flowed in upon him in a stream almost literally overwhelming. A more striking proof could not Well have been given of the high estimate in which he was held, and of the thorough confidence which he enjoyed, as an able and faithful Christian man of business, than that furnished by the number and variety of the trusts which he wa,s urged to assume, and of the commissions which he was called to execute. He had enough to load a minister plenipotentiary to a foreign sovereign ^, and to discharge them all, seemed to require the assistance of a Hem. Milnor. 20 306 IfEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. secretary of legation. And yet he undertook them all alone, and discharged them all alone. By his uncommon quickness and skill in reducing matters of business to system, and in doing every thing in its proper time, place, and order, he left nothing uncared for, and few if any trusts undischarged. Some idea of the force of these remarks may be had from a simple enumera- tion of the formal commissions which he bore, and of the informal matters of business with which he was intrusted. He was clothed, then, with more or less formal commissions and instructions from the American Bible and Tract Societies, the American Sunday-school Union, the American Board of Com- missioners for Foreign Missions, the American Education Soci- ety, the American Temperance Society, the American Seamen's Friend Society, the Prison Discipline Society, the General Union for promoting the observance of the Christian Sabbath, and the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Protestant Epis- copal Church ; all of which operate throughout the broad bounds of our political union, while some of them aim to throw their blessed influence over all the earth. Most of them, likewise, accompanied their commissions with masses of documents, re- ports, and other pamphlets, for his examination and use in man- aging their interests abroad. Besides these, he was intrusted with informal, though im- portant business commissions from the Deaf and Dumb Asylum, Bishop Chase and Kenyon College, the Savings-bank in New York, and the patrons of the Episcopal Recorder, Philadelphia ; while private commissions also were numerous, and involved, some of them, no small amount of attention to business details, and to topics for inquiry. Thus the Rev. Dr. Hawks, subse- quently appointed modern historiographer to our American Epis- cdpal church, commissioned him to procure various valuable documents and works touching the early history of our church in this country, which were to be found by searching the vast accumulations in the archives of the venerable " Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts." From a dear friend in the ministry, he also received the following list of topics for inquiry, and of things to be thought of, as bearing with interest on the welfare of religion and of the Church in this country. MISSION TO England: ~ 307 "I. Subjects OF INQUIRY. "1, State of opinion in the Church of England rektive to the exclusive claims of Episcopacy. How far those called High- Church generally carry their views ? What is the prevailing opinion among the evangelical clergy ? Whether this point con- stitutes as general a ground of division among them as it does among us ? And how far the evangelical clergy are in the habit of introducing such topics into the pulpit ? " 2. The precise state of the controversy touching baptismal regeneration. What ground is generally held on the two sides ? " 3, The proportion of evangelical men in the ministry of the English church. What is the extent of Calvinistio views among them? How their spirit, preaching, and labors, and practical qualifications generally, compare with those of the same class of clergy among us ? Into what different classes of character, and in what proportion those not evangelical may be divided ? What intercourse and feeling generally subsists between the two divis- ions ? How the bishops stand in respect to them ? What diffi- culties they throw in the way of evangelical men ? And what are the positiveness and decision of those bishops who are con- sidered evangelical ? " 4. The extent to which extemporaneous preaching and prayer enter into the services of the English evangelical clergy. To what extent do they unite with dissenters in general soci- eties ? " 5. State of opinion in the English church with regard to foreign missions. How far does it resemble that among us as to the comparative claims of domestic and foreign ? "H. Topics TO BE THOUGHT OF. '■ "1. The possibility of inducing young evangelical clergy, on the principle of taking up the cross, to emigrate to this country, and enter on some of our vacancies and desolations. "2. The practicability of producing a much greater reciproc- ity and interchange of feeling and action between the evangelical clergy of the two countries, in the way of correspondence, visita- tion, and interchange of publications. " 3. The devising of some plan by which, every year, some one should be delegated from England to represent all the 808 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. principal institutions of London at our anniversaries, and vice versa. " 4. The interior character, throughout, of the great Church institutions in England — ^the Christian Knowledge Society, Soci- ety for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, and the Church Missionary Society. As to the last, inquire into its sys- tem minutely, how they collect funds and get missionaries, and what they expect in a foreign missionary, etc." Thus abundantly charged with matters of grave public im- port, and already known in the best religious circles of Europe through his long connection with our great benevolent institu- tions. Dr. Milnor stood in little need of letters of introduction, or of "epistles of commendation ;" yet, with such he was most am- ply furnished from the best sources at home to many of the best characters in the Christian community of Great Britain and of the continent, assuring him of a cordial reception from all the great and choice Christian spirits in those noble lands of zeal, benevolence, and enterprise in the cause of Christ. But besides all these, the letters which poured in upon him from all quarters, expressive of warm affection for himself, of devout aspiration for his welfare, and of a high appreciation of the importance of his mission, were numerous and gratifying. Those in particular from Bishops Griswold, Chase, and Meade, were characteristic of those characteristically different men of God, as were those from Dr. Bedell, the Rev. B. B. Smith, and the president of the American Tract Society. It would add to the interest of this work, if all those letters could be given at length, consistently with the limits assigned. A few paragraphs, however, will sufficiently indicate their character. "Had it been in my power," writes Dr., Bedell, "I should have made a journey to New York on purpose to express my pleasure, and to bid you farewell ; but duties, and roads, and imperfect health, all combined to forbid me. I wish, indeed, that I could even go with you to England, just to enjoy one such feast as that which must be spread out before the spiritual appe- tite during the month of May in the British metropolis." " My visit to New York," says the Rev. Mr. Smith, alluding to his promised journey from Philadelphia, subsequently per- MISSION TO ENGLAND. 309 formed, " has brought down the wrath of him who is behind the curtains there, upon the Philadelphia Recorder, in a most faith- ful and pungent admonition through one of the daily papers, warning Episcopalians not to give it their patronage. Dear, dear brother, how much better is that spirit which has followed, and is following you in almost numberless prayers from Christians ' of all arms,' that where you go, you may go blessing and blessed ; and when you return, you may come as much to profit as to delight us all." " While earthly kings," remarks the president of the Tract Society, "with their views confined to things of time and sense, are sending their ambassadors from one nation to another, you, sir, are about to occupy a more important station. You go as an ambassador from the King of kings ; and when the transactions of princes shall have dwindled into insignificance, your mission, if you find grace to be faithful in its discharge, will tell on the sacred records of eternity." Thus qualified, accredited, and cheered, Dr. Milnor took his departure from New York on the promised day, March 16, 1830, in the packet-ship Florida, Capt. Tinkham. He took leave of his family and a number of friends at the parsonage, about 9 o'clock, A. M., and on proceeding to the steamer which was to convey him to the Quarantine ground, whither the day before the ship had dropped down, he met a much larger number, both of parish- ioners and of other Christian friends, who had assembled there to bid him farewell. Some of them "accompanied him to the ship," and there, with every expression of Christian kindness, bade him adieu. By half past four, he was at sea ; and before the pilot, on his return to the harbor, was out of sight, he had entered systematically on the business of his mission. In a brief note which he sent by the pilot tp his wife, he says, " I have be- gun my journal, and if preserved from sea-sickness, intend to keep it regularly." Of his companions on the voyage, he thus speaks: "My fellow-passengers are only five — Mr. Evan W, ThomaSj a member of the society of Friends in Baltimore ; his nephew, Mr. E. Thomas; his grand-nephew, Mr. Weatherhead ; Captain O'Connor, of the British army ; and a young mS,n of the name of Ken worthy. If I may not expect entire congeniality of 310 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. feeling in my companions on religious subjects, I hope to find nothing positively offensive." A few short extracts from his diary will show how his time during the voyage was spent. From two of his fellow-passengers, the elder Mr. Thomas, and Captain O'Connor, he derived both profit and pleasure ; as the following notices evince. " In the elder Mr. Thomas I find a great stock of information respecting England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, a great part of which, in his former visits, he has traversed on foot, and thus had an opportunity of seeing many things, which would escape the observation of a traveller in the stage-coach. " Captain O'Connor has spent four years in the service in the West Indies, and is well acquainted with most of the islands, particularly with Trinidad, where, for the most part, he was stationed. He describes Trinidad as delightful for its variegated scenery, and rich productions. He is a scholar of the Dublin University ; and, since his residence in the West Indies, has directed his attention very much to the study of ornithology and entomology. He is taking home with him some beautiful speci- mens of West India birds, especially several varieties of the humming-bird, of his own preservation." Again : "I am glad to record, that though I find it difficult to maintain conversation with my fellow-passengers on those topics that would be most agreeable to me, yet their behavior is such as not to be offensive, and the conversation of several of them on secular subjects by no means uninstructive. Captain O'Connor surprised me by stating his age to be only twenty- four. He is temperate in his habits, and free from the too com- mon fault of men in his profession of employing unbecoming expletives in conversation. He has improved his leisure by much reading and conversation ; and converses with that freedom and energy, for which the natives of the Emerald Isle are wont to be distinguished." With such companions, much of his time might have been spent with satisfaction and to advantage ; but he had other en- gagements during his passage. The following paragraph shows what he had to accomplish, as a man of business. " I propose, now that my health will admit of my reading MISSION TO ENGLAND. 311 and writing" — he had had the usual experience of sea-sickness — "to employ myself in the examination of various documents refer- ring to my mission, and in making such notes as may be useful on my arrival in England." And the following shows what he delighted to do as a Chris- tian man. " Saturday, March 20. — ^Rose at six o'clock this morning in health, after a good night's rest. I trust I was enabled to appro- priate those lines of the poet, which came with feeling to my mind soon after I awoke : " Arise, my soul, with rapture rise, And, filled with love and fear, adore The awful Sovereign of the skies, Whose mercy lends thee one day more. And may this day, indulgent Power ! Not idly pass, nor fruitless be ; > ^.i ^ But may each swiftly passing hour Still nearer bring my soul to thee." "I propose to let no day pass without connecting with my devotional duties the reading and meditating upon a portion of the sacred Scriptures. Of these duties I do not contemplate noting in general the character in my journal. Sometimes, how- ever, it may be expedient to do so. This morning I commenced reading St. Paul's epistle to the Eomans. In contemplating the awfully wicked character of the heathen of his day, as described in the first chapter, and comparing it with the present state of most of the unconverted nations of the earth, we are at once struck with their similarity. And what a powerful incentive does the melancholy comparison furnish to enlarged efforts on the part of the Christian Church for their conversion. " Shall we, whose souls are lighted With wisdom from on high — Shall we, to men benighted, The lamp of life deny? Salvation, salvation ! The joyful sound proclaim j Till earth's remotest nation Has learned Messiah's name." He was accompanied on his way, by the usual incidents of a voyage : fierce storms, and dead calms ; fair winds, and head 312 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. winds ; beautiful scenes, and appalling sublimities ; swift sailing, and sudden perils. The first and last Sabbaths of the passage were fine, and admitted of worship and preaching aboard ship ; but the two intermediate were so tempestuous as to render the enjoyment of those privileges impossible. The ship reached Liv- erpool the 14th day of April. SECTION II. In our notices of Dr. Milnor's visit to England, we shall sim- ply follow his steps by giving the most important passages from his own journal, and from a few of the letters which he wrote to his family and friends at home. " Before we reached the dock," he observes, " a gentleman came off in a boat, offering to convey me to the pier, and bring- ing me a very kind letter from Mr. Augustus W. Gillet, of Bir- mingham, requesting me to accept the hospitalities of his house on my way to London. I found, on the wharf, waiting to receive me, my friend Mr. Thomas Sands, who gave me a hearty wel- come, and insisted on conveying me, in a carriage which he had ready, to his house in Everton. I went with him ; and the even- ing being wet, I remained till the following morning within doors. Mr. Sands had invited two pious and intelligent friends to spend the evening and sup with him. After a month's separa- tion from my religious friends in New York, it was gratifying to meet with kindred spirits immediately on my arrival in England. Among other topics of conversation, I was happy in the opportu- nily of communicating information in regard to the progress and success of temperance societies in the United States." After recording some brief visits which he made the next day, he has the following note on a curiosity which he saw in a. Methodist chapel, through the politeness of Mr. Cromy, a member of that persuasion. The chapel, he says, "is a plain, but very neat, and commodious building, in which families sit together in pews, as in our churches ; and even in the free seats, which are slips without doors, the sexes are not in separate sittings, as with MISSION TO ENGLAND. 313 the society in America. In the forenoon, the Liturgy is read from the desk. In the vestry, I was shown a curious arm-chair, formed of a part of the trunk of an oak-tree by Dr. Clarke, the celebrated author of a commentary on the Bible. It is wholly the work of the doctor's own hands ; his pocket-knife having been, I was told, the only instrument used in giving it its present finish. It is in one piece ; and the knots and other appendages of the tree have been very ingeniously used to give a grotesque appearance to the whole. It is highly varnished, placed on roll- ers, and comfortably cushioned ; and it will remain, no doubt, a monument of the doctor's industry, taste, and patience, long after he has gone to receive the reward of his more important labors." " Mr. Cromy had been one of the principal founders and patrons of the Liverpool school for the instruction of the deaf and dumb. I asked his opinion as to the advantage of teaching this unfortunate class to articulate. He was decidedly in favor of its constituting a part of their instruction. I stated, as ob- jections to the plan, the labor and difficulty attending it, the limited extent to which it can be carried, and the imperfect, dis- agreeable, guttural enunciation, painful to the hearer and appar- ently so to the speaker, which I had observed in our country in all with whom the experiment had been tried ; for which reasons, I presumed, it had not formed a part of the system of the Abbes De L'Epee and Sicard. To convince me that our failure must have been owing to the want of proper instruction, he (proposed that we should visit a family of his acquaintance, in which there were a young gentleman and his sister, both deaf mutes, the former of whom had learned to speak in a manner free from the objections which I had urged. We found them at home with their mother, a lady in independent circumstances ; and were favored with an interview of some length, in which I was much gratified by the talent exhibited, and the improvement made by them in various branches of their education. Both produced a variety of drawings and paintings copied by them, and beautiful specimens of ornamental writing, to which the young lady added some ingenious work in worsted, which she had just completed. The latter had made very little proficiency in speaking ; and the young gentleman's attempt, instead of removing my objections, 814 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. , ,^ was caleulated to increase them. His voice was so weak, arid his articulation so indistinct, that, when he addressed himself to his sisters, I could distinguish scarcely a single word; and when he addressed himself immediately to me it was little better. He repeated the Lord's prayer in a tone by no means pleasant, and in an articulation far from distinct. My unfavorable impressions in regard to this branch of instruction were rather confirmed than removed by this instance of its failure." His "expected engagements in London obliging him to hasten on to that metropolis without delay," he was not able "to wait upon the gentlemen to whom he had letters of introduction " in Liverpool, " or to see more than the exterior of the public build- ings" of that city. " One of those gentlemen, Adam Hodgson, Esq., author of Letters on America," he writes, " came to Mr. Sands' counting-house while I was writing letters home, having heard of my arrival, and being desirous of offering me the hospitalities of his house. Mr. Crocker also called on me and invited me to his father's. A letter which had been handed me by Dr. Griscom of New York, to the venerable William Roscoe, Esq., who lives in the adjacent village of Toxforth Park, I trans- mitted to him, with a note apologizing for not waiting personally upon him." He started for Birmingham the morning of Friday, April 16, and arrived at 8 o'clock in the evening. For the first ten miles of his ride he was entertained by "a lady, who indulged her communicative disposition in giving him all the information about her own affairs and about Liverpool which she could com- prise in an incessant flow of eloquence for one hour ;" and during the last stage, he had the presence rather than the company of " another of almost entire taciturnity." Through all the inter- mediate stages, he remarks, " I had but a single companion, a Dr. Squiers of Liverpool, who, with his father, keeps an asylum for the insane. He was on his way to the Isle of Wight to visit a patient, who would probably accompany him back to their asylum. I was happy in having the company of this intelligent gentleman ; and derived from him much information on the de- partment of medicine to which his attention is specially devoted. He stated, that in a great majority of the cases which had fallen MISSION TO ENGLAND. 315 under the notice of his father and himself, the cause of mania had been intemperance.''^ On reaching Birmingham, he adds, " I found Mr. Gillet wait- ing my arrival, with a carriage to take me to his house at Edge- baston, a pleasant situation, just beyond the limits of Birming- ham. Mrs. Grillet was deeply affected on my arrival ; and the eldest of her little boys, who had been much attached to me in New York, clung to me and cried for joy." "Mr. Jaoot and his wife, whom I married about eighteen months ago, and who reside in Birmingham, are at present in London, so that with sorrow I shall lose the opportunity of see- ing them. After talking about friends and affairs in New York, and conducting family worship, I retired to rest about 11 o'clock." On Saturday, the 17th of April, he received a call and an invitation to dinner from " Mr. Chance, high-bailiff of Birming- ham ;" who "brought with him the Rev. Mr. Mayer, a convert from Judaism, and presbyter in the established church." He was also favored with calls from " the Rev. Mr. Mosely, rector of St. Martin's, the principal parish church of Birmingham," " a single-hearted, evangelical minister of Christ ;" and from " the Rev. William Marsh, minister of St. Thomas', a new Episcopal chapel of ease, lately erected, and already overflowing with at- tendants." Mr. Marsh's "name and character having been long known to him as those of an active cooperator in the great relig- ious institutions of the day," they "were in a few moments as well acquainted as if they had been companions for years." " Before dinner," he remarks, " I rode to the house of the Rev. J. A. James, the minister of a large independent chapel, to whom I had a letter of introduction. He received me, as did his lady, in the most friendly manner ; and supposing that I intended to spend some time in town, urged me to make his house my home, and to preach for him to-morrow. Of course, I yf&.B obliged to decline both proposals, though I felt grateful for the kindness by which they were dictated. The still unrepealed pro- hibition of officiating in any of the churches of the establishment, which shuts all American ordained Episcopal clergymen from the pulpits of their brethren in this country, is not at all credita- 316 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. ble to its liberality ; but while the prohibition subsists, it must be acquiesced in as law ; and the measure of preaching in the dissenting chapels would, in my case, be for various reasons in- expedient. I stated those reasons to Mr. James, arid he was sat- isfied with their sufficiency. " Mr. Marsh and Mr. Mayer were of our little dinner-party at the high-bailiff's. The iafternoon was spent in edifying conversa- tion on various subjects connected with religion and the Church ; and all the company united in condemnation of the statutable exclusion of the American clergy from the English pulpits, as unchristian and illiberal." The statute in question has been so far repealed, that any Episcopal clergyman from the United States, carrying suitable credentials of his clerical and Christian - character, may now be admitted into the pulpits of the English established Church. " In the course of our conversation, a curious fact was de- veloped in relation to Dr. Kewley, my predecessor in St. George's. Mr. Mayer said that he had seen him in Italy, and was well ac- quainted with him. He passes there by the name of ' Father Kewley;' but Mr. Mayer says he knows his true name to be Lawson, and that he has a brother of the latter name, now living in Liverpool, with whom also he is acquainted. He has no doubt that Dr. Kewley was a Jesuit during the whole time of his resi- dence in America." Sunday, April 18, he spent in attending St. Thomas' chapel, with the family of his friend Mr. Gillet, where he heard the Eev. ' Mr. Marsh, in the morning ; the parish church of St. Martin, where he heard one of the curates, the Rev. Mr. Morgan, in the afternoon ; and the independent chapel, where he heard the Rev. Mr. James, in the evening. The parish church of St. Martin includes "the whole of Bir- mingham, except two churches, which form another of small ex- tent." One of those two churches was under the rectorship of •' Mr. Hodson, Archdeacon of Litchfield." Dr. Milnor remarks, " With the exception of one clergyman, the Rev. Mr. Byrne, now far advanced in years, there were, a few years ago, no clergymen of decidedly evangelical views in Birmingham. At present, full one half of the whole number are of that character." , MISSION TO ENGLAND. 317 * After describing the interior arrangements of the new St. Thomas' chapel, which contained a large number of well-filled free seats, he adds, " The new churches and chapels, built under the authority of Parliament, and in part out of a public appro- priation for that purpose, are all constructed on the plan of a large gratuitous accommodation of the lower classes ; and there can be no doubt that this stands recommended alike by Christian benevolence and by true policy." He speaks in terms of high commendation of all the sermons which he heard during the day ; especially of that by Mr. James. He calls this, " One of the finest discourses to which I have ever listened." ' He adds, " After family worship, I retired to rest with, I trust, a heart full of gratitude to Grod, for enabling me to spend, both agreeably and profitably, this my first Sabbath in England." On Monday, April 19, Dr. Milnor started for London, intend- ing to spend one day in Oxford ; but when he reached that city, he found that so short a time would give him but little acquaint- ance there ; and as, with the exception of two slight showers, the weather was fine, he determined to proceed at once to the metropolis. Accordingly, he arrived in London about 10 o'clock at night, and took lodgings till morning at " The White Horse, Fetter Lane." SECTION III. " Tuesday, April 20," Dr. Milnor thus continues his journal. " It has rained, more or less, every day since I have been in Eng- land. This morning the showers were drenching. I therefore took a hackney-coach, and proceeded to the Bible Society's house, Earl-street, Blackfriars. I found there the Rev. Mr. Brandram, the principal secretary, who introduced me to Mr. Jackson, Mr. Tarn, and other officers of the Society, and to the Rev. Dr. Pink- erton, whose services on the continent have been so important to the Bible cause. Mr. Brandram also conducted me through the whole establishment, in which there are now not less than 318 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. 700,000 volumes of the sacred Scriptures in various languages. The house is in a narrow street, and its interior aspect is rather gloomy ; but blessed be God, there is light emitted from it which will one day enlighten all, as it has already enlightened many of the dark corners of the earth. Mr. Brandram detained me with the expectation of introducing me to Lord Teignmouth, the pres- ident, who was to be there, by appointment, to make some ar- rangements for the approaching anniversary ; but exactly at the designated hour, a servant came with a note from his lordship, stating that the unpleasantness of the weather and the state of his health would prevent his fulfilling the appointment. " Mr. Brandram was then kind enough to accompany me in search of lodgings, which I determined to take at Radley's Fam- ily Hotel, New Bridge-street, Blackfriars. It is but a short dis- tance from the Bible Society's house, and from the offices of sev- eral of the other great institutions with which I shall have busi- ness to transact." The latter part of the day he spent in rambling across Black- friars bridge, and through the Surrey side of London to the Asy- lum for the Blind, containing " upwards of a hundred blind per- sons, all cheerfully employed in various occupations ;" " a very laudable institution, well deserving of imitation in the United States." The next day he had the delightful satisfaction of receiving a letter from home, and the pleasure of a visit from a New York acquaintance, the Rev. Mr. Frazer, of the Presbyterian church, who was in London " prosecuting his claim by inheritance to a Scottish earldom." He adds, " At Mr. Frazer's request, I ac- cormianied him in a walk to Lincoln's-Inn Fields and Court. "We went into a court where Vice- Chancellor Shadwell was sit- ting, and listened for a short time to an argument. We then, went into the chancery, where Lord Chancellor Lyndhurst was attending to an argument by Sir Charles Wetherill. The speaker was animated, but somewhat singular in his manner. /' We afterwards had a long stroll through various streets of this immense city, taking an exterior view of St. Paul's, Guild- hall, the Post-office, and the Bank of England, and in admiring the shops in Cheapside and Ludgate Hill, some of which exceed MISSION TO ENGLAND. 319 in splendor any thing of the kind that I had seen on the other side of the Atlantic." In a letter to Mrs. Milnor, after the rambles of the day, he says, " You may well suppose, that in this wilderness of houses, I feel myself very much a stranger, and if I did not anticipate a change, should scarcely be able, separated from all I hold most dear on earth, to keep up my spirits. But to-morrow I shall begin to deliver my letters of introduction, and I trust that, ere long, I shall have some with whom I may converse. My thoughts tend continually towards home, and the happiest day I shall know, if Providence permit me to see it, will be that in which I shall rejoin my beloved family and congregation." " Thursday, April 22. — Received a note from the Rev. Mr. Brandram, inviting me to accompany him in his gig to the anni- versary meeting of the Bromley and Beckenham Auxiliary Church Missionary Society. On account of my desire to deliver some of my letters of introduction to-day, I waited on Mr. Brandram, and endeavored to excuse myself; but he was urgent, and I con- cluded to acquiesce in his wishes. We reached the village of Bromley, in Kent, about 12 o'clock, where I was introduced to Mr. Cater, the president of the society, the Rev. Mr. Bickersteth, one of the principal secretaries of the parent institution, and the committee of the society. " The meeting was opened with prayer, and a concise but appropriate address by the president. Mr. Long, a young gentle- man of large landed property in the neighborhood, made the first address. He was followed by the Rev. Mr, Bickersteth, Mr. Wells, a member of the House of Commons, and the Rev. Mr. Orger, a lecturer in London, and principal of a large academy in the vicinity. I was then called upon, and made an unpremedi- tated address, which was received with far more flg-ttering marks of approbation than it deserved. The meeting was also addressed by the Rev. Mr. HofF, recently a missionary to India resident at Tinnevelly, the Rev. Mr. Fenn, lately a missionary at Travan- core in India, and the Rev. Mr. Brandram." After giving an account of the addresses by Mr. Bickersteth and the two missionaries, and of an exterior survey of the palace of the Bishop of Rochester, which they visited after the close of 326 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. the exercises, Dr. Milnor thus adverts to one of the charitable institutions of the place. " I was also shown, at Bromley, an establishment for the sup- port of forty clergymen's widows. The object is excellent, but there are many reasons for believing, that the money annually expended in this way, would be better laid out in annuities to the objects of the charity, leaving their places of residence to their own option. What I had seen of an institution for the sup- port of poor widows in America, convinced me of the inexpe- diency of congregating them into one family; and on inquiry, I found that this widows' house was not free from the same jeal- ousies, slanders, and strife, which I knew to have existed in the one referred to at home." " In the evening, Mr. Brandram, Mr. Cater, and two or three other gentlemen, with myself, dined by invitation at the seat of Mr. Inglis. The situation is beautiful, the mansion spacious and elegant, the furniture in the first fashion, the grounds finely im- proved, and the whole establishment excelled by few in the country. It may be supposed that the entertainment was in correspondence with the place. It was indeed far too sumptuous.. Mr. Inglis had been taken ill the day before, and was unable either to attend the meeting, or to join us at dinner ; but his partner, a lady of very affable and unassuming manners, mani- fested a great desire for the happiness of his guests, which, besides those already mentioned, consisted of ten ladies, most of whom had attended the meeting, and as Mr. Brandram informed me, were decidedly pious. It was pleasant to find the conversa- tion taking very easily a religious turn, and the sentiments of the company harmonizing so agreeably on the several subjectis which were introduced. "I accompanied Mr. Brandram to his house at Black Heath, four miles from Bromley, where I lodged; and in the morning, after breakfast, and my conducting family devotions in reading, exposition, and prayer, we returned to London in the "Black Heath coach." " Friday, April 23. — ^Went out and delivered principally such sealed letters as I had brought with me from New York." " Spent the evening with Mr. and Mrs. Jacot of Birmingham; Mr. Jacot MISSION TO ENGLAND. 321 having called at my lodgings in the course of the day, requesting me to do so. I was glad of an opportunity of communicating to Mrs. Jacot the circumstances attending the illness and death of her sister, Mrs Kissam, shortly before I left home; as she had not seen any one so particularly acquainted with them as my- self. Mrs. Jacot had been almost inconsolable for her loss ; and her husband had been with her to the continent under the hope of assuaging her grief. My account of j;he tranquillity and res- ignation of Mrs. Kissam's last moments, and of the hope which she indulged of acceptance through the Redeemer, seemed to impart more consolation tjian she had hitherto felt." "Saturday, April 24. — I was employed till eleven o'clock this morning in business connected with the objects of my visit to England. "At that hour, I for the first time mounted the top of a coach,- and proceeded to visit Dr. and Mrs. Parker, at Woolwich." They were formerly stationed at Quebec, and Dr. Milnor had formed a friendly acquaintance with them at New York. "On our arrival at "Woolwich, we received a hearty welcom(! from our kind friends. Dr. and Mrs. Parker proposed to me a walk through the grounds enclosed within the barracks. Some of the scenery is very pleasing, being in sight of the Thames, on which a great number of vessels are constantly moving, and the buildings and walls being so disposed as, united with a stream of water here formed into a lake, to give a fine effect to the whole landscape. Within this enclosure are many curious things — ■ among them, -an immense gun, taken from one of the conquered nabobs in India; the hearse, brought from St. Helena, on which- Napoleon was conveyed to his grave; and various trophies of victories gained over the French in the last war of Great Britain with that country. On the plain, in a peculiarly fine situation, stands the marquee under which the Prince Regent gave a ban-, quet to Alexander, Emperor of Russia, the Emperor of Austria, etc., when on their visit to England. It was removed to this place from the grounds in the rear, of the palace of St. James', London, where the entertainment was given; and, having had its sides enclosed, forms a large and beautiful circular room for models of military implements, curious armor, etc. There was Mem. Milnor. 2 1 322 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. not time to visit half the curiosities of this canvass-covered room ; for such is the material of which its roof is composed. This apparently slight structure is rendered entirely impervious to the rain, and beautifully ornamented within by ribs of heavy gilded cord. "Mr. Frazer, who, during this walk, had been visiting his relative, joined us at dinner^ at five o'clock ; and our conversation about friends and incidents in America prolonged our interview, so that it was near ten at night when I reached my lodgings in London. On my return, I found I had been called upon by the secretary of the Wesleyan Missionary Society, and the secretary of the British and Foreign Seamen and Soldiers' Friend Society ; who had severally left documents of their respective institutions. " Sunday, April 25. — This morning, when I awoke, the sun shone brilliantly into my chamber, and my heart was at once raised to my heavenly Protector in thanksgiving for the sweet refreshment which I felt from my night's repose, and for his mercy in sparing me to awake in health to the light of my sec- ond Sabbath in England, and my first in this great city ; with earnest entreaty that I may be enabled suitably to improve its privileges, and that it may be made a day of special blessing to my dear people of St. George's. " 11, A. M. — Attended the church of St. Mary-le-bow, com- monly called the Bow church, Cheapside, where the anniversary sermon for the benefit of ' The City of London National Schools,' was preached by the Rt. Rev. Charles James Blomfield, bishop of London. The lord-mayor, a venerable-looking old gentleman, very much resembling Col. Fish, of New York, with the recorder, the two sheriffs, etc., etc., attended in full costume. The bishop is a pleasing, but not very forcible preacher. He uses no action whatever, but his enunciation is very clear and correct, his man- ner solemn, and his whole delivery without the least ostentation. His sermon was without division, destitute of all figure, plain, practical, and evangelical. ' ' " There was no chanting, and no Gloria Patri at the close of the metre psalms. Before sermon, the bishop used the custom — ■ now, I am told, rarely practised — of 'bidding to prayer.' ' He did not kneel, but standing, said, ' Let us pray for the whole MISSION TO ENGLAND. 323 state of Christ's Church militant ;' adding, by way of explanation, ' that is, for the whole body of Christians throughout the worlds And so he proceeded through the different topics of supplication in that prayer, adding some others not found there, especially for the national schools. His bidding was not in the very words of the Prayer-book ; and in its delivery, he either spoke extem- poraneously, or recited memoriter, concluding with the Lord's prayer. In the prayer after sermon, as in every other instance of my attending service, the bishop, in the clause, Hhat they may bring forth in us the fruit of good living,' substituted for these last words, 'the fruit of a holy and religious life.'* "In the afternoon, I went to St. Stephen's, Wallbrook, and heard the Rev. Mr. Brandram preach in this beautiful church to a congregation of not more than a hundred persons besides Sun- day-school children. A principal cause of this smallness of the congregation, is the situation of the chuBoh in a parish filled with merchants' counting and ware houses, whose residences are gen- erally in the country. The church is one of the works of Sir Christopher Wren, and is said to be his masterpiece. " At half past 6, 1 went to the evening services of the church of St. Bride's, Fleet-street, another of the works of the same ar- chitect. All the pews and aisles were filled with a congregation attracted by the preaching of the evening lecturer, the Rev. Mr. Denham, a young man of great piety and very engaging elocu- tion, who was appointed to the office by the present bishop of London. His lordship, since his accession to the see, has done essential service to the cause of evangelical piety in the city, by bestowing three lectureships upon able, spiritual young ministers. Mr. Denham's tones and cadences are very pleasing ; his diction little ornamented, but perspicuous and impressive ; and his thoughts those of a mind apparently holding habitual intercourse with heaven. More energy and warmth in the delivery of his sermons would, I think, be looked for in our country, in order to give a preacher so large a measure of popularity as Mr. Denham here enjoys. * The above remarks on the bishop of London's mode of conducting the services of the English church, have an interest to the intelligent Episcopal theologian, which they have not to the ordinary reader. 324 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. "This has been the first day entirely without rain since my arrival in England." "Monday, April 26. — ^Arose before 5 o'clock. An old drone of a watchman is crying the hour under my window, while I am shaving by the light, not of a candle^ but of the broad day." " Passed a portion of the morning in reading and writing ; and then employed myself in delivering sealed packages and let- ters committed to my charge. Was able this morning to com- plete the delivery of all the communications brought with me for public institutions. I have thought it best to withhold a great part of my open letters of introduction to gentlemen in London until after the anniversaries. " After going to the Port of Londbn and Bethel Union office, and leaving there the communication from the American Sea- men's Friend Society, I attended at noon the stated meeting of the committee of the British and Foreign Bible Society. I was introduced by Mr. Brandram, and received in the most cordial and affectionate manner. I made a communication of the objects of my mission ; my credentials were then read ; and after some remarks from Mr. J. Wilson, chairman pro tem., expressive of the feelings of the committee at this mark of affection and respect from the American society, they proceeded to the reading and consideration of their annual report. "I remained till near two o'clock, when I was conducted by my friend the Rev. G. W. Phillips, so advantageously known to the congregation of St. George's, to the stated meeting of the committee of the Church Missionary Society in Salisbury-square, by whom I was very kindly received. With this committee, who were also occupied on their annual report, I remained until the close of their session. *' At 5 o'clock, I dined by invitation, with Counsellor Marriot, Q,ueen's-square, Bloomsbury, who was and still is one of Bishop Chase's warmest English friends, and one of the trustees of the fund raised in this country for the benefit of Kenyon College, Ohio. The Rev. Mr. Heap, vicar of Bradford, the Rev. G-. M. West, Bishop Chase's chaplain, and myself, were the only per- sons at dinner besides Mr. Marriot's family." " Kenyon College, and the interests of religion and learning MISSION TO ENGLAND. 325 in the western parts of the United States, formed prominent sub- jects of conversation. Among other topics, however, Mr. Harriot himself introduced that of temperance ; with the measures for promoting which important object he was considerably acquaint- ed. He thought them very intimately connected with the well- being of society, not merely through the moral reformation at which they immediately aim, but through the increased influence of true religion, which they promote by the removal of one of the principal hinderances to its advancement. On my mentioning that I had found the subject in some instances, since my arrival in England, rather coldly received even by serious people, I was pleased to learn from Mr. Heap, that a society had actually been formed in his neighborhood at Bradford, under encouraging au- spices ; and that already, under the influence of its proceedings, they were enabled to rejoice in the apparent reformation of sev- eral habitual drunkards. "A letter had been handed me just before I left my lodgings for Mr. Harriot's, which, by his permission, I retired for a few moments during the course of the evening, to read. It proved to be from the Rev. Mr. Henshaw of Baltimore ; and gave me an account of a sad accident which had befallen Bishop Chase, by the oversetting of the stage, in which he was returning from Philadelphia to his home in Ohio. The letter states his collar- bone and two ribs to have been broken ; but that his physician did not think his life in danger. We had, the moment before, been speaking of the bishop and his plans, and commenting on a portrait of him, which hung in Mr. Harriot's dining-room. It may be easily imagined how affected we all were at this distress- ing intelligence." " Tuesday, April 27. — At 8 o'clock this morning, I attended by invitation the weekly meeting of the committee of ' the Re- ligious Tract Society' in Paternoster-row, and breakfasted with them. At the request of the chairman, I offered prayer ; after which a blessing was asked, and business immediately proceeded simultaneously with their simple meal, consisting of a cup of black tea only, with bread and butter. I communicated to the committee the resolutions of the American Tract Society appoint- ing me their delegate to London ; and made a short address on 326 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. the subject. Nothing could be more satisfactory than the man- ner in which these were received ; or more kind than the expres- sions of the chairman and of several of the members of this respectable board. " Certain Grerman tracts were then considered, and the opin- ion t)f each member taken with regard to some proposed eras- ures. Some interesting letters from abroad were read; after which, the committee proceeded to the reading and consideration of their annual report. " At 11 o'clock, I went, to St. Bartholomew's church, near the Exchange, for the purpose of hearing the stated weekly lecture of an aged minister, the Rev. Mr. Wilkinson, who has preached this Tuesday morning lecture for the last twenty-seven years. He is a man of small stature, of very venerable appearance, and near eighty years of age. His voice is rather weak ; but the deep silence observed by a crowded congregation during the de- livery of his sermon, enabled me, though seated near the entrance of the church, to hear him distinctly. He read his text from a small Bible, and without spectacles; and. preached with great vivacity of manner for three-quarters of an hour, and entirely without notes. The sermon was for the benefit of the charity school of the parish, in which are instructed fifty boys and thirty girls. These are clothed, and furnished with books ; taught the elements of English, with needlework, etc., to the girls; and when of proper age, bound apprentices to trades or to service. A handbill stated that between two and three thousand children had received the benefit of this charity. The pupils sat in the capacious chancel of the church ; were very clean, and neat, and healthful in their appearance ; and sang very sweetly an appro- priate hymn." " Mr. Wilkinson is a very thorough-going Calvinist. He is, I am told, one of the few remaining pupils of old Mr. Romaine, who, in the early part of his ministry, was said to be the only living and avowedly Calvinistic minister in the Church of Eng- land. It would seem that many of its present members in Lon- don do not disrelish the system of the Genevan reformer ; for not only were all the pews of St. Bartholomew's to-day com- pletely filled, but the aisles also were crowded ; and I understand MISSION TO ENGLAND. 327 this is constantly the case, though the church stands in the very throng of business, and the hours of service are those of its great- est press. The occupants of the pews were of very respectable appearance ; those in the aisles, of the poorer class ; and the whole exhibited the aspect of great seriousness and devotion. "At the close of the service, I conversed with Mr. Poynder, one of the committee of the Bible Society, and an eminent solici- tor, who told me that, whenever it was possible for him to leave his business, he did not fail to be one of Mr. Wilkinson's hearers at this lecture ; and that he always found himself edified and comforted by his instructions. ,1 . " Took a carriage and went to the British Museum, having letters to the secretary, the Rev. T. Hartwell Home, from Bishop Hobart, Dr. Turner, and Mr. Wheaton. I met Mr. Home at the Museum, and found him a frank, plain, unaffected man; his manners courteous and kind, not characterized by much warmth of feeling, but by no means stiff and formal. He offered to attend me through the numerous apartments of this great estab- lishment ; but time permitted my going with him only through the rooms containing the library.. The noble collection pre- sented by his present Majesty, occupies a grand room, built spe- cially for its reception, three hundred feet long, and superbly fin- ished. The whole building was formerly the palace of the Duke of Montague, and is of great extent, independently of the beau- tiful addition just mentioned. On taking my leave, Mr. Home invited me to visit the Museum as often as possible, where I would always find him between the hours of ten and four." Having received, and in consequence of fatigue and engage- ments, declined an invitation to dine with " Col. Leblanc, a pious officer at Chelsea ;" and been waited on "by the Rev. George Morley and John James, two of the secretaries of the Wesleyan Missionary Society," with a request from their commit- tee that he would make one of the addresses at their anniversary on the Monday following, and also breakfast with the committee at the Mission house, Hatton Garden, on Friday ; he " spent the remainder of the evening in making some preparation for his expected engagements next week." Dr. Milnor spent the next day in business engagements at his 328 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. lodgings, and at the Bible Society's house ; in visiting the Rev. Samuel Charles "Wilkes, editor of the Christian Observer; in dining with the Rev. Mr. "WoodrufFe, of Cumberland Terrace, Regent's Park, and in walking the whole long distance back to his lodgings after nine o'clock in the evening. When he " reached his lodgings, he found a ticket of admission to the Port of London and Bethel Union Society, with a request from the committee to be one of the speakers" at their anniversary. In returning from Mr. Wilkes' he witnessed what appears to have then recently arisen, " a great rivalry between the old coaches and certain newly contrived, oblong carriages, called ' omnibuses,^ in consequence of which a ride of four miles is given for one- fourth of the former charge." In speaking of the dinner-party at Mr. Woodruffe's, he characterizes the hostess as " a pious woman of fine mind," who, " in the course of some religious discussion, displayed much acquaintance with the sacred Scriptures, and an intimate knowledge of the doctrines of Christianity." He adds, " After tea, at the request of Mr. and Mrs. Woodruffe, I read and expounded a portion of Scripture, and prayed ; the servants of the lamily being first called into the dining-room." This mode of closing social entertainments presents a feature in the highest religious circles of England, which is almost as common as it is interesting. Society in this country is highly imitative of that in Europe, but unhappily we copy its worst, more frequently than its best peculiarities. The next day, also, till a late hour, he spent in business, in his own room, and with the Bible, Church Missionary, and Prayer-book and Homily Societies. On his return from these, he "received a visit from Zachary Macauley, who invited him to breakfast" the next morning; and another from "Mr. Ewbank, a respectable merchant to whom he had letters of introduction," and who pressingly urged him "to make his home with the fam- ily at Peckham." He closes his note for the day by saying, " I was surprised to-day by the receipt of a letter from my dear friend and brother, the Rev. C. P. Mcllvaine, of Brooklyn, informing me, that on account of indisposition, he was to sail for England on the 8th of the present month. While I lament the cause that brings him from home, I shall rejoice to have with me MISSION TO ENGLAND. 329 such a friend and coadjutor in my mission, and such a companion in my travels. I shall now be looking for him daily. The Lord send him safely to my embraces." FRroAY, April 30. — His engagement to breakfast this morn- ing at the Methodist Missionary House, Hatton Garden, prevented his accepting Mr. Macauley's invitation for the same hour. At Hatton Garden he met several of the leading men of the Meth- odist church: "the Rev. Mr. Reece, with whom he became acquainted during the visit of that gentleman to America; the Rev. Dr. Townley, president of the conference ; the Rev. Mr. Newton, of Liverpool; the Rev. Mr. Morley, Mr. "Watson, and Mr. James, secretaries of the Society, and several other of their most distinguished ministers." He " spent nearly two hours very agreeably and profitably with those intelligent and pious men ;" during which, after the reading of the Scriptures by one of the company, and prayer by himself, " an interesting conver- sation ensued, in which many inquiries were made respecting the state of religion in the United States, especially in regard to the progress of Popery and of Unitarianism, of which," he adds, " I think they had received exaggerated accounts." -' After breakfast, he " attended the stated meeting of the com- mittee of the Prayer-book and Homily Society. Lord Bexley was to have presided, but he sent a note of apology for necessary ab- sence. The committee," he says, " received me with great re- spect and kindness. The principal business transacted was the consideration of the annual report, which was read by the secre- tary, the Rev. Mr. Pritchett. But there was some conversation on a question of great interest, which has been agitated, and I believe is not yet considered as finally decided; It relates to an extension of the publishing operations of the society to other religious books and tracts besides the Prayer-book and Homilies. Nineteen out of twenty of the contributors to the funds of the society, it was said, were warmly in favor of the plan ; but the vice-patrons, who are bishops and noblemen, are opposed to it, and on that account, it will probably be, for the present, aban- doned. Mr. Pritchett introduced me to the Rev. Mr. Raikes, examining chaplain to the bishop of Chester, and author of a volume of excellent sermons. He then proposed to go with ,330 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. me to Freemasons' Hall, where the Irish Society of London wer« holding their anniversary. The object of this society is, the edu- cation of the Irish through the medium of their own language. "The Bishop of Litchfield and Coventry, Dr. Ryder, was in the chair, supported by the Bishop of Chester on his right hand, and by Lord Harrowby on his left. I staid until I had heard two long and impassioned speeches from the Rev. Messrs. Daly and Bemish, two of the clergy of the established Church in Ireland. This was my first visit to Freemasons' Hall, where a large proportion of the public meetings are held. It is a hand- somely finished room, with a lofty ceiling, rather dark, however, and in capacity of accommodation, I should suppose not superior to the assembly-room in the City Hotel, New York. "In the evening I went to Poultry chapel, Cheapside,to hear an anniversary sermon by the Rev. Robert Stewart for the Hi- bernian Society for establishing schools and circulating the holy Scriptures in Ireland. The society supports at present 950 day- schools and 400 Sunday-schools, containing together upwards of 76,000 scholars, at an expense each of about three shillings ster- ling per annum. It distributed last year 22,966 Bibles and Testaments ; and, since its institution in 1806, has circulated 230,000. It also employed 67 persons as Scripture readers. With such claims to public patronage, I was surprised to see a very thin congregation. The amount collected was probably small." The next day, Saturday, May 1, Dr. Milnor spent in sight- seeing; but, as he indulged sparingly in this amusement, and gave but slight accounts of what he saw, his record for the day maybe omitted, saving its concluding paragraph: "Spent the evening in the retirement of my little parlor, in duties prepara- tory to those of the sanctuary to-morrow." His engagements on Sunday likewise may be very briefly sketched. In the morning he " attended Bridewell chapel, Blackfriars ; a neat but very small and unornamented place of worship connected with Bridewell hospital, of which the Rev. Mr. Budd, a well-esteemed clergyman of the establishment, and author of a work on baptism, is min- ister." In the afternoon, he "went to St. Paul's cathedral. The evening service was almost entirely chanted. Even the prayers were read in a tone resembling recitative. There was very little MISSION TO ENGLAND. 331 solemnity in the demeanor of the performers, and some positive levity on the part of the surplioed boys. The congregation, oc- cupying movable seats without backs, appeared to be chiefly composed of persons who had come from curiosity; very few of them being provided with prayer-books, or appearing to take any interest in the service." He says, "I never attended the duties of public worship with less edification or comfort than in this magnificent temple." In the evening he again " attended service at St. Bride's, Fleet-street, where Mr. Denham preached to an overflowing congregation," on the subject of "the sinner justified by the imputed righteousness of Christ." "Mr. Denham's man- ner this evening was singularly interesting and affecting. He commanded the most silent and profound attention for upwards of an hour." SECTION IV. We now come to the great week in London, the week of the principal anniversaries ; and will give a condensed outline of the engagements which it brought upon Dr. Milnor. He had already attended the preparatory meetings of the committees of all the leading societies, and was favorably known to most of the actors in the stirring scenes on which he was about to enter : scenes in which are brought together larger and denser masses of Christian life, where is felt a more vitally organized and intensely beating heart of Christian faith and feeling, and whence are sent forth more powerful and far-reaching pulsations of Christian benevo- lence and activity, than are to be found elsewhere within the sphere of evangelical operations. The first anniversary, which occurred, Mbnday, May 3, was that of the "Wesleyan Missionary Society, in the City Road chapel. "The Rt. Hon. the Earl of Mountcashel presided. As I went to the vestry-room," says Dr. Milnor, "half an hour before the com- mencement of the exercises, and his lordship arrived soon after, I was introduced to him, and was much pleased with the pious character of his conversation. He was plainly dressed, with no 332 "" MEMOIR OP DR. MILNOR. decoration to distinguish him from a commoner. His manner was perfectly friendly and familiar, and his sentiments those of an experimental Christian. In the course of the conversation, he spoke of a motion which he intended to bring forward to- morrow in the House of Lords, of which he had given notice, for an inquiry into the income of the bishops. He stated' that his object was, not the abduction of any part of its property from the Church, but the ascertainment of the actual revenues of the bishops, with which none but themselves were acquainted; and, where the amount was unreasonably large, its reduction to a more moderate but still generous support; the surplus to be ap- propriated to the increase of the salaries of the poorly provided, hard-working clergy.. He seemed not to expect present success, but hoped to awaken parliamentary attention to the subject, and eventually to get something done. He expected opposition both from the bishops and from the radicals : from the bishops, because they wanted nothing done, and from the radicals, because they wished to do more than he proposed." When the hour for fhe exercises arrived, "the honorable chairman opened the meeting with an address of a very catholic spirit, and evincive of a mind imbued with much spiritual feeling. His manner was by no means graceful, and his utterance very hesitating ; yet his sentiments were so entirely consonant with the object of the meeting, and the whole address so replete with frank and unaffected Christian kindness, that it was followed by a universal burst of applause." After a glowing account of the various speeches delivered on the occasion, and a very modest allusion to his own, he thus con- cludes his narrative for the day : " I was never present at so animated a public meeting. But the cries of ' hear him, hear him,' the clapping of hands, and knocking of the floor with umbrellas and canes, within a place of wt)rship, sounded rather oddly to ears unaccustomed to such expressions of feeling. I have made no note of the matter of any of the speeches ; for the hurry of the different meetings, following each other day after day for the ensuing fortnight, will render such a measure entirely impracticable. " At the close of the meeting I went to dine with Mr. Has- MISSION TO ENGLAND. "• 333 lope, treasurer of the society, at Highbury Lodg§, Islington, where I met Dr. Townley, Mr. Hautrey, Mr. Reece, Mr. "Waugh, Mr. Taylor, Mr. Hammit, and several others, with the large fam- ily of our host, who had six grown up daughters at the table, with the husbands of two of them. Mr. Haslope's residence is in the most beautiful part of the environs of London which I have yet seen. His lodge, as it is termed, is a spacious three- story house, of four rooms on a floor, situated within an enclo- sure of eight or ten acres, with gardens, lawns, hot-house, etc. The arrangements of the house and table, and the dress of the females of the family, are somewhat beyond the style common among the members of the Methodist society in America. Mr. Hasl6pe, however, bears an excellent religious character, and his family attend in part the established Church, having accommo- dations in the parish church of Islington, of which that distin- guished minister, the Rev. Daniel Wilson, is vicar. " Tuesday, May 4. — Attended the anniversary of ' The Church Missionary Society,' at Freemasons' Hall. It was full to over- flowing : and the assemblage of ladies and gentlemen presented a very imposing appearance. The Rt. Hon. Lord Gambler in the chair. V "His lordship opened the meeting with a short address, and then read from the Bible one of the psalms, as peculiarly ex- pressive of the feelings of gratitude which should now animate every heart. Mr. Bickersteth followed by offering a prayer, copies of which had been distributed through the meeting." Various resolutions were, as usual, offered and seconded ; the speakers being the Bishop of Litchfield and Coventry; Arch- deacon Hodson ; the Bishop of Winchester ; Dr. J. B. Sumner, Bishop of Chester ; the Hon. M. Buxton, M. P. ; Mr. Solicitor Poynder ; the Rev. Mr. Hartley, a missionary in- the Mediterra- nean ; Sir George Gray ; the Rev. Mr. Smiley, from Ireland ; the Hon. and Rev. Gerard T. Noel, and Dr. Milnor himself. His own speech was in seconding the resolution offered by the Bishop of Winchester. The following is his allusion to it : " I was honored with an invitation to second the resolution. My reception was unmeritedly kind ; and though I so far trans- gressed as to extend my remarks to three-quarters of an hour, 834 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. yet I was -constantly encouraged to proceed ; and when I con- cluded with an apology for their length, it was answered by a cry, ' No, no, not too long,' and an alarming volley of applause. I received it as a strong evidence of English courtesy towards a Granger, and of respect towards the country from which I came." At the close of this day's account, he remarks, " This was to me a very interesting meeting. I confess I liked the sober dig- nity and comparative silence by which it was characterized, better than the more violent expression of feeling witnessed yesterday." -'2 1 "We may judge of the deep interest of the meeting by the feeling which, even at this later day, arises in the mind at the mention of the great fact in the history of English Missions, referred to in the following paragraphs of Dr. Milnor's account : a fact then for the first time proclaimed, with all its newly thrill- ing power, in the ear of Christian England. The Bishop of Chester "was followed by the Hon. Mr. Bux- ton, M. P., a large, fine-looking man, of commanding eloquence. The recent abolition of the Suttee, or burning of widows in India, formed a principal topic of his speech ; in the course of which he paid a compliment to Mr. Solicitor Poynder, as a chief instrument in effecting that humane and excellent measure, for which the labors of missionaries had previously prepared the way. It was, he said, Mr. Poynder's persevering and able exertions with the Board of Directors (of the East India Company,) that led to the final abolition of a practice so abominable as to have been an increasing disgrace to the government which allowed it, every day that its existence had continued. " As soon as Mr. Buxton sat down, Mr. Poynder arose for the purpose, he said, of disclaiming all personal merit in the pleasing transaction referred to, and of making a public acknowledgment to Almighty God for the support of his Holy Spirit, in the dis- charge of an incumbent duty ; and he called upon all present to^ give glory to Grod for the singular and unexpected success with which that discharge of duty had been attended." After the exercises of the day, he proceeded, at six o'clock, to dine with Mr. Solicitor Forster, at his house, Cumberland Terrace, MISSION TO ENGLAND. 335 Regent's Park, where he lives in a style of great elegance. Be- sides a number of ladies and gentlemen, relatives of Mr. Porster, he met there the Rev. Mr. Cox, author of several religious works ; the Rev. James Haldane Stewart, minister of Percy chapel, and author of a volume of discourses on the advent of Christ, which happened to have been the last book read by Dr. Milnor before he left home ; the Rev. Mr. Sibthorpe, who had recently taken charge of a church at Ryde, on the Isle of Wight," ( more notori- ous for having since joined and again renounced the church of Rome; ) " the Rev. Littleton Powys, brother of Lord LyfFord ; the Rev. G. W. Phillips ; Captain Vernon, son of the Archbishop of York ; Mr. and Mrs. Woodruffe," etc. " The evening," says Dr. Milnor, " was passed very agreeably, the conversation being entirely of a religious character, and the ladies sustaining their part in it in a way alike evincive of deep interest in the various topics which it embraced, and of much acquaintance with them. I like exceedingly the practice which I find prevalent at these late dinners, of the gentlemen, soon after the retirement of the ladies, leaving the dinner-table for the drawing-room ; and still more, that of closing the evening, before the separation of the company, by religious exercises. On this occasion, the servants were called in, when a hymn was supg, a chapter read and expounded by the Rev. Mr. Cox, and a prayer offered by myself." We reach now the most important of the great London an- niversaries, to attend which had been the moving-spring of Dr. Milnor's mission to England ; we therefore give his account of it entire. " Wednesday, May 5. — This day was held the anniversary of the British and Foreign Bible Society, in Freemasons' Hall. " No ladies are admitted at this meeting. The room was exceedingly crowded with gentlemen, including a very large body of clergy, with many noblemen and persons of distinction in society. The president. Lord Teignmouth, was prevented by in- disposition from attending. Lord Bexley occupied his place, and opened the meeting with a short address, in which he felicitated the meeting on the continued prosperity of this great institution, and on the spiritual blessings which it was shedding on the world. 336 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. • " The Bishop of Winchester moved the adoption of the report, after an abstract of it had been read by the secretary, Mr. Brand- ram. He spoke about ten minutes, and was followed by Lord Calthorpe for about the same space of time. " The Bishop of Chester moved the second resolution. His address occupied a quarter of an hour, and was seconded by Mr. Wilberforce, in a speech of great interest, delivered with as much animation as his wasted frame and now feeble voice would admit. " I was then introduced to the meeting as a delegate from the American Bible Society, and was received with greetings of a kind that almost overpowered me. I made my communication, however, as well as I could, in an address of thirty-five minutes ; and had reason to be very grateful for the affectionate manner in which it was received, and for the many kind notices of the society which I represented, and of our beloved country, which several of the subsequent speakers took occasion to introduce. The prevalent sentiment seemed to be, that a friendly communi- cation and harmonious cooperation between the great national religious institutions of the two countries, besides the effect upon their immediate objects, would have a most salutary influence in preserving that friendship, which it was so much the political as well as the moral interest of both to preserve and cherish. /isiir " The Hon. Charles Grant, M. P., whose standing in the na^ tional legislature is of the highest order, and wjiose patronage of religious institutions has been so able and long continued, sec- onded the motion of thanks to Lord Teignmouth, with which I had been charged. He is a charming speaker, and merits my grateful acknowledgments for the obliging manner in which he adverted to my mission. " The Rev. Daniel "Wilson, who had been to Paris and attend- ed the anniversary of 'the Protestant Bible Society,' gave an account of the meeting, and of the state of religion in France. " The Hon. Charles G. Shore, son of Lord Teignmouth, in a short address, acknowledged .the society's vote of thanks to his venerable father. vV'fi o- ' " The Rev. Mr. Dixon, a Wesleyan Methodist minister from Ireland, next addressed the meeting in a speech of singular vehe- mence of manner and of great originality and point. MINISTRY TO ENGLAND. 337 " I should have mentioned, that after Mr. Grant, that aged minister of Christ, Rowland Hill, who, if he has been noted for singularity, will be reruembered and respected by posterity for his long-continued and useful services to religion, made what he expected would be his last speech before this society. It partook of the peculiar manner by which his public communications have been distinguished, and was received with great applause. "The treasurer, Mr. Thornton; the Dean of Salisbury; Mr. Newman, a lay gentleman from Ireland ; and Sir Thomas Bloom- field, each made a short address. The motion of the last was a vote of thanks to Lord Bexley, which was supported by an address from the Bishop of Litchfield and Coventry. The latter had been prevented by indisposition from coming to the meeting till near its close. "With scarcely an exception, the whole audience re- mained without the least evidence of impatience, until it broke up, near five o'clock, P. M. " Lord Bexley, in acknowledging the vote of thanks to him- self, just before the meeting was dismissed, referred, in a manner exceedingly respectful and kind, to America, to its Bible Society, and to my mission and address. Immediately afterwards, he approached me with eagerness, seized my hand, and observing that he needed no introduction for my address had made us friends already, invited me to dine with him on Wednesday next. I was then introduced to each of the bishops who had been speakers on the occasion, and to a large number of clergy and laity ; and amid a hundred English hands stretched out to greet me as a visitor to their country, I felt deeply thankful for the favor which the cause I came to advocate procured me. Never will the scenes of this day fade from my memory. *'./• "At half past six, dined with Mr. Williams, M. P. for the county of Devonshire, where he has a splendid seat. He is a banker, and his town residence is one of the most elegant in Grosvenor-square, and the most richly embellished and furnished of any house which I have entered since my arrival in London. There were eight liveried servants in attendance on a dinner- party, which consisted of about twenty, one-half at least ladies. In this respect, I observe a difference between New York and London ; the females, on such an occasion as this, bearing a much Hem. Hilnor. 22 338 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. greater proportion to the gentlemen, on this side of the Atlantic. Mr, and Mrs. Williams are professors of religion in the established Church ; and Mrs. "Williams bears the character of a deeply spir- itual Christian, to whom a less splendid style of living would be far more agreeable. Her manners are very courteous, though unassuming, and wholly free from all fashionable affectation ; and the company, Mr. Phillips assured me, were all professedly pious. The only clergymen present, besides myself, were Mr. Phillips, and Mr. Grimshawe, author of the life of the lamented Legh Richmond, with whom I had previously become acquainted, and whose character and conversation are in consonance with the spirit which pervades his interesting memoir. The conversation at dinner slid very easily into a religious channel, and was agreeably maintained during the evening. Soon after the ladies had retired to the drawing-room, we were invited to follow them, and found there some accession to their number. After tea and coffee, the servants placed on a large circular table in the centre of the room a Bible and a number of hymn-books, sufficient to supply the company. A hymn was then sung, accompanied by Miss Williams on the piano ; after which Mr. Phillips read a chapter, expounded, and prayed. This was a pleasant sequel to the enlivening duties of the day ; and if I retired under some fatigue of body to my rest — the walk to my lodgings being long — it was with a grateful sense of the kind- ness shown me by the friends of religion, to whose acquaintance this visit to England has already introduced me, and with prayer for God's continued support in the duties still before me. " Mr. Grimshawe's walk home being for some distance coin- cident with mine, he gave me an account of Mrs. Williams' change of views, which had taken place under his ministry in Devon, and had resulted in her becoming a very decided Chris- tian. The style of living which the family arrangements as^ sumed, she would wish altered ; but it is deemed by her husband what his rank and circumstances call for, and she acquiesces in his wishes. On his part, he concurs with her in excluding cardsj balls, theatres, etc., from constituting any part of their amuse- ments, and in selecting for their chief associates those who are of the same feelings with herself on the subject of religion."- MISSION TO ENGLAND. 339 I At 8 o'clock on Thursday iiiorning, Dr. Milnor attended by- invitation a clerical breakfast in Sackville-street, in one of the large rooms of an edifice used for business offices by several of the benevolent societies. Near one hundred of the clergy of the established Church were present, besides several laymen of dis- tinction : Lord Mount Sandford, Sir Thomas Baring, Col. Phipps, Capt. Gambler, and others. The breakfast was as usual a plain meal, and was followed by the customary religious exercises, the Rev. Daniel Wilson presiding. In the religious exercises, parts were borne by the Rev. Mr. Stewart of Liverpool, the Rev. Presi- dent, the Dean of Salisbury, the Rev. Mr. Bemish, and Dr. Mil- nor. "At the conclusion of this very solemn and interesting service, the hour had arrived for the assembling of two anni- versary meetings : that of ' the Religious Tract Society's General Western Meeting,' at Willis' rooms. King-street, St. James' ; and that of ' the Prayer-Book and Homily Society,' at Freema- sons' Hall." By appointment. Dr. Milnor went first to the Tract Society's anniversary, where the Marquis of Cholmondeley presided ; and where the exercises partook of the customary interest of the occa- sion. In an address of five and twenty minutes. Dr. Milnor "endeavored to comply with an intimation given by the com- mittee of this society, as had been done by most of the others, by furnishing all the information in his power as to the opera.- tions, and their results, of kindred institutions in the United States." " Soon after I sat xiown," he proceeds, " I received a message from the committee of the Prayer-Book and Homily Society, urgently requesting my attendance at Freemasons' Hall. Ac- cordingly, I stepped into a coach, which they had sent for me ; and on my arrival, found the president, Lord Bexley, in the chair, supported by the Bishops of Chester and Winchester, and several pious noblemen. Several speakers had addressed the meeting before I entered. Captain Gambler and the Rev. Daniel Wilson spoke immediately afterwards. "I was then called up, and was graciously supported in an address, in a great degree unpremeditated ; wherein I dwelt on the value of the liturgy as a vehicle of devotion, and as a bulwark 340 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. against error ; and upon the homilies, as an admirable illustra- tion of the evangelical doctrines of the articles of our church. I noticed also the attachment of the American Episcopal church to the liturgy, as evinced in the recent general disapprobation of certain alterations which had been proposed ; while at the same time I paid the respect justly due to the motives of the very distinguished prelate with whom those proposed alterations origi- nated. The Bishop of Winchester was pleased to express himself very kindly towards me and the remarks which I had made ; and supposing my address to have been written and committed to memory, he afterwards sent me a message by the Rev. Mr. B-aikes, requesting me to allow of its separate publication in a pamphlet form, which I very respectfully declined." This reference to his address before the Prayer-Book and Homily Society is important, as we shall hereafter see, in con- sequence of the unhappy controversy, to which the report of his remarks led, between Bishop Hobart and himself. Dr. Milnor dined to-day with Mr. Bickersteth, at Islington, in company with several pious and literary men : Messrs. Wood- rufFe and Coates, secretaries of the Church Missionary Society ; the Rev. Mr. Pratt, son of the Rev. Josiah Pratt; the Rev. Mr. Fawcett, author of two volumes of much-esteemed sermons ; the Rev. Francis Cunningham, brother to the author of the Velvet Cushion, and the Rev. Mr. Jetter, a missionary to India, who said he was well acquainted with Dr. Milnor's friend, Mr. Newton of Massachusetts. Of his host and some of the guests on this occasion, he thus writes : " Mr. Bickersteth, who has rendered such essential service to the Church Missionary Society, is about resigning his secretary- ship, having accepted the rectorship of the parish of Wotton, in Hertfordshire. He is one of the most excellent of men, uniting respectable talents with a truly Christian spirit. It is only necessary to know him in order to admire and love him. Mr. Pratt is curate to his father, a modest and unassuming young man, of disposition and feeling entirely in harmony with those of his estimable parent. Mr. F. Cunningham is a man of talents, and one of the most exemplary ministers of the establishment in the laborious discharge of all the duties of his station. He LI, Ol-" THE MISSION TO ENGLAND. \ X 341 is among those whose acquaintance I have considered on^ most pleasing gratifications of my visit to London." On Friday, Dr. Milnor's engagements were at another clerical breakfast, given at Freemasons' Tavern, the Rev. Mr. Hawtrey presiding ; at the anniversary of " The London Society for pro- mpting Christianity among the Jews," Sir Thomas Baring in the chair ; and at dinner with Mr. Hatchard the bookseller, at Clapham. At the breakfast he became acquainted with the author of " The Velvet Cushion," the Rev. J. "W. Cunningham, Vicar of Harrow. At the anniversary, the gallery was filled with Jewish children, male and female, who were supported and edu- cated by the society ; while the speakers were, the chairman ; the " venerable Basil Woodd, upwards of seventy years of age ; Sir Robert H. Inglis, the treasurer ; the Bishop of Litchfield and Coventry ; the Rev. Mr. Stewart of Liverpool ; " the aged and excellent Mr. Simeon of Cambridge ;" Mr. Drummond the banker, and the Rev. Mr. Alexander, a convert from Judaism, and missionary to his brethren, (probably the late lamented bishop to Jerusalem. ) And at dinner the company was composed of the Vicar of St. Andrew's, Plymouth, an " amiable and pious son" of Mr. Hatchard; H. V. Tebbs, Esq., an intelligent and truly Christian proctor of Doctors' Commons, and Dr. Milnor's friend Mr: John K. Gilliat, besides several male and female con- nections of the family. The evening was spent and closed in the usual Christian way ; after which Dr. Milnor went with his friends Mr. and Mrs. Gilliat, and spent the night at their house, about a mile from Clapham. How delightful must it have been, after so many days of incessant and intense mental excitement amidst the crbwded throngs of the city, to awake, as he did, on the morning of Sat- urday, May 8, between five and six o'clock, and find himself in the sweet, still country, with "the weather delightfully balmy and refreshing, the birds gayly carolling their matins, and the whole landscape covered with the greenest verdure of spring." " I took a walk," he writes, " through Mr. Gilliat's beautiful grounds ; and being soon joined by him, our conversation took a direction in consonance with the evidences of divine beneficence exhibited in the charming scene before us. I found Mr. Gilliat's 342 MEMOIR OF DR MILNOR. sentiments on spiritual subjects such as, under the "blessing of God, are usually produced on minds having the advantage of so faithful a ministry as that on which he has from his youth attend- ed. Our conversation was reluctantly ended by the announce- ment of breakfast ; before which, however, I read and commented on one of the Psalms, and prayed with the assembled family." Returning to the city after breakfast, he learned that his friend Mcllvaine had reached London, and taken lodgings at the same hotel with himself But as his friend was out on a morning walk, and as he was himself under an engagement to be at Blaokheath, six miles distant, to attend, at 12 o'clock, the anni- versary of the Branch Bible Society of that eastern suburb, he was compelled to defer, till his return, a meeting with one so recently from home. At the Blackheath anniversary. Lord Bexley presided; and after the reading of the report, " addresses were delivered by Charles Dyer, Esq., of the admiralty ; the Rev. Dr. Colly er, a distinguished dissenting minister of Peckham ; Dr. Parker, of Woolwich ; the venerable Mr. Symonds, rector of Paul's- Cray, and father-in-law to Dr. Parker; the Rev. Mr. Haugh, an East Indian missionary ; the Rev. Messrs. Chapman, Bemish, Hatph*- ard," and Dr. Milnor himself His anxiety to see his friend Mcllvaine, led him to solicit and obtain a release from an engage- ment to spend the night with Dr. Parker at Woolwich, and the Sabbath following with Mr. Symonds, at Paul's-Cray. He was therefore soon in London again, rejoicing in the safe arrival of his friend, and in the " many letters of a cheering character from family and friends" which he had brought from home ; though grieved to find the health of that friend so much impaired by the complaint which induced him to visit England. "Sunday, May 9. — My breakfast this morning was taken with increased thankfulness, being enlivened by the company of my beloved brother, who is, blessed be God, better in health than he was last night. After breakfast, we united in rendering'praise to God for his goodness, and in supplicating his continued favor ; and just before going to public worship, we again knelt to ask a blessing on the duties of the day, and the special favor of Al- mighty God upon our respective families and congregations.'^^o MISSION TO ENGLAND. 343 They attended morning service at St. Stephen's, Coleman- street, and heard a charity sermon by Dr. Ryder, Bishop of Litch- field and Coventry ; and evening service at the venerable church of St. Ann's, Blackfriars, " where Mr. Romaine so long endured the opprobrium of faithfully and ably teaching and enforcing, as the sine qua non of a right belief of the Gospel of Jesus Christ," that very doctrine of justification by faith which formed the sub- ject of this afternoon's discourse. Dr. Milnor remarks, in his journal, that Mr. Clemenson, the afternoon lecturer, " prayed ex- temporaneously both before and after sermon." At night they walked to " St. Martin's-in-the-Fields" — ^the fields having now become a wilderness of houses — where they heard an excellent discourse fi*om a young clergyman, the Rev. Mr. Harnage, who was evening lecturer there at that time. And then " they returned home, read together a portion of the word of God, prayed, and retired to rest." So ended with Dr. Milnor the first and great week of the London anniversaries for the year 1830 ; a week which brought him into personal and profitable acquaintance with many of the noblest citizens of Christ's true kingdom upon earth, and set the buds of many a holy friendship, which will be blooming and fra- grant for ever amid the better airs of that kingdom in heaven. SECTION V. During the week, on the active engagements of which he now entered, he attended the following anniversaries : that of " The Port of London and Bethel Union Society," Monday, May 10, at the London Tavern, Bishopsgate-street, the Rt. Hon. Lord Gambler presiding ; that of "The Sunday-school Union" on Tuesday, at the same place, George Bennet, Esq., in the chair ; that of " The Naval and Military Bible Society," the same day, at Freemasons' Hall, Lord Lorton in the chair; that of "The London Missionary Society" on Thursday, at the City Road chapel; that of "The Religious Tract Society" on Friday, at the London Tavern, Bishopsgate-street, the Hon. Mr. Erskine presiding; that of " The Society for promoting the principles of 344 ( MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. the Reformation," the same day, at Freemasons' Hall, Lord Vis- count Mandeville in the chair ; and that of " The Anti-Slavery Society" on Saturday, at Freemasons' Hall, Mr. Wilberforoe in the chair. Dr. Milnor was among the speakers on Monday, be- fore the Port of London and Bethel Union ; on Tuesday, before the Sunday-school Union ; on Thursday, before the London Mis- sionary Society ; and on Friday, before the Society for promoting the principles of the Reformation. During the week, he also attended public breakfasts, accompanied by religious exercises, on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday ; while his dinner engagements were with Mr. Purvis, at Nottingham Place, on Monday ; Hon. and Rev. B. W. Noel, "Waltham-Stow, on Tues- day ; Lord Bexley, at his city residence, on "Wednesday ; the Bishop of Winchester, St. James' square, on Friday ; and Mr, Ewbank, of Peckham, on Saturday. It is needless to follow him closely through these numerous engagements, so similar to those already noticed. A few ex- tracts from his journal, however, may furnish an interesting illustration of his course through this busy week. Alluding to the religious exercises with which he was called to close the evening, after dinner at Mr. Purvis', he says, " This manner of sanctifying social intercourse is both pleas- ing and profitable. Although I would always prefer being a hearer, yet the circumstance of my being a stranger often de- volves on me the duty of conducting these religious exercises. My prayer is^ that my unstudied and unpretending communica- tions may be accompanied with a divine blessing ; so that, while unable publicly to preach the Gospel, I may be an instrument of some good in this more private way." Of the anniversary of "the Naval and Military Bible Society," he writes, " This was, on several accounts, one of the most inter- esting Bible Society anniversaries which I have attended. It is a much older institution than the British and Foreign Bible So- ciety itself; and a great proportion of its supporters are naval and military men. " I was urgently solicited to make an address at this meet- ing ; and consented to do so, provided my friend Mcllvaine did not previously arrive. In case of his seasonable arrival, I had a MISSION TO ENGLAND. 34o particular desire to devolve the duty on him, from the circum- stance more especially of his having held a professorship and chaplaincy at the military academy at "West Point. I was happy both in his arrival, and in his being well enough to speak. In his address, he gave an account, as far as was suitable for the occasion, of the work of grace among the cadets which took place under his ministry at West Point ; and the effect of his solemn and interesting narrative was very striking." The Rev. Baptist W. Noel also made "a most eloquent and spirit-stirring address. A fine effect was produced by so power- ful a speech from a young clergyman, who justly enjoys a large portion of popular favor, and possesses talents admirably adapted to such a duty, Mr. Noel has the singular felicity of having associated with him in Christian feeling four brothers, three of whom are in the ministry, and the fourth an officer in the navy, who made one of the previous addresses." " I can scarcely conceive of a more interesting spectacle than that of so large a body of gentlemen of the army and navy, asso- ciated with so much zeal in the benevolent and pious work of circulating the Bible among their destitute fellow-soldiers and seamen. An unusual spirit of evangelical piety distinguished their addresses. No faintheartedness or equivocation was mani- fested in the avowal of their religious sentiments. Several ex- pressly adverted to affecting circumstances in their own religious experience, and declared their firm adherence to their beloved Saviour, and their determination, through evil report and good report, to live to his glory. Every speech was full of fervor ; and several, alike excellent for a display of fine talents, and a mani- festation of ardent piety. That of Lieut. Rhind was character- ized by a flow of delightful Christian thought, which his spirited delivery sent home with powerful interest to every heart." It is a sign of the importance attached to the army and navy in Great Britain, that at this anniversary, " notes were read from the Duke of Gloucester, and from the Archbishop of Can- terbury, apologizing for unavoidable absence." Dr. Milnor and his brother Mcllvaine " were much gratified with their visit" to the Rev. Mr. Noel at "his charming residence at Waltham-Stow, seven miles from London, where they dined 34'6 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. and spent the night" of Tuesday. Mr Noel's church in London, " St. John's chapel, Bedford-row," is the place where the cele- brated Cecil and the present Bishop of Calcutta, Daniel "Wilson, formerly officiated. Alluding to Mr. Noel's residence in the country, Dr. Milnor writes, "I cannot but remark on the very inconvenient arrangement to which so many London clergymen subject themselves, of hav- ing their family residences in the country at distances from three to ten miles. Mr. Noel's duties call him to the city almost every day; and yet he subjects himself to the trouble and loss of time unavoidably attendant on the arrangement, and that throughout the whole year. But the practice is more objectionable in another view, and that is, its injurious effect on the pastoral relation. This I found to be a frequent complaint among the laity. Where they are perfectly satisfied with the public services of their ministers, they charge them with remissness in visiting, and express regret that they have so little religious intercourse with their pastors. In this respect, curates are less censured than rectors ; but it certainly is one of the evils of the establishment, that the pas- toral office is so feebly sustained by a great portion of its clergy, ^h6se i^idependence of their congregations allows them a license in neglecting their flocks which with us would soon lead to a separation. This censure, however, by no means attaches, in all its extent, to those ministers whose hearts are in their work ; though many of these are apt to depend upon their assistants for the principal performance of the duty in question." The public "clerical breakfast" of Wednesday morning was "given by the Rev. Daniel Wilson, at the vicarage" of Islington, to "a party of about thirty clergymen, and half that number of ladies;" and the religious service which followed was in Mr. Wilson's "study," "a spacious room, with an uncommonly lofty ceiling, and having its walls lined with ranges of neatly con- structed bookcases, containing a library of 6,000 volumes." The repast was closed by Mr. Wilson's "giving out a verse of thanks- giving, which was sung by the company standing. He then pro- posed that they should amuse themselves for fifteen minutes in his garden, a beautiful spot, kept in the neatest order; and re- assemble in his study " at the expiration of that time. MISSION TO ENOLAND.. 347 The exercises in thfe study were opened with prayer ; contin- ued in the discussion of certain topics suggested by the vicar, "with intervals for prayer and private fneditation ;" and closed as they opened — leaving " an impression on the minds of all, that their coming together had been for the better, and not for the worse." Mr. Wilson "proposed, as the first topic" for discussion, " The best means of obtaining correct views of the mind of the Spirit, as revealed in the sacred Scriptures f* and, "after a few explan- atory remarks," called on Dr. Milnor, " without any previous notice, to give his views upon the subject." "In the presence of so many gentlemen more competent than myself," he remarks, "I would willingly have been excused from this duty; but un- derstanding that it was not usual, at meetings such as this, to decline any required service, I proceeded to give such an answer to the inquiry as I was enabled to do on so sudden a request. Reading, as the basis of my remarks, a part of the second chap- ter of the first epistle to the Corinthians, I suggested, and in an address of fifteen or twenty minutes, a little enlarged upon the following means of obtaining the proposed end : "1. A competency of human learning. " 2. A renewed heart. " 3. Close and patient study, 'comparing spiritual things with spiritual.' ,( • "4. Implicit submission of our imperfect reason to the clear discoveries of God in his holy word. " 5. Reliance on the influences of the Holy Spirit. " 6. Continual prayer for the dispensation of that Spirit. " The want of attention to one or more of these particulars I considered as the main cause of the heresies, superstitions, and errors, which have deformed and distracted the Christian church." After prayer and secret meditation, Mr. Wilson proposed, as the second topic for discussion, " The mind of the Spirit, as re- vealed in the sacred Scriptures, in regard to the person and grace of Christ f and called on the Rev. J. Haldane Stewart to speak to the point. He obeyed in a discussion of some length, evincing familiarly deep acquaintance with his theme. Another interval for prayer and secret meditation ensued, 348 - MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. ' ., and then Mr. Wilson proposed, as the third topic fqr discussion, " That depravity of heart in the unregenerate, and that remain- der of evil in the regenerate, which obstruct right apprehen- sions of the person and grace of Christ^'''' and called on the Rev. Mr. Darby for his views in illustration of the same ; and they were given in a way which showed, that like the preceding speakers, he was "a scribe well instructed unto the kingdom of heaven." - '■■:■'■ Need it be doubted, that after discussion, by Christians of such heavenly ripeness, of topics like these, sprinkled with so much of the incense of holy prayer and silent musing, many of . - the members of that favored circle went forth and preached Christ with a clearness and an unction which had never before marked their teachings on this great theme ? At the dinner, this evening, with Lord Bexley, which was one of " great sociability" and profitable friendliness, "the bishop of Litchfield and Coventry," says Dr. Milnor, " pressed me to spend a few days with him at Eccleshall Castle, in the course of the summer, and kindly gave me a memorandum of . the times when I would be sure to meet him at home; and Lord Bexley proposed my spending a week with him, on the . removal of his family, for the summer season to his seat at Foot's Cray." At the anniversary, on Friday, of the Society for promoting . the principles of the Reformation, Dr. Milnor's feelings were not a little disturbed by an untimely and " vehement" discussion, by the Rev. Hugh McNeile and the Rev. Mr. Dalton, of "the pro- phetical question ;" exhibiting their " views of the coming of the Messiah," and urging "the high doctrines of Calvin as among the purest principles of the Reformation." They "reflected severely on the evangelical clergy " in general, as not coming up to their standard, and at the same time, " in very severe terms denounced dissent, and seemed to rest the claims of the established Church, as a true Church of Christ, upon its connection with the state." "Nothing," adds Dr. Milnor, "so apparently out of place as the remarks of these gentlemen, had occurred in all my attendance upon the public meetings. They are both talented men, and Mr. McNeile, who is son-in-law to Dr. Magee, archbishop of Dublin, MISSION TO ENGLAND. 349 is a fine-looking man, and a remarkably fluent and powerful speaker." The dinner-party, this evening, at the Bishop of Winchester's, was one of great interest. The bishop's city residence, in St. James' Square, " folrmerly belonged to the Duke of Leeds, but the bishop has now purchased it as a permanent city establishment for himself and his successors." His " income is said to be £18,000 sterling." " Mrs. Sumner, the bishop's lady, is a native of Switzerland, of a ruddy complexion, and a countenance rather handsome. Her piety is unquestioned." " The company consisted," besides their host, " of his brother, the bishop of Chester ; the dean of Salisbury ; the chaplains of the two bishops ; the Rev. Daniel Wilson ; the Rev. Francis Cun- ningham ; the Rev. Mr, Pell, of Islington ; the Rev. Mr. Melvill, of Camberwell ; the Rev. Mr. Crossman ; the Rev. Mr. Stewart ; several other clergymen ; three or four ladies, and a few lay gentlemen." Much conversation was had on the subjects of prison discipline, the progress of the temperance reformation in the United States, and the violation of the Sabbath, especially in London. " The bishop of Winchester also mentioned a singular custom which prevails in the island of Guernsey, a part of his diocese." In that little by-place, of which so little is generally known, it seems that " they have popular elections for several officers, occurring several times in the course of the year. These are held o^ Sunday, after service in the parish church, and are often accompanied with brawls and battles. He said he was assured by the rector of one of the churches, that at a recent Sunday election, he was the only sober person present. The bishop has been laboring to get the time and place of these elec- tions changed ; but it seems to be claimed as a matter of inter- nal arrangement, by the authorities of the island, where the assent of three estates is necessary to bring about this salutary measure. I am not certain," says Dr. Milnor, "that I remember their several denominations, but I think they were the clergy, the magistrates, and the constables. The first two orders have met and deliberated, and are in favor of the proposed change ; but the constables are for adhering to this odious desecration of the Sabbath, and therefore absent themselves from the meetings, 350 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. to prevent the accomplishment" of the bishop's measure, "their presence being necessary to form a quorum." The evening being thus agreeably spent, "after tea in the drawing-room, the company were invited into an adjoining par- lor, when Mrs. Sumner seated herself at a grand piano, and ac- companied by the chaplain, played and sung a fine piece of sacred music. We were then provided with hymn-books, and sung, standing, the hymn, ' How sweet the name of Jesus sounds In a believer's ear, 3' after which the bishop gave out the Doxology, ' Praise God, frond whom all blessings flow,' which was sung to the tune of Old Hundred, and we took our leave." Dr. Milnor's account of the breakfast on Saturday morning, has much interest. " Having been invited to bTcakfast this morning with Gapt. Gordon, in St. James' Place, for the purpose of meeting Dr.. Chalmers, I proceeded thither at the appointed hour. I found the doctor there, and was introduced to him ; but regretted that he could stay but a few minutes, being under a previous engage- ment to breakfast elsewhere. In the short conversation which I had with him, he observed, that he was very happy to hear of the rapid progress of learning and religion in the United States. He had read with great satisfaction the writings of several of our American divines, and referred especially to those of Dr. Stuart, of Andover ; adding, that he had lately read and much admired the work of Dr. Alexander, of Princeton, on the canon of Scrip- ture. The doctor kindly said, he hoped he should meet with me before he left London ; but if not, would expect me to call on him if I went to Edinburgh. I was sorry that my friend Mcllvaine, who had spent the night out of town, arrived with the Rev. B. W. Noel too late to see a man whose writings have so 'much instructed and delighted us at home. " Captain Gordon, our host, is a countryman of Dr. Chal- mers ; a man of great muscular strength, and of a proportionably vigorous and sturdy mind. He is the great champion of the MISSION TO ENGLAND. 351 Reformation Society, a thoroughly informed evangelical Chris- tian, and particularly well acquainted with the whole merits of the controversy between Protestants and Roman Catholics. The Rev. Mr. Dalton was also of our company at breakfast ; and we did not fail to express to him our regret, that the current of good feeling at the meeting yesterday, should have been in any de- gree interrupted by the introduction of topics on which a differ- ence of opinion prevailed, and which had no connection with the object of the meeting ; more especially, considering that the opin- ions introduced had been received by so small a portion of the audience, and that the doctrine of the almost immediate coming of Christ was known to have had the effect of leading many of its advocates to abandon most of the great religious institutions. Mr. Dalton, however, was unconvinced of the impropriety of his course. He considered the doctrines which he had promulged to be true and very important ; and being so, it behooved him on all occasions to urge them. Millenarianism and supralapsarian Calvinism were, in his view, such fundamental doctrines, and their rejection had such a tendency to lead the mind into the corruptions of popery, that he considered his duty to God and the souls of his fellow-men required him, yesterday particularly, to dwell upon them. It was in vain to argue with a man under such feelings and impressions of personal duty. In answer to an intimation from me, that his views of Christian doctrine might lead to antinomianism, it is due to Mr. Dalton to say, that he utterly disclaimed the right to draw such inferences from his doctrine as should lead to the least allowance of sin. He admit- ted that, in due proportion, the whole gospel scheme should be developed ; and its duties and obligations, both religious and moral, urged upon men. Mr. Dalton himself bears the character of a man who walks strictly according to godliness. Our converr sation was spirited, but in good temper, and was concluded with prayer." The anniversary meeting of the Antislavery Society, after breakfast, was a scene of most intense excitement. Freemasons' Hall was crowded with an almost impenetrable mass ; so that when " the committee, headed by Mr. Wilberforce, the veteran advocate " of the oppressed African, entered, they were obliged 352 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. .. ' • to " force their way through the dense crowd. Every one seemed to feel for the distinguished champion of African liberty, whose appearance was now that of a shadow of a man, and who was quite exhausted after accomplishing the labor of getting to his place. In a few words of address from his colleague, the vener^- able Thomas Clarkson, he was proposed as chairman ; and his appointment to that office was carried by an astounding accla- ' mation. • fi;jdTi» " On taking the chair," continues Dr. Milnor, " he made an address of some length, with much energy of manner, but in so feeble a voice, that I presumed those at the greatest distance, notwithstanding the profound attention of the audience, could scarcely hear him. He was repeatedly cheered with loud ap- plause, and at the close, with a long reiteration of it, in which several well-dressed sons of Africa on the platform most heartily joined." The regular speakers on the occasion seem to have been the Hon. Mr. Buxton, M. P., Lord Milton, Josiah Foster, T. Bab- ington Macauley, Lord Calthorpe, the Rev. David Wilson, George Bennett, Esq., Charles Brownlow, M. P., and the celebrated Mr. (now Lord) Brougham. But a scene of the most animated and stormily sublime excitement was produced by an attempt of Mr. Hunt the radical, though not a member of the society, to intro- duce his peculiar views, and to bring odium on the society for expending all its sympathy on the suffering slave of the "West Indies, to the neglect of the more suffering operative of England; and the strong spirit of eloquence being thus stirred, a discussion subsequently sprung up, which brought out some of the most powerful speakers of the day — Mr. Pownell, Mr. Drtimmond the banker, Mr. Spring Rice, M. P., Daniel O'Connell, Mr. Den- ham, { or Denman, ) and Dr. Lushington, both M. P's. Mr. Hunt, after being received at first with fierce English defiance, finally obtained the floor through the intercession of Mr. Brougham ; but " his language became at length so offensive," that by a unanimous vote of the society, he was compelled " reluctantly to take his seat ;" and when it came to be Mr. Brougham's turn to speak, he " honored Mr. Hunt with an an- swer to his animadversion on the supporters of this institution," MISSION TO ENGLAND. 353 and showed that the friends of the West India slave " were, with very few exceptions, thd very men who manifested most anxiety for the moral and social welfare of the poorer classes at home." When Dr. Milnor and his friend Mcllvaine left the meeting, <' it was past five o'clock, and others w^re still to speak." " With some difiiculty," he writes, we " made our way out, being under an engagement to dine with Mr. Ewbank, of Peckham. We were so delayed in finding a conveyance, that it was near seven o'clock when we arrived at Mr. Ewbank's. Dinner, however, had been delayed. Before the company rose from table, I re- gretted that my friend found himself so fatigued by the length and excitement of the antislavery meeting, that he was obliged to retire for the night. " Before the company retired, I was called upon to read, expound, and pray ; and, being under an engagement to spend to-morrow with this hospitable family, I went to bed, not like my friend, sick, but uncommonly weary with the exercises of the day." SECTION VI. The great London anniversaries were now at^n end; and it only remained for Dr. Milnor, during his stay in England, to cul- tivate and perfect the many delightful and valuable friendships, which, during their progress, he had formed, and to dispose of the numerous subordinate details of business with which he had come charged from his native land. His Sunday at Peckham, May 16, was spent in attending service, with' his hospitable entertainers, morning and evening, at Camden chapel, in the near suburb of Camberwell, where the Rev. Mr. Melvill preached; and, in the afternoon, at another neighboring chapel, where the Rev. Mr. Springett officiated. Of Mr. Melvill's discourses he took copious notes ; but the name and character of that preacher are too well known to need illustra- tion from such a source. Dr. Milnor returned to Mr. Ewbank's ; and, after " conducting family devotions, retired to rest, both Meiii.HaDor. 23 354 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. pleased and edified with much that he had heard, and refreshed with the delightful solemnities of the house of God." Mr. Melvill came to breakfast the next morning at Mr. Ew- bank's, and they enjoyed his " pleasing conversation until near 11 o'clock ;" when Dr. Milnor and Mr. Mcllvaine went with Mrs. Ewbank and her three sisters to " Dulwioh college, a delightful establishment about, four miles distant," to see " the Bourgeois collection of pictures," so called from the donor, Sir Francis Bourgeois. " The institution, though called a college, is so only in name. It has a considerable endowment, which supports a few old people, pays the salaries of certain officers, and main- tains the exhibition of these pictures." After spending about two hours at this charming place, they proceeded " through a very pleasant range of country, including the fine town of Deptford, on the Thames, to Greenwich," " to dine with Mr. Locker, one of the commissioners of Greenwich Hospital, and secretary to that institution." Before dinner they took a view of " this magnificent establishment ;" the apart- ments of the veteran tars ; the schools for the children, boys and girls ; the gymnasium, where the lads are trained to wonderful strength and expertness in all the exercises of nautical athletse ; the cooking and washing establishments, and the dormitories, all worthy of this vast palace of England's scarred and superannu- ated sailors and their families. They visited also its " beautiful park, two and a half miles in circumference," and stocked with two hundred of the king's deer ; the Royal Observatory on the eminence, overlooking walks made shady by " elms more than two hundred years old ;" and the chapel, with its altar-piece by "West, representing " St. Paul's preservation from shipwreck," an idea most appropriate to the leading design of this grand naval hospital. " How lamentable," writes Dr. Milnor, " that, in an institution containing such a number of inmates, there should be, as we understood, a great want of solid spiritual instruction ; especially when the further fact is added, that two hundred of the aged tenants of Greenwich annually sink into the grave." At dinner, they found their host to be " a scholar of Eton, a gentleman of great intelligence, and a decidedly pious man;" MISSION TO ENGLAND. 355 who informed them " that this great institution is supported by funds of its own ;" and that, of its " board of five commissioners, all, except Mr. Locker, were at that time titled persons, who paid great attention to its affairs." At 8 o'clock, they " took a row-boat to convey them to Lon- don ;" and as they reached "the steps leading down to the Thames, in front of the hospital, they had a fine view of the whole from the water," with its terrace on the river, nine hun- dred feet long ; the grand square between the wings, more than two hundred feet broad; the statue of George II., which orna- ments the centre ; and the entire mass of building, " of white stone, richly wrought, and forming a pile of palaces far too gor- geous for the purpose to which they are now applied." Dr. Milnor's first engagement on Tuesday morning. May 18, was to attend a public breakfast at the Rev. Mr. Stewart's, very similar in character to that at Islington, of which an account has been given. The principal point of difference was, that instead of three separate topics for discussion, Mr. Stewart proposed but one, on which he invited different speakers to give their own favorite views. The interest of the discussion may be inferred from the theme proposed, "What part of the character and offices of Christ had any of us found most serviceable to our own souls, and to the souls of those committed to our charge ?" and from the names of those who were invited to discuss it, Daniel Wilson, Dr. Milnor, and the author of "the Velvet Cushion," J. W. Cunningham. The company at breakfast consisted, besides their entertain- ers, of the Rev. Daniel Wilson, Dr. Milnor, B. W. Noel, J. W. Cunningham, his brother Francis Cunningham, Mr. Hatchard, Mr. Phillips, Mr. Foot, and several, other clergymen, with Sir Thomas Baring, and a number of other gentlemen and ladies. Mr. Mcllvaine also, who had been too ill to be present at break- fast, "joined them in the course of their morning duties." "At their termination," says the journal, " we agreed that it was, to each of us, a season of peculiar spiritual enjoyment ; and humr bly did we trust that we had with us the divine presence and blessing." Such are the entertainments which true British Christians 356 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. prepare for their foreign brethren of kindred soul ; and which draw from noble ranks guests who are not ashslmed to sit openly at the feet of Jesus, amid the offerings of prayer, and spiritual song, and holy teaching. Wednesday morning, May 19, he " rose early, and was busily engaged during the forenoon in various matters relating to the Religious objects committed to his charge." At twelve o'clock he " went to the Caledonian chapel," Mr. Irving's, "to hear Dr. Chalmers preach a sermon for the benefit of the Society for the support of Schools in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. His subject was. Popular Education ; and his discourse, written in his usual elevated style, occupied an hour in the delivery." Says the journal, "Nothing but the sterling good-sense and piety that pervaded this discourse, and the fine language in which the thoughts of the preacher were clothed, could, for so long a time, have so enchained the attention of a crowded audience. For though the doctor's manner is very ear- nest, yet in other respects his delivery is very unpleasant. His pronunciation is strongly Scottish ; so much so, that some of his words, though loudly uttered, were lost upon my ear. His voice appeared to be so painfully exerted, as at times to become almost a scream. His gesture was confined to an awkward up and down motion of his right hand ; and his eyes were pretty closely confined to his notes. And yet the distinguished talents of Dr. Chalmers, his loftiness of thought, and grandeur of rcxpression, together with the practical utility of his discourses, raise him so far above his cotemporaries, that you are willing to excuse all the disadvantageous circumstances of voice^ and accent, and manner in their delivery." " I regretted to find that, by my absence, I had missed see- ing our American ambassador and Zachary Macauley, Esq., who had called and left cards at my lodgings." Much of his time for several days was now spent in a social manner, and in visiting and describing the sights of gredt Lon- don, too familiar to readers of foreign travel to need a place in this work ; and too briefly described by Dr. Milnor to increase the interest of his memoir. - On Thursday, May 20, he dined again with his friend Mr. MISSION TO ENGLAND. 357 Gilliat of Clapham, where he met Mr. Solicitor Poynder, and the Rev, Mr. Hughes, one of the secretaries of " the British and For- eign Bible Society." Of the latter he remarks, " Mr. Hughes is a man of learning as well as of sound understanding and eminent piety ; a minister of the Baptist denomination ; and the man imth whom originated the^ idea of forming a grand national society for the distribution of the Bibles Friday afternoon he went to Woolwich "to dine with Dr. Olinthus Gregory, principally known to us in America by his excellent Letters on the Evidences of the Christian religion... Unhappily," he writes, "we found Dr. Gregory in his chamber, having been ill for several weeks past. He came down stairs for about an hour after dinner ; and while he was able to remain, conversed with great vivacity and interest. He is a man of very pleasing manners, as well as great talents, and learning, and piety." In the evening he met, at his friend Dr. Parker's, a company of ladies and gentlemen. The occasion of this assemblage was a custom which, "for twenty years past," had prevailed among " a few pious families in Woolwich, to meet at each others' houses in rotation every Friday evening, for the reading of the Scriptures, religious conversation, and prayer." After the close of the exercises, Dr. Milnor observes, "How rational and charm- ing a way of increasing the delights of social intercourse, and of rhaking our very pleasures conduce to our growth in religious knowledge and practical piety." Having spent the night with Dr. Parker, he went on Satur- day to view " the Woolwich arsenal, one of the grandest estab- lishments of the kind in the world ; covering a plot immediately on the Thames of more than two hundred acres," and filled with " all the munitions of war ;" in looking upon which, a French- man, with a customary national expletive, exclaimed, "Here are oceans of guns, and mountains of shot." Sunday, May 23, he rode with Dr. and Mrs. Parker "to Paul's Cray, seven miles distant," to spend the day with " the Rev. John Symonds, the rector of the parish, and the venerable father of Mrs. Parker." His friend Mcllvaine accompanied him. Of this visit the journal gives the following account. 358 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. " Mr. Symonds is now seTenty-five years old, and has been for fifty years rector of this parish. He is a tall, spare, pale- faoed old gentleman ; but of an amiable countenance, affection- ate manners, and great piety. He has the reputation, along with his many excellent qualities, of being not a little eccentric. " Though his curate was present, yet the old gentleman read the morning service and preached extemporaneously for nearly an hour. His manner was very lively and energetic for a man of such advanced age." His text being Heb. 2 : 6-11, " he dwelt earnestly on two topics, of which he is said to be peculiarly fond : full assurance, which he seemed to consider a necessary evidence of true faith, and claimed as the undoubted privilege of every real believer ; and the spiritual union of Christ with the believer, which, as he considers, is not maintained, in its just extent, by even the evangelical clergy of the Church. "After morning service, a loaf of bread was given to each of a crowd of thirty or forty poor persons ; a custom which the aged rector has long observed every Lord's-day morning. He says it relieves their bodily wants and brings them to church, where, peradventure, they may find a supply of their spiritual." The journal questions the expediency of such a motive to attend church, but adds, " The rector stood at the door to give a word of religious counsel to his beneficiaries, and pronounced upon them his pastoral benediction." V. In the afternoon the curate read prayers and preached ; and in the evening, after tea, the company engaged in a religious service, to which the servants were not invited. " I was sur- prised," says Dr. Milnor, " that at this, which I supposed to be the family service, the domestics were not called in ; but I found my mistake, when, later in the evening, Mr. Symonds intimated that the hour had arrived for his stated family devotions. Six or seven servants were then called in, and a second service of a similar kind took place. The benevolence of the old gentleman was particularly exhibited in his expositions of Scripture, and in his kind addresses to his domestics. About an hour was after- wards spent in conversation, in which Mr. Symonds recurred to his favorite topics, full assurance as inseparably connected with a vital faith, and the indissoluble union of the believer with MISSION TO ENGLAND. 359 Christ. To these doctrines he adds a firm persuasion of the speedy personal coming of Christ to reign with his saints upon the earth. He does not, like Mr. Irving and his associates, dog- matize as to the place in which his throne is to be establishedi or as to the period of his reign, and many other circumstances, which are expected to attend, that great event. But by cal- culations, founded on the prophecies of the Old Testament and the book of the Revelation, he is persuaded that, about the year 1836, Christ will appear,. the saints will awake from the dead, and the living believers be changed. He expressed a confident belief, that if he should live six years from the present date, John Symonds would never die." Returning to London Monday morning. Dr. Milnor attended " by appointment the Institution for the instruction of the Deaf and Dumb in Surrey," where he. witnessed a much more favor- able result of the experiment of teaching this class of pupils to articulate^ than that which he had witnessed at Liverpool. " I conversed some time," says he, " with a deaf mute, who is a tutor in the school, of considerable intelligence. He spoke plainly, grammatically, and agreeably ; and, with now and then a repetition of my words, understood me by the motion of my lips. I was allowed to see several of his compositions, which evinced a finely cultivated mind, an accurate acquaintance with the construction of sentences, and, what to me was most pleasing of all, an evident knowledge of the truths of religion, and a practical impression of them upon his own heart. " But an exhibition, by which I was particularly delighted and surprised, was by a beautiful boy twelve or thirteen years of age, who, standing on a form, recited in a sweet, pensive voice, with good accent and emphasis, and without the smallest error, an address, which he is to deliver at the annual meeting of the patrons of the institution, shortly to be held, at which the Duke of Gloucester is expected to preside. I held the printed address in my hand while he delivered it, and am persuaded that no one not apprized of the fact, would have imagined this inter- esting child to be an object for the care of such an institution as this." ' .ii - Mr. Watson, the son and successor of the then lately deceased 360 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. Dr. Watson, as superintendent of the institution, " is a decided advocate for the instruction of the deaf and dumb in articula- tion ; though he admitted that, in many cases, it was necessary, on trial, to relinquish the attempt, from the malformation of the organs of speech, the irremediable unpleasantness of the voice, or the dulness and obstinacy of the pupils. In a large majority of cases it was successful; and he considered it a great acqui- sition for these unfortunate persons to be able to articulate. He said there were no artificial contrivances, and no painful pro- cesses, in giving them their lessons in speaking ; and where they attained the art, it always seemed a source of pleasure to them. This latter remark was confirmed by several, to whom I sepa- rately put the inquiry whether they considered it a privilege and an advantage to be taught to speak. There was but one senti- ment- among them on the subject ; and the older pupils expressed themselves strongly in favor of the system of instruction here pursued. ," " Mr. Watson said that he had many children under his tui- tion, whom he could send on errands to any part of the city, without the least fear of their not being able to make themselves understood by oral speech. He also informed me of a singular fact which had recently occurred ;■ that of one of the pupils of this school having been admitted to the bar. His want of hear- ing will of course prevent his officiating as a pleader in court ; but his legal knowledge is highly respectable, and he will act as chamber counsel and conveyancer. He is stated to be an excel- lent Grreek and Latin scholar, and an expert mathematician ; and he speaks plainly and fluently, and readily understands those who speak to him. I heard it said — with what truth I do not know — that a number of the gentlemen of the bar gave a dinner to this new and singular member of their profession, on his admis- sion ; that the late Dr. Watson was a guest ; and that he died a few days afterwards ; his illness being attributed to the effect of excessive joy at this noble instance of the success of his art. It was too delicate a matter to be made a subject of inquiry of his son." ' " I asked Mr. Watson whether there were any probability of my being able to obtain a teacher in Great Britain for our New MISSION ^0 ENGLAND. 361 York Institution. He thought not. The few who prepared themselves for that office, soon found employment in the various schools which are constantly rising in different parts of the country." After visiting "the model school of the British and Foreign School Society," Dr. Milnor " proceeded to a meeting of the com.- mittee of the British and Foreign Bible Society, where he intro- duced his friend Mcllvaine to the committee and to the chair- man, Lord Bexley. I availed myself of this opportunity," he writes, "of communicating to the committee the wish of the managers of the American Bible Society to be advised in relation to the most eligible translation of the New Testament into mod- ern Greek. The general sentiment of the members seemed to be in favor of the improved version which preceded Bishop Hila- rion's, on the ground that the latter is in too elevated a style for common readers. They also stated that they considered the for- mer susceptible of improvement, and that it was now in compe- tent hands, undergoing a revision, by which they hoped it would be improved. I also respectfully intimated the anxious desire of our board of managers, that this committee would send a dele- gate, or delegates, to represent the British and Foreign Bible So- ciety at the anniversary of the American Bible Society in May next. The suggestion was kindly received ; but I did not urge, in reference to it, immediate action." ." . Dr. Milnor and Mr. Mcllvaine dined, to-day, with Mr. Surgeon Kingdom, Bank-buildings, in company with other gentlemen, among whom there was much discussion upon " the comparative merits of different systems of education in England and Amer- ica, and upon the institutions of the latter in church and state. The company professed to be much gratified with the information which was communicated respecting our country." On Tuesday, May 25, after much sight-seeing. Dr. Milnor and his friend dined with the Rev. Mr. Raikes, examining chap- lain to the bishop of Chester, in York Terrace, Regent's Park. "A young Cantabrigian," he says, "made many inquiries about America, indicating a singular unacquaintance with every thing in our country. I was not more surprised at this in him, than I have been at the same thing in many others, especially the clergy. 362 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. The merchants are the best informed persons respecting Amer- ican affairs," On Wednesday, again, there was much sight-seeing ; and it was followed by dinner "with Zaohary Macauley, Esq., late editor of the Ghristian Observer, one of the excellent of the earth." Dr. Milnor remarks, " As the company consisted almost entirely of ladies and gentlemen of his own family and connec- tions, I had the privilege of the evening's conversation with him almost without interruption. He is well acquainted with Amer- ica, and has for our country a great regard. It supplied many topics of conversation. riiv " Mr. Macauley expressed great > regret at the dissensions arising out of the existing controversies in regard to prophecy. Though by no means concurring in opinion with the Millenarians, as to the speedy personal coming of Christ to reign upon the earth, yet he was willing to allow them the credit of a conscien- tious persuasion of the truth of their views, and was not, there- fore, disposed to break friendship with them on account of their difference on this point. But it unhappily occurs, that most of the Millenarians adopt novel ojanions upon other subjects of more vital importance; Mr. Irving and Mr. McNeile insisting on the peccability of Christ ; and both, with many of their friends, sep- arating from the Bible Society and other benevolent institutions. Mr. McNeile also claims exclusive jure divino right for the estab- lished Church, principally on account of the king being its head. Of course, he would unchurch altogether our American Episco- pacy. He also pretty strongly intimates the superiority of Jewish faith to that of those imperfect believers in Christ, who do not concur in his Millenarian views ; his mind inclining to the posi- tion, that their firm persuasion of a coming Messiah, who is to reign at Jerusalem, will more avail to their salvation as Jews, that that of antimillenarians will to them as Christians." Between the 26th of May and the 16th of June, the remainder of his residence in London, Dr. Milnor transacted various matters of business with the different religious bodies to which he had brought commissions ; continuing, at the same time, to cultivate and extend his social and friendly relations with those accom- plished and estimable Christian men, who are to be found at MISSION TO ENGLAND. , 363 that great centre of English society. Especially, in the early part of .June, he wrote to "the Rev. Mr. Pritchett, secretary of the Prayer-book and Homily Society, requesting, in the event of their publishing the anniversary addresses, an opportunity for correcting the errors of the report of his speech, already pub- ished" in the papers. Notes of similar import were at the same time addressed to the secretaries of other societies, at whose an- niversaries he had taken a part. These indicated errors in the newspaper reports of his addresses, it will be important to bear in mind. Among the many gentlemen in London to whom he became warmly attached, was that eminent man of God, Daniel Wilson, "than whom," says he, "no one in England has been more anx- ious to show me kind attention. He calculates on my spending a week at his delightful residence in Islington; but that will not be practicable," Nevertheless, he spent there the afternoon and night of Thursday, and from that time until Tuesday morning, June 1, in the enjoyment of the peaceful and blessed family scenes, amid which that faithful servant of Christ was then mov- ing. At the Thursday evening dinner he met Mr. Bickersteth again, and the Rev. Mr. Natt, "the latter of whom had just been presented to the living of St. Sepulchre's, Newgate-street. Ho is," says the journal, "a decidedly evangelical man, and succeeds a drone in a parish of 15,000 souls, within the limits of which, in the very heart of the old city, there is not another place of worship, except the adjacent chapel in Newgate prison. And this important station has for forty years been occupied by a man who has left no fruits of his ministry for a blessing on his mem- ory. Mr. Natt's first measure was, to dismiss a useless young curate, and appoint in his place one who is able and willing to work where the required labor will be immense." The same evening, after dinner, he attended a meeting of the committee of the Islington Church Missionary Society, in Mr. Wilson's study ; and, after the transaction . of the regular busi- ness, gave, at the request of the members, important information touching " the origin, design, proceedings, and success of tem- perance societies in the United States." , He adds, " The impres- sion produced on the minds of the gentlemen present, was quite 364 , MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. favorable to the idea of attempting something of the same kind here. Mr. Wilson invited two or three gentlemen, most likely to take up this business in Islington, to meet me at dinner to-mor- row for further conversation." "Our family devotions this evening," he continues, "were peculiarly interesting. Two young female relatives read the Scriptures by alternate verses ; Mr. Wilson, and I at his request, interspersing remarks from time to time. Miss Wilson, an el- derly single sister of the vicar, then read a hymn, and I concluded with prayer. The intelligence and piety of Mr. Wilson, in his explicatory and practical remarks, were delightfully manifested, and his manner was exceedingly edifying; it was plain and un- pretending, yet full of interest and instruction." A similar scene awaited him the next morning; after which his kind host presented him with seven valuable volumes, three of which contained Mr. Wilson's published sermons and tracts, and two his tour on the continent. The remaining two were Baxter's Reformed Pastor and Wilberforce's. Practical View; to each of which the donor had prefixed valuable essays at the time of their republication. Between breakfast and dinner he visited the house of the Society for the promotion of Christian Knowledge, and transacted business involving the mutual relations of the English and Amer- ican churches, and the interests of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the latter. At dinner, he writes, "The Rev. Mr. Sands, minister of a newly erected chapel in Islington, was, besides myself, the only guest ; and he stated his impressions from my address last evening in regard to temperance societies, to be such that he was persuaded it was his duty to attempt something next week towards the commencement of a society in a portion of this parish. I promised to do what I could to assist him. "After dinner, I accompanied Mr. and Miss Wilson to drink tea with Mrs. Fowler, at Stoke-Newington. Besides meeting a very sensible and devoutly pious woman, the visit was rendered interesting from the circumstance, that the house in which Mrs. Fowler resides was, for tliirty-five years of his life, the residence of that excellent man, Dr. Watts. We went into his study, and MISSION TO ENGLAND. 365 saw a portrait of him which hung there in his lifetime, and has come down as a sort of heirloom with the house. We walked through the beautiful grounds in the rear of the dwelling, and especially a shady avenue of considerable length, terminating in an arbor, which was his favorite resort. I can hardly conceive of a retreat more suited to the feelings of such a man as Dr. Watts. The house is spacious, with every convenience usual in the country residences of the wealthy ; and though I suppose it to be one hundred and fifty years old, it is yet in perfect repair. In the hall are chairs of a very antique appearance, which were there in Dr. Watts' time, and which are said to have belonged to the stadtholder of Holland." . Having led the evening devotions of the families both at Mrs. Fowler's and at Mr. Wilson's, he " retired to rest with the im- pression of having spent a portion of the day with profit and pleasure." He spent the next evening at Bansbury Park, with the vicar and the clergy of his parish, at their stated weekly meeting, though this meeting was usually held at Mr. Wilson's own house. From the fact that the parish of St. Mary's, Islington, is very large, and that the building of chapels for its population has been a favored measure, " Mr. Wilson had the control of five churches, holding from 1,500 to 2,000 persons each, the ministers of which were all men of sentiments congenial with his own, united in the closest bonds of Christian affection, and * striving together for the faith of the Gospel' and the good of souls.'' It was with pro- priety, therefore, that Dr. Milnor added, "The situation of the vicar of Islington is one of arduous duty, and great responsibility, and yet it is truly enviable. In connection with his own private means, it supplies him with a large fund for charitable eifort, which he most faithfully applies. Universally respected and beloved, his influence within his important sphere is unbounded. Besides, his writings are extensively read, and his agency in use- ful public institutions is eminently beneficial." After the meeting at Bansbury Park, says the journal, " we took tea in Mr. Wilson's library, during which a free conversa- tion occurred, when it gave me pleasure to answer many inqui- ries about the state of religion and the Church in the United 366 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. States." The religious exercises which followed, were concluded by Mr. Wilson, "with a most spiritual and comprehensive prayer, in which he poured out his soul in fervent supplications, not only for the Church in England, but also for the Church in America, for the congregation of St. George's, and in a most touching manner, for myself and the object of my mission. May the Lord make this sweet opportunity of brotherly communion promotive of the best results." So passed, till Tuesday morning, his time with the beloved vicar of Islington, during his sojourn with whom, in addition to numerous other engagements, he took part in measures for organ- izing in that important portion of London, a society for promoting the better observance of the Lord's day. " Tuesday, June 1. — Mr. Wilson brought me to town in his carriage this morning, and we attended together a meeting of the committee of the Church Missionary Society. An opportu- nity was offered me of making a full exposition of the views of the directors of the American Episcopal Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, in relation to intercourse with this excellent institution. It was received with the utmost kindness, and a resolution was passed expressive of their regards towards our society, and another directing copies of their publications to be presented to it." We pass over Wednesday, spent chiefly in visiting the two houses of Parliament, to his account of " the anniversary meeting of the children of the charity schools, held on Thursday, June 3, in the cathedral church of St. Paul's. " There were in attendance," he observes, " about 6,000 chil- dren ; and every part of the church, from which any view could be had, was crowded with spectators. The spectacle wa,s most imposing. The children were ranged in seats elevated one above another around the circumference of the pavement under the grand dome, and clothed in dresses of various forms and colors, according to the costume used in the several schools. The girls were all in close caps, some plain, others ornamented with bows of ribbons. The boys were in new clothes, of many fashions ; and some of them looked awkward enough in their long, broad- backed coats, and short breeches, the latter of which I observed, MISSION TO ENGLAND. 367 in one of the schools, to be of leather. The cloth and the cut are, in most of the schools, what they were at their first institution. " The exercises commenced a little after twelve o'clock, by the children singing, accompanied by the organ, the hundredth psalm. Morning service was partly read and partly sung by the cathedral choir, the children joining, whenever it occurred, in the Gloria Patri. In that part of the service where prayer is made for the king, the choir and the children sung the coronation anthem with astonishing power and. effect. The sermon was preached by the very Rev. James Henry Monk, D. B., dean of Peterborough, from Matt. 18 : 14 : ' Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.' By invitation, we occupied seats in the pew erected for the members of the ' Society for the promotion of Christian knowledge,' one of the most favorable positions for see- ing and hearing ; but the pulpit being placed immediately under the great dome, the preacher's words were so drowned in rever- berations that much of the sermon was lost upon me, and I pre- sume that in some parts of this vast building, not even a sound of his voice was heard- The sermon — a professed eulogy on the Christian knowledge society — ^was about forty minutes long, and the whole service lasted from twelve till near three. To secure places, we were obliged to be in church a little after ten. " There are few circumstances which I should have regretted mor« than absence on this occasion ; and I was much indebted to Mr. Wilson for his kindness in attending us, and lending me gown and bands for the purpose of obtaining an entrance at the clerical door, which led to the comfortable situation with which we were favored. The children kept good time, and their voices, made loud by the multitude from which they ascended, were at the same time thrillingly delightful. The whole scene was in a high degree affecting to every one present, who loved the rising gen- eration and the improvement of their minds and hearts in the duties of religion and morality." His engagement next day led to a very pleasing acquaintance with that distinguished member of the society of Friends, Joseph John Gurney. Calling at the counting-room of. his brother, Mr. S. Gurney, Dr. Milnor learned that the former, who resided near 368 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. Norwich, was then in London, and would dine with the latter at his residence in Upton, five miles from town. He accordingly accepted a very urgent invitation, and accompanied the brother to dinner. " Mrs. S. Gurney," continues the journal, " had been engaged at an anniversary meeting of a female society for improving the condition of female prisoners, held in a meeting-house of the Friends in London. No gentlemen were present, but Mrs. Gur- ney said the interest of the meeting, which filled the house, was sustained by successive addresses from ladies of various denomi- nations, for more than two hours. Many ladies of rank were present. Mr. J. J. Gurney had also been detained in town, at a meeting, which lasted several hours, of members of the commit- tee of the British and Foreign Bible Society and their friends ; the object of which was, to confer in a friendly manner on a proposi- tion which has been made, for opening the meetings of the soci- ety and its committee with prayer. He, of course, as a Friend, was opposed to the measure, and lamented its being brought for- ward, as likely to lead to unhappy divisions. He is, himself, president of an auxiliary society, a situation which he must re- sign if the, measure should be adopted, because he cannot, con- sistently with his principles, either make a prayer at a fixed time or call on another person to perform the duty. The gentlemen of dissenting churches who were present, though opposed to the measure, yet put their opposition wholly on the ground of regard for the feelings of the Friends. It was evident, however, that they apprehended difficulty to themselves, in the event of the adoption of prayer, from a claim to precedence in the perform- ance of the duty which would probably be urged by the clergy of the establishment. In fact, before the discussion closed, it was directly stated by a clergyman,-'that such precedence would be claimed, and also the use of a prescribed form. Mr. Gurney bore an affectionate testimony to the good spirit in which the discus- sion was conducted, and declared' that if it should be decided against him, he would not withdraw from the society himself, and would use his influence to prevent others from withdrawing. " It is evident that the question is a very embarrassing one ; and if, as Mr. Gurney anticipates, it should be carried affirma- MISSION TO ENGLAND. 369 lively, it is greatly to be apprehended that it will disafFect many Quakers and others towards the society ; while, if it should be negatived, great offence will be given to those who very consci- entiously insist on the introduction of prayer. And whatever be the result, as to the adoption or rejection of the measure, I much fear that the harmony of this noble institution will be interrupt- ed ; a result, in my view, much more to be deprecated than the neglect of an outward expression of that sentiment of gratitude to God, and of dependence on him, which I have no doubt is felt by the functionaries of Bible societies at all their meetings. " ' Prayer is the soul's sincere desire, i Uttered, or unexpressed : The motion of a hidden fire. That tremhles in the hreast. Prayer is the burden of a sigh, The falling of a tear ; The upward glancing of an eye, When none but God is near.' " I felt so much interest in the conversation of this intelligent and amiable man, that I acceded to an urgent request to pass the night at Upton. Our evening was spent in conversation on the unhappy dissensions among the Friends in America, excited by Elias Hicks, whose heresy, it was stated, had found no entrance among the Friends in England, the late yearly meeting having been perfectly unanimous in maintaining the doctrines which Hicks and his partisans have opposed. The conversation also turned on the subject of Unitarianism generally ; on the effects, in various particulars, of our republican institutions in America ; on the benefits derived from our rejection of any established re- ligion ; and on the progress of infidelity, slavery, etc." " Saturday, June 5. — Mr. S. Gurney's family were convened this morning, including seven female-servants, several men-serv- ants, and seven children, two others being absent. Mr. Gurney read a chapter, the company sitting a few minutes in silence both before and after the reading. " This place was the residence of the late Dr. Fothergill, and is as beautiful as a perfectly level plain of seventeen acres can be made. It is all in garden and grass, and has a large hot-house Uem.Milnor. 24 370 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. for exotics, and another exclusiYely for grasses ; an aviary for a ,variety of birds ; tame deer on the lawn ; and a little lake, cov- ered vf'ith waterfowl of several kinds, among which are the largest swan that I have seen in England, several beautiful kinds of ducks, and a pair of spoonbills. It is a place of perfect silence and seclusion in the midst of a dense population, affording both in its buildings and in its grounds a delightful retreat from the noise and smoke of London, and every comfort that wealth, fam- ily union, love, and Christian piety, can yield." Upon his return to town on Saturday, he spent the day in visiting the docks and the Millbank penitentiary, having letters from Lord Bexley, the governor of the latter, which procured him free admission and a full survey of the establishment, under the direction of an intelligent guide. He dined again with his friend Mr, Ewbank, of Peckham ; took tea with Mr. Lucas, of New-Cross ; and in the evening returned to his lodgings in the city. His note next morning opens thfi domestic apartment of his heart. " Sunday, June 6. — In the religious exercises with which I, with my fellow-lodger, Rev. Geo. A. Smith," (lately arrived from the United States,) " began our preparation for the public duties of the day, my thoughts were turned with intensity of interest to my dear family and flock in New York. They are indeed daily with me in my contemplations and prayers ; and it is the frequency with which my mind dwells upon every thing con- nected with their temporal and spiritual well-being, that prevents my speaking often on the subject in my journal ; for it would fill all its pages if I were to note the various thoughts — some- times full of hope, at others checked by fear — which, from time to time, cheer or depress me. The Lord grant that a special blessing may descend upon them in the duties of this day." After this note, he attended morning service and the Lord's supper at St. John's chapel, Bedford Row, and enjoyed a precious season under the ministry of his friend and brother the Rev. B. W. Noel. In the evening, he went to Longacre chapel, and heard its minister, the Rev. Mr. Howell, a preacher of such strong Welch accent and tone as to render it somewhat difficult to apprehend the scope of his discourse. .: MISSION TO ENGLAND. 371 At breakfast, on Monday morning, June 7, with the Rev. Mr, Phillips, he met the Rev. Mr. Dodsw^orth, of St. Margaret's chapel, and the Rev. Mr. Drummond, both high Calvinists, and both high advocates for the doctrine of baptismal regeneration, in the sense of a spiritual change ensuring the salvation of its sub- ject. Mr. Dodsworth was, moreover, a strong advocate for the exclusive claims of the established Church. In the amicable controversy which ensued. Dr. Milnor repeatedly involved his opponents in inconsistencies from which they found it impossible fairly to extricate themselves. One of his entries in the journal for Tuesday, June 8, shows the stamp of his morals in matters of business, as well as in matters of religion. " Received a letter to-day," he writes, "from a Mr. , dated Derby, June 7, in which he states, that a benevolent gentleman in his neighborhood was about to send out to our Tract Society a set of stereotype plates of a work about which he had corresponded with Mr. Hallock," our secre- tary, " and inquires whether I could take them with me as pas- senger's baggage, in order to avoid the heavy duty chargeable upon them in the United States. If I could do so, he requests me to return an immediate answer. If not, he says I need not write. As these plates are unquestionably dutiable, and as pas- sengers' baggage undergoes the official inspection of the custom- house, and I understand the passenger also makes oath that he has no dutiable articles among his baggage,' even if the act pro- posed were not morally wrong, I could not accede to the proposal. But I hold any contravention or evasion of the revenue-laws of my country to be morally wrong ; and therefore, if I could by stealth get these plates to their destination free of duty, I would not : so I returned wo answer to the letter." It would be interesting to many, if we were to give Dr. Mil- nor's account of the examination which he conducted on Thurs- day, the tenth of June, of the parochial schools of the parish of Islington, containing four hundred boys and two hundred girls ; but it is too long. We can merely say, it was almost wholly a religious examination ; and evinced, that while the pupils had been well disciplined in all ordinary human learning, very suc- cessful efforts had been made to fill their minds with a clear comr 372 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. prehension of "the very pith and marrow" of the Gospel of their salvation. Equally interesting to some, might be his account of a visit, made in the evening, to the House of Commons ; listen- ing to the debates of that stormy and disorderly body till two o'clock, Friday morning. But this would be but a repetition of what ordinary readers already know of that popular branch of the British Parliament. His dinner on Friday, was again with his beloved brother of Islington, in company with such men as Dr. Ryder, Bishop of Litchfield and Coventry ; Dr. Sumner, of Chester ; Lord Bexley ; Sir George Gray ; the Hon. Mr. Ryder, brother to the bishop ; Zachary Macauley ; the Rev. Mr. Pearson, author of the Life of Archbishop Leighton; and Mr. Mcllvaine. After dinner, the company proceeded to attend the anniversary of the Islington Auxiliary Church Missionary Society, which drew together a crowded assemblage of the inhabitants, to listen to several truly interesting addresses. After coffee and tea, between nine and ten o'clock, the customary religious exercises of the family were enjoyed; and the spirit which had pervaded the whole proceedings of the afternoon and evening, was so sweetly Christian as to prompt, at the close of his journal for the day, the brief, but emphatic entry, " This was a day of as much pure, rational, and religious enjoyment, as any that I have spent in England. God's name be praised." Mr, Wilson's influence at Islington must indeed have been as blessed as it was " unbounded." On Saturday morning, after having spent another night with his kind entertainer. Dr. Milnor went through the buildings of the Church Missionary Institution at Islington, of which he says, " There are now under instruction in this school twenty-seven students, (the buildings will accom- modate forty-five,) taught by Mr. Pearson, professor of divinity ; Mr. Ayre, son-in-law of Legh Richmond, professor of classical learning ; and, for four months in each year, by Mr. Lee of Cam- bridge, as professor of oriental languages. The object of this establishment is, the preparation of pious young men of good talents, who consider it their duty to devote themselves to the work of preaching the Gospel to the heathen. It has already sent out some excellent missionaries ; and I pray God that it \ MISSION TO ENGLAND. 373 may become a mighty engine in the destruction of idolatry, and in the extension of Christ's kingdom, especially in the East. " Besides a short but pleasant interview with Mr. Pearson, we had the pleasure of being introduced to the amiable and pious daughter of the late Mr. Richmond, whose letter in the memoir of her father's life has excited so much interest. She informed us that the family have it in contemplation to publish a volume of his papers and a memoir of his little son Wilberforce, which he had not completed at the time of his death. " We were desirous of knowing the present state of Mr. Rich- mond's late parish. Mr. Ayre told us that the parish church, which used to overflow with worshippers, had not now in general a congregation of more than thirty persons ; the bulk of the pop- ulation attending at two dissenting chapels. The religious views of the new rector are directly opposite to those of Mr. Richmond ; and he consequently not only dissatifies them with his preaching, but refuses to give them a curate of evangelical feelings and views. Yet he treats Mr. Ayre, when he goes to Turvey, with complaisance ; invites him to preach ; expresses approbation of his sermons ; and evinces particular pleasure at the largo congre- gations, which, on such occasions, assemble ; and when the last chapel was dedicated, he insisted on entertaining the dissenting ministers in attendance, and expressed a hope that the blessing of God would attend their undertaking." "At two o'clock," he proceeds, " I took coach for Stoke-New- ington, where I was engaged to dine with William Allen, that leading member of the society of Friends, so well known both as a man of science and as a philanthropist. He has a beautiful retreat ; the ' new river ' running in front of his house, and the rear being adorned with a fine velvet lawn, a delightful garden, a spacious hot-house for his large collection of exotics, and an observatory, with a telescope for his astronomical observations. " I was glad to meet there that singularly benevolent female, Hannah Kilham, who has compiled several books on an original plan, for the instruction, in their own language, of the WoUofF, or JollofF tribe of negroes, at and near Sierra Leone. She ac- quired a knowledge of the language from natives brought to England ; and then embodied her information in several element- 374 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. . / ary works, designed to teach the Jolloffs both their own and the English language." Hannah Kilham had visited Sierra Leone twice ; and though she had nearly fallen a victim to the climate, intended to make a third visit, and if possible, extend her travels to Liberia, with a view to prepare herself for writing similar books in the Bassa language. " In the course of the afternoon, besides presenting me with several pamphlets, of which he is the author, Mr, Allen commu- nicated to me his plan of domestic colonies, by the establishment of which he would supersede the necessity of emigration among the poorer classes. His plan is, to give them agricultural em- ployment, by assigning to each family a small portion of land at a moderate rent ; they undertaking to cultivate it according to a prescribed method, insuring the largest product at the smallest expense. Besides the little book which he has published, enti- tled, ' Colonies at Home,' he has exemplified his system on a farm of his own, at Linfield, forty miles from London. This he has divided into little farms of five acres each, and smaller lots of an acre and a quarter, on which are erected small cottages ; and in the vicinity a common school for the education of the children of the cottagers, who, if I remember rightly, pay each a small sum per week for the instruction of each child. Mr. Allen urged me to visit his establishment, which I regret it will not be in my power to do before I leave England for the continent." V,; This visit to the philanthropist of Stoke-Newington had well- nigh proved fatal to the rector of St. George's ; for, immediately after the foregoing entry in his journal, he writes thus : "I have reason to be very thankful to the special providence of a gracious God, by which my life was preserved this evening under circumstances which put me in the utmost peril of its loss. A servant was sent to take places in the London coach for Dr. Pennock of Philadelphia and myself, at seven o'clock; but he returned with an answer that all the inside seats were taken. We therefore concluded to ride outside. When the coach came to the door, it appeared that one inside seat was still vacant, but I declined taking it, as that would separate me from Dr. Pennock. While he was taking leave of Mr. Allen I attempted to mount the rear outside seat, which accommodates two, and is conven- MISSION TO ENGLAND.. 375 iently separated from the other passengers. When I reached the entrance to the seat, I found it too confined for me to pass through without turning sideways. In attempting this, I was obliged to let go my right hand hold; as I did so, my left hand gave way, and I fell immediately to the ground on my back, a distance of ten feet. I was unable to rise without assistance, and was con- veyed into the house, when it was ascertained that I had broken no limb, nor received any material contusion. I was, however, most dreadfully strained in my back and chest. I resisted the importunity of the kind family to remain during the night; and, getting into the coach, rode in great pain to town. On my ar- rival, I sent for a physician in the neighborhood, who took from my arm twenty-two ounces of blood, prescribed some medicine, and recommended that my back and chest be rubbed with opo- deldoc. With the assistance of my friend Mr. Smith, this was done ; but I passed a most painful night." "Sunday, June 13. — Found myself unable to rise without assistance, my back and chest being in such a state as obliged me to keep as still as possible. I was to have taken a family dinner to-day with our ambassador, Mr. McLane ; but I sent an apology, and endeavored to improve my solitude by reading, meditation, and prayer." , ■; " Monday, June 14. — I have passed an almost sleepless night, and am this morning in much pain. We had intended to leave London this morning for Brighton, and thence proceed to the continent; but my situation has compelled us to abandon that intention. Endeavored, though with much difficulty, to prepare some dispatches for America. Last evening had been unavoida- bly employed until a late hour in correcting proofs of very brief sketches of my addresses at several anniversaries, to be inserted in the Christian Register, an annual publication of the proceed- ings of the public religious meetings. Went to bed, worn out with fatigue, and suffering exceedingly with bodily pain. Slept only three or four hours during the night; but hope I had no feelings but those of gratitude to God that matters, after such a fall, were not far worse." " Tuesday, June 15. — Rose in considerable pain, and so stiff as to be unable to walk but with great uneasiness. Wrote notes 376 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. of apology to the Rev. Henry Raikes, and Joshua Bates, Esq.," excusing himself from engagements ; " it being our design, if I am able to go by coach to the steamer to-morrow morning, to take our leave of London for Calais. This change of route is induced by the hope that rest on board the steamer will so far recruit my health as to enable me to bear the subsequent journey to Paris. Was laboriously engaged in various matters necessary to be attended to, before taking my departure from London, and went to bed again perfectly worn down by fatigue." " Wednesday, June 16. — Contrary to my expectation, Grod has graciously favored me with a comfortable night's rest ; and though still very stiff and sore, I have ventured to take coach to the steamer for Calais." SECTION VII. Dr. Milnor's chief object in visiting Paris, was to engage an instructor for the New Yorlt Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb ; but his passage to Calais came as near putting an end to this and all his other designs, as his late Saturday evening's attempt to mount the rear outside seat of Stoke-Newington coach for London. The first note in his journal, after entering the steamer, is as follows : " The Thames was crowded with vessels of all descriptions ; so that if the habit, for weeks past, of passing in coaches and cabs through defiles not much broader than the carriage itself, had not familiarized me with the seeming danger, I should have wondered how a steamer could possibly make her way in safety through such a throng. This, however, she would have done, had not a collier vessel, some distance ahead, unexpectedly veered round so as to bring her bowsprit directly across our narrow passage. The captain of our boat immediately reversed the engine, at the same time hailing the collier to turn his bow- sprit out of our way. He did not, however, and it carried away the shrouds of our hind- mast ; when, very unexpectedly, as soon as the bowsprit came in contact with it, the mast itself gave • VISIT TO FRANCE. 377 way, and fell across the after-deck. Messrs. Mcllvaine and Smith and myself were, at the moment, standing within a foot or two of the mast. They sprang to the right far enough to escape it, and it fell to the left of me. As it fell, I turned round, and saw it crush several of the passengers, and knock one boatman over- board and several hats into the water. The boatman knocked overboard was saved without much injury ; but another, on whom the end of the mast fell, was killed, and the wife of Admiral Rouse was taken up senseless. She bled excessively, and at length revived sufficiently to be put into a boat and taken ashore. The agony of her husband, and that of a brother of the deceased boatman, were indescribable. One other lady was much injured ; but several of the passengers, who I thought were crushed be^ neath the mast, were in fact uninjured, having merely crouched beneath its descent, which was arrested by the companion-way. Thus the result, melancholy as it was, proved more favorable than we anticipated. Melancholy indeed was it for the poor man so suddenly called into eternity, if unprepared for the awful change. It was a consideration of most serious import, as well as of grateful acknowledgment, that within a very few days, I should have been twice exposed to imminent peril of death, and yet have been — I pray God it may be for some good purpose — twice preserved." They had a smooth passage across the channel, and reached Calais about eight o'clock in the evening of the same day on which they left London, and Paris at ten o'clock the Friday even- ing following ; noticing only the ordinary features of the coun- try as they passed, and the mendicity which to such a great extent prevails. Dr. Milnor writes, " Whenever the diligence stopped, even at night, we were assailed by beggars. The cry everywhere was, ' Ah ! pauvre miserable ! Monsieur, quelque chose ! tres miserable !' At every hill, where the slow progress of the vehicle admitted importunity, we were followed by old men, women, and children. This arises from the fact, that in this country ho public provision is made for the poor." On Saturday, June 19, the travellers took an exterior view of Paris, Dr. Milnor closing his brief journal for the day with the fol- lowing note: "I do not think it necessary to describe particularly 378 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. all the public places which we have seen ; as this is already done by so many travellers, and far better than I can do it from such casual observation." The spirit of this remark will apply to most of his journal while in France. "We shall not therefore attempt minutely to follow his course in this country. A few of his notes, however, are worth preserving. Returning from a third Protestant service on Sunday, June 20, he passed the Catholic church of St. Roch ; and as it was still open, evidently for some public service, he entered, and had an opportunity of witnessing a most gorgeous exhibition of the ritual of the Romish church, in " the Fete Dieu." After describ- ing a scene in which at least sixty performers were engaged, and which was closed by a well-dressed lady going round and solicit- ing from each an offering " pour repose " — or for redeeming souls out of purgatory — ^he gives utterance to his feelings in the fol- lowing strain : " Now, in all this parade of worship, in this superb church maintaining such a retinue of ecclesiastical functionaries, and lasting from an early hour in the morning till after nightfall, not one word of edification was addressed to the assembled multitude ; but the whole was conducted in a language unknown to by far the greater part, and with all the idle pageantry of heathenism. when shall ' Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth,' be destroyed ? Hasten this event, Lord, in thy time." In his many wanderings about Paris, he once found himself in the vaults beneath the Pantheon, where he observed a remark- able phenomenon. "There is," says he, "in these vaults, a most Wonderful echo. Standing at the end of one of the passages, it responded, not as usual the last word of a sentence, but the whole, as articulately as we ourselves uttered it. Our attendant, striking the skirt of his coat with a ratan, produced a sound like near and very loud thunder, and by some variation of his strokes, the effect of the loud firing of cannon. A part of us remaining at this spot, and the remainder going off in the windings of the passage to a distance of one hundred and seventy feet, we could converse together in a whisper, and even the rubbing of the hand on the coat-sleeve could be heard at the same distance." A part VISIT TO FRANCE. 379 of this description reminds us of such worship as he had before witnessed at the church of St. Roch. So far as the effect of such worship on the multitude is concerned, it is but echo in dark vaults artificially lighted, and imposingly reverberating upon won- dering ears the rattle of ratans and the rustling of coat-sleeves; On Tuesday, June 22, Dr. Milnor called on the following gen- tlemen for the purpose of delivering letters of introduction, most of whom were at home and received him courteously. Bishop Luscomb, Mr. Lutteroth, Professor Kieffer, Mr. Curtis, an Ameri- can merchant, M. Monod fils, Mr. Wainwright, cousin of Dr. Wainwright, Mons. Le Compte Ver. Huell, and Mons. Le Duo De Broglie. " Professor KiefFer," he remarks, " received me in his library with great kindness, and tendered me any service in his power during my stay in Paris. My valet acted as interpreter, the professor, though able to read English, not venturing to speak it. He handed me the last monthly extracts of the British and For- eign Bible Society ; pointed to my address, which he was so kind as to say he had read with great pleasure, and added, he waS de- lighted to hear of the resolution of the American Bible Society, pledging a general supply of the sacred Scriptures — a measure which they find it difficult to accomplish among the scattered Protestants of France. I was very favorably impressed with the piety and meekness of this distinguished scholar and Christian." Wednesday, June 23, after walking, till his feet were sore, "over the intolerable pavements of Paris," he felt "considerable pain, the remaining effect of his fall, both in his left shoulder and in his chest, especially when he became fatigued with walking." Nor was this all, for he goes on to say, " Both my friend McB- vaine and myself find a great vacuum here, which we did not feel in London. There, though we occupied a part of the time in seeing what was curious and novel, we yet had, almost daily, the association and converse of the pious ; something to relieve that secularity of feeling to which the mind is prone. But here, we are deprived of that enjoyment. We endeavor to supply its place as well as we can, by uniting regularly, every morning and evening, in reading the Scriptures, religious conversation, and prayer, in our little parlor. But we do not feel desirous of 380 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. prolonging our stay in France. No person unacquainted with the language, can have the same satisfaction with one who can speak French. Considering, therefore, the intended shortness of our stay, we have taken little pains to form acquaintance ; and after we have seen such objects as principally merit attention, we shall take our leave of Paris without regret." On Thursday, June 24, Dr. Milnor addressed himself to the object of his visit — the engagement of a competent teacher for the Deaf and Dumb Asylum in New York. Accordingly, he visited the asylum in Paris, had an interview with its principal, the Abbe Borel, and opened with him the necessary negotiations. ■ On Sunday, he attended church in the morning at the Brit- ish embassy, and heard Bishop Luscomb preach ; and in the afternoon preached for the bishop, in the church of the Oratoire. At five o'clock, he dined with the bishop, " whose easy, uncon- strained hospitality, and interesting conversation, detained his guests till between nine and ten." "He is," says Dr. Milnor, "a very high churchman, but — ^though to be tolerated in England for the' present, as a necessary evil — strongly opposed to the union of church and state. He has had considerable controversy, or rather epistolary discussion, with the bishop of London, re- specting the claim of the latter to jurisdiction over all English Episcopal churches in foreign countries. The claim he deems to be, as it certainly is, preposterous, when applied to churches not situated in British colonies or provinces ; but for peace' sake, and to secure a certain pecuniary aid which the government affords these churches, he has so far acquiesced in the claims of the bishop of London as to grant licenses to ministers, subject to his approbation, which is always, as a matter of course, accorded. Almost all the Episcopal churches in France and the Nether- lands, have acknowledged the Episcopal superintendence of Bishop Luscomb. Mr. Way's chapel, in the Hotel Marboeuf, which is his private property, forms a somewhat galling excep- tion, as his congregation embraces some of the most respectable Episcopalians in Paris. Our American ambassador's family alji^ tend that chapel, because they prefer the more evangelical style of preaching which prevails there, as well as its more agreeable situation. Perhaps, too, etiquette may interpose some objection VISIT TO FRANCE. 381 to an attendance on the morning service at the British embassy ; and the Oratoire is neither a pleasant church, nor, for the Eng- lish and American population, conveniently situated." " In the evening," he continues, " about bedtime, I was at- tacked with a slight paroxysm of gout in my right foot, which occasioned me, during the night, considerable loss of sleep." " Monday, June 28. — My foot was somewhat painful this morn- ing ; but being under an engagement to meet the director of the Royalr Institution for the instruction of the Deaf and Dumb, I took a carriage, and called on Mr. Warden, late American con- sul, who accompanied me to the asylum. The director informed me that he had consulted several teachers respecting my propo- sition, and that a young gentleman, of about 23 years of age, was, he believed, willing to engage. I inquired respecting his natural talents, his literary acquirements, his capacity for the instruction of the deaf and dumb, the amiableness of his temper, and his moral character. On all these points, the director gave the fullest assurances in favor of the young man, declaring that his talents and acquirements were far beyond his years ; that he was fully acquainted with the French system, and an excellent practical instructor ; that his disposition was extremely amiable ; and that his moral character was unsullied. He added, that he should consider his departure from the school a great loss; but for the sake of the young man, he was willing to part with him. " All this passed through Mr. Warden, as interpreter, before the candidate himself made his appearance. His sister, who could speak a little English, accompanied him ; and to her I de- tailed, in answer to her inquiries, and to his through her, every particular of the agreement which I was willing to make with him. My offer was $800 salary, with board, washing, and lodging ; his expenses to Havre, and his passage out ; and an advance of money commensurate with his outfit. In answer to inquiries about religion, I stated that we were Protestants, and that the instruction of our pupils would be Protestant; but that we should not interfere with his personal enjoyment of his own faith. " The young lady spoke English tolerably well, and was re- 382 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. markably intelligent. He had paid some attention to our lan- guage, but could not speak it. He said, that if he concluded to go, all the intervening time, until his arrival in America, should be applied to the cultivation of the English language, in which his sister was satisfied he would soon become a proficient. She stated that he was now engaged in translating a German book into French ; and the director informed me that his father was an author of some note. He is to give me his answer at my hotel on Thursday morning, at 9 o'clock." After this engagement, he indiscreetly took a pedestrian ex- cursion to Pere la Chaise. " The state of my foot," he observes, "was not improved by our protracted walk through those beautiful grounds. We returned very much fatigued ; but being under an engagement to spend the evening at the house of our ambassador, Mr. Rives, we repaired thither, and were very kindly and unosten- tatiously received and entertained by him and his excellent lady. I met there M. Serrurier and his lady, whom I had known in "Washington as the ambassador of the Emperor Napoleon to the government of the United States. Madame Serrurier was then only seventeen years of age. She is still a beautiful woman, in the bloom of life ; but he is so much altered that I should not have known him. It seemed to be agreeable to him to have met, thus incidentally, with an American acquaintance ; for he pro- fessed to remember me, though so many years had passed. He made numerous inquiries about men and things in Washington, and our country generally ; with which, by the by, he showed himself more familiar than most of the gentlemen with whom I conversed in England. I suffered, the whole evening, violent pain in my foot, but made no complaint ; though, upon taking my leave, I was unable to get to the carriage without assist- ance.". " Tuesday Morning, June 29. — ^I am, this morning, in a state of complete disability for locomotion, and consequently have to remain at home, and that in much pain." Of his sufferings in the evening he writes, the next day, "My foot was so exceedingly painful and sore, that I was compelled to resort to laudanum ; and though I took, in three doses, 150 drops, yet I obtained no sleep, nor abatement of pain, tiU near daylight of Wednesday, V^^ OF THE VISIT TO FRANCE. ((U N I V ffsS- S I^ Y June 30th." When he awoke, however, he wasX^^yiJpQJJ^^'^ *>^ lieved," although his foot was excessively swollen and Thursday morning, July 1, though suffering still, he received, according to appointment, M. L. Vaysse, the proposed instructor for the deaf and dumb, accompanied by his father and sister, and concluded with him the terms of an engagement as an instructor in the New York asylum. During the evening of this day, he received a visit from M. Monod fils, pastor of the Protestant French church which meets in the Oratoire, and had with him a long conversation, which threw much light on the state of religion at that day in France. But since that period, light has become so much fuller, so many changes in France have occurred, and so much knowledge of her changes has been disseminated, that his remarks would now appear quite behind the times. The next three days he spent in the quiet of his room, re- ceiving a few visitors, writing letters, and on Sunday, July 4, penning reflections on American freedom, and on the liberty wherewith the Son makes free. On Monday, after receiving various visitors, and transmitting sundry documents of business to institutions in America, from which he had brought commissions, Dr. Milnor dined with Mr. Vaysse senior, in company with five French gentlemen, none of whom understood English. Through his amiable interpreter Miss Vaysse, however, he collected the substance of their conver- sation, which was principally on the "very critical state of the country." " The elections," says his journal, " which are now going on, it is generally agreed, will terminate in the choice of a majority of deputies of the liberal party. This will compel the king to change his ministry, or come to an open rupture with the lower house ; for it is said, they will withhold supplies, unless their wishes are complied with. The gentlemen of our circle at dinner, profess to be inclined, in general, to the views of the lib- eral party, at least so far as to wish a change of ministers, as the best means of quieting the feelings of the nation. But they la- ment the violence of some of the journals, and also the excesses that have taken place in some of the departments ; and deprecate ajiy direct opposition to the executive government, as likely to 384 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. bring back the horrors of the Revolution. An old gentleman present, recently one of the editors of the Journal des Debats, was twice condemned to be guillotined, and once an actual account of his decapitation was published." In truth, they were, without knowing it, on the eve of the historic "three days" of July, 1830 — a convulsion which heaved Charles X. from his throne, and threw upon the brow of Louis of Orleans the crown, not of France, but of "the French." Having described the pursuits and productions of his five fellow-guests, "for all the company were literary men," Dr, Milnor adds, " I had a specimen of a real French dinner ; and while I was surprised at the needless variety of unknown condi- ments, and the protracted use of them, I was much more aston- ished at the immense quantity of food which each guest devoured, and at their copious libations of various light wines. Our din- ner — ^the eating part of it, I mean — lasted from seven till after nine o'clock ; and when the eating was over, all was over : for the gentlemen and ladies immediately retired together to the drawing-room, where a cup of coffee and a small glass of eau de vie — of the latter, of course, as a temperance man, I did not partake — closed the evening's repast." >' In order, however, to a correct idea of French dinners, the reader should know the character of French cookery and French wines. Their dishes contain much less nutriment than those of the English; and the wines of the country, of which the French- man drinks so copiously, are generally far less exciting than the ordinary wines of commerce. Still, the French are liberal con- sumers of food, and their dinners are wasteful consumers of time. On Tuesday he visited that monument of the splendid ex- travagance of the grand Monarque, the palace of Versailles ; despatched various business matters ; and, with regrets at being unable, in consequence of his long confinement, to return the many civilities which he had received, addressed notes of apology to those who had paid them. Thus prepared, he took his de- parture from Paris. His return course lay through Rouen, and by way of Dieppe to Brighton, on the south coast of England. He left Paris, Wednesday, July 7, and reached Brighton, Satur- day, July 10, early in the morning. MISSION TO ENGLAND. 385 SECTION VIII. With his companions in travel, Mcllvaine and Smith, he passed directly from Brighton, through Portsmouth, to the Isle of Wight, and spent the Sabbath of the next day at Ryde. : " It was cheering," he says, "on this beautiful morning, after the bad weather, and miserable roads, and half-starved horses, and crazy carriages, and dirty villages, and desolate* fields of France, to find ourselves in a well-constructed stage-coach, drawn by elegant horses, as neatly caparisoned as those of a nobleman's private carriage, over roads perfectly dry and smooth, through towns neatly built, and a country richly variegated with delight- ful scenery, and studded with buildings, some of beautiful, and almost all of comfortable appearance. The comparison certainly places France far behind England in the career of improvement." After reaching the Isle of Wight, he evidently spent one of his most comfortable and heavenly Sabbaths, under the ministry of the Rev. Mr. Sibthorpe, and in company with the Rev. Mr. Hatchard, vicar of Plymouth ; and he gave, in his journal, very full notes of the two sermons which the former preached, and which demonstrated him to have been at that time as far as any man living from the views of Dr. Pusey and the Church of Rome. His subsequent lapse into those views forms one of the most melancholy chapters in the history of the evangelical men of England. Speaking of his Sabbath in Ryde, Dr. Milnor remarks, "This was a delightful day to myself and my friends. What a contrast to the business, and bustle, and noise of Paris, the quiet of this pleasant town and peaceful isle ; to the defiling superstitions of popery, the chaste worship of our Church ; and to the senseless pomp and pageantry of their corrupt and miserable forms, the pure Gospel as preached by a gifted minister of God I" It is well known that one of the very important principles adopted for its guidance by the American Tract Society, is that of publishing no narrative Tract which is not substantial truth. * This refers to the fenceless, hedgeless, and treeless condition of large portions of the rich lands of France. Mem. Milnor. 20 386 - MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. One of Dr. Milnor's objects, therefore, in visiting the Isle of Wight, was to verify, if it admitted of verification, the descrip- tive part in the narrative of that incomparably useful tract, the Dairyman's Daughter, by Legh Richmond ; as well as that of the Young Cottager and the African Servant, by the same "almost hallowed" pen. To the Christian reader, therefore, this part of his journal assumes more than its usual interest, and will, for this reason, be more closely followed. "Monday, July 12. — The Rev. Mr. Sibthorpe and the Rev. Mr. Hulme kindly proposed to accompany us to-day on a part of our ride through the island. They went in a one-horse vehicle, and we with a fine pair of horses and an excellent coach, imme- diately after breakfasting with Mr. Sibthorpe. And now, at the close of our journey, I find myself utterly incompetent to de- scribe the scenes of natural grandeur and beauty through which we have this day passed. I had often read and heard of them; but the reality every way surpassed the expectation which I had formed. " The town of Ryde, where we spent the last two nights, and enjoyed so sweet a Sabbath, is opposite Portsmouth. It is situ- ated on the side of a hill of considerable elevation, and affords a fine view of Portsmouth, its celebrated harbor, and several other important naval stations in its neighborhood. Some of the houses of Ryde are elegant, and present a neat appearance, with great attention, on the part of their occupants, to the cultivation in front and around them of trees and shrubbery; a species of orna« ment so easy, and aifording so great an addition to the beauty of a dwelling, that one is surprised it should be anywhere neg- lected. Yet, in all the villages which we saw in France, the odor of filth and mud seemed more agreeable to their inhabitants than that of flowers ; and a glaring sunshine, when it could be had, than the relief which the English think is afforded by overshad- owing foliage. "At the commencement of our ride, the weather looked a little inauspicious ; but it soon cleared off, and became very pleas- ant, though the temperature is exceedingly cool for the season. Our road was not very broad, but it was smooth and winding, bordered on each side by luxuriant hedges, and often by lofty MISSION TO ENGLAND. 387 trees. Its serpentine course was produced by its conforming, in a considerable degree, to that of the beach, along which, until we passed the village of Bonchurch, and tuj-ned more inland towards Arreton and Newport, it principally lay. The circuitous course of the road over hill and dale sometimes conducted us close to the water's side, and gave us a full view of the noble harbor of Portsmouth, in the first part of our ride, and subsequently of the great Atlantic ; and at other times, receding a little, and causing a temporary interruption of our prospect by intervening hills, it only increased our delight at emerging again to some more ex- tensive view. Every one knows how a change of position will alter the appearance of a landscape, and disclose at every turn new beauties. Here we enjoyed this pleasure in a high degree ; and besides seeing every object in a variety of views, new scene- ry, which the pen of a Richmond could describe, though mine cannot, was continually bursting on our sight. We noticed a beautiful building in the form of a castle, and of recent erection, the seat of Lord Vernon ; and another on a lofty hill, belonging to Sir Richard Simeon ; and within three miles of Ryde, six or eight other country-seats of various architecture, yet all seeming to harmonize with the delightful and enchanting scene around. " Soon after passing Helen's Green, a small village of neat cottages, we saw the tower of its old church, on which the sea encroached till it was abandoned to ruin, and another was built in a safer position. We soon came to Brading harbor, which, at high tide, forms a lake of several miles in extent ; but at low water, is an uncovered flat. The tide flows in through a narrow inlet, which we crossed in a small boat, our carriage being taken over in a larger. We walked up the hill on the side, opposite to Bem bridge chapel, recently built by a Mr. Wise, and in whicli an excellent clergyman. Sir Henry Thompson, officiates. We re- gretted our disappointment in not seeing the incumbent, to whom Mr. Sibthorpe was desirous of introducing us. "We were now approaching Brading,* where Legh Rich- mond commenced his ministry ; were passing through the rich • The journal, from this point till the travellers reached Newport, was, soon after Dr. Milnor's return, presented to the American Tract Society as a part of his report to that institution. 388 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. and delightful scenery which he so tastefully describes ; and were about to behold, and in some instances to press^ with our footsteps, those almost hallowed spots, where occurred the events, the memory of which he has perpetuated in those admirable tracts, the Young Cottager, the African Servant, and the Dairy- man's Daughter. " "We had these invaluable narratives with us, and employed ourselves in reading such parts of them as were specially calcu- lated to direct our attention to the several places which he does not name, but describes with such fidelity to nature that the observant traveller needs no other guide to point them out. " I am glad that we can bear our testimony to the accuracy of his descriptions, because many have supposed them to be principally fancy ; and on this account, much that adds greatly to the interest of the narrative, and is highly instructive in show- ing the Christian with what religious feelings the works of the great Creator should be viewed, and to what profitable use their contemplation may be applied, has, in many editions of them, been omitted. Though not so intended by the curtailers of these tracts, the retrenchment is yet, in my opinion, an injustice to their lamented author, and an injury to the narratives them- selves. A " On arriving at Brading, we drove directly to the church- yard, where are interred the remains of ' Little Jane,' the young cottager. Several children were playing near the gate ; and I asked a fine-looking little girl if she could show us the grave of Jane. ' yes,' she said, and advanced before us as our guide. After conducting us to the grave, over which we stood for some time in silent but affecting meditation, she said she would 'show us the verses on, Mr. and Mrs. Berry's tombstone, what Jane had got by heart and repeated to Mr. Richmond.' '"Well, my dear,' said I, ' the reading of these verses helped Jane to be- come a good girl and to die happy, did it not?' She answered, ' Yes, sir,' as she did my next inquiry, whether she woufd try to be as good a girl, and die as happy as little Jane. " The epitaphs which little Jane committed to memory, espe- cially that on Mr. Berry's tombstone, which was probably, under God, the means of her first serious impressions, are both pious MISSION TO ENGLAND. 889 and affecting; and their influence on the mind of this youthful candidate for heaven, shows what simple instruments the Holy Spirit often employs to accomplish the conversion of the soul to God. " From the graveyard we went into the church, a very ancient structure, not less, the sexton assured us, than eleven hundred years old. It has been enlarged since its first erection, and is remarkable for nothing in its interior but two singular tombs with wooden effigies of the deceased ; several plainer, but apparently very old monuments of stone ; and a most helter- skelter and inconvenient arrangement of the pews. Its location, however, is at once sequestered, and near the village, above which it is slightly elevated. The parsonage, a comfortable- looking abode, is immediately adjacent to the churchyard. From the church, the view of Brading Haven, the bay beyond, the elevated hill on the right, and the sloping bank on the left, with the other scenery described by Mr. Richmond in 'The Young Cottager,' as seen from this spot, are all just as there represented. " On our way from Brading to Sandown Bay, the prospects were variegated and pleasing ; and as we passed the fort, we emerged upon one of the grandest views of the ocean through the bay, that we had yet seen. Here was pointed out to us the high Down, which Mr. Richmond describes in ' The African Servant,' the perpendicular cliff in which it terminates, and the jutting rock, under which he discovered and so interestingly conversed with his sable companion. Nothing can be more true to nature than his descriptions, in that tract, of the surrounding scenery. "We saw the cottage of the celebrated John Wilkes, in the garden of which are flourishing several rosebushes said to have been planted by his own hands. "We then proceeded to the village of Shanklin, consisting of a few neat cottages, and stopped at a residence bearing nothing of a tavern aspect, but affording us the refreshment which we needed — some excellent cold roast beef and lobsters. After lunch, we walked down to what is called Shanklin Chine^ a large, romantit) fissure, or chasm, in the cliff that fronts upon the sea. The descent to the beach is by an ordinary road ; and 390 MEMOIR OF DR. MiLNOR. then you return through the chine to the village. No descrip- tion extant of this singular spot is either so beautiful or so mi- nutely accurate, as that given by Mr. Richmond in ' The Young Cottager,' as one of his places of solitary, religious meditation. We occupied the same ' little hollow recess in the cliff,' from which he surveyed and delineated the surrounding scenery. We there read deliberately his graphic description of the various interesting objects that lay before him, and could discern no difference between it and the noble scene jn actual view, save that a mist hid from us the ' towering spire ' of Chichester cathe- dral ; that in these peaceful times, we beheld no ' frigate stand- ing into the bay ;' and that but a few vessels of any size happened, at that moment, to enliven the prospect. We lingered long upon and near the beach, and then proceeded up the chine, along the side of which the fishermen have Cut a convenient footpath, with a resting-place or two by the way, where an interesting point of observation happened to present itself. Several neat cottages, with small gardens, have been built within the fissure, each, of which, while sheltered from the weather by its lofty sides, and embowered amid the rich foliage of shrubs and over- hanging trees, enjoys at the same time an extensive prospect of the sea. " Returning to the village, we resumed our carriage, and passing by the neat old church of Shanklin, came to Bonchurch village, quietly seated on what is called ' the underclifF:' " This, as its name implies, is a cliff under a cliff. For a considerable distance, the road runs along the top^ and at times near the brink of one clifT which rises directly above the sea ; while, for the same distance, it runs along the base of another cliff, which rises, a few rods inland, perpendicularly above the traveller's head. The singular wildness of this scene may be judged from the circum- stance, that the upper cliff towers, at some points, near a thou- sand feet above the level of the ocean. " We got out of the car- riage, and proceeded along the brink, for the sake of the view which it presented of some exquisite scenery not before disclosed. Below the village, we threaded our way down a footpath to the road, and got into our carriage; our course now lying up an in- land valley, between gently sloping but lofty hills on either side. MISSION TO ENGLAND; 391 Landscapes of peculiar beauty and variety, exhibiting number- less fields of grain, nearly ripe for the harvest ; herds of cattle, and flocks of sheep, with here and there a company of haymakers, busily employed, presented themselves in ever-changing aspects, as we ascended or descended the successive slopes of this delight- ful valley. " "We had long in sight, and at length passed, at some dis- tance, the splendid seat and extensive park-grounds of Lord Yar- borough, called Appuldercomb. Travellers have given rapturous descriptions of the interior, and its rich collections of paintings and sculpture. Of these, we shall probably never have a sight; but it was commended to our notice by circumstances of a very different kind. It was there that the sister of ' the dairyman's daughter' died, whose funeral Mr. Richmond attended, at the request of the latter ; and it was there, that about a week after, he had his first conversation with her whoso religious experience, as narrated by that faithfal minister, has had a more extensive influence in the world than ever attended any similar publi- cation. " He gives, in ' The Dairyman's Daughter,' a correct account of the situation and appearance of Appuldercomb, and of the surrounding scenery. We saw ' the summit of the hill adjoin- ing' the venerable mansion, to which he ascended after the visit just referred to ; and the triangular pyramid of stones, near which he sat down to meditate ; and the magnificent prospect which lay around him. In full view of this elevated spot, we read his extended description, and turned southward and southeastward, and northward and westward, and admired, as he had done, the unequalled beauty of the scene. Certainly neither of us had ever read the descriptive part of ' The Dairyman's Daughter ' with the like interest and emotion. My feelings obliged me to resign the bobk to my companions ; and under the various emo- tions excited by the narrative and the scene, it was difficult for any of us to prosecute our reading; but with an intensity of interest, we gazed upon the lovely prospect until it could be no longer seen. "We now approached Arreton, the village, in the church- yard of which lie interred the mortal remains of Elizabeth Wall, 392 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. bridge, the sainted daughter of the dairyman. About a mile from it, we stopped before the cottage from which her soul as- cended to its rest, and were kindly received by her surviving brother, a man now advanced in years, and still a resident in the cot of his birth. He showed us Elizabeth's Bible, in which was simply written, ' Elizabeth Wallbridge, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Wallbridge ; born 1771, died 1801.' He also took us up stairs into the room in which she expired. We added our names to a long list, in a book kept by her brother for the pur- pose, and then took our leave, Mr. Wallbridge in a very respect- ful manner thanking us for our visit. " Our simplicity in finding satisfaction in such a visit, would be a fruitful subject of derision to men of the world ; but if they will indulge our simplicity, and we can enjoy feelings such as these scenes excited, let them laugh : we will delight in every thing calculated to cherish the memory of the pious dead. "On leaving the cottage, our path was the same with that over which moved the funeral procession of the dairyman's daughter, in the manner so affectingly described by Mr. Rich- mond. It lay along a narrow but excellent road, winding be- tween high, green hedges, and sometimes under an arch formed by the trees on either side ; a lofty cultivated hill on the right, and a charming view of the luxuriant valley now and then break- ing upon us to the left. As we read the account of the solemn passage of the mourning, yet rejoicing relatives and friends of the deceased, we were almost ready to realize its actual vision, and to hear the pious strains of melody, as they filled the air and ascended to the skies. " Thus prepared, we reached Arreton church ; and leaving our carriage to ascend the hill without us, we went to the grave of Elizabeth ; read the beautiful lines, which love of her charac- ter and the recollection of her triumphant death have caused to be inscribed on her simple monument ; meditated awhile on her present glorious state ; dropped a tear of sympathy but tiot of sorrow, and silently retired. "From this to Newport, our resting-place for the night, we could talk on none but things connected with the scenes, and in- cidents, and reflections of the day ; uniting in the sentiment that MISSION TO ENGLAND. 393 Paris, with all its palaces, and gardens, and paintings, and stat- ues, had afforded no such gratification to our eyes as the glorious works of God, on which they had dwelt in this enchanting island ; and none of its multiplied attractions, such an inward feast as the religious associations of this day's travel had supplied." A sudden and unexpected return of Mr. Mcllvaine's illness prevented the party, for a few days, from prosecuting their tour round the island. In the meantime. Dr. Milnor visited old Caris- brook castle, in the neighborhood of Newport, with its ancient Roman well, and the ruins of the chamber in which the ill-fated Charles I. was a prisoner ; and spent a day in crossing over from Cowes to Southampton, for the purpose of visiting his friend Mrs. Gilliat, and of obtaining letters from home, which he had ordered to be sent thither from London. After a pleasant visit with his friend and her family, though without finding the letters which he expected, he returned to Newport on Thursday, July 15, the day appointed for the funeral of George IV As bis fellow-trav- eller, Mr. Mcllvaine, was still too sick for journeying. Dr. Milnor and his remaining companion, Mr. Smith, resolved upon the west- ern tour of the I^le of Wight. Accordingly, on Friday morning, immediately after breakfast, they took a carriage, and favored with a beautifully cool summer's day, set forth on their pleasant jaunt. " Our road," says the journal, " lay through Carisbrook, a village adjacent to Newport, and remarkable for little save the pleasantness of its situation, the neatness and rural decorations of its dwellings, and the fine view which it presents of the vener- able ruin, Carisbrook castle, already described. As seen in pass- ing along the road, one has a much higher idea of the ancient importance of this castle as a place of military defence, as well as a much more interesting view of its ivy-mantled gateway, its lofty round towers, the fragments of its gray walls, in great part buried in foliage, and the elevated keep, from which we had en- joyed so delightful a survey of the beautiful country around it. Our host at Newport informed us that the mayor of that city is, by immemorial usage, sworn into office in the chapel of the cas- tle. The present mayor is the clergyman of the church in New- port, and I presume a good officer, from the fact of our host's 394 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. complaining of him as ' ruling the publicans of the city with a rod of iron.' One thing is certain : during the time which we have spent in his jurisdiction, there has been every appearance of the utmost quiet and order. We have seen no drunken men, or mendicants; have heard no profarle language; nor witnessed the least disorder of any kind. The stillness of the place has been very propitious to the recovery of my sick friend. " We continued our ride through the village of Shorwell, which has a pretty, antique church, and near which we passed a cottage of the larger size, literally buried in ivy, no part of the building being visible, save the doors and windows. It is aston- ishing with what luxuriance this plant grows in England ; how it seems to love stone walls ; and how greatly it adds to the pic- turesque appearance of the buildings which it invests. " Soon afterwards, a magnificent view of the ocean broke sud- denly upon us, as we cleared a high verdant bank by which it „ had hitherto been intercepted. We passed through the village of Brixton, in which, as in Shorwell, the principal objects of interest were its antique little church and its comfortable cottages imbed- ded in the greenest foliage. Again the sea was hidden from view, and again it appeared in all its grandeur, as we passed over hill and dale in this enchanting ride* A little way from Brixton, we passed through the hamlet of Mattisone, lying at the foot of a high down, and then through another, called Brooke, quietly recessed in a deep valley between tvw lofty downs, its church be- ing honored with a more elevated site just without the cluster of cottages which shelter the worshippers. "After leaving Brooke, our road, in its continual windings, conducted us over several very elevated tracts, called Shalcombe, Compton, and Afton Downs, on which are numerous flocks of sheep, apparently thriving on the short pasturage which these tracts afford. Except such parts of them as have been gradually brought under cultivation, they are generally without tree or shrub, the soil being a light loam on a substratum of chalk. They are, no doubt, generally susceptible of cultivation ; but un- til thus improved, they serve principally for sheep-pastures, and for gratifying travellers with uninterrupted prospects of the most varied and extensive character. - MISSION TO ENGLAND. 395 " Our ride over Afton Down brought us to Freshwater-gate, the inappropriate name of a very interesting spot, which forms one of the great objects of attraction to this part of the island. We stopped at an inn upon the beach, and tjhe tide being down, were able at once to enter a large cavern, a few hundred yards off, in the face of a very high cliff. Its principal opening towards the sea is under a natural archway thirty feet high, and about the same width ; and it extends into the rock above an hundred feet. There are other chasms in the vicinity, of smaller dimen- sions. " To the north from this place, lies a range of chalky cliffs of great height, often exactly perpendicular, and sometimes over- hanging the ocean with a terrific frown. After viewing the caves at Freshwater-gate, we resumed our carriage, and by a circuitous road of about three miles, reached the lighthouse on Needles'- point. This is a singular promontory, extending from the main body of the island into the sea, and lashed on either side by its waves. The whole of the scenery here presented is truly grand and impressive. After a full enjoyment of it, we returned to our carriage, and proceeded back to the inn at Freshwater-gate, and then returned to Newport by a different road from that travelled in the morning. On this road, we passed through a finely culti- vated country, and in view of many elegant mansions, the seats of the nobility or gentry who spend part of their time on this fascinating island." SECTION IX. The party left Newport on Saturday, the 17th of July, and proceeded to Southampton ; passing that exquisitely beautiful ruin, Netley Abbey, standing near the right shore of Southamp- ton Water, about three miles below the town. That day, and the succeeding Sunday, were cold, blustering, and stormy. In his room, Sunday morning, while the storm was raging without, Dr. Milnor thus writes : " May the Lord give me peace within, by renewed evidences 396 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. of his pardoning love, and by the communication of larger meas- ures of his sanctifying grace. May he graciously accept my prayers for the dear family and the beloved flock at home, and make this his hallowed day a blessing to their souls ; and may he, by his Holy Spirit, prepare me and my companions for a right engagement in the solemn duties of the sanctuary, and, to use the language of this day's collect, ' pour into our hearts such love towards him, that we, loving him above all things, may obtain his promises, which exceed all that we can desire, through Jesus Christ our Lord.' " Monday, 19th, the party rode to Winchester, and after view- ing, and confessing his inability to describe its ancient cathedral. Dr. Milnor remarks, " We attended the evening service at three o'clock, and heard the choir chant the hymns and the psalter. The prayers were read in recitative. On the whole, we plain American Episcopalians found but little to admire, either in the music or in the worship of this splendid church. An anthem, sung in the course of the prayers, might, so far as the music was concerned, be considered an exception." From the cathedral, they went to visit the famous Winches- ter school, founded by William of Wykeham, and still kept under the iron rule of its founder's times. It dates from the close of the fourteenth century. " The school-room," says Dr. Milnor, " which holds two hun- dred pupils, has a lofty ceiling, but is not only destitute of all ornament, but mean and inconvenient in its arrangements. Only a few have the accommodation of a desk for writing. The rest straddle their rude benches, and write on little chests, brought from their chambers and placed on the bench before them. The attention of the tyro, on entering this school, will soon be attracted to the ominous capitals on the wall, ornament- ed with the likeness of a hand- whip, ic ( ^^j^ disce, aut discedk : Manet sors tertia — Cjedi.'* " The play-ground is not large, and neither there, nor any- where within the close, are the boys allowed to wear their hats. * " Either learn, or leave : A third lot remains — ^be flogged." MISSION TO ENGLAND.- 397 In the open yard is a reservoir of spring water with half a dozen cocks, where the junior pupils perform their ablutions, and then carry water in their basins into the chambers of their seniors, to whom they are fags; in other words, menial servants. It is astonishing, that so brutal and unnecessary a practice should be continued ; or that parents of respectability should be willing to place their children under the tyranny of the older pupils, who may chastise them with stripes, if they disobey. " We were shown the dormitories. Several boys occupy the same chamber. They have but little of the appearance of com- fort. The boys- are not allowed tea or coffee, their breakfast being bread and beer. Their dining-room is a spacious apart- inent, with a very narrow table placed around the sides ; and they eat off of small boards or trenchers, each about eight inches square. The prefects — some of the senior pupils having that title — are allowed plates, unless when the official visitors are present, and then the trenchers supply their place. The guide told us that the pupils sometimes by stealth make tea and coffee, and provide other comforts at their own expense, in their rooms ; and he thought the practice was rather winked at ; but if these superfluities came under the notice of their teachers, they were taken away." Admirable discipline for a false theology, breeding in the young bone and sinew those inseparable concomitants, abject submissive ness and Jesuitical secrecy. " Certain pupils called ' candlemen' — from some office which they hold, in the superintendence of lights — have the privilege of six pounds each of corned beef per day, for lunch. This they usually give away among the other boys. To the head prefect, I think, belongs, as a perquisite, the value in money of the ra- tions of such pupils as are allowed, on Saturday or Sunday, on special leave, to dine with their friends. A large covered chest, called ' the tub,^ receives the rations of any boys who do not at- tend at dinner, and also what is left of their meal ; and the con- tents of ' the tub ' are sent, five days in the week, to the county prison, and two days to certain poor widows called ' sisters,' con- nected with the cathedral. Seventy boys are on the foundation ; and one hundred and thirty are commoners, who have a separate sleeping apartment. 398 ' MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. "The chapel, where the full morning service is performed, and the pupils attend on AVednesday and Friday forenoons, is a handsome apartment, and ornamented with a large painted win- dow, lately renewed. The library has also a painted window, and contains a neat collection of books. A very large Bible is shown, in two volumes, the gift of Mr. Onslow, formerly speaker of the House of Commons : the boys call it ' the vinegar Bible,' from its having, at the top of one of its pages, ' the parable of the vinegar,'' instead of ' vineyard.' There is also here, on a roller, the pedigree of William of Wykeham, by a learned monk, who, no doubt, expended immense labor on this inglorious pro- duction ; for he has traced the ancestry of the distinguished pre* late up to our first parents, who, in all their nudity, are placed at the head of this unprecedented achievement of antiquarian research. " The cloisters are a Gothic, quadrangular, covered walk, around which, in olden times, the monks are supposed to have pursued their meditative perambulations. Many bodies have been deposited beneath these pavements ; and monuments, both ancient and modern, are spread over their walls. " The pupils attend service twice every Sunday at the cathe- dral. The vacation of six weeks had just commenced, so that we had no opportunity of seeing either teachers or pupils ; but the school has a high reputation, and has prepared for the uni- versity (chiefly that of Oxford) some of the greatest men that have adorned the English annals." From "Winchester, they passed through Salisbury to Exeter. Of this city, the journal remarks, " Being the emporium of this part of England, it is a lively place, and rendered more so at present by one of those nuisances and nurseries of vice, a fair. We went, this morning, (Wednesday, July 21,) to the cathedral service, which, like that at Winchester, was attended by only two or three persons of respectable appearance, and a few of the poor brethren and sisters, besides the persons actually engaged in the services. These were two clergymen, who divided the duty, six men singers, and ten boys. "It is to me a matter of surprise that so much should be thought of cathedral chanting, on the score of its music. There MISSION TO ENGLAND. 399 is such a sameness, such a long reiteration of the same cadences, that it tires the ear, and becomes fatiguing to the spirit. The fact, too, that these are paid performers, and that there is, in most of them, an absence of devotional feeling, gives the whole an air of formality and lip-service, which, notwithstanding the solemnity of the place, very much diminishes its effect. I sup- pose the thought will, by some, be considered quite puritanical. But I could not help wishing that such noble structures as these English cathedrals might be devoted to more practical purposes, and rendered more subservient to the great end of the Gospel of Christ — the salvation of perishing sinners. As these daily ser- vices are conducted, they approximate much too nearly the pag- eantry and formality of the Romish church, and have but little in connection with the interests of evangelical piety." "The monuments, ancient and modern, spread throughout this edifice, are numerous. There is one of a prelate, who at- tempted to fast during the whole of Lent, and, it is said, actually did so until the thirty-eighth day, when he died. An effigy on his tomb exhibits his appearance after death. It is the ghastly figure of a skeleton ! A similar instance of fatal superstition is commemorated in the same manner on a tomb in Salisbury ca- thedral, though that devotee died on the thirty-first day. Query : Will piety of intention in such cases acquit the victims of the guilt of suicide ? Scit Deus, non ego^ [God knows, not I.] On Thursday, July 22, the travellers left Exeter, via Tiver- ton, Barnstaple, and Ilfracombe, and along the south shore of Bristol channel, to Bristol city. We give a few of Dr. Milnor's notes on his passage through this picturesque region. " We arrived at Ilfracombe at dusk, in the heaviest fog that I have seen since my first landing in England. The road between Barnstaple and Ilfracombe is a turnpike, cut at an immense ex- pense, along the side of a hill, and requiring a wall for its support, on the lower side, almost the whole distance. It passes along a deep valley between high hills, though at a considerable height above the bottom of the valley, following on a perfect level, all the windings, some of them very short, of the hill along the side of which it pursues its devious course. In some instances, the steep and lofty hills on the opposite side of the valley were culti- 400 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. vated to their very summits ; but for many miles they were cov- ered with fine plantations of forest-trees, thickly set, and their tops often so uniform in height as to resemble the surface of a field of grass." " In passing through the English villages, one is sometimes amused with the signs which they exhibit. A tailor, for instance, informs the public, that he ' makes all sorts of ready-made cloth- ing ;' and a grocer, that he is ' licensed to hrew and sell beer, spirituous liquors, and tobacco^ " " The situation of Ilfracombe is singular. It lies on the Bris- tol channel, embosomed on all sides by lofty hills, except a narrow opening to the water, which affords an entrance into a sheltered and commodious harbor for vessels of 250 tons burden. It is a natural basin, the only artificial improvement being a stone pier, on one side of the entrance, running a short distance into the channel, principally to prevent the accumulation of sand at the mouth of the harbor. At low tide, as we saw it, the recession of the water leaves the vessels high and dry on the sand. " In the circle of hills around Ilfracombe, those lying inland are loftier than those which rise from the beach, and afford de- lightful sites for dwelling-houses, commanding a full view of the whok interesting scenery, and of the channel and ocean beyond. Along the summit of the chain of hills which rise immediately from the water, a path has been made which forms a charming promenade, in fine weather, for the visitors who resort to Ilfra- combe — for Ilfracombe is a watering-place of some note, and the number of taverns and lodging-houses indicates that it is not a little frequented. Some of the private residences on the heights have a fine appearance, and few finer than that which was pointed out as the residence of Mr. Bowen, the rector of the parish. '' " The church, as might be expected, occupies a very romantic spot. It is on a hill, rather difficult of access to the aged and infirm, yet surrounded by hills still higher than its own, which protect it from storms and tempests. The safety of its position cannot be questioned, for it is said to have stood already for 1,200 years. It is a truly venerable structure, carefully kept in repair, and of late greatly improved in its interior. MISSION TO ENGLAND. 401 " We left Ilfraoombe in a postchaise about mid-day, and for three miles retraced our yesterday's route on the turnpike." "As we advanced, we were again enveloped in a thick fog, until we approached Linton, the scenery around which we were particularly desirous of seeing. It now broke away, and per- mitted us, as we descended without intermission a winding slope of at least two miles, to survey a most romantic succession of ever-varying views. Immense hills, some affording pasturage for innumerable sheep, others cultivated to the very tops ; vales of enchanting beauty, and occasionally the most picturesque clusters of buildings at the bottom of the deepest glens, or on the steep sides of the adjacent acclivities, as our road turned, now in one direction, now in another, attracted our admiration. Sud- denly, a full view of the channel, presenting here the appearance of a sea, broke upon us through a deep valley on our right, at the termination of which, and close to the beach, is seated the little town of Ly mouth. Its appearance, from the vast height which we occupied above it, was pleasing as it was singular. Several of its white houses, being new and of very tasteful con- struction, added to its beauty. A turn to the left brought us, by a short ascent, to the town of Linton; the position of which, notwithstanding our long descent towards it, was still high- above the water, and commanded an almost boundless prospect. It has a small church : and from the churchyard, the view of Lymouth beneath ; the wide expanse of water in front ; the hills and vales, with their various appendages, on either side ; and the stupendous elevations in the rear, formed an aggregate of beau- ties and sublimities such as is rarely found concentrated at the same spot. As I turned from side to side, to gaze on the attrac- tive scene, I observed a neatly-thatched roof directly below the eminence on which I stood, and varying my position so as to get a tolerable view of it, I found it a finished specimen of a Gothic cottage. It is perched almost against the cliff, having but little level ground about it, but that little as green, and as delightfully ornamented with roses, jessamines, and honeysuckles, as can be imagined. Access to it is by a winding path from the hill above, and except that the view in the rear is shut out by overtopping heights, the prospect from it must be as grand as Mem. Hilnor. 26 402 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. that which I have mentioned, but not attempted minutely to describe. ^ "We dined at Linton, and then, with fresh postchaise and horses, proceeded to Minehead, where we had arranged to spend the night. After travelling over a good road, across an elevated tract, at one of our turns the village of Porlock was unexpect- edly seen reposing at the very bottom of an exceedingly deep valley before us, amid fields of the most flourishing grass and grain. They reminded me of the garden at Versailles. It seemed at so small a distance from us as to make it impossible to reach it, save by an almost perpendicular descent. And steep enough it was ; but the road, winding as the surface of the hill allowed, first in one direction and then in another, proved to be five or six times as long as one would have imagined, and brought us in safety to the village. This, however, on entering its narrow street of low and mean habitations, lost all the beauty which it appeared to have from the heights above. We stopped a moment at its best, though, at the best, its miserable inn. I asked the landlord if the church, at some distance from his house, was a handsome one. ' Why, much like the town,' he replied : * it's very old ; they say how it's three hundred years old, but I can't believe any house would stand that long.' 'Why, my friend,' I observed, * they say the church at Ilfracombe is twelve hundred years old.' ' Ah,' he answered, ' I was burn ( born ) at Ilfracombe, but not so long ago as that.'' P inquired about the minister oif Porlock. ' Why, he sarves another parish about two miles off, and the church has a tower and a bell ; but they're a queer sort of people. In the winter it's too co-aid to ring, and in the soomer it's too warm ; and so they don't often have sarvice.' Finding my host so intelligent and communicative, I inquired of him about a tx)wer on one of the hills in the vicinity of Porlock, which is said to be of great height, but was hid from our view by the clouds and mists around it. ' He had never measured it,' he said, ' but he was told it was as high as I had stated.' I asked if it was built of stone; to which he sagely answered, 'he believed it was built of stone, and other such like combustibles.^ " Saturday, July 24. — We left Minehead at half past 6 A. M. in a coach and one, honored with the name of a ' -F/«/.' ; MISSION TO EKGLAND. 403 " As we approached Bristol, the embellished residences of the wealthy multiplied, and presented a constant succession of objects deserving of notice. We came in sight of Bristol while it was yet six miles distant, lying in a valley far below the eminence from which we beheld it ; our road being one almost continu- ous descent until we entered its crowded streets. The election of members to Parliament being at hand, the city was in a great bustle, owing to the canvassing of the candidates. One of the streets was rendered impassable by a throng of people listening to a speech from one of these solicitors of popular favor. We concluded that a residence at Clifton, two miles from Bristol, would be more pleasant, during our short stay, than at so noisy a place ; and therefore, after we had dined at ' the White Lion,' and inquired for letters at the post-office, we. took a coach and made our quarters at the Bath Hotel, Clifton. Mr. Mcllvaine and I having each a letter of introduction to Mr. Prust, a pious dissenting merchant, whose family residence was at Clifton, we sent them to him, and he soon called upon us, sat the evening with us, and kindly offered us any service in his power. It was agreed •that we would accompany him to-morrow morning to the chapel of the Rev, Robert Hall, whose celebrity as a preacher, as well as his evangelical piety and Christian Catholicism, have made him so well known and so much admired in this country and in ours. " Sunday, July 25. — On going with Mr. Pru§,t to Mr. Hall's chapel, we found he was not to preach until evening ; we there- fore went with our guide to that of Mr. Liefchild, an independent minister. The service of the Episcopal church commencing at a later hour in the morning, we then went to St. Mary's, Redcliffe, and heard its rector, the Rev. Mr. Whish. The church is so spacious, having in fact the aspect of a cathedral, that the voice of the preacher was too indistinctly heard to allow my mind to go along with his discourse. After service, we were introduced to him, and walked through the church to survey its monuments, some of which are very ancient. The whole interior of this ven- erable Gothic edifice is uncommonly beautiful. Against one of its pillars hangs the armor of Admiral Penn, father of the founder of Pennsylvania ; and two of the now ragged colors of his ship. His tomb is in the adjacent aisle. 404 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNiQR. ' "At half past six P. M., we rode down to Mr. Hall's chapel. He did not come from the vestry until the conclusion of the pre- liminary services, being much indisposed. He appeared feeble as he ascended the pulpit, and delivered his sermon extempora- neously, in a low voice, and entirely without action." According to his custom, Dr. Milnor took full notes of both the discourses which he heard to-day ; and those of Mr. Hall's show it to have been, in richness of thought at least, one of his ablest efforts. "We had the pleasure," adds Dr. Milnor, "of being introduced to Mr. Hall, and went into his vestry. This distinguished man appears to be in declining health. He has for many years been afflicted with the ' tic douloureux ' in his back, • which obliges him to take large quantities of opium, and to keep as much as possible in a reclining posture. A sitting posture and the labor of writing are very irksome to him. He is now also distressed with a determination of blood to the lungs. After a few moments' conversation, we took our leave, promising our endeavors to comply with a kind invitation to visit him at his own house. ^ " Monday, July 26. — Clifton. Mr. Mcllvaine not being so well as he had been for the last few days, we concluded to remain quietly at our lodgings in this delightful place. We walked out, however, to see the village and the adjacent scenery, in the course of the mjorning. Clifton is about two miles from the centre of Bristol. In fact, however, it is but an extension of the city from the valley up a steep acclivity, on the sides and top of which merchants and gentlemen retired from business have planted their residences. The ascent is continual, till the eminence is reached. This overhangs the river, the frequent windings of which, and its high banks, covered on the opposite side with lofty forest-trees, give great interest to the scene. Much of the summit of the hill is left open for a promenade ; and is greatly frequented by the inhabitants, and by strangers, who resort to Clifton for the benefit of the hot wells, or for cool air in their morning and evening walks. On the open space in front of our inn, are constantly standing little carriages, on two hind wheels and one fore, each drawn by a stout man, for the accommodation of invalid females ; many of whom may be seen, from time to MISSION TO ENGLAND. 405 time, taking their airing in that way. A dozen little donkeys also stand ready saddled, the saddle of each covered with a clean linen cloth, for hire to the numerous children of the gentry, who ride about the grounds for exercise. I could not but wish to see' my own little boys partaking of the pastime. "At half past two o'clock, we visited, by appointment, Mrs. . Hannah More, now in her eighty-sixth year, and for two or three years past a resident at Clifton. Her house is very agreeably situated, having a pleasant prospect both in front and in rear from the apartments which she occupies. She has no inmates except her servants and Miss Frowd, a niece of Lord Bxmouth, who is her constant companion, and devotes to her, with all the affection of a daughter, the most assiduous attentions. Mrs. More rose, and received us in the kindest and most courteous manner ; offering her hand to each of us, with an expression of the pleasure which it gave her to receive our visit. On inquiring the state of her health, she said, ' It was as good as usual ; she never had enjoyed perfect health ; and yet, through the mercy of God, she had attained her present advanced age, having sur- vived her six healthy sisters. Her removal from Barley-Wood had been a trial, being much attached to the place, and having expected to end her days there. Her trial, too, had been aggra- vated by the cause which led to her removal— great dishonesty discovered in servants who had lived with her twenty years. God, however,' she said, ' had overruled it for good, especially in one particular. The minister of the parish at Barley- Wood, unhap- pily, did not prize the peculiar doctrines of the Gospel ; and an attendance on his ministry was, in fact, lost time, from the ut- terly unprofitable character of his instructions. But here she had the comfort of being visited by three evangelical clergymen, who were always ready to assist her with their counsels and their prayers.' "I adverted, in the course of conversation, to the currency which her works had obtained in our country. With great hu- mility of manner she said, she was thankful for any good which, under God's blessing, they might accomplish. The Bible Society and Sunday-schools were spoken of. She mentioned that she had engaged in the work of the latter immediately after its com- 406 MEMOIR OF DK. MILNOr! mencement by Mr. Raikes; and that, in Shipham and t^o other' parishes adjacent to her late residence, her schools had ever since been continued ; that she regretted her inability now to visit them personally, but that her friend Miss Frowd went occasionally in her behalf; that the people were very poor and ignorant ; but she hoped that the four or five hundred of their children, who were constantly receiving religious instruction in those schools, would be profited by them. She said she had been much pleased with learning that one of the worst pupils they ever had had been converted, and was now a missionary among the negroes of Caf- fraria. "The welfare of the African seemed much to engross her thoughts ; and she expressed an anxious hope that Mr. Protheroe, her favorite candidate for Bristol, rriight succeed in his election. He had called on her, she said, yesterday ; but she never received visitors on the Sabbath, and had therefore declined seeing him, but requested he would call at another time. " She asked if we had seen the last volume of her publications, consisting of short pieces, written at different periods of her life; and requesting Miss Frowd to hand her the volume, she turned to ' The negro boy's petition to his master to be allowed to learn to read the Bible,' and putting the book into my hand, asked me to read the piece aloud, which I did. She subsequently turned to another, and requested Mr. McBvaine to read a part which she pointed out ; and again, at her request, I read another beautiful passage — all on the same subject:" [Mrs. More remarking, that his enunciation was so purely English, that it would never have occurred to her that he was from a foreign land.] " The name of Robert Hall being mentioned, she spoke in high terms of his piety and talents, and mentioned that, many years ago, her dear friend Bishop Portevs had requested her to use her influence with Mr. Hall to enter the established Church ; declaring, if he would do so, he should have any preferment in the bishop's power to bestow ; and that she had conferred with Mr. Hall on the subject, who said that he would have no diffi- culty in subscribing to the thirty-nine articles of the Church of England, but that he was conscientiously opposed to infant baptism ; besides, that his entering the Church would be ascribed MISSION TO ElfGLAND. 407 to motives of self-interest ; that his usefulness would be impaired by such an imputation ; and that therefore he declined. " Mrs. More expressed a great interest in America, and much pleasure in the prospect of every family there being supplied with a copy of the sacred Scriptures, She adverted to the late Mr. Bethune, and to Mr. Eastburn," father of the present Bishop Eastburn, " and spoke of them in terms of high regard. " I cannot mention more particularly the various topics that occupied our visit of an hour to this estimable lady ; but her Conversation was such as elevated her tn our esteem, and made us regret, so far as we dare, that a life so useful should be draw- ing to a close. For herself, peacefully as her days may have glided away in the practical duties of religion, in offices of benevolence, in literary employments, and in refined as well as pious social intercourse and correspondence, and much as her works have contributed to give her a well-earned fame, her approaching departure can be a subject of no regret; for her faith in the Redeemer, attested by her whole life, has fully pre- pared her for the change. She said, in the course of our conver- sation, that God had been very gracious in prolonging her days, and thus giving her time for lamenting her past sins and pre- paring to meet him in judgment. She said she had not been out of her apartments since her removal from her former resi- dence, and added, with calm resignation, ' she did not expect to leave them till she was carried to her tomb.' When we were leaving she rose again, and extending her hand to each of us, said she considered our visit to her a favor, and desired an inter- est in our prayers at the throne of grace ; adding, ' No one has more need of them.' " I pray Grod that the remaining days of his venerable ser- vant may be full of lively faith and cheerful hope; and that, with an aged scripture-saint, when the hour for her transi- tion to glory shall arrive, she may be enabled, in tranquil con- fidence, to say, ' Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word ; for mine eyes have seen thy sal- vation.' "Tuesday, July 27. — This morning we took a carriage and called at the house of Mr. Hall ; but he was so much indisposed 408 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. after his last Sunday's service, that his friends had prevailed on him to seek the relaxation of a journey to Weston. We were also disappointed in a call which we made on Mr. Foster, author of ' Essays,' etc." He spent the remainder of the day in visiting such objects of interest as were to be seen in the city of Bristol, and at the close of it made the following entry in his journal : " I received, to-day, a newspaper from New York, contain- ing a letter addressed to me by Bishop Hobart, under his signa- ture, complaining of my address before the Prayer-book and Homily Society, as reflecting improperly on him, in relation to his proposition for altering the Liturgy. No improper reflection was intended by me ; nor would he have thought so, had it not been for the miserable manner in which the speech has been reported. It will require consideration and prayer to enable me to adopt a proper course in relation to this unexpected attack. The bishop's letter, though it contains some kind expressions, is yet evidently designed to injure me, by conveying the impres- sion of a misstatement of facts on my part, and of an intention to make the British public believe that he was unfriendly to the Liturgy. I thank God, that whatever may be the effect of this publication of the bishop on the minds of others, my own con- science acquits me on both these points. I stated nothing but the truth on the occasion referred to ; and my manner of doing ■ it was neither designed nor calculated to produce any such unfavorable impression as to the bishop. If he had himself exercised the judgment of charity in the case, he would have drawn no such false inferences, even from the incorrect newspa- per report which he has made the basis of his letter. But had what I said been stated as delivered, it would have been impos- sible for him to do so." Suspending, at this point, the course of his journal in Eng- land, it may be well, before taking further notice of the unhappy controversy to which the above paragraph alludes, to give an ex- tract from one of Dr. Milnor's letters, written immediately after the close of the London anniversaries, and of course before he could have anticipated any such notice from his bishop. It was dated, " London, May 20, 1830," and addressed to the Rev. M. MISSION TO ENGLAND. 409 H, Henderson, his temporary assistant in St. G^eorge's. The extract is as follows. " In every instance, my addresses have been received with evidences of approbation more evincive of the kindness of Lon- don audiences towards strangers from America, than of their possessing any title to the marks of respect with which they and the speaker have been favored. One mortification every speaker will experience, that of having his speech most miserably mur- dered by the wretched note-takers, who only vie with each other who shfiU soonest slay his victim. The addresses of the morning appear in the evening, or, at the farthest, the following day, in the language of the illiterate reporter, instead of that of the speaker, and with all manner of blunders of expression and mis- statements of statistics and facts. Brother Mcllvaine and I, of course, fare like others ; and as there is no remedy, it is not worth while to complain. The reporter of one of my addresses makes me call the state of Georgia by the more classic, or at least . Italian name of Georgiani ; and with a like preference of Euro- pean to Indian appellations, makes me speak not of Creeks, but of Cretes. Another, instead of one hundred and twenty thousand dollars, which I had spoken of as pledged to the fund for supplying destitute, families in the United States with the Bible, reduces it to ^t^e/ve thousand dollars ; and in another speech, in which I had noticed Bishop Brownell's missionary tour, magnifies my modest tribute of respect to that worthy prelate into an assertion, that great changes had been produced by his ministry in the country through which he passed. I have 'hesitated whether to send to America any of these bungling reports ; and, in fact, have con- cluded not to do so, hoping that the annual account, which is published in the course of the summer, may be a little better than these hasty, jejune, and false reports. I have been aston- ished to see some addresses, that have electrified the audience who have listened to them, cut so miserable a figure in print, with an abundance of notices of 'applause,' 'cheers,' 'loud cheers,' ' hear him, hear him,' where no reader can possibly divine what could have led to such expressions of approbation ; the report entirely omitting, or shamefully perverting or debasing the sentiments which extorted from the hearers these tokens of 4101. ' MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. , approval, and the reporter putting them in anywhere, as it might happen," A brief extract from Dr. Milnor's journal, of a somewhat later date, but before he could have anticipated any letter from Bishop Hobart, will also be proper in this connection, inasmuch as it shows that he had observed the errors in the report of his address before " the Prayer-book and Homily Society," of which the bishop complained ; and that he took the earliest opportunity, and what he believed the best means of correcting them. In his journal for "June 4," he writes thus : "Addressed a note to the Rev. Mr. Pritchett, secretary of 'the Prayer-book and Homily Society,' requesting, in the event of their publishing the anniversary addresses, an opportunity of correcting the errors of the report Qf mine, as already pub- lished" ■ •- / ; )■' This erroneous report, then, of Br. Milnor's address, reached New York about the 20th of June ; and on the 27th of July, he' received a copy of Bishop Hobart's letter to him, published in . the New York Commercial Advertiser. We give the prinoipat parts of this unexpected communication. ,, "TotheRev. Dr. Milnor. "New York, June 23, 1830. " Rev. and dear Sir — A report of a speech, which you deliv- ered in the city of London on the 5th of May last, at the meet- ing of the Prayer-book and Homily Society, has been published in several of our newspapers. In that speech, as reported, the following paragraph occurs : " ' The Rev. Dr. Milnor of New York, who, after adverting to the benefit which would result from the present institution, observed, that in America it was proposed, by one of the prelates of the American Episcopal church, to make an alteration respect- ing the lessons which were used, by having a smaller portion read than at present ; and this proposal was no less than three years before the conference, and was discussed by those who had been sent to the conference from the different states. Upon its coming on for a decision, he was gratified in saying that there was not a single person in favor of the proposed alteration of the MISSION TO ENGLAND. 411 venerable prelate who brought forward the measure ; and he rejoiced in saying, that throughout America they now used the same prayer-book and homilies which were used by the Church of England, with the exception of some slight alterations that took place upon the declaration of independence in the United States. He certainly considered it was dangerous to touch and alter that which contained such sacred writings.' " This paragraph, and indeed the entire speech, is calculated to produce th& impression that ' one of the prelates of the Ameri* can Episcopal church' — I am the individual meant — stood alone in a rash and presumptuous attempt to ' touch and alter ' the litur- gy ; and that you and the entire American bishops and clergy, actuated by a sincere and devoted reverence for this hallowed ritual, marshalled yourselves against this daring innovator, and saved this ' delightful service ' from the rude hand that would have marred its beauty. "I am unwilling to believe that it was your deliberate design to produce these impressions ; for they are not warranted by /ac^s known to you. You and I, too, under a variety of circum- stances, and under no very unimportant differences in matters of policy^ and, I am afraid, of ■principle^ have been friends from early life. On your recent departure for England, I took leave of you as a friend ; and our mutual expressions of feeling on this occasion were, I am satisfied, perfectly sincere. I was not pre- pared, therefore, to find, that on one of your first public appear- ances in England, you had held up your bishop and your friend in a light certainly not calculated to raise him in the good opin- ion of those whom you addressed. " I have reason to thank God that I have never been much tempted to consider, in the determinations of duty, what might or might not be popular ; and the older I become, the more con- vinced am I that 'it is a small matter to be judged of man's judgment.' But I am not indifferent to that ' good report ' which, both from personal and official considerations, it is my duty to endeavor to preserve. My visit to England made me somewhat known there ; and I am willing to think that I enjoy the good opinion of some distinguished individuals, whose friend- ship is as honorable as it is gratifying. A principal claim to that 410 MEMOIR OF DR. MILKOR. good opinion arises from the conviction of my consistent attach- ment to the church, and especially its liturgy. It is the tendency of your remarks to deprive me of this claim. I must be permit- ted to prove that they are not warranted by facts." By a reference to " the journal of the General Convention of our church of 1826," page 76 and page 65, the bishop proceeds to show that the impression which he ascribes to the tendency of Dr. Milnor's remarks, was unfounded. He thus comments on his proofs : " Thus, then, the propositions which I am represented by you as alone sustaining, were unanimously adopted by the house of bishops, and by a very large majority of the house of clerical and lay deputies of the General Convention of 1826. " It is true, the motion which introduced these propositions was rnade by me, but not until I had consulted all my brethren of the house of bishops, several members of the house of clerical and lay deputies, and others not members, and among them your- self, and received their and your approbation of them. " You observe, that these ' propositions were no less than three years before the convention, and were discussed there ; and on their coming to a decision, you are gratified in saying that there was not a single person in favor of the proposed alteration of the venerable prelate' — meaning me. I am confident that indi- viduals, not acquainted with the real state of the case, would suppose, from the above statement, that I was, after the lapse of three years, the advocate of the adoption of the proposed altera- tions, and in this sentiment stood alone. What is the fact ?" By a reference to " the journal of the General Convention of 1829, page 79," the bishop again shows that this supposition was in like manner groundless. He thus follows up his proof : "Thus, then, there was in fact no decision on the abstract propriety of the proposed alterations. Under ' existing circum- stances,' it was judged not expedient to adopt them; and they were dismissed from consideration, in consequence of a motion made by me to this effect." By a long quotation from the annual address to his own dio- cesan convention in 1827, the bishop then proceeds to show "what circumstances led to this determination, and what rea- MISSION TO ENGLAND. 413 sons induced the measure of bringing forward these- proposi- tions;" and proves that he had been influenced in that measure, not by a " desire, for his own gratification, to shorten" the lit- urgy — for he " rarely availed himself of the discretionary rubrics," which already tolerated certain abbreviations— but by a wish to take away from irregular clergymen, " the plea of necessity for altering the liturgy in consequence of its length ;" a plea which he seems to fear had been " influenced by a desire that individual license may have no bounds." Having illustrated at length his reasons for what he had done, in doing which he of course shows that he was the unquestionable friend of the liturgy, and of the whole liturgy, just as it was, he thus concludes his letter : " The address, from which the above extract is taken, was delivered in your hearing ; and, as well as the journals from which the other extracts are made, (was) printed and published. , I now beg leave to call your attention to these documents, be- cause I think if they had not escaped your recollection, you would not have made the statements in your published speech. In that speech you appear, I think at my expense, the high panegyrist of the liturgy. I doubt not your attachment to it. But who most consistently displays a sacred regard for this invaluable ritual ? The use of the Book of Common-Prayer before all ser- mons and lectures, and of nothing but that book, is bound upon us by our ordination vows, and by the canons. You use this liturgy as it is prescribed in your church edifice ; but when you assemble your congregation in what is called your lecture-room, before your sermon, or lecture, you abbreviate the liturgy ad lib- itum, and use extemporaneous prayer.* I judge not your con- science in this matter. But the individual who addresses you uses, before all sermons and lectures, the liturgy, the whole lit- urgy, and nothing but the liturgy. May I riot ask, who evidences the most consistent attachment to it ? The length of the service with you is no difficulty ; for you think yourself at liberty, when you judge proper, to abridge it. '*I think you have not done me justice before the English * The reader will observe, that the ad libitum abbreviation of the liturgy, and the use of extemporaneous prayer, are both predicated of Dr. Milnor's exer- cises before sermon or lecture, in his lecture-room. 414 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. public, and that portion of the American community who may not be in possession of all the facts of the case. But, reverend and dear sir, it will require stronger acts than these, and often repeated, to extinguish the feelings of esteem and regard with which I am ' " Your friend and brother, "J. H. HOB ART." Immediately after the appearance of this letter in the col- umns of the Advertiser, and while Dr. Milnor was profoundly ignorant of what was passing in America, a controversy appeared in the same columns between two anonymous writers ; well un- derstood, however, to be Dr. Bedell and Bishop Hobart — ^the for- mer writing over the signature of " Observer," and the latter over that of " The mthole Truth." In this controversy, Ob- server defended Dr. Milnor, principally on tjie ground that the London report of the speech before the Prayer-book and Homily Society was, in all probability, not only imperfect, but also in- (correot ; while The wtiole Truth not only justified the published letter to Dr. Milnor, but even stated the charges against him in much graver terms, and with additions and amplifications far "more injurious to the good name of the absent. For a reason which will subsequently appear. Dr. Milnor's reply to the published letter of Bishop Hobart was not written till a month after that letter was received. His reply bears date August 27, 1830. It was sent for publication to a clerical friend in New York, and is known to have been received in due course of the transatlantic mail ; and yet it did not appear in the Ad- vertiser until the 22d of October. For what reason the reverend gentleman to whom it was sent, detained it until it was peremp- iorily demanded by the vestry of St. George's, the public have 'never learned. Dr. Milnor wrote as follows. " To Bishop Hobart. " Sheffield, England, August 27, 1830. "Rt. He v. and dear Sir— I have but recently seen, in the Commercial Advertiser of the 25th of June last, the letter which I exceedingly regret you felt yourself under the necessity of ad- dressing to me in so unusual a way. If the topic to which it MISSION TO ENGLAND. 415 refers could have been made a matter of personal explanation, or its notice been delayed until it was ascertained whether the report of my address before the Prayer-book and Homily Society of England, at its late anniversary, which you have used as the basis of your animadversions, was correct, I think you would have been satisfied that I neither intended you the slightest in- jury or disrespect, nor made any remarks, on the occasion refer- red to, having a tendency to produce such an effect. To arraign your attachment to the liturgy, would be to assail yoii in a point where you are invulnerable ; and the folly of such an act would, in the present instance, only have been exceeded, if done by me, by its ingratitude; for I have no hesitation to acknowledge, in this public manner, what I have done repeatedly in private since my arrival in England, the singular acts of kindness on your part, which distinguished our last hours of intercourse in New York. "I confess, I consider myself as having reason to complain that the miserable report of my address from which you have quoted, with such manifest evidences of incorrectness as are ap- parent on its face, should have been so far credited as to be made the foundation of your letter, or to have occasioned you a mo- ment's uneasiness. One would have thought, were there no disposition to put a harsh construction on my conduct, and this I am unwilling to suppose, that, without giving me any credit either for the possession of very accurate information in church affairs, or a desire to report truly in relation to them, it would not have been believed that I could have forgotten the name of our highest ecclesiastical legislature, or the character of the pro^ posed alterations in the liturgy, so as to have expressed myself in the bungling manner attributed to me by the reporter. In the remarks actually made by me, I am perfectly confident, not a word dropped from me that was either> intended or calculated to make any unfavorable impression in regard to your attachment to the church and its liturgy, of which neither I nor any other person ever entertained a doubt. My single object, in referring to the subject of the proposed alterations at all, was, to do honor to the American Episcopal church, in the matter of its attach- ment to the Book of Common-Prayer, by exhibiting the unanim- ity of the disinclination of its bishops, ministers, and people, to 416 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. any change in the order of the public services which it prescribes. In doing this, I am persuaded I did not impress an individual present with the idea that you formed an exception, in this re- spect, to the whole body ; and much less could any one have sup- posed me to intend the disrespect and vulgarity, as well as the obvious falsehood and injustice of representing you as a ' daring innovator,' who would 'with a rude hand have marred the beauty of the liturgy,' or of arrogating to myself any agency whatever in the prevention of such an attempt. " I thank you for acknowledging your unwillingness to be- lieve that it was my ^deliberate design to produce these impres- sions.' I add to this concession the assurance, on my part, that it was as little my design at the moment. "It is to be regretted, that the haste with which the news- paper reports of the addresses delivered at the religious anniver- saries in London are published, should render them such imper- fect representations of what is actually said, I have, however, no more reason to complain of this than others ; for scarcely an address, heard by me, was reported with any measure of fidelity. In part, undoubtedly, this arises from the necessity of condensa- tion, but more frequently from the incapacity, or inattention of the editorial reporters, or the hurry with which they are.oblijged to write out their notes for the press. " I have, I believe, a pretty exact recollection of the terms in which I expressed myself ; but I wish not to incur even, the sus- picion of- making a too favorable report of them by any statement of my own. I therefore subjoin an extract from ' The Christian Register,' a miscellany which gives a more correct, though very condensed report of the addresses made at the principal anniver- saries. This report of my address is defective in its want of ful- ness. My remarks were still more guarded against the possibility of conveying such an impression as I regret to find has been pro- duced on your mind. I copy, verbatim, all that the Register reports me to have said in relation to the subject of your letter. " ' The. Rev. Dr. Milnor of New York, after some preliminary remarks, observed that the Protestant Episcopal church of the United States of America, of which he was a minister, was sin- cerely attached to the liturgy and services which they derived MISSION TO ENGLAND. 417 from the church of England, and in which they had made few alterations, except such as were requisite to adapt them to the varied circumstances in which they were placed. An evidence of the attachment of both clergy and laity to their Book of Com- mon-Prayer had recently occurred. At a General Convention, held four years ago, it was proposed to allow certain discretion- ary powers to the clergy, in the abridgment of particular parts of the service. The proposition was laid over for consideration at the next triennial Convention, which w,as held in August last. But so general was the disapprobation of any intrenchment on our venerable forms of devotion, that the proposition was with- drawn by the highly respectable prelate who was its author. The proposition had, no doubt, been made from the purest mo- tives, and from an impression, arising out of certain differences of opinion, that it was desired by a part of the clergy. But even those for whose accommodation the measure was supposed to be intended, were averse to any change, and the American Prayer- book remains as it was established a few years after the declara- tion of independence.' " [This extract, abbreviated as it is declared to be, is still scru- pulously conformable to facts — historically accurate ; and so far is it from representing Bishop Hobart as an " innovator," seeking to alter the liturgy for his otvn gratification, that it show's he was influenced by "an impression" that the proposed discretionary abbreviations were ^' desired hy a part of the clergy," and that when he had ascertained that they "/or whose accommodation the measure was supposed to be intended, were averse to any change," he withdrew his own proposition, evidently because it was designed not to express his own desire for change, but to " accommodate " desires " arising out of certain differences of opinion" among the clergy. Well, then, might Dr. Milnor say,] " With this extract, I leave the matter before you and the public, with an earnest hope of standing acquitted both by them and you, as I do by my own conscience, of having said any thing in the speech referred to, designed or calculated to offend. " On the subject of any approbation expressed by me, of the proposed alterations which you have taken occasion to mention, I will say but a word. ' Mem. HOuor. 27 418 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. " I am sure, Right Rev. Sir, you will do me the justice to admit, that whatever passed between us was of a very cursory character, and at a time when but little opportunity had been afforded for their consideration, and when, certainly, I had not understood their entire bearing and relations. Fuller reflection led me, in connection with many others much more intimately associated with your general opinions and views than myself, to • think them, on the whole, inexpedient; but from that hour to this, the idea never crossed my mind, that they originated in any want of attachment, on your part, to the liturgy, of which your ministerial and episcopal course has afforded such uniform and abundant proof. " With respect to my own attachment to it, I repeat what, in substance, I said before the Prayer-book and Homily Society in London, that a persuasion of its excellence had no little influ- ence in leading me to unite myself with the Episcopal church ; and that, in my own estimation, no part of my subsequent con- duct has been inconsistent with this profession : but at no time has my regard to the prescribed public service led me to suppose the use of extemporaneous prayer to be either unlawful or inex- pedient, on many occasions when a liturgical form is not en- joined; and I made this express qualification of my eulogy in the address referred to. It ( extemporaneous prayer ) is used by many clergymen of great respectability and piety, both in Eng- land and America, even after their sermons in church. This is not my practice. ' In what is called my lecture-room,' I do use a prayer of this description, not before, as would be inferred to be the fact from the statement given in your letter, but after lecture ; a practice in which I do not differ from a large body of those whom I esteem as among the most devoted and useful ministers of the Church. Neither am I more sin- gular in the use of a selection from the liturgy before lecture, on the occasion just mentioned, instead of reading the whole evening service ; a practice in which I have had the ex- ample of many of the brethren of my own order in the min- istry, and some of yours, but which they and I will, no doubt, be willing to discontinue, whenever we are convinced that it is inconsistent with a rational attachment to the Book of Com- MISSION TO ENGLAND. 419 mon- Prayer, or to our duty and obligations as ministers of the Church. "In conclusion, Right Rev. and dear Sir, I haye only to repeat my great regret that the incorrect report of my remarks should, in your view, have made it necessary to bring me in so painful a manner before the public ; and it will be much in- creased if your unfavorable impressions are not removed by the explanation now given. For your kind expressions towards me personally, I return you my unaffected acknowledgments, and sincerely reciprocate them. However we may differ in matters of policy — I would hope not of principle — I retain a pleasing recollection of our early friendship, and a lively sense of the evidences which you gave me of its continuance when I was about leaving home. If I cannot, with sincerity, express my coincidence with all your views, I can admire the talents which have raised you to your present elevated station ; and if a wit- ness were wanting to your consistent and undeviating attach- ment to the Church and her Liturgy, my testimony in your favor would be prompt and unqualified. "I remain, Right Rev. and dear Sir, " "With great respect and regard, " Your faithful presbyter, and obed't serv't, "JAMES MILNOR." The following letter from the secretary of the Prayer-book and Homily Society, of a later date, corroborates the statement of Dr. Milnor on both the main points : that the first report of his address was incorrect, and that the address, as delivered, was not calculated to make, and did not make any unfavorable im- pression on the public mind in England in relation to Bishop Hobart. " Prater-Book and Homily Society, ) 134 Salisbury-square, London, Sept. 8, 1830. j " Rev. and dear Sir — I regret much that some things which you said at our annual meeting, as stated in ' The Record,' seem to have been misunderstood. In reference to the report made in the Record, I have only to state that it was so full of the most palpable blunders — blunders which had the effect of total mis- 420 MEMOIR OF DR. MIENOR. representation of that which was read as well as spoken — that, after seeing a copy of the paper, I personally sent to the editors a refusal, on the part of this society, to purchase any copies for circulation by us. Over the general circulation of that paper, I of course had no control; but this is not the first instance in which a mistaken report of that which passed at our g:eneral meetings has caused us uneasiness. " "What you actually did say was correctly reported by the shorthand writer whom the society employed, and was some time since published by us, from his notes, in an occasional paper, of which I have sent you copies. "I do not know whether my personal testimony, in addition to our official report, will be of any use in this matter ; but I can most truly say, that your statement, when I heard you make it, did not produce the slightest suspicion in my mind, that you in- tended in any way to censure, or to reflect upon the bishop, who- ever he might be- — for his name was not mentioned, nor any thing said which might lead the audience to conjecture what prelate was intended — on the contrary, I was led to think that the prop- osition made by that bishop originated in the best possible inten- tions and motives ; and all that your statement was calculated to show, appeared to be this one fact, namely, that the Book of Comrnon-Prayer, as it is, without any alteration whatever, is held in the highest estimation by Episcopalians, whether clergy- men or laymen, in the United States. " I did not hear of the objections which had been made to your speech, till August 23. I shall be truly glad, if the state- ment now made shall be of the least use on this occasion. My many engagements have prevented my addressing you earlier, as I intended. " Believe me, dear sir, " Yours, with sincere respect, "C. R. PRITCHETT, Secretary." "Rev. Db. MiLNOR." The following extract, from a great number which might be given, will show the general impression made upon the public mind in the United States by the bishop's letter, and the news- paper controversy which followed in America. MISSION TO ENGLAND. 421 To Dr. Milnor. "Philadelphia, Aug. 7, 1830. " Rev. and very dear Brother— In all things you have laid me under the greatest obligations, both as it regards the papers you have transmitted, and the kind and invaluable letters which you have written. One of them came to hand at a most provi- dential moment, to satisfy the public that Bishop Hobart had been answering the blunders of a bad reporter. I deeply regret- ted the circumstance of that most unauthorized personal attack upon you ; but I am most happy in assuring you that the tide of public sentiment is wholly in your favor ; and the affair, pain- ful as it has been in some of its stages, will probably be some- thing to laugh over, when you return." [Alas, when he returned, it was any thing but a subject for pleasantry.] The following extract from one of Dr. Milnor's letters, ex- plains the reasons why his answer to Bishop Hobart was so long deferred ; and will close what we have further to give on this unpleasant subject, except what may be found in the continua- tion of the journal. "To Hubert Van Wagenen, Esq. "London, Sepf. 6, 1830. " My dear Sir — ' How great a matter a little fire kindleth !' Guiltless as I was of any intention to wound the feelings of Bishop Hobart, and remote as my remarks were from any tendency injuriously to affect his character or feelings, nothing could have more Surprised me than his public letter. From my inability, while travelling, to obtain a more correct published account of my speech, and unwilling to let my defence rest on any mere statement of my own, I was unable to prepare my answer until just before the sailing of the last packet. It was sent from Shef- field, and I hope will be esteemed by the public, if not by the bishop, entirely satisfactory. " When I reached London, on Tuesday, the 31st of August, I was surprised to find that there had been a public controversy on the subject, and that the bishop, abandoning his proper signa- ture, had assailed me anonymously. I will not deny, that I con- sider this as placing him and me in a very different attitude tow- 422 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. ards each other ; and had I known that he had held me forth in so odious a light before the public" — he refers to the shape of the charges in the anonymous controversy — " I fear the weakness of nature would have made me less forbearing than I was in the answer referred to. I am glad, however, that it went to America in the mild shape which I think you and all my friends will agree that it bears ; and I shall publish no more on the subject, unless compelled by some further unkindness on the part of the bishop. " You will receive by this conveyance the Society's own re- port of my speech. This I never saw until since my return to London. Without any revision by me, which my absence ren- dered impossible" — he went to Paris before he had any opportunity for the correction which he requested, in his note to Mr. Pritchett of June 4th — " it was published, just as it stands, from the notes of the Societies' reporter, before it was known that any contro- versy existed on the subject. You will see, at once, that I could not have been more guarded in my language ; and I think it will acquit me of arrogating to myself any thing in regard to the preservation of the liturgy from change. " Your affectionate friend and pastor, "JAMES MILNOR." "We resume now our extracts from Dr. Milnor's journal. We left him at the close of his visit to Bristol ; and find him setting forth on his journey to Bath, "Wednesday, July 28, 1830. — I left Clifton this morning in the coach for Bath, fifteen miles distant. In passing through Bristol, we found ' the Bush Inn ' sheltered by a high board- fence in front, put up in consequence of the windows having been broken by a mob in the interest of Mr. Bailly, the candidate for the House of Commons opposed to Mr. Protheroe, whose com- mittee sat at ' the Bush.' We were told thirty-seven wounded persons had been carried to the infirmary, most of them struck down by bludgeons in the hands of drunken sailors. These dis- graceful scenes, it is said, cannot be prevented by the police. I was glad to see a handbill from Mr. Protheroe's committee, ear- nestly entreating his friends to abstain not only from violence, but from all irritating language and conduct towards his oppo- MISSION TO ENGLAND. 423 nents. I think our English friends must eease to abuse the de- mooraoy of our country. Such excesses as have disgraced the contest in Bristol rarely there occur." In passing from Worcester to Birmingham, he witnessed a pleasant sight, of which he thus writes. " Near the town of Droitwich, a fellow-passenger told me that between twelve and thirteen years ago, a poor woman had four daughters at a birth, all of whom were still living ; and that the event had brought the parents about £1,000 in presents from visitors. It was a little extraordinary, that as he pointed out to me the house, the children actually appeared, two of them with- out, and two of them just within the front door. They were comely girls, and decently dressed ; and the apparel of the four being exactly alike, increased their resemblance to each other." "At Birmingham," says the journal, "it suited the arrange- ments of our little party to separate for a time from each other. Mr. Smith was desirous of going, in a day or two, to Liverpool, where his brother has been recently married ; Mr. Mcllvaino thought it best for him to remain quiet a few days with Mr. Gil- let's family in Birmingham, and then visit various places in Eng- land ; and my plan was to go through "Wales to Holyhead ; thence over to Dublin ; then through some parts of Ireland to Belfast ; from 'Belfast across to Scotland ; and after visiting Glasgow, Edinburgh, etc., to pass down through the northern counties of England to London." Accordingly he says, " Saturday, July 31. — This morning I took leave of my friends, and proceeded in the mail-coach for Holyhead. "My only fellow-passenger inside was a gentleman of the bar, who left us at Wolverhampton, being engaged to attend the election for members of Parliament in the borough of Bridge- north, as counsel for Mr. Arkwright, a new candidate, opposing a wealthy family, under whose influence the members have for many years been returned. He told me the expense on both sides would be enormous; the voters being about 1,200 in number, and 900 of- them out- voters, that is, residents in other parts of the kingdom. These are to be hunted up and coaxed — in many instances, no doubt, bribed — into the interests of one or the other of the combatants, find their expenses borne to, and at, and from 424 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. the place of election. With all its corruptions, the popular branch of the national legislature is, doubtless, a valuable part of the British Constitution ; but, if it could be accomplished peaceably, a reform is very desirable to equalize the representation, and im- part more purity to the exercise of the elective franchise. A large number of the members of the House of Commons are returned by small boroughs, over the few voters of which some nobleman or other rich individual has the entire and absolute control. Mr. Brougham lately asserted, that peers had actually received so large a sum as £10,000, for returning a member to the lower house; and this, while by a strange anomaly many very considerable places, such as Manchester and Birmingham, are not represented at all." [True ; but was not William IV., surnamed, some time. The Reform Bill, already on his throne ?] "We soon crossed 'the lovely Dee,' whose praises I learned, when a child, to recite in a pensive ballad of that day. Taken in connection with the region through which it here passes, it deserves them all. Llangollen, the vale through which this river pursues its winding course, is too abundant in beauties for my unpractised pen adequately to describe. The road throughout is perfectly smooth, and terraced on the side of the hill, supported by a stone 'wall; sometimes running along the sinuous course of the Dee, at a great height above the windings of the river, which flows cheerfully beneath, and sometimes nearly on a level with the stream ; and yet its ascents and descents so gentle as scarcely to be perceived. In the midst of this charming vale lies the vil- lage of Llangollen, an interesting place, most romantically situ- ated ; near which were pointed Out the elegant residence of a rich proprietor, in the finest Gothic style; the ruins of Castel- Dinas-Bran, a Welsh fortress of great antiquity, perched on the pinnacle of a conical and apparently almost inaccessible moun- tain; and further on, the beautiful remains of Valle-Crucis- Ab- bey, and other objects, the names of which I might have recorded if I could always have understood the Welsh pronunciation of our coachman, by whose side I sat, and perhaps wearied his pa- tience by my questions. An intelligent gentleman, who contin- ued with us to Corwen, about ten miles beyond Llangollen, now and then kindly supplied his lack of tongue. MISSION TO ENGLAND. 425 "After feasting my eyes with a succession of scenery of most surpassing beauty throughout the whole length of this sweet vale, as we approached its termination the views varied from unbroken verdure and fertility to smiling meadows overtopped by uncultivated hills ; the road now and then diverging from the river to avoid a hill so close upon its margin as not to admit the passage of the road, and then returning to its bank in view of fresh objects of attraction." " A few miles from Gorwen," having left the source of the Dee, " we entiered another vale," through which flows, in ^n opposite direction, one of the head- waters of the Conway, " only inferior in point of interest to that which we had left. Among a thousand objects deserving of notice, a beautiful cascade of the rivier presented itself in a deep glen by the road-side ; and further on, at a place, the name of which I dare not attempt to spell, a small, old church, which I should not have noticed but for its parsonage of uncommon stateliness, leading me, perhaps not in the most charitable temper, to some practical meditations on the rebuke of the prophet Haggai, 1:4: ' Is it time for you, ye, to dwell in your ceiled houses, and this house lie waste ?' " Other evidences than the language of the coachman and hostlers, now convinced me that I was in the midst of Wales. Beyond the inn just mentioned, we crossed the Conway on an iron bridge, and the country at once completely changed its aspect. Below us ran the river, at an amazing depth, the view downwards being at times perpendicular to the bottom of the glen through which it rolled ; and on each side, rose craggy, naked mountains, of most formidable aspect. It was now night, but the nearly full moon shone brightly ; so that, but for the un- pleasant sharpness of the air, I should have found still greater pleasure than in the daytime, from thus beholding the wonderful works of God in this wild region. " At Bettws, besides a singular bridge over a ravine among the rocks, there is an iron bridge over the Conway of 105 feet span, to which, froip its having been built about the time of the battle of "Waterloo, the name of that bloody field has been given. Our passage through the mountains was a distance of sixteen miles. Snowden is the highest. Down the shaggy side of this 426 Memoir of dr. milnor. mountain, my fellow-passenger to England, the elder Mr. Thomas, precipitated into the valley beneath a large portion of rock, which he detached by pushing against it. This rugged scenery, from its contrast with that through which we had so lately passed, increased greatly the interest of this day's journey, without mak- ing any difference in the smoothness of the road, over which our horses conveyed us at the uniform speed of ten miles the hour. By winding along the side of the mountain, curving and recurv- ing, with scarce a. hundred yards of straight road in any place, its builders have been able to keep it almost on a perfect level, though often at a great expense for its security, arising from the necessity of laying the foundation of its wall far down almost precipitous declivities on the side next the narrow valley beneath. In the midst of this immense range, we passed Onwig lake, a beautiful little trout-water, about a mile long and half as wide." As this was at night, Dr. Milnor little realized the grandeur of the scene, by day ; the awfully shaggy cliff, which at one mo- ment beetles above the traveller's head as he. rides along the shore of that lovely water, and the suddenly frightful chasm which, at the next, yawns beneath the roadside; while the out- let of the little lake leaps, from under the bridge that crosses it, into lower air, and reaching at last the bottom of the gulf, sends its Waters away in a line, silvery thread, distant and noiseless, through the narrow, green meadow-vale hundreds of feet below. "After leaving the mountains, the country for several miles is sterile, but afterwards gradually improves, until several fine country-seats of gentlemen are seen, one of which ha,s a park en- closed by a wall of stone masonry, ten feet high, and, taking its four sides, seven miles in extent. " The last town of any importance that we passed, was Ban- gor, in Csernarvonshire, situated between two high ridges of rook at the head of Beaumaris bay. It appeared to be principally one long street. We stopped for a few minutes at a large hotel, much frequented by company, who are attracted by the striking character of the adjacent scenery. This town is the residence of a bishop, who has a pdace here, and a cathedral, of the latter of which I had, as I passed it, a moonlight view. ' "On leaving Bangor, one of the most curious objects is the MISSION TO ENGLAND. 427 chain-bridge across the Menai strait, an arm of the sea, that sep- arates the Isle of Anglesea from Wales, and adds much to the beauty of Bangor. This bridge is 30 feet wide, 560 feet long, and 100 feet above high water. As you approach, its appearance is very fanciful and light, and you can scarcely realize that it is a structure of sufficient solidity to admit the passage over it of vehicles so heavy as that on which I was mounted. Its great height above the water, also, is sufficient to inspire a momentary apprehension of danger ; but when you are once upon it, this entirely vanishes, from the evident strength of its supports, and the security against accidents of the defences on its sides. My moonlight view of thi^ beautiful object, and of the scenery visible from it, probably presented them in a more interesting aspect than they would have borne, had I seen them by the light of day. " I have so extended my note of this day's gratifying, though long and fatiguing ride, that I will mention none of the objects of remark between Bangor and Holyhead, except the lighthouse of the latter, alternately seen and hidden for several miles before reaching it, as our motion changed the apparent position of inter- vening hills. ??i>n9*' Holyhead is on a small island at the northwest point of Anglesea, and is considered the best point of embarkation for Dublin, the distance across the channel being only twenty leagues. We arrived a quarter past one o'clock A. M., having travelled, since eight the previous morning, 151 miles, with only one meal on the road. " Though I felt little or no fatigue during my ride, yet I found myself sufficiently weary, at its termination, to solicit a berth immediately on going aboard the packet, which I took, and in a few minutes fell into a profound sleep. I did not awake till aroused by the captain, with the information that we had arrived at our destination ; not Dublin^ indeed, but nine miles below the city, where the packet stops. During the night there had been a severe storm, and our vessel had encountered an exceedingly rough sea — of all which I had been entirely unconscious. " In consequence of my late sleep, all the seats in and on the mail-coach were occupied before I was ready for the statt. I 428 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. was, therefore, obliged to put up with one of those elegant ve- hicles called a 'jaunting-car,' with a miserable-looking horse and driver, and went forward at a pace — which, for want of a whip, poor Patrick was unable to quicken — of about four miles the hour." Dr. Milnor's visit to Ireland was so short, and his n6tes so few, that extracts from the latter would be of little interest to the reader. We give, however, a single incident and a single paragraph. At Dublin, he unexpectedly met his interesting fel- low-passenger across the Atlantic, Captain O'Connor, who was of great service in introducing him to valuable acquaintance, and in pointing out to him interesting objects in that beautiful city. From Dublin to Belfast, his ride was of the most unpleasant kind. " Yesterday," he says, " being a fine day, and hoping for a con- tinuance of fair weather, I took an outside seat. This I had rea- son, soon after our departure, to regret. When the coach started, at half past six, the morning was lowering, and we had not pro- ceeded far before it began to rain ; and in a little while we were driving through a most furious tempest. Unfortunately, too, I had the windward seat, and it seemed, at times, as if my um- brella would be torn into shreds. Besides, the rain soon pene- trated through, so that it afforded but little protection, while those of other passengers poured their drippings upon me, and in a short time wet me to the skin. When we arrived at Drogheda, our breakfasting-place, I had a violent ague, which disqualified me not only for taking my breakfast, but also for changing my clothes. I would have stopped, but the inn was a shabby one, and crowded to overflowing by people attending the election. I swallowed, however, some hot tea ; and, in consequence of the vacation of an inside seat, rode the rest of this stormy day, up- wards of one hundred miles, to Belfast, under shelter, but in my wet clothes. My landlord at Belfast was very kind. A warm fire, a comfortable supper, a hot bath for my feet, and a good bed, procured for me a delightful night's rest ; and I awoke in the morning with a heart grateful to God for my preservation from the anticipated bad effects of such an unusual exposure to cold." MISSION TO ENGLAND. yJ^'^^C-^^ Vii^ ■ SECTION X. \^||5p,^^^ At twelve o'clock, Friday, August 6, Dr. Milnor was in steamer Fingal, for Glasgow, where, after a tranquil passage, he arrived the next morning at four, and remained till Tuesday- afternoon, Aug, 10 ; making himself acquainted with the prin- cipal religious and benevolent institutions of tha^ beautiful and floi^rishing mistress of the Clyde, and with several worthy fam- ilies, to whom he had letters. He paid particular attention to the tract operations of the city, and to the institution for the education of the deaf and dumb. Speaking of. the religious operations of Glasgow, he says, " The building called ' The Religious Institution,' is the prop- erty of all the societies bearing that character in the city ; no less than twenty-five holding their meetings within the commo- dious building, which they own. They have a secretary of the institution, with a clerk to assist him ; and he issues all the notices for the meetings of the several societies, or of their com- mittees. Each society has also its own secretary, to record its proceedings ; but this united arrangement saves the proper offi- cers of the societies considerable mechanical labor." [Why is not the plan of such an institution worthy of adoption in all our large cities ?] In reference to the general condition of the country, he remarks, " In one particular, I see a great difference between Scotland and either England or Ireland, and I may add France. It relates to the practice of mendicity. When I left the steamer this morning, I was assailed by no beggars ; and I have traversed the streets of Glasgow all day without a single application. The appearance of the lower orders here, with few exceptions, is much more decent than in any large town I have seen on this side of the Atlantic. Yet I was astonished to learn, that re- spectable as is the appearance of the town, so far as I have seen it, and decent as is that of its inhabitants, there us, in fact, a great deal of poverty ; and the reduction of the means of living has had a very deleterious effect upon the poorer classes, in point of morals and religion. The population of Glasgow, [this was 430 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. • in 1830,] approaches 200,000. Mr. Heugh, a clergyman of Credit, told me that the chujch accommodation afforded 75,000 sittings; but that of these not more than 35,000 were actually occupied." It would be wrong to infer, from this mode of calculation, that the means of grace in Glasgow reached no more than 35,000 of its inhabitants ; yet, with even this caution, the testimony of the above paragraph to that great truth in political economy, that the want of comfortable bodily sustenance among the lower orders is peculiarly injurious to good morals, and therefore to good government, is sufficiently striking. " Sunday, Aug. 8. — I desire," writes Dr. Milnor, " gratefully to acknowledge the goodness of God in my preservation to see another sacred day of rest. May my heart be deeply impressed with a sense of the unmerited mercies which I am daily receiv- ing at his hands. As the only return which I can make, and make it I cannot without thy aid, grant to me, Lord, I beseech thee, the spirit tx) think and do always such things as be right- ful ; that I, who cannot do any thing that is good without thee, may by thee be enabled to live according to thy will, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen." This morning he attended worship at St. Mary's chapel, of which the Rev. Mr. Almond was minister. St. Mary's, he says, " is one of the two Episcopal chapels in Glasgow — our breth- ren being dissenters in Scotland, are not privileged to call their houses of worship churches. Mr. Almond is a moderate, evan- gelical churchman : the minister of the other chapel is a high- churchman. Mr. Almond being absent in consequence of a family bereavement, a young clergyman in deacon's orders supplied his place. His sermon excited a very favorable opinion of the piety and doctrinal views of the preacher, but not a very high one of his talents. It is to me astonishing, that the young clergy of our church should be so regardless of delivery. The effect of all that was valuable in this sermon was, in great meas- ure, lost, by the close and monotonous manner in which it was read : not a hand raised ; scarcely a look towards the congrega- tion from beginning to end, and not even such a regard to em- phasis and cadence as at all times to convey clearly the meaning MISSION TO ENQI^AND. 431 of the speaker ; and yet, the sentiments good, and of such prac- tical importance to the hearers as would have justified their enforcement by the utmost energy of manner." In the afternoon, he attended " Blackfriars' chapel, and heard the Rev. Dr. Dick. He had been preaching a course of sermons on the works of God in creation, providence, and grace, of which this afternoon's discourse was the conclusion," Monday morning he spent at a pleasant literary breakfast, with what he calls a " pious and catholic little circle of minis- ters," at the house of the Rev. Mr. Willis, secretary of ' the Religious Institution;'" and at one o'clock, "met, by appoint- ment, a number of the committee of the Tract Society for the purpose of a friendly conference on the subject of tracts. The gentlemen present expressed great satisfaction at the account which he gave them of our American tract operations. Neither Methodists nor Episcopalians unite in those of the Glasgow so- ciety." " At four o'clock, Mr. Wardlaw, a lay nephew of the Rev. Dr. Wardlaw, and a very efficient laborer in works of benevolence and piety, called for him," and took him in his carriage " to din- ner at his country residence, three miles from the city ;" and in the evening to a temperance meeting " in the little parish church of the village of Govan on the Clyde ; a beautiful building, and as beautifully situated as any which he had seen." Of this tem- perance meeting Dr. Milnor thus writes : " The church was full ; and a most silent and respectful attention was given to the addresses on the subject from the Rev. Mr. Strothers, Mr. Wardlaw, and myself. I occupied about fifty minutes, and communicated many facts in relation to the success of the cause in America, which were new to the people whom I addressed. The poor of Govan are principally weavers, and many of them given to intoxication ; while few, until temperance meas- ures were introduced, wholly abstained from the use of spiritu- ous liquors. It is confidently believed, that these measures will be attended with most happy effects. The cause is looking up most encouragingly in Scotland ; though, as yet, many even of the clergy withhold their countenance ; and on the present occa- sion, though the minister of Govan granted the society the use of 432 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. his church, yet he declined personal attendance, ' not having.madft up his mind on the subject.' " - v'>^ Tuesday morning, Dr. Milnor enjoyed another breakfast like that of Monday, with the Rev. Mr. Heugh, whose acquaintance he' had formed in London ; a man " of fine abilities, and earnest devotion to his duties ;" who had invited several of his breth- ren to meet Dr. Milnor. "I was much gratified," he says, " with the conversation, which, including the religious services of the morning, occupied two hours. I was much pressed to continue longer my stay in Glasgow ; and every kind expression of feeling was used towards me and my country." ' ■ After this parting breakfast, Dr. Milnor had time, before the coach left Glasgow, to visit the Deaf and Dumb Asylum, inspect its system of instruction, and examine some of the productions of the pupils. He found that here, as in other similar institu- tions, articulation was taught, though in a few cases only in which the prospect of success was flattering. Among the pro- ductions of the pupils, he saw " several copies of rich engravings ma4e with a pen, and scarcely to be distinguished from the orig- inals.''^ One of these was " a copy of the full-length portrait of Napoleon in his imperial robes, by a boy twelve years old. The lad observed that ' the engraving did not give a correct represen- tation of Napoleon's face, and he thought he could improve it.' And," adds Dr. Milnor, "judging from the best likenesses, and the bust of that distinguished man, he has certainly made a man- ifest improvement on the original." , At four o'clock, Tuesday afternoon, he took leave of Glasgow, in the coach for Edinburgh. " The Rev. Dr. Byrne, of the kirk, was his agreeable fellow-traveller," being on his way to "attend a meeting of the Commission of the General Assembly of the Established Church of Scotland." By his invitation, Dr. Milnor attended the sittings of the commission. " This is a kind of standing committee, possessing the powers of the general assem- bly, and holding quarterly meetings for the transaction of its ' business, especially its\ judicial concerns, during the recess of that body." When Dr. Milnor entered the Tron church, in Edinburgh, the place where the commission held their sittings, " they were MISSION TO ENGLAND. 433 engaged in the consideration of addresses to King William and Queen Adelaide, which were agreed to, being loyal effusions, conceived in terms sufficiently complimentary ; and a delegation of nine were appointed to present them to their majesties," on the occasion of their recent accession to the throne. "A discussion then came on, which, in one shape or another, had been depending for four years, respecting the settlement of a minister in the parish of Inverness, whose orthodoxy had been questioned. A preliminary objection to the jurisdiction, arising out of some peculiarities in the forms of the church, and of the previous proceedings in the case, gave me," says Dr. Milnor, "an opportunity of hearing two eminent barristers, Mr. Buchanan and Mr. Patrick Robertson, who were employed as counsel on opposite sides of the question. Both spoke with ability, and the latter with much animation ; but neither of them, I thought, with so much tact as several ministers and lawyers, members of the commission. The Rev. Dr. Cook, Dr. Byrne, and others, spoke with great energy and warmth ; and the objection to the jurisdic- tion was almost unanimously overruled." Thus introduced to Edinburgh, Dr. Milnor remained in that renowned capital of Scotland from the 10th to the I7th of Au- gust, cultivating the acquaintance, and enjoying the hospitalities of its religious circles. The evening of the 11th was a "dismal" close to what had been a stormy afternoon ; but " Dr. Walker of London, and his travelling companion, an intelligent student of the Inner Temple, dined with him at his hotel, and by their con- versation relieved the solitariness" of his hours. And he adds, at the close of his journal for the day, "Besides the respectable gentlemen above mentioned, I have had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with John Sheppard, Esq., author of ' Thoughts on Private Devotion' and some other works, who transmitted to Lord Byron a prayer composed for his lordship by Mrs. Sheppard. Lord Byron reti;rned the reply which, since his death, has been published, and which, as coming from such a man, contains so singular an acknowledgment of the excellence of Christianity in communicating happiness to its true subjects. Mr. Sheppard studied medicine in Edinburgh, several years ago ; but being a man of independent fortune, and having determined not to prac- llem. Miloor. 28 434 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. tise the medical profession, he never took his degree. His pur- suits have since been literary, religious, and benevolent ; for use- fulness in which, he sustains the highest reputation in Frome- Selwood, Somersetshire, England, where he resides. He has lately published, in two volumes, a work on the evidences of Christianity." " Thursday Morning, August 12, — Mr. Sheppard proposed to accompany me on a long walk. Accordingly, we started for Holyrood house ; and after surveying the exterior of this venera- ble and celebrated building, we ascended the circular, and in some places steep road, which winds round Salisbury Craig and Arthur's Seat, stopping at various points of the ascent, to view the inimitable panorama of Edinburgh, as presented in various aspects all the way up this lofty eminence. The striking termina- tions of the old town in those massy ancient structures, Holyrood house on the east, in the valley beneath our feet, and the castle on the west, upon its lofty rock ; the many intervening churches, with turrets, domes, and steeples ; the splendid column in memory of Nelson ; the elegant specimens of modern architecture, presented in the unfinished temple and other structures on Calton Hill ; the high-school, the jail, the bridewell, etc. ; the singular valley between the old town and the new, and the immense mass of fine buildings in the latter ; the charming view of the Frith of Forth on the one hand, and of the Pentland Hills on the other, with country-seats of the nobility and gentry in the distance, altogether, present a scene of unrivalled grandeur. ' As we mounted the height, especially as we rounded the elevated sum- mit of Arthur's Seat, the wind was so strong as almost to make our position unsafe. We persevered, however, in our course, and descended on the opposite side." But, while in Edinburgh, Dr. Milnor's object was less to see things, than to become acquainted with men and with religious institutions. He spent most of his time in social and religious intercourse with such men as have already been named, and with the aged and veteran Dr. Peddie, of the Secession church ; the Rev. Mr. Innes, of the Baptist ; the Rev. John Brown, grandson of the Rev. John Brown of Haddington ; the Rev. Messrs. Ram- say, Sinclair, and Craig, of the Episcopal church ; Dr. Chalmers, MISSION TO ENGLAND. 435 and Mr. Thomas Miller, brother to several of that name in Phila- delphia — all men of piety and talents, and several of them, be- sides Dr. Chalmers, authors of no mean distinction. His social and religious intercourse with these gentlemen, on various break- fast and dinner occasions— similar to those on which he met so many noble ones of the Church in London — was full of satisfac- tion and of profit, and made his memories of " The Heart of Mid Lothian" more fragrant than they could have been if gathered from the festivities of wealth and the splendors of fashion. Dr. Chalmers was of the company at dinner both on Friday at Mr. Ramsay's, and on Saturday at Mr. Craig's, and had the circle of friends at his own house to breakfast on Monday morning. Inter- course with this great, good man served to elevate him still higher in the estimation of those who had previously known him only in his loftiness as a preacher and an author. The character of the social, religious entertainments to which Dr. Milnor was ad- mitted in Edinburgh, may be judged from the brief account which he gives of the breakfast at Dr. Chalmers' on Monday morning. ^ "He received me with great affability and kindness, and Mrs. Chalmers, with all that frankness and ease of manner which distinguishes the Scottish ladies. Before breakfast. Dr. Chalmers read a chapter to the family ; and at his request, I offered prayer. "The topics of conversation were various. Dr. Chalmers, being a member of the established Church of Scotland, is evi- dently much attached to the union of church and state. It is true, that, like all the members of the Kirk, he utterly disclaims the idea of the king's being, in any sense, its spiritual head, or of the government's having any right to interfere with the most entire liberty of conscience in its subjects. On this latter ground it was, that he advocated so strenuously the cause of Catholic emancipation. But he favors the union of church and state simply because he thinks it is of advantage to Christianity to be formally recognized as the religion of the country, and to receive the protection of government, and in various ways its pecuniary aid in maintaining its ministry and institutions. He inquired particularly as to numerous difficulties which he sup- posed must in our country attend the absence of an establish- ment; especially in regard to the erection of churches, and the 436 , MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. extension of religion coordinately with the rapid increase of our population. He thought that, if left entirely to the voluntary contributions of the people, religion must decline for want of pecuniary support. " On the contrary, I argued, that besides the utter inconsist- ency of an establishment with the genius of our free institutions, and with the character and opinions of our people, it would be inexpedient to adopt such a measure ; that religion would be more cheerfully supported under a voluntary, than under a com-' pulsory system ; that unhappy jealousies between different de- nominations would be avoided, as well as those numerous' cor- ruptions and incumbrances which we saw appertaining to all long-continued connections of religion with government, even to those best in the world, the English and Scotch establishments ; that although, in the peculiar circumstances of the United States, the increase of the population exceeded that of the means of grace, yet this was an evil which, in the existing divided state of religious opinion, would find no remedy in the established domi- nance of one denomination; that, in point of fact — allowance being made for the youth of our country — our religious statis- tics would bear a respectable comparison with those of either^ England or Scotland ; and that in both of the latter countries, the great proportion of dissenters was a proof of the unpopularity of establishments, as the number of the dissenting churches, the talent and learning of their ministers, and the piety of many of their people, were, of the truthj more fully demonstrated in Amer- ica, that religion could be supported by the unconstrained liber- ality of its friends, and would lose none of its purity by refusing all secular reliances whatsoever. I adverted to some of our re- ligious statistics, and compared them with the information which I had received in Glasgow as to the proportion of attendants on public worship in that respectable city ; and contended that our country did not suffer in the comparison. " Dr. Chalmers listened with much attention to my argument and statements, and avowed a deep interest in America — espe- cially in her connection with the cause of Christ throughout the world. He spoke in terms of respect of several of our religious writers ; and in answer to an inquiry whether we might hope for MISSION TO ENGLAND. 437 a visit from him, said that he feared his engagements in the uni- versity would prevent sueh a step ; and that extreme aversion to a sea-voyage was with him another formidable difficulty in the way." On Tuesday morning, August 17, he left Edinburgh for Car- lisle, saddened by two considerations — the shortness of his visit, and the state of the weather ; for it was " what the Scotch call * a soft morning ;' that is, it rained hard." His course lay through Selkirk and among the Cheviot hills; along the Tweed and the Esk, and across the border grounds of olden fame. He reached Carlisle about dark, where he would have stopped, but for the wish that had come over him to see the English lakes, and the circumstance that the town was overflowing with attend- ants on the assizes, to such a degree as to make it difficult for him to obtain lodgings. Influenced by these considerations, he changed his mind, and in spite of a long day's ride, intense cold weather, and an outside seat, rode on to Penrith, eighteen miles further, before he found a resting for the night. " The tediousness of this night-travelling," he observes, " was somewhat beguiled by a talkative fellow-traveller by my side, who had been attending the assize court. Mr. Brougham and several other of the most eminent counsel had been several days employed in trying a cause, in which the question between the litigants related to a right of way, which the one claimed, by prescription, from time ' whereof the memory of man runneth not to the contrary;' while the other contended that the claim was a recent invasion of his own rights. Fifty witnesses on each side had already been examined, and yet the battle remained un- decided. The matter is of but small real importance, and the contest is clearly for victory between two angry combatants, who, to gratify their resentments, will expend each several thousand pounds." Dr. Milnor's visit to the lakes of Cumberland and Westmore- land, on his devious route between Penrith and Kendal, was a source to him of unmingled delight, as such a visit must be to every true lover of nature.; The scenery is some of the most lovely ever spread by the hand of God before the eye of man. With no great height of mountains, the loftiest being little over 438 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. 3,000 feet, there are still such a grouping of almost innumerable summits ; such a cleaving of each from all the rest, down to its very base ; such a sombre ruggedness and grotesqueness in many of their forms ; yet such a kind, and genial, and sunny embosom- ing of green fields and glassy " waters" among their deep vallies ; such a sprinkling of quiet villages, and of guileless villagers among the glens, and round the lakes below ; and such worship- moving views of Grod's glory from the pinnacles above, that no traveller who, with a poet's eye, has looked upon the whole, will deem it hyperbole to call this region, as a tourist of former days has named it, " the pageantry of creation." Hanging round, and hovering over those deep-sheltered lakes, Bassenthwaite, Derwentwater, and Thirlmere ; Ullswater, Wast- water, and Winandermere ; and even little Rydalwater and Gras- mere ; about Keswick and Rydalmount, Bowness and Ambleside, with the various lesser hamlets of their train ; in narrow Gris- dale, deep Borrowdale, and nameless sister dales around ; and finally, in the dark chasms and the dim caves which now and then yawn around the feet of the mountains, as well as in the dashing cascades which here and there leap from their rough foreheads and rush down their rocky faces — hanging round, and hovering over all these, there is a silent or a speaking, a profound and an almost living soul of nature, which could hardly have failed to draw amid their charmed abiding-places, such spirits as those of Watson and of Arnold, or those of Wordsworth, Southey, and Hemans. The retreats of Westmoreland and Cumberland, are the sacred summer homes both of devotion and of poetry. Nor even in winter do they furnish less, though it be a rougher nurture to the soul that loves to look on God as seen in all the moods of his ever-various works. " Beaumont-street in Oxford," may please the learned lecturer on history ; " nevertheless," says the proprietor of Fox How, penning a letter on the I7th of Janu- ary, "I prefer writing from the delicious calm of this place, where the mountains raise their snowy tops into the clear sky, by this dim twilight, with a most ghostlike solemnity, and noth- ing is heard, far or near, except the sound of the stream through the valley. I have been walking to-day to Windermere, and went out on a little rude pier of stones into the lake, to watch MISSION TO ENGLAND. 439 what is to me one of the most beautiful objects in nature, the life of blue water amidst a dead landscape of snow. The sky was bright, and the wind fresh, and the lake was dancing and singing, as it were ; while all along its margin lay the dead snow covering every thing but the lake." [Life of Arnold, p. 435. Appleton, New York, 1845.] • After this day of rare pleasure. Dr. Milnor reached busy old Kendal a little after dark, and the next morning, Thursday, Aug. 19, pursued his way to busier young Manchester. Kendal and Manchester are indeed both old, in the date of their origin, yet both comparatively young in the rise of their bustling manufac- turing interests. Between the two he passed through Burton and Lancaster, Garstang and Preston, Chorley and Bolton. He spent Friday in taking an exterior view of Manchester, and in delivering his letters of introduction. Unfortunately for him, however, the good folks of Manchester were too busy to wait at home for visitors, and he therefore, for this day, failed of making any acquaintances, except with Mr. Thomas Smith, who subse- quently called upon him, and took him to his country-house to spend the evening. On Saturday he visited the school for the deaf and dumb, and examined its system of instruction, particularly as applied to the teaching of articulation. Institutions of this class he evi- dently made a subject of more than ordinary attention; and one of his chief objects was, as evidently, to obtain some distinct and -well-founded views touching the question whether the at- tempts to teach articulation to deaf mutes were likely to prove generally successful. His journal shows that his original doubts on this point were, on the whole, confirmed rather than removed, by what he saw in the various European institutions which he visited. He also inspected some magnificent cotton-factories during the day ; and, at dinner with Mr. Smith, became acquainted with the Rev. Mr. Stowell, an able evangelical preacher of the estab- lished Church, for whose use "a handsome new chapel" was nearly in readiness ; and with Mr. Richard Roberts of Pendleton, brother to Josiah Roberts, Esq., with whom Dr. Milnor became well acquainted in London. 440 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. His Sabbath in Manchester was a day of more than usual spiritual refreshment. He attended Mr. Stowell's services morn- ing and afternoon, and in the evening went to hear the Rev. Mr. McCall, minister of an independent chapel. Of the three sermons he took copious notes, which evince that they were as full of the marroW of the Gospel as they were distinguished for earnestness and ability. In his journal for Monday he has the following entry : "Break- fasted with the Rev. Mr. Stowell, and found him, as I had antici- pated, a deeply experienced Christian and a devoted minister of Christ. Nominally, he occupies the situation of an assistant minister ; but in fact, he is the only officiating clergyman in the chapel where I heard him yesterday. This chapel is the property bf the Rev. Mr. , whose misconduct obliged him to leave Manchester, and who was glad to put his building in charge of a man the very opposite of himself in religious views and in moral conduct, but whose faithful ministry would fill the chapel and bring him a handsome revenue. All the seats being rented, he receives an interest, after paying Mr. Stowell's salary, far beyond what any other investment of his money Would produce. He is so sensible of the benefits of evangelical preaching, in this point of view, that he has given Mr. Stowell the privilege of appoint- ing his successor. I was sorry to learn that Manchester is not so highly favored in the established Church as among the dis- senters, with ministers of eminent talent; and that the clergy of the former are considerably disunited by doctrinal varieties; some being low Armenians, and others Calvinists of the highest grade. Much coolness in their intercourse with each other is the result." "After breakfast, I went with Mr. Stowell to an infant-school supported by his congregation. It is under the charge of a male teacher, assisted by his wife, and contains 150 pupils. The teacher is a man of ordinary education, but of superior natural abilities, which he has certainly applied in a very effectual, though, in some respects, novel manner, to the business of infant- school instruction. His method of engaging and sustaining the attention of his little scholars is quite peculiar ; and I have seen no establishment of the kind in which a better result has fol- MISSION TO ENGLAND. 441 lowed the teacher's efforts. The history of this successful teacher of infants, as shortly given me by Mr. Stowell, would form an interesting biography; one of the most instructive features of which would be, an exhibition of the power of divine grace in reclaiming, after a life of singular wanderings, infidelity, and vice, accompanied with much suffering and misery, this object of the divine mercy ; and transforming him into a meek and pious disciple of Christ, and a useful member of society. "After dinner I left Manchester, with an impression alike of its immense importance as a manufacturing town, and of its un- inviting character as a place of residence, except for those inter- ested in its business. It has some handsome public buildings; but, with the exception of the exchange, they are situated in narrow streets, where they appear to no advantage. A few of the streets are wide and airy, and a portion of the environs very pleasant; but the interior of the town is in general disagreeable and gloomy. As to all business objects, however, it is one of the most flourishing places in the kingdom ; and those who are mak- ing fortunes in the town, have no difficulty in rendering their families comfortable in rural villas or terraced rows of genteel houses, which are every year increasing in the neighborhood. "With one thing I was much grieved. In returning from Mr. Smith's, in the Crescent, to Albion hotel, Piccadilly, on Sat- urday evening, I saw more drunken men, women, and boys, than I ever before beheld in the same space of time. Temperance societies will, I hope,- remedy this deplorable state of things ; and I am happy that they have been commenced with encouraging prospects of success. Intemperance is becoming increasingly prevalent among the lower orders in England ; but I everywhere find it asserted, that among the middle and higher orders, no in- crease of the evil is perceptible. It is therefore difficult to con- vince these classes of the utility of temperance societies, except for the reformation of the lower. I am, however, persuaded that there is enough of the evil among all ranks to make the universal establishment of these societies useful ; and I have consequently everywhere urged them upon the attention of those with whom I have had an opportunity of communicating on this important subject." 442 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. In passing from Manchester to Sheffield, Dr. Milnor traversed, though without leisure to examine, the singularly fine scenery of Derbyshire, with its peak, castle, and caverns, and with its lovely vales succeeded by lone moorlands ; reaching Sheffield about nine o'clock in the evening of Monday, August 23. Here his letters soon made him acquainted with the Sander- sons and Mr. Ibbotson of the busy world, with Mr. Bronson and Mr. Brookfield of the law, and with Montgomery of the Christian Lyre. Of the last, his journal speaks thus : "I found him, as I had been led to expect, living in a retired wayj with two maiden ladies, the Misses Gales, sisters to Mr. Gales of North Carolina, and aunts to Joseph Gales of the Na- tional Intelligencer of Washington. During his nonage, Mr. Montgomery left the Moravian seminary near Leeds, at which he was receiving his education, and came to Sheffield, where he apprenticed himself to the elder Mr, Gales. Some years later, Mr. Gales, having encountered some difficulties with the govern- ment as publisher of a newspaper, left England for America; and Mr, Montgomery took charge of the Iris as its printer and editor. AVhile in this employment, he also offended the adminis- tration by republishing a patriotic song, although it had appeared in several other papers, and was sentenced to nine months' im- prisonment in the jail at York, He endured his sentence with becoming fortitude ; wrote, during his confinement, a little vol- ume of poems, now very scarce, called 'Prison Amusements,' and came out with the result which generally attends unrighteous persecution — the sympathy of his friends, and renewed patronage for his paper," "He received his religious impressions under the ministry of the Methodist church, but continues a member of the Moravian, His piety is deep-toned and decided, though cheerful as it is ardent. Its practical exhibition is seen in his engagement in all the works of piety and beneficence for which Sheffield is distin- guished. No man can be more beloved and respected for his unassuming devotion to the interests of religion, morals, and science, or for the varied talent which he has exhibited. My first interview affected me with the most favorable impressions of his character, and all my subsequent intercourse with him, MISSION TO ENGLAND. ■ 443 and all the information which I received from his neighbors, confirmed and deepened them. " Immediately after I left Mr. Montgomery," at the close of this first interview, '^ I called on the Rev. Mr. Best, of St. James' Episcopal chapel, who soon after waited on me with a venerable layman, Mr. Hodgson, a gentleman of fortune, who devotes his time and his income to the cause of Christ, through the various means of its promotion with which he is presented in this thriv- ing place. But when he called, I had gone to visit my friend Mr. Congreve, a worthy disciple of Christ, who first obtained a hope of mercy in St, George's, while on a temporary visit of business at New York. I was delighted to find him an estab- lished, happy, working Christian, with as single a dependence as I could desire, upon the unmerited mercy of his reconciled Father in Christ Jesus." On Tuesday and Wednesday, Dr. Milnor rapidly extended his acquaintance with the interesting religious society of Sheffield, and consented " to address a public meeting of all the Bible asso- ciations of the t6wn on Friday evening." He was under an en- gagement of some standing to make his home, while in Sheffield, at Darnell Hall, the residence of Mr. John Sanderson, about three miles from town ; but as Mr. Sanderson was absent when he arrived, he consented to abide with his old friend and parishioner Mr. Congreve, until the return of his expected host. On Tues- day evening he lectured for Mr. Best, in the room of one of the " eleven districts," into which the Episcopal clergy of Shield have divided the town, for the purpose of accommodating " the working classes, as well as many of a higher grade," with stated weekly instruction ; and much of Wednesday was spent in viewing the extensive steel- works of the Messrs. Sanderson, and those of Naylor, Hutchinson, Vickars, and Co., and in witnessing the process of converting iron into steel. He also visited the room of the Philosophical Society, of which Mr. Montgomery was the first president ; the extensive show-room of Messrs. Pixley and Co.; and the rolling-mills, tilting-hammers, and other ap- pendages to the vast iron and steel manufactures of Sheffield. " Thursday morning, August 26," Dr. Milnor says, "I spent the forenoon in writing, particularly a part of it in making the 444 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. rough draft of an answer to Bishop Hobart's letter ; which I hope God has enabled me to do with a Christian temper, while at the same time I utterly disclaim his unfounded charge. " Dined with Mr. Ibbotson at the Globe works. Mr. Mont- gomery, and Mr. Holland, author of the Life of Summerfield, were of the party. The company being all professedly religious, the conversation also was of that character. Mr. Montgomery was in one of his best moods, and rarely have I heard a more pleasing and earnest advocate of experirt)ental religion. No con- troversial differences were allowed to give asperity to our inter- course ; and with the intellects and feelings of such men as Mont- gomery and Holland employed on so delightful a theme as that of genuine Christianity, its character, state, and glorious pros- pects, I could only regret the arrival of the hour of our separa- tion. Mr. Holland is a layman, the present editor of the Iris, the intimate friend of Montgomery, and like him, a poet." At eleven o'clock Friday morning. Dr. Milnor went with Mr. Best to the stated monthly meeting of the Female Church Mis- sionary Association, composed of pious ladies of all the Episcopal congregations of Sheffield, and lectured before them for an hour from Romans 10 ; after which, he dined with a small party of friends at Mr. Congreve's. Mr. Montgomery was detained by business from the dinner, "but came in immediately afterwards," says Dr. Milnor, " and again gratified us with the exhibition of high intellect, united with deep spirituality, and a most ardent interest in all the means which, in our favored day, the provi-i dence of God has put in action for the advancement of Christ's kingdom in the world and in the hearts of men." From the dinner-party they all adjourned to the public meet- ing, which had been called, of all the Bible associations of Shef- field. At this meeting also Dr. Milnor made an address. He occupied an hour in " giving some account of the state of religion and of religious institutions in America, especially in relation to the circulation of the Scriptures and of Tracts ; and in consid- ering what was the duty of every Christian under the peculiar' circumstances of the present times." " Mr. Montgomery made the closing speech, with a warm glow of religious feeling, and an affectionate importunity of expression. His only difficulty MISSION TO ENGLAND. 445, seemed to lie in finding vent for the flood of ideas that constantly rushed into his mind. This made him occasionally stammer for a moment ; but a short pause always restored his self-possession ; and his plain but forcible delivery riveted the attention of his hearers. His acknowledgments to myself," adds Dr. Milnor, " were full of Christian warmth and affection ; and his allusions to my country of most touching interest." On Saturday, he accompanied Mr. John Sanderson, who had now returned from Birmingham, to his fine old country-mansion, Darnel Hall, surrounded by grounds of the most perfect neat- ness, and covered with the richest verdure. * At this charming retreat he remained till the Monday following, attending service Sunday morning at St. James', where he heard an impressive discourse from Mr. Best ; at the parish church in the afternoon, where the vicar, the Rev. Mr. Sutton, preached ; and at St. George's chapel in the evening, where the Rev. Mr. Langston officiated. As usual, when interested in what he heard, his journal for the day consists chiefly of copious abstracts of the three sermons, to which he thus listened. He adds, however, the following note touching the good vicar : " Mr. Sutton was, some years ago, of very different senti- ments and feelings from those which he expressed in this day's pious discourse. As vicar, he has the appointment, not only of his own curates, but of the ministers of the chapels, three new ones having been recently built with the aid of the Parliament- ary commissioners, making the whole number in the parish six. These, with the parish church, are all supplied with evangelical pastors : men who see eye to eye, are universally beloved by all denominations, and are giving a more powerful impulse, moral and religious, to this populous town, than is, perhaps, found in any other manufacturing centre in the kingdom. Happy are the people who have such a man as Mr. Sutton to preside over their spiritual concerns, and happy is Mr. Sutton in being sur- rounded by men of consentaneous views, whose only strife is, who shall most earnestly contend for the faith of the Gospel, and most industriously labor, under God, to bring souls to Christ." On Monday morning, he took leave of Sheffield and its loved 446 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. circle of Christian spirits ; adding, in his journal, this reference to one whose memory is dear to other hearts than his. ^ " I had parted with Mr. Montgomery at his own house, just before evening service yesterday, when I took tea and passed an hour and a half in delightful communion of feeling with this gifted poet and most devoted Christian. I experienced, in part- ing from him, much of that painful emotion, which I am now, towards the close of my visit to England, so often obliged to suffer, and which is excited by the thoughts of taking my last leave, in this world, of some of the most estimable men who tread its surface. May it be my blessed privilege to meet them in insepiarable union in a better world." According to his wish it has already happened. Teignmouth and Ryder, Grregory and Gurney, Wilberforce and Clarkson, Zachary Macauley and Bishop Burgess, Rowland Hill and Rob- ert Hall, Simeon and Chalmers, William Allen and Hannah More, are gone : Milnor is with them, and others of the good and noble throng with which he mingled a while on earth, are on the way : great spirits, all ; elders and saints in the one holy church universal ; citizens ever of the one great kingdom of Christ. SECTION XI. Upon his return to London, whither he went directly from Sheffield, Dr. Milnor's engagements were almost wholly of a business character. He found himself loaded with letters and papers from New York, many of which developed, to his sur- prise, the anonymous controversy which had ensued upon the appearance of Bishop Hobart's public letter, but of which, until that moment, he had been utterly ignorant. He reflected upon these developments like a man writing under a strong sense of injured feelings ; and filled page after page of his journal with proofs of what he had stated in his reply, and of the profound astonishment of the London religious public at the manner in which his address before the Prayer-book and Homily Society MISSION TO ENGLAND, 447 had been misapprehended. A paragraph or two from this part of his journal, is all that need now be given. " That I had no intention to reflect, in the most distant man- ner, on the character of Bishop Hobart, is as certain as that I exist. When I made the observations which had reference to him, I had as friendly feelings towards him as I ever entertained ; nay, I felt under obligations to him for his kindness in giving me letters of introduction, and other evidences of friendship, on the eve of my departure from New York. I had spoken grate- fully of his attentions ; and instead of intending to be his ca- lumniator, had had frequent occasions to be his apologist in relation to the sermon which he preached on his return from England, and which has given offence to people of all opinions in the English church." " I well remember having seen the incorrect report in ' the Record,' soon after it appeared, and to have been grieved at its unfaithfulness ; but as all the speeches were miserably reported, correction would have been an endless and an impossible task. In respect to this one, had I anticipated the hasty sensitiveness of Bishop Hobart, I might have made the attempt ; but I thought of no such thing." " From the time when I received the Commercial Advertiser, containing Bishop Hobart's letter, I inquired, in every city and town through which I passed, where I supposed it likely to be procured, for 'the Christian Register,'" the official reporter of the societies, " but was unable to obtain a copy until the last day of my visit in Edinburgh. My subsequent movements were too rapid to allow me to sit down and prepare a reply, until I reached Sheffield." There would be little interest in following Dr. Milnor through the various details of business which now occupied his time in London. He attended faithfully to all the more private commis- sions with which he had come charged, but gave special atten- tion to that which he bore from "the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society " of his own church. In this duty he spent much time, making himself familiar with the internal arrange- ments and the external operations of "the Church Missionary Society," and of " the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel 448 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. in Foreign Parts," and furnishing himself with all the informa- tion and documents, which could be of service to our church in the infancy of her missionary institutions. In these engagements he amply qualified himself for the important position which he was subsequently called to occupy in the practical direction of our own missionary work, both domestic and foreign. He also devoted some time to perfecting his acquaintance with the topography of London and its environs, in cultivating the Christian friendships which he had already formed, and in taking formal leave of the public bodies to which he had been a delegate. The ceremonies which marked his adieus to the Brit- ish and Foreign Bible Society, were of sufficient interest to jus- tify in this place a fuller notice. We give it in his own words. "Monday, Sept. 6.— At twelve o'clock, attended a stated meeting of the committee of the British and Foreign Bible Soci- ety; Lord Bexley in the chair. " When I was introduced by the secretary, Mr. Brandram, the committee had been some time in session. Soon after I entered, his lordship rose, and addressed me to the following purport. " 'It is my pleasing duty, reverend sir, to communicate to you the result of the deliberations in which the committee have just been engaged. They are informed that you are about to return to your native land ; and the committee cannot suffer you to de- part without signifying to you the high gratification which your visit has afforded them, and the great utility with which it has been attended. The resolutions themselves, however, express the feelings of the committee better than I can in any verbal communication. I will read them.' Here his lordship read the resolutions,* and then continued : ' I will add to what is here * At a meeting of the Committee of the British and Foreign Bible Society, September 6, 1830, " The Rev. Mr. Brandram reported, that the Rev. Dr. Milnor, one of the secretaries of the American Bible Society, who had been deputed to attend at the last anniversary of this Society, is about to return to the United States. Mr. Brandram, therefore, submitted the following resolution, which was adopted unanimously. " The Committee of the British and Foreign Bible Society desire to record the great satisfaction which they have experienced in receiving the Rev. Dr. MISSION TO ENGLAND. 449 said, my personal persuasion of the importance of uniting our most strenuous efforts for the universal diffusion of the sacred Scriptures; and particularly of maintaining, between your great society and ours, a constant intercourse and cooperation in this great work. This is a most important crisis. There seems to be a mighty conflict, just now, between the powers of light and dark- ness. God is on our side, and will give us the victory ; but the battle must be fought, and it will require our most diligent and united exertions to secure success. I hope, sir, your respected society will be persuaded of the obligations under which we lie to them for sending you to us as their representative, and of our grateful sense of the acceptable manner in which you have ful- Milnor, secretary for foreign correspondence to the American Bible Society, as the representative of that institution at the late annual meeting. They would also express their conviction, that all the supporters of the Society present upon that occasion, shared largely ii^ their own delight, as they listened to the in- teresting statements delivered by Dr. Milnor, relative to the present proceed- ings and prospects of the American Bible Society ; and they would add their persuasion, that the circulation of those statements in the printed report of Dr. Milnor's speech, in the monthly extracts for May last, has produced a similar feeling among the friends and supporters of the auxiliary societies, branches, and associations throughout the kingdom. " The Committee, therefore, in the name of the Society, request Dr. Milnor to convey to the Board of Managers of the American Bible Society an expres- sion of the unfeigned delight with which their labors are regarded in this country, accompanied by their earnest prayers, that those labors may, from year to year, become still more extended, and that wisdom and strength, and all the necessary means of usefulness, may be vouchsafed to them. '•' The Committee cannot but take the present opportunity of solemnly re- cording their deep conviction, as they regard the aspect of the present times, of the necessity and importance of giving the widest possible circulation to the inspired volume, as the only infallible rule of truth, of devotion, and practice ; and the encouragement they experience in witnessing the existence of a sim- ilar feeling on the part of their brethren in America; while they would unite with them in ascribing all glory to Him who has put it into their hearts to make the effort^ in which they are mutually engaged, and who has crowned those efforts with such manifest tokens of his favor. " The Committee desire, further, to express towards Dr. Milnor personally, their unfeigned feelings of brotherly affection, and to commend him to the protection of his heavenly Father, that he may return in safety and comfort to the bosom of his family, and be permitted to resume his important duties, both as minister of St. George's church, and secretary for foreign correspond- ence to the American Bible Society. "TEIGNMOUTII President. " BEXLEY, Vice President." Mem. MUnor. 29 450 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. filled the honorable trust committed to your charge. Be assured, reverend sir, we shall retain a grateful remembrance of your public services, and of the personal intercourse which we have had with you. You carry with you our high respect and esteem, our Christian affection and regard. Our earnest prayers will attend you, that you may be favored with a safe and prosperous voyage ; that you may meet your beloved family in health and happiness ; that your multiplied labors may be prolonged to your congregation, and to this and other useful operations of our day in which you are engaged ; and that we may at last meet you in God's heavenly kingdom.' " This address was entirely unexpected, and a little embar- rassed me ; but I stood, during its delivery, and answered in the same extemporaneous manner, nearly in these terms : " ' My Loed^I am much affected by this unlooked-for evidence of the kindness of yourself and the committee. In behalf of the American Society, I return you my thanks for the obliging man- ner in which you have expressed your approbation of their act in sending a delegate to your interesting anniversary, and to con- fer with you on the interests of that great work in which we are engaged. " 'For your approbation of the manner in which I have ful- filled the duties of my appointment, I beg to make my personal acknowledgments, though sensible how little I deserve the eulogy which your lordship and the committee have passed upon my feeble services. I shall return to my country with many delight- ful remembrances of my visit to England ; and among them the most pleasing will be, that of my intercourse with the officers of this society, and the members of its committee. " 'In taking my final leave of them, will your lordship and the committee excuse me for reiterating the anxious wish which I have heretofore expressed, that one or more delegates from this society may be sent to the anniversary of ours next spring? Nothing, I am convinced, will be found more promotive of union aod cooperation between the two institutions, than this inter- change of friendly gratulations and mutual aid at our yearly commemorations. I venture to assure your lordship, that your delegates will be received with Christian kindness and respect in MISSION TO ENGLAND. 451 our ruder land ; and perhaps, while they are profiting us, and as- sisting the cause of Christ in the western world, they may find some gratification in the scenery of our country, and in a per- sonal acquaintance with our institutions and people. " ' Your lordship and the committee will allow me to say with what grateful emotions I receive your kind wishes for my safe return to my beloved family and flock. I will detain you from your important duties no longer than to add, that I sincerely re- ciprocate the feelings which you have been pleased to express towards me, by imploring a blessing on your labors in our glori- ous cause, and praying that health and happiness may attend you individually here, and that the felicity of heaven may be yoUr everlasting portion.' "His lordship replied, that the committee were fully im- pressed with the duty and advantage of sending one or more del- egates to America, as proposed by me ; but the difficulty of find- ing gentlemen who were fitted for the office, and at the same time willing to assume it, had hitherto prevented any positive measure on the subject. ' I am persuaded,' he added, ' there is not one of us who would not consider himself highly honored by such a commission, though many obstacles might lie in the way of its acceptance. We shall, however, keep the matter before us ; and if it can be accomplished, it will afford us, reverend sir, the, greatest pleasure to comply with your suggestions.' "After remaining with the committee a short time longer, other engagements obliged me to withdraw." After this meeting, Dr. Milnor went to dine again with Zach- ary Macauley, of Christian Observer memory ; and his account of the occasion is worthy of preservation. "Mr. Maoauley's personal appearance," says he, "is that of a heavy, dull man ; but in reality he is entirely the opposite of this. One of his friends observed to me, ' He is a library of knowledge ; and it is quite a common thing among us, on almost all subjects, if a question is asked which we are unable to an- swer, to say, '■ Well, we '11 ask Macauley ; he can tell us.' He is full of conversation, but glad to hear that of others ; and when it depends on him to give it a direction, it is uniformly to serious and important subjects. He is a man of decided, cheerful piety, 452 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. and of great usefulness in many of the national institutions established for its promotion. Of the committee of the British and Foreign Bible Society he is a very active member, as well as of several other societies. " Mr. Macauley is well acquainted with Robert Owen, who is giving public lectures in London, on his plans for the reformation of the world by the substitution of reason for revelation. He considers Owen, as do many others, to be partially deranged ; of which there can be no stronger evidence than the delusion under which his mind continually labors, that his abstruse disquisitions before his, for the most part, illiterate audiences, are actually producing a great revolution in public sentiment ; and that, in a short time, government itself will openly espouse his Utopian schemes. Some years ago, before his infidelity was so well known, he had a conference, at his own request, with a number of distinguished gentlemen, including several who then belonged to the administration. They listened to his strange develop- ments, and there the matter ended; but he told Mr. Macauley he was confident he had made the whole company converts to his scheme. On another occasion, he fancied that the bishops and clergy were beginning to see their errors, and would embrace his views. He called on the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Bishop of London, who treated him civilly, and as Macauley ex- pressed it, bowed him out of the house. Their silence in relation to his communications Was to him conclusive evidence of entire coincidence in his views ; and he reported to Macauley, very ex- ultingly, his success with these dignitaries of the Church. Mr. Macauley told him perhaps he was mistaken in this ; and that the right way to test the matter would be to engage them to bring before Parliament some proposition on the subject. He took the hint, and actually called upon them again, and made the suggestion recommended ; when they soon gave him to un- derstand, what courtesy had before prevented, that they consid- ered him a visionary, and his plans downright nonsense. " The community, as he termed it, at Lanark in Scotland, owes any success that has attended it, as a large manufacturing establishment, to his having as his associates, religious men. "William Allen, the distinguished Quaker, was captivated with MISSION TO ENGLAND. 453 some parts of his scheme, and united with him ; but at once de- parted from so much of it as went to exclude the services and influences of religion ; and their determination to lay aside many other of his whims led to the necessity of finally dismissing him from all agency in the concern. " Mr. Macauley is on terms of friendship and intercourse with Mr. Drummond, Mr. McNeile, and others of the prophetical school, and speaks highly of the talents and piety of many of them ; but he has not the slightest tincture of their errors, and thinks the absurdities into which those of them who are church- men are now running, of uniting ultra-high-churchmanship with excessive Calvinism, rigid views of election with baptismal re- generation, full assurance as a necessary part of true faith, with declamations against obedience as any evidence of its being war- rantably asserted; the persuasion of the speedy advent of Christ, with opposition to Bible societies and other religious efforts : these, with other strange views about the continuance of the power of miracles, the universal pardon of sin, the justification of the elect before their actual conversion, etc., will be likely to prevent the general spread of their main error, that of looking for the coming of Christ to establish a temporal kingdom upon earth, instead of his coming into the hearts of men by the enlightening and sanc- tifying influences of his Spirit ; and, after the millennium, appear- ing with power and great glory in the heavens, as the final Judge of quick and dead." It would be pleasing to read Dr. Milnor's account of his din- ner on Saturday, Sept. 11, with that unostentatious Christian nobleman, Lord Bexley, at his beautiful seat, Foot's Cray, in Kent, twelve miles from London ; but his journal has already occupied more space than was intended in his memoirs, and the reader must therefore hi^sten with us to the period of his return to America. Before his final departure from London he made an excursion to Cambridge, for the purpose of becoming acquainted at the university. Unfortunately, most of the professors had availed themselves of the privilege of vacation and were absent, but he found delightful intercourse with one whom he styles " an Israel- ite indeed," Professor Parish, " a man of learning and piety, and 454 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. of most unassuming and amiable manners." Nor did he miss an opportunity for further acquaintance with "the venerable Simeon, who for fifty years had been a blessing to the university and town of Cambridge." On his way from London to Cambridge, he had a delightful fellow-traveller in a young gentleman of the name of Sutton, a graduate from Cambridge, who also accompanied him on his return. The acquaintance originated a somewhat amusing anecdote. "In the course of our ride," he says, "a gentleman who sat beside me observed, that he had never seen a more striking like- ness than between me and my son ; and our consequential coach- man added, that he had been observing the same thing. ' There is no mistake there,' said he. ' No child ever was more the image of a parent.' Their impressions were so strong, that they could hardly be persuaded we were not joking in our denial of any relationship to each other. I was unduly flattered by the alleged resemblance, for I have rarely seen a more pleasing, ami- able, and interesting youth." Having despatched all matters of business, and taken all his other adieus, his closing visit in London was to the truly noble president of the British and Foreign Bible Society, Lord Teign- mouth, in Portman-square. "We found his lordship," he remarks, "in his library. He is now eighty-six years of age, and experiences many of the in- firmities of a man of such advanced years. He received me with great affability of manner, and expressed much regret, that his indisposition had prevented his attending the anniversary of the Bible Society, and deprived him of the pleasure of paying me personal attentions during my stay in England. His memory of recent transactions has become very imperfect ; and that, more than any other circumstance, has latterly unfitted him for the active duties of president, which he has chiefly devolved on Lord Bexley. " "We spent an hour with his lordship, and the interview left a strong impression on my mind in favor of his piety and benevolence. His literary talents will be as highly estimated by those who have read his excellent biography of Sir William Jones. He conducted us to the door, and desired me to present MISSION TO ENGLAND. 455 his best respects to the managers of the American Bible Society ; to assure them of the benefits, in his opinion, attendant on mis- sions such as mine ; and to communicate his particular regards to Col. Varick, our venerable president." Dr. Milnor left London on "Wednesday, Sept. 15, in company with Mr. Brandram, on his way to Liverpool, taking Oxford in his route, and stopping the first night at Henley -upon-Thames. The inn at this place is a rare one, and tempts us to pause long enough to give Dr. Milnor's short account of his evening there. " We arrived at Henley about dark, and took lodgings at the house of Mrs. Dixon, an inn immediately on the bank of the Thames, and at the entrance of the town. Mrs. Dixon is a sin- gularly pious member of the established Church, has a son asso- ciated with her who is like-minded, and endeavors to make all around her partakers of the happiness which she enjoys as a con- sistent disciple of Christ. Her establishment is large, and it is impracticable for her whole household to attend on religious du- ties at any one time. She therefore has reading of the Scrip- tures and prayers three times a day, and makes her arrange- ments so that every servant attends owe, and most of them tv.'o services daily. Mr. Brandram being an old acquaintance, Mrs. Dixon proposed, soon after our arrival, that we should allow her to invite some of her neighbors to Scripture exposition and prayer in the evening, and also the following morning. Accordingly, Mr. Brandram read and expounded at nine o'clock, and I prayed ; . and the next morning, at nine, I conducted lecture and prayer before a company which filled a large room. Our good landlady and her son expressed much gratitude, and we took our leave of them for Oxford about ten o'clock." We have now done with Dr. Milnor's journal' of his visit to England. For though, as at Cambridge, he saw all that was worthy of examination at Oxford, yet he found the latter univer- sity still more effectually vacated than the former — not a pro- fessor, nor more than here and there a straggling student, within the shades of those venerable halls. He reached Liverpool the 20th of September, and embarked on the 27th. He kept no journal on his return-voyage to New York, had a safe, though long passage, and reached home on Saturday, the 30th of October. 456 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. "Wlien she approached the harbor, the ship received her pilot, and as he stepped upon her deck and recognized Dr. Milnor among the eager crowd of listeners for news, his first words to him con- veyed the startling intelligence, ^^ Bishop Hobart is deadP'' Thus ended every discord between those early friends. Their course ran not always smoothly through this jarring world ; but we may believe it is peaceful now, not only in their union of heart, but also in their oneness of views, as they look together on unshadowed truth, and, seeing eye to eye, admire the eternal things of God. Much of the correspondence between Dr. Milnor and his friends, during his absence in England, has been preserved ; but so far as his own letters are concerned, the substance of them, and even more than their details, have already been given in the extracts from his journal ; while as to those which he received from others, having reference mainly to the excitement with which the controversy during his absence agitated the public mind at home, they add nothing essential to the facts of the case, as exhibited in the documents which have been placed before the reader. To the American societies which he had represented in Eng- land, he made careful reports of his doings, and from them re- ceived, expressions of heartfelt thanks. The action of the Amer- ican Bible Society, in particular, is noted in the margin.* It has been seen with what ready cordiality the vestry of St. Greorge's consented to his summer's absence. It is but justice * " American Biblk Society — At a meeting of the Managers, Society's House, New York, 4th November, 1830, " Resolved unanimously, That while this Board are deeply penetrated with a sense of gratitude to Almighty 6od, for his protecting care over the Rev. Dr. Milnor during his absence ; for the favorable reception which he met with among the friends of the Bible in England and France ; and for his safe return to his family and flock, and to his important duties as Foreign Secretary of the American Bible Society ; this Board is fully sensible of the very important services which the Rev. Dr. Milnor has rendered to the Society, by the able and acceptable manner in which he has performed, gratuitously, the duties of a delegate to the British and Foreign Bible Society, and for which they desire to express to him their sincere thanks, and request of Dr. Milnor a correct copy of his report, with a view to publication. " Extrtict from the minutes. "JOHN PINTARD, Recording Secretary." ^t LI 8|^ // V- OF THE ' MISSION TO ENGLAND. l( U IT I V ^(S^E S I T to them to say, that with equally ready generosity, tnfe^Qw JcEly *l ^ \>< continued to him his salary while abroad, but also, on his return, relieved him, in a great measure, of the extra expense of his mission* To himself, personally. Dr. Milnor's intercourse in England, and in ■ the other countries which he visited, was a source of abundant pleasure, and of real profit. Not ignorant previously of public men, and public life, he greatly extended his familiarity and intercourse with both, and returned laden with profitable stores for thought and reflection, as well as with delightful memories of men and things. Nor did he bring away blessings without leaving blessings behind. His elevated Christian char- acter, and his ready practical talents, secured him a facile and useful currency in the highest and best religious circles, and left in his pathway many precious and abiding impressions of an active benevolence. Four years after his return^ the present writer was in England, and found himself, at almost every step, meeting with traces of Dr. Milnor's influence, and with proofs of the high consideration in which he was everywhere held. There was a sweet savor to his name in Great Britain, and a letter of commendation from him was itself a quick and sufficient pass- port both to confidence and to kindness, wherever kindness and confidence were most to be desired. In prefacing the introduction of his journal into these pages, an intimation was given that more would be said of the results of Dr. Milnor's mission. "What those results were, as to the * " At a meeting of the Vestry of St. George's church, held in the vestry- room, Nov. 11, 1830, " Resolved unanimously, That this vestry acknowledge, with humble thanks, the merciful providence of Almighty God, in the preservation of our cherished Rector during his late absence, and in his happy return to his con- gregation. '' Resolved unanimously, That as evidence of our respect and attachment, and in consideration of his voyage having been undertaken, and successfully prosecuted, chiefly with a view to benefit the religious and charitable institu- tions of the community, the Rector be requested to allow us a participation in the extra expenses incident to his mission, and that the Treasurer is hereby directed to pay him twelve hundred and fifty dollars out of the first unappro- priated money which may be received. " THOMAS BLOODGOOD, "Clerk of the Vestry of St. Georgis't church." 458 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. details of business actually transacted, the reader has had some opportunity of judging. These, however, were the least impor- tant that followed in the train. The influence of his mission upon the relations of our own Episcopal missionary organizations and operations with those of the mother country, has been most beneficial. He brought home an amount of practical knowledge in the management of missions, which we had not before pos- sessed; and he opened channels of full and free sympathy and intercourse, between ourselves and our brethren abroad, where there had previously been but little of the flux and reflux of living activities. His mission, moreover, gave him an interest and a standing in the cause of education for the deaf and dumb, which he carried through life, and which made his subsequent services so impor- tant in the New York institution for that interesting class of his fellow-men. He obtained, too, a knowledge of the posture of the affairs of Kenyon college, in England, which was afterwards of great value to the interests of that young and imperilled seat of learning at the west. But, without dwelling upon particulars like these, one of the happiest results of his mission is seen in the new relations, which have since arisen, between the noble brotherhood of Christian societies in Great Britain, and their equally noble fraternity in the United States; especially in those mutual delegations to represent each other at their anniversary celebrations, which have become of such frequent occurrence. It is needless to say, unless to such as have not reflected on this subject, that these great religious associations in the two countries, exhibit one of the most remarkable features of our age; not merely in the vast amounts of money, which they collect and apply to the diffusion, through the world, of corre- spondingly vast amounts of religious truth, and light, and living labors, but also in the immense influence which they exert upon society; in the rich treasures of knowledge, facts, and statistics, geographical, historical, and scientific, which they are gathering home from all lands ; and in their practical action upon even the governments both of barbarian and of civilized countries. These institutions have already a history and a literature, which are MISSION TO ENGLAND. 459 yearly growing richer and richer, and which will be known and felt, not only through all coming periods of the divine kingdom upon earth, but also on the pages of those who, with an enlight- ened and adequate after-thought, shall undertake to sketch the fortunes of the lower kingdoms of this world. It will be remembered, then, that in relation to these grand institutions, Dr. Milnor's mission stands first in the series of delegations and interchanges, which have since characterized and given such intensity of life to their mutual intercourse, and which have contributed so largely to quicken and deepen the circulations of Christian truth and influence through the earth. Doubtless, the idea of this mission did not originate with him ; and it may not be possible to say with whom it did originate. The truth is, like many other great things, it seems to have origi- nated with no one in particular, but with multitudes in common. It was the asking of the religious age. There was, in the mind of the religious public, a deep feeling of the need of such a sys- tem of living intercourse — a silent shaping of events towards an open and sensible issue ; and it was the position which God, in his providence, had assigned to Dr. Milnor in the affairs of active American Christianity, that pointed him out as the first, and per- haps the fittest embodiment of the idea thus distinctly conceived in the inner sense of the age, and sent him forth to be its first living, speaking, and acting exponent before men. Others have since followed him, from both sides of the waters, who may have possessed higher powers of personal display, and for immediate popular impression ; but few, if any, in the series, have equalled him in the prestige of name, and standing, and well- earned, well-settled influence : while none have surpassed him in qualifications for the business of such an agency ; and none have left behind them more hallowed and unstained memorials as a Christian, gentleman, and friend. 460 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. PART V. DR. MILNOR'S MINISTRY PROM 1830 TO 1845. SECTION I. In entering on an account of that portion of Dr. Milnor's ministry which followed his return from England, it will be proper to take a brief notice of his interest in the welfare of Kenyon College. Among the various efforts for the endowment of that institu- tion, one resulted in founding " The Milnor Professorship of Di- vinity." This professorship was endowed partly by members of St. George's, partly by Bishop Chase and his brother, and partly by individuals, of St. Luke's, Rochester, and elsewhere ; and the endowment was presented to Kenyon college, subject to the con- dition that the nomination of the incumbent should reside in Dr. Milnor during his natural life. In this professorship he of course felt a deep interest, and this interest very naturally extended itself to the welfare of the whole institution. Hence, when he went to England, he went commissioned by Bishop Chase to have a friendly eye to the interests of the college in that country. While in England, Dr. Milnor met the Rev. G. M. West, wh(y was then laboring as Bishop Chase's chaplain and agent, in en- larging the fund for the general endowment of Kenyon college ; and about the period of his return to America occurred the diffi- culties between the bishop and his chaplain, which resulted in exposing the true character of the latter, though not without seriously affecting the public interests of the former. Not long after the strange developments here referred to, arose Bishop Chase's troubles with his convention, ending in the resignation of his jurisdiction of the diocese of Ohio, and, as HIS MINISTRY. 461 involved in that, his presidency of Kenyon college. During these developments and changes, the troubles of the college thickened, and days of darkness passed over its history. The Milnor professorship, the endowment of which was not yet quite full, was in danger of being lost ; and the college itself seemed almost sinking under its embarrassments, made increasingly heavy by the distrust with which Mr. West had led many of its former friends to regard the management of its interests. Through all these trials, Dr. Milnor's kno\Vledge of the affairs of the institution in this country and in England, and his strong interest in them, enabled and prompted him to be of great ser- vice to the bishop and his enterprise. He did much, as his letters about this date show, to expose Mr. West's absurd pretensions, and to prevent the injury of his misjudged plans. He pledged himself to make up, out of his own private purse if necessary, the somewhat large deficiency in the endowment of the Milnor professorship ; and as a means of relieving the general embar- rassments of the college, counselled the sale of the northern section of the valuable college domain. His nomination of Dr. Sparrow as the first incumbent of the Milnor professorship, placed an. able and learned man at the head of the divinity department; and when Dr. Sparrow accepted the professorship of systematic theology in the Virginia Theological Seminary, the nomination of Dr. Fuller as his successor placed another able instructor in the same important post of influence to our church at the West. Indeed, next to those who have been invested with the direct responsibility of founding and managing Kenyon college, few, it is believed, have rendered it such valuable services as Dr. Milnor ; and it is to be hoped, that through the professorship which bears his name, and which he did so much to establish, preserve, and perpetuate, his influence will be felt, ages to come, in the dissemination of a sound theology and an uncorrupted piety throughout the most important portion of our country. To proceed now with matters more properly connected with this memoir. It is a long time since any reference in these pages has been made to the spiritual condition of St. George's parish. The following letter to one of his clerical correspondents will show 462 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. that but a few months passed, after his return from Europe, before he was permitted to gather some rich fruits from his labors. To ^ — . "New York, April 8, 1831. " Rev. and dear Brother — I have neither been gratified with the much-desired visit, nor favored with the long letter, of which a hope was held out in yours, now lying before me, of the 9th November, 1830. But I write not for the purpose of upbraiding you with your remissness, because I do not doubt your affection, and because I am equally in fault, having no more right to claim from you evidences of continued regard, than I feel obligation on myself to render them. So the account is, if not satisfacto- rily, at least fairly settled. I am very anxious, however, that you should believe my silence has proceeded from no diminution of affection towards one for whom, from my first knowledge of him as a dear brother in Christ, I have not ceased to cherish the purest and warmest regard. You are often in my thoughts and in my prayers ; and every word of information which I receive of your being blessed of our common Lord in the work of your ministry, makes me rejoice as if the blessing were a boon be- stowed on myself. Receive my hearty congratulations on the favor, which I hear the great Head of the Church has manifested, in blessing your labors to the conversion of sinners to himself. We are told that the Episcopal church in your city partakes in that extraordinary effusion of the Holy Spirit, by which God is there glorifying himself ; and I feel very anxious to be assured of this pleasing fact by evidence under your own hand. I know, from my own, what must be your labors ; yet you must not refuse, even if it do occupy an hour that might be otherwise profitably employed, to give me an account of what the Lord has done and is doing for you. " You have, of course, heard of the encouraging state of relig- ious affairs in New York. A time of deeper solemnity, in many congregations, has never been known. Among Presbyterians, Methodists, Reformed Dutch, and Baptists, conversions have been very numerous, and new cases are every day occurring ; the greater part from among the youth, but many from the ranks of HIS MINISTRY. 463 aged and apparently incorrigible sinners. In Dr. Lyell's congre- gation there is more attention than usual. In Mr. Mcllvaine's," Brooklyn, " much interest prevails ; and he has the prospect of a large addition to the number of his communicants. To my own list, thirty-five were added on Easter Sunday ; and the whole number who communicated on that delightful day exceeded four hundred — the largest number to whom I have ever been permitted to administer the symbols of a dying Saviour's love. The in- terest still continues ; and I am looking, alas, with too small a measure of faith, for its increase. - " Will you please to accept a little token of my affection, ' Bridges on the Christian Ministry,' republished by Mr. Leavitt on my recommendation ? When shall we have the privilege of meeting ? I have not an absent friend on earth whom I am more desirous of seeing than yourself. Let me say, my endeared brother, that fe\y things will be more gratifying to me, during the remainder of my rapidly passing days, than to know that I occupy a place in your heart, and to cherish you as one having a most near and intimate interest in my own. Let us speak oftener with each other, and strengthen one another's zeal and ardor in the cause of Him whose we are and whom we serve. The Lord bless and keep you and yours. Commend me to your beloved partner, and believe me to be, in eternal bonds, " Your ever affectionate "JAMES MILNOR." The following letter to the same correspondent is given be- cause it contains advice, and expresses views, on the subject of removals from one parish to another, which ought, perhaps, in our day, to be more widely regarded. "New York, Sept. 8, 1831. " My dear Friend — Your letter of the 5th I have just received, on my return this morning from Newark, where I preached last evening for my friend Henderson. That I answer it thus promptly you are to ascribe, not to my preparedness to do so, but to my desire to comply as far as I can with your wishes, and to the fear that, in this respect, I should gain no advantage by delay. 464 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. "You will not suspect me of affecting an interest in your concerns which I do not feel, when I say that I have thought much of you and Kentucky, since we conversed together at your own house ; and that I have never been able to think more favor- ably of the project than I did at that timq. By information from various quarters, I am confirmed in the persuasion that you oc- cupy a sphere of great and growing usefulness. So far as the objects of the Christian ministry are concerned, I can scarcely conceive of a more desirable position for the exercise of your office, whether it regard your immediate or your collateral influ- ence. Now it appears to me, that the influence which divine Providence has from the beginning assigned you, is of a religious character ; and this, it does not seem to me, will be increased by a removal to L ; on the contrary, it may be impaired by its association with secular pursuits. As to the assistant-minister- ship, that will not be required, unless a new election for bishop should, a year hence, have a more favorable result than the late mismanaged attempt ; and I fear, that if the principal object for removal be an association with Mr. 's laudable undertak- ing," (a promising literary institution,) " the opprobrium will be cast upon you of being biased by the pecuniary advantages which it offers, as well as of fickleness and a desire of change. Ought it not to be a principle with every clergyman, not to leave a sit- uation of undoubted usefulness for any other, until he has evi- dence, of the most satisfactory kind, that his usefulness will be enlarged in that to which he is invited ? Is there such evidence in the present case ? After making due allowances for very nat- ural feelings on the part of Mr. and Mr. , I do exceed- ingly question whether there is any real preponderance in favor of L . So far as emolument is concerned, the latter place would seem, from the statements of Mr. , to present a pow- erful inducement to become his associate ; but it is pulpit-teach- ing, and not literary instruction, which I take to be the province assigned you by our common Master ; and just in proportion as a minister's situation calls him from the former to the latter, I have ever seen his character and influence, as an ambassador of Christ, deteriorate. There is, indeed, an apology for a partial and even an entire transition from the pulpit to the school, in HIS MINISTRY. 465 the incompatibility with health of the incessant discharge of the duties of the ministry* But I hope this is not your case. Your tetnporary weakness has been produced by circumstances of a special character, only now and then occurring in any congrega- tion. Something also is due to the feelings of an attached peo- ple, who have a right to expect the minister of their choice and affection not to leave them but upon grounds of duty the most unquestioned. "You will probably think there is more of decision in this conclusion, than you had reason to expect at the beginning of this letter ; and I do confess, that the more I think upon the question which it discusses, the more averse I feel to say one word that might lead to the sundering of your present connection, unless, indeed, self-interest should lead me to acquiesce in your coming to St. ^'s, should that parish — now in entire abeyance as to its rector — invite you to its charge. ' " But after all, my dear brother, I have no such partiality for my own leanings on this subject, as not to acquiesce in any con- clusion to which your deeper reflection and better judgment may conduct you. I feel quite confident that you will not decide upon it without a reference to that great Being, from whom ' all good counsels do proceed ;' and ■vv^hatever may be your conclusion, you will remain very dear to me, and I trust will esteem me " Your faithful friend and Christian brother, ^ . "JAMES MILNOR." In the year 1830, a "Literary Convention" was held in the city of New York, at which a committee was appointed to con- sider and report, at a future meeting, on "the propriety of study- ing the Bible, as a classic, in the institutions of a Christian coun- try." - About the first of November, 1831, the convention re- assembled, and the committee presented their report. " After an extensive correspondence with gentlemen of various religious^ opinions," they " recommended in their report, that the Bible should receive the respect and attention due to a classic in ouf literary institutions." ^ To carry this recommendation into effect, the convention, at their session in 1831, appointed a second com- mittee " to prepare and report a plan of biblical instruction, es- pecially in reference to the academical and collegiate course." Mem.HiInor. 30 466 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. This important committee was composed of Dr. Milnor as chair- man, Dr. Maclay, W. C. Woodbridge, Professor Vethake, and Professor "Woolsey ; and was instructed to report its plan at a meeting of the convention in October, 1832. Preparatory to this final report, the committee, through their chairman, issued a cir- cular, addressed to all the heads of colleges and academies, and to other gentlemen of religious influence in the country, asking such information as might be useful to the committee in devising the contemplated plan for the general study of the Bible as an academic and college classic. This great measure, however, failed of success. Several letters, among the papers of Dr. Mil- nor, in reply to the circular of the committee, show that it met with apparently insuperable difficulties. Yet the conception was noble ; and the place assigned to Dr. Milnor, in the attempt to realize it, shows the estimation in which he was held, and the relation which he bore to the great religious and philanthropic movements of his age. It was not long after his return from Europe before his life assumed its wonted channel, and continued to flow on year after year in quiet but ceaseless activity. In following him, therefore, the rest of his way, we shall have little to do but to give such letters as have been preserved, illustrative of his character and course, notice some of the more important events in which he was yet to be an actor, and add some general views of his posi- tion and influence. To Wm. H. Milnor, at Philadelphia. '' "New York, May 3, 1832. " My DEAR Son — ^We learned verbally from Edward Thompson, that our friend Dr. William Klapp is unwell, and that you are much occupied in attending to his patients. I am very sorry for the cause, but hope your opportunity of seeing practice may add to your improvement. You are aware of the solicitude which we feel on this subject, and how anxiously we look forward to your ma;king an honorable debut in your profession, for which I do trust you are now assiduously preparing. I cannot too often repeat to you how much depends upon continued application, and upon ascertaining its fruits by meditation, and by submitting to ex- amination, ■ ■'» ■^:<- ■' HIS MINISTRY. 467 " We feel anxious to hear of the circumstances of the family with which you are now an inmate. We have been told that some of its members have recently been baptized. I sincerely hope this may have included your dear uncle and aunt. I have myself experienced so great a blessing in religion, that nothing gratifies me more than to hear of any whom I love, coming under its blessed influence ; and if I am ever so favored as to see you giving up your heart to God, it would be one of the happiest events of my life. Do, my dear Henry, give this most interest- ing subject your best consideration ; and may God grant the desired result. " Affectionately yours, "JAMES MILNOR." The following extracts from letters to the same, revive re- membrances of the gloomy times which passed over New York in the summer of 1832, when "the cholera" swept so many thousands to the grave. At the same time they are interesting, inasmuch as they show, that during all the horrors of that wast- ing plague. Dr. Milnor deserted not his post, but continued his ministries among both the living and the dead. "New York, July ^1, 1832. ^* Dear Henry — The daily reports of the board of health will inform you of the general state of things here in regard to the prevailing disease. Yesterday's report was the most unfavorable : two hundred and two new cases, and upwards of eighty deaths. I myself awoke yesterday morning with a diarrhoea, but under Dr. Stearns' advice, took five pills of his preparing, and this morning find myself entirely relieved. I have lost but one parishioner, old Mr. Mitchell of James-street. He was at church on Sunday, sickened on Tuesday, and died Wednesday. Many die in from one to three hours after the attack. Hitherto, a very large majority of the cases, especially of those that prove mortal, are of persons of dissolute or irregular habits ; and from the great number of drunken people seen in the streets, it would seem as if they were bent on their own destruction. There is no sick- ness in our immediate neighborhood. M and his bar-keeper, who kept an abominable dram-shop, were taken ill at nearly the 468 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. same time, and died in a few hours. I continue my services as usual. This afternoon at six o'clock I have my lecture in the church, preparatory to communion on Sunday next. The con- gregation is very much diminished, but on Sunday last there were more than I could have expected. This week, however, has been ope of considerable anxiety, and many have removed. " Your affectionate father, "JAMES MILNOR." . To the same. "New York, Aug. 6, 1832. " My dear Henry — "We have heard, with great regret, of the indisposition of your cousin William, and some other members of the family whose kindnesses you are receiving ; and, with much sorrow, that the cholera has begun its work in Philadelphia." This letter reached his son while he was resident-physician in the Southwark cholera hospital, to which the first case of the disease in Philadelphia was brought. He had not informed his father of his position, lest he should occasion alarm. "With us it continues its ravages among the intemperate, and in some, but comparatively few instances, among those who are temperate. It is the remark of every physician with whom I have conversed, that in the course of their practice, they could, with few exceptions, trace every severe case of cholera to intem- perance in drinking, improper food, or some other manifestly ex- citing cause. The Rev. Mr. H.'s case was lamentable. He and his wife and child. Dr. A. who attended them, and a colored nurse, all fell victims to this terrible disease. In Broad-street, - Mrs. T., and seven of her family besides, were cut off in a few days. It is believed, that in both these sad cases, local causes of a noxious character had a principal share in their production and fatality. " Yesterday I officiated twice in St. George's, and, with the advice of my vestry, gave notice that the church will be closed for the remainder of the month. Probably two-thirds or three- fourths of the congregation are absent from the city ; and as this is about the time of our annual cleaning, it was thought best to close for that purpose. " I would now willingly give the family a little country air, HIS MINISTRY. 469 but there is great difficulty in knowing where to go with safety, and at the same time have a favorable reception. "We must inquire and determine, in the course of a few days, whether to remain or go. I must be principally at my post. With our best regards to all our dear friends, I remain, " Your affectionate father, "JAMES MILNOR." After the removal oT the scourge of pestilence. Dr. Milnor was left to spend a long lonely season at home, in consequence of the illness of his younger daughter Eleanor. She had become the subject of a nervous debility, which compelled her to travel ; and to enable her to do this with comfort and a hope of benefit, Mrs. Milnor and Henry were obliged to accompany her. They accord- ingly took a voyage to Charleston and Savannah, with the pros- pect of remaining at the south till the spring of 1833. In the meantime, his elder daughter Anna fell sick at home, and was for several weeks confined to her room by an attack which threat- ened a result in pulmonary disease. This season, however, of domestic gloom at length passed away, and the whole family were again reunited in customary happiness, though not at once in their customary health. The travellers returned from the south before the middle of January. This appears from the circumstance, that at that time Dr. Milnor himself was just recovering from a short but very violent sickness in Philadelphia, whither he had gone for a brief visit after their arrival in New York. By this time his son had completed his professional studies, taken his degree as doctor of medicine with credit to himself, and made arrangements for commencing practice in Philadelphia. The following extract from a letter which hie received soon after his settlement there, touches a subject not yet introduced into these pages ; but without a notice of which our view of Dr. Milnor's inner life would be incomplete. He had as much hap- piness as any father in the respect and affection of his children ; but, for long years, he had not the comfort of knowing that any of them were partakers of his own " good hope through grace." Many of his letters evince how deep were his fatherly solicitudes for their salvation, and how profound his Christian sorrows over the protracted delay to which the realization of his hopes in their 470 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. behalf was subjected. Of this the extract alluded to famishes an affecting illustration. "New York, April 15, 1833. "Dear Henry^ — I received your letter, written immediately on your arrival in Philadelphia, as did your mother the one written to her. I know not that any thing material has occurred, since you left us, within the circle of our acquaintance. Our Easter election for vestrymen was peaceful and satisfactory ; and every thing is as I could wish it in my congregation, except that my desires are not fully gratified in the increase of the number of those who are willing to devote themselves to a religious life. No one circumstance preys more upon my spirits, and more im- bitters my private meditations, than that neither of my dear chil- dren has done so. The unhappinoss is twofold : first, on their account, for I know that without religion they cannot be truly happy in this life, and must be miserable in eternity ; and second, because I fear I have not done my duty in their education, and that, should they be lost, their guilt and condemnation will lie at my door. Reflections on these subjects sometimes agonize my heart, and almost unfit me for my necessary duties. One thing, my dear son, is certain ; if you have really listened to my preach- ing with the attention which your appearance from Sunday to Sunday has seemed to indicate, you must be theoretically acquainted with all the great truths of the Grospel, and espe- cially with the means by which a sinner must be saved from eternal ruin. Why have not those means produced the desired effect? "You are the subject of my continual prayers ; and I will hope that you will not be content with avoiding evil associations, but will ' seek the Lord while he may be found, and call upon him while he is near.' It would give me more pleasure than your accession to a large estate, to know that you had the same interests, objects, and attachments, which I trust will engross my heart till I am called to my account. - 1 was rejoiced to hear of the manner in which you spent your first Sunday in Phila- delphia, and sincerely hope that you will uniformly observe the Sabbath-day ; and may the Lord, who has not made the ministry HIS MINISTRY. 471 of a parent effectual to your conversion, give that honor to some more devoted minister of Christ. Accept the assurance of an unceasing parental anxiety for you, on the part of your dear mother, and of " Your affectionate father, "JAMES MILNOR." During the summer of 1833, Dr. Milnor's letters to his son describe a partial return of the illness of his daughter Eleanor ; and a voyage and journey, undertaken by himself and Mrs. Milnor, with the interesting invalid, to Portland, Maine, and thence, by land, across the Green Mountains to New York again, in the hope of a more perfect reestablishment of her health. By the blessing of God, their hope was realizfed. Eleanor reached home with many evidences of a reinvigorated constitution. His absence at the east was longer than he expected. He was, therefore, obliged to write to one of his vestry, to secure a supply for his church on the Sunday before his return. The only part of this letter of general interest, is a paragraph which refers to the important position, so long occupied by him, as a trustee of our General Theological Seminary. " I regret very much," says he, " that circumstances have made it impracticable for me to attend the meeting, next week, of the trustees of our General Seminary; this being, I believe, the first- annual meeting, except that of the year when I was absent in Europe, at which I have not been present. I hope, however, by the blessing of God, to reach home in time to attend the Commencement on Friday." The following was written soon after his return. "New York, July 1, 1833. " My dear Friend^I have the pleasure to inform you, that we reached home in safety on Saturday evening, and with our dear daughter's health evidently much improved ; and that I was able to preach to my beloved people on the following day in the forenoon; while, in the afternoon, they were gratified with a discourse from our friend the Bishop of Ohio, the last to be expected from him before his departure for his labors in the west." [After his consecration, the previous autumn, Bishop 472 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. Mcllvaine had spent several months in a finally successful attempt to raise, in various cities at the east, the sum of $30,000, to relieve the embarrassments of Kenyon college, before entering on the duties of its presidency.] "He collected Enough, before he left Philadelphia, to make his subscriptions amount to $28,000. Could he have gone to Baltimore, I have no doubt he would have completed his desired sum. "All accounts concur in giving a very favorable representa- tion of the seminary proceedings last vreek. The dissertations of the graduates, it is said, were excellent in spirit and in style. Indeed, my acquaintance with most of them, and with many others of the students, inspires me with a very pleasing hope of an increasing tendency, in that important institution of our church, towards moderate church views, and evangelical doc- trines. a ■ "You will see, by the Recorder of last week, the delightful promise of the collegiate institution at Bristol, Pennsylvania : I verily believe no attempt in the church, by those of our views, has ever been made, from which more good will result, provided the energies of the pious are promptly put forth in its establish- ment and support. Let us pray earnestly for our dear brother C. and his associates, and for the complete success of this hal- lowed work. " Your affectionate friend and brother, "JAMES MILNOR." " The Rev. John S. Stone." This letter, placed in the light of subsequent events, shows that Dr. Milnor was disappointed in two of his most pleasing anticipations : his hope, that the tendency of our General Sem- inary would be increasingly towards moderate church views, and evangelical doctrines ; and his hope, that Bristol college would live to fulfd its first "delightful promise," of good to the cause of Scriptural truth and godliness. The star of Bristol college has long since fallen from our ecclesiastical firmament, into the darkness of utter extinction; while that of our General sem- inary is suffering an occultation, which threatens to be gloomier than the darkness even of extinction itself. There is blessed light within it yet; but baleful shadows have fallen between it HIS MINISTRY. 473 and our eyes, portending "trouble and darkness," and the "dim- ness of anguish," to those who look for the breaking forth of the true brightness. In a letter to Bishop Mcllvaine, dated January 22, 1834, soon after the bishop's full entrance on his official duties, having congratulated him on the encouraging prospects which had greeted his settlement in Ohio, and spoken of the disturbances in the New York University — a new institution, in founding and organizing which, Dr. Milnor had taken a prominent part- he inserts the following paragraph, touching another of the topics of the day. It shows the steadfastness of the grasp, by which he held his own original religious convictions and principles. "Your brother of , (whom I do not cease sincerely to love,) under the auspices of a confessedly powerful advocate of the claims of the Church, is, I think, fast ascending towards the topmost step of the Episcopal ladder. I am sorry for it, on the score both of propriety and of expediency. "What does that beloved brother mean, in the address to his convention, where, in reference to Christians of other denominations, he speaks of ' withdrawing ourselves, in a great measure, from their plans and movements for doing good?' If he refer to ultra new-light measures in revivals, etc., it is well. But we have never been associated with, and therefore cannot 'withdraw from,' these things. If he mean Bible and Tract operations, his course will be disapproved by all his old friends ; and will, I am persuaded, greatly impede the progress and prosperity of the Church in his diocese." It had by this time become certain, that his son's attempt to establish himself in medical practice in Philadelphia would, in order to success, require a longer sacrifice of time than he was willing to make ; and he had therefore begun seriously to entertain the purpose of applying for an appointment as a surgeon in the navy. It was this which drew from his father the following let- ter, containing general views worthy of record: , " New York, February 4, 1834. "My dear Son — ^Your renewed suggestion of the navy project has filled your mother with sorrow ; and I would certainly prefer 474 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. almost any other attempt to this. A sea-life is, almost without exception, declared by those who pilrsue it a most unpleasant one. Aside from danger, the unprofitable associations to which it leads, the temptations which in the navy it is constantly pre- senting, the limitation of emolument with which it bounds the hopes of the physician, the sundering of the most endearing ties of nature, which it requires — these, and many other circum- stances, induce me to consider it, of all modes of professional life, the most to be dreaded ; and when, as a Christian father, I add the death-blow which it would almost certainly give to the hope which I desire to cherish, of my son's one day being asso- ciated with me in a hope worth more than worlds, I cannot think of it without the deepest grief. "Even, however, if your parents concurred in your views, I do not think there is any prospect of your obtaining the appoint- ment. I am told there are now numerous unsatisfied applications, many of them, no doubt, from known adherents of the adminis- tration. A preference will be given to earlier applicants, and they will be the favorites whose immediate connections are known to be attached to the party in power. A view to such an appoint- ment will, moreover, divert your attention from every thing else ; and then perhaps, after all, you will be disappointed. "While I highly approve of your anxiety to be in a situation which may enable you to gain a maintenance, I think less fa- vorably of this than of any scheme that could be presented, more especially in reference to your wish to enter into the married life. The wife of a navy surgeon has little before her but a series of anxieties ; and if he have the proper feelings of affection as a husband, his prospect is no better. I would rather that you should abandon the profession, and seek your support in some other calling, than that you should engage in so unpromising and objectionable an experiment as this. But you are not a minor, and I claim no right to direct your destinies. I can only give you niy views, and then leave you to pursue your own course. . , . • " Your affectionate parent, • ' • ' " JAMES MILNOR." As an index to some of the movements of the day, the follow- ing, from a letter to Bishop Mcllvaine, may be interesting: HIS MINISTRY. 475 "New York, April 21, 1834. "Rt. Rev. and dear Sir — I cannot let my young friend, Mr. W. H. Moore, set out on his journey to Gambler, without a short line, as well to commend him to your kind regards as to assure you of the affectionate interest which I constantly feel in all that concerns your personal happiness, and the interesting charge which divine Providence has thrown upon you. You have many prayers offered for you in this eastern region; and I trust our gracious Lord is rendering answers in the acceptance and pros- perity with which he is rewarding your self-denying and assidu- ous exertions. All the accounts are favorable to the hope, that the great loss which we have sustained in your separation from us, will prove, through the divine blessing, an immense gain to Ohio and the neighboring states. " Our friend has sailed in the packet-ship Orpheus, of the 1st inst., for England, and I was glad not only to introduce him to several of our good friends there, but to avail myself of so favorable an opportunity of answering a considerable number of letters, which I had received in the course of the last year, but had not found leisure before to acknowledge. He has marked out for himself a far more extensive tour than ours, and much longer than I think he will be able to accomplish, if he return, as he proposes, next fall. " A few days since, I received a very kind letter from Dr. Gregory, who speaks of you in the most affectionate terms, and of the gratification which it afforded him to have been instru mental in the publication of an English edition of your Lectures on the Evidences — a work which, he says, ' is highly esteemed by Lord Bexley, the bishop of "Winchester, Dr. Dealtry, and other competent judges, and is getting into very good circulation in England,' He speaks also in terms of eulogy of your ' faithfully simple, and touching farewell sermon,' which he would have had printed for private circulation, had he not lost the copy which you sent him. " You have doubtless heard that- the Bristol institution has been chartered as a college, and has expectations of a larger accession of students th^ it can accommodate. But you will probably be surprised to hear that our brother endeavored 476 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. to defeat the application for a charter, on the ground that it was not connected with the Church, and did not place the bishop at the head of its direction. A few months ago he deprecated such a measure. The yiews of our good brother are, to all appearance, changing. " I am happy to say, that in our theological seminary here, there is an increasing spirit of evangelical piety among the stu- dents, and much more liberality of conduct than formerly, on the part of its directors, towards those who profess themselves of the moderate school. " The Lord have you all in his holy keeping, in time and in eternity. I remain, truly, ^- ,;."; " Your affectionate friend, "JAMES MILNOR." , is The letters and extracts thus given, bring us to a period in the life of Dr. Milnor, at which he was called to undertake an- other important mission. The operations of our Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society among the Indians at their Green Bay station, had become seriously embarrassed, and it was neces- sary either to reduce the mission, or to place it on a more secure basis. With a view to the decision of this alternative, it was at length resolved, at a meeting of the Board of Directors in May, 1834, "to appoint a suitable person to visit the missionary sta- tion at Green Bay, as agent, to examine and report on the state of its affairs." The appointment fell upon Dr. Milnor, and though the resolution of the Board contemplated but a single agent, yet, apparently at his suggestion, two other gentlemen, Drs. Hawks and Kemper, were nominated as his associates. The former was prevented by illness in his family from accepting the nomination ; but the latter consented to engage with Dr. Milnor in the proposed visit. Accordingly, after much time, in the month of June, spent in making the necessary arrangements and provisions, and in furnishing the requisite instructions and documents for their guidance, the two agents left New York on Thursday, July 3, in time to take the steamer of the 10th from Buffalo. The documents with which they Vere furnished were nu- merous and important, involving the internal affairs of the mis- HIS MINISTRY. 477 sion, and its external relations to the government of the United States; and the instructions with which they were supplied were ample, and clothed them with all needful powers. On their way, they stopped at Auburn to spend Sunday, where Dr. Milnor preached both morning and evening ; and from Buffalo they made a detour for the purpose of viewing the falls. Upon his return from Niagara, Dr. Milnor wrote the following brief letter to his wife : ■ ;■ ' ^ .'♦i'." '; " Buffalo, July 10, 1834. " My dear Ellen — We have been, as we proposed, to view the greatest natural curiosity of our country, the falls of Niag- ara ; and have been gratified beyond anticipation at the sight of this stupendous cataract. " On returning to the hotel in this place last evening, we found Mrs. Isaac Lawrence and her party, who had just arrived. Five out of six of them were most anxious to make the excursion to Grreen Bay ; but Mrs. Lawrence could not venture to encoun- ter the sea-sickness on the lake^ which, when there is a high wind, is as certain as on the ocean. They return by the way of Little York, Montreal, and Quebec. " There is, we understand, to be considerable company on board ' the Michigan ;' and it is not certain that we may not have with us a party of Indians, who are here ready for embarkation to Green Bay. I hope they will adopt, as they wish to do, a cheaper conveyance. " Our nephew James came on, and arrived here soon after we reached Buffalo on Tuesday. He went with us to the falls, and was serviceable as a guide ; being weU acquainted with all the points from which they are to be seen with the best effect. He has partly made up his mind to join the excursion to Green Bay ; several of his acquaintance being of the number of those who make it merely for pleasure. This is his leisure season of the year. " We sail at nine o'clock ; and Providence favoring, expect in thirty-six hours to be at Detroit, where I hope the boat will stop long enough to admit of my dropping you a line. At present we are busy in preparing to go on board ; I can therefore only com- 478 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. mend you all anew to the divine protection, and with the best regards to every one, as if named, subscribe myself, " Yoar affectionate . ' "JAMES MILNOR." "Mrs. Milnor," From Detroit he wrote again as follows : '• Detroit, July 12, 1834. " My dear Ellt;n — I wrote you from Buffalo immediately before my departure from that city ; and have now the pleasure to inform you, that we have had a delightful passage to this place. We left Buffalo at nine o'clock on the morning of Thursday last ; proceeded up lake Erie to Grand river, where we arrived before daylight yesterday, and remained two hours to take in wood. From Grand river we sailed to Cleveland, where we arrived about eight o'clock, and remained upwards of two hours ; during which time I visited my former parishioners, Aaron and William Cleveland. While I was at the housB of the latter, their sister Susan arrived in the stage from Gambler, distant less than one hundred miles, and gave me intelligence of the state of Bishop Mcllvaine's health, and of his having received my letter appriz- ing him of my intention, if possible, to be with him at the time of Commencement of the college on the first Wednesday in Au- gust. I also saw Mr. F. T. Peet and wife, who had recently been at Gambler, and who, I hope, will personally tell you of my wel- fare. Mr. Hempstead of Buffalo, also a former communicant in St. George's, who was to leave that place the same morning with ourselves, likewise promised to call on you. " We are now to pursue our voyage up the river Detroit to lake St. Clair, then through the river St. Clair into lake Huron ; a distance still of three or four -hundred miles. Our nephew James has accompanied us, and goes with us to Green Bay ; returning in the same steamer to Buffalo. Our company has been very agreeable, and many of them highly intelligent. We are to have an addition of several of like character from this place. " I wish I could describe to you the very interesting lake scenery which we have enjoyed, but time does not admit. I have just dined with the Rev. Mr. Searle ; have been visited this afternoon by many of the first inhabitants, and have called on OF 'JTJK HIS MINISTRY. |TJNIVW.SIT7 Xs. O A ^^ *•< \^' others. Several have offered carriages for an aftenMiOTsU^3|^J£l,'l^ * / with one of whom Dr. Kemper and I are immediately view the country near this flourishing and rapidly improving city. I will write on my arrival at Green Bay ; and in the interim, with kindest love to the children, etc., I am " Yours affectionately, "JAMES MILNOR." The following letter shows that he was able to write again before he reached his destination. • " MackinaWj Michigan Territory, ) '- July 14, 1834. \ " My DEAR Ellen— Jf our children have the Curiosity to note my progress on the large folded map of the United States, which they will find in one of the drawers in my study, they will probably see this place spelled Michilimackinac. It is an island of about nine miles in circumference, at the termination of lake Huron, and helping to narrow the strait which connects that with lake Michigan. There is here a fort, garrisoned by troops of the United States, and situated on a beautiful eminence ; while, from a height still higher, there is one of the most exten- sive and delightful prospects I have ever seen. " We have been most singularly favored in the weather ; the water being smooth, with no rain, and the temperature of the air very pleasant. In our company also we have been much gratified. If all are not religious, they have manifested a respect for religion, and for us as its public functionaries. I have not witnessed, in a company of sixty, one act of intemperance, and have heard scarcely a profane expression. Some of our passen- gers left us at Detroit ; but General Brady, commander of these western forts ; General Ashley and lady ; Mrs. Morris, senior and junior, of New York ; Mr. and Mrs. Whitney, and a number of other pleasant passengers go on in 'the Michigan' to Green Bay; for which place we start to-morrow. We arrived early enough this afternoon to allow us to visit the fort, on invitation and in company with General Brady, who reviews the troops to-morrow morning, and has invited us to witness the review. " We have also visited the mission-house of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions at this post, and 480 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. have been kindly received. "We obtained much information from Mr. Ferry, the missionary, with whom Pr. Kemper and I are to breakfast to-morrow morning at half past six." [Somewhat earlier than the London breakfasts,] " We have now no other stopping-place until we reach our destination. If therefore Providence allow us to arrive in safety, my next letter must be dated from Green Bay. I feel as if I could not be sufficiently grateful to my heavenly Father for con- tinued health, and the very favorable circumstances under which he has brought us thus far on our journey into the far West. Though considerably over a thousand miles from you, yet you are all in my thoughts, hour by hour ; and I have no doubt of my enjoying, reciprocally, a place in yours. I am now writing in the cabin of this fine boat, at a late hour, fearing I might not have time for writing before our departure to-morrow. I am not a little anxious about St. George's, but trust every thing will go smoothly until my return. My most affectionate love to sister Anna, and to our dear children ; with remembrances to our do- mestics, and to all friends as if named. " Very affectionately and truly, your ■^' "JAMES MILNOR." ' i ' The two agents reached Green Bay according to their expec- tations, and Dr. Milnor at once forwarded to his wife the prom- ised information. " Mission House, Green Bay, Michigan, ) ■ ' July 17, 1834. . ) '' " My dear Ellen — I have great pleasure in now writing to you from the place of our destination, which Dr. Kemper and I reached last evening in perfect health. Considering that we spent our first Sabbath at Auburn, and a whole day in visiting the falls ; and that we were detained a day at Detroit, while the steamer was taking in wood, and another at Mackinaw for the same purpose, besides stoppages of a few hours each at two other places, it is considered by our friends here that we have made an uncommonly rapid journey ; and when we compare it with the month or six weeks, or even two months, during which some, in former times, have been employed in its accomplish- ment, we have great cause of thankfulness to God, both for the HIS MINISTRY. 481 expedition and the pleasure with which we have been permitted to complete thus far our arduous undertaking. Of our return we cannot anticipate so favorably. We are likely to be disap- pointed in obtaining a passage back through the lakes by steam- ers, none being expected here until long after the time when we shall have fulfilled the purpose of our visit, and be desirous of returning. Hopes are held out that our passage in a good schooner may be obtained ; but it is possible that even in this we may be disappointed. Our steamer, 'the Michigan,' leaves this afternoon ; and when she is gone, the port of Navarino will not contain a single vessel larger than a barge or a canoe. '^ We were pleased to find the missionary family and their interesting pupils all in good health, and the mission-house spa- cious and convenient, and very pleasantly located on the Fox river. The Rev. Mr. Cadle, though no longer connected with the mission, having removed to the settlement of the Oneida Indians about nine miles off, was yet fortunately here, and will remain for the purpose of assisting us in our inquiries, which will be industriously prosecuted, so that we may be ready for the first opportunity of turning our faces eastward. " We are in expectation of a visit to the mission-house this morning, from a number of our fellow-passengers, who are on board the steamer at Navarino, three miles off, and who will re- turn with her this afternoon. Judge Irving, of this place, is also going in her, intending to proceed to New York. I have given him a letter of introduction, and would be glad if Henry would pay him attention. " I have many things to say; but my time is so occupied this morning, that I can only conclude with the customary saluta- tions to all the family, and assure you that I remain, unalterably,' " Your faithful husband, "JAMES MILNOR." Two other letters furnish all that is known of his return journey. The first is dated, . > " Wheeling, Va., Saturday, Aug. 16, 1834. "My dear Ellen — You will perceive, by the place front which I date, that I am now hastening homewards as fast as Hem. Mflnor. 3 1 482 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. conveyances and other circumstances will admit. At 9 o'clock, Wednesday morning, I took leave of Bishop Mcllvaine and other friends at Gambler, and went down in the daily stage to Mount Vernon ; remaining there until afternoon, when I took the stage to Newark, and arrived at ten o'clock at night. " There I was compelled to wait for a stage, until the after- noon of the following day, to take me over to Jacksonville, on the great ' Cumberland road,' where I was to meet the western stage in the evening of that day. On our arrival, I was sadly discour- aged to learn from the inn-keeper, that the coach almost always came full ; and that we — for there were six persons desirous, like myself, of going eastward— might have to wait a day or two, before we could all be accommodated with seats. He proved, however, to be a false prophet ; for the coach came along about nine o'clock in the evening, with only two passengers. Of course, there was room enough and to spare. I travelled all Thursday night, reaching Zanesville about two o'clock in the morning ; and while prevented from getting any rest by the intimation that the coach would soon start, we were detained by the delay of the post-master in examining and distributing the mails until day- light. The morning air was cool and refreshing ; and through- out the day, the weather was pleasant, and the roads, with the exception of those in England, the best that I ever travelled. We arrived at this place last evening a little after dark. I would have gone on immediately in the mail ; but having lost one night's rest, and finding it would not leave me at a convenient place to stop over Sunday, I concluded to sleep here, and this morning, at eight o'clock, to proceed in 'the Reliance line' to Uniontown, 3Pa., where I shall remain till Monday morning. I shall then hasten by the way of Baltimore to Philadelphia, where I shall be detained a day or two by my necessary conferences with the executive committee of our Missionary Society, and then, with ' none but unavoidable delay, be at home, I hope, before the close of the week. " I enjoy uninterrupted health, thanks to the Giver of every good and perfect gift ; but my anxiety to be at home increases as I advance towards it. It was a great disappointment to me to receive no letters at Kenyon college ; I expected to find several HIS MINISTRY. ' 483 there, awaiting my arrival. I suppose there was some misun- derstanding of my directions on this point. Please to give my love to all as usual, and believe me, " Your affectionate "JAMES MILNOR." To William H. Milnor, M.D. " Brownville, Pa., Aug. 18, 1834. " My dear Son — Former letters will have advised you of my past progress homeward, up to my arrival at Wheeling. Over the worst road I ever met with, I arrived at this place on Saturday, at midnight. I stopped here to spend the Sabbath, expecting to go on in the stage that came through this town last evening, having paid my fare through from Wheeling to Fredericktown, Md., with the right to stop on the road over Sunday, and then resume my place. This privilege, however, could only be granted conditionally ; and unfortunately the coach came on entirely full. I am now compelled to wait until one arrives from Wheeling with a vacant seat. I hope this will be in the course of to-day ; but it is entirely possible that I may be detained several days for want of room. I thought it best, therefore, just to drop you a hasty line to account for my detention, if it should occur. " I preached here twice yesterday ; and have met with a female cousin, Hannah Rhoads, aged eighty-one years, the old- est inhabitant of this place, and universally respected. Though a Friend, yet she came to church, and went to the same place to be with me in the evening. You can hardly imagine her joy at seeing one of her family. Her mother and mine were sisters. " With love to all, "Affectionately yours, , "JAMES MILNOR." Leaving him now, without any further trace of incidents by the way, till he reached New York, we must go back to Green Bay, and gather up some account of the results of the agency. In their report to the Executive Committee, which is a docu- ment of considerable length from the pen of Dr. Milnor, the agents state, that their " residence at the mission-house was continued from the evening of their arrival until the 4th of Au- 484 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. gust," full eighteen days. Of these, "ten days of assiduous application were devoted to their inquiries and observations. Their subsequent detention, for want of any means of return, supplied them with a further opportunity of maturing their reflections, and preparing their statement for the perusal of the committee." This statement, drawn up in a minute and busi- ness-like manner, embraced the following general heads: "Mis- sion buildings and farm ; mission family ; supplies ; mission schools ; reduction of schools ; past benefits of the mission ; Onei- das ; the Menominees ; ministerial labors of the agents ; con- clusion." For the particulars of this report, reference may be had to the October and November numbers of " the Missionary Record," for the year 1834. The account of their visit to the Oneidas is peculiarly interesting ; and their labors as preachers during their absence, were of frequent occurrence. The "con- clusion " of their report, and the " instructions" given immediately afterwards to the new superintendent by the Executive Commit- tee, will sufficiently indicate the results of their mission. The agents say, " We cannot conclude without repeating our conviction, that under the auspices of an enlightened, economical, and pious ad- ministration, this mission may be continued with great literary and religious benefit to its immediate beneficiaries ; with a happy influence upon society at Green Bay, and with credit and advan- tage to the Church. " "With the proposed reasonable limitation of its numbers, and suitable guards against improvident expenditure, we think that there are abundant motives for persevering in this work of Chris- tian beneficence ; and that no thought should be entertained of its present abandonment. " On the contrary, with the rising missionary spirit of our church, we would fain anticipate a new impulse in favor of its maintenance and improvement. And if, at some future period, in the changing circumstances of our Indian population, its re- linquishment should be judged expedient, we have no doubt the reasons for such a measure would then commend themselves to all ; while its premature adoption would find a sufficient sanction, neither in the past history, nor in the present situation, nor yet HIS MINISTRY. 485 in the future prospects of the mission. A certain good, of no inconsiderable extent, would be surrendered, before substitutes of unquestioned value were prepared to take its place, . and a character of uncalled-for fickleness be stamped upon our oper- ations. " The weight of thes^ considerations is increased by the high estimation in which our mission is held by the respectable and good in the West. It has the regard, we believe, of the whole Protestant population there, who are acquainted with its char- acter and doings, and whose moral dispositions qualify them to estimate aright its value. " We have done, and will still seek to do the Indians good. Our mission will continue to be conducted with ' the meekness of wisdom,' and so long as the less prejudiced shall continue their children under its care, they will be prepared by wholesome instruction to fulfil with propriety their duties to God and man ; and some of them, we hope, be invested, through faith in the Redeemer of mankind, with the most elevated expectations of his true disciples. "JAMES MILNOR, "JACKSON KEMPER." • The instructions given by the Executive Committee to the new superintendent, so far as they grew out of the report of the agents, were the following : "1. To reduce the number of boarding pupils to fifty, and to give preference to full-blood Indian children, especially Menomi- nees. "2. To make arrangements for having the pupils instructed in the different trades suggested in the report of the Rev. Drs. Milnor and Kemper. " 3. Whenever practicable, to have the candidates for admis- sion into the school bound for as long a term as the law will allow ; and whenever it is unavoidably lessened, to abridge it as little as possible. "4. To receive no children into the establishment over twelve, nor under five years of age. "5. To take such measures as are calculated to give a decid- edly religious character to the duties of the schools, by the for- 486 . MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. mation of Bible and catechetical classes, and by having, on the first day of the week, the usual exercises of Sunday-schools. " 6. To have cleared and prepared annually, for tillage or pasture, a portion of the land belonging to the society ; to in- crease, from time to time, the number of milch-cows, and to pur- chase a pair of horses, a wagon, and a sled for the use of the farm, and a low-priced vehicle for the accommodation of the mis- sion family." The first superintendent of our mission at Green Bay, was the Rev. Mr. Cadle, than whom, it is believed, a more modest, humble, pure-minded man, of more delicate sensibilities, or of more unobtrusive merit, was seldom, if ever, known. A combi- nation of circumstances, anterior to the visit of the agents, led him to resign his office, and the Executive Committee to appoint, as his successor, the new superintendent of whom we have spoken. As the circumstances which led to these changes, in- duced also the agency of Dr. Milnor and his associate, it is but justice to Mr. Cadle to annex the following action of the Execu- tive Committee and of the Board. " Soon after the return of the Rev. Drs. Milnor and Kemper from Green Bay, the committee adopted the following minute : '^^ Resolved, That the Executive Committee approve of the conduct of the Rev. Mr. Cadle and his assistants, in exercising necessary discipline upon several offending scholars, and deeply regret the difficulty to which this discharge of duty subjected them. " Resolved, That the Executive Committee entertain a grate- ful sense of the ability and faithfulness with which the Rev. Mr. Cadle has discharged the important trust committed to him, and a,ssure him that he has had their cordial sympathy in the severe mental sufferings which have lately been occasioned him by the unworthy treatment of certain individuals at Green Bay." " At a special meeting of the Board, held , it being stated, that in consequence of the affair referred to in the former of the above resolutions, reports injurious to the character of the Rev. Mr. Cadle had been industriously and widely circulated ; and it being evident to the Directors, from oral and documentary evidence submitted to them, which they carefully examined, that , HIS MINISTRY. 487 such reports were entirely unfounded — ^the following resolution, as will be seen by reference to the minutes, was unanimously adopted : " Resolved, That in the opinion of this Board, no farther ac- tion in the premises is necessary on their part, except to declare, which they hereby do, their entire confidence in the purity of character and integrity of conduct exhibited by him in the dis- charge of all his duties, and their satisfaction with the resolu- tions so promptly passed by the Executive Committee, after re- ceiving the report of their agents to Green Bay, approbatory of the course of Mr. Cadle." The results, then, of the agency to Green Bay, may be thus summed : the removal, from one of the sweetest of characters, of every shadow which had been cast upon it ; the reduction of the mission to the measure of the society's means for its support ; and the maturing of a judicious plan for its future more effective management. In reaching these results, hoAvever, extensive investigations were necessary, involving intercourse with agents and officers of the United States government ; interviews, through interpreters, with Indian tribes ; and careful examinations of the domestic economy of the mission family, of the schools, and of their books and system of instruction : , work for which few men in our church could be found more happily qualified than Dr. Milnor and his associate. After their return and report, and under the new and some- what reduced system of operations which they recommended, confidence in the mission revived, and its operations were suc- cessfully maintained, until changes in the Indian population of its neighborhood rendered its final abandonment a measure of no longer doubtful expediency. Upon their return, the agents proceeded together, by the lakes, until they reached Huron, upon lake Erie, in Ohio. At this point they separated. Dr. Kemper continuing by the lake to Buffalo, and thence to New York ; while Dr. Milnor passed down through Ohio, to Kenyon college at Gambler, and thence home by the route which his letters have already indicated, and by the further way of Baltimore and Philadelphia. 48^ MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. SECTION II. We return now to letters and extracts from Dr. Milnor's cor- respondence. The first in date, from which the following are extracts, was to the present writer, then settled in Boston. . - '(,,- : ' " New York, Feb. 27, 1835. " Rev. and tiExn Brother — Before the receipt of your last, I had heard of your establishment of a new Episcopal paper, and read with pleasure its first number. I sincerely hope it may meet with an abundant measure of patronage, though, from the number of similar publications already extant in the middle, western, and southern states, you will have to look for it princi- pally ' down east.' " With regard to an editor, the only person whose qualifica- tions I have thought well adapted to that office, is the Rev. . Dr. Eastburn requests me to say, that he unites cordially in recommending him to your consideration. " I am glad to hear of the good effects of your wife's voyage to England on her health, but regret to hear of little Archibald's repeated illnesses. But thus it is. Few of our causes of hap- piness are unalloyed with counteracting ills, fitted to remind us that unmixed enjoyment is to be expected only in a better state of being. Alas, I am astonished at my own insensibility to the influence of a consideration so well calculated to detach us from a reliance on earthly comforts, and to elevate our views habitually to heaven, " Your good bishop has been abundant in his supply of our lack of forms of prayer. They are a transcript of his own pure and devotional frame of mind, and I hope will be useful in teaching some how to pray. But the semi-offioial character under which they are set forth, will, I fear, lead to some strictures on the publication. I speak, however, only from my knowledge of the jealousy with which any thing from such a quarter is lilcdiy to be ' viewed. J " I want to hear oftener from you, and more about yourself HIS MINISTRY. 489 and your parish, and every thing that concerns one so warmly seated in my affections as yourself ; being still "Your sincerely attached friend and brother in Christ, "JAMES MILNOR." " The Rev. John S. Stoxe." "P. S. Since writing this letter, I have received a charming communication from our dear brother Mcllvaine, under date of the 19th of January. He has been most cordially received, and though reserved in speaking of what he has done for the college, yet he gives reason to believe his visit will be propitious to its interests. He is in excellent health, and gives me an account of a clerical meeting in the very apartment at Islington, where we attended one of a similar and very interesting character in 1830. At the late meeting he was called upon to give a full account of the Church, etc., in America ; in doing which he occupied two hours. An account of it will appear in the Gambler Observer, which you must not fail to republish. He sends me the names of about a dozen of the best men in England, who requested him to send me their kind remembrances. " You see how generously I requite your brief communica- tion, or rather, how generously I should requite it were mine as valuable as it is long. «j. m." To Bishop Mcllvaine. ' "New York, Feb. 28, 1835. "My dear Bishop — I was sitting yesterday in my study, whercj on account of toothache and a swelled face, I have spent; the last three or four days, when I was pleasantly interrupted in my employment by the receipt of your kind and welcome letter of the 19th ult. " I had, too, just been repining a little at your silence, more especially on account of my inability to answer the daily inquiries of our mutual friends. To hear that you were well and in good spirits, and obstructed by no difficulties, and enjoying the inter- course of beloved Christian brethren, and though you speak cau- tiously, yet likely, as I infer, to accomplish something for Kenyon and Ohio, were such pleasing circumstances, that the account, if it did not remove my bodily pain, at least helped me to bear it; 490 MEMOIR OF DR. MILIfOR. and gave me the privilege of adding a fresh note of thanksgiving to my evening devotions. Ij h-i^.v "- <• "It so occurred also, that a few minutes after the receipt of your letter, a young friend, a communicant of my church, called on me to say that he designed sailihg immediately for London, in the packet of the 1st proximo, so that I am assured of the safe delivery of my answer. "You will have a famous coterie of American clergy in Lon- don next spring — Dr. McAuley, Dr. Codman, Dr. Spring, Mr, Baird, Mr. Breckenridge, etc. You will have to take charge of them, and introduce them to our friends. Though ' they do not follow with us,' yet we know them to be good men and true, whose talents as well as piety will do no discredit to our country. I mentioned to the two first-named gentlemen that I would en- deavor to forward them some letters of introduction. But I have been so free in my trespasses on the few whom I can address in this way, and I am persuaded they will have so little need of letters at such a time of universal greeting and hospitality as that in which they visit London, that I must ask of you the favor of making an apology for me to our esteemed brethren for my seeming neglect. "Drs. McAuley and Spring have credentials as delegates from the American Bible and Tract Societies, with accompanying let- ters of introduction from myself, and are both representatives from several other bodies. "I was delighted with the account of the Islington meeting. It brought affecting reminiscences to my mind, and I feel grate- ful for the kind inquiries about me by brethren, whom, though I shall probably never see them again in the flesh, yet I can never forget. Give them, as if individually named, my kindest love, and tell them, though I cannot go to them, yet few things would delight me more than to find some of them coming to us, to re- ciprocate the over-proportion of visits which they are continually receiving, from this side of the Atlantic. I hope, at all events, they will make you the bearer of letters to one who so highly values the communications of his transatlantic brethren. \ " To Mr. E wbank and the other lay gentlemen named by you, and to Mr. Gilliat, if you meet with him, present my kind remem- HIS MINISTRY. 491 brances. To the family of the former, particularly to Mrs. Ew- bank, I owe much for their kind attentions, and ought long since to have made my acknowledgments by letter. " I am glad you will be able to counteract the articles of the correspondent of the New York Observer, in regard to what he represents as the almost execrable character of the Church of England and Ireland. We have to-day in the Churchman, testi- monies of a different kind, from two eminent English dissenters; and I presume the fact to be indisputable, that while there are abuses which need correction, and personal misconduct in some clergymen which is to be deplored, for several years past the character of the Church has been greatly improving, both in Eng- land and in Ireland. I am sorry that the recent unparalleled severity of an archdeacon of the latter country, in the collection of his tithes, should oblige us to admit of still remaining sorrow- ful exceptions. " "We are abounding in Episcopal periodicals. Since you started for Liverpool, I believe. Bishop Doane's Missionary, and Mr. Lee's Southern Churchman, and Dr. Cooke's Church Advo- cate, and the Christian Witness, have taken the field; the last but one in quite a warlike attitude, armed cap-a-pie at the out- set. Surely, we have reason to rejoice that there is enough of public appetite for these things- to require such means of gratifi- cation. I pray God a spirit of peace, a love of souls, an anxious desire to spread the saving truths of the Gospel, may predominate over an excessive zeal on minor points. On the whole, I think we may anticipate important aid to the cause of vital godliness from the increase of these valuable instruments. "Bishop Smith is wisely calculating on the slow movements in works of beneficence, too common in some of our eastern churches; and allows them ample time to consider what they will do for his seminary. After holding several meetings here, and paying many visits, he is doing the same in Philadelphia ; and, in the result, I have no doubt he will draw successfully upon many who never before gave a dollar for the West. In a plain, matter-of-fact statement, and a short practical improvement, he succeeds admirably. " You see I have entirely avoided the necessity of any apolo- 492 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. gy for brevity, and have induced that of asking your forgiveness for so long and rambling a letter. But you know how I love to have long chats with you when together, and how natural it is to make the written page correspond with our usual habits. I shall, no doubt, have as much to bore you with on your return, as if I had not written a word. " I have one favor to ask of you. It is, to bring me the volumes of the Christian Observer for 1832, 3, and 4, which the Carvills, who had before imported the work for me, have not supplied. I hope you have read the most interesting recently published biog- raphy — ^that of Hannah More, our visit to whom is one of the most pleasant of my English recollections. If you go to Bristol, do not fail to call on our attentive friend Mr. Prust. All the members of our family, and countless friends, send you their best regards. " Affectionately and truly yours, "JAMES MILNOR." In the month of June, 1835, Dr Milnor attended the annual convention of our church in Massachusetts, which met at Pitts- field. His object in attending was, informally, to represent the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society at a missionary meet- ing for which arrangements had been made in connection with the occasion. With this reference, the following letter explains itself. ^ "TotheRev.John S. Stone. "New York, June 24, 1835. " My dear Brother — On the importunate request of several of the brethren at Pittsfield, I agreed to endeavor, by the help of memory and the little memorandum from which I spoke at the missionary meeting, to recall and note for publication in 'the Witness' the substance of what I delivered. " I reached home on Monday evening, and at eight o'clock, yesterday morning, was obliged to attend the annual meeting of the trustees of the General Theological Seminary, the business of which will occupy us until the Commencement on Friday next. I mention this as my apology for sending you such a scrawl, and for asking of you the favor of examining and correcting whatever you may see to be amiss, before you send it to the printer. I HIS MINISTRY. 493 leave it to yourself to call it a speech, or an address, or the sub- stance of either, or what you please, and to introduce it in such a way as you may think proper. I hope you have reduced your speech to writing, and will also publish it. " I am suddenly called to a funeral, and remain, in haste, " Yours, most ajffectionately, "JAMES MILNOR." The following exhibits the interest which, until it became inextricably involved by the management of others. Dr. Milnor continued to feel in the concerns of Bristol college. To the Rev. J. P. K. Henshaw, D.D. " New York, Aug. 5, 1835. " Rev. and dear Brother — You have, no doubt, before this, received official information of your appointment as an agent for Bristol college. The president was led to believe you might be prevailed on to undertake a six months' engagement in this inter- esting service, and that it would be practicable for you to make arrangements with your congregation for an entire devotion of your attention to it for that period. I sincerely hope this may be the case, as the circumstances of the college are now pecu- liarly trying ; the press for admission being very great, and our accommodations quite inadequate even to the comfortable living of the present students, and the board of trustees entirely with- out the means of their extension; while the debt incurred in building the new hall, is, to a considerable extent, unpaid. If the institution should continue long in its present condition, its friends who are disappointed in obtaining admission for their children, will be discouraged, and much patronage be lost. It would be a subject of great regret, if an enterprise so popular should either fail or falter in its course, for want of those timely exertions which might place it on a footing of permanency and respectability of the highest order. It wants a man just like yourself, to go forth as its advocate, and gather for it present means, and the assurance of continued aid, until it is placed on the basis of independence enjoyed by other literary institutions of our country, "Allow me, as a friend of the college, to hope you will accept 494 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. the appointment ; and, as your personal friend, to wish you the honor of being, under Providence, the instrument of insuring the stability and success of such a promising means of usefulness to the church, and to the country. "Yours, very faithfully and truly, "JAMES MILNOR." The next shows where he was, and intimates in what he was employed during the remainder of the month, and for a part of September. To Mrs. Milnor. ■ ' '■ ^ " Philadklphia, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 1835. " My dear Ellen — I was much disappointed on Saturday, by Mr. Cairns' omission to call, as he promised he would on his way to the steamer, for a letter which I had written to explain to you the necessity under which I was unexpectedly laid, of remaining here until the close of the Convention. Had I not expected to see Mr. Cairns, I should have gone down to Dr. Klapp's to give Henry the letter, and explain to him personally the reason of my not returning on Saturday. I did not write yesterday, because I was fully persuaded that the Convention would have closed its session last evening. That was not the case. If it had been, I should this morning have been on my way home. It is now uncertain whether we shall get through to-day. If we do, I shall certainly. Providence permitting, be at home to-morrow evening ; but you must not be disappointed if I should be delayed yet one day longer. " It will give you pleasure to be informed, that all is harmony and peace. Never has there been a meeting of the great council of our church, at which so much has been done, and so well and satisfactorily done ; and there is every prospect that this state of things will continue to the end. We have had many interesting public meetings in the evening ; one last night at St. Stephen's, of peculiar interest. — Love to every member of the family. ' "Affectionately yours, "JAMES MILNOR." The references in this letter are to the well-known General Convention of our church in 1835, and the simultaneous trien- HI^ MINISTRY. 495 nial meeting of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, at which the new constitution of the latter was adopted — ^proclaim- ing for our Zion the truth, that in her missionary operations, " THE FIELD IS THE WORLD ;" and placing the two departments of this field, the domestic and the foreign, under the supervision of two distinct executive committees, with each its own secretary and general agent. The history of this important change, and of its results in our missionary operations, it is not necessary in this place to write. That history lies on our public records, and lives in our public doings. The first meeting of " The Board of Missions," the new body "intrusted with the supervision of the general missionary operations of the church," was held in Phila- delphia, Sept. 1, 1835, when the two executive committees were elected. The second meeting of the board was held in the same city on the 23d of the same month, when the two secretaries and general agents of those committees were elected. This election fell upon the Rev. Mr. Dorr, for the domestic, and upon Dr. Milnor, for the foreign committee. At the former meeting it had been resolved, that the domes- tic committee should be located in New York, and the foreign in Philadelphia ; but this election of secretaries at the second meet- ing, induced a reconsideration, in consequence of which, both committees were located in New York. The question now presented itself for Dr. Milnor's considera- tion, whether he was in duty bound to accept the important office to which he had been thus called ? That it would, at first, be a laborious office, there could be no doubt. The whole inter- nal economy of our general missionary society must necessarily undergo essential modification. Not only were new missions to be projected, but also a new system of management to be de- vised and matured. Every thing was to start upon a plan so new in the xDffice of each secretary, as to require nothing less than the undivided attention of each for at least the first year of oper- ation. Was it then Dr. Milnor's duty to undertake his part of the task? The thought of resigning his rectorship, and retiring from his parish, was not for a moment to be entertained. To dear St. George's he felt himself wedded for life. And yet there was a manifest suitableness in the choice which had called hira 496 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. to the head of the foreign department. There was not a clerical man in our church, north, south, east, or west, so well qualified for the post as himself ; whether by general and accurate busi- ness habits and experience, or by particular familiarity with the foreign missionary work. The whole previous course of his life had been fitting him, though without apparent design, yet with thorough effect, for this very ofl[ice. The pressure of the ques- tion upon his mind at length determined him to throw the whole upon the responsibility of his vestry, and to abide their decision of the case. He had repeatedly before called upon them for sac- rifices of parochial to public good, and doubted not, that if duty seemed to them to point distinctly in the new direction, they would be found capable of their customary magnanimity, and without hesitation give their advice in accordance with right, though against the leanings of inclination. Accordingly, a meet- ing of his vestry was called, and the case submitted to their con- sideration. It should be stated, that the annual salary of each of the two secretaries had been fixed by the board at $2,300. The statement which he laid before his vestry included the fol- lowing particulars. " That it should be proposed to the foreign committee to receive Dr. Milnor's acceptance of the office, with an under- standing that he should be at liberty to relinquish it at the next meeting of the Board of Missions : that in the meantime he should decline all personal emolument from the office ; but that, to enable him to detach himself as much as his agency should require from the duties of the parish, an assistant in said duties should be appointed for one year, with an adequate salary, say $1,000 ; this sum to be paid out of the salary appropriated by the Board of Missions to the agent of the foreign committee, the residue of the stipend of the agent to be at the disposal of that committee. " At the same time he apprized the vestry, that in the event of their acceding to this arrangement, the duties of his agency might be expected to be of a very absorbing nature. The office for the transaction of business must be arranged and put in order ; the minutes and papers of the late committee be examined ; an extensive correspondence be forthwith entered upon; plans be HIS MINISTRY. 497 projected for widening the sphere of missionary operations, and means be proposed for an increase of pecuniary resources, pro- portioned to the noble views of the Church in reference to the great work of which she had now assumed the charge. Added to these duties, frequent absences from the city on missionary business would be indispensable ; and when at home, personal attendance at the missionary rooms would be a daily duty. "Under these circumstances, he desired them seriously to con- sider whether, as the representatives of the congregation, they could make such a sacrifice to the interests of the mission cause ; declaring, that if they should be adverse to the plan, he would decline the appointment, and content himself with fulfilling the ordinary duties of a member of the committee. But if, on the contrary, they should assent to his engagement in the duties of the agency in the way suggested, though he felt a humble sense of his insufficiency for the work, yet he would enter upon it in reliance upon the help of God, and with the assistance of his brethren ; calculating upon a more laborious course of bodily and mental service than he had yet known, and earnestly hoping that the result might redound to the glory of God and the extension of the kingdom of the Redeemer." The action of his vestry on these generous and Christian pro- posals was affirmative ; they consented to, and advised the ac- ceptance of the office ; while the foreign committee, on their part, at their first meeting, October 12, 1835, readily acceded to the terms on which his acceptance was offered. The parochial assistant appointed by his vestry was the Rev. James W. Cooke, who subsequently became one of our highly esteemed foreign secretaries. The expectations raised by Dr. Milnor's acceptance of the office were not disappointed. He impressed on his department his own thorough habits of business, and imparted to our whole missionary development a before unattained system and efficiency. It is presumed that few if any will deny, that in its practical details and workings, our general missionary organization, espe- cially in its foreign branch, owes more to him than to any other single individual. The year which he spent in the office, proved' indeed one of his most laborious ; for it must be remembered, Mem. Milnor. 32 ^ 498 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. that he held at the same time, his post of great toil both in the American Bible and in the American Tract Societies, besides various other places of responsibility and care in connection with our own church and with the cause of general benevolence. So severe, in fact, were his labors during this year, and so profoundly interested, as well as engrossed, did he become in the missionary department, that some of his immediate friends, fearful that he might be induced to continue his agency beyond the year for which he engaged, and apprehensive of dangerous consequences to his health from such continuance, felt constrained to expostu- late with him, and to insist upon his resignation at the close of the specified term.* Accordingly, at the first annual meeting of the Board of Missions, held in the month of June, 1836, his resig- nation was tendered, and by the following action of the board, accepted. * Indeed, his own vestry took up the matter, as the following extract from their minutes demonstrates. This extract, while it shows the reason why his resignation was tendered before his year had expired, shows also that his in- terest in the missionary work had carried him to the point of proposing, what he at first thought wholly inadmissible, the resignation of his rectorship, and the exclusive devotion of his remaining days to service in his missionary agency. "At a meeting of the vestry of St. George's church, held at the vestry- ' room, 16th JXine, 1836, " Resolvedj unanimously, That the communication from the Rector, just read, containing a candid statement of his embarrassing situation, as Rector of this church and Secretary and General Agent of the Foreign Committee of the Board of Missions of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and soliciting counsel and direction from the vestry, presents a fair view of the circumstances under which he was led to consult, and the vestry to consent and advise, in the month of October last, that he would yield to the wishes of the church by undertak- ing the arduous duty of arranging, maturing, and reducing to practice, plans for the operations of foreign missions on the enlarged and spirited scale which had been recently pledged. " In advising him to that course, the vestry were influenced by the belief, that he might render essential services to the general interests of religion, without material interference with his paramount duties to the congregation, or prejudice to his own health, provided the new office was seasonably relin- quished. " In the judgment of the vestry at that time, the extreme term for which it would be proper for the rector to enter into these engagements, with a due regard to the considerations last named, was a single year ; and beyond that term they were then of opinion, and still entertain the belief, that their con- HIS MINISTRY. 499 ^'Resolved, That the Rev. Dr. Mibior be requested to con- tinue in the discharge of the ofBcial duties of Secretary and Gen- eral Agent, until a successor be appointed and ready to enter on the duties of his appointment ; provided, that the services of Dr. Milnor are not understood to be required beyond the expiration of a year from the time when he commenced his duties. " Resolved, That in accepting the resignation of the Rev. Dr. Milnor, as Secretary and General Agent of the Committee for Foreign Missions, the Board deeply regret the necessity which dictates that measure ; and would, by this resolution, express their grateful sense of the eminent ability, zeal, industry, and success, with which, under divine Providence, he has been per- mitted to labor so faithfully in this holy cause." " The Rev. John A. Vaughan, of Salem, Mass., was elected to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Dr. Milnor." The latter, however, continued in the labors of the office until the 4th of October, 1836 ; about which time Dr. Yaughan took his place, and with distinguished ability conducted the affairs of his department. The final report of his doings, which Dr. Milnor stituents would not be satisfied to make the sacrifices incident to the arrange- ment. It now appears, that the year for which the rector is committed, and to which the vestry consented, will not have been completed at the annual meeting of the Board of Missions ; but the vestry fully concur with the rector as to the propriety of his signifying to the board, at that meeting, his deter- mination to decline a reappointment, that they may immediately provide a successor, unless they contemplate a special meeting at the expiration of his year. " The vestry think that every view which can be taken of the subject, demonstrates the propriety of a relinquishment of the office of secretary and general agent at the time specified. As to the alternative referred to by the rector, they cannot, either for themselves or for the congregation, for a mo- ment listen to a proposition of dissolving the ties which have so long and so afiectionately and happily and usefully united them together, that he might devote himself exclusively to the missionary cause. They believe with him, that he has passed the period of life at which it would be practicable to con- tinue, for a length of time, the laborious efforts requisite for the discharge of both offices. They have lent him for a year, and have reason to rejoice in the belief, that their object in doing so has been fully realized : they believe, now, that the interests of the congregation require his speedy return to his pastoral duties ; and they trust, under these circumstances, the Board of Missions will readily acquiesce in the opinion expressed by them. " Extract from the minutes. "THOMAS BLOODGOOD, Clbrk." 500 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. presented on retiring from his labors, and which recounts his various journeyings through different states, on the business of his agency, may be found in the " Spirit of Missions," for No- vember, 1836, pp. 828-333. Nor was it in the business alone of our missionary organiza- tion, that his influence was benignly felt, but in the spirit also, which began increasingly to pervade the missionary life of our church. The different diocesan conventions, and their simulta- neous missionary meetings, which he attended for the purpose of addressing their assembled clergy and laity, became, in no poor sense, scenes of missionary revival ; and the sermons which he preached at many other places on his way, were the blessed means of diffusing among our people some portion of his own pure and ardent missionary zeal. In short, the year of his secretaryship and general agency, while it was doubtless the culminating point of his ascent along the path of active duty, was also to our church a season of rich and lasting benefit, from the holy influence which he carried with him and shed along his course. His correspondence during this year had more or less direct reference to the work in which he was engaged. Much of this correspondence has been lost, and much more might be obtained by searching the papers which he left in the office of the foreign oonmiittee. Being chiefly of a business nature, however, it is not important to the memoir ; we therefore content ourselves with a few of the letters which lie within reach. The first was addressed to the present writer. "New York, Jan. 11, 1836. "Rev. and dear Brother — Mr. Southgate's appeal for the Persian mission, wherever it has been made, has excited great interest, and we are persuaded we could not have engaged in any foreign missionary object either more eligible in itself, or more likely to receive from the church a generous measure of support. It is, however, desirable that he should enter on it at as early a period as possible ; and with that view, be in a few weeks on his voyage towards the place of his destination. This will prevent any very extensive plan of collection, which is, indeed, rendered less necessary by the very liberal pledge of St. Andrew's, Phila- HIS MINISTRY. 501 delphia. That congregation alone, if we are not mistaken in the sum requisite for that purpose, will furnish his support for three years. But money is wanted for outfit, passage, and other con- tingencies ; and we are desirous also, of giving him as soon as possible,^ at least one associate. Very opportunely, an individual offers himself for this purpose ; and in the view of those who know him intimately, one admirably, fitted for this oflice. Dr. Savage, whom perhaps you may have known some years ago, at New Haven, and who is now pursuing his studies at the Yirginia Theological Seminary, having offered himself for service as a for- eign missionary, Mr. Southgate went to see and converse with him; and the result is, a persuasion that Dr. Savage is the yery man he could have desired to be united with him in his benevo- lent work among the votaries of the false prophet. Now we want our friends, in those places where it is practicable for Mr. Southgate to present his interesting appeal, to afford him an op- portunity for so doing, both with a view to the supply of imme- diate means, and for the purpose of spreading information, and thereby enlisting permanent feeling in favor of the object. "We have been made acquainted with your kindness in opening your church for an evening service with that view ; but as the weather was unfavorable, I would take the liberty of sug- gesting that you would much gratify the committee by allowing Mr. Southgate to preach, and take a collection in St. Paul's, on some early Sunday morning. I suppose it would be too presum- ing in me to say, that if Boston would undertake to support Dr. Savage, as Philadelphia has Mr. Southgate, it would tell more on the interests of foreign missions, in the way of example, than even a liberal donation would subserve the particular object to which it would be applied. " I write from my chamber, having been confined a few days by indisposition, which must be my apology for the character and brevity of this communication from "Your affectionate friend and brother, "JAMES MILNOR." "The Rev. John S. Stone." " The Persian mission," mentioned in this letter, was that originally contemplated in Mr. Southgate's labors among the Ma^ 502 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. homedans. The ground was surveyed, but never occupied by him, his attention being subsequently diverted in favor of a mis- sion among the Turco-Armenian Christians. The change was an unhappy one, and has been the cause of much painful excite- ment in the missionary world, and of enduring dissatisfaction to the committee by whom Mr. Southgate was sent forth. Dr. Savage never became his associate, but was soon placed at the head of our mission to Africa, where he labored successfully, tm a shattered constitution compelled him to retreat from the field of peril. The next letter, to the same correspondent, was written after the state of his health had determined him to decline a reap- pointment to the office which he held. The gout, of which he complains, was not his only trouble. His general health had suffered so much, and so evidently, under the pressure of his labors, that his son Dr. Wm. H. Milnor was apprehensive that their continuance for another year would prove fatal ; so fully did he, in this case, exhibit his disposition to do " with his might," whatever he consented to undertake. "New York, Monday, May 13, 1836. "My dear Friend — ^You must forgive my peevish letter of Friday last. The gout is apt to make its subject querulous, and I was suffering under the lingering remains of the disease, or perhaps I should have considered myself as having no right to complain of arrangements, which, if they disappointed me, were no doubt to be productive of greater advantages in some other way. It has, however, happened well enough ; for though, by a great effort — my assistant being absent — I went through the whole service, and preached yesterday morning, yet I was obliged to go to bed immediately afterwards, and have since been more unwell. Under any circumstances, I could not have ventured to set out on a journey to-day, though I bless God, I am better this morning than I have been for a fortnight, and am encour- aged to hope, that in a few days I shall again be well. On an- other account, I regret less my disappointment in regard to the Massachusetts Convention. I am engaged in preparing the an- nual report, which will be a pretty long document. The rough V oy THiJ ' f OK THiJ ^'UNIVEESIT HIS MINISTRY. draft for my clerk to copy, I expected to have completed urday ; but it would have been a hurried work. My remaining at home will enable me to complete it more at my leisure. As my concern with it will be over in a day or two, if you desire it and think it would be useful, I will leave New York on Friday evening next, and spend Sunday with you, returning on Monday. But this must depend entirely on your own wishes, as I have no desire to leave home but with a view to usefulness in the mis- sionary cause. " And now, my dear brother, let me entreat you to make your arrangements for being present at the meeting of the Board, as an adviser in the important business of appointing a successor to me in the office of secretary and general agent. I hope your good bishop and Messrs. Bdson, Tuckerman, and Greenleaf, who are members, will not fail to attend. I am deeply solicitous- to have a better man than its present occupant for an office which he is compelled to relinquish. If such a man as some would be disposed to put into it, is elected, our missionary cause, now so hopefully prosperous, will be ruined. I wish it to be understood, that under no circumstances is it possible for me to continue. " My suggested visit will depend altogether on my hearing from you on or before Friday next ; so that, if you should think it expedient for me to come, I may leave on that day. When you write, say whether you have had any person in view for the office which I now fill. How would Mr, Vaughan answer? Would he serve ? And are you willing to give him up ? If not, who else could be had ? " Truly and affectionately yours, « JAMES MILNOR." "The Rev. John S. Stone." The report of which Dr. Milnor speaks in this letter, was prob- ably the annual report of the Foreign Committee ; if so, however, subsequent letters to the same correspondent show that he did not complete it until the middle of June, so much labor did it require, and so much was he interrupted by sickness and by calls of persons on business. The Massachusetts Convention, of which he speaks, was not held till the 15th of this month. His attend- ance, during the session, as missionary agent, had been expected ; 504 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. but the state of his health, and some misunderstanding about the arrangements for a missionary meeting during the session of the convention, led to mutual disappointment. From a letter which he received, he inferred that Bishop Gris wold objected to his visit in an official capacity ; a decision of which he complained as '^ a mortifying and perplexing rebuff; and the more so, inasmuch as it was the first he had received." The mistake was instantly corrected, though at too late an hour to secure his presence at the convention, even had his health been such as to admit of a jour- ney. Both himself, however, and Mr. Dorr, the domestic secre- tary, were present at the convention of "the Eastern diocese," held in Boston on the 28th of the ensuing September, when they were greeted with the kindest reception, and their missionary appeals met with the most cordial response. The following let- ter, written during the session of the Massachusetts convention, is an instance of his readiness to take undue blame to himself, when others were more deeply in fault. "New York, June 16, 1836, "Rev. and dear Brother — Your letter of the 14th I have just received on my bed, where I have been obliged to remain two or three hours after my usual time of rising, from the effects ol medicine taken last night. I have got up to return an immediate answer, feel better, and hope I shall be able to-day to complete the annual report, and attend a special meeting of the commit- tee this evening. " Your explanation is entirely satisfactory ; and if you are sorry for having written in haste, so am I for my peevish reply. I hope, if dear Bishop Griswold knows any thing about it, you will in my behalf ask his forgiveness for my unbecoming and unchristian jealousy of his and others' feelings towards our glo- rious cause. "And now, dear brother, I feel more sorrow than I can ex- press, that it has pleased God to disappoint my hope of being with you on Sunday. I am not seriously sick, but so prostrated by my late severe cold, that my family will not allow me to think of leaving home so early as to-morrow. The Lord having so ordered events, I am ashamed that I do npt feel more submission. HIS MINISTRY. 505 It is, perhaps, ' all for the best.' I have much, very much, yet to do before the annual meeting, and I can do it the better for the additional time given me by remaining at home. I am glad notice has been withheld, and I hope if I do not visit you officially in the course of the summer, I may do it as a friend. In the meantime, believe me, more affectionately than ever, " Your friend and brother, "JAMES MILNOR." "The Rev. John S. Ston^." The following bears the same date with his resignation to the Board of Missions, of his office as secretary and general agent. "New York, June 28, 1836. " Right Rev. and dear Sir — I return you many thanlis for your very kind and interesting letter of the 10th inst., of which I had great pleasure in laying so much as was official before the foreign committee on the day of its receipt, the 16th. " Few circumstances were better calculated to fill my mind with pleasing anticipations, than your invitation to be present at your next diocesan convention; and if divine Providence should favor me with health, and I should then be in the exercise of my present functions as secretary and general agent of the foreign committee, I entertain the hope that I may be allowed the privi- lege of meeting you at Cleveland, ready to sow as God may give the ability, a portion of missionary seed in what I trust will prove the prolific soil of Ohio. " But I have been cons'lrained by a sense of duty to present to the Board of Missions my resignation of the office of secretary and general agent ; consenting to act, should it be necessary, until the middle of October next, when my full year of service will expire. The Board have, in very kind terms, accepted my resig- nation, and elected the Rev. Mr. Yaughan, of Salem, my succes- sor. Whether he will accept the station is not yet known. From all that I have heard of his character and qualifications, I sin- cerely hope he may. If he should not, a special meeting of the Board of Missions will be necessary to fill the vacancy, as no pro- vision is made in the constitution for any other method of effecting that object, and as it would be almost ruinous to the cause of our 506 MEMOIR OF DR. MILIfOR. foreign missions for the committee to be without a secretary and general agent until the regular meeting of the Board next year. " From my great love to the missionary cause, and especially the extension of our efforts into foreign lands, and from the grati- fication which the absorbing duties of my office have afforded me for the last eight months, I lamented the necessity of my resigna- tion. But it was impossible to continue my services without abandoning my connection with St. George's ; and of this, neither my own feelings nor those of my beloved people would allow. In the missionary office, my time of life warned me that I could not for many years render efficient and satisfactory service. In my parish, with such aid as they are willing to allow me if I re- quire it, I might, by the blessing of God, be much longer useful. , Relinquishing, a few years hence, my present office, I should be left without the opportunity for ministerial usefulness during the remainder of my life. Retaining my parochial charge, there are many ways in which I might much longer serve my gracious Iilaster, and promote the spiritual interests of an attached and most indulgent people. " My course, though professedly regretted by my friends, yet has generally been considered that which duty required me to pursue ; and I shall be happy to have the approval of one with whom it has been my delight to ' take sweet counsel ' for so many years. " Your faithful friend and servant, "JAMES MILNOR." " The Rt. Rev. Bishop McIlvaine." It had been one of Dr. Milnor's favorite objects, during his secretaryship, to organize, and bring into operative aid of the committee which he represented, a " Female Foreign Mission- School Society." But at the first annual meeting of the Board, objections were urged against it ; and as his term of office was so near its expiration, he did not press the measure, and the nascfent organization was suffered to die in its birth. This is the substance of a letter to the - present writer, dated July 12, 1836. The next on hand was preparatory to his projected tour — a hint of which is contained in his last letter to Bishop Mcll- vaine — to meet the diocesan convention of the church in Ohio, at Cleveland. It was dated. HIS MINISTRY. 507 "New York, Aug. 11, 1836. " Right Rev. and dear Sir — ^Agreeably to your kind invita- tion, I am endeavoring to make all practicable arrangements for being present at your convention at Cleveland, iiitending to make that tour the close of my year's service in the cause of foreign missions. " I should have returned an earlier answer to your last oblig- ing favor, but the amount of business in hand, and the little prospect of obtaining the services of the Rev. Mr. Yaughan until the middle of September, threw so much discouragement in the way of my leaving home, that I was afraid of holding out any decisive prospect. Now, however, I have better hopes. In con- junction with my friend, or rather his substitute, of the domestic agency, I have got through the editing of the sixth, seventh, and eighth numbers of the " Spirit of Missions," and the publication of the proceedings of the Board of Missions — ^which last will make quite a large pamphlet. I have also finished the required arrangements in regard to several new missions. By declining your suggestion, which I do very unwillingly, in regard to the Commencement at Gambler, and proceeding directly, by way of Buffalo, to Cleveland, I can accomplish much that will relieve the labors of my successor. "I shall be able to make many needful arrangements with Dr. Robertson, who is now here on a visit of business ; finish all our transactions in reference to the mission at Athens, before Mrs. Hill's departure, which will be on the 24th instant, and before Mr. Benton's for Crete, which will be a few days sooner ; assist, in their preparations, our two heroic young missionaries for Af- rica, Messrs. Minor and Payne, of the Virginia seminary, and tranquillize the feelings of two or three other anxious expectants of missionary appointments ; and finally, shall find it possible to spend a few days with Mr. Yaughan, to initiate him into the business of the office, he having just informed me, that under the circumstances which I have stated, he will come on about the 20th of this month. If, therefore, Providence permit, I hope to see you at Cleveland on the 8th of next month. " I am, very truly and respectfully, yours, "JAMES MILNOR." 508 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. He left l^ome on Monday, August 29, and upon reaching Buf- falo, addressed to Mrs. Milnor the following almost amusingly afflictive account of the manner In which he had been unexpect- edly thrown upon his extemporaneous resources in speaking. "Buffalo, Sept. 4, 1836. "My dear Ellen — My last was dated at Auburn. I left there on Thursday, about one o'clock, for Canandaigua, which we did not reach till ten o'clock at night. At four the next morning, I proceeded in the stage for Batavia, where I arrived about five in the afternoon. Having caused notice to be given that I would preach in the evening, I was no sooner fixed at my lodgings with the rector, the Rev. Mr. Bolles, than I went to my chamber to change my clothes ; which, having accomplished, as the hour for service was at hand, I went to the bottom of my trunk in search for my package of sermons, when behold, it was not to be found. How you could have omitted to put it into my trunk, I cannot divine. I am certain I sent it up to the cham- ber — I think, by James : and now I can only blame myself that I did not ascertain the fact of your having put them into the trunk, by inquiry or personal examination. Under such unfortu- nate circumstances, I would willingly have declined all service, and have returned home ; but I thought myself condemned to the mortification of addressing the congregation at Batavia wholly without preparation, for the time admitted of none. I did so ; and although my young friend Bolles was pleased to solace my feelings when I had done, by saying that ' my loss was their gain,' yet I was enough chagrined and dissatisfied with my per- formance to rob me of the comfort of sleep." An evidence, by the way, of the manner in which the severity of his late labors for the committee were known to have affected his whole nervous system. " Yesterday, I came to this place in the afternoon, and found that notice had been given last Sunday, that I would preach to- day, and that Mr. Shelton, depending on me for the whole day, had prepared no discourse. It happened, providentially, that I had with me one sermon, that which I preached l&st Sunday morning in St. George's, and which, on account of its being in HIS MINISTRY. 509 the velvet cover, I threw into the top of my trunk, just before it was closed. " To-morrow, or next day, I take the steamer for Cleveland. You may judge with what unhappy feelings I go among a large body of respectable clergy and laity, wholly unprepared to meet the expectations which have been raised. I pray God he may enable me, however imperfectly, to do something in the cause on which, in his name, I am sent. " Immediately on my arrival in Buffalo, I went to the post- office, with the hope of at least receiving a letter, written after your discovery of the omission ; and I even hoped that you might have found, through the agency of Mr. Cooke or Henry, some opportunity, by a merchant coming immediately to this place, to send on the sermons. But not a letter was there for me. I think I shall delay going to Cleveland till Tuesday, under the hope that the mail of to-day or to-morrow may relieve my anxiety. " But it is useless to say more on the subject. No doubt, I merit the mortification which I feel. All I fear is, its injury to the cause committed to my charge. I shall, of course, so soon as the convention at Cleveland is over, hasten back, making no appointments to preach on the way home, and probably, God willing, reaching you the latter end of next week. "Give my love to all the family, and believe me "Affectionately yours, "JAMES MILNOR." "Mrs. Eleanor MiLNOR." From a subsequent letter to Mrs. Milnor, from Cleveland, it appears that he preached at Buffalo Sunday morning, and deliv- ered a missionary address in the afternoon, followed by a collec- tion ; and that he started for Cleveland at nine o'clock Monday morning, in a steamer, not of the largest class, loaded with "more than eight hundred passengers." ' " Our machinery," he says, " gave way several times, and made it necessary to stop for repairs ; but no serious difficulty occurred. I feel extremely at a loss for my sermons, considering the expectations which have been entertained of the part I was to take in the religious exercises of the convention. I shall do, however, as well as I can ; and as there is a prospect of a large 510 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. assemblage of clergy, and among them Bishop McCoskry, the want of my services will not be felt. "We hope to have an inter- esting missionary meeting to-morrow or next day." Such, so far as it is at present accessible, is all the account that can be given of this, the last missionary tour undertaken during his agency. From his known talents as an extemporane- ous speaker, and from the freshness in his mind of our current missionary statistics, he probably spoke as much and as well without his " sermons," as he would have done with them ; and possibly with more popular effect, from the greater freedom of his manner. . SECTION III. "With the close of his missionary agency we are already ac- quainted; and as Mr. Cooke continued most acceptably to labor in St. George's as his assistant, for some time after his reengage- ment exclusively in the duties of his parish and in his ordinary devotion to the cause of general benevolence, he speedily recovered the customary tone of his health, and the current of his life began again to flow in its wonted channel. The following brief but interesting letters from across the waters, were received during the summer and fall of 1836. From Mr. Vansittart, Lord Bexley. "Foot's Cray Place, June 9, 1836. "Dear "Sir — I had the pleasure to receive your letter of the 8th March, by the hands of Mr. Jackson" — ^the late Rev. William Jackson — " and of hearing one of his able and valuable statements in Exeter Hall. I had also once the honor of receiving him at dinner ; but the hospitality which I should have been happy to show him, as well as my attendance at religious meetings this year, has been checked by the pressure of a heavy domestic affliction. " I was happy to receive from his conversation, as well as from other accounts, so favorable a statement of the progress of the Episcopal church in the United States. God grant that it may rapidly extend its limits still further, and obtain increasing HIS MINISTRY. 511 success against infidelity and false doctrine. The consecration of missionary bishops not having a specific diocese, is, I think, new in the Church ; but, in the circumstances of your country, it seems to me a happy novelty. The ministry of the apostles must necessarily have been of that character. It has also much of "\yhat Dr, Chalmers recommends in what he calls ' the aggres- sive character;'' and such I hope it will prove, against ignorance, error, and unbelief. Perhaps we may consider our new colonial bishops of Madras, Bombay, and Australia, though each fixed to a particular diocese, yet, considering the vast extent and peculiar nature of those dioceses, as having a very similar character in respect to duty and jurisdiction. "I hope you will not think any apology necessary when you may give another friend a letter of introduction to me, as it will always give me pleasure to receive any communication from you, but especially when it affords, at the same time, an opportunity of forming so valuable an acquaintance as Mr. Jackson's. Be- lieve me, dear sir, "Very faithfully, yours, "BEXLEY." " The Rev. Dr. MiLNOR." From James Montgomery, Esq. "The Mount, near Sheffield, October 15, 1836. "Rev. and dear Sir — I have unexpectediy caught a minute on the wing, after I had lost, as I supposed, all opportunity of doing it, to shake hands with you across the Atlantic, to thank you for your kind note of remembrance by Dr. Fisk, and to assure you of my sincere respect and esteem, associated with pleasant recollections of the brief but lucid moments of Christian inter- course which we had together, when you were in this country. There is * another country,' of which all of every land on earth, that are born of God, become by that very fact natives— even a heavenly country : there may we, and all whom we have known in the flesh as of one spirit with us in the Lord, find ourselves at home and for ever with him, at the end of our pilgrimage. Meanwhile, I am truly " Your friend, in great haste, „rx„ X. X. ,, „ "J.MONTGOMERY." "The Rev. Dr. Milnor." 512 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. ;• In the first line of this letter we see the poet ; in every other, the Christian — synonyms, severally and together, of the beloved name- subscribed. In entering on the year 1837, we find little to mark the course of Dr. Milnor, save in the quiet steps which he took on his well- known rounds of parochial duty, and in his various engagements with benevolent institutions. He continued, indeed, till the day of his death, an acting member of the foreign executive com-; mittee, whose first secretary he had been ; and his interest in our foreign missions remained unabated while his life was spared ; but his action in this capacity presents nothing distinctive from that of his fellow-members, as it lies on the records of the com- mittee. The few letters, therefore, which have survived for our use, still furnish us with the principal vestiges of his remaining life. Soon after the opening of the year, he wrote as follows : j To Bishop Mcllvaine,. , j " New York, January 31, 1837. " Right Rev. and dear Sir — Immediately on the receipt of your obliging favor of the I7th instant, I sent to the friends of Mr. ," a beneficiary in Kenyon college, who had apparently proved unworthy, "to acquaint them with the state of things, and advise them as to the course which they should pursue. His brother-in-law called on me this morning, and the result of our interview was his saying, that money should be forthwith sent to him to enable him to liquidate his debts at Gambler, and defray his expenses to New York. I regret this event, both on account of the young man himself, and in view of the unpropjtious influence which it is likely to have on the minds of our lay, brethren, in regard to sustaining a branch of Christian charity subject to such disappointments. He has written me a very appropriate letter, which I will lay before the directors of our association" — a society in St. George's for benevolent objects — " at the next meeting ; and as you suggest, will return him a kind answer. "I will apply to the American Bible Society for the quarto Bible for the society of theological students at Kenyon college, and to 'th« Press' for the Prayer-Book ; and if obtained, have HIS MINISTRY. 513 them put in the hands of our friend White, to be forwarded by him at the opening of the spring navigation. " I exceedingly lament the revival of controversy in the Church." [The tractarian movement begins its development.] " I fear a new oomer among us has been a very active agent in inciting our brother to his present course. I have no hesi- tation in saying, that I believe the reputed author of ' Protestant Jesuitism,' who is his constant companion, has been instrumental in prompting him to his attack on Temperance, Bible, and Tract societies. For my own part, I purpose, at the close of the year, to drop his paper, the influence of which, as for some time past conducted, is decidedly irreligious ; and not a number of which, for the last twelvemonth, has been without some article, editorial or communicated, offensive to the feelings of moderate church- men and evangelical Christians. It is much to be regretted, that the very superior talents of the editor should be so employed. His influence on the students in the seminary is of the most unhappy kind, because his communication with them affords him the opportunity of orally impressing on them the leading doctrines of his paper, and of filling their minds with prejudices against all who do not subscribe to his exclusive and ultra-high tenets. The bishop told me, to-day, that Mr. had been advised to cease from his assaults on the Recorder and Dr. Tyng; and that he believed there would be no more matter of that sort in the paper. I have written to the editor of the Recorder, advising him to take no notice whatever of his attacks, should they be continued. " For my own part, having now reached my ' grand climac- teric,' it is my sincere desire to be ' at peace with all men,' and much more intent on strengthening my assurance of an interest in the Saviour's love, and living from day to day in the pleasing contemplation of the enjoyment, ere long, of his presence in glory, than on mingling in the ' strifes of words,' in which some appear so keenly to delight. The principles with which I set out in my ministry, arp those which I still cherish ; and fully believing them to be scriptural and true, I hope to carry them with me to the grave. But even for them I will not angrily, though I will ' earnestly contend,' as for ' the faith once deliv- Mem. HUnor. 33 514 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. ered to the saints.' I do heartily wish to adopt into my daily experience the feelings intimated in the latter part of your letter ; and pray God that his Holy Spirit may enable me to be like- minded with one whose labors he has so eminently blessed, and whose exaltation to a high rank he will, I trust, make the means of enlarged usefulness to his Church. " Your externalism, I am persuaded, will never be allowed to usurp the place of spiritual affections and ardent devotion to Grod, love to his children of every name, and a supreme regard to the doctrines of the cross. ' O si sic omnes.^ But alas, with us, formalism, a love for externalism, which destroys every feeling of vital piety, a dislike of those who place inward religion above outward show, and an apparently positive repugnance to .those who do not walk with us, are such offensive features in the character of many, that I am compelled, in view of the disas- trous consequences, to cling to my old preferences, and most sedulously to avoid those evils which are prostrating, in so many souls, every thing most dear to the hearts of evangelical Chris- tians. " With kind regards to Mrs. Mcllvaine, and all the dear chil- dren, and my earnest prayers for your personal happiness and official success, I remain, " Respectfully and affectionately, yours, "JAMES MILNOR." If it be inferred from the foregoing letter, that the elements of movement in our church, were beginning to exhibit strong •symptoms of excitement, the influence will not be at all weak- ened by that which follows to another correspondent. " New York, April 6, 1837. " Rev. and dear Brother-— The letter to which this is to be an answer, is dated two months ago ; and the delay is at least prima facie evidence, how undeserving I am of the compliment which you were kind enough to pay me — ironically it either was or ought to have been — of a comparison with a late venerable father in the church," [John Newton,] " whose published letters will be a memorial of his talents, piety, and friendship, to the lat^est generations. - And yet, though I claim not the least merit HIS MINISTRY. 515 as a letter-writer, I confess there are to me few moments more agreeable than those which I can abstract from the continual routine of parochial duty and too many collateral engagements, and give to familiar and sacred converse with an endeared brother in the Lord. Such, you know, I have ever esteemed you ; and therefore, though I have not now manifested a promptitude that affords any confirmation of the fact, yet it is not the less true, that I love to receive and answer your Letters ; and that it was more than ordinarily pleasant, after so long an interval, to have such an one as you were so good as to make your favor of the 7th of February. "While 'the faithful are minishing from among the children of men,' it is consoling to think, that we are not necessitated to say with the Psalmist, 'there is not one godly man left;' but on the contrary, may rejoice, that in the rriidst of ultra high-church views, combined with an increase of formalism, uncharitableness, and opposition, in high places, to some of the most precious doc- trines of our holy religion, there is a goodly number who will bow the knee to no idol, and are determined, God being their helper, to serve Him alone, in sincerity and truth. The attitude which the has assumed, is offensive in the extreme, and it has, in consequence, lost many subscribers ; but this has only served to stimulate the zeal of those, to whom its antievangelical spirit is agreeable, to new efforts in its support; so that on the whole, it proudly boasts an increase of patronage. Its editor, however, is thought, by many of his quondam friends, to over- shoot the mark ; and it was counsel amounting to little short of command, that stopped his unexampled abuse of Dr. Tyng, and of all like-minded members of the church. Next Saturday, we understand, he is to come out with a powerful support of the Romanizing doctrine of ' progressive justification.' God grant that these movements may lead us all to the consideration of our own ways, and make us more faithful in preaching up the great doctrines of the cross, and in preaching down the false substi- tutes, with which, in association with ultra church views, so many are endeavoring to supersede them. Here is a point, in regard to which, among truly converted ministers, there will never, I trust, be any difference of opinion or of conduct. 516 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. " But there are suggestions in your letter of high import, and calling for much prayer and deep reflection, on which the opinions of good men and true may perhaps differ. For instance, I cannot entirely agree with your views of the consequences of the measures adopted at the last General Convention. In regard to the action itself of that body in the matter of missions, I can see no reason for regret. It still appears to me the appropriate concern and bounden duty of the church through its regular organization, and ought not to be devolved, but on the default of the church, on mere voluntary associations. Look at the prac- tical effect of our refusal to cooperate in the plan adopted. The church, by its ultra majority, would have adopted some such plan as that now in operation, perhaps with some distasteful appendages, which our influence has prevented. In that case, where would have been the foreign mission cause, confided exclu- sively to such hands ? Not immediately laid aside, but so inade- quately sustained as to cease to be an object of interest, and per- haps after a time utterly abandpned ; whereas, under the existing organizationj its management is confided, almost exclusively, to its warm friends, and through their agency has drawn forth an unprecedented accession of funds. Opposition direct has been almost entirely muzzled, and so much as has shown itself, is pro- nounced by many so-called high-churchmen, unwarranted oppo- sition to the authority of the church by which foreign miss,ions have been sanctioned. " But, you will say, this matter would have prospered better in the hands of voluntary associations. I doubt this. The party aspect which, under such an arrangement, foreign missions would have assumed, would have caused the great body of high-church- men to stand aloof, if not violently to oppose them ; whereas, under the present system, I know of many converts to the cause, and of some liberal donations from quarters where nothing of the kind could have been expected, had not this system been adopted. Besides, there would have been great difficulties from our bishops, who, in many cases, would have been very likely to interpose their canonical authority to prevent the sending of missionaries from their different dioceses,' and to obstruct col- lections within them for foreign missions. Even, however, if the HIS MINISTRY. 517 voluntary system were, in itself, indisputably preferable, yet, as we are now circumstanced, the error of having adopted a differ- ent system could not, in my opinion, be repaired, without greater evils than those incident to the one under which we are now placed. . " You must not, however, infer from any thing that I have said, that I am an advocate of all the rant on this subject, which has, for a time, filled the editorial columns of the , and figured on the pages of the author of 'Protestant Jesuitism.' In the missionary work, much voluntary agency is still required ; and there are many other matters, in which I should be sorry to be manacled with the bands which some in authority would fain impose. It is true, that from the beginning, I have acted as a trustee of the General Theological Seminary : aided, however, by other brethren, I am persuaded I have been able to exercise, not a controlling, but a restraining influence on many of its proceed- ings. By intercourse with the students, which would have been far less influential had I stood in the attitude either of opposition or of indifference to that institution, I have been able to give much individual encouragement to their adoption of moderate church principles and evangelical doctrines, and to the cultiva- tion of habits of personal piety ; and experience in this, as well as in some other departments, has convinced me, that so far as we can, without a compromise of principle, it is best to act with our brethren of the other school. The effect has been, thus far, I believe, beneficial. " But if, under the influence of any, measures should be adopted which would drive us to the necessity of either sacrificing our views of duty, or entirely seceding from them "■ — he means, evidently, from them, as a party, and not from the church, of which they are a part — " I shall have no hesitation in adopting the latter course. With our representations of divine truth in the pulpit, in intercourse with our people, and in the conduct of the religious press so far as it is in our hands, they cannot, unless through our own fault, presume to interfere ; or, if they do, should be met with firm resistance. Practices in our pastoral rel6,tions, which they professedly disapprove, and openly censure, 80 long as our own consciences justify us in their continuance, I 518 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. hope none of us will abandon. So that, whatever union there may be in some measures more obviously requiring the authori- tative sanction and support of the church, there will, until a mighty revolution shall have taken place in the minds of high- churchmen, be many obvious differences between them and us. Concession from our side must have its limits, and the time may come, when we shall be compelled to a wider separation than now exists. It is not, however, desirable. ' If it be possible,'' let peace be preserved. If faithfulness to the cause of Christ, and the souls of our fellow-men, oblige us to disapprove the course of our brethren, let it be done in moderation, in the tem- per of the meek and lowly Saviour, and in the spirit of his Gos- pel of love. " I had, some time since, a long conversation with the editor of 'the , in which I expressed to him my mind very frankly and fully. I have done the same to the bishop, and to several of the same class ; and although the character and design of that paper remains, and probably will remain unaltered, yet the editor was induced to assume the more quiet and uncontroversial tone which has marked his course for the last month. Still, his influence is bad, especially on the minds of the students in the seminary; and I hope his paper will be given up by all the friends of evangelical religion. " I have thrown out these thoughts in a very desultory and hasty manner. Give them as much weight as you think they deserve, and let me know with distinctness what you would wish done in the actual state of things, and of the prospect before us. - " With great affection, " Your brother in Christ, * "JAMES MILNOR." In this letter are some permanently important truths ; and some things that were true, as well as important, in connection with the circumstances under which they were written. But change of circumstances has forced us to view some of the latter in a different light. It has now become very evident, that the policy of putting our foreign missions under the exclusive direc- tion of their evangelical friends, practically involved that of put- HIS MINISTRY. 519 ting our domestic missions under the exclusive control of anti- evangelical patrons ; and that the working of this division of labor and patronage has had the effect of filling the great home field, the real supply field, more and more widely with antievangeli- cal laborers ; thus gradually bringing on the time^ the full arrival of which, unless speedily prevented, cannot be far distant, when our whole missionary work will fall undividedly under wrong sway, and the foreign, as well as the domestic field, be filled by missionaries of virtually another Gospel, instead of that which we have so long been preaching. The next letter touching on subjects of public importance, was addressed to Bishop Smith. An extract only is given. "New York, April 7, 1837. " Right Rev. and dear Bishop — You will, I am sure, prefer that I should atone for my long-continued neglect of your kind letters, by now writing you a long one, to my wasting time in apologies, the character of which your goodness and your know- ledge of my daily occupations have already anticipated. I pro- ceed, therefore, to notice a topic to which your favors of last winter require me to advert : the report made to you by Mr. of our conversation about your essay in ' the Literary and Theo- logical Review.' It is more than probable, that he has given it an unwarrantable coloring. Certainly he did so, if he represented me as expressing any thing more than deep regret that you should have given publicity to sentiments, in regard to admission to the Lord's supper, which were apparently at variance with the uni- versal practice of the evangelical clergy of our church, with what we had understood to be your own, and with what I con- sidered a course of bounden duty on the part of every rector of a church of our communion. At that time, it will be remembered, we were without any explanation from you of an article of which every clergyman of our views had expressed strong disapproba- tion ; which had occasioned severe animadversions in some pul- pits, on the inadequacy and error of views entertained by even the best portion of our Zion ; and which had caused our high-church- men to exult at the gain they had acquired, in an evangelical bishop's advocacy of principles to which they boasted of having 520 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. ever adhered. And now, my dear bishop, though I feel bound gratefully to acknowledge the frankness with which you have disavowed the latitudinarian views of Christian communion sup- posed to be maintained in your essay, yet I am sure your candor will excuse my continuing to regret that it should have exhibited the subject in such a light as to have impressed all, both friends and foes, with a like understanding of its import. As the matter now stands, the demand of a reasonable satisfaction, on the part of every pastor, with the sufficiency of the religious qualifications expressly required by the church, in all who partake of the Lord's supper, I understand as having your decided approval. This is all I desire. I would not have the exercise of this judgment placed in other hands. I would not, even by the proper officer, have what I consider an undoubted right, in the overseer of every flock, harshly or inquisitorially used ; and I would be very care- ful that no other terms of communion be exacted than such as are strictly authorized by the Gospel and the Church. Of the duty of antecedent family and parochial instruction, you have not spoken in terms too strong. Of its effect, under God's bless- ing, we ought to entertain much hope. And yet, facts but too strongly prove that education, even when best conducted, will not always make our children Christians ; and we should beware of trusting to any other power than that of God to change their hearts and qualify them for spiritual communion in the ordi- nances of the Church. I am sure there can be no essential dif- ference of views on this subject among evangelical Christians, Let no means be omitted. Let a just confidence in God accom- pany their use. But let the final reference be wholly to the omnipotence of his grace. " It has caused us great pain to part with dear brother Jack- son." [The Rev. William Jackson, who resigned St. Stephen's, New York, and removed to the parish in Louisville, Ky.] " But it is an evidence of the desire of your evangelical brethren to aid you in your present conflict, that none of them have used any influence to retain him. We rejoice that our loss is your gain, and pray that his emigration to the West may be abundantly blessed. " I have much more to say, but I am so near the bottom of HIS MINISTRY. 521 my paper that I can only desire my affectionate regards to Mrs. Smith, and assure -you, that with undiminished affection, I am. " Your faithful brother in Christ, "JAMES MILNOR." The next shows that, though no longer secretary and gen- eral agent, he was yet busy in our missionary affairs as an ordi- nary member of the board. To Mrs. Milnor. "Baltimore, June 12, 1837. "My dear Ellen— The session of our Board of Missions closed on Friday evening, in time for me to make an address at the anniversary meeting of the Bible Society of this state. On Saturday I was favored with a ride round the precincts of the city, which are ornamented with many handsome country-seats. Yesterday I preached in three different churches ; and to-day, I have been prevailed on to remain for a little repose before I start on my journey homeward. " I have received a message from General Sewell and his lady, of Elkton, pressing me to pay them a short visit on my way. I have not yet made up my mind whether I shall do so or not. If I should, I will write you from that place, and let you know what day you may expect me home. "Bishop Mcllvaine went to Washington on Saturday. He returns to-day ; and I will learn from him when he expects to be in New York, and regulate my movements by his, if he intends ,to go to New York this week. - " Tell Mr. Cooke I would have written to him, btit had noth- ing particular to communicate. He will be kind enough not to depend on me for any service till Sunday next, when, God willing, I will be ready for any duty required. Give my love to all the members of the family, and believe me, " Affectionately yours, , "JAMES MILNOR." About this time, the fever of excitement in our church, pro- duced by the development of certain theological tendencies in our General Theological Seminary, began to run high. To this state of things some passages in the following letter refer. 53Slf MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. .l^ti^. f}*i I > To Bishop Mcllvaine. f'^-n%,,r. < ,• r- "New York, June 30, 1838. "Right Rev. and dear Sir — ^When I received your favor of the 21st instant, the board of trustees of the General Theological Seminary were iur session, and had already passed upon the ques- tion, whether they would appoint to the temporary occupation of the two vacant professorships — Evidences and Pastoral The- ology-— or, as heretofore, refer the business to the standing com- mittee. The determination of the question was in favor of the reference ; and of course, not a word was said about the present incumbents. In this state of things, I thought it would be best not to lay your communication before the board, but reserve it for the standing committee, provided you deem it expedient, and will authorize me either to alter the direction, or to submit it as it is, after stating the reason above-mentioned for its not having been submitted to the board. " Dr. 's extraordinary course is a subject of general conversation, and — so far as I have conversed with our clerical brethren, without distinction of party — of pretty general con- demnation. A few either justify his views, or give them such a gloss as to lessen their apparent heterodoxy. " I have spent three days with the committee of examination for the seminary ; the result of which has been satisfactory. About twenty received testimonials. The dissertations read at the commencement yesterday, were all respectable, and some of them excellent; no 'progressive justification' or Universalism being apparent. Every student with whom I have conversed, has expressed decided opposition to the views of Dr. . A very few, I understand, are his advocates. I sincerely hope, that the injury which he may do them, will be prevented by the refusal of the standing committee to reappoint him. " Last week I attended the meeting of the board of missions, at Boston. It was not so large as could have been wished, but was conducted in a good spirit, and with perfect harmony. The Massachusetts convention was contemporaneously in session, and with great unanimity, elected Dr. Potter assistant bishop in that state. He is unhappily absent in Europe ; and I fear no answer wiU be returned by him in time for his consecration at the HIS MINISTRY. 523 approaching General Convention, should he accept the appoint- ment, of which great doubts are entertained. You have heard of Dr. Eastburn's '■Nolo^ to Maryland. Dr. Johns, who preached our mission sermon at Boston, tells me that he thirties another effort will be made, at a special convention, to elect a clergyman resident in the diocese" — as bishop of our church in Maryland — "but if that should fail, he thinks Dr. Hawks will probably be elected. " My assistant has become disabled for duty, by a rush of blood to the head ; so that I expect to have the whole charge of pulpit and parochial duty, for the remainder of the summer. " Yours, most truly, "JAMES MILNOR." To Hubert Van Wagenen, Esq.,* Poughkeepsie. • , J'New York, Aug. 16, 1838. ' " Dear Sir — I regretted that a preengagement for next Sunday obliged me to decline the Rev, Mr. Hatch's invitation to assist him in his duties on that day ; particularly as I have been desirous of paying you a visit ever since the lamentable eventj by which you and Mrs. Van Wagenen have been so unexpectedly and heavily afflicted. I was, however, rejoiced to learn from Mrs. Maynard, that your dear partner was favored with more of a spirit of resignation than, under such a bereavement, could have been expected ; and that the Lord has enabled you also to bear your loss with a good degree of acquiescence in this unlooked-for providence. "Poor Sarah must have been deeply distressed; but, in com- mon with her beloved parents, has, I trust, realized in the event an occasion of renewed gratitude to God for the blessing of an experimental acquaintance with our blessed religion, which teaches us, that 'whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth,' and that, 'though no chastening for the present be joyous, but grievous ; neverthe- less, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruits of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.' "With kindest regards, "Affectionately and truly yours, "JAMES MILNOR." •' Formerly one of the wardens of St. George's. 524 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. To Mrs. Milnor. "Philadelphia, September 9, 1838. • "My dear Ellen — On the principle that no news is good news, I prdlume you will take it for granted that all has been well with me since I left home. "We have a full convention, all the bishops being now present. At the opening of the convention, we had an excellent sermon from Bishop Meade; on Thursday evening, an interesting discourse from Bishop Otey, at St. Ste- phen's, before the Board of Missions ; and on Friday evening, a missionary meeting at St. Andrew's, at which six of the bishops made addresses. " The convention sit every day from nine till three, and at five the Board of Missions hold their sittings; so that, with meet- ings of important committees as they can find opportunity, our time is fully occupied; and, with long walks; occasioned by the distance of my residence from the place of meeting, I go to bed every night thoroughly fatigued. "Pl6ase tell Mr. Cooke, that the business of dividing our dio- cese has gone on well. The amendments to the constitution, authorizing that measure, have passed with great unanimity; and Bishop Onderdonk will, I presume, leave this city on Tues- day morning, in order to be present at the special convention which is to sit in New York at five o'clock on the evening of that day. He will immediately return, with their final action on the subject; when the ratification by the General Convention will take place, and all will be complete. Believe me "Your affectionate husband, "JAMES MILNOR." Almost a year intervenes between the date of this letter and the next — the time being spent in his usually numerous engage- ments; but no letters of importance having survived to mark any special incidents on its passage. The summer vacation of 1839 Dr. Milnor spent on a tour with Bishop Meade to Niagara and through the Canadas. The next letter marks a portion of their progress. " Schenectady, Friday, August 9, 1839. "My dear Ellen — ^I drop you a line, just to give you an ac- • count of our progress thus far. We had a delightful passage up HIS MINISTRY. 525 the river to Albany ; and, on our arrival, concluded to proceed immediately to Troy, the ovv^ners of the boat sending us and others thither in a small steamer free of expense. After tea at Troy, we walked, under the guidance of a Mr. Cannon, who in- troduced himself to me as an old parishioner, to Mr. Walker's institute for boys, which Bishop Meade was desirous of seeing. There we spent the evening, attending the chapel worship of the school, and then went back to our inn in the town. In the morn- ing we saw the Episcopal clergy of the place, visited Judge Buel and Mrs. Willard's seminary, and about eleven o'clock went back by coach to Albany ; where we dined, and left for this place at half-past two o'clock, P. M^ Here we visited the Episcopal church, took a general survey of the place, went to Union college and drank tea with Professor Potter, walked through the beautiful gardens of the college, and then returned ; Dr. Potter accompany- ing us to our lodgings. We also saw Dr. Nott, and Mr. Walter, rector of the parish. " This morning we intend to proceed, at half past nine, in the cars for the west, expecting to sleep to-night at Auburn. I never felt better in my life, and anticipate a pleasant day in passing up the valley of the Mohawk. " Affectionately yours, "JAMES MILNOR." To the same. " Steamer United States, Aug. 13, 1839. *"My dear Ellen — I write in the cabin of the steamer in which we left Lewiston about five o'clock this afternoon, bound down lake Ontario to Ogdensburg, whence we propose to cross into Canada and visit Montreal, and probably Quebec. We have prosecuted our journey by every species of conveyance — steam- boats, railroads, canals, and coaches — and have met with no unpleasant circumstances on our way. Except a little rain oil Sunday, the weather has been clear and pleasant, though uncom- monly cool for the season. After leaving Schenectady, we passed through Utica and Syracuse, and spent our Sunday in Rochester, where Bishop Meade preached three times, and I twice, in the two beautiful churches of that delightful city. Rochester far 526 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. exceeds my anticipations, both in elegance and extent. Yester- day we proceeded by railroad to Batavia, and thence in post- coaches to Buffalo. After breakfast to-day we proceeded, by the cars, to the Falls of Niagara, and spent several hours — not so long as we could have wished — in surveying those stupendous cataracts. In viewing them, Bishop Meade anticipated disap- pointment, but found them far exceeding his expectations. We were compelled reluctantly to leave them, at half past two, for Lewiston, in order to secure our passage this evening down the lake. Our expectation is to be in Quebec on Sunday, and on the next day to return to Montreal, taking lake George and Bur- lington, Vt., on our homeward way. As the bishop wishes to spend a day or two at Burlington with Bishop Hopkins, and one day at Saratoga Springs, and also to stop at Poughkeepsie, to see Mr. Bartlett's school, I begin very much to doubt whether it will be practicable for me to reach New York by Saturday week ; but should I not, the Rev. Mr. Haight was kind enough to say he would endeavor to see our church supplied. I will, however, write you again on this subject, when I can more exactly ascer- tain how we shall stand for time. "Your faithful and affectionate ; . "JAMES MILNOR." If, however, he wrote again during his absence, his letter is lost, and the above is all we know of this summer's northern tour. Through what part of the Canadas the two friends passed during this interesting excursion, or whether they visited any part of those provinces but the cities of Quebec and Montreal, we have no means of ascertaining. Indeed, it is much to be regret- ted that Dr. Milnor either kept no journal or has preserved none ; for it cannot be doubted that he formed many new and interest- ing acquaintances, and met with many new and interesting in- cidents, in the course of his journey ; or that, if we had but some of the sweet communings of the two friends by the way, they would make a pleasant and a profitable chapter in the present memoir. HIS MINISTRY. 527 SECTION IV. The northern tour, noticed at the close of the last section, possibly led to a subsequent passage in the life of Dr. Milnor, which, like hundreds of others, if they could be gathered up, tends to show that he was not always the man of business, in religion ; not always in missionary agencies and on missionary tours ; not always at meetings of conventions and missionary boards ; not always the watchful trustee of the seminary, and the critical observer of theological developments : that these were, in fact, but the occupations of his spare time — the occa- sionally stirring incidents which drew him out in those letters most easily preserved and recovered ; and that under and be- tween these more public movements and actions ran the great stream of his life, in quiet, regular, unnoticed labors ; in doing good to his flock and good to every body, as God gave him oppor- tunity. The passage in his life to which these remarks refer, was as follows. Soon after his return from his northern tour, he received from the Rev. Mr. F , of C , Upper Canada, a brief note, intro- ducing to him a young man, the only child of a pious officer in the British army, who proposed to devote himself in New York to literary pursuits. The previous history of the young man may be judged by extracts from a letter which immediately fol- lowed the note of introduction. , - To the Rev. Dr. Milnor. " C , Upper Canada, Oct. 29, 1839. " Rev. and dear Sir — I took the liberty, last week, of giving to a young man leaving this for New York, a letter of introduc- tion to you. I did so because I felt I should be excused, if by taking that liberty I could, iri any degree, alleviate the feelings of almost heart-broken friends, and give to the poor, self-exiled, and unhappy youth one to whom, in an hour of repentance, he might look for that advice and godly counsel, which your years, experience, and standing in the religious world, would enable you to give with so much effect. 528 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOE. " But in order that you may know how to deal with this poor prodigal, I feel that it is my duty to make known some particulars of his history. His parents and aunt are truly pious. He is an only child. His father has been in the British army,, and now commands the regiment on active service hfere. He is possessed of a small private fortune, amply sufficient for a private gentleman in this country. This youth has been a child of many prayers, which, alas, appear as yet to have been unheard. Being delicate from his childhood, he has been watched with almost more than a mother's fondest solicitude, yet I be- lieve, guided by that judgment which a knowledge of their own state by nature could not but give the parents. I think I may safely say, he has not been ' a spoiled child.' " He was educated in his father's house, under the eye of his . parents. Every pains was taken with him that you would expect from such parents with an only child. Unfortunately, about six years ago, a young man was recommended to them as • tutor to their son, whb afterwards proved a worthless character. From him, I fear, he received those seeds which have since pro- duced a most plentiful harvest of sorrow and woe. Though his parents had some slight fears regarding him, yet they did not in the least dream of the lengths to which he has since shown him- self capable of going. Nothing appears to have been too bad for him. " He has abilities, and imagines he can succeed as an author. AVhen he returned from Buffalo," whither he had fled from mil- itary duty, " he told his friends he could shift for hims6lf ; and they have now allowed him to look to a cold, unfeeling world for support. Tn all money transactions he has been most correct and honorable ; but he loves lo\y company, and in such company he will exceed. " Such is the unhappy youth of whom Satan has possessed himself. Not a lad in the province had fairer prospects, a more comfortable home, or kinder and better parents. But 0, mys- terious ways of Providence, he has given himself up to the charms of his implacable enemy, and sold himself, as it were, ' to feed swine.' That, like the Prodigal, he may tire of the husks which he will soon have to eat, and that God may bless HIS MINISTRY. 529 you in all your * labors of love,' is the prayer of his devoted, but now afflicted friends, and of " Rev. and dear sir, " Your much indebted and faithful servant, "T. B. F." Early in January, 1840, Dr. Milnor received a second letter from the same gentleman, intimating that the mother of the young man had become extremely anxious on his account ; and that, though the parents did not expect Dr. Milnor to receive the prodigal into his house, yet they did beseech him, as a minister' of Christ, to seek him out, take him by the hand, be a Christian' friend to him, and write to the parents as soon as be could make it convenient. Dr. Milnor soon had an interview with the youth ; found him penniless, and willing, if enabled, to return to his parents ; and accordingly, after becoming responsible for his support for some weeks, communicated his proceedings to the father, and, in a letter not recovered, but dated January 24, 1840, advised him to permit and provide for his son's return. The reply which ho received was characteristic of a pious British officer, whose heart was full of kindness, but whose habits had taught feeling to be silent in the presence of judgment. It was sternly just, and martially inexorable. The following are extracts. To the Rev. Dr. Milnor. " C , Upper Canada, 4th Feb. 1840. . "Rev. and dear Sir — I beg leave to thank you, most sincerely,^ for your truly kind and Christian letter of the 24th ult., and for the interest which you have manifested in the affairs of my unhappy child. The same mail brought a letter from him, also, to his poor heart-broken mother, written after a silence of many weeks. " In this letter it is evident, that he is still far from desiring to procure a livelihood by any more rational or reputable means than those which he was bent upon pursuing when he left home. He has been in company with play-actors and leaders of orches- tras, and has even so far degraded himself as to appear as a hired actor at one of the theatres, though, providentially, he received nothing for his services. Mem. Milnor. 34 ^^_. MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. , r t..-- "I declare to you, my dear sir, that nothing would give greater pleasure to my heart, than to receive back my prodigal, if assured that he were at the same time my repentant son. "Were it God's will, I would with pleasure lay down my life, could my doing so he serviceable to his soul's welfare ; but I will contribute nothing towards maintaining him in his present evil courses. I therefore most earnestly, and at the same time ^ost respectfully request that you will not again become liable for any of his debts. If he could procure employment by which he would be merely fed and housed, it would be the best thing for him under present circum- stances. By a long continuance in such a situation, and perse- verance in good conduct, furnishing evidence pf an inclination to abandon his present worthless companions and his wild, imprac- ticable schemes, he would find that, so far as my means would allow, he should want no sum requisite to establish him in life. " I should consider it a favor, additional to those already con- ferred, if you would again seek him out, convey to him the sub- stance of what I have stated, and let him understand, that with his present views, he can expect no assistance from me. "When- ever I become convinced that he is endeavoring to seek pardon from, and reconciliation to the Saviour, whose mercies he has so despised, my arms, my heart, and my house, will be open to receive him, and all — all shall be forgotten, " I beg your prayers in his behalf at the throne of grace ; and assuring you of my grateful sense of your kindness, I remain, dear sir, "Most faithfully and respectfully, yours. "New York, Feb. 24, 1840. " Dear Sir — ^Your letter of the 4th inst. I have duly received, and made known its contents to your unfortunate son. He was evidently deeply affected; but neither then, nor at any other time, has he uttered a reproach against any but himself. He blames no one for the abject situation into which he confesses his own disobedience and folly have brought him. As his lodgings are in a part of the city distant from my residence, and in his few calls upon me, your son had not mentioned his appearance upon the stage, I knew it not until I received your letter. His HIS ministry: 531 account of it is, that a person connected with a theatre in the neighborhood, being a boarder in the same house with him, sug- gested the idea of his seeking some relief from his utter destitu- tion by recourse to this as an immediate means ; that his poverty, not his will, consented ; that it resulted, as you were informed, in his obtaining no remuneration ; and that every thing about the theatre so disgusted him, that he has not since had, nor ever will have, any further connection with it. At the same time he declares, that he avoided, as far as practicable, intercourse with the actors ; and has since had with them none whatever. " At his second boarding-house he remained seven weeks without being able to pay his board. To protect him from the inclemency of the weather, and to give him an appearance that would allow of his remaining in any decent lodgings, I paid his landlady $21 for the redemption of his trunk, clothes, and writ- ing-desk. The person with whom he now boards, is a poor but respectable woman. I have paid her his board for the five weeks during which he has lived with her, and engaged to pay for the current week, which ends on Saturday next. " And now, my dear sir, what is to be done ? The tim^s with us are distressing beyond all past experience ; and thou- sands of persons are wholly without employment. Notwithstand- ing his great faults, I have commiserated the situation of your son, and have spent much time in vainly seeking some means by which he could get a living ; so that what is to become of him, if entirely deserted by his relatives, God only knows. I have made all the inquiry in my power to ascertain his habits in the matter of temperance, since he has been in the city. At hie first lodgings, in a family worthy of credit, they say his conduct was perfectly correct. At his second, they allege it was so, ex- cept in a single instance ; and that instance he denies. At his , present, his landlady assures me there has never been the least appearance of his having touched liquor. I can only add, that when he has called upon me, and in the two instances when I have visited him, there was no indication about him of any ad- diction to intemperance. " Besides the impossibility of obtaining employment, I am sorry to add, that if he could obtain it, the state of his health 532 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. would probably very soon oblige him to leave it. Our climate seems not to agree with him. He has had repeated attacks of asthma, so as to confine him to his bed under the physician's care for two or three days at a time. " "We cannot assuredly count on the permanent reformation of the unhappy youth, until God changes his heart ; but I do think, that so far as one destitute of this blessing can see his past errors and determine to reform, it is the case with him ; and yet, not presuming to interfere with what God has made it your right to decide, I can only add, that he could not be more unfavorably circumstanced than he now is for carrying any good resolution into effect. I pray you not to abandon him. " Very respectfully, yours, "JAMES MILNOR." On the 12th and 13th of March, Dr. Milnor wrote again both to the father of the young man, and to the clerical friend who first introduced him. From these letters the following are inter- esting extracts. " New York, March 12, 1840. " My dear Sir — ^Under these circumstances" — ^the father's refusal of money, and the son's inability to find employment — " I am placed in a state of great uncertainty as to my future course in respect to him. On the one hand, the great desire which you express for his reformation, leads me to suppose that your affec- tions are not entirely withdrawn from him — ^that you do not con- sider him an utter outcast ; on the other, your order to make no more advances for him will assuredly make him such. If I notify his present landlady that I will not be responsible for his weekly board, he must leave her house ; and in his present cir- cumstances, whither shall he go ? Forgive me, my dear sir, but I am a father ; I wish to act consistently with the golden rule of my divine Master, and I must do to you and your unhappy son as in a similar situation I could wish you to do to me and mine. I cannot see him thrown into the street, for I greatly fear, that instead of producing the result which you desire, it would be his utter ruin. I will continue my efforts to get him employment, though I have but little expectation of success ; and in the mean- HIS MINISTRY. 533 time, at least for a season sufRcient to give you opportunity to reconsider your determination, and to take, as I earnestly entreat you to do, some measures for his return, I will continue to pay his board ; at the same time frankly acknowledging, that after what you have written, I have no legal claim upon you for remunera- tion. I have said much to the youth that may, under the divine blessing, be at some future time beneficially revived in his recol- lection. He appears to be deeply impressed, even to tears ; and though I cannot suppose him to be the subject of evangelical repentance, yet sad experience leads him to confess, with bitter- ness of feeling, the past errors of his course ; and he makes to me the most positive assurances, that if permitted to return, he will hereafter pursue a course of life that shall meet his parents' approbation. He consider-s that it might not be suitable, at pres- ent, for him to reside with you at C , but he declares him- self willing to go upon either of your farms, and employ himself there in any way which you may direct, and to avoid all those habits which have already proved a so'urce of so much misery. " Since I last wrote, he has been repeatedly attacked with violent fits of asthma, at which times his situation is extremely distressing ; and I will add, in reference to a personal inconven- ience to himself, and a hinderance to his obtaining respectable employment, that his wardrobe, if he is not to leave all decent association, ought, within reasonable limits, to be improved. " Allow me to add further, that the gentlemanly port of your son, and the talents which he exhibits for conversation and com- position, would, in my opinion, fit him for the profession of the law. Again I would entreat you to rescue him from the perilous situation into which he will be brought, if I should be obliged to abandon him. " If my suggestions should be deemed obtrusive and inad- missible, I can only appeal to your candor in behalf of the good intentions with which they are made. With compliments to Mrs. , and sincere condolence with her under the trials which her feelings must suffer, I remain, " Very respectfully and truly, yours, "JAMES MILNOR." "Lieut. Col. ." 534 ^^ MEMOIR OF DR. MILITOR. ' "New York, March 13, 1840. - " Rev. and dear Sir— Since receiving your letter of Oct. 29, 1839, I have not deemed it right to trouble you with any com- munication respecting the son of your friend Col. ; circum- stances rendering it necessary for me to correspond directly with his father. But matters have now reached such a crisis, that I can no longer forbear writing to you, in the hope that your kind counsel and intercession may bo of service in restoring the un- happy youth to the affections of his parents. I proceed to state some things, that may enable you to form a judgment in regard to the course proper to be pursued. " For a considerable time after Mr. 's arrival in this city, I saw but little of him. I called, indeed, at his lodgings, and he several times on me without happening to find me at home; and as he did not make known to me any pecuniary necessities that pressed upon him, and seemed to think he might be successful in his project of getting his living as an author, I only made use of such opportunities as were offered, to give him that coun- sel which I hoped might profit him. " After the events of which he informed his mother, such as his attempt to prepare a play for the Chatham-street theatre, and, in what grade of character I know not, being actually per- suaded to appear upon the stage, I determined to bring myself into closer contact with him. I at once informed him, that it was utterly inconsistent with my views of duty, to have any thing to do with him while he continued his attachment to that mode of life, and that any continuance of my friendship must depend on his entire abandonment of the theatre, and all its associations. " After many personal conferences with him of the most seri- ous character, I sent him, a few days ago, a publication recently issued by our Tract Society, on 'the temptations of young men,' accompanied by a letter of considerable length. Yesterday I re- ceived from him an encouraging answer. He professes to lament sincerely the dreadful condition into which his own folly has plunged him; blames only himself, and speaks of his parents, especially his affectionate mother, in the most grateful manner. He confesses his eyes are opened to a full view of his past mis- conduct, and acknowledges his own ignorance of the unfeeling HIS MINISTRY. ' 535 character of the world on which he had so mistakingly thrown himself. His expressions of gratitude to myself, for my pecun- iary assistance, and much more for the counsel and advice which I have given him, are very full. After detailing, at consider- able length, the reflections to which the latter have led him, and expressing himself in regard to his mother, in a way which brought a flood of tears from my dear wife, he adds, " 'I trust that my desire for amendment is really sincere : T think it is ; for although I have frequently rriade resolutions which were easily broken, yet at present a total change seems to have come over my feelings and intentions for the future, and the desire of doing right seems more firmly founded than I ever felt before. I have begun to pray and read my Bible with more com- fort to myself than any earthly amusement can now afford me ; for all my fancied happiness is vanished, and I have long been a prey to a melancholy which seems only relieved by the perusal of the sacred volume. It is really astonishing how I can pore over its contents, and never feel tired of its sacred instructions. I do not mean to say that I do this from a love of religion — for that would be hypocrisy ; but when a child I loved to read it, and perhaps it is a remembrance of those days, and the happiness I then enjoyed, which makes me peruse it with more diligence than I should otherwise give. I feel a decided conviction of the sinfulness of my past life, and would willingly make up, by the improvement of my future conduct, for the misery and sufferings which I have brought upon my poor parents ; and I trust, through your instructions and advice, which I shall always be happy to receive, I may be led to seek a bountiful Saviour, in whom alone, I am sure, true happiness is to be found. I am not saying this merely to please you, and to show myself in a too favorable light with regard to religion — for my wishes, I feel, are sincere ; and although the basis on which I have placed my desires for future amendment' (that of atonement to his injured parents) ' may not be secure, yet, with your assistance, and that of my Bible and prayer, I trust I may yet become a restored lamb to the flock of Christ.' " After more of a similar import, he says, ' In conclusion, I must say, that so erroneous have been my schemes, and so self. 536 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. controlled my past actions, that I would gladly be once more under a parent's eye, and would willingly attend to his wishes and instructions for the regulation of my future life. I have tasted the fruits of disobedience ; their sweets are momentary, and turn to bitterness at last.' " Thus, my dear brother, I have spread before you the cir- cumstances of this misguided youth. I venture to ask you, is there not something hopeful in his case ? Would it not appear that the Spirit is striving with him ? May not the Lord, in an- swer to his own and our fervent prayers, convert and save him ? Ought he to be abandoned ? Will his friends allow what may be the commencement of a work of grace in his heart to be stifled, by his being thrown into a state of utter abandonment and de- spair ? Forgive rae, but I think Col. misjudges as to the best means of his reclamation. Leave him, in this unfeeling and wicked city, without a shilling and without a friend, and what can such a poor outcast do ? It must not be ; and until I have evidence that the present encouraging appearances are fallacious, I will not suffer him to want either his daily bread or my utmost efforts and prayers for his thorough conversion to happiness and God. Make what use you please of this letter. When I last wrote to the colonel, I had not received the letter from his son which I have now quoted. " Your affectionate friend and brother, "JAMES MILNOR." " To the Rev. T. B. F." Before the last two letters were written. Colonel had decided upon recalling his son — Dr. Milnor's letter of Feb. 24 having induced the decision. The letter enclosing the recall, was, nevertheless, of the same severe tone with the former, and evinced that he had little confidence in his son's professions of sorrow for what he had done. Portions of it were as follows : "C , Upper Canada, March 7, 1840. . ; "E.EV. AND DEAR SiR — I uccd not Say how sincerely grateful I feel for your kind attention to the interests of my unfortunate son, and for all the trouble which you have taken upon yourself in his affairs, as manifested in your letter of the 24th ult. HIS MINISTRY. - 537 " From all the circumstances which you mention, I perceive it is in vain to look for employment for the wretched youth in New York ; and considering his state of health and utter destitu- tion, I know of nothing better than to recall him. "After his arrival here, my intention is to send my son to my farm. Any thing will be better than to have him here amidst so many witnesses of his degradation. It could not be pleasant to him : to me it would be insupportable. I would advise him, most seriously, before leaving New York, to burn all the papers containing attempts at plays, poetry, and novels, upon which he has wasted so much precious time. Experience should, ere this, have taught him that these idle pursuits can never benefit him, even if he had the talents of a poet or a novelist, which, even in a minor degree, he has not. He has mistaken a liking for those vain and worthless compositions, for the genius required in producing them ; and the destruction of all the useless trash which he has collected in the indulgence of a diseased imagination and a vitiated taste, is a sacrifice now due to himself, to prove the sincerity of the repentance which he professes to feel. He has known my sentiments on this subject for years ; but in defiance of advice, and in direct opposition to my declared wish and com- mand, he has continued to yield himself to these studies, and to no other. He now reaps the fruit which they have produced. His mind will never be in a healthy state until he has totally and for ever abjured them. I thank God for what I hear from you, that he has not been intemperate of late. Asthma is his constitutional disease, and from a child he has had it impressed upon him, that either spiritous or malt liquors are poison to his complaint. He thought otherwise, and is now reaping fruit from that tree also of his own planting. And now, low, and wretched, and degraded as he is, he should remember, that it is not possible for him to regain his station in society, save by a very long con- tinuance in acts the very reverse of those to which he has hither- to been addicted. I pray God he may, ere long, be able to offer these substantial proofs of amendment. When he shall have redeemed his character as a gentleman, his intercourse with me shall be on as friendly a footing as it ever has been ; and when- ever the happy day shall come, on which I shall be assured he is 538 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. seeking the Lord with all his heart, my arms shall be opened to receive him as a dear s6n. " May God bless you, my dear sir, for all the pains which you have taken with this erring youth. If it should please him to change his heart, as I know it will give you pleasure to hear of it, I shall not fail to communicate it to you. Believe me to be, with great respect, " Very truly and faithfully, yours, To this letter Dr. Milnor returned a reply, of which the fol- lowing is the principal part. To Lieut. Colonel . "New York, March 18, 1840. " Sir— Your favor of the 11th inst. came to hand the day before yesterday. My first business was to see your son, and acquaint him that he was permitted, and would be supplied with the means to return home. You may judge, after all that has occurred, that this was to him pleasing information. Without any extravagant expressions of joy, he received it with becoming seriousness and sensibility. I spent much time with him, then and since, in giving him such counsel as, under the blessing of God, and with his good resolutions, if he persevere in them, may yet make him a respectable and useful man, a Christian, and a candidate for a happy eternity. I do not suppose him to possess '■ a new heart ;' but I do believe the Spirit of God has striven with him, and that he has felt awakened desires to experience the joys of true religion. May God prosper the work, if begun, and make him all that his parents' fondest wishes could desire." "And now, my dear sir, I can only say, your son has under- gone much of the salutary discipline which you have desired. He has passed a lonely winter ; and, except in the few weeks of my unacquaintance with his doings, I have reason to believe he has formed no prejudicial associations. During a few of my latest interviews with him, there have been some favorable indications of a substantial change of mind; and so far as respects absti- nence from all that would be displeasing to you, or in itself wrong, his assurances have been reiterated and earnest. HIS MINISTRY. / 539 " It would be presumptuous in me to advise you as to your future course towards him ; but I am sure you will excuse me when I say, that without intermitting due watchfulness over his conduct, I would notj were he my own son, use austerity of man- ner towards him, or what he might think unkindness. For the present, I would give credit to his promises of reformation, and take measures for giving him a profession. I do believe, that were a godly minister to watch over and counsel him, he might yet redeem his character, and become an ornament to the Church of Christ. He has my prayers for his conversion; and with those of his parents and friends, and well-conducted endeavors, I by no means despair of his being made a good man — peradventure a preacher of the Gospel to those with whom he has heretofore so injuriously revelled. "It has afforded me great pleasure to render you and your family the little service which I have been enabled to perform. If your son should be reclaimed and do well, it will be an ample remuneration for any trouble which his case has occasioned me. With my compliments to Mrs. and your sister, I remain, ' Very truly, yours, "JAMES MILNOR." It will be remembered, that the young man's recall was in- duced by Dr. Milnor's letter of the 24th February. Those sub- sequently written, giving a more cheering view of his moral and religious prospects, prepared the way for a far kinder reception than the terms of his recall seemed to promise. The character of his reception is apparent from the tenor of the following com- munication, which Dr. Milnor, several weeks afterwards, received from the young man himself. " C , Upper Canada, 30tli April, 1840. "Rev. and dear Sir — Having just learned that a person in this neighborhood is about to proceed to New York, I take the opportunity of writing to you according to promise, since I am sure you will be anxious to hear of my return to my father^ s house, together with any hopes that may be entertained relative to my future prospects. " The reception with which, on my arrival, I met from my 540 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. family, and I may say from all with whom I had formed any previous acquaintance, was certainly far beyond the utmost of my expectations. It was a warm and cheering reception ; the reception, as many have termed it, of the prodigal son, returned, at last, from the misery and guilt to which he had been a volun- tary victim, to the restored confidence and indulgence of a joy- ous parent, who seemed to forget the past in bright hopes of a future reformation. " I feel, my dear sir, that I can never fully thank you for the timely assistance which you rendered me in your last commu- nication to the Rev. Mr. F ; for it was that letter, the con- tents of which were made known to my parents, that seemed, in the first degree, to effect that change in my father's feelings towarijs me, for which I earnestly and gratefully thank God ; while the remembrance of all I have so lately suffered comes back to my mind in its full force. Had I never met with you, had I never known what it was to find a friend in a land of strangers, I might still have been the same wretched creature, without home, or friends, or any one to pity me, that I was when you first extended your kindly hand to the sorrowing exile. My case might have been even more deplorable now than it was then ; for God only knows what would have become of me, had I continued much longer in a city where every one around me was starving. But through your kindness and exertions in my behalf, I find myself restored to a home and long lost parents, whom I thought never more to behold. My father appears as kind in his manner towards me as he ever was. And while en- joying this return of confidence and indulgence on his part, I am > trying, on mine, all that lies in my power to please and comfort him. Through the blessing of God, I trust that the happy reunion which has been effected may ever continue as brightly as it has begun. " Although I have been anxiously looking forward to the time when I shall be steadily settled at some good employment, yet my prospects are still rather clouded. The study of the law seems to be out of the question, however anxious I might be to attain a correct knowledge of it ; for, in the first place, it would take me at least two years of constant study to acquire even the HIS MINISTRY. nr V or THE ' JuiriVBs.si'] necessary knowledge of the classics; after which, in the next place, as you doubtless know from your early pursuits, five years' study of the law is required before a student can be ad- mitted to practice. I have been talking with my father on the subject of my becoming a physician, and I may have some hopes on this head ; but as my friends in Ireland have been written to on the subject, we are anxiously awaiting a reply before doing any thing further for me on this side of the Atlantic. " Although my health is much improved since my return to Canada, yet I am only now recovering from a severe fit of asthma ; and as I feel very weak at present, and my mother intends writing you a few lines, I must beg you to excuse the shortness of my letter, and believe me, dear sir, " Ever, your grateful and obliged servant, "G T ." Appended to this letter, and on the same sheet, are the prom- ised lines from the mother. " My dear Sir — ^AUow me to offer you my warmest thanks for all your kindness to my dear child. You have been the means, under Providence, of his restoration to us all ; and I am happy to say his outward conduct is every thing we could wish, or that his letters led us to expect ; but we must wait the Lord's time for that inward change which his power only can effect. I am sorry to say the colonel has had a very severe attack of fever, and is ndt yet out of bed, though doing well. I was much gratified by your present of the little book. A friend of ours, Capt. Y., will hand you the amount which you were so kind as to advance to Gr. Pray excuse haste, and believe me, with kind love for you and yours, in which the colonel and Miss Y. beg to join, ' " Most sincerely and gratefully, yours, "M Y ." So ends, with these interesting extracts, the account of that passage in the life of Dr. Milnor which immediately followed his Canadian tour, at the close of the summer of 1839. The issue of his cares for the young man concerned, is, to us, a secret among the things of God. Hope whispers that his cares were not in 542 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. vain ; but fear suggests the possibility that they were never fol- lowed by the great end which he sought.* The case is full of lessons for the young ; and not without teachings to elder years. They lie on the surface, and need not to be indicated to the reader. In one remark only will the writer indulge. " The law is our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ." The law drives us to the Gospel. The law kills ; the Gospel giveth life. But the law must be used lawfully, that the Gospel may do its work effectually. Each, rightly used, has its place; and neither can do without the other. The law, by its terrors, must convince of sin, before the Gospel, by its love, can win the soul Something like this principle seems illustrated in the foregoing case. The offended father, in his earlier action, is all law. The loving minister, throughout his course, is all gospel. The stern severity of the former may have been necessary to make the guilty offender appreciate the winning gentleness of the latter. And both together, under the sealing grace of the Spirit, may have wrought a renewal, harmonious at first, and finally coales- cent with the higher and saving change, for which Dr. Milnor so tenderly labored and so earnestly prayed. We proceed to the other correspondence for the year 1840. ■ ' • ' '-.r'^^^'ti:-^':-:' . ' ■ - ■ ■' The Oxford Tract controversy had now made an open entry into our church through the republication, in New York, of " the Tracts for the Times." Dr. Milnor's letters, therefore, to his principal correspondents may be expected distinctly to define his position in relation to the agitating questions thus introduced. It is needless to say that position was not left doubtful. To Bishop McIlvainCf ' , "New York, Jan. 31, 1840. " My dear Bishop — I should sooner have answered your kind favors of the 17th of December, and the 6th instant, but that I * Since writing the above, the author has received a note from Dr. William H. Milnor to the following effect : " I must have omitted in my ' Recollec- tions ' to state, that the young man subsequently passed through New York with his parents, and called at the rectory. He was on his way to England with them, to enter on a course of study preparatory to the ministry.^' HIS MINISTRY. 543 hoped before this time to have read your anxiously expected charge, on "justification," and to have communicated to you some information of the manner in which it had been here re- ceived, and of the effects which it had produced. The delay in its appearance is a little provoking ; but no doubt we shall be a,mply compensated whenever it arrives. " I am glad my little protest against one of the many errors of the school at Oxford, meets your approbation. It has excited the disapprobation of a few ; and among them, of the editor of ' the New York Review,' who, as I presume you have seen, en- tirely approves of the new divinity, and charges me, without quoting a line of my sermon in proof, with advancing a view of the nature and design of the eucharist which is positively So- cinian! It was, I fear, in a wrong spirit that the doctor put on record this unfounded charge. Some time since, I dined in his company ; and after dinner the subject of the Oxford tracts was brought upon the carpet. At that time he had evidently made himself but little acquainted with them ; yet with very imper- fect second-hand information, he undertook to become their de- fender ; endeavoring, however, to controvert my representations of some of their views, and to give a plausible gloss to such as he could not deny. I had just risen from a fortnight's study of the whole series of ' the Tracts,' and was therefore prepared to ex- hibit them in their true colors. Several clergymen of our church were present, and the Hon. Mr. Frelinghuysen, chancellor of the university. One intelligent clergyman remarked, that I had ' floored Dr. on every point ;' and several confessed the im- pression which my argument made on their minds against the tracts. The doctor, however, is much abler with his pen than with his tongue. He has since, no doubt, studied the tracts attentively ; and I am ready, his spirit towards me notwithstand- ing, to acknowledge the talent displayed in his review, though I regret its employment in such a cause. " And now, in reference to this dangerous system, I fear that it is to obtain an influence in our church quite equal to that which it is exerting across the water. In our diocese, the bishop expresses his entire approval of its doctrines. In answer to a clergyman who said that he could go half way with the authors 544 MEMOIR OF DR. MILN'OR. of the tracts, the bishop told him to read and study them more attentively, and he would be prepared, like -himself, to go the whole. He inquires of all the candidates for orders, whether they have read them ; and if not, urges them to do so : and many of the students in the seminary — though few have read more than the numbers republished in New York — are yet their loud eulogists, and consider the promulgation of these ' primitive views ' as constituting a more propitious era to the Church than that of the Reformation, the fanaticism of whose conductors car- ried them so far ultra mediam viam, in their correction of a few acknowledged errors in the Roman church I "We thought we had achieved somewhat, when we prevented the return of to his temporary professorship ; but, unhappily, the seminary contains a man of more influence, one too who constantly exerts that influence in favor of Puseyism, and whose repu- tation for learning and piety enables him to exercise a pow- erful control over the students. A few of them come to me to unburden their griefs, and especially to deplore the sad effects of the Oxford divinity on the spirituality of some of their asso- ciates, of whose evangelical tendency they had, some time ago, the brightest hopes. I verily believe, that when about half a dozen precious souls shall have left the institution, there will remain scarcely an advocate for the scriptural doctrines of our articles and homilies in their plain, unsophisticated sense. And then, when we consider the advanced age of one or two of our evangelical bishops, which will prevent their effective opposition, the balancing state of mind in some of their juniors, and the reluctance of others among them to engage in controversy, my fears grow still more serious, and my only confidence is, that ' when the enemy cometh in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.' "I regret that I cannot send you a copy of the very excellent charge of the Bishop of Calcutta. One was lent to me ; and so far as I know, it is the only one in the city. Please remember me, my dear bishop, in your daily prayers, and believe me :i " Yours, most truly and affectionately, '^ "JAMES MILNOR." . HIS MINISTRY. 545 To the same. "New York, Feb. 8, 1840. " Right Rev. and dear Brother — I have thought it best to send to you, by the direct route, an answer to your favor of the 31st ult., lest the delay should prove a hinderance to you in get- ting out your charge. "I regret that it is not in my power to send you, in the way proposed, any of my numbers of the Christian Observer, as they are all bound in volumes to the close of the past y6ar. But although the numbers for the last two years and upwards contain much matter in relation to the Oxford tracts, and all their vari- ous errors are, more or less, the subject of remark, yet you will perceive their examination to be of less importance to you, when I mention that neither Newman's Lectures on Justification, nor Dr. Pusey's Letter to the Bishop of Oxford, is the subject of a specific review. The lectures of the former on Romanism are briefly reviewed, but without any material reference to the sub- ject of Justification; but neither of the other works is more than incidentally noticed. I doubt whether, from any of the ani- madversions, scattered in brief notices throughout the period re- ferred to, you would derive much information beyond what you already possess, in relation to their avowed doctrine of justifica- tion by baptism, further justification by self-mortifying observ- ances, etc., and final justification ^t the day of judgment : the same system so broadly avowed in the correspondence between Bishop Jebb and Mr. Knox, the inadequacy of which to afford true comfort to the dying Christian, there is reason to believe,. was so powerfully realized by the latter in his last sickness. - "I have made inquiry of booksellers, in hope of being able to obtain for you such numbers of the Christian Observer as con- tain the most valuable matter in relation to the doctrine which is the subject of your charge ; but they are not to be had. The Recorder has, I think, made a pretty good use of them in the numerous extracts which it has published. The talents of Mr. Wilkes as a controversialist, are far greater than I supposed him to possess ; and he enters into the battle with the altitudinarians at Oxford con amore. He is, I think, about the most annoying assailant with whom they have to contend. Here, next to Dr. Mem. MOnor. 35 546 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. , perhaps even before him, ranks Dr. , as an earnest defender of the Oxford tracts. His review of them — to which, in my last letter, I referred, and which, no doubt, you have ere now seen — is, in some instances, a direct defence of their anti- protestant doctrines, and in others an attempt, by subtle casu- istry, to disguise their enormities. The bishop's influence also is very injurious ; and yet, while he is recommending the study of these tracts to candidates for orders, with a decided expression of opinion in their faVor, I have very recently attended examina- tions at which both his questions and the answers of the candi- date were any thing but in accordance with their doctrines. He has never yet introduced the subject to me, nor to any one in my presence ; but students have, in several instances, informed me of his high eulogy of the Oxford divinity, as being the same with that which he has taught for many years, even long before the movement in Great Britain. In that country. Dr. Wolff" has avowed himself an adherent of most of the Oxford peculiarities. The Wilberforces are said to be coworkers with the school, and even our friend Melvill is suspected." [Since that time, some of the suspected ones have cleared themselves.] " God be thanked, we have yet some bishops, and I trust a goodly number of pres- byters, who will have moral courage enough to stick to the Bible as the only rule of faith, and to our articles and homilies, not merely on the ground of their ecclesiastical authority, but be- cause they are so delightfully accordant with God's precious book. We are beyond measure anxious for your charge. Pray do not delay its publication. If any thing is wanting in the first, it can be supplied in a second edition. I hope your book- seller will send a considerable number for sale at the eastward, where, I assure you, it is awaited with much impatience. " Truly, yours, "JAMES MILNOR." Whatever of correspondence may have passed between Dr. Milnor and his friends during the spring, summer, and autumn of 1840, all that was valuable in it has been lost, or proved irre- coverable. He spent his summer vacation on a visit to lake George and its neighborhood ; but no trace of his tour remains, with the exception of one brief note to Mrs. Milnor, informing HIS MINISTRY. 547 her of his arrival at the Springs, and of his intention to proceed to the lake the next afternoon. At the close of the year he received notice that he would soon be called to make another nomination to the Milnor professorship in Kenyon college. The letter containing this notice is pertinent to these memoirs. From the Rev. Dr. Sparrow. "Gambier, Dec. 17, 1840. •■■ " Rev. and dear Sir — Having concluded to remove from this diocese to that of Virginia, and accept a situation offered me in their theological seminary, it seems proper that I should apprize you of my intention. ' " Years ago, when I was much younger in age, and much younger still in health and strength, you very unexpectedly nom- inated me to the Milnor professorship. That so much confidence should be reposed in one so young and so little known, was a wonder to me ; and I can truly say, helped, with higher consider- ations, to make me solicitous to discharge my duty faithfully. The value of truth, pure truth, ' the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,' in matters of religion even more than in the affairs of the judgment-hall, I have always felt to be impor- tant ; and the incident referred to was a stimulus, additional to every other, to ' give heed to my doctrine.' How far I have suc- ceeded is certainly known to none but the infallible Judge in heaven. This, however, I think I may say to you, that during eleven years' duty in this station, I have never seen occasion to depart in the least from the spirit of those instructions which, when a lonely student in New York, I used to seek in the lec- ture-room of St. Greorge's on week-day evenings. May they as certainly carry me, through infinite grace and mercy, to the in- heritance which I seek above, as I have endeavored to inculcate them pn the minds committed to my care. " I regret exceedingly, that when I was last in New York I was not able to enjoy more of your society, and have some free conversation with you about the state of religion in our church. Your long and careful study of events as they have arisen among us, would naturally give weight to your judgment upon such matters, and not least with me. How you interpret some of the 548 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. 'signs of the times' I cannot conjecture. In reference to some things, there is more obscurity, vacillancy, and ambiguity about the doings of some portions of our church, than I like to see. I think the declaration of the , whose ability and honesty I respect — that the only difference between the high and the low church portions of our communion, is one oi feeling — a ques- tion ^mply of more or less zeal — one of the severest satires ever inflicted on a respectable and intelligent body of ecclesiastics. Were I near you, I should like to canvass with you in person the truth of this assertion. "But you will excuse all this irrelevancy. My only object in writing was to announce to you, as the person who nominated me and will have the nomination of my successor to the Milnor pro- fessorship, that I expect to retire from my present position about the end of next spring vacation ; that is, about the first of May. " Present my respects to Mrs. Milnor, and believe me, " Rev. and dear sir, most truly, " Your obliged friend and servant, "WILLIAM SPARROW." " The Rev. James Milnor, D. D., New York." About this period the onsets of the upon Bishop Mcllvaine appear, from his letters to Dr. Milnor, to have become marked both for frequency and for violence. To this state of things allusions are made in the following letters to the bishop. "New York, January, 15 1841. " My dear Bishop — Immediately on the receipt of your letter, I sent the accompanying communication to Bishop , and have no doubt it was on his suggestion that the editor of the has tried to make his peace with you by personal corre- spondence. I am glad you have insisted on the publication of all the letters ; though I should not wonder if, encouraged by the bishop's unqualified patronage, he should exclude your vin- dication from his paper, and substitute some half-way, unintelli- gible apology of his own. " I have read, with great delight, your interesting and elab- orate examination of the principles of the Oxford divinity, and earnestly hope it may have a wide-extended circulation. But HIS MINISTRY. . 549 when this edition is disposed of, I shall look with anxiety for one of less magnitude and price ; so that it may go into the hands of many more of the clergy and laity than will buy it in its present more expensive form. I observed with pleasure the notice of its intended publication in London, and anticipate for it a most favorable reception from the friends of evangelical religion both in and out of the church. " I had at my house, last evening, a young clergyman who has spent some time in England. He was introduced to Mr. Newman, with whose personal conversation, which he says was not at all polemical, he was much pleased ; as he was with that also of one or two others of the party. He says, the great majority at Oxford are decided rejecters of Puseyism, and feel indignant that his system should anywhere be supposed to meet the approval of the university, whose stamp it is, by some, thought to bear. " I had been apprized of the subject of your letter of the 4th instant, by one received some time before from Dr. Spar- row, and have in vain been looking round for some one who could satisfactorily fill his place. You may be assured that I shall have a very high regard to your approval, and shall never propose to the board of trustees one whom I do not previously know to be agreeable to you ; harmony of views between the head of the theological seminary and its professors being of the utmost importance. The portraiture which you have drawn of the man whom you would prefer, I very much like ; while I have great fears lest, in our limited circle of candidates, we shall not be able to find one, in whom all its lineaments are blended. I shall at all times be glad to receive from you any intimation as to your wishes ; being, as ever, " Your affectionate brother in Christ, "JAMES MILNOR." "New York, March 16, 1841. " Right Rev. and dear Bishop — Your last favor, by Mr. Hoyt, bears date near a month ago ; so that I am apprehensive you will think me inattentive to the several topics of that and former letters, if I longer delay an answer, though I regret my being 550 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. • still unprepared to reply in a manner satisfactory to my own mind or profitable to yourself, "Immediately on receiving your request in relation to the republication here of your work on the Oxford divinity, I called on the Messrs. , but found they had just completed an ar- rangement for becoming the agents of others for publishing, or to publish on their own account, the various books issued at Ox- ford. I then called on another firm, but they also declined on the score of > their present responsibilities. I have since conversed with one or two others ; but the fact is, that the disastrous state of the times creates, for the present, insuperable difficulties in the way of almost every enterprise. A cheap edition of your book, however, ought to be out soon; and I hope you will be able to fall on some plan by which it may be accomplished. "May I ask what you think of the 'Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal church in the diocese of Maryland,' laying aside this his appropriate title, and styling himself in his q^c/a/ papers, ' Bishop of Maryland,' and certifying the administration of con- firmation ' conformably with the goodly order and administration of the Catholic Church of Christ in these United States of Amer- ica?' Though I well understand the grounds on which this change of title is defended, and though something of the same kind has been attempted in the convention of our own diocese, yet I lament it as, in truth, another attempt to get rid of the idea, so odious to Oxfordism, of protesting against the Romish church. It is another branch of the vine of Puseyism. " I have never been able to obtain the number of the to which you have referred me, and of course am unacquainted with the exact nature of its assault upon you, though I readily infer from your letters that it was of a most offensive character. The position in which the editor has placed you, by a singular disregard of common courtesy between man and man, indepen- dent of your official claims on his respect, together with the waiver of responsibility on the part of his diocesan, after what I think should be considered its official assumption, makes the case not a little difficult. As to the suggested appeal to the New York Standing Committee, I am persuaded it would be worse than useless. They would, I have no doubt, either decline inter HIS MINISTRY. 551 ferenoe, or decide the matter entirely on party grounds. I am also sorry, in reference to another suggestion, to express a very repugnant feeling towards any interference whatever with the religious press on the part of the General Convention. It could assume no shape that would not be alarming to the minds of many. I confess, I should myself feel as sensitive in regard to any prescribed restrictions on the religious, as I would with re- gard to the same course, on the part of the general or state gov- ernment, with the liberty of the political press. In both cases I think the principle should be — unfettered freedom, with respon- sibility for its abuse. Editors of political and religious papers should be alike liable for libels on personal character ; and your assailant should be presented, tried, and punished for any un- founded aspersions, whether the offensive article be editorial, or published from a correspondent with his sanction, especially after refusing redress to the injured party. But the times are out of joint when such an assailant is able to take shelter under the wing of a bishop, and when the appeal for justice must be made to one who is a copartner in the offence, or will at least be found to have prejudged its merits in favor of his friend and favorite. Under such circumstances, I can conceive of no course more judicious than that which you proposed, of publishing the whole correspondence, though I think it might be best done in a pam- phlet form. "Your friend Dr. Gregory has gone to his rest. I scarcely thought, when we saw him at "Woolwich, in 1830, that he would be detained so long from its enjoyment. "We are passing, at St. George's, a very pleasant, and I hope, profitable Lent. We have among us several exercised minds, and an unusual interest in our extra services. We have three every Sunday, and four during the week. After prayers on Wednesday and Friday mornings, we read a portion of our venerable homilies, and have a lecture on the evening of each of those days ; besides a domestic religious meeting in the families of our parishioners, every Monday evening. Mr. Cooke, who is indefatigable in his labors, has also a Bible class every Saturday evening. Thus, by the blessing of God, we hope to have some special evidence among us of the wisdom of the church, in ap- 552 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. pointing this season of ^protracted meetings,'' in which our mem'- bers may be called, in our peculiarly solemn services, to an awa- kened attention to the things that belong to their eternal peace. " I have now said enough, my dear bishop, to weary your patience, with but little that can apply to any practical use ; but I trust in your goodness to excuse the garrulity of an old man, and to believe me, with undiminished regard, " Your affectionate friend, " And faithful brother in Christ, "JAMES MILNOR." To the same. . , "New York, July 14, 1841. "My dear Bishop — I have been in great perplexity in regard to the professorship. Dr. Vaughan has insuperable objections to its acceptance. "What think you of Dr. May ? I believe him admirably qualified for the office, in point of talents, acquire- ments, piety, and soundness of principles. His health, too, seems to be, in a considerable degree, restored. His voice is excellent. I heard him make one of the best missionary addresses to which I ever listened, at the late Virginia convention. He is now at Wilkesbarre, and can be readily consulted ; or, if you approve of him, and should think it best to elect him without previous con- sultation, you may consider this as my nomination of him to the office. }^^ f " I send you Tract Ninety, in the Oxford series. You will not wonder at its drawing down the official interference of which we have heard. " Yours, affectionately and faithfully, ; "JAMES MILNOR." The foregoing letters are introduced together, because they were addressed to the same correspondent, and appertained to the same set of subjects. It will be sufficient to add, so far as the Milnor professorship was concerned, that Dr. May was compelled, by the serious and protracted illness of his wife, to decline the nomination which he received ; and that Dr. Milnor subsequently nominated the Rev. Dr. Fuller, then of Christ church, Andover, Massachusetts, who was afterwards elected, and became Dr. Sparrow's successor, - , HIS MINISTRY. 553 SECTION V. Some farther letters for the year 1841, now require inser- tion. To the Rev. Dr. Beasley. "New York, March 17, 1841. ■ "Rev. and dear Sir — I am glad you are so well pleased with the Christian Observer, for which my own fondness is such, that I have long been in possession of all the volumes in the series, from its commencement in 1802. I had seen it for several years before the beginning of my ministry. About that time, I hap- pened to have a conversation with the venerable Dr. Wharton, of Burlington, N. J., who spoke of it as a work which he exceed- ingly admired, and constantly read, both on account of the ortho- doxy of its views on the doctrines of the church, and for the talent with which it was then conducted by Zachary Macauley, Esq. Mr. Macauley was its editor for the first fifteen years of its career ; since which time, it has been conducted by the Rev. Samuel Charles Wilkes. I had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with both these excellent men, when in London, in the year 1830. Mr. Macauley has since deceased. He was the father of the present distinguished member of the House of Com- mons of that name ; and from the extensiveness of his reading and acquirements, was called 'the walking library.' I think it was Lord Bexley who spoke to me of his astonishing readiness in giving information on almost ev^ry subject of inquiry, and said nothing was more common, in the circle of their acquaint- ance, when all others were posed on any subject, than to say, ' We '11 ask Zachary Macauley ; he can tell us.' He was a remarkably plain, unpromising man in his appearance ; but I can truly say, I derived no such benefit from any individual in England as from him, in the frequent interviews with which he was kind enough to favor me. Mr. Wilkes was one of the most intelligent and pious of the clergy, with whom it was my privi- lege to become acquainted ; and I have few more pleasing volumes in my library than his sermons, with which he presented me, when he called to take leave of me, the day I left London. " Edward Tuckerman, Esq., of Boston, intending shortly to 554 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. visit England, and having written me for letters of introduction, I have, among others, sent him one addressed to Mr. Wilkes, and in a separate communication, which he will hand him, I have made the request contained in your letter. " It is astonishing to what an extent high-church principles are now carried. It was remarked to me, by the late Bishop of Q,uebec," Bishop Stewart, " on one of his passages through this city, on his way to England, that he heard more about them in a three days' sojourn in New York, than in a year's residence in London ; and the late venerable Bishop of Pennsylvania, though a strict churchman, often spoke to me, in terms of still stronger disapprobation, of the extravagant views of some with whom he acted, than he has done in his published works. The effects of certain influences in our General Seminary are very deleterious on the unformed minds of its students. The disapproval of ex- treme views, by two of the resident professors, has but little effect in preventing those views from being embraced by the young men, under the more direct instruction of others ; and our eccle- siastical paper, by flattering them with the reception of their productions, and with compliments from its editor, has a most injurious effect on their minds. Narrowness of feeling, and illib- erality of opinion, in relation to Christians of other names, are not its only bad effects. Its influence in inducing, if not in some instances the rejection, at least a diminished esteem of those evan- gelical doctrines which are now the continual subjects of assault from the Oxford divines, and the substitution of the new system exhibited in the ' Tracts for the Times,' is calculated to give a most dangerous character to the ministry of these the future standard-bearers of our church. For one, I sincerely rejoice that your veteran pen has been so successfully employed in exposing the true character of the new divinity ; and I am encouraged to hope, that though the enemy is coming in like a flood, yet the Spirit of the Lord will continue to lift up a standard against him. " What the expectations of Rome are, may be inferred from the oft-repeated expressions of approval of the Oxford measures, with which the Romish publications teem. In the English Cath- olic Magazine for 1839, its editors thus express themselves : 'Most sincerely and unaffectingly do we tender our congratula- HIS MINISTRY. 555 « tions to our brethren of Oxford, that their eyes have been opened to the evils of private judgment, and the consequent necessity of curbing its multiform extravagance. It has been given them to see the dangers of the ever-shifting sands of the desert, in which they were lately dwelling, and to strike their tents and flee the perils of the wilderness. They have already advanced a great way on their return towards that church within whose walls the wildest imagination is struck with awe, and sobered down into a holy calm, in the enjoyment of which it gladly folds its wea- ried wings. They have found the clue which, if they have per- severance to follow it, will lead them safely through the laby- rinth of error into the clear day of truth. Some of the brightest ornaments of their church have advocated a reunion with the church of all times and all lands ; and the accomplishment of the design, if we have read aright ' the signs of the times,' is fast ripening. Her maternal arms are ever open to receive back re- pentant children ; and, as when the prodigal son returned to his father's house, the fatted calf was killed and a great feast of joy made, even so will the whole of Christendom rejoice greatly, when so bright a body of learned and pious men as the authors of the ' Tracts for the Times ' shall have made the one step neces- sary to place them again within that sanctuary, where alone they can be safe from the moving sands, beneath which they dread being overwhelmed. The consideration of this step will soon inevitably come on ; and it is with the utmost confidence that we predict the accession to our ranks of the entire mass.' " I trust, my dear sir, that though your impaired health may continue to abstract you from much engagement in the public duties of the ministry, yet you may realize to better effect than he did by whom the acknowledgment was uttered, ' Deus nobis hcec otia fecit f a leisure given, in your case, not for the purpose of in- dolence or self-indulgence, but to enable you, from the stores of a matured and well-cultivated mind, to assist in healing some of the wounds which religion and the Church are now receiving from those who profess to be the chief, if not the exclusive friends of both. " I am, with great respect, " Your faithful friend and brother, "JAMES MILNOR." 556 , MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. -^ ' • During the spring of this year he visited Alexandria to attend the i^ieeting of the Virginia convention, intending to return to New York in company with his friend Bishop Meade, who had made arrangements for a voyage to England by the steamer from Boston of the first of June. The following is an extract from a letter to Mrs. Milnor, written while he was at Alexandria, and dated May 21, 1841. " Yesterday morning, Thursday, I preached before the bishops and convention to an overflowing audience, and last night, in the Second Presbyterian church, kindly offered for the use of the Episcopalians ; the two churches of our order being insufficient to accommodate the immense crowds that fill the city. The hos- pitality of the citizens is unbounded. Every house of Episcopa- lians, and those of many others, are filled with strangers." [Such, at that period, were Virginia conventions.] The following, from his " old friend" Daniel "Wilson, reminds us how much these memoirs have suffered from the elevation of that faithful servant of Christ to the see of Calcutta. Many of Dr. Milnor 's most valuable letters were addressed to him, but their removal, with his other papers, to India, has rendered their recovery for our purpose impossible. "Bishop's Palace, Calcutta, Sept. 16, 1841. " My dearest old Friend — I see an old letter of yours on my table which does not appear to have been answered, I suppose from a dread of your again letting parts of the answer slip into the newspapers. I am, however, unwilling longer to delay in- quiring after you and yours and the church of Christ in the United States. Your Episcopal church has produced one of the most splendid and valuable works in divinity that I have ever read. Nothing since your Jonathan Edwards on Justification and Dean Milner's History of Luther, has at all come near Bishop McIlvaine. I have read his masterly treatise with un- mixed admiration, and shall write to him, I hope by this very mail, to thank him most cordially. A twilight sermon of my own happened to come out just before the bishop's book, but was lost in his brilliancy. I want very much to see your Episcopal almanacs, convention papers, and chief works in divinity. If HIS MINISTRY. 557 you produce a few such theological refutations as Bishop Mc- Uvaine's, your country will rise most rapidly in religious influ- ence. I hope our mad traditionists are not corrupting the sim- plicity of the faith amongst you, as they are at home, and in some degree in India. I have an instinctive dread of this man of SIN under the guise of an angel of light, and his mystic piety makes no impression on my heart. I have again and again wished to know why you inundate India with Presbyterian mis- sionaries, but do not refresh us with even a sprinkling of Episco- palians ? There is nothing I should so rejoice in as to welcome such staid, learned, well-read, evangelical laborers as your church would furnish. , , " "Well, and how are you yourself, my dear friend ? How well do I remember the pleasant times we spent together at Islington. My son is laboring tliere still, with twenty helpers amidst 56,000 souls. I continue, thank God, in good health for my years. The cause of Christ, as I hope, is making progress. The events of the world are conspiring to widen the British ter- ritory and influence. Soon will the end come ; and may we stand in our lot at the end of the days, " I am yours, affectionately, "D.CALCUTTA." "TheREV. Dr. MiLNOR." - The year 1842 will not furnish us with so many letters as its immediate predecessor. From three brief communications addressed to Dr. Milnor, we learn that he was during the year elected one of the Counsellors of the Board of the New York Lyceum ; a member of the Council of the University of New York ; and President of the New York City Tract Society, one of the efficient auxiliaries of the American Tract Society. The first and only letter from him, for 1842, is a copy of his answer to that just given from the Bishop of Calcutta ; and this the only copy found among his papers, of all his letters to that in- teresting correspondent. "New York, July 2, 1842. "Right Rev. and Belovei>— In the recent receipt of your esteemed letter of September last, I was much delighted to be 558 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. once more favored with a token of your continued remembrance and regard. That your valuable life should have been preserved for a period so much longer than that of any of your revered predecessors in the Calcutta episcopate, and that your health should be continued in a climate which so often proves unfavor- able to Englishmen, are causes of devout thankfulness to God, and should be gratefully recognized as a pledge, that he has large blessings in store for his Church in those distant regions. We have heard, with great joy, of the mighty work of grace which the Holy Spirit is accomplishing through British agency in some places under your jurisdiction. May the Lord encourage your labors, by many such cheering evidences of his favor. " You inquire, my Rt. Rev. friend, why we do not send some Episcopal missionaries to India ? The answer is as easily given, as the fact furnishing that answer is by many of us feelingly regretted. All the efforts of such of our highly esteemed bishops as are favorable to the cause of foreign missions — and they are a large proportion of the whole — and of such of our clergy as have like feelings, have not yet been successful in awakening such a spirit among us as adequately to supply our treasury for so desirable an extension of our missionary work. I have been laboring in this cause for five or six and twenty years, and though, God be praised, there has been much improvement in our church, especially during the last six or seven years, under our new plan of operation, yet we have still to encounter much opposition from certain influential quarters, to the foreign work ; and our means, partly from this cause, and partly from the sad state of the monetary concerns of our country, have allowed us to extend but little the existing missions, and compelled us to withhold the establishment of any entirely new. One mission- ary at Constantinople, having in prospect some endeavors in favor of the Syrian church ; our schools in Athens, and a small estab- lishment in Crete; a single but excellent missionary in China; four or five clergymen and their families at Cape Palmas, on the western coast of Africa ; and two missionaries in Texas, com- prise all the heralds of salvation that our church has given us the means of sending forth, either for the renovation of corrupt Chris- tian communities, or for the conversion of the heathen. Several HIS MINISTRY. 559 of the other denominations around us have far outstripped us in obedience to the Saviour's command. "There is undoubtedly, as you are aware, a vast extent of missionary ground in our own country, which many — I think mistakingly — consider a sufficient reason for confining ourselves exclusively to its cultivation. I say 'mistakingly;' for I have invariably observed, that those who advocate this principle are, even in their contributions to the domestic department, far behind thdse who consider the field marked out for our exertions by the great Head of the Church, to be the whole world. Just in pro- portion to the prevalence of vital piety in our congregations, is the missionary spirit seen to take this wide-extended scope ; and an amount of contributions of a corresponding character, to be poured into the treasury of the Lord. While the increase of this spirit among us is a continual subject for ardent prayer and sup- plication, I do exceedingly rejoice in the hope that the noble Church Missionary Society of your country, under its new aus- pices, may be favored with such an increase of means as will supply our lack of service in the foreign field, so many parts of which have been already blessed by the evangelical labors of that inestimable institution. "Your warm approval of the work of our dear friend Bishop Mcllvaine, is exceedingly grateful to my feelings, as it will be to his. I am quite confident, there is no one whose favorable opinion he would more highly appreciate than your own. His public testimony against Oxfordism, supported as it has been by a large proportion -of his Episcopal brethren in this country, has had a very propitious influence on the public mind. "It is an evidence of the limited circulation of the 'Tracts' among our churches, that there has been but one American edi- tion of them, and that this resulted in the ruin of its publisher. Out of ten or eleven Episcopal periodicals, the Churchman is the only one that has advocated the principles of the authors of those pernicious publications. May the Spirit of the Lord lift up a standard everywhere against the errors of these misguided and misguiding teachers, and lead even themselves, at length, into the way of truth. "In regard to the general state of the Church in our country, 560 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. I thank God that I am enabled to say, it is, in its external cir- cumstances, prosperous ; and, in doctrinal views and evangelical feeling, improving. "With our rapidly growing population, its extension keeps tolerably equal pace ; and the divisions in some Protestant denominations have tended to add to our numbers. To a much greater extent than formerly, the great doctrines of the Reformation are preached to our congregations ; and though in some places, what arc called the distinctive principles of the Church are, in my view, suffered to occupy too much attention, yet, for the most part, I believe the latter are allowed only their just place in the communications of the pulpit. A few of our ministers are disposed to keep up a spirit of controversy, and to decry what they call low-church manship ; but on the whole, there is a preference for the things that make for peace. None are disposed unduly to compromise our peculiarities by inadmissible mixtures with others in the services of the sanctuary ; and our church commends herself to the regards of those who are without, by maintaining towards them ' the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.' " [Very serious would have been his modifications of this portion of his letter, had he lived till the present day.] " Romanism, however, among us is making rapid strides. Immense numbers of immigrants are almost daily landing on our shores. Of these the major part are from Ireland, and almost all of that church ; as are also multitudes from the German states. Large importations of priests are constantly arriving; and the popish missionary societies of Italy, Austria, and France, are pouring their thousands annually into the country fo^ the build- ing of churches and the support of the priesthood. When I came to my present charge in 1816, there were but two Roman Cath- olic churches in New York. Now there are many, and several in a course of erection. There is evidently a grand effort also to acquire a foothold in our great western country, throughout which popish seminaries of learning abound, and are continually increasing in number. Many Protestant children are improperly sent to them. " And now, to answer your kind inquiries in relation to my- self: I can only say, that I continue, at the age of nearly three- score years and ten, through the blessing of my heavenly Father, HIS MINISTRY. 561" to enjoy excellent health. My duties are the same as heretofore. I enjoy the continued affections of a large congregation ; and my labors among them are, from time to time, followed by pleasing fruits. I find time, in l^e midst of arduous parochial duties, for an engagement in the missionary, educational, and other institu- tions of our church ; and am still actively employed in the Bible, Tract, and Missionary causes, and in various other means of pubr lie usefulness. I have five children ; a son and a daughter mar- ried ; and with two sweet grandchildren, these are all' residing with me in St. Greorge's parsonage. " I have the pleasure of transmitting to you a package, con- taining such publications as I supposed might interest you ; and beg you to accept the assurance of that high respect and sincere affection with which I remain, " Your faithful friend, . " And obedient servant in the Lord, "JAMES MILNOR." At the opening of the year 1843, Dr. Milnor received from his friend Bishop Meade a letter, the following extract from which will serve to introduce a remark touching a part of his course as one of the members of the Foreign Committee of our Board of Missions. ' "Millwood, Jan. 30, 1843. * "Rev. and dear Brother — Besides the sincere pleasure which I take in communicating with you on all subjects per-: ' taining to the affairs of God's Church, I have a particular object in addressing you at this time. I perceive there have been let- ters, proband con, as to our missionary establishments in Greece and Asia, especially the latter ; and fears have been expressed that we are not presenting there, as we ought, the pure Gospel^ but are conceding too much to prevalent corruptions. I am told that the cause has suffered in this country by reason of such ap- prehension ; and that the committee have not been altogether satisfied for some time. How is it ? I have always thought that the attempt to introduce our missicmaries into those old, decayed churches, was so delicate and difficult a task, that we must be slow to condemn those missionaries for any cautious movements Mem. Milnor. 3 6 562 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. which they might make. But have they erred? And if so, how- far ? And have the doubts on this subject seriously injured our collections for these missions ? I should be glad to hear from you on this subject, and on any others in which you know I am interested. " If it be permitted to descend from such a height to speak a word about myself and my poor body, and you feel any interest in it, I would say that God has been very good in giving me a more comfortable state of health than I have had for nine years. My chief defect, that of voice, still remains ; but it is in some measure relieved by preaching very seldom, and contenting my- self \Vith official duties and short addresses from the chancel. My mind also is much relieved by having so valuable an assistant as Dr. Johns, who is giving great satisfaction. " Let me hear from you as soon as convenient. '' Affectionately, "W. MEADK" " The Rev. Dr. Milnor." What answer Dr. Milnor gave to the former part of the above extract is unknown. Not so, however, his opinion on the subject involved. In common with his fellow-members of the Foreign Committee, he inclined to that judgment which finally expressed itself in the well-known unwillingness of the committee to sus- tain the Asiatic, or Constantinopolitan mission of our church. He advocated, as long as he could, the continuancje of that mis- sion ; and acquiesced in its continuance as long as he could, even after his judgment began to lean to the side of its inexpediency. But the views which the missionary himself advanced, and the measures which he adopted, at length settled the mind of Dr. Milnor, and he gave his influence to that action of the committee which, since he left the stage, has resulted in placing the mission on a new and separate basis of its own. It is true, that the want of funds was the reason at first assigned for the proposed aban- donment of the mission ; but it is no less true, that this want of funds was, by multitudes, believed to be the consequence of a want of confidence in the views which actuated the movement at Constantinople ; and in this belief the Foreign Committee almost unanimously concurred. HIS MINISTRY. 563 To Bishop Mcllvaine. "New York, March 10, 1843. " My dear Bishop — I am under the impression that I have answered your two favors of last year ; or rather, I have been under that impression. But I am startled, on laying my hand upon them to-day, to find no endorsement to that effect ; and therefore I now fear that I have been mistaken, and that I must submit to the charge of inexcusable negligence. In regard to all that relates to the professorship, I am glad to learn, by a let- ter from Dr. Fuller, that he has accepted the appointment. He wrote me that he should not go to Ohio until fall, and expressed a desire to act as my assistant until that time. But Mr. Cooke having leave of absence no longer than to the 15th of June, and expecting then to resume his station, the vestry and I have con- cluded that it is not best to make an appointment for the short intermediate period ; and even if it had been otherwise, it would not be worth while for Dr. Fuller to come to New York for that time. I entirely approve of your choice, and hope you and he may have much happiness in the connection. "Of the prosperity of the college in its ' students, study, or- der, and reputation,' I am glad to hear, but regret the pecuniary difficulties in which it is involved. I wish it were in New York as in times past, so that you might receive help from your old partial means of supply ; but every thing here, in the way of business, seems at a stand ; and many of the friends of Kenyon, I am sorry to say, have just emerged from the painful process of bankruptcy, while others are, as to means, in quite a different position from that which they once occupied. Almost all my rich men have gone to the court end of the city, or remain with us in cramped and impaired circumstances. I exceedingly regret that among your Brooklyn friends, too, so many have fallen under the weight of the pressure which has come upon them. On both sides of the river, however, some still hold their own. " I have little ecclesiastical news to communicate. In refer- ence to Mar Yohanan, I presume you have seen Bishop Hopkins' views. I think they have been sufficiently refuted. Mar Yohanan did not receive much Episcopal attention, except from our lament- 564 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. ed father, Bishop Griswold. He has just sailed, with Mr. Perkins and others, for Smyrna. " It is intended to hold a semi-annual meeting of the Ameri- can Bible Society at Cincinnati, in October next. "We shall be glad to have your approval of the measure, and your important assistance at the meeting. " We have been much pained to hear that your son Joseph's health continues to decline. I am well and strong for a man near threescore and ten, but must expect soon to break down. " Respectfully, affectionately, and truly, yours, "JAMES MILNOR." From Bishop Mcllvaine. "Gambier, April 6, 1843. " Dear Doctor — I have no letter-paper, and cannot get any till somebody brings some from New York ; but I shall not im- pose on you a whole sheet of foolscap. So you remembered, at last, to answer my letters, after I had forgotten they had been written. Better late than never. " You speak of a semi-annual Bible Society meeting at Cin- cinnati. I shall be very happy to do what I can to promote its usefulness. It is a good idea. The Episcopal clergy in Cincin- nati, and, so far as I know, all in the diocese, with one or two exceptions, will unite in heart, if not in personal attendance. The more the Romish doctrine of tradition lifts up its head, the more we must lift up our standard against it in the shape of the Bible, distributed as Bible societies do their work. It is David against Goliath — ^the sling against, the helmet, and shield, and spear of a giant. But the difference is, that God is on one side, and not on the other ; and the truth shall make men free, no matter whose servants they may have been. " Our difficulties in Kenyon have arisen out of the exceeding expensiveness of a college in the woods, on its own domain, where every thing, even to a shoemaker's shop, had to be built by the trustees. At other colleges, the village, the church, etc., are furnished by others, and the houses of professors may be hired. Here we had to build every thing. Bishop Chase's great boast was, its cheapness to students. In seeking that, he failed ; , HIS MINISTRY. 565 for it was no cheaper than some other colleges in Ohio, and he made it exceedingly expensive to the community. " My son is a great deal better in health — about as well as when in New York. " Yours, very affectionately, " CHAS. P. McILVAINE." "The Rev. Dr. MiLNOR." The spring of 1843 fouiid Dr. Milnor again at the annual convention of the diocese of our church in Virginia, in the city of Richmond, and as usual, abundant in his pulpit-labors during his absence. Like all his visits of this kind, however, it has no record, save in the customary brief letter to Mrs. Milnor, inform- ing her of his movements, his engagements, and the day of his expected return. The only additional reference to the period is in a letter from Mr. Brigham, of the American Bible Society, from which it appears that Dr. Milnor was duly appointed to represent that institution before the Bible-meeting in Richmond, held concurrently with that of the Virginia convention. During this same spring was most deeply felt the alarm which the measures of the Maryland State Colonization Society, in en- forcing military duty, or military fines, on all within their colo- ny, had previously spread through those churches at home which had established missionary stations on that part of the African coast — an alarm which, for a time, threatened to set the Chris- tian community of the free states in hostile array against the whole cause of African colonization. Fears were entertained, that it would become necessary to remove our mission from Cape Palmas. Our Board of Missions therefore instructed its foreign committee to propose conferences with the Maryland State Colonization Society at Baltimore, with a view to the possible settlement of amicable relations between that society and the board. In pursuance of this policy, the foreign committee referred the instructions of the board to a special committee of two of its members, who, after a previous conference, conducted on our part by the secretary, the Rev. Dr. Vaughan, and one of the missionaries, the Rev. Mr. Payne, were directed to proceed to Baltimore for the purpose of a further interview and a more satisfactory understanding with the agent 566 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. of the State Colonization Society. This special committee was composed of the Rev. Drs. Milnor and Turner ; and from a letter which the former received at Baltimore, it would seem that they held the further conference required during his spring excursion tq the South. The main results of these negotiations was, the undisturbed continuance of our Cape Palmas mission. The summer of this year was rendered memorable in the annals of our church by the occurrence, soon after the annual Commencement of our General Theological Seminary, of the famous " Carey ordination," an event at which Drs. Anthon and Smith protested against the admission to deacon's orders of a recent graduate from the seminary, who had exposed himself to the charge of holding the Tridentine doctrines of the church of Rome. The convulsion which shook our church upon the an- nouncement of this ordination, was altogether unprecedented. Dr. Milnor's letters to his correspondents on this occasion, have mostly perished ; but one, from his old friend Bishop Meade, will serve as an early expression of those feelings, among the evan- gelical portion of the church, in which Dr. Milnor fully shared. "Millwood, Aug. 1, 1843. " Rev. and dear Brother — We have fallen upon strange times. "We have reached a fearful crisis in the Church. I had not supposed it possible that Romanism had so far regained its power among us, as recent events in your city and the language of some of our religious papers would indicate. A general and distressing contest throughout our whole church, in England and America, seems now inevitable. May Grod give us all grace to perform our several parts faithfully and wisely. I should like to hear from you, who are on the spot, how matters stand. I trust our brethren, Anthon and Smith, find strong supporters, not only among the laity, but also among the clergy in your city. From some New York papers which have been sent me, probably by yourself, I perceive the laity are coming out boldly. I hope the pamphlet of Drs. Anthon and Smith will be circulated far and wide, to every clergyman, at least, a copy ; and I wish the laity also could be well supplied. .. "I saw, a few days since, a talented, zealous layman of a • i' HIS MINISTRY. - 567 neighboring diocese, who has been very active in supporting ultra views, who said, after reading the pamphlet, he was truly sur- prised at it ; and unless it could be answered and disproved — and he did not see how it could — it showed a state of things which he had never supposed. The card of the six presbyters will, I pre- sume, satisfy him that an answer and refutation are not very probable. I suppose your approaching convention will, in some way or other, let us know its opinion on the subject. Our next General Convention can scarcely avoid some agitation on the questions involved. " We have been too much elated by our prosperity. Looking at the dissensions of other denominations, boasting of our unity, and proud of our advantages, we calculated on uninterrupted and unbounded success, without relying humbly on God's bless- ing. The result has been, that while the dissensions of others are, in a good measure, healing, and we have contrived, by our exclusive claims, very greatly to increase and combine the opposition of all others, we are in a most divided state among ourselves, and are under the strongest temptation to neglect the more important spiritual matters for controversy about externals. This is to me a most distressing thought — that bitter controversy is, in many of us, about to eat out the soul of religion. God have mercy on us, and avert the evil. " I do not see that any question was put to Mr. Carey about justification, sacramental grace, etc. ; on which points, I can scarce think that one, holding his views on other points, could be received. Let me hear from you soon and fully. " Yours, very truly, "W. MEADE." "The Rev. Dr. Milnor." Another, a month later, from Bishop Smith, contains a charac- teristic allusion to the same subject. "KaloramAj near Louisville, Sept. 1, 1843. " Dear Friend of my early Ministry — Brother Jackson tells me that you are to be in Cincinnati about the 1st of November. God willing, so am I. He also says, that he invited you to come and see me as well as him. I thank him for it ; and I now write 568 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. specially to urge this request, and that you will accompany me as far as Shelby ville, where I will take you in our little carriage, in order that the early friend of Christian and Church education at the West may see what Grod has enabled us to begin in Ken- tucky. So dark a cloud has long brooded over this horizon, that I want such a friend as you to come and have it in your power to say that, through the divine clemency, daylight again dawns upon us. Besides, your presence will give a new impalse to all our affairs. Do come, kind doctor, do ; and may God's presence come with you. "I was present with you in spirit in blessed old St. John's, Providence, on that day." [An allusion, probably, to the day of Bishop Henshaw's consecration.] "0, by how many cherished memories is that temple sacred to me ! I was witness of the lirst revival of religion there, and in Bristol. The stripling Hen- shaw was instrumental in the revival, during which— chiefly however among the Congregationalists — the mere boy, Ben Smith, was brought to serious reflection. Our venerable father," Bishop Griswold, " is gone ; but we his sons are left to toil and suffer : Bishop Henshaw in the very field which witnessed his prayers and his victories, and Bishop Smith in a far-off" field, where unheard-of trials have awaited him. So God works. ' Even so. Father ; for so it seemeth good in thy sight !' " I am not worthy to unloose the latchet of Bishop Griswold's shoes; but, thank God, I am still most thoroughly of his school., "We have strange wonders in our days. Some of our Episcopal- ians are half Romanists ; and some of our high -churchmen are low, while some of the low are high. Of all sorts, however, find me out a consistent Bishop Griswold, and an unchangeable rector of old St. George's. " These are storms, the flashes of which we see afar off", and the roar whereof faintly reaches us, but of which we know almost nothing. Our comfort is, that Christ changes not ; that his truth never changes ; and that he is Prince of the kings of the earth, be the people never so unquiet. The Church is safe ! "If Mrs. Smith, or brother and Mrs. Jackson, who are on a visit to us, knew that I was writing to you, this letter would be so heavily freighted with love and respects to Mrs. Milnor and HIS MINISTRY. 569 yourself, to Henry and his lady, to your daughters, and to all, that the frail paper could not contain it. Ever, as of old, " Your true friend and brother, "B. B. SMITH." " The Rev. Dr. Milnor." Dr. Milnor's answer to this affectionate epistle contains the only reference to '■''the Carey ordination,''^ and its consequences, to be met with in his recovered letters. It also intimates his in- ability to attend the semi-annual Bible Society meeting at Cin- cinnati, to which former letters refer, and at which he had been appointed to read an essay on " The Rule of Faith;" the design of the essay being to advocate the Protestant doctrine on that subject, in opposition to the Romish views of Tradition.* * The following is Dr. Milnor's letter to the Secretary, announcing his inability to attend the meeting at Cincinnati, and expressive of his views on the occasion. It will be read with interest. " St. George's Rectory, New York, Oct. 20, 1843. "Rev. and dear Sir — ^You may be assured that the impracticability of my accompanying you to Cincinnati is to me a subject of most sincere regret. Concurring, as I did, heartily in the expediency of the interesting measure of holding a special meeting of our noble institution in that region, and having been honored as one of its delegates, in connection with a particular duty of an important character, my disappointment is only alleviated by the persuasion that there will be no want of far better counsellors than myself in the general transactions of your meeting, and that the performance of the special duty referred to, by my learned and respected alternate, will afford the assemblage no reason to regret my absence, which I trust will, by none, be attributed either to any diminution of interest in the cause, or reluctance in the most public manner to avow my most earnest desires for its promotion. "However small the measure of my past eflForts, the retrospect of thirty years' engagement in the work, twenty-seven of them in immediate connection with the American Bible Society, is among the highest satisfactions of my now declining years. "It was under the auspices and at the solicitation of my late venerable friend Bishop White, of Pennsylvania, that I first united, in my native city, with the Bible Society, over which he presided with so much dignity and devotion until his lamented death. On my removal to New York, a few months after the formation of the national institution, one of the earliest duties of my new residence was to tender my humble aid in the advancement of the glorious cause through this great instrumentality. "I now bless God that he has allowed me for so long a period to be a wit- ness of the delightful harmony with which its proceedings have been con- ducted, and the ever- widening scope of its salutary influence ; and to unite in 570 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. \- To Bishop Smith. -"ni-ijf " New York, October 2, 1843. "Rt. Rev, and dear Sir — I thank you sincerely for your kind favor of the 1st ult., and wish it were in my power to accept your obliging invitation. But I find I am unable to comply with the wishes of our Bible friends, in making the proposed visit to Cincinnati ; and consequently must defer, to some future period, the pleasure of meeting you at your pleasant residence in the neighborhood of Louisville. An unexpected and indispensable journey of business to Buffalo, from which I returned a few days since, forms one difficulty in the way of my leaving home again this fall. But added to this, I fear, at my time of life, taking so long a trip at such an advanced season of the year. Besides, were I younger and better fitted for it, there is another great impediment, arising out of the pressingly heavy duties of my parochial charge, in which, for the last nine months, I have been the inspiring hopes of its friends for its becdining in future years a still greater blessing to our beloved country and to the destitute in foreign lands. " If there were sufficient reasons for the organization of this plan by the Parent Society in England — and the great Author of the Bible by vouchsafing a most abundant blessing upon its measures, I feel assured, has sanctioned such a conclusion — ^we have the like reason to believe, that his providence and Spirit led to our following their good example ; and that in contributing the most vigorous efforts for continuing and extending the work, we are acting in conformity to his holy will, and acceptably promoting his designs of mercy to our fallen world. Never were the signs of the times more indicative of the necessity of more labor, and prayer, and pecuniary means for carrying forward our hallowed undertaking. The dishonor done to the book of God, by putting an uncertain tradition upon a level with it as a rule of faith, is no longer confined to the corrupt church which has so long been guilty of that crying sin; individuals of other communions not hesitating to embrace the same ruinous error. "One of the most effectual methods of counteracting this impious treat- ment of God's mercifxil revelation, wherever it may obtain, is the universal circulation of that blessed book which is its own best witness, and wherever read, with prayer for the light of the Holy Spirit in its perusal, will establish its claim as the only and exclusive test of Christian faith and practice. " May tlie Lord be with you in your coming deliberations, and shed on all your minds the enlightening influences of his grace. "With my earnest prayers for the happiest results to your meeting, I am, reverend and dear sir, your faithful friend and brother in Christ, " JAMES MILNOR." ■' " Rev. Dr. Briqha>i." HIS MINISTRY. 571 ■wholly without assistance. My prayers and best wishes will attend our beloved brethren who go on to the expected meeting. I pray God the occasion may be one of signal benefit to our great cause. "We live in eventful times. The changes in opinion — in too many instances, as I think, for the worse — that are continually occurring around us, are not a little alarming. Recent develop- ments here afford reason to believe, that to a greater extent than we had imagined, the Oxford heresy has invaded this diocese. The noxious influence of the has exceedingly corrupted the minds of our younger clergy and candidates for orders; and indeed I am grieved to the heart, to find such a tendency to Romanism as prevails among some of the more advanced in years and standing. When I speak thus, I do not mean that any are prepared to go over to the ' mother of abominations.' To remove such a suspicion, they call her hard names, and speak strongly against some of her doctrines. But the danger lies in their exaltation of the Church above Christ, the great Head ; making her, and not Him, the dispenser of renewing and sancti- fying grace, and giving to external sacraments and ordinances the inherent efficacy which constitutes so much of the supersti- tion of the papacy. They do not mean — ^until a great many impediments are removed — to unite with Rome ; but on the principles of Tract No. Ninety, they adopt, as the means of allaying such a, desire, the expedient of giving an aspect to our doctrines and observances, that shall approximate them as nearly as possible to hers. The evangelical doctrines which some of us have supposed were plainly taught in our articles, more fully explicated in our homilies, and embodied in their life-giving spirit in our liturgy^ are now to be superseded by the dogmas of the school at Oxford. The great principle of justification by faith is by many virtually abandoned, and that of baptismal justification adopted in its stead. God is impiously confined, in his commimication of grace, to the channel of the sacraments ; and a most unwarrantable denial of covenanted mercy to all but the members of a church enjoying the Episcopal succession, is insisted on. The Reformation is now found to have bieen fraught with evils; and instead of adhering to its great principles, we 572 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. are to condemn its authors for having taken dangerous liberties, and, as far as possible, to unprotestantize the Church. Such, among us, has been the baneful influence of Tractarianism, as upheld and taught by too many in this most unevangelical portion of the Church. God grant that they may find successful opponents in other and better instructed dioceses. I confess I am grieved and alarmed beyond measure, and especially since our convention, which has just adjourned, and in which the pro- ceedings in the case of young Carey have been sustained by a large majority of the clergy, and by an unexpectedly large num- ber of the laity. You will, no doubt, in the secular papers of the past week, see the full details of our stormy session; particularly the melancholy exhibition of passion on the part of our bishop, near its close. I was not present at the disgraceful scene, being engaged in a quiet lecture to the good people of my charge ; nor have I, save by a silent vote, taken any part in the proceedings of the convention : the speakers on the side of Messrs. Smith and Anthon, being all of them eminent lawyers, and men who have not hitherto sustained any other character than that of avowedly high-churchmen. " Though much cast down in spirit by the opposition, so extensively prevalent, to what the Lord has taught me to believe to be Bible-truth, yet I still have faith in the ultimate triumph of correct principles. For one, I will still pray, and labor, and hope ; and amidst all discouragements, rejoice that the Lord reigneth. I feel my mind greatly soothed and comforted by the blessed com- munion which we yesterday enjoyed in 'old St. George's;' where, at least, for the few remaining years of the ministry of its rector, Christ and him crucified will, I trust, continue to be preached. "With Mrs. Milnor's and my best regards to yourself and Mrs. S., believe me, "Affectionately, yours, "JAMES MILNOR." In this letter he speaks of a recent journey to Buffalo on business. This business, however, was not connected with any public agency. The following extract of a letter to Mrs. Milnor gives a lively idea of the fatigues which, at seventy years of age, he endured in reaching the place of his destination. HIS MINISTRY. 573 ''Buffalo, Sept. 21, 1843. " My dear Ellen — I arrived at Troy after dark, in a heavy fall of rain, and immediately took the cars for Schenectady and Utica, travelling all night. The next day we continued our course to Rochester ; but in consequence of having Governor Bouck and Ex-President Van Buren with us, we were detained at every town through which we passed, to afford the latter an opportu- nity for canvassing with the people, for his expected promotion to the presidency. They were going to the agricultural fair and cattle-show at Rochester. We arrived there at nine o'clock on Tuesday night, and found the town full of people, brought thither by the occasion. I intended to continue on to Buffalo ; . but it was announced, that the cars would not proceed until morning. Fatigued as I was, I had to traverse the whole city to obtain lodgings, and then failed. At length, through the charity of one of the laboring men at the railroad depot, I obtained a clean, comfortable bed; and the train not starting till five o'clock, I had some hours of sleep. I reached Buffalo between twelve and one o'clock of Wednesday. " Yours, affectionately, "JAMES MILNOR." From the Rev. Dr. Aydelott. "Woodward College, Cincinnati, Nov. 29, 1843. " Dear Brother — We were all much disappointed by your not coming to the late meeting of the Bible Society in this city. ; But from Dr. Brigham's account, I suppose it would have been imprudent for you to venture upon so long a journey during this peculiarly inclement fall. Your alternate. Dr. Spring, did nobly. . His essay was learned, logical, and to my mind, conclusive: clothed in a style perfectly clear and neat, and breathing through- out a spirit eminently Christian. I hope it will be speedily pub- lished, and widely circulated ; as it cannot fail, with the divine blessing, of doing much good. Still, I would rather have had a paper from you ; because, besides its general argument, you could have given it a most salutary bearing upon the particular state of our church. Why, indeed, can you not let your essay, which I suppose you prepared, go out to the world ? Certainly there is great need of argument and information on the subject 574 MEMOIR OF DR. MlLNOR of ' the rule of faith^ in these days of nascent Tractarianism and reviving Romanism. There is a straightforward, candid, com- mon-sense way of handling subjects, which preeminently belongs to you, and which is peculiarly adapted to engage the popular mind, and carry conviction to the popular judgment. I should anticipate the best results from such an effort on your part. " Your affectionate brother, " And servant in Christ, «B. P. AYDELOTT." "The Rev. Dr. MiLNOR." During the fall of this year, the Rev. Mr. Irving, our foreign secretary and general agent, was invited to assist Dr. Milnor in the labors of St. Greorge's, and continued, more or less con- stantly; his valuable services during the remainder of the rector's life. The following brief note is a pleasing memento of the asso- ciation into which he was thus brought. " MissiONAkY-RooMs, Monday, Dec. 4, 1843. , "Rev. akd dear SiR-^Ibeg leave to acknowledge the receipt of your very kind note of this morning, with the accompanying check. " It is very gratifying to me to learn that my services are at all acceptable ; and I can say with all truth, that even were there no emolument derived from them, I should render the same services with the greatest readiness and pleasure. My employ- ment at St. George's has given me a delightful spiritual home, and relieved me from the chief source of concern, arising out of my separation from pastoral duty. I consider it not the least among the many marks of the divine goodness towards me, that I have been thus brought into this frequent intercourse with yourself and your flock. " I am, most faithfully and affectionately, yours, . "PIERRE P. IRVING." "The Rev. Dr. Milnor." - . The remark ought not to be omitted, that to both the breth- ren who, for a considerable part of the last ten years of hiS life, acted as his assistants in St. George's — the Rev. J. "W. Cooke and Mr. Irving — Dr. Milnor was most truly attached. With HIS MINISTRY. 575 none, perhaps, could he have held more cordial, or more broth- erly intercourse ; and from few, if any, could he and his flock have received more acceptable auxiliary labors. His correspondence for the year 1843, so far as available for our present purpose, closed with the following short letter. From the Rev. James Haldane Stewart. "St. Bride's, Liverpool, Dec. 6, 1843. " Very dear Brother — I had the pleasure to receive your kind letter, introducing your friends the Rev. Dr. Cutler and his lady, whom we were happy to see at our table, having before cdmmunicated with them at the supper of our blessed Lord. " It gave us sincere pleasure to hear from him that you were still active in our divine Master's service. May you abound more and more in every good word and work, and may your last days be your best days. " I enclose you a copy of my invitation for a general concert of prayer on the first of January. I hope it may be in time. If not, you may, perhaps, have seen it more seasonably in the London Record, or in some of our religious magazines. I had expected to send it by a steam packet. Perhaps, after reading the invitation, you will have the kindness to send it, for insertion, to one of your religious papers. " Believe me, to remain, my dear friend, " Yours",, very affectionately, "J. HALDANE STEWART." "The Rev. Dr. Milnor." SECTION VI. The opening of the year 1844 was signalized, in the life of Dr. Milnor, by an attack of his old complaint, which, like that of the year 1825, brought him to the verge of the grave. For weeks, his friends and the church stood trembling with solici- tude, as life and death seemed to hang again in uncertain balance ; leaving it doubtful, from day to day, which would preponderate. Again, therefore, as in former days, prayer was made unceas- ingly for him, by individuals and in the churches ; and again, 576 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. ' , as in that memorable crisis, prayer prevailed with God, and life was once more prolonged to this his faithful servant. A few extracts from letters which he received soon after his recovery, famish pleasing evidences of the strength and tenderness of the feeling which his peril had inspired. From the Rev. P. P. Irving. "Charleston, South Carolina, Feb. 17, 1844. " Rev. and dear Sir — I have been exceedingly concerned to hear of the relapse which you suffered after my departure from New York ; and most gladly would I have returned, in order to relieve you by my presence from all anxiety about the parish, had I not feared that I might be thought negligent of my official duty. Indeed, I wished to defer my departure until you were more thoroughly recovered ; but having made all arrangements, any delay might have been ascribed to my known disinclination to a long journey. I am glad, however, to learn that you are rapidly recovering ; and I pray God that you may be spared yet longer to your flock and to the Church. Truly, the latter, to human eye, could ill afford to lose any of its true sons at this moment of confusion and excitement." From Bishop Eastburn. "Boston, March 6, 1844. "My dear Friend — ^An intention, long cherished, to address a few lines to you from this my new home and field of labor, is now quickened by the desire which I feel to congratulate you on your recent recovery from severe and dangerous illness. I am filled, as I humbly trust, with gratitude to God that he has spared you for yet further services to his Church, at this period of her searching trials. Little can we afford to lose at such a time, if ever, those of God's ministering servants who are true to the gran^ essentials of the Gospel, and to those standards of our church which so unequivocally set forth the Gospel. May you live, my dear friend, to see the present cloud passing away, and to witness the triumph of our scriptural communion over princi- ples which, if generally prevalent, would reduce us to a condition little different from that of the dark ages : to a body without a soul, a shell without the kernel. HIS MINISTRY. 577 Another from the Rev. Mr. Irving. "New Orleans, 14th March, 1844. " Rev. and dear Sir — A very long time had elapsed without any intelligence from New York ; and as my last advices spoke of your very serious illness, I was suffering great disquietude on your account. But I have this moment been put in possession of a letter from Mr. Denison, of the 4th inst., in which he delights me by saying, that he had that day seen you in your study ' quite yourself again.' I hardly know how to express the emotions of joy and gratitude with which I have read this letter. I had been filled with sad forebodings of mournful intelligence. I had been thinking of all that we should lose in the Church, and especially in- our Foreign Conimittee, should it please God to take you to himself. And now, my joy is in proportion to the depression under which I had been laboring. My heart instinctively blessed Grod that he has seen good to spare you yet a while to his Church. * To depart and be with Christ ' would, indeed, for you, be ' far better;' yet, I am persuaded, that for us, it is 'more needful' that you should 'abide in the flesh.' And so think many, very many of God's people. Everywhere have I found men inquiring about you with the greatest solicitude ; and this moment, while on my return from the post-office with Mr. Denison's letter open in my hand, I met one who, hearing the news, thanked God aloud for this mercy to his Church. " To me, my venerable friend, it is a matter of deep personal gratitude. "When I came to New York last summer, as my place of abode, I returned to the home of my youth; yet, alas, I felt myself almost a stranger. Spiritually, I seemed to be alone. But your kindness relieved me from the loneliness ; while I every day felt thankful that God had brought me into such frequent inter- course with you, to be cheered and refreshed by your society." During his long illness, and the absence of Mr. Irving, the pulpit of St. George's was very acceptably filled by that amiable and serious young minister of Christ, the Rev. "William H. Wal- ter, now no more. After his recovery and return to duty. Dr. Milnor made a suitable acknowledgment of his indebtedness and Uem.Mfliu>r. 37 578 ' MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. attachment to this estimable young brother, which drew from the latter a note, from which the following is an extract. "15 University Place, April 17. " Rev. and dear Sir — In the evening I received your note with its accompaniments. I desire to acknowledge your prompt and liberal remuneration of the services which it has been my privilege to render you during your illness. With still greater pleasure do I accept the token of your personal esteem with which you have favored me. Most beautiful and valuable in itself, the gift has a still higher value in my eyes, as the expres- sion, which you have made it, of the Christian regard and affec- tion towards me, entertained by one so much my senior in years, and so justly honored and venerated in the Church. In return, sir, I can only reciprocate from my heart the sentiments of attach- ment which you have expressed, and renew to you the assurance that my temporary connection with yourself and your cure has been productive to me of the most unqualified satisfaction. " That our gracious Lord may continue you yet many years in happy and active ministration to. your flock, is the fervent prayer, "Dearest sir, of your sincere and respectful " Friend and brother, .^^ , "WK HENRY WALTER." '^ "Rev. Dr. MiLNOR." "While Dr. Milnor was recovering from his dangerous illness, his old friend the Bishop of Calcutta was penning the following letter ; which, of course, could not have been received till a con- siderably later period. "MoRADABAD, near Meerutt, March 19, 1844. "My dear, dear Friend — I received your esteemed letter of July 8, i842, just before I left Calcutta last October ; and it has been accompanying me for nearly one thousand nine hundred miles of my circuitous route, waiting to be answered, month after month. At length a delay of two days from indisposition, at this small station, has determined me to thank you for your most valuable letter, which was as cold water to a thirsty soul. It must, I fancy, have been brought by a private hand. The pam- HIS MINISTRY. 579 phlets also, which accompanied your letter, were most welcome ; and any repetitions of such favors will be equally so. " Your statement of the narrow means of yo]ir church mis- sions is but too satisfactory as an answer to my request for Epis- copal missionaries. But I cannot help lamenting that although there are nineteen Presbyterians, yet there is not one Churchman, in our sense of the word, in British India. We are so much in want of national clergy also, that I have lately formed a ' Cal- cutta Diocesan Additional Clergy Society,' for the support,, by subscriptions, of a certain number of clergy, aided by the stations where they are intended to labor. " Tractarianism is on the wane, thank God, both in England and in India ; but it smothers still in the live ashes of our cor- rupt and superstitious nature, and will break out again unless extingriished, embers and all, by floods of grace on the dry ground, rivers opening in the wilderness itself. "I rejoice to hear that so many of your bishops and clergy are alive and sound in the faith. I bless God especially foi: the talent and rare faithfulness of Bishop Mcllvaine. His protest is admirable, and his late charge the very best thing that has ap- peared in so small a compass. Our Bishop of Ossory has also done incomparably well in another style of thought and argu- ment; cool, dispassionate, candid, laborious, mild, and yet forci- ble and convincing. " The tidings of yourself, my beloved friend, are most grate- ful to me. My own family mercies are also remarkable. I have but a son and a daughter : the former at Islington, with near sixty thousand souls, and twenty-four clergy ; the latter married to the Vicar of Huddersfield, with forty thousand souls, twelve churches, and fifteen or more clergy. Bless the Lord, my soul. Soon, dear brother, we must put off, each of us, this our taber- nacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath showed us. May we endeavor that, after our decease, our people may have the truths of the Gospel still in remembrance. " Write to me, love me, pray for me. " I am your affectionate "D.CALCUTTA." "The Rev. Dr. MiLNOR." 580 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. From Bishop Mcllyaine. "Gambier, June 20, 1844. " My dear Doctor — I have often intended writing to you to express my joy at your recovery from your dangerous illness ; but almost constant absence from home on visitations, for three months, has prevented. For a long while I could not hear how you were ; and only judged you were better, because not hearing that you were worse, I have no doubt you experienced the same sweet support and peace in your danger as when, many years ago^ you lay expecting to depart. The Lord has raised you up to witness and share still more of the trials of his Church. How we are beset on all sides ! Our heresies within ; the universal crusade against us from without ; and then, the fuel to the zeal of that crusade, which is given by such tribulations as that in Philadelphia, and the less public but quite understood case of greater evil in New York. These are trials !" And this allusion to them is not improper, because God had indeed raised Dr. Milnor from sickness both to witness and to share those trials, especially as growing out of that " case of greater evil," which was so soon to be presented in the trial of the bishop of the diocese of New York. Meanwhile, with his accustomed assiduity, he devoted his newly recovered health and strength to the performance of his parochial duties ; withdrawing as much as he consistently could, from the. strifes of the Church, and spending what he felt tg be emphatically his last days in still and sacred fellowship with his God and Saviour. How long he was to live, he knew not; but he knew, that though many years should be added to his course on earth, they might yet be justly regarded as an addition to be spent, not in reassimilating his tastes and feelings to the acerbi- ties and contentiousness of men, but in further ripening the tem- per of his spirit for the sweet and peaceful employments of heaven. He passed a part of his usual summer vacation with his friend and former parishioner, Mr. Jeremiah H. Taylor, at his quiet retirement on the banks of the Connecticut. The following short letter is the only notice of this retreat. HIS MINISTRY. 581 To Mrs. Milnor. "Middle Haddam, Aug. 8, 1844. " My dear Ellen — I arrived at the landing of this place yes- terday morning at four o'clock, and found Mr, Taylor, with his carriage on the wharf, ready to take me to his residence, about a mile and a half distant. The steamer Kosciusko, in which I came, is a very noisy and disagreeable boat. The noise of the machinery and the heat of the cabin prevented my sleeping much, and about one o'clock I was glad to get up an(J enjoy the air of a most beautiful night on deck. On arriving at Mr. Tay- lor's, I enjoyed two hours' refreshing sleep before breakfast. Af- ter breakfast, I rode to Middletown, about four miles distant, the weather continuing, as it is to-day, delightfully pleasant. " The situation of Mr. Taylor's house is on an eminence, commanding a view of the Connecticut river and of the country for many miles ; but the neighborhood is very retired, and fur- nishes little agreeable acquaintance. " I shall be very quiet here during the residue of this week ; but unless otherwise advised, you may expect me to reach home, God willing, on Tuesday next. With love to all the family, " Affectionately yours, "JAMES MILNOR." , But, notwithstanding his growing fondness for a calm and meditative life, he was compelled to close the year 1844 amid two of perhaps the severest trials of his pilgrimage. To the one of these trials reference is made in the following note : To the Rev. Dr. Stone. ^ "New York, Dec. 7, 1844. " Rev. AND DEAR Brother — My heavy domestic affliction must be my apology for not remembering my promise to Mr. , to return an earlifer answer to your note of the 2d inst." After briefly disposing of the business to whiish the note related, he proceeds : " Our dear Ellen had an awful day yesterday, and as bad a night. Dr. Delafield, who was called in for consultation yester- day, gives us some encouragement from the fact, verified in his practice, that few patients die of these nervous diseases. But 582 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. her debility is extreme, and her stomach in so irritable a state as to reject all food ; so that I confess I entertain but little hope. Give us your prayers. I have more than once realized, in my own experience, the availableness of fervent intercession ; and I know much is now offered for our poor afflicted daughter. " With our kind regards to Mrs. Stone, " Affectionately yours, "JAMES MILNOR." This return of his youngest daughter's former malady, from which she had now enjoyed several years of apparently full ex- emption, was attended with uncommon aggravations in the vio- lence of the disease, and in the disappointnaent of fond young hopes by the sudden death of a friend. To her parents, both the malady, and the disappointment by which it was precipitated and made so dreadful, were inexpressibly afflictive ; and for months they hung in painful solicitude as over a frail and delicate flower which threatened every moment to drop from the parent stem. f-^ And then, in the very midst of this bitterness, came that other trial to which we have alluded. Immediately after the rising of our General Convention, in the autumn of 1844, the bishop of the diocese of New York was presented for trial on those grave charges, the investigation of which resulted in his suspension from office on the 3d of January, 1845. Of this ecclesiastical trial, no account is here needed, or would be proper. All into whose hands these, pages will come, know what facts were charged ; all know how long the bishop's trial, on those charges, continued to agitate the Episcopal church throughout the Union ; and all know how deeply this church has been humbled under the result to which that trial led. All that it will be necessary to add in this place, is to say, that during the trial. Dr. Milnor was called on to testify to an important transaction which the case involved ; that he consented to bear his testimony with the most unfeigned reluctance ; that he felt himself dragged from his loved retirement and meditations into the most painful contact possible with the convulsions which were heaving our church ; that he bore his testimony at the bidding of simple duty, but with all the directness, candor, and solemnity of a Christian man ; and that the character of his testimony had a manifest HIS MINISTRY. 583 weight in deciding the minds of many who were sitting in judg- ment on the case. The most profound attention was given to his statement, and the most strenuous effort rpade to invalidate it. But this effort was in vain. He had himself once been an ex- amining lawyer ; and now, as a Christian witness, he understood too well the nature of his duty and of his position, to be either disturbed, or driven from the coolness of conscious rectitude, or from the course of constant truth. He did his duty and retired, leaving results with Him in whose hand are all times and all events.* To his conduct throughout this agitating crisis. Bishop Smith thus refers, in a letter to Dr. Wm. H. Milnor. Alluding to two things in the life of the father which had deeply interested him, the bishop says, after disposing of one of them, " The other relates to the impression made upon me by his singular forethought, wisdom, kindliness, and firmness, in those last sad acts of his life which dragged him iiear, and almost into the vortex, during the memorable ecclesiastical trial in New York. " I thought I already knew him thoroughly, and that I duly appreciated that singular statesmanlike combination of boldness and firmness of principle with a just and tender regard for the rights and feelings of others, and a most scrupulous care to pre- serve his character and influence intact and unimpaired. But his whole course during our General Convention, pending the question of presentment and trial, and during his own long and vexatious cross-examination, gave me so much higher an idea than I had ever before entertained of his wisdom and his worth, that I could not but devoutly give thanks for the grace of ,God * The following appropriate quotation was probably sent him a few days after the termination of the trial : " My dear Doctor, " ' Ac veluti magno in populo quum saepe coorta est Seditio, ssevitque animis ignobile vulgus, Jamque faces et saxa volant ; furor arma ministrat : Tum, pietate gravem ac meritis si forte virum quern Conspexere, silentj arrectisque auribus adstant ; lUe regit dictis animos, et pectora mulcet.' " Yours affectionately, "New York, January 14, 1844 "(5.) 584 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. which was in him, and also greatly wonder, that he had not long before insured the suffrages of his brethren somewhere for the office of a bishop, for which I then felt, and now feel, that he was preeminently better fitted, in all such the highest respects, than many, his junioTs, on the bench of bishops." In reference to the same period, Dr. Wm. H. Milnor, in his "Recollections," has the following paragraph: " One of the most unpleasant, nay, painful passages in the life of Dr. Milnor, was the part which he felt it his duty to take on the trial of his own diocesan. While he deeply deplored the necessity which called him forth, he shrunk not from the obli- gation which Christian duty imposed. Many different opinions have been expressed, and many unkind reflections made, on the course which he took. Those, however, who attributed it to other motives than a deep sense of the duty which he owed his Church and his office as a minister of God, little understood the individual whom they assumed to judge. His diocesan and him- self had long been on terms of friendly intercourse. Me had carefully refrained, even in the bosom of his own family, from speaking of former delinquences ; trusting, with his wonted un- suspecting generosity, to professed penitence and promised refor- mation. But when he fully believed that he had been disappoint- ed, and that the probation had been abused, his resolution was taken. All personal considerations were merged in regard for the welfare of the Church and the cause of religion. The evi- dence which he gave on the trial was clear and consistent; and the attempts which were made to shake his credibility as a wit- ness, on the score of failing memory, or on that of intentional misrepresentation, alike failed, and recoiled on their authors. His memory was but too retentive, and his tale too truthful for many who listened ; while the doubting minds of some on the bench were settlied by it in coincidence with the verdict which was rendered. Dr. Milnor, I know, felt deeply the exceedingly unkind remarks of one of the bishops respecting his testimony. He re- peatedly spoke of them to me, and mentioned that he had been strongly advised to notice them. No difference of opinion, he thought, should have induced a man so completely to forget Chris- tian kindness and the respect due to age." HIS MINISTRY. 585 As soon as the verdict and sentence with which the trial closed, had been pronounced, and even while the Church through- out the land was rocking amid the agitations which followed. Dr. Milnor again withdrew, as much as possible, into the retirement of his own parish and his own thoughts ; composed and peaceful in the approbation of his conscience, and desirous above all things of cultivating closeness of communion with God and heaven. Nor was it long ere the state of mind to which he was brought by his illness of the previous winter, was again comfortingly re- gained. To each period the remarks of his son, in the "Recol- lections," are equally appropriate. ^ "The dangers which threatened the Church and the cause of evangelical religion, from the controversies and convulsions of the day, he dreaded much, and constantly deplored. But amid them all, he strove to live in a calm and sacred self-possession. I heard a conversation between him and the Rev. Mr. Walter, while the latter was temporarily supplying his pulpit during his dan- gerous illness, in which he very feelingly alluded to those con- troversies and convulsions, and remarked that he had long tried to keep himself aloof from all contentions, and to devote himself, with redoubled vigilance, to his own parish. Years were creep- ing upon him, the fire of youth was abated, and the holy calm of eternity was settling on his spirit." It would be wrong, however, to infer from what has been said, that the calm of his ripened age was spent in the con- templations of solitude. He was still a hard-working man in the cause of general benevolence, as well as in the rounds of parochial duty ; and, during the winter of 1845, became deeply interested in a contemplated movement which had for its object the accommodation of many in the upper part of New York, es- pecially of those of his parishioners who were led, by the pressure of a growing city, to remove to an inconvenient distance > from St. George's. Such were the constantly increasing demands of business for space in which to operate, that the dwellings of the wealthy and of the poor in the old and lower parts of the city, were more and more rapidly transformed into shops and stores, and their occupants compelled to seek their residences in other and more dist£^nt neighborhoods. The regular worshippers at St. 586 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. George's were, indeed, drawn towards their old place by the strong bond of personal affection and veneration for him who had so long been their chosen spiritual guide ; and not a few of them, disregarding distance, were still constant attendants on his min- istry. Nevertheless, general tendencies were too manifest and too strong to be either disregarded or resisted; and Dr. Milnor and his vestry became, during the winter of 1845, earnestly en- gaged in considering the question which was thus brought home to their minds. Having an ample parish-endowment, and an endowment more ample still in the liberality of the parishioners, the plan upon which they fell was that of building a chapel in the upper part of the city, which should be appropriated to free sittings. The following passage in the "Recollections" expresses the feelings of Dr. Milnor in relation to the contemplated move- ment. "He long mourned over the changes which every spring brought among his parishioners. His congregation had become a shifting one, and he could not stem the current. It was setting resistlessly upwards. Still, no new edifice, however splendid, could ever have taken the place, in his affections, of old St George's. It had been, for nearly thirty years, the field, fruitful and extensive, of his labors ; and to no other could he ever have transferred the feelings of home and the interests of life. His views in relation to the proposed edifice, were in strict accordance with the lovely simplicity of his character. He desired a plain, modest building, in which the rich and the poor could worship God together. For the sake of the latter, the sittings were to be free. He loved the poor. He never forgot the Saviour's words, ' To the poor the Gospel is preached.' Throughout his ministry, they received a large portion of his care." The following letter from Dr. Milnor's assistant, has also a reference to the same subject. " MissiONART-RooMS, 27th March, 1845. "E.EV. AND DEAR SiR — The Rcv. Mr. Lewis, of Calvary (free) church, Brooklyn, happened to come this morning into the mis- sionary-rooms to hand me a contribution from his parish, which, by the way, was a very liberal one. The recent conversation in HIS MINISTRY. 587 St. George's vestry-room, on the subject of free churches, led me to make inquiries of him as to the practical working of the sys- tem ; and his replies were so satisfactory, and his statements so surprising, that I am prompted to communicate them to you. " I send you, herewith, a Tract which he published in 1843 ; and he assures me that the experience of two more years con- firms all he has there stated. He declares the system to be no longer an experiment, but a most successful enterprise. And this appears from the facts, that the rich and the poor do actually worship together ; that the only difficulty with which they have to contend, is want of room ; that one hundred more pews could be filled at once ; that he has as regular a congregation as any in Brooklyn, and numbering very many families of the highest re- spectability ; that he has on his list the names of 340 communi- cants, regularly worshipping in the church, to 300 of whom he administered the sacrament on Easter Sunday ; that aid was re- quired for the first six months only, since which, they have not only been a self-supporting congregation, but have contributed liberally to others ; that the receipts for 1844 were, subscriptions from the congregation, $2,000 ; plate collections, $900 ; contri- butions to missions and charitable objects, $800 ; expenses for music, etc., $500 — making an annual revenue of $4,200 ; cer- tainly a very remarkable result, when we consider the recent origin of the congregation and the moderate size of the edifice. " These and many other observations which went to show the harmony, interest, and prosperity which characterized the congregation, quite removed all the practical difficulties which seemed to me to encumber a very beautiful theory, and satisfied me, that could a church of proper dimensions and respectable appointments, be established in this city under your auspices, it would insure success to a very noble enterprise. " The continued zeal in the matter which Mr. "Winston evinces, and his earnest desire to secure your countenance and cooperation, induce me, after conferring with him, to send you the foregoing information. If my own 'zeal' lack 'knowledge' in this matter, I pray you to excuse it. " I am, most respectfully and affectionately, yours, "The Rev. Dr. Milnor." "P- P- IRVING." 088 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. '' At what point, precisely, of this and all his other enterprises, he was finally interrupted, the annexed documents in the margin will show.* The original draft of the memorial to the Yestry of Trinity church was written by Dr. Milnor, in a fair copy, with but little alteration from its first hastily prepared form, between the hour of tea and nine o'clock on the evening of Tues- * At a meeting of the Vestry of St. George's church, 2d April, 1845, at five o'clock, P. M., the following communication was presented, and entered upon the minutes. " The Rector stated to the Vestry, that after service on Good Friday, he was applied to for the purpose of obtaining his influence and cooperation in the building of a free chapel of St. George's church, in the upper part of the city, where the rich and poor might worship together, according to the spirit of the Gospel and ancient usage. A former member of this parish had gener- ously offered a subscription of five thousand dollars, and to use his efforts in carrying forward the design to completion. The Rector stated his unwilling- ness to embark in this enterprise until he "had the consent and concurrence of this Vestry • and he felt the more delicacy after the remark of a member of this Vestry, who, in stating the wishes and designs of those who had urged it, said, that in addition to other and weighty motives, they also designed it as a lasting memento of the piety, faithfulness, and extended usefulness of the present Rector of St. George's church. He hoped that the subject would be thoroughly investigated by the Vestry through a committee, to report at a future meeting." Accordingly, a committee of the five senior members of the Vestry were appointed for this purpose ; the Rector being added as chairman. The result of this action of the Vestry and its committee will be seen in the following extracts from the records of Trinity church : "^KW York, 12tli May, 1845. "To the Vestry of Trinity Church, New York: " GeKtlemen — We are instructed by the Vestry of St. George's church ifi this city to transmit to your honorable body the enclosed memorial ; and deem it our duty to state, that the original draft of this document was among the last acts of our deceased Rector, the late Dr. Milnor, who felt a deep and lively interest in its success, expressing the determination to subscribe for its accomplishment, from his own private means, a sum equal to one-fifth of that now solicited from your respected corporation." JOHN STEARNS, \ JAMES A. BURTUS, # B. L. WOOLLEY, > Committki. ^ WM. WHITLOCK, Jr., V FRED. S. WINSTON, / '' To the Rector, Church- wardens, and Vestrymen of Trinity church, New York : The memorial of the Rector, Church- wardens, and Vestrymen of St. HIS MINISTRY. 589 day, the 8th of April : the very evening which closed his laborious and useful life. We hasten to other and more solemn incidents. After his recovery in the winter of 1844, he enjoyed his usual health and vigor, both of body and of mind, insomuch that but for his thin white locks, he might well have been mistaken for a man of sixty, instead of one near the opening of his seventy-third George's church, New York, respectfully showeth, That it has been represent- ed to your memorialists, that an addition to the accommodations afforded for the public worship of Almighty God, according to the usages of our venerable church, in the upper part of the city, is extremely desirable, and will soon, from the rapid increase of buildings in that quarter, become absolutely neces- sary; and that there is a disposition on the part of many individuals to con- tribute towards the erection of a free church, in a location in the upper part of the city, sufficiently remote from other Episcopal churches, provided the purchase of ground and the erection of such a building should be undertaken by your memorialists, and be connected, as a chapel, with St. George's church : that your memorialists, believing that the increase in the number of Episcopal churches in this city, for the last thirty years, has not borne a just proportion to the increase of the population during that time, and that a commodious edifice on the plan proposed, of leaving the sittings free, and the current ex- penses to be defrayed by the voluntary contributions of the worshippers, would be peculiarly acceptable to many of our members, and tend much to the en- largement of their numbers ; believing also, that the accomplishment of such an "undertaking is practicable on the part of your, memorialists, at an estimated cost of from sixty-five to seventy thousand dollars, provided they can obtain from your body a sum adeqviate to meet the expense of purchasing suitable lots for the erection of such edifice thereon — Respectfully request your body to make them a grant of twenty-five thousand dollars in money, or lots of ground which may be estimated to be worth that sum, towards carrying the proposed object into execution : and your memorialists believe that the erection of such edifice, without interfering with the interests of existing establishments, will most essentially contribute to the promotion of religion, and the growth and prosperity of our church — objects which they doubt not, your honorable body as well as your memorialists are anxious to promote. In the event of your concurrence in these views, and a grant being made from your funds of the sum required, your memorialists purpose to embark in the undertaking, and to pledge themselves, with the blessing of God, for its accomplishment upon a scale commensurate with the increasing wants of the church, and unencumbered with debt. Your memorialists, therefore, respectfully and urgently request, that you will take the subject into consideration, and by a compliance with the request now made, enable your memorialists to proceed at once, with all reasonable expedition, to the commencement and accomplishment of a design which they trust will conduce to the glory of God, the welfare of the community, and the honor and advantage of the church." 590 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. year. His form was still unbent, and his step quick and firm ; his voice was strong and free from tremulousness, and his eye bright and full of expression ; his complexion, too, wore its usual unwrinkled and ruddy freshness, and all his faculties of mind seemed as quick and undimmed as ever. In short, the approaches of age manifested themselves in little more than his growing fondness for repose and quiet meditation, and an increasing aver- sion to the strifes and noises of the age ; and even these feelings seemed, in a good degree, the promptings of a consciousness, never absent, that his years could not be many, and that his constitutional tendency exposed him every day to a sudden arrest and summons to depart. Under this consciousness, he may be said to have been now living and laboring hy the day. On Sunday, the 6th of April, he preached an admirable dis- course on the subject of "a charitable judgment of the opinions and conduct of others,''^ in which, without professing to do so, he yet really and ably illustrated and defended his own principles and life in all his past intercourse with Christians of different names. And on the evening of Tuesday, the 8th of the same month, he presided in his own study at a meeting of the Direc- tors of the Deaf and Dumb Institution, of which he was one,.of the founders, and had long been a beneficent patron. It was at the close of this meeting, that one of the directors congratulated him on his appearance of good health, and that in reply to the congratulation, he laid his hand upon his breast, and said, "I have something here, sir, that warns me to expect death at any moment." The warning was not causeless. In five hours from the adjournment of the directors, his body lay — a lifeless form I What an appropriate gathering of incidents ! His last deed for the cause of Christ was amid labors of benevolence ; his last sermon to his flock was an elucidation of his whole Christian life;* and one of his last words showed, that though in appar- ently perfect health, he was yet waiting to die. * The last sermon which he ever preached was to the inmates of " the Asylum for Respectable Aged and Indigent Females," on the afternoon of Sun- day, April 6, two days before his death. Those inmates were much attached to him, and at the close of the service, crowded around to bid him, what they little thought was to be, a last farewell. HIS MINISTRY. 591 Thus suddenly, and with little note of preparation, have we reached the event to which these pages have been tending. But not more suddenly, nor with less note of preparation, has it now come upon the reader, than it actually broke upon the family, on that sad night of the 8th of April, 1845, and upon the public ear, on the sorrowful morning of the following day. The partic- ulars of his death are furnished in the following letter from his son, who was his only medical attendant and nurse, and who wrote to Mr. Winston soon after the event. " Dear Sm — ^At your request, I will give you a brief account of the closing scene of my dear father's life. For some days pre- vious to his death, his general health appeared to be improved. There seemed to be a rallying of the powers of nature for a last effort. You will recollect with what strength of voice and energy of manner his last sermon in our church was delivered. At home, he was cheerfal and happy ; engaging with all the animation and spirit of earlier years, in the new arrangements which were in contemplation. On the morning of Tuesday, the day which was to close hLs career, he appeared at family prayer and breakfast as well as usual. At noon, I saw him writing at the very desk from which these lines to you will issue, complaining of no ail- ment. I cautioned him respecting the change of weather, aud left him. " On our reunion at the dinner-table, he informed me that during his walk that mourning, his oppression and difficulty of breathing had been much worse than usual. what a pang shot through my own heart on listening to these words. For a year past, I had been confident that he labored under %, disease of the heart, which was incurable, and would, in all probability, terminate instantly. Although I never distinctly told him my own opinion of his situation, and though to me the end seemed to be slowly, but surely approaching, and once that very day I had avoided a direct answer to his question, whether he had not a disease of the heart ; yet for a long time he was convinced that such was the case, and was unquestionably expecting a sudden termination of life. I advised him to keep quiet at home for the remainder of the day ; and he did so " — presiding, however, as 592 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. we have seen, at the meeting in his study of the Directors of the Deaf and Dumb Institution, and uttering the impressive words which have already been quoted. " At tea I saw no change. I sat with him until eight, and then left him reading. At half past nine, I visited him again ; he was still reading, and said he felt comfortable. At ten, I heard him pass my room door on his way to bed. He called loudly on my younger brother, who slept with him, to come to bed, and then retired to his own room. I was waiting until sufficient time had elapsed for his undressing before I made him my usual final visit for the night, when my brother entered, and bade me come immediately. On reaching his room, I found him sitting upon his bed in great distress, and gasping for breath ; not worse, how- ever, than I had often seen him before, when, by the blessing of God, I had been able to relieve him. I immediately adminis- tered the usual draught. He complained of great coldness, and said, ' Henry, I am dying — I am dying? I prepared a still , stronger remedy, and while mixing it heard him calmly praying, ' God have mercy ; have mercy — ' " [Something scarcely audi- ble, the writer says, was added; but whether it was a prayer for himself, his family, or his flock, he could not distinguish. This only could he perceive, that it was the prayer of a soul at peace, and sweetly breathing out its desires to God.] " On my present- ing him the mixture, he doubted his ability to swallow. I begged him to make the attempt. He did so, and succeeded. In a few moments he became insensible ; his breath grew softer ; and his spirit passed so quietly away, that I knew not the exact moment of its passing. . ' " So went to his gracious reward this best of fathers, full of years and of honors in his Saviour's cause. He died with his harness on. He had long stood watching at the portals of eter- nity, listening for the Spirit's song to call him home. That strain was sounding in his ears when I reached his bedside. It was not for human voice to call him back when the heavenly Harper was bidding him away. " Yours, very truly, «WM. H. MILNOR." To show how deliberately and habitually, though in silence and by himself, he had for some time been " setting his house in ■> ■ - HIS MINISTRY. 593 order," in expectation of a sudden death, the following extract from the "Recollections" is given : " The last sermon which he began to write, was from Psalm 16 : 8 : 'I have set the Lord always before me : because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.'' The manuscript is now before me. Only one page is finished, and that page closes with the following sentence, the last he ever wrote for his people : ' The faithful servant of God desires not only to cultivate an habitiial regard to his presence, as a matter of duty, but also to enjoy a constant sense of that presence, as a special privilege.'' How soon Was he permitted to enjoy, not a mere foretasting sense, but the actual presence of God himself ! " As he had for some time evidently been looking for a sudden call, so all his actions seemed to have a reference to it. Thus, all his, accounts were carefully made up, and useful memoranda were placed where they could easily be found. He had indeed ' set his house in order ^ "A few days before his death, his daughter Ellen's health required a change of climate, and her mother accompanied her to the South. He yielded to the necessity of the case, but parted from them with great reluctance. He doubtless felt, that so far as earth is concerned, the parting would be final. He stood on the wharf with me gazing after them till they were lost in the distance, and then, with an attempt at cheerfulness which I saw he did not feel, turned away. Passing the market on our way home, he requested me to step in with him. He went round and introduced me to all with whom he was in the habit of dealing, saying with a smile, ' You know not how soon this duty of mar- keting may devolve on you.' " The reference in this extract to his sad parting with his wife, explains an allusion in the foregoing letter, to the fact that a "younger brother" slept with his father. There was a sort of unacknowledged recognition of the truth, that it had become unsafe for him to sleep alone. Nor was Eleanor's afflictive and protracted illness, with the consequent absence of her mo- ther and herself, the only circumstance which, at that moment, tended to make the rectory of St. George's more than usually lonely. The youngest son was at the same time on his way ta Hem. Milsor. 38 594 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. Europe, in the prosecution of the business in which he had en- gaged. Thus almost alone did the master of the mansion pass away. And yet he was not alone, for, besides the hand of filial tenderness that ministered to his case, God was with him ; and with that presence his departing soul was doubtless satisfied. He felt the Lord '■^ at his right hand f and therefore he was ^' not movedy In the calmness of prayer he communed with his Father even while passing the gate of death ; and therefore breathed his soul away so softly, even as it had been a babe fall- ing quietly asleep on its mother's bosom. From this brief notice of the good man's death, of the circum- stances under which it occurred, and of his preparation for the event, we must pass to dwell a few moments on the impression which it made on the public mind, and on the regards which were paid to his memory. It may be said with truth, that seldom, if ever, have simul- taneous and wide-spread expressions of public grief testified more loudly or more touchingly to the worth of a departed man of God, than those which were poured forth upon the armouncement of Dr. Milnor's sudden demise. He had not been living in his closet alone, nor in his study chiefly, perusing or producing those volumes which elicit the world's loud praises or louder strictures, to soothe or to torture the living author's ear. '•^Fruitur sua fa- ma " could indeed be said of him, if not as a living scholar, at least as a living actor, moving among the multitudes whom his benefi- cent life had blessed, and enjoying the secret consciousness of a well-earned, fame. Still, it was not during life that even as an actor in its busy scenes, his worth was fully proclaimed, and his praises fully uttered. Towards the living philanthropist, the liv- ing man of beneficent activity, the world often behaves not only with something of fitting modesty, lest its praises should seem like flattery, but also with something of apparent indifference, because not fully conscious of the blessings which it is receiving. In such cases, it is only when the instrument of those blessings is removed, that men awake to a true sense of their indebtedness, or give free vent to the emotions which had been silently growing into strength within them. It was so in the present case. Al- though he was a well-read divine, yet he was most emphatically HIS MINISTRY. 595 a man of action. In this character, too, the Christian world knew him widely, and widely appreciated the great value of his services ; yet it was not till he was gone, that it was prepared fully to express its appreciation, or even fully to realize the value of what it appreciated. But when death came, and he no longer walked among living men, then his true worth was felt in the dis- tressful void produced : grief burst forth on every hand ; and deep acknowledgments to God were made for the rare blessing so long enjoyed, so late removed. The religious press, of every Christian denomination, and in every part of the country, spoke forth the strength and fervor of the common sentiment ; nor was even the secular press either less prompt or less emphatic in its utterances. The various societies, greater and smaller, of which he had been a member, met and mourned, and gave published expressions of their sorrows and their sense of loss. The clergy of his own church, of all orders and of all opinions, united in heart-felt tributes to his memory and his worth. The great anniversaries in New York, which occurred soon after his death, spread throughout Protestant Christendom the loud wail of sorrow for the dead, and the equally loud note of gratitude to God that the dead had lived. The pulpit, especially of the Episcopal church, gave voice in cities and in villages to the universal feeling ; and in many of the religious periodicals of the country, obituaries of various length swelled the testimony of the day to the truth, that a greatly good and a greatly useful Christian had gone to his rest. And finally, private letters and official communications, from individuals and from societies, poured into the bosom of the bereaved household, in unstinted measure, the heali];ig balms of sympathy and of a just appreciation of the character and services of its departed head. The attempt to collect what was thus, in various forms, done and said and published, would of itself require a volume ; and therefore will not here be made. For this place the foregoing allusions will suffice. The funeral took place on Friday, at four o'clock, P. M., and was a most affecting and solemn ceremony. " So intense," says one of the published notices of the event, " was the desire on the part of the public to pay the last tribute of respect to his mem- 596 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. ory, that the galleries of St. George's church were filled some hours before the time announced for the interment ; and so soon as the doors were opened, and the coffin was carried into the church, the spacious building was filled to overflowing. Among those present, were clergymen of nearly every denomination, in- cluding most of those belonging to the Episcopal church, the respective Boards of the American and New York Bible Societies, the Tract Society, the Deaf and Dumb Institution, and all the pupils." " The church was apparelled in deep mourning, and the chandeliers were veiled in black crape." " The choir sung the anthem, ' Vital spark of heavenly flame ;' and the Rev. Dr. Tyng delivered the funeral address; often laboring under deep emotion, only repressed with great effort ; and many of both sexes wept nearly the whole time of its delivery." A similar scene was presented the next Sunday morning, when the funeral sermon was delivered. In that scene, it is true, there were no public representatives of either ecclesiastical or benevolent organizations, and the sentiment which prevailed was somewhat sobered in its tone by the fact that " the narrow house'''' of the dead was no longer visible to the eye. But the house of God was similarly crowded, and a sacredly tender so- lemnity breathed over the great congregation, and through the affecting services of the morning ; as if it were a consciousness, that though the form of the holy dead was sleeping beneath, yet his spirit was still hovering above, and holding, deep-felt, with his sorrowing friends, the mystic " Communion of saints." His remains repose beneath the chancel from which he so often delighted to dispense the symbols of his Saviour's love ; while in the recess, on a lofty base, rises a beautiful marble bust, which by its faithful likeness, speaks continually to long-lived feelings of love and veneration in the hearts of his surviving and affectionate flock. RETROSPECT OF HIS LIFE. 597 PART VI. r- RETROSPECT OP DR. MILNOR'S LIFE AND CHARACTER, / ■ ■ , . - ■ '■•_ All that now remains to be done, in giving to the world the life of this faithful servant of Christ, is to present some general views of his position, influence, iand character, upon which, dur- ing the progress of the work, it has not been convenient to dwell. Upon several points, little could be said with effect before reach- ing the termination of his course. They are seen to better ad- vantage in looking back, and regarding them as fixed points, than in looking at them by the way, and regarding them as moving points. There are several things which run through his Christian and ministerial life, and being chiefly of uniform tenor, present few occasions for special remark ; but which, when seen in their completeness, as each a whole, well deserve particular consider- ation. Whatever was special in the matters to which reference is here made, has received sufficiently special notice in passing. Hence, to general views only is the reader's attention now to be directed. • L DR MILNOR's connection WITH THE AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY. This connection was formed almost contemporaneously with his entrance upon the ministry, was based on principle, and was therefore consistently and perseveringly maintained. The prin- ciple on which he acted in his early and continued connection with that great institution, may be thus unfolded. He regarded all bodies, professedly Christian, who hold the Bible as their rule of faith, on the ground of its divine inspira- tion and authority, as, in some valid sense, pajts of the visible Church of Christ. He was not of the number of those who limit the boundaries of this Church, so as to include those millions only which are covered by an episcopally constituted ministry and government, and who consequently regard the remaining millions 598 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. of Christians, so called, as neither churches, nor parts of the Church, but as, in their collective states, certain nameless mon- strosities, engendered, amid the outer darkness of the world, by the few rays of light which have happened to straggle beyond the favored pale of privilege. On the contrary, he looked upon these millions as lying within that pale ; as in the Church, and of the Church ; as being, many of them, highly illuminated, and as animated with much of the best life and power of the Gospel of Christ. Taking this view, he held that there is a unity which reaches and includes all who are thus distinguished — a unity which holds in one visible whole all the particular members of Christ on earth. Of this unity, therefore, he held that there ought to be, especially among Protestants, some visible expres- sion, some recognized badge. This visible expression, this recognized badge, so far as our country is concerned, he could find nowhere more appropriately than in the union of Christians of different names in the American Bible Society, an institution whose sole work is to prepare and circulate through the world the simple standard of their common faith, hope, and practice. The question with him was not so much whether stich a union were at present literally practicable and harmoniously main- tainable, as whether it were not desirable, and ought not, as far and as fast as possible, to be realized. Whether it were not, in the highest sense, important to the efficiency, the growth, the best interests of the Church of Christ, Answering this question as his soberest Christian judgment constrained him to answer it, the decision left nothing in him for doubt, wavering, or hesita- tion. He gave to such a union his unqualified allegiance ; and it was one of the great works of his Christian life to embody, illustrate, and extend the practicability, the benefits, and the blessedness of living in so divine a bond. Entering this union, then, with such viows, the question nat- urally arises, "What were the position which he held, the influ- ence which he exerted, and the labors which he performed, in connection with the American Bible Society ? To this question, an answer in part may be drawn from the foregoing narrative of his ministerial life. But an answer in full requires a farther statement. And, happily, with the materials for such a state- RETROSPECT OF HIS LIFE. 599 merit we have been furnished by the excellent Corresponding Sec- retary of the Society, the Rev. Dr. Brigham, so long one of the worthy associates of Dr. Milnor in the conduct of the institution. The materials furnished by Dr. Brigham are, indeed, but a sum- mary. In the following statement, therefore, they will be used without strict confinement to the language in which they have been communicated. They are valuable for the dates and facts which they certify, and for the views of character which, as the , result of long and familiar intercourse, they express. " This distinguished man became interested in the cause of the Bible before his removal from Pennsylvania ; and his interest there was strongly favored by the well-known views of his be- loved diocesan, Bishop White. Upon his settlement in New York, in the summer and fall of 1816, the American Bible Soci- ety had been but a few months in existence. He lost no time in connecting himself with it as an active member ; and continued to labor in its service until the very week of his decease. " In 1819 he was appointed Domestic Secretary ; an office which involved an active correspondence with the various branches, auxiliaries, and agents of the institution throughout the United States. In this capacity too, he prepared and pre^ sented the fourth annual report of the society, at its anniversary in May, 1820; an able and interesting document of forty-five octavo pages. In 1820 he was appointed Foreign Secretary, as successor to the Rev. Dr. Mason; and in this capacity he main- tained, for many years, an active correspondence with the British and Foreign Bible Society ; thus bringing the experience and counsels of that great institution to the aid of the younger organ- ization which he represented. It was in his capacity as For- eign Secretary, that Dr. Milnor represented the American Bible Society in London, during the great anniversaries in the spring of 1830. " But his most important services in this cause were ren- dered, in connection with committees and the board, in the trans- action of business. For many years he was chairman of the committee on versions ; a committee whose duty it was to examine and certify the correctness of all the Scriptures pub- 600 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. lished and circulated in various languages, at home and abroad. After the publication of the facsimile copy of ' King James' Bible' in 1837, he and hisj associates on the committee, aided by a skilful proof-reader, compared that issued by the society with "die copy referred to, and carefully noted every instance of change which in the course of two centuries had occurred. This, of itself, was a labor of no ordinary magnitude, and resulted in giving to the society a standard, for which all its members and friends should be grateful." .o>; . ^ us^a :trj i.y\j& %^i:, .10 ; ;*:.:^i It was while Dr. Milnor held the place of chairman of the committee on versions, that the unhappy controversy arose which resulted in the withdrawment from the union of the greater part of the Baptist denomination, and in the separate organization of a society for the preparation and distribution of the Scriptures. The origin of that controversy was, a request from the English Baptist missionaries in Bengal, for aid from the American Bible Society in publishing a version of the Bengalee Scriptures, in which the Greek terms baptize and baptism were translated by words signifying immerse and immersion ; and which, for this reason, the Calcutta Bible Society had refused to patronize. Without being aware of the fact that the Burmese translation by Dr. Judson, was made on the same principle, the American Bible Society had aided in circulating this latter version ; and hence the Baptists of Bengal supposed there would be no objection to aid in publishing the Bengalee version which they had prepared. When, therefore, upon a discovery of the facts, the American Bible Society determined to follow the example of that of Calcutta, in refusing the patronage which was asked, the Baptists of the United States organized a sepa- rate institution. It was a subject in which Dr. Milnor felt a deep interest, and took a kind, yet leading and decided part ; a^id when the managers of the American Bible Society felt con- strained publicly to vindicate their principles and course in the matter, the work of preparing their vindication was assigned to Dr. Milnor ; a work which he performed in an able pamphlet of sixteen octavo pages. " For the last ten years of his life. Dr. Milnor was also chair- man of the committee charged with the duty of. making arrange- RETROSPECT OF HIS LIFE. 601 ments for the successive anniversaries of the society ; and it was on business with this committee that he made, his last visit to the Bible house. At this meeting the arrangements for the twenty-ninth anniversary were completed ; the speakers were engaged, the place of meeting for the anniversary was secured^, and all things were" ready. But when, a few days afterwards, the anticipated gathering of the friends of the Bible took place, he, who had done so much towards giving shape and order to the proceedings, was not there. He had been called from his willing labors, and had entered on his gracious reward." The following is the notice of his character and services which the Board of Managers took in their twenty-ninth report : " Within a few days, one who had been a devoted fellow- laborer, and was chairman of the committee to make arrange- ments for this anniversary, has been called in a moment from his associates, leaving a vacancy in the society which few or none can fill. It may not be improper to record, with more minute- ness, some of the qualities which rendered Dr. Milnor so pecu- liarly useful in this institution. " One quality was his familiarity with business. Having been trained, in early life, to the legal profession, and for many yeai's engaged in it, as well as occupied, to some extent, in legis- lative proceedings, he was prepared oftentimes to render a service here which ordinary clergymen could not. On questions con- nected with finance, making of contracts, charitable bequests, and rules of order, his counsels were often of great service. " Another quality was his candor, or freedom from prejudice.- In a body like this, composed of men educated and trained under very differing circumstances, it might be expected that questions difficult of adjustment would sometimes arise. Occasionally they did arise. But the deceased approached all such questions with a frankness, sincerity, and kindness of manner which se- cured the confidence of his associates, making them feel that truth and right were the only objects of his aim. All listened with candor to what he proposed. His open and courteous de- meanor in this body, for more than a quarter of a century, has had much to do in promoting that harmony and mutual confi- dence which so generally prevail in its deliberations. 602 • MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. ' "Another, and a crowning quality, was his scriptural and catholic piety. "While he was sincerely and avowedly attached to the peculiarities of his own denomination, he could rejoice in discovering the image of Christ under any outward form ; and where he could consistently, he united with those who bore that image, in diffusing, among the ignorant and perishing, the bless- ings of a common Christianity. In the Bible cause, this noble, fraternal spirit had ample scope. Having one common book to prepare and circulate — and that the divine book — and receiving it heartily as the only infallible rule of faith and practice, he could labor with his might for its diffusion ; and, to enlarge the measure of success, could unite with all whp held it in like esti- mation, and thus aim, if possible, to impart its light to every benighted creature. " Qualities like these, united with a rare cheerfulness and urbanity of manners, not only rendered the deceased of great service to this institution, but made him, at the same time, one of the most endeared of friends. There is no one of his associ- ates but feels that he has sustained a personal loss, and all will cherish in sweet remembrance the bright example which has been so long before them." Thus far the annual report. The following remarks by Dr. Brigham are in the same spirit : " I became connected with the society in 1826, young and inexperienced. I felt the need of much counsel, and sought it from those who had been long con- nected with the board. As Dr. Milnor still performed many of the duties of foreign secretary, and was chairman of one, and some- times of two standing committees, I was led, as a matter of ne- cessity, to seek his advice, I was, at times, obliged to call on him when he was pressed with business, and more than once or twice to see him in his sick room, and in more or less pain. Yet in all my interviews with him, I never found him irritable or repulsive, but ever kind, affable, and ready to do all in his power to solve my doubts, and help on the good cause in which wc were engaged. " On committees he was ever punctual, courteous, intelligent, and of course influential ; and it was always felt, by his associ- ates, to be a pleasure thus to labor with him in th^ir great com- mon cause. . • • RETROSPECT OF HIS LIFE. 603 "One noble trait in his character I early noticed, and have often had occasion to admire ; I mean his candor, his readiness to recognize and follow truth, wherever and whenever discerned, without inquiring what this or that man or party would say. I have seen him, after earnestly defending one side of a question, find, on presentation of evidence, that he had been mistaken: and then, with a disinterested frankness, say that he saw reason to change his views and his vote. I have seen him do this when very few would have done so, although all were constrained to admire his course. This sincere, catholic spirit of his has had much to do in giving harmony to the operations of the board ; and my hope is, that a remembrance of his example will long exert a salutary influence." It is of course impossible, from so brief a statement as the foregoing, even with the aid of what has been said in earlier pages of the Memoir, to estimate truly the amount of labor which, in the course of nine and twenty years, must have been per- formed by so active and ever-punctual a member of the Bible Society. Numberless special efforts, journeys, speeches on plat- forrtis, and other calls to duty, must lie unobserved of us, though at the time they neither wanted observation, nor were unaccom- panied by toil. One only of these many engagements now lies on record before the writer, in the shape of a vote of thanks from the board of managers for the " truly catholic and excellently appropriate address,''^ which he delivered "on occasion of the first meeting of the managers in their new rooms," about the 1st of January, 1823, accompanied by a request that he would " furnish a copy thereof for publication." But although the amount of his labors may not be easily estimated, yet the importance of his position, and the dignity with which he maintained himself in it, may without difficulty be apprehended. In that position, indeed, he was strongly as- sailed by influences which it was most difficult to resist. But he stood firm till the storm of opposition and obloquy had spent its force, and then for long years calmly maintained his stand- ing amid the sunshine of general favor ; Christians of all Prot- estant names admiring his consistency and his constanoy, and 604 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. multitudes of his own denomination in particular, rallying round him in the heavenly cause of union for the dissemination of the pure word of God. In this latter respect his influence was pre- cious. To his quiet perseverance the Episcopal Church owes much of its present interest in the cause of the American Bible Society. Had he quailed before the stern frown of opposition, spirits of feebler nerve would never have ventured to meet the intimidation. But he lived long enough to see that frown die of self-exhaustion; and now the cause has a hold on our church which cannot easily be broken. Henceforth, it is opposition that will be afraid to take its stand in public. It may murmur in private, but it is too feeble for overt acts. The cause of union, the union of Christian hearts and labors, without any sacrifice of essential principles, is incalculably indebted to the dignified stand so firmly taken and so calmly held by the late rector of St. George's. n. DR. MILNOR's connection with the AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY. This was but the consistent carrying out of the principle involved in his connection with the American Bible Society. If the Bible contain the whole of a common Christianity, and be the only infallible standard of its truths, so as to render a union of Christians for the distribution of the Bible desirable and practicable, and at the same time a suitable visible expression of the unity which reaches and includes all really Bible Chris- tians, then certainly there must be a unity which extends to a still further point. A unity which includes those who recognize the Bible as their only standard of infallible authority, clearly supposes that there is, in the Bible, a body of truths or doctrines which are held and cherished, if not by all who call themselves Christians, yet by all who really are Christians ; that these truths, or doctrines, however men may differ about other things in the Bible, are certainly discoverable; that the unity of true Chris- tians, in holding them, is not a vision of something that ought to be, but a verity that actually exists; and that, therefore, of this unity also there ought to be some visible expression, some recognized badge. This expression and badge, then, of the unity of all true Christians in holding the essential and vital truths or RETROSPECT OF HIS LIFE. 605 doctrines of a common Christianity, are what tlie organization of the American Tract Society was designed to furnish. This institution is organized on the principle of publishing and circu- lating those truths only which all evangelical Christians agree in regarding as vital; that is, essential to salvation, or sufficient, when blessed by the Spirit, and received into the faith of the heart, to insure the salvation of all who thus receive them. The institution is based on two great axioms in Christian ethics: 1. That it is idle to expect that all true Christians will think exactly alike, or adopt precisely the same opinions on all external, or even all subordinate internal points of the Christian system. 2. That it is worse than idle, it is disastrous to the best hopes of the Gospel, to allow the divisions which have taken place upon external, or upon subordinate internal points of Christianity, to run into total and hostile separations, so as to leave no visible sign or badge of the unity which really exists in matters both internal and essential, marking all true Christians as one saved body in Christ. Such is the standing point of the American Tract Society. It leaves all Christians unmolested in their opinions, and support of opinions, on points not fundamental, and seeks the union of all true Christians under at least one outward sign and badge of their real unity in whatever is essential or sufficient to salvation. In dignity and value, beauty and loveliness, it is twin sister to the Bible Society; second in birth, and only second in its claims to profound affection and regard. Dr. Milnor felt all this in the deepest sensibilities of his re- newed nature. He saw Christians of various names acknow- ledging one Bible, yet wanting something visible and tangible to show that they all belonged to one and the same body of Christ. The moment, therefore, the plan of the American Tract Society was submitted to him in his sick room, in the winter of 1825, just after he began his return from the brink of the grave, he adopted it with the freest, fullest action of his feelings and his judgment, inserted permanent modifications into its constitution, and identi- fied himself for life with its founders, its history, and its fortunes. An account of these incidents has already been given, but of all that followed little or nothing has yet been said. Dr. Milnor's labors in the Tract Society were even more abundant than those 606 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. in the Bible cause. Its faithful Secretary, however, the Rev. Mr. Hallock, who laid the plan of the society before Dr. Milnor in his sick room, and who continued to labor with him until his death, has furnished us with the materials for such a statement as is needed to bring out this part of the Memoir into proper distinctness. "New York, Jan. 29, 1846. " Rev. Dr. Stone, " Respected and dear Sir — I present you herewith copies of letters and documents written by Dr. Milnor, to which you may wish to refer in preparing his Memoir, They may serve as way- marks of his labors for twenty years in connection with the Amer- ican Tract Society. But what he did and desired for this insti- tution better appears in its nearly twelve hundred publications, stereotyped under his sanction, together with two thousand ap- proved for circulation in foreign lands ; in the spread of the So- . ciety's influence in this and other countries ; and in the multi- tudes already, by these means, brought into the kingdom of Christ, and established in the hope of their eternal salvation. It is more fully written in the hearts of those who so long and so happily cooperated with him in these works of Christian benefi- cence. But it is fully known to God only, who saw every im- pulse of his benevolent heart, listened to every prayer which he offered for divine direction, and watched every hour of thQ conse- cration of his active and finely balanced mind to the great results already achieved, and destined, as we trust, long to bless our revolted world. In reference to this object, his course was one and the same from the hour when it was first proposed to him, to that in which God called him to rest with his Redeemer above. " The impressions made on my mind, at my first interview during his illness, were but deepened by his uniform course through twenty years. Knowing the pressure of his public du- ties, I felt bound not needlessly to engross a moment of his time. But his ear was ever open. If the cause of Christ demanded either counsel or labor, he was ready to give it ; and I can truly say, that in all he counselled and all he did, a supreme desire to honor the Redeemer by the advancement of his kingdom in the eternal welfare of men, and a desire cordially to unite evangeli- RETROSPECT OF HIS LIFE. 607 oal Christians of every name in the work of God^ seemed the pre- dominant motives of his heart. I think it no disparagement to any other man, living or dead, to say, that I know of no one who, exceeded Dr. Milnor in genuine catholic feeling. Perhaps few, if any, ever did so much to bind together truly evangelical Chris- tians. He himself was a bond that united thousands. His piety towards God and his love towards man were deep and enduring ; and his affection for the great foundation-truths of the Gospel, of vital godliness, of the religion that humbles man, exalts God, and trusts in nothing but atoning blood and the power of the Holy Spirit, was stronger than death. " Every important measure adopted by the Society previous to his demise, passed under his sanction, and received his cordial concurrence. Every annual report was prepared under his super- vision, and every anniversary was honored by his presence, except the report and the anniversary for 1830, when he went a delegate to the London Tract Society. His public addresses had a pow- erful interest; and if any new modes of operation 'or other sub- jects of importance were to be presented, the duty was usually devolved on him, and was in all cases most acceptably and suc- cessfully performed. His talents for business, and for presiding, whether at large deliberative meetings, or in the small commit- tee ; his intuitive discernment of propriety ; his promptness in decisions ; his facility and despatch in reaching desired results ; his dignity, mingled with sweetness, and sometimes almost play- fulness of manner ; his uniform kindness and courtesy, and far- reaching benevolence, rendered his presence always attractive, and won him the love and the confidence of all who cooperated with him. "As an illustration of the reference to his 'sweetness and almost playfulness of manner,' when presiding on committees, the following incident occurs to memory. At a meeting of the Executive Committee, when a letter from the Hon. Peter Browne, her majesty's charge d'affaires at Copenhagen, had been read, expressing the most evangelical and catholic sentiments, 'I presume,' said the chairman, ' that the writer of that letter must be Bxi Episcopalian ; first, from his orthodoxy, and second, from his love of Christian v/nion /' There was a mingled gravity and 608 ' MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. pleasantry perfectly intelligible in his manner, which very hap- pily reminded the circle of the confidence and Christian union which they were themselves enjoying. " He manifested to tlie last a growing attachment to the So- ciety ; and perhaps no man ever presided so long over commit- tees so unanimous, and united by so sacred a bond. I think it is a fact, that he never heard ' nay ' but in one single instance, to any question which, as chairman of the Tract Society's commit- tees, he put, during the whole course of his twenty years' con- nection with them ; and in that instance the resolutions were reconsidered, and a unanimous result reached. " As chairman of the Executive Committee, his counsel was sought on all important questions coming before them ; and as chairman of the Publishing Committee, residing near the Socie- ty's house, and with the promptness and facility in business alluded to, almost every publication examined, went to him first ; and as those which he judged unworthy of further examination were not sent to the other members, he had a larger share of reading than the rest. Generally, he completed the examina- tions at the earliest practicable hour ; wrote his decisions in neat notes, that might be at hand when the committee should meet for final action, or that would be available in case of his sudden death, or providential absence ; and promptly returned the books or manuscripts, that those which were to be read by others might be transmitted without needless delay. At the hour of his death, two such notes were actually in the Society's house, prepared for meetings which he did not live to attend ; and one of the two was a renewed and noble expression of his catholic feeling. " Near the close of his life, occurred an incident as interest- ing and as tender as any thing in the incipient stages of the Society's existence. ''A highly respectable delegation from the committee of the Branch American Tract Society at Boston, spent three days with the Executive Committee of the Society in New York, carefully considering the facts of its history, and the principles on which its operations had been conducted. Almost the first murmur of complaint against the Society had recently been heard ; and it seemed to assume the form of a question whether the Society's RETROSPECT OF HIS LIFE. 609 publications and aims were thoroughly and soundly spiritu^V and evangelical. This led to a review of the principal facts in the Society's history, and of the aims and motives by which the members of the committee had been governed ; and called up the most tender recollections of what God had done for the Society, while one and another gave a narrative of the past as it had affected his own mind. A large number of the original officers were present ; and all the scenes of twenty years presenting themselves at a glance to the tender heart of our beloved chair- man, more than once excited emotions which found relief in tears, and more than once prompted him to call on some one to address the throne of grace. On the morning of the third and last day, the first president of the Society unexpectedly entered; and addressing the chairman, adverted to the prayer, and hope, and ties of Christian love, in which the institution was founded, and to the evident smiles of God which had attended all its course. The chairman commenced a reply ; but overcome by tender recollections, was obliged to sit down and compose him- self before proceeding. On that occasion, he reminded the circle around him, that he had often thought his other and arduous duties might compel him to relinquish his labors on the Publish- ing Committee ; but he now assured them, that while those labors should be needed, and while God spared his life, they should not be withheld. " But I will not add. His record is on high. It cannot be fully given here. It is ever pleasant to dwell on his memory. God be praised for what he was. Thousands love the Society the better for all he did in it ; and the thought' makes heaven the sweeter to our hope, that we shall there join our beloved chair- man in praising our Redeemer with perfect hearts and unfalter- ing tongues. The official documents of the Society bespeak the preciousness of his memory ; and God hath said of such as he, * They that be wise, shall shine as the brightness of the firma- ment ; and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars for ever and ever.' " With great respect and esteem, " Your brother in Christ, "WILLIAM A. HALLOOK" Mem.Miliio<; 39 610 < ' MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. The letters and documents which accompanied the above most valuable and acceptable paper, are of themselves, as illus- trative of Dr. Milnor's connection with the Tract Society, almost enough for a volume. Considering, therefore, the size which the Memoir has already reached, it must suffice to add a small selec- tion as a sample of the whole. ■,). " The following practical suggestions by Dr. Milnor, which were inserted in the fourth annual report of the Society, and afterwards adopted for the governance of the Publishing Commit- tee, give an idea of one of the varieties of labor, which from time to time have devolved on that hard-working body. " The committee take this occasion to state, that the offers of -premiums for tracts have become so numerous, that the Publish- ing Committee feel compelled to relinquish the labor and respon- sibility of examining them and deciding upon their merits. The amount of labor which the performance of this duty has devolved upon the Publishing Committee, may be estimated from the fact, that in the selection of three premium tracts and ten handbills, which have been approved during the past year, they have exam- ined, including the handbill tracts, 452 ; and 82 exclusive of these shorter productions. The reasonableness of their being relieved from the heavy responsibility of this duty, is increased by the consideration of the almost unavoidable dissatisfaction with their decisions, which will be felt by at least a portion of those whose productions are not rewarded by the offered premium. The difficulty of deciding between tracts possessing nearly the same degree of merit, is often great ; and the impracticability of stating to the authors of those that are not successful, the par- ticular grounds of preference for those approved, precludes the committee from all means of explanation. The seeming disre- spect to such authors, in the rejection of essays which have cost them much labor, and often possess no small portion of intrinsic merit, may have a tendency to produce feelings of alienation from the Society, and of unkindness towards the members of the Publishing Committee. These evils will be avoided, and every purpose which benevolent individuals may have in view in the offer of premiums for tracts, be answered, by their own selec- RETROSPECT OF HIS LIFE. 611 tion of persons to whose examination the manuscripts may be subjected ; and then, if it be desired that the tract to which the premium is awarded be published by this Society, it may be sub- mitted to the determination of its Publishing Committee how far it is suitable for, admission into the Society's series of tracts." In obedience to the following instructions. Dr. Milnor per- formed very important labors during his visit to London. " At a meeting of the Executive Committee, March 11, 1830, it was ^^ Resolved, That the Rev. Dr. Milnor be requested, in his con- templated visit to London, to ascertain, as far as practicable, the origin and history of such of the publications of the Religious Tract Society in that city, as have been reprinted by the American Tract Society ; especially how far such of them as are narratives, are a record oi facts ; and also the principles on which the London Tract Society have proceeded, in relation to the subject of issuing fictitious publications." It was also " Resolved, That Dr. Milnor be requested, during his travels abroad, to obtain all such information, and to procure a copy of such publications as, in his opinion, will be useful in the future labors of this committee." These instructions, it may be proper to remark, were founded on the principle, early adopted by the American Tract Society, that religious fiction concurs with ordinary novels in vitiating the taste and morals of the age ; the fiction being read less for the valuable truths which it teaches, than for the unhealthy excitement which it supplies. On this ground, the narrative tracts of our Society are believed to be well-ascertained facts ; and in this respect, the institution differs from many of the religious authors and institutions of tlje age, who have not scrupled to employ fiction as a vehicle of religious truth. The only apology for religious fiction lies in the plea, that as novel- reading is an almost universal indulgence of our times, it is bet- ter that children should read those fictions which may possibly communicate truth, than that they should devour those which will probably instil error. This, however, leaves out of view the all-important considerations, that religious fictions, early 612 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. placed in the hands of children, ordinarily generate a passion for the mischievous and more exciting novels of the day ; that they thus become the prime springs of corruption to their liter- ary tastes, unfitting their minds to feed on more solid and whole- some nutriment, and stimulating them till they become obese, or bloated by the masses of trash which they devour ; and that it is the duty of the Christian press to counteract, instead of cooperating with one of the most serious evils that threaten the Christian Church. , • ^ i Dr. Milnor's report of Ms mission to the London Tract Society,' is contained in the American Tract Magazine for January, 1831, as is also the account of his visit to the Isle of Wight, already embodied in this Memoir. The following explains itself, and shows one of the many in- stances in which the American Tract Society has aided the work of foreign missions. It was written in 1836, while Dr. Milnor was at the head of our foreign executive committee. "Office of the Foreign Missionary Committee ) of the Protestant Episcopal Church. ) "Rev. Mr. Hallock, Sec'y Amer. Tract Soc. " Dear Sir — I have the pleasure to acknowledge the receipt, by the hands of your Assistant Treasurer, of fifteen hundred dol- lars ; seven hundred and fifty dollars thereof being the balance of a donation from your" — ^the American Tract Society's — " Ex- ecutive Committee to the Foreign Missionary Committee of the Protestant Episcopal church, to aid in the publication and dis- tribution of Tracts by the missionaries in Greece, and seven hundred and fifty dollars, a like donation for the distribution of Tracts by the committee's missionaries in China. "I am instructed by our committee to convey, through you, to the Executive, Committee of the American Tract Society, their cordial thanks for this additional evidence of their beneficence ; and in doing so, you will allow me to add the assurance, that the missionaries referred to will be instructed to apply your liberal grants in conformity to the principles which you have heretofore communicated, and which have received the approval of those to whom is committed the. immediate direction of the missionary operations of our church. : r RETROSPECT OF HIS LIFE. 613 "Praying that the great Head of the Church may bless all the efforts of Christians for the world's regeneration, and that his special favor may be extended towards your benevolent exertions, I remain, reverend and dear sir, "Your obliged friend and Christian fellow-laborer, "JAMES MILNOR, Sec. and Gen. Agent, etc." The following series of notes, a part only of a much larger collection which might be made, presents an interesting view of Dr. Milnor's position and action as chairman of the Publishing Committee, and is valuable as embodying some of his opinions both of authors and of doctrines. " New York, April 8, 1839. " " Rev. Mr. Hallock-^— I have given the tract of Dr. Alexan- der, No. 393, on Justification by Faith, an attentive reading in its revised form, I believe it to be a correct, scriptural, and clear view of the important doctrine of which it treats. It forms a compendium of what I have been preaching for more than twenty years, and presents, as I believe, the true and only method of a sinner's acceptance with God. What countless contentions would have been avoided, if this precious doctrine had been adhered to in all the definiteness of the apostle's teachings on the subject ; ajid if the pride of men had not led to so many contrivances to find some other way of salvation than that which the Holy Ghost has so clearly revealed in the sacred Scriptures. " Your affectionate brother in the hopes of a free and unadul- terated Gospel, ■ . "J. MILNOR" DR. Milnor's judgment of law's serious call. "New York, April 8, 1839. " Rev. Mr. Hallock, "Dear Brother — I very much question the expediency of paying, as proposed, for the abridgment of this work. There are, besides this, three other abridgments : one by I know not whom ; a second by John Wesley ; and a third anonymous, published by Hdtchard, London, in 1814. I do not know whether they are to be procured: but perhaps they may, and may be found preferable to this ; in which Case, if it is deemed expedient for us to pub' Hsh it at all, one of them might be used without expense to us, 614 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR,; "Law was undoubtedly a most devout man; and as this work was written before he run into the mysticism of Jacob BcEhmen, it is free from the peculiarities of that singular man, and is, in truth, in one view a very useful book. As an exhibi- tion of the folly, sin, and danger of a worldly life, and of the supe- rior wisdom, excellence, and happiness of a life of piety and de- votion, it is calculated to he practically useful in a high degree. But I am not satisfied with the reason given, in the preface to the abridgment, for his not laying aright the foundation of his intended superstructure. He is deficient in not beginning with 'repentance towards God, faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ,' and the renewal of the heart by divine grace, as the spring of all true religion and all practical holiness. Hannah More, in her ' Strictures on Female Education,' assigns Law the merit of deep insight into the human heart, and skill in probing its corruptions ; but she adds, ' Yet on points of doctrine, his views do not seem to be just ; so that a general perusal of his works would neither be profitable or intelligible.' She adds, ' Even in \hG Serious Call, Law is not a safe guide to evangelical light. As the mor- tified apostle, the holy, self-denying Baptist, preaching repent- ance because the kingdom of heaven is at hand, Mr. Law has no superior. As a preacher of salvation on scriptural grounds, I would follow other guides.' " As a dissuasive from a worldly, and an exhortation to a re- ligious life ; as recommending fervent and unwearied devotion, the consecration of ourselves and all we have to God, humility, love, resignation to the divine will, etc., no work is superior. But the want of the foundation to which I have referred, gives a self- righteous aspect to the whole, which, though lessened by the ex- punging of numerous particular expressions of the most excep- tionable character, still leaves it without that evangelical basis which I wish all our publications prominently to display. " "With so much to admire in a production which Dr. Johnson characterized as 'the first piece of hortatory theology in any language,' I am far from proscribing it, or denouncing it as a work not to be profitably read ; but considering that there is in it scarcely an allusion of a distinct and decided character to the great subject of Dr. Alexander's tract" — which he had just ap- RETROSPECT OF HIS LIFK 615 proved — " I would say we might find other volumes better suited to our evangelical library than this. " Yours, affectionately, "JAMES MILNOR." The next two notes refer to one of the Tract Society's volumes, entitled ' Bible Thoughts, by Melvill.'' The volume consists of selections, by Dr. Milnor, from Melvill's published dis- courses. "New York, Sept. 14, 1839. " Rev. and dear Brother — I have read over all the sheets of Melvill; and I think, corrected a number of errors that had been overlooked. With a good margin, it will make a beautiful volume ; and I am more convinced than ever, by a reperusal, that our labor has been well employed, and by its fruits will be well rewarded, in getting up this delightful work in its present form, I am persuaded, that from the compactness of views on the several topics embodied under each head, and the direction of the mjnd to each point by its title, it is destined to be more use- ful than the whole volume, of which it contains the pith and substance. " Yours, truly, "J. MILNOR." "Rev. Mr. Hallock." "New York, Nov., 1839. ' "Rev. and dear Sir — I have completed, and now send you my selections from Melvill. I have not numbered them, because I wished your judgment as to the arrangement ; and as it would derange the whole if alterations should be afterwards thought best, I have let them remain unnumbered, but placed them in the order which I think in the main will be approved. " Be good enough to examine them, and have them bound in some way, and then return them to me with your remarks for final examination, before they circulate through the committee. " Yours, truly, "J. MILNOR." " Rev. Wm. A. Hailock." ON PUBLISHING VENN's COMPLETE DUTY OF MAN. "New York, Aug. 16, 1841. " Rev. and dear Sir — It is several years since I read Venn's Complete Duty of Man \ but it was at a very interesting time in 616 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. my religious course, and has ever since left an impression on iny mind of the great value of the work. I have refreshed my recol- lection now by turning to some of its delightful chapters ; but do not think it necessary to detain the book from the perusal of our colleagues. If it commends itself to their approval, as it does to yours and mine, no unnecessary time will be lost in enriching our volume series with it. " I think it right to add, that this work — as well as -the evangelical preaching of its author — contributed largely to rein- troduce into the established Church, or rather to revive the slum- bering spirit of the Reformation. Simeon, and Parish, and Cecil, and Scott, and the Milners, and "Wilson, and a host of others, have in succession maintained the same principles. The Chris- tian Observer and other Episcopal publications of the same spirit, are walking in Venn's footsteps, and under God will, I trust, form an effectual barrier to the assaults on spiritual religion, which are now made by the more than semi-popish Tractarians at Oxford. "J. MILNOR." ' " Rev. Mr. Hallock." In October, 1842, a public deliberative meeting of the board and friends of the American Tract Society, was held dur- ing most of three days in the Broadway Tabernacle, New York, at the call of the Executive Committee, of which Dr. Milnor was chairman. This call was influenced by a belief, "that careful attention to its several spheres of labor, and discussion of the principles involved, would give definiteness to the conceptions of many as to its character and objects, and thus awaken prayer, liberality, and persevering effort, to bless the world with these means of grace." Among the many valuable documents pre- sented at this meeting, was the following from Dr. Milnor ; and most fully does it breathe the spirit which characterized and governed his life. . - '•'the harmony of the society's proceedings. " 'Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together . in unity.' "Among the many interesting topics deserving of notice on this extraordinary assemblage of friends of the American Tract RETROSPECT OF HIS LIFE. 617 Society, may be eminently ranked that of the very remarkable harmony of feeling and action by which its past history has been distinguished. It would be ungrateful to that divine Being whoso direction, in the management of its affairs, has been so constantly sought by its conductors, not to recognize, thankfully and devoutly, his special providence, and the benignant guid- ance of his Holy Spirit in all the way in which he has hitherto brought us. , " The institution had its basis in the principle of brotherly^ love. It was deemed possible for the disciples of a common Saviour, honestly divided from each other on some points of doc- trine, discipline, and worship, and separated into different com- munities, cordially to unite in the dissemination of those great truths of their religion in which they harmoniously concur, and which are indissolubly connected with the eternal well-being of the soul. It was not entirely a new experiment. Several small associations had been productive of much good. In Great Britain a similar effort, on a large scale, had been attended with an astonishing measure of success ; and it may be added, the great Society by which it has been prosecuted still maintains its har- mony, and continues to bless that country and the world, through its nvimerous publications, with invaluable treasures of spiritual knowledge and practical instruction. Tract societies, both here and there, owe much of their prosperity, under the divine favor, to those well-considered principles of action which were adopted at the outset of these undertakings, as the basis of Christian union. " "With whatever delight the Christian mind may contemplate the happy period, how distant none can tell but He who ' knows the end from the beginning,' when on all points the followers of Christ shall see eye to eye, be ^ perfectly joined together in the same mind, and in the same judgment,' and all uniie under one congenial banner, it was apparent to every considerate mind, that there were existing differences of opinion and practice among evangelical Christians, which in such a combination must be left untouched. It was to be ascertained in what doctrines of faith all of this character were agreed ; and an honest understanding was to be had, that to such their united endeavors were to be 618 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. implicitly confined. Happily, little difficulty occurred in settling these. 'Man's native sinfulness; the purity and obligation of the law of God ; the true and proper divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ ; the necessity and reality of his atonement and sacrifice ; the efficiency of the Holy Spirit in the work of renovation ; the free and full offers of the Gospel, and the duty of men to accept it; the necessity of personal holiness, and an everlasting state of rewards and punishments beyond the grave' — doctrines dear to the hearts of all evangelical Christians, were the declared basis of our union. Tliey were adopted with much deliberation and fervent prayer, and they have continued to form the inspiring topics of more than a thousand different publications, including upwards of one hundred bound volumes, which it has been our privilege to issue. By a faithful adherence to these original terms of association, has harmony been uninterruptedly preserved for the nineteen years and more through which the labors of this institution have been so happily conducted. ' " During this period, no tract or book has been issued but with the unanimous approval of all the members of the Publishing Committee, consisting of a representative from each of the six evangelical denominations of Christians. To whatever extent any denomination may have thought it a duty to spread abroad a knowledge of its own peculiarities, this has been its own sepa- rate and exclusive work : we have scrupulously adhered to the principles on which our union is based, and on which its continu- ance depends. " One great object, however, it is believed, has been effected by this exhibition of harmonious action. Multitudes have become dis- posed to look more at the great principles of their blessed religion, in which they are all able conscientiously to concur, and less on those in which they unhappily differ. The discovery has been satisfactorily made of the inferiority in number and magnitude of the latter, compared with the former. The beneficial example of its divine Author has become more an object of assiduous imitation. Where discussion has been had on subjects which are still in dispute among Christians, less of asperity Iras been seen in the pages of ijontroversy, and the failure to convince an adversary has not often been followed by the language of bitterness and de- RETROSPECT OF HIS LIFE. 619 nunciation. It has been seen by Protestant churches, that just in proportion as they present a united front to the assaults of in- fidelity and error, and the machinations of the Man of Sin, will the citadel of their hopes stand firm and uninjured : just as they spend their strengtl;! in mutual contention, will their common enemies gain advantage over them. It was a happy step towards that unjon, over the continued subsistence and increase of which the present occasion calls upon us so gratefully to rejoice, when that grand association, the British and Foreign Bible Society originated, whose labors have given to the world more than four- teen million copies of the volume of inspiration, and multiplied the means of conveying its blessed truths to the nations of the earth, by translations into more than one hundred and fifty of the languages into which they are divided. " The establishment of Tract Societies by Christians of differ- ent denominations, was a further advance in the way to that bless- ed consummation when all discord shall cease ; when the prin- ciples, and objects, and modes of action among Christians shall universally coalesce ; when the genius and spirit of the Gospel shall unite their hearts in Christian love ; when God shall be adored as the universal Father, the world become one vast fam- ily of brethren, united to him and one another by the blood of Christ, regenerated by his Spirit, and prepared to cast their crowns before the same Lord, and rend the concave of heaven with one harmonious shout of praise. " In the retrospect of the past doings of this institution and their results, they who have been most intimately connected with its transactions, have reason, with a deep sense of the im- perfections of their own agency therein, to exult in multiplied evident manifestations of divine favor towards it. Especially do they rejoice in the delightful fact to which these remarks are in- tended to have especial reference — ^the preservation, thus far, of perfect unity and concord among its officers and members, and the confirmation which this affords of every glowing anticipation of its friends as to its future progress. "For the promotion of this end let us improve our present assemblage. For this let our united prayers ascend to heaven, and our best endeavors be exerted. A dutiful spirit should de- 620 MEMOIR OF DR. MILlSrOR. - . light to recur to the precepts, and a living faith to lay hold of the promises of God. "Where is one to be found among the former which gives countenance to disunion and discord ? Where is there one among the latter that assures any recompense of bless- ing to a contentious and litigious spirit ? The religion of Jesus is a religion of love. It Vy^as this hallowed principle in which the Gospel originated, and its too partial prevalence has been the chief obstacle to its predicted universal sway. Its final success ean never obtain, until the same mind is possessed by his people that was in Christ their divine Head, and their combined and un- embarrassed efforts are united for his glory and the salvation of mankind. A wide field lies open before us. Millions of heathen implore, in their destitution, the exercise of our benevolence to- wards them. Other millions of nominal Christians, if in their blindness they ask not, we know need our interposition, to pour into their minds the light of heavenly truth, and recall them to the simplicity that is in Christ. Still many a waste place of our Own land reproaches the narrowness and lassitude of our exer- tions, while grateful multitudes, in regions which our efforts have availably reached, bless God for that concentrated union of action which has sent them our publications to light them on their way to heaven. Experience has proved that our plan of union in this work of benevolence is not visionary or Utopian. It contemplates no improper interference with any of the departments into which the family of Christ is divided. " Let no means employed by individual churches for the glory of the Redeemer and the salvation of those for whom Christ has died, be disregarded or esteemed of light importance. Let the living ministry be respected as a most honored institution, a divine appointment, having the promise of the Church's Head to the end of time. Let each distinct branch of the vast household of faith employ the means entrusted to it by a gracious Provi- dence, to promote the great ends contemplated by divine mercy and goodness to our fallen race. But leLthe broader principle of united action, so sanctioned of God, so blessed in its past results, so in accordance with the long cherished expectation of Christian faith and the opening prospects of millennial glory, never be abandoned. 0, it would grieve the soul of charity, and throw a RETROSPECT OF HIS LIFE. 621 gloom over the brightening prospects of futurity, were the sacred union of Christians, thus happily begun, and thus successfully pursued, to be dissolved, or in any measure lessened or impaired. But it may not be. The sacred bond must not be broken. With- ered be the hand that would attempt its severance. Whilst any portion of six hundred millions of unenlightened heathen remain to be brought into submission to the Prince of peace ; while dark- ness broods over the superstitious churches of the East ; while papal Rome is seeking to extend her despotic sway over the minds of men; and while multitudes, not utterly beyond the influence of gospel light and truth, are seen crowding the broad road that leadeth to destruction ; let Christian union be made the means of counteracting these mighty evils. We ask object- ors to a plan so consonant with the spirit of^ the Gospel, what would have been the number of Bibles circulated within the last thirty-eight years, if sectarian jealousy and rivalship had been successful in preventing the establishment of that magnificent monument of religious enterprise, with the thousands of its prog- eny, of the vast extent of whose most laudable exertions we have already spoken ; and how many precious souls would have gone unblessed to their great account, had not the great Tract association of Great Britain, with our own and other kindred unions, disseminated through innumerable channels the words of life and salvation in the little pamphlet or the more enlarged volume? " When we look at the details of spiritual good effected by this joint cooperation which stand authenticated and recorded in the annals of our Tract Society alone, and form the most moderate conjecture of cases which have never met the public eye, we are compelled to exclaim, ' What hath God wrought !' And when we are mourning over the remaining bitterness of party spirit in the Church or in the world, and are filled with grief that union is not the watchword with all that love their Saviour and their fellow-men, and while we also join in the lamentations of our associates, tbat the means of such extensive good as lies before us are, by so many who profess highly to appreciate our object, injuriously withheld ; we may perceive, amidst all our discour- agements, sources of pious gratulation for the past, and of inspir- 622 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. ing hope for the future, that should feilence our complaints, and lead us to trust' in God for an issue to our labors for which we shall have reason to praise him through eternal ages." The foregoing document may be regarded as among the last of Dr. Milnor's public words for the Tract cause. They are glowing words ; and they show that to the end his heart was as full as ever of what, at the outset, filled its affections to over- flowing. The Tract Society still holds its course. Its operations have become wider than ever, and still more beneficent ; and in all that it is through the instrumentality of wise counsel, and in all that it is doing' by the labors of industrious toil, it doubtless owes as much to Dr. Milnor as to any other man. The present writer having been appointed to succeed Dr. Milnor on the Executive and Publishing Committees of the American Tract Society, though not as chairman of those com- mittees, has some grounds for knowing whereof he affirms. His predecessor's name needs but to be mentioned among the band of brethren whom he has left, to show that it is still, in some sweet respect, like his Master's, " as ointment poured forth," giving a precious perfume. He can also well appreciate the importance of Dr. Milnor's position, and the value of his services, in an insti- tution whose receipts, equalled by its expenditures, had become, at the time of his decease, more than $150,000 per annum ; and whose hallowed influence in the cause of Christian union and of man's salvation, is increasingly felt in the speech of differing na- tions, and almost literally from end to end of the earth. nr. DR. milnor's connection with the cause of education. Allusions to this have from time to time been made ; and yet an adequate impression of the interest which he felt, and of the time which he spent in this cause, might not be received without directing a more special attention to the point. The additional remarks needed, however, are not many. His interest in the cause of education was all-comprehending. It started with the application of Sunday-schools to the instruc- tion of the most ignorant and needy classes ; and from this passed up through a care for schools of every grade, till it reached the RETROSPECT OF HIS LIFE. 623 supervision of theological institutions designed to train men for high service in the kingdom of heaven. The parish church of St. George being in one of the most densely populated districts of the city, and there being always a large number in his congregation, both male and female, who were willing to become teachers, several distinct Sunday-schools, at one time no less than six, were sustained in his parish : a body of from four to six hundred pupils, regularly instructed, and much of his own time devoted to a general supervision of the schools. These schools were usually very flourishing. He was fond of addressing children ; and his facility in extempore speaking fitted him admirably for the task, while his winning manners never failed to interest the subjects of his care. The first Sunday afternoon in each month he devoted to the examina- tion of the schools in church. On these occasions, the regular evening service was read, and then the examination was begun. Many a child, through a long life, and peradventure to his soul's saving, will remember the mild blue eye, the silvery looks, and the white robes of his old pastor, as he stood before the young assembly, and with kind and gentle yet earnest tones, bid each one think upon his Creator while he was yet young, and before the winter of life should scatter its snows upon his head. Beau- tiful sights were those : fathers and mothers bringing forward the firstlings of their little flocks to be set apart and nurtured for the Lord. The fidelity of this view to truth is guaranteed by his son's ''Recollections," who was for many years one of his father's Sunday-scholars, and for thirty years an observer of his father's interest in Sunday-schools. The common-schools of the state of New York also shared his solicitudes. In behalf of the American Tract Society, in particular, he applied, in the year 1842, to the Hon. Samuel Young, then Secretary of State, for his sanction, as " Superin- tendent of common-schools," to the measure of introducing into the common-school libraries of the state, so far as the trustees of each school district should consent, that portion of the Tract Society's publications called " the Youth's Christian Library ;" believing that such an introduction would be " found of incal- culable benefit to the young." 624 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR.- To the higher educational institutions of the country he was an earnest friend. ' To Kenyon college his services were inval- uable. From Bristol college, Pennsylvania, he hoped great things, and labored zealously to realize his hopes, until rtieas- ures, over which he had no control, resulted in the total loss of that once-cherished and favorite institute. Of the university in the city of New York he was one of the founders, and for years, a member of the council. And when the chapel in the new university buildings was opened and dedicated to the relig- ious servipes for which it was designed, he officiated in the de- votional exercisesr of the occasion, by the offering of a prayer, which, in its humble fervor, and its comprehensive requests, told how deeply his soul felt the importance of education in its clas- sical and scientific, legal and medical departments, as well as in those which involve more immediately the interests of religion. And finally, with all the leading theological seminaries of the Episcopal church he was more or less closely connected, in the capacity either of a trustee or of a patron ; though it need not be disguised, that the diocesan school of Yirginia was that in which his interest arose from sympathy, while that in New York, though a general institution of our church, awoke in him mainly the interest of solicitude. In short, under whatever aspect the cause of learning pre- sented itself before his mind, he was its enlightened, efficient, and true friend": enlightened^ because he saw and felt its im- measurable importance to the opening and onward destinies of the world ; efficient, bepause he cheerfully devoted time and substance to its support ; and true, because he realized most profoundly the necessity of baptizing all learning into the spirit of Christ and Christianity, in order to make it a real and an unfailing blessing to the human race. ~ ^ IV. DR. MILNOR's position IN THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. tJnder this head an interesting history might be written, for Dr. Milnor's relation to the cause and the progress of evangelical truth and piety in the church of which he was a minister, was second in importance to that of no other man. But for the present, history must be left unwritten. We niust content our- RETROSPECT OF HIS LIFE. 625 selves with something less than even annals of the time through which we have been passing. Dr. Milnor's position must be seen, but we must be content with saying no more than may be necessary to make that position evident. The Episcopal church , in these United States had its origin in times and under circumstances far from propitious to the cause of evangelical religion. The church of England, before the American revolution, was not, herself, in her best estate ; and they were, by no means, the best of her clergy, whom she sent as early missionaries to these her growing colonies. Some worthy men, indeed, the list of those missionaries contained ; but it also contained many worthless ; and, theologically speak- ing, few or none of them, it is believed, belonged to what has since been known, both in England and in this country, as the evangelical school. When the events of the revolution began to transpire, most of the clergy fled to the mother country ; and when peace returned, few indeed ever came back to their flocks in the wilderness. Meanwhile, red war had swept over the land, and in its violence had not only expelled every form of British power, but also extinguished the very name of the Eng- glish church. Some fragments, indeed, of what once bore that name remained ; and they were doubtless the most vital parts of the earlier fabric — parts that had enough of life to outlive the wasting desolation. Still they survived, like wounded and mutilated soldiers. They did not quite expire amid the blood- iness of the conflict. For years after the peace, they were crip- pled and extremely feeble. But what is worse, the life which they retained had little or nothing in it of the true evangelical spirit. And yet these were the beginnings from which the pres- ent Episcopal church in this country has since grown. The war had))een waged almost as much against episcopacy as against monarchy ; and therefore, when the Episcopal church be- came reorganized in this country, it set itself to contend, if not as vigorously against republicanism as against Puritanism, at least against the latter as the historic antagonist of both the prelacy and the kingship of former days. From this opposition of our Episcopal church to the Puritanism of revolutionary times, both its early theology and its early practice received not only an anti- Mem. Milnor. 40 ^26 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. ' puritanical, but also an anti-evangelical stamp and tendency ; so that afterwards, when, by very slow degrees, the evangelical spirit began to manifest itself among Episcopalians, it was at once met with the most determined hostility. The idea seemed to be, that this spirit was nothing less than the old Puritanism itself working its stealthy way into the Episcopal fold, because it would sometimes pray and preach without book, and because it held doctrines which sounded as if they might have been studied somewhere within the shadow of Calvin's great name. The most conspicuous — probably the only exception to the foregoing remarks, as they apply to the times which preceded, accompanied, and immediately followed the revolution — was the casie of the Rev. Devereux Jarratt with the people to whom he ministered. He was a great light within the circle which bound- ed his labors, but that circle was of moderate diameter, and he did not live to see the light pass much beyond its circumference. Dinwiddle county, in Virginia, was the principal scene of his labors, and it was only on occasional invitations that he was induced to travel further, and preach in the surrounding coun- ties. He was the subject of repeated insult, and of frequent per- secution ; and after he died, there were none left to take up his mantle, and carry forward his searching prophesyings and his successful labors. In later years, however, successors to his spirit and in his work appeared on the stage. Almost simultaneously, Pilmore, Grriswold, and Richard Channing Moore began to dispense the true light ; the first in Philadelphia, the second in Bristol, R. I., and the third in New York. Pilmore's light seemed to radiate in lucid words, gathered into a divine order, from the sacred page ; Grriswold's was like that which shone in his own calm, clear eye — as calm and clear as ever unto the end ; and Moore's beamed through many tears, and amid much vehement pleading. As we have already seen, Pilmore's light fell, with other influ- ences, on the mind of Milnor. From their times, it would not be easy to recall the names of all who, like Meade, and Bedell, and Mcllvaine, and Clark, and Johns, and Elliott, have arisen to swell the evangelic brightness, and to deepen, throughout our church, her evangelic life. But' all these have been Milnor's RETROSPECT OF HIS LIFE. 62^ juniors ; and all, or at least all the leading names upon the list, have been accustomed to look to him, not as their party cham- pion, but as their more experienced friend and counsellor. He was, by common consent, not the most highly gifted man in all their ranks — for in learning and mental endowments, some were possibly his superiors — ^but, from various causes, the most widely known and the most largely influential. He stood most in the eye of the world. For thirty years he was at the very point of convergence and radiation of all our great influences and move- ments. He was at the centre of conflict between the evangelical and the anti-evangelical portions of our church. Nay, for years he was, in his own person, the one point against which the most strenuous assaults of the latter were directed ; and had he fallen, many others would have been unable to stand. From sympa- thy, as well as from respect and veneration, there was a rallying around him, as a sort of evangelic centre. He touched a greater number than others could touch, of religious and theological minds in their forming state. He touched more of the causes which, under Grod, generate evangelical results. In a word, through the early training of his mind, the practical character of his pursuits, the finished amenity of his manners, the peculiar post of labor assigned him, and above all, the eminently intelli- gent and elevated character of his piety, the providence of God gave him a position which, during his life, was, on the whole, more commanding than that of any other evangelical clergyman of our church. A bishopric might have added to him somewhat of official weight, but it would not have enlarged, perhaps it would, in some respects, have lessened, the sphere of his influence. Under this last remark, there happens to lie before the writer an apposite illustration. One of the most highly respected of our bishops, having spent some days with Dr. Milnor, and observing how often his counsel was sought, and how active was the agency which he exerted, in furthering the various efforts for the spread of the Gospel, and for the good of men, just as the secretary of one of the benevolent societies had left his door, pleasantly ob- served, " I see how it is. Dr. Milnor ; you have all the responsi- bilities and duties of the office of a bishop, but without its crown of thorns." 628 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. He lived to witness great changes, and to contribute to a wonderful progress in the spiritual life of our church. Some of his letters show, that there were times when he was filled with the most gladdening hopes, that the evangelical spirit would speedily penetrate and enliven every part of our Episcopal con- federation. Long before he left the stage of life, the terms evan- gelical and anti-evangelical had ceased to be exactly synonymous with low church and high church. The lines which divide the former, were found not to be the same with those which separate the latter. He saw no reason, therefore, why evangelical doc- trine and piety should not become universal among us, however differences about church-theory im^t continue to perpetuate themselves. He loved to contemplate that doctrine and piety in the character of a sacred leaven, which, having by the hand of the Spirit been '■'■hid''^ in the midst of us, would silently, yet speedily, "leaven the whole lump." He saw, indeed, that in several instances it became mixed with some measure of human elements, and was diverted from its silent working and leavening of the mass, and placed in the attitude of a competitor for the honors and the influence of office and authority. But, as his letters at such times indicate, he saw this with grief, and felt that the evangelical spirit had left its true vocation, and was in peril of losing its true end. As to the doctrine and piety which were the life of his soul, he felt, that as they came from Christ, so their true place was that which Christ himself assumed, to be among the disciples "as he that serveth,''^ and to leave it for others to "strive among themselves which of them should be accounted the greatest." This feeling governed him through life. Though he seldom, if ever, refused a post which called him to labor, yet, it is believed, he never sought an office for the sake of honor, or even of increased usefulness. He saw that useful- ness does not depend on office, but upon a God-given heart and will, and power to live, and act, and suffer for Christ. To this great end, therefore, he desired to see the evangelical spirit in our church wholly consecrated : if God, in his providence, thrust it into office, not to refuse to serve him even there ; but like Christ, to make this its one great aim, to minister, and not to be ministered unto ; to serve, and not to be served. He knew that RETROSPECT OF HIS LIFE. 639 neither offices nor officers can make a church living and holy ; while, at the same time, a church made living and holy by the Spirit of God, sought in prayer and by the word, will be least likely to fill its offices with spiritually dead and unholy men. It is needless to say, that when the movement from Oxford began to reach this country and to affect powerfully the mind of our church. Dr. Milnor first saw reason to apprehend the disap- pointment of his hopies as to the pervading spread of the evangel- ical spirit through every part of our communion. His intelligent and discriminating piety saw too clearly the utter antagonism of the evangelical and the Tractarian theologies, and of their respec- tive tendencies, to hope that, in a church which so eagerly and so extensively embraced the latter, the former could continue to spread towards a universal prevalence. Nay, he seemed at times oppressed with heavy forebodings, lest the long coexistence of the two should be found impracticable ; lest the evangelical spirit should bo doomed, amid the temporarily dark ways of Heaven, either to die on its own field, or to flee away where it could live and labor without mixture and without conflict. The foregoing remarks, it is believed, exhibit with sufficient distinctness Dr. Milnor 's position in our church. He belongs strictly to its evangelical history. He was one of the most emi- nent, luminous, and unchanging embodiments of its evangelical spirit. His was always one light, shining from one place, and shining fairer and farther than any of its contemporaries. It may be succeeded by other lights as clear and as far diffused; but while ho lived, there was probably no other among us, upon which so many eyes were turned, which was so nearly central in our evangelic firmament. Before finally dismissing this topic, however, it will be proper to remark, that in one respect, Dr. Milnor held a different, or rather an additional position in our church. In the general counsels of our body, those which find their expression through our triennial convention, the value of his services was in some measure appreciated. As we have already seen, he was to the last one of the trustees of our General Theological Seminary, and in that body labored as unceasingly, and we hesitate not to add, as beneficently as any other of its members. In our general 630 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR; , Board of Missions, likewise, both undei? its earlier and under its later constitution, his labors were of the highest value ; not only as secretary and general agent, but also as a more permanently working member of its Foreign Executive Committee. But, in the counsels of the particular diocese to which he belonged, those which find expression through our annual New York convention, he held virtually no position. It will doubtless by many be re- garded as a lasting reproach to that body, that, influenced appar- ently by a fear of giving him influence, it studiously "kept such a man," to use the language of one of his correspondents, " out of those chief places, where prudence, and wisdom, and business habits were wanted, and only put him where he would seem to be honored, but where he had no chance of being feltP To all this, indeed, he found no difficulty in submitting. Place was not peculiarly the object of his ambition. Besides, he knew that he was felt, and that it was not in the power of others to keep him in the dark, or under bonds. Still, theirs was an unwise policy. It deprived the diocese of some useful service. And, so far as it was intended as a censure upon his course in the Bible and Tract Societies, and in his lecture-room and prayer meetings, it was weaker than mere hrutum fulmen ; or rather, it defeated itself: it probably gave him more sympathy and companionship in that course than he would have otherwise enjoyed. Upon himself, it was simply powerless. Conscious of a sincere and warm attach- ment to the Church in which he was a minister — an attachment based, not on inere sympathy, but on firm principle — he yet dis- cerned the compatibility of this attachment, and of his proper obligations as an Episcopalian, with that sentiment of enlarged Christian affection and brotherhood which he cherished, and with that course of cooperation which he adopted, in whatever involved the common interests only of our common Christianity. And, believing such cooperation to be not merely consistent with prin- ciple, but also important to the best interests of religion, he could well afford to meet, with undisturbed serenity, all the opposition which he encountered, whether from honest prejudice or from illiberal hostility. , As to his course in the lecture-room and prayer-meeting, he felt that that was his own concern; and, with it, therefore, he RETROSPECT OF HIS LIFE. 631 allowed no man to interfere, except, as he remarks in one of his letters, in the way of friendly advice. The manner in which he met opposition on this ground, may be illustrated by the following incidents; the former resting for its truth on the "Recollections" of his son, and the latter certified by a clerical friend, who had it from his own lips. His Friday-evening lecture, preceded always by the shorter service from our liturgy, and concluded by extemporaneous prayer, was at first, says the "Recollections," "a source of much difficulty. The Bishop made strong objections to it, calling it an irregular meeting, and using every effort to effect its discontinu- ance. But Dr. Milnor was unmoved. He had not adopted his course without prayerful consideration. He felt that he was in the path of duty, and nothing could make him swerve to the right or to the left." He finally ended the matter, after sufficient listening to objections, by telling the bishop, in that kind, but peculiarly firm and decided manner which he was capable of assuming, that " his only proper and effectual course would be that prescribed by the canons in case of their violation by a pres- byter, specific charges and a trial; that his duty as bishop was plain ; and that, as the presbyter whom the charges vk^ould affect, he was ready to meet them on their trial." But, as no violation of the canons had taken place, no charges could be preferred ; the matter therefore was dropped, and Dr. Milnor thenceforward pur- sued this part of his course without further open molestation. At the prayer-meetings in his parish, he was not always, nor even generally present. But he countenanced them, and was occasionally in attendance. One evening, while the prayer- meeting was in session, the bishop came to his house; and after the usual statement of objections, desired Dr. Milnor to go and dismiss the assembly. The answer which he returned was, in substance, this : " Bishop, I dare not prevent my parishioners from meeting for prayer ; but if you are willing to take the responsi- bility of dismissing them, you have my permission." Of course, the praying members of St. George's remained undisturbed. Such, then, on the whole, was Dr. Milnor's position in the Episcopal church : one of the most prominent of all her evangel- ical clergy, yet in nothing wanting as one of her most loyal 632 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. sons ; less active than he ought to have been made in her public counsels, but probably not more active in the cause of general benevolence than he would have been, had his services in our church been ever so encouragingly invited. V. TRAITS OF CHARACTER, WITH ILLUSTRATIVE ANECDOTES AND VIEWS. Let a few notices under this head close the Memoirs, in which we have so long been engaged. They may not amount to an adequate analysis of the character of Dr. Milnor ; certainly they do not contain all that fond affection would say of him; but they are, it is believed, on the points which they involve, a truthful picture of what he was. Intellectually, then, the subject of this notice was distin- guished for great quickness of perception, and activity of mind ; for uncommon correctness of judgment, and as uncommon firm- ness of purpose. He took at a glance a clear view of every subject presented to his examination, and rarely found it neces- sary to change the opinion first formed ; although, when con- vinced of mistake or error, no man more cheerfully or more gracefully acknowledged it than himself. Bishop Hobart once remarked, " I had rather deal with Dr. Milnor than with some who in church views agree with me, because I always know where to find him." His mind was eminently practical. For imagination, considered as ofie of the loftier attributes of genius, he was not particularly distinguished ; though in a certain quick and agreeable humor he was very happy. He had a relish for true poetry and the higher classes of literature, yet he had noth- ing like a passion for either poetry or music, or, indeed, any of the sister arts. He greatly enjoyed their beauties, but made no pretensions to the genius which produces them. He was a rapid and very correct writer. His sermons are remarkably free from erasures and corrections ; and he had a talent which made him always a ready and most agreeable correspondent. Theologically it is scarcely necessary to characterize him. His doctrines were determined by the standing point which he finally assumed, and from which, for thirty years, he looked upon the Christian scheme. Originally a stout anti-Calvinist, grace at RETROSPECT OF HIS LIFE. 633 length made him neither a disciple nor an opponent of the Ge- nevan doctor, but emphatically a disciple of Christ. The point to which he was thus brought, formed and fixed his whole char- acter, both as a Christian and as a churchman ; and it is upon this point alone that any thing further need be said as illustra- tive of the theology which he cultivated. His theology, then, was not speculative, but practical. It was a light which he received, and which he made to shine. It was not a cold, but a warm light ; and therefore diffusive. He was not spiritually born amid the dimness of superstition ; he did not theologically live amid the depths of abstraction. If the illustration may be allowed, his soul was, in an eminent sense, born of the Sun ; amid the light that shineth most immediately from Christ. His new birth was indeed the work of the Spirit ; but it was wrought at the feet of Jesus, amid diviner teachings than fall from human lips, and under a higher sacrament than is administered by human hands ; amid the teachings of God's per- fect word, and under the mystery of His mighty love in Christ. This, doubtless, was the secret of all the subsequent " burning" of his light. It was a light fed daily and directly from the Sun. He lived habitually with his Saviour, and was surrounded con- tinually by the intense shining of those glorious truths which meet and mingle most closely in the halo round the Saviour's head, and burn and beam forth most immediately from the mys- teries of the Saviour's work. He did not undervalue those exter- nal and formal arrangements which Christ left on earth for the conservation, the purity, and the spread of his worship and his truth. On the contrary, he ardently loved the Church and her order, and was ever ready for such services as he could render, and for such sacrifices as he could make, either for her welfare, or in her defence. But as these things of the Church were not the original fountains whence he drew his light, so they never afterwards became more than the divinely contrived and beauti- fully arranged glasses, through which that light came tempered to his vision. The order in which he viewed the parts of the great Chris- tian system, seems to have been not only peculiarly scriptural, but also essentially important in accounting for the strong and 634 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. steady burning of his light. In looking at this system, his point of view was not from the earth. His soul was not down here, enveloped in the visibilities of service, and looking up through a dim or a gorgeous cloud of architecture and shadows, intercessors and semi-propitiators in the Church, till finally it caught a dis- tant glimpse of a diminished and almost hidden Saviour — a little babe, half folded in the ample robes of a resplendent and queenly mother ; but his soul was up there, with the Saviour himself — with the Saviour, clearly and fully revealed — ^with the Saviour, shining in the unobscured greatness and effulgence of his own unshared glory on the adoring mind of his servant — with the Saviour, looking down on the Church and all her decent offices and order, as a great body of instruments to be used in the con- version of a lost world to God. Or, to give a difForent expression to the idea, this w^as the order of his view in looking at the Christian system : Christ first, " the brightness of the Father's glory, and the express image of his person ;" then his Cross and its work of sacrifice for sin; then "justification by his blood," "the righteousness of God by faith of Jesus Christ ;" next, the work of the Spirit, receiving these things of Christ, and showing them unto men to glorify him ; next, the deep, dark sinfulness of man, as rendering that won- drous work of Christ and that glorifying work of the Spirit necessary to our renewal, sanctification, and eternal life ; next, the "lively oracles" of God, the word of inspiration, revealing the whole body of divine truth, and speaking with the only in- fallible authority beneath the sun ; and finally, as making up the externals of this dispensation of mercy, the Church, with its ministry of the word, its worship, and its ordinances — the Church, a witness divinely appointed to keep those " lively oracles " pure, and to attest their origin from God — the Church, a great golden candlestick, to bear up and send forth light for the world — the Church, a trumpet from the Lord, to blow the enlivening sound of his salvation to the ends of the earth. This was the order in which he viewed the connected parts of the grand Christian sys- tem : Christ first, its sun and centre ; then all those truths that lie closest round him and are in a manner his outgoing life and power ; and finally, those outward defences and helps of the RETROSPECT OF HIS LIFE. 635 Church which God hath set for carrying on his saving work among men. Hence, we see what it was that kept his light so steadily and so brightly '•'•hurningP Originally lit from the Sun, that light was ever after fed from the Sun. He kept his light close by Christ ; among the luminous truths which lie nearest Christ. And are not all those truths which have been named, most divinely luminous ? Or if one alone in the circle, the sinfulness of man, seem a dark and gloomy radiance from the shadow of death, yet doth not even this, if not itself luminous, reflect up- wards the light of all the rest ? Doth it not urge, yea, hurry the repenting sinner upwards, till, in the actings of his lively faith, his once-defiled soul is bathed in the clean light of life and truth, as it shines around the Son of God ? Accordingly, does not this account for the fact, that even when Dr. Milnor dwelt on the sad ruin of the fall, and meditated on his own sinfulness in the sight of God, the exercise brought no stain of darkness, and oast no shade of gloom upon his spirit ; that it did but raise him the nearer to his Saviour, and cover him more beauteously with the light of those other shining truths which lie around the Cross, and stream forth from Him who was " lifted up" to be " the light of the world?" Yes, we see here the true secret of what we are now study- ing in the character of this man of God. He lived habitually with Christ, and among the truths which shine forth of his unconcealable Godhead, and of his gloriously redeeming work. This it was which made his own light " burn^^ so steadily and gfo strongly. He could not be other than " a burning light," when he lived in the midst of such burning brightness, and shone down upon the world from such a watch-tower of living light. It is only when the Christian minister wanders away from Christ, and from the central truths which burn around him ; only when he gets lost or bewildered among the mazes of the many lesser or subordinate truths, opinions, and externals, which lie more or less in the distance : only then that his light burns dim, or shines into darkness, or goes altogether out. Let his " life be ever hid with Christ in God," and his light shall ever shine beyond the power of being hid. 636 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. The theological system, then, indicated by the standing point from which Dr. Milnor looked on Christianity, though it may, in the judgment of some, mark him as a low-churchman, yet ex- hibits him to the eye of all as a high-christian ; it may not iden- tify his creed with Calvinism, but it does distinguish his doc- trines from Tractarianism. Perhaps his best description, so far as this particular is concerned, may be thus given : he was emi- nently a Christluv theologist ; sufficiently well read in books, but still more deeply taught by the Spirit, and therefore be- longing less to any human school of divinity than to the one great body of Christ's true disciples : more and more an evangelical divine ; less and less a doctrinal disputant : an Episcopalian by conscientious preference, but in his highest birthright and aspi- rations^ a member of "the general assembly and Church of the first-born." . As a preacher, he was as bold in opposing error as he was zealous in defending truth. Yet he was always more ready to win the wandering to the path of holiness by kind invitings and gentle expostulation, than to terrify him by fierce threatenings and harsh upbraiding. Perhaps to an uncommon degree, his style of preaching was conciliatory. Though he failed not to exhibit the terrors of the law, yet above them he always displayed the love of the Gospel. He was ever careful that the Saviour should appear in his teaching, as the winning Messenger of peace ; one to whom the weary and heavy laden might come and find rest. The power of his ministry lay in the word love. As a preacher, he was impressive rather than strictly eloquent. His enunciation was remarkably distinct ; and his manner, without being violent, was earnest. You listened, and became convinced that the speaker felt, in the recesses of his own heart, all that he uttered; and that his love for his flock was deep and over- flowing. Such being the grand theme and the prevailing spirit of his ministry — Christ's truth spoken in love — it is but reasonable to infer that his labors were largely successful. The inference is sustained by facts. Many " times of refreshing from the pres- ence of the Lord" passed over his congregation, and dropped upon them regenerating dews from the overshadowing Spirit ; and RETROSPECT OF HIS LIFE. 637 silent blessings were generally found waiting on his steps. From his densely populous, and latterly, changing parish, multitudes have gone forth, through the city and through the country, bear- ing the impress of his doctrine and of the mind of Christ which was in him, to be church-members, and church-officers, and preachers of Christ — some of them unto the ends of the earth. Even his occasional labors, as he journeyed round the land, were often richly blessed. How many — like the Rev. Richardson Gra- ham, late one of our missionaries to China, who refers his con- version to a sermon on James 5:9, " Behold, the Judge standeth before the door," which he incidentally heard Dr. Milnor preach at St. Paul's, on one of his visits to Philadelphia — have been the fruits of his seed-sowing as he passed from place to place, the great day only can reveal. So, in truth, may we say of his whole ministerial life. Dr. Cutler, in a sermon delivered soon after the death of his old friend, on the text, 1 Cor. 4 : 15, " Though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers,^^ uses the following truthful language : " To multitudes, he was a father in a higher sense than any of which we have yet spoken. He it was by whom their eyes were first opened to see their perishing condition by nature, and their only hope of salvation in Christ. God made him a father unto them by a tie more lasting than any which earth can originate. how many such will rise up in the day of God, and call him blessed! His paternal anxieties and patient labors will be amply rewarded when, with a multi- tude of sons and daughters, he shall say before God, ' Here am I, and the children whom thou hast given me.' Like the blessed Master, he even now 'sees the travail of his soul, and is satis- fied.' And when God shall have answered all the prayers which he put up, and brought forward into fruit all the seed which he sowed, then both he that hath sowed, and he that shall hereafter reap, will abundantly rejoice together." In domestic life — ^the bosom of his own family — ^the beauties of his character shone with peculiar lustre. Liberal in his household arrangements, he nevertheless dis- couraged extravagance and disallowed waste. His domestics loved him, and looked up to him as a friend. He was very regu- 638 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. lar in his habits. An early riser from youth, he preferred the morning hours for study, and always accomplished much before breakfast. In domestic worship he took peculiar delight, and was peculiarly happy. He was strict in requiring all the mem- bers of his household to be present, and nothing pained him more than the unnecessary absence of any. The most tender and de- voted of husbands, the kindest and most indulgent of fathers, he was ever seeking the happiness, temporal and eternal, of those whom he loved. He never used harshness in reproving an erring child, yet he never overlooked a fault, nor failed firmly to reprove the offender. His son, in his "Recollections," has an anecdote which illustrates his character in this particular. " I recollect," says he, " when in college, during an absence of my father from home, I engaged in what was called, among the students, a 'standing out' for the maintenance of rights, which, as we thought, had been invaded. On his return, he was of course made acquainted with the case. He reproved me for my course, but did not wish me to compromise my honor by turning traitor to my companions. I remember well that his kind but firm manner had the intended effect — an effect which severity or harshness might have failed to produce." He was very regular at meals, and very temperate. For a large portion of his life, he had been in the habit — such was the custom of the times — of taking an occasional glass of wine at dinner. But many years before his death, the habit was discon- tinued. His medical advisers opposed the change, from an appre- hension that it might prove injurious to his peculiar constitution under advancing years ; but he was firm, and afterwards used stimulants only when prescribed as medicine. He remained a warm, though never an indiscreet friend of the Temperance cause. ; As he was an early riser, so he retired early to rest, never, save when necessity obliged him, consuming the midnight oil. As for himself, so to all about him, he successfully endeavored to make his dwelling the home of wise moderation, cheerful content, holy peace, and Christian hospitality. His house was always open to his brethren, and the prophet's chamber on the wall ever ready for a guest. One of his clerical friends, the Rev. E. W. Peet, long in habits of familiar and frequent intercourse with RETROSPECT OP HIS LIFE. 639 him, in a discourse preached the Sunday after his death, thus embodies his impressions of Dr. Milnor's domestic life, with a special view to illustrate its social and hospitable character. " Who that was accustomed to step over the threshold of the blessed rectory of St. George's, was not at once conscious of be- ing under the roof of a godly man, whose name and character were as a sweet savor among the intelligent, and wise, and good ? What forms and features are well remembered there ! What zealous ministers of Jesus gathered round his board ! How fa- miUarly all approached him as a father and a friend ! The mis- sionary of the far West, the diligent country rector, the student of theology, the man of benevolent enterprise, the young man just entering on the trials of city life, all found there a welcome. And there, too, gathered good men of every name and denomina- tion. There was no need, in his case, of a mitre or a crozier. An episcopate would have added nothing to the savor of his char- acter, or the sacredness of his influence. There is no bishop in all our wide-extended country who might not well have deemed himself peculiarly favored in the cheerful, voluntary, irrepressible love and attachment which Dr. Milnor excited and secured in the hearts of such multitudes of good and intelligent men. This homage no official station can ever purchase. Such station may secure an outward exhibition of respect, but the hearts of men are beyond its reach." It is important, in estimating Dr. Milnor's character, to note more specially the sweet cheerfulness of temper which his relig- ion favored and produced. The impression that such strict views as he was known to take must make men gloomy^ is one of those subtle and lurking errors of a falsely reasoning world which ought to be met at every step, and exposed in all its falseness. Of this error, Dr. Milnor was a living refutation. His religion, instead of destroying, heightened and perfected his natural cheerfulness of disposition. Many who for a time knew him only by the public estimate of his views, were astonished, upon subsequent personal acquaintance, to find in him nothing of the gloom and austerity which they expected, and with which their inferences from his self-humbling doctrines had invested him. Indeed, he abounded in cheerfulness and even in humor, though 640 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. his cheerfulness was always becoming, and his humor ever deli- cate and chaste. In its indulgence he never forgot who he was, and whom he professed to serve. His peculiarities in this respect, made him a truly delightful friend. Says Bishop Kemper, in a letter to Dr. William H. Milnor, written after the father's death, " He was, in every, respect, a charming companion, abounding in anecdotes, which he told exceedingly well, and often with much humor. You doubtless remember many of his admirable stories about the Rev. Dr. Colin, the old rector of the Swedish churches in Pennsylvania, and the Rev. William Ayres, an ancient clergy- man of New Jersey, who resided two or three years in the Penn- sylvania hospital with his daughter, while she was nurse in that institution. I have known Bishop White, when we have been dining with him, turn to your father, and ask him to relate some interesting event, knowing that the company would be delighted with the narrative from his manner of telling it." "His flow of spirits, and his fand of anecdote," says his son in the " Recollections," " made him truly agreeable in society. He always retained the easy but dignified deportment which early mingling in the society of the world had made familiar to him. The Christian gentleman shone in every word and action. I have before me memory's daguerreotype of his beaming face and laughing eye, when enjoying some fine sally of wit ; and of his earnest countenance, when discussing some favorite topic. In argument he never lost his temper. Though he expressed him- self with animation, and sometimes with warmth, yet he never lost sight of the respect due to his opponent. His naturally hasty temper was subjected to a gracious and complete control. He would meekly bear reproach for a season, rather than harshly resent an injury." The benevolence di\^o of his character should receive its meed. It was, indeed, his crowning grace. Drawn to his Saviour by LOVE, instead of being driven by terror, love was the life of his religion ; and his religion was, in a high sense, but love in activ- ity. His whole Christian life was enlarged philanthropy — sanc- tified benevolence. How much he gave from his moderately ample income, we have no means of definitely ascertaining. His contributions to all good objects were liberal, and in the aggre- RETROSPECT OF HIS LIFE. 641 gate large. His pledge towards the building of a free chapel, made near the close of his life, was, for one of his means, munifi- cent. But in general we find no record of his gifts. His left hand knew not what his right hand was doing. This only is certain, that, according to his ability, he gave much. But his giving, in the ordinary sense of money contributed, was not the true measure of his real benevolence. His life was one great expression of this heavenly spirit. And it will not be forgotten, that his really abounding labors in the Bible and Tract Societies, and in the general agency of our Foreign Executive Committee, were all gratuitous. So, in part, was his visit to Europe, as their first and most laborious delegate ; and it would have been wholly so, had not the vestry of his parish generously relieved him of a portion of the expense. Much of his benevolence expressed itseli in behalf of objects of which, ordinarily, the wealthy world knows as little as it may. To quote again from the " Recollections :" " His ear was always open to the tale of woe, and his hand never shut against the friendless and needy. And as his private resources were inadequate to all the calls on his purse, he took peculiar pleasure in carefully cherishing and wisely applying the charity-fund of his parish. This consisted of the revenues of the offertory at communion seasons, and amounted to a considerable sum per annum. His regular pensioners, the old, the sick, the needy, and the helpless, received each quarter-day their allotted portions. If he was obliged on that day to be absent from home, he invariably left neat little parcels for them in charge with sortie member of his family. He furnished them with wood, and coal, and other necessaries during the inclemencies of winter ; his own purse supplying any deficiency which unusual calls might create. Bitter were the tears which these poor old people shed, when they came, one by one, to look for the last time upon the face of their old pastor." It was the lovely benevolence of Dr. Milnor's character which gave their most touching pathos to the scenes at St. George's and its rectory, immediately after his decease was announced, and on the day of his funeral. " The moment this event was known," says Mr. Peet, in his discourse, "the throng around the well-known rectory, the groups Mem. Milnor. 41 642 MEMOIR OP DR. MILNOR. of lingering parishioners, the eyes strained with weeping, the old friends from distant parishes, whom the growth of the great me- tropolis had separated from his ministry, proved the depth and sincerity of the feeling which prevailed, and bespoke the pres- sure of some great calamity. And on the day of the funeral, men of all ranks and professions, and clergymen of various denomina- tions, gathered around the house of mourning ; and as his inani- mate remains were borne sadly and solemnly into the sanctuary, which for so many years had reechoed to his voice, the vast mul- titude crowded every niche and corner, from floor to roof; and there, in the passages and open vestibules, closely and densely thronged, were seen men of high degree, judges and senators, and doctors of divinity, mingled vnth the poor daughters oj Africa, whose tearful faces, if apology for their presence were needed, told the story of those emotions which had brought them thither." " To some," Mr. Peet adds, " it may seem that his death was painfully sudden. They may feel surprised, that God's faithful ones should be denied the privilege of testifying, in their last hours, of the grace and mercy which they have received. But not thus ought we to reason. The death of the good man is never sudden. He dies daily. He converses often with death and the judgment. He has all things in readiness, and he pre- fers that his whole life should testify of the grace and mercy which his Saviour has bestowed." This language is appropriate. Dr. Milnor had no dread of sudden death, and it was his special desire to make his life speak to the last. " He had a great dread," says his son, "of being obliged to give up duty, and earnestly desired that he might be enabled to work to the very end of the day. A sudden death was to him a visitation of mercy." He had his wish ; for almost literally, "He ceased,at once to labor and to live." [M.It is true, that when he fell asleep there was no song upon his lips. But, twenty years before, those who were near him, heard him sing in the very spirit of the great apostle, when " ready to be offered." At that time he supposed himself to be actually in the passage of the straits of death ; dying, not with RETROSPECT OF HIS LIFE. " 6^13 the suddenness which finally snatched him ^.way, but with a dis- tinct perception of the gradual yet apparently inevitable approach of his end. That was the hour of his triumph. Then he sung the song of the apostle.. Then the grave opened before him a lighted passage to glory. Can we then suppose, that after so long an added course of ever.increa;sing faithfulness in labor, and of ever-increasing ripeness in grace, the scene at last proved a dark one ? No. Had not death chained his tongue in almost instant silence, we cannot doubt it would again have sung the song of triumph — would again have spoken of the precious- ness of Christ — ^would again have testified to the power of that faith which can make the dark dwelling of the grave itself a land of light. Had his passing away been ordered according to human wish, he might, indeed, have been too humble to make his last song in the precise words of the apostle ; and yet, now that he is gone, there can be neither presumption nor impropri- ety in our putting those words into his mouth, and conceiving the silence of his death-bed as having been made vocal to the ear that " heareth in secret," with this animating strain : " I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith : henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day ; and not to me only, but to all them also that love his appearing." Nor can there be any presumption or any impropriety in believing that the same silence in which this was heard, brought back to his own inner ear the cheering re- sponse, " "Well done, good and faithful servant ; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." A very few of the many anecdotes and illustrations of his character and habits, which might have been collected, remain to be added. They might have been inserted in other and more appropriate places, but having escaped notice till now, they are given here, by way of taking our last look of the man. HIS HABITS OF SERMON-WRITING AND PASTORAL DUTY. He made it a practice, says his son, every Sunday evening, to select a text for the ensuing Lord's day ; and on Monday morn- ing, he always commenced the writing of his sermon. G44 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. A portion of every fair day, generally the latter part, he spent in visiting his parishioners, both sick and well. He loved to be among his flock ; and considered parochial visitation as among a pastor's most important duties. HIS FAVORITE ALLEGORY OF THE CHURCH. This was suggested by one of the Saviour's well-known par- ables. He loved to view the Church of Christ as an extensive vineyard. Here and there different classes of laborers are en- gaged in cultivating the same great vine ; their different modes of training it being determined by diversities of taste, judg- ment, and skill. The roots strike deep into the same soil. The branches climb aloft towards the same heaven. Its fruitfulness is dependent on the same divine injluences. And one and all who labor faithfully their allotted season, receive at its close, from the sa7ne Master, the same ^^ penny a day.''^ HIS IDEA OF TRUE CATHOLICISM. " Between Dr. Milnor and the sectarian bigot there was no fellowship of feeling." In illustration of this remark, his son relates the following : " I remember, though at the time a mere boy, listening to a conversation between him and a brother cler- gyman who was then his guest. This gentleman advocated extreme high-church views ; shutting the gate of heaven against all without the pale of the Episcopal church, save as the uncov- enanted mercy of God might perhaps grant them admittance. After long argument on the subject, my father's face glowing with animation, he exclaimed, ' Why, my good sir, if I held such views as you have expressed, I could not rest to-night on my pillow. I have beloved relatives and dear friends, who are without the pale, as you define it. Their hopes and mine rest on the same Jesus. Are they to be excluded from the covenanted benefits of his atonement, simply because they have not been baptized in an Episcopal church, and do not worship according to a particular form?" "When recovering from a violent attack of gout, and unable to read from an affection of the eyes, I read to him one afternoon the controversy between Drs, Wainwright and Potts on the ques- RETROSPECT OF HIS LIFE. 645 tion whether there can be a Church without a bishop. When I had finished, he mildly observed, ' The difference between high- churchmen and myself is this : they magnify into essentials what I consider non-essentials.^ At another time, when reading to him an advertisement of a course of lectures on the distinctive principles of the Church, ' I should prefer,' said he, ' a course on the distinctive principles of the Gospel.' " HIS INDIFFERENCE TO OFFICIAL ELEVATION. It is well known to many, that he was more than once solic- ited to consent to a nomination as candidate for the Episcopal office. He sometimes, in his vein of serious humor, refused his applicant by saying, " No ; I have long since made up my mind tx) accept no mitre lower than that of the diocese of New York !" At a meeting of clergy of different denominations, the subject of an election of an assistant bishop for the diocese of Pennsyl- vania was introduced. A friend playfully remarked to him, " Dr. Milnor, I understand there is danger that a mitre will fall upon your head." "Not the least," he as playfully replied. "If my Presbyterian brethren made bishops, I might possibly have some chance. But, indeed," he more seriously continued, "I have no aspirations on the subject, I have seldom known a presbyter made bishop whose piety was not, more or less, a sufferer from the elevation. I have little enough, as it is." By this, he doubtless meant, that, to the true usefulness and the true dignity of a minister of Christ, personal piety is more important than official rank; and that, although the latter is not necessarily incompatible with the former in even its highest grade, yet, considering the weakness of our nature, there is, in all elevated official distinction, a peril to Christian character, which should deter the faithful and humble servant of Christ from coveting the exposure. To use one of his own quotations, " O si sic omnesl" The Church would have more peace, and the world more profit. We now leave the subject of our Memoir to his rest in Christ, to the affectionate regards of Christ's people, and to the blessing cf God on his beneficent example. In this world are many kinds 646 MEMOIR OF DR. MILNOR. of greatness. There is a greatness which is terrible, and a great- ness which is splendid, and a greatness which is profound. Per- haps the best idea of a great man is this: one who has enough perspicacity to discern truth, though it has become enveloped in a fog ; and enough love for truth discerned, to follow it, though it lead into a fire. This is the real martyr for Christ, as distin- guished from the man who fancies himself "persecuted for right- eousness' sake," when he is merely punished for self-righteousness. Of this true greatness Dr. Milnor had more than a common share. Certainly his greatness was neither terrible nor splendid; but it was, if not in the fullest sense profound, at least in the truest sense lovely. It wants not that which commends him to our respect; but it has most of that which wins our affection. His was the greatness of beneficent action, of a living benevolence, and of an enlarged Christian sympathy. If he astonished not by deep discoveries in science, by brilliant displays of genius, or by prodigious acquisitions in learning, he nevertheless blessed by a noble example, by a beneficent life, and by yielding freely AND BEING READY TO SUBMIT PRACTICALLY TO THE HIGHEST CLAIMS OF THE GREATEST TRUTHS, He pcnctratcd greatly into the depths of Christian experience. He felt with great power the sinfulness of his nature and the imperfections of his life; and, with great ingenuousness and self-abasement, carried all his sins and all his imperfections to the cross of Christ, and gave to his Saviour alone all the glory of his great salvation. He took a great grasp on eternal things, and lived greatly by seeking, as the one high aim of his studies, his labors, and his prayers, the supreme glory of God in the everlasting welfare of man. May such samples of Christian character be multiplied, till all the world has learned how great is God, and how great is goodness. f s-m-'K 646 MEMOIR OF DR of greatness. There is a greats' ness which is sple^'^-^