USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Abington > History of the town of Abington, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, from its first settlement > Part 9
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His son, Samuel Niles, jr., father of the late Samuel Niles, the subject of our remarks, graduated at Cambridge College, in 1731. At his death, it is believed he was the oldest sur- viving alumnus of that institution. He died April 30, 1804, aged ninety-two. He held many distinguished offices. For several years he represented his native town (Braintree) in the General Court; was a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for the County of Suffolk, then including Norfolk ; was one of the twenty-eight councillors, who, before the State Con- stitution was formed, exercised the executive powers of gov- ernment. Towards the close of his life, he removed to Lebanon, Connecticut, into the family of his son Jeremiah, where he died. In 1739 he married his cousin Sarah Niles, of South Kingston, Rhode Island, by whom he had Nathaniel, Samuel, Jeremiah, Sarah and Elizabeth. His oldest son, Nathaniel, brother of Samuel, graduated at Princeton College, 1766. He was one of the first settlers of West Fairlee, Vermont, where he died in 1828, aged eighty-eight. He
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sustained many offices of public trust ; he was Judge of the Supreme Court, and Lieutenant-Governor of Vermont, and member of Congress.
Rev. Samuel Niles, of Abington, son of the preceding Samuel, was born at Braintree December 14, 1745, as before stated. After the usual course of preparation under the Rev. Mr. Dodge, his predecessor, he entered college at Princeton, New Jersey, and graduated in 1769. He devoted himself to the ministry, and accordingly studied divinity, first under Mr. Dodge, and afterwards under the Rev. Dr. Joseph Bel- lamy, of Bethlem, Connecticut. Not long after he was liceused to preach, he received and accepted a call to settle in Abington, where he was ordained, September 25, 1771.
Mr. Niles continued in the pastoral office forty-two years, and ably and faithfully performed the duties thereof, until he was prostrated by a paralytic affection in November, 1811. He was not so paralyzed as to be deprived of consciousness. His power of speech was quite gone ; he could only articulate, in a broken manner, one or two words at a time. His phys- ical powers, however, were not all lost ; he was able to walk out occasionally, with some help, and rode out in pleasant weather ; recognized his friends, shook hands with them cor- dially, and seemed to wish to do them service. I recollect visiting him once, and taking tea at his house. He was sit- ting in his chair, and received me very cordially, anxious that I should be helped to a seat, and at the tea-table that I should be properly attended to. The appearance was that his vigor of mind was unimpaired; and that except from the paralysis of the organs of speech, he would have been able to converse with his former fluency. He called at my house sometimes when he rode out. On one occasion when he called (it was soon after I had a small woollen factory burnt down) sitting in his chaise, he looked towards the ruins, lifted up his hand, and with a sad countenance uttered these words : "All gone, all gone, gone." He seemed to sympathize with me, feelingly, at my loss. He apparently, in some measure, real- ized his situation, and expressed a resignation to it. He used
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frequently to say, " All is done, all done, all right, all right." He continued in this distressing situation until January 16, 1814, when he died, in the sixty-ninth year of his age.
Mr. Niles was a man of strong mind, powerful intellect, and commanding presence. When he appeared, levity and profanity were silenced. He was highly respected and revered. The influence of his example and instructions was extensively felt, not only in this town, but in other towns in the vicinity. His presence awakened in the children, the youth, the middle- aged and aged, affection and reverence. He had a powerful influence in forming the morals, modes of thinking and man- ners of the inhabitants of this town ; and his influence is felt to this day in many of our families, associations, and religious establishments. The character and fame of the town were greatly enhanced by his high standing and attainments. But I will let others-his cotemporaries-his brethren in the min- istry, speak of him. The Rev. Dr. Jonathan Strong, of Randolph, who preached his funeral sermon, in an obituary notice of him published in the Panoplist, April, 1814, thus speaks of him :-
" As a man Mr. Niles was peculiarly interesting and agreeable. In conversation he was pleasant, without levity, facetious, without malignity, and serious, without austerity. He was thoroughly acquainted with the principles of human nature, and quick to discern the motives by which different characters in society are governed. As a friend, he was dis- tinguished for confidence and fidelity. His breast was a cabinet in which the secrets of others might be locked as safely as his own. Though not affluent, his house was a mansion of hospitality. No man ever better enjoyed his friends, nor more sincerely sought to make them comfortable and happy. Although, owing to particular circumstances, he was not a man of the most extensive reading, yet he possessed very superior powers of mind. Very few better understood the art of thinking, or profited more by it. His ideas were clear in his own mind, and were generally expressed with
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uncommon perspicuity. A fair specimen of his talents may be seen in a work which he had nearly completed for the press when arrested with the paralytie shock before mentioned. This work has since been published. It is entitled 'Remarks on a Sermon preached before the Association of Ministers, in the Third Congregational Society in Middleborough, Septem- ber 26, 1810, by John Reed, D. D., Pastor of the First Church and Congregation in Bridgewater' (now West Bridgewater). In these remarks, the talents of the author for metaphysical discussion are strikingly displayed. It is believed that no candid reader, after examining, will hesitate to acknowledge that he was thoroughly conversant with the abstruse parts of theology.
" Mr. Niles' manner of preaching was peculiarly plain and luminous, solemn and impressive. By the friends of truth he was loved and admired, and no person could hear him with indifference. His object was to search the consciences and hearts of his hearers, and to make them feel, in some measure, as they will when standing before the tribunal of the final Judge. Nor did he always fail of success. The profound silence and deep solemnity frequently discovered by his audi- ence, evinced that impressions were made which could not be easily effaced.
"With respect to his prayers, it may with propriety be said, that they were uncommonly full of thought, pertinent, comprehensive, fervent, solemn and impressive; and often produced a powerful effect on those who had opportunity to unite with him before the throne of mercy. At such seasons he sometimes appeared to be raised above all earthly scenes, and permitted to look within the vail."
In a letter from the Reverend and very aged Dr. Nathaniel Emmons, of Franklin, written September 11, 1832, to the late Hon. Aaron Hobart, of East Bridgewater, author of "An Historical Sketch of Abington," the doctor says of Mr. Niles, "The Father of Spirits endowed Mr. Niles with superior intellectual and reasoning powers. I rarely was acquainted
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with a man who in my opinion possessed a stronger and clearer mind, and who would penetrate deeper into the most abstruse subjects of mental philosophy as well as natural and revealed religion. He had a clear and profound knowledge of the truth, connection, harmony and consistency of the first principles and essential doctrines of Christianity, which quali- fied him to become one of the most instructive and powerful preachers I ever heard. His sermons were not superficial, but full of great and weighty truths, which not only com- manded the serious and eager attention of his hearers, but deeply impressed their hearts and consciences. No man, whether learned or unlearned, whether a lover or hater of the truth, could sit under his preaching with levity or indifference. His grave and dignified appearance in the pulpit, in connec- tion with truly genuine eloquence, could hardly fail to strike the largest audience with awe and reverence, and to render him one of the most popular preachers of his day. He was intimately acquainted with human nature, and could render himself agreeable in his common intercourse with all classes of people ; but he was more especially entertaining in private cireles, by the flashing of his wit, and his various amusing, striking and pertinent anecdotes. He could, however, turn witli peculiar ease and propriety from social to the most serious subjects, and converse very seriously and instruetively upon doctrinal and experimental religion. On all proper occasions his speech was seasoned with the salt of Divine grace, and suited to strengthen the weak, console the discon- solate, and animate the most growing Christian. I will only add one more rare and shining trait in his, character. He was one of the most undisguised, frank, and faithful friends I ever knew. He was an Israelite indeed."
Mr. Niles' manner of preaching was peculiar to himself, and was different from almost all his contemporaries. He used no notes, and his sermons were not written. He deliv- ered them extemporaneously, and usually one text answered for both the forenoon and afternoon discourses. At the close of most of his sermons, to illustrate and enforce them, he
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quoted, in a solemn manner, some striking passage of Scrip- ture. For example, when his subject was trust and submission to the will of the Lord, to close, he repeated the 17th and 18th verses in the 3d chapter of IIabakkuk,-" Although the fig- tree shall not blossom, neither fruit be in the vines, the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat ; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd iu the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation." When speaking of the particularity of Divine Providence in all events, he would quote, in closing, from the first book of Kings, 34th verse,-" And a certain man drew a bow at a venture and smote the King of Israel (Ahab) between the joints of the harness ; " and the subse- quent fulfilment of the prophecy of Elisha,-"So the King died at even, and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot, and one washed the chariot in the Pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood." The announcement was,-" Thus saith the Lord, in the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine."
Mr. Niles incorporated in his discourses and prayers much of Scripture language, as thus,-" The growth of an hair, the fall of a sparrow, are constituent parts of the great whole, not less essential than the rise and fall of empires. Nothing is done in vain; the straying of an ass prepared the way for Saul, the son of Kish, to be crowned King over Israel. Childish dreams (Joseph's) led on to most stupendous scenes. Haman exults whilst preparation was making for his exhibition on a gibbet. The proud King of Babylon is turned out to eat grass like an ox, and Pharaoh and his host are drowned in the Red Sea." In his prayers, also, he interwove much Scrip- ture. In almost every one he used the expression,-" Blessed be God." In alluding to His Omniscience, he would say,- " Thou art perfectly acquainted, O God, with every thought, intent and purpose of the hearts of all thy creatures in the universe." In noticing the deaths of young and vigorous persons, he would use the words of Job,-" One dieth in his
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full strength, being wholly at ease and quiet. His breasts are full of milk, and his bones are moistened with marrow. And another dieth in the bitterness of his soul, and never eateth with pleasure." "Crushed before the feeble moth," "this is a dying world." Some of his remarks were very sententious. When speaking of death, he would say,-" The time when, the place where, the circumstances under which we must all lie down and die, are perfectly known unto God."
Mr. Niles left only two sermons in print, and a charge at an ordination, and no sermons in manuscript. One of the sermons was delivered at Abington, February 22, 1800, on the death of George Washington, and one before the Massa- chusetts Missionary Society in Boston, May 26, 1801. The charge was at the ordination of the Rev. Seth Stetson, in Plymouth, July 18, 1804. I accompanied Mr. Niles on that occasion. Had Mr. Niles published a volume of his sermons and polemical discourses, he would have been much better known, and held in much higher repute by the present generation ; but faint remembrances of them are now pre- served, and in only a few minds.
After his death the association of ministers in Plymouth County sent a committee to his widow, of which the Rev. Dr. Jonathan Strong, of Randolph, was chairman, to examine his papers and manuscripts, to see if a publication could be made of any of his writings or sermons. This was found to be impossible, as he never was in the habit of writing out any of his discourses or sermons. In his early settlement he used to make some notes of the heads of his discourses, but not in his latter years. He was in the habit, as he once said to me, of selecting his text after the close of his services on one Sabbath, for the next Sabbath, and study it over during the week ; and the most lucid time for study was when he was riding on horseback in the evening.
Mr. Niles interested himself much in political affairs. He was a Republican of the Old School, and supported the administration of Jefferson and Madison. He was not, how- ever, ultra in his politics-he respected the right of private
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judgment; and although tenacious of his own opinions, he never permitted differences in regard to them, to separate him from his friends and supporters, or interrupt a cordial and friendly intercourse with them. He was honored by the town as their delegate to the convention at Boston, in 1788, to act on the ratifieation of the Federal Constitution. He repre- sented the town in the State Legislature four years in succession : 1808-1811.
CHAPTER XI,
Rev. Samuel Niles, Third Minister of the First Religious Society.
[Concluded.]
IT may not be amiss, by way of illustration, to instance something of the mode of Mr. Niles' argumentative and metaphysical reasoning. I had much intercourse with him in my collegiate days : was much interested in his remarks and sayings when quite a youth : he visited quite frequently at my father's house. He delighted much in advocating his views, and never knew when to leave off when engaged in contro- versy. Ile had but few opponents in his society ; among them were the late Dr. Gridley Thaxter, and David Gloyd. The latter removed to the State of Maine before Mr. Niles' death. Mr. Niles remarked to me that he was one of his most able opponents. I raised many objections to Mr. Niles' doctrine. The doctrine of decrees was one prominent subject of discussion. Mr. Niles remarked, that my objection to decrees was that it fixed events, and asked me if I did not believe God foreknew all events. I answered in the affirma- tive ; as otherwise I saw I should limit the Holy One. He replied, that foreknowledge fixed the certainty of the event as absolutely as a decree, for it would not be foreknown unless it was certain. I was silenced, not satisfied. One of his
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objectors, above named, when brought to this test of fore- knowledge, (as Mr. Niles informed me,) said " he did not believe that God foreknew all future events." He had no other way to get over the argument, and would not give up his disbelief of the doctrine. I answered, if this doctrine (of decrees) was true, it was practical. Without stating his metaphysical reasonings, to prove, as he asserted in his sermon on the death of Washington,-" Man is a free controlled agent," I will state his idea of the practicability of the doctrine. "Suppose," says le, " there are two armies about to engage in a bloody contest: one is a Christian army, and the other an infidel army ; but if the infidel army is victorious, Christianity is extirpated. The armies are commanded by two able generals ; but as the onset is about to commence, we will suppose further, that there is a single mote floating about in the universe, or atmosphere, under no decree or fixed place : it will be as likely to fall in one place as another : it may fall into the eye of the Christian general, and put it out ; in con- sequence of which, the general, through suffering and pain, is disabled in his command, the Christian army is defeated, and Christianity extirpated from the world." The inference was, if one thing was left without being fixed, and such consequences might follow, how dreadful would be the result if all things were left unfixed.
As an illustration of the effect upon my mind of Mr. Niles' doctrine of decrees, I must ask to be excused for relating the following anecdote : As I went to a canal in the back part of my garden, where the water ran rapidly, to get a pail of water, the reflection struck me, it is decreed you shall get just such a quantity of water, and just so many particles. I stood some time over the running stream, musing, that the water which I was to take had not yet come along ; but finally dipped up a pailful, with this reflection,-now it was decreed from eternity that I should get this precise quantity of water, and no other. I turned it back, with the reflection that it was not decreed that I should have that precise pailful ; but the thought came that it was decreed that you should turn it back.
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This answer seemed to come too late : it was after the event. I finally dipped up my pail of water, and was led to this reflection,-If it was decreed that I should get this precise quantity of water, and not another particle, there must have been an infinity of decrees about this pail of water. Water is a fluid; and this quantity of water may have been, yea, must have been, in myriads of different places. Some of it might have passed through the heart of Julius Caesar ; may have sparkled in a diamond on the finger of Cleopatra, and been parts of millions of human bodies, and of innumerable animals, trees and plants ; and so of all other quantities and particles of matter. And what was the use of all this decree- ing ? Only that I should have a pail of water to wash my face and hands. This seemed to be an unsatisfactory answer. Another pailful would have answered the same purpose. The idea that the laying, position and change of every particle of matter is the result of a Divine decree from eternity, seemed to be preposterous, and left a vacuity in the mind, as do the terms " infinite space," and " eternity of time." It seemed to me that there must be some general laws regulating material substances, even to the smallest mote ; and that gravitation, attraction and adhesion may be some of these laws.
In connection with such reasoning, I will state an anecdote, which Mr. Niles related to me. "Dr. John Reed, (named in the first part of this communication,) said to me, in regard to my doctrine,-' Mr. Niles, you can demonstrate your doc- trines to be true, but they are not.'" Mr. Niles said he was astonished at the remark, and asked him to explain. The doctor said many things could be mathematically demonstrated to be true, when they were not. It can be demonstrated that matter is infinitely divisible, which is not true, for nothing of infinity can be predicated of matter. "Can you conceive," says he, " of anything that is so small that it cannot be divided ? if not, matter is infinitely divisible." But the theorem which he relied upon mainly to prove his assertion was, that a straight line and a circle would never coincide, but as the circle was enlarged, it would approach nearer and
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nearer to a comcidence. To illustrate the proposition, draw a straight line at any imaginary length, say ten, ten thousand, or ten millions of miles, and draw a circle one inch in diameter, setting one foot of a compass one-half inch from the straight line, so that the periphery of the circle may just touch it ; move the standing foot of the compass the smallest distance possible, and describe another circle as before, and you approach nearer to a coincidence with the straight line as you enlarge the circle ; so, by enlarging it, you divide matter betwixt the circle and straight line, and this you may do ad infinitum, dividing matter at each removal of the foot of the compass, and yet a straight line and a circle will never coin- cide ; therefore matter is infinitely divisible. I shall make no remarks on such reasoning as to its truth or fallacy; I only state it to show a specimen of the metaphysical reasoning of former times.
During Mr. Niles' long continuance in the ministry, there was great cordiality and harmony betwixt him and his church and society. Towards the last part of it, however, there was some interruption to this state of peace, occasioned by what has been called the " singing difficulty." The difficulty arose from a difference of opinion as to the right of appointing choristers to lead the singing in public worship. The church claimed the exclusive right to appoint them. The town, then forming the legal body of the parish, claimed the same right. In consequence of this, two sets of choristers were appointed to that office-one by each party. The controversy continued for several years. It finally came to an outbreak, February 23, 1806. On the Lord's day, the two leaders, with their choirs, took separate seats in the gallery ; a hymn having been read, as usual, for the purpose of being sung, two different tunes were named by the two choristers of the respective parties, and the hymn sung by both at the same time. The discord and confusion which this gross act of irreverence in the house of God occasioned, were truly distressing. The audience sat mute with astonishment. Mr. Niles left the pulpit, and walked out of the meeting-house, with his wife,
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who had fainted in his arms. The audience, however, kept their seats, except two or three, who stepped out into the broad aisle,-one, a young attorney, with pencil in hand, to take note of individuals among the singers, as disturbers of the peace. This state of suspense did not last long. Mr. Niles.returned, and entered the pulpit, and delivered his dis- course. I was present on the occasion, and have ever considered it a providential leading that the people did not also retire from the house. The excitement would have been much greater, and the cousequences much more serious. Mr. Niles from that time dispensed with singing as a part of public worship, until the dispute was settled.
These contentions and difficulties, from their rise to their close, continued for a number of years, and were exceedingly distressing, and subversive of the peace and quietude of the town. There were a great many church meetings and town meetings connected with this controversy. The deacons of the church were sent, by a vote of the church, to consult the Judges of the Supreme Court, in respect to the right of the church to appoint the choristers, without any suit or question of law being before them. They called on the judges at their boarding-house in Dedham, where they were holding their courts. They, of course, would give no opinion out of court. I recollect that one of the deacons reported to the church that one of the judges remarked to him, "that churches were known in law, and had certain rights." This was a strange application, and showed a great want of knowl- edge of legal proceedings. Complaints were brought before the Grand Jury at the Court in Plymouth, against some of the singers for a breach of the Sabbath, and many witnesses were summoned before them, but the complaints were never prosecuted ; there were no decisions made by the Court, and all complaints were finally withdrawn. All parties began to be tired, if not ashamed, of the controversy. During its height, almost every individual in town, and even children, took sides, and became exceedingly bitter against each other. All association and visiting between the opposite parties was
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suspended. They were called Noyesites and Jenkinsites, after the names of the two leading choristers.
In the excitement, a vote was passed in a town meeting, to divide the town into two towns, and a committee agreed on to draw the dividing line. The whole trouble arose at first, from a very small affair, which was about time in the per- formance of church music ; whether the movement should be a little quicker or a little slower. This brought up the question of the right of appointing choristers, betwixt the town and church. The town was in favor of the fast time, the church of the slow.
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