USA > Maine > Kennebec County > Gardiner > Christ Church, Gardiner, Maine : antecedents and history > Part 8
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Great was the rejoicing of the Parish, both young and old, when at last it came, the fruit of such faithful work,-the new organ, splendid with its gilded pipes, and impressive in its bulk and the freshness of its varnish. It was a Simmons in make, was built in Newburyport, and possessed a rich tone which lent new sweetness to the phases of hymn or chant, and which, even now, is not alto- gether roughened by the old age of the instrument. In accord- ance with the fashion of the time, the organ was established in the centre of the gallery, where it remained for many years. No record of the organists has been kept, but it is certain that skilful fingers have drawn music from the yellowed keys. Mrs. Farnham, Mrs. Sullivan, and Mrs. Lally, have been among the players ; and at least two foreigners, Signor Nolcini, and Herr Barnecoi (?), have, for a short time, supplied the music: In 1847, Miss Mary L. Whitney was engaged as organist ; and she held the position for several years.
The burden of that modern improvement, a church debt, had begun to oppress the Parish ; how heavily we may ·surmise, when we read the instruction given to the Wardens, " to make some im
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provement and plant some trees on the reserved parsonage lot, provided it can be done without expense to the parish."
Mr. Babcock's pleasant leadership of his flock was not of long continuance. Since Bishop Griswold's death in 1843, the sugges- tion of making separate dioceses of the Eastern states had been under discussion, and the prospect of a Bishop in the State of Maine meant a new future for the seven Churches within her limits. Our parish, of these seven, was the largest and the wealth- iest, and, in all probability, would be the home of the new digni- tary. Mr. Babcock perhaps recognized this ; at all events, he ten- dered his resignation to the parish in the spring of 1847, purpos- ing to devote a few years to rest, both of mind and body. From the tone of his resignation, it is evident that he did not willingly contemplate the change. He alludes feelingly to "the perfect kindness and confidence" with which his labors had been sus- tained, and adds grateful words for the entire harmony which had blessed his stay in Gardiner. The thought perforce suggests itself, that to-day there are not many clergymen, in our city or else- where, who can say as much in praise of a parish, after a seven years' pastorate.
So marked, however, had been the blessings of Mr. Babcock's service for Christ Church, and so affectionately was he regarded by all, that the protest against his departure was universal. Since 1840, the communicants of the parish had doubled in number ; there had been at least one ordination of a priest, the Rev. Mr. Carpenter, within the walls of the Church ; and the religious inter- est of all the congregation was singularly enthusiastic. In view of these, and other like considerations, Mr. Babcock at last yielded to the entreaties of his parishioners, and deferred his resignation until the fall of 1847, when the consecration of a Bishop for the Diocese of Maine was definitely determined upon. Then, to the great regret of all, Mr. Babcock bade Gardiner farewell, followed by loving wishes and prayers for his future welfare.
Soon afterwards he became the rector of a Church at Salem, then of another at Jamaica Plain ; and he has devoted all the ac- tive years of a long and useful life to the service of his God.
At the present time ( 1893), he is still living at his home in Narragansett Pier, though both he and his wife have attained a great age, and are in an enfeebled state of health.
That the days of his mission in Gardiner are not forgotten, and htat the mere mention of his names calls a brightness to the
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faces of those who remain of his little flock, is, assuredly, the most grateful proof of his faithful ministry in our city.
We come now to what may fitly be called the golden age of Christ Church, when, under the guidance of her saintly Bishop, she passed the nine most blessed years of her existence. The de- tails of Bishop Burgess' life and work are household themes in Gardiner, and his picture is cherished in every old Churchman's home, just as his living memory is enshrined in every heart that knew and loved him.
Since the middle of the present century there has been so much alteration in the country and the parish, that, to one thinking of it for the first time, it seems strange that the head of the Church should have chosen to settle in this little city. But, in 1821, when Maine was made a part of the Eastern Diocese, there were only two Episcopal Churches within her limits ; St. Stephen's of Port- land, and Christ Church of Gardiner. In 1847, when the state became an independent diocese, she numbered only five more parishes ; Trinity, of Saco; St. John's, of Bangor ; St. Mark's of Augusta ; St. Paul's, of Brunswick, and St. James', of Milford. Of these, Gardiner's Church was by far the most flourishing. Possess- ing, as she did, the advantages of a landed estate, and a patron whose benefactions were almost without number, she gave abun- dant promise of a fair future in her spirit of endurance and bravery. In missionary endeavors she was especially zealous, and, for many years, pledged larger sums to the good work than did any of her sister Churches. More than that, Gardiner was a cen- tral point : the Rev. Alexander Burgess (now the Bishop of Quin- cy, Illinois), a brother of the Bishop, was officiating at Augusta ; and the wishes of Mr. Gardiner, with the powerful influence of this family in ecclesiastical matters, were a strong argument in fa- vor of the rural settlement. The entire diocese, in fact, was then scarcely attractive to anyone less courageous than was he who had the true spirit of a missionary. Its extent was vast, and its trav- eling facilities few. On the Kennebec, steamboats had been run- ning since 1824, but not until November, 1851, did the first train of cars enter Gardiner. The salary paid was but a trifle in com- parison with that demanded by the difficulties of the office.
Yet the heart of the Bishop, once given to the work, was un- daunted by any obstacles, and late on Saturday, November 6th, 1847, after a stormy passage, he arrived in the little city which he had selected for his home. Mr. Gardiner received and entertained
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him at the grand stone mansion, "Oaklands," which, since 1836, hạs stood, like a baronial castle, among its fertile fields upon the banks of the Kennebec. On the next day his congregation, for the first time, bent the knee with their Bishop in the Church which he soon learned to love, and whose services he knew how to make.so beautiful.
The rough Maine country, with its preponderance of farming settlers, must have seemed bleak indeed by contrast with a former urban parish. The Bishop, however, had the gift of attracting to himself the best qualities of human nature, and soon discovered much to admire in the sturdy folk around him. At Mr. Gardiner's he met his earliest friends ; yet there was no one in all his congre- gation too lowly for him to call a friend, and it was this sense of individual nearness to him which made his hold upon the com- munity so strong. In the hospitable circle at Oaklands the Bishop must have found much that was congenial. The family was a large and interesting one ; and each of its members has been most helpful in the work of the Church. It is hard to think of the parish apart from Mr. Gardiner's eldest son, the late Robert Hal- lowell Gardiner 2nd, who, until recently, shared with us all the services of the sanctuary, and wore so nobly the mantle of his father. Another son, John William Tudor, an officer in the U. S. A., was the father of the present heir; and the third, the Rev. Frederic Gardiner, has left the memory of a faithful apostle and a scholar of high rank. He was the first Episcopal rector in Bath, and in 1889, the time of. his death, was Professor of Exegesis of the New Testament, in the Berkeley Divinity School, Middletown, Conn.
The daughters, too, all have a modest prominence in the story of the parish. Two years before the Bishop's coming, Emma, the eldest of Mr. Gardiner's nine children, had been laid to rest near the Church that she had loved ; and in 1847, a sister, Lucy, was placed beside her. Lucy Gardiner was one of the foremost in good and charitable deeds ; and until four years ago, Christ Church has used for its baptismal services, the font of gray stone, pre- sented by her, which now occupies a place in the lecture-room. She was one of the principal members of a little Society of young girls, who became interested in foreign missions, and did much in a quiet way towards contributing their mite for the heathen. This organization, at the time when the lecture-room
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was built, had been gradually merged into the larger Society, which is yet in existence.
Mrs. Francis Richards, Mr. Gardiner's second child, was one of the favorite teachers in the Sunday School. The children whom she taught considered themselves privileged beings ; and many of them, now grown to the estate of aunts and grandmothers, love to talk of the beauty and goodness that won their childish admira- tion.
Mrs. Sullivan, too, is affectionately mentioned by the elder Church-members; and it is always with delight that we see the sweet face of "Sister Eleanor," who occasionally visits the familiar scenes where she began her brave deeds of charity.
In the little circle of Christ Church, the Bishop said, were more college-educated men than could be found in his large parish in Hartford. He was well pleased with the social standing of the city, and his presence among the people was a source of inspira- tion which could not fail to elevate. Besides the familiar names of Gardiner, Richards, Allen, Evans, Hoskins, Holman, Swan, Bradstreet, Grant, Tarbox, Moore, Lowell, Williamson, Gay, Byram, Davis and Adams, new members are found in ever increasing num- bers in the records of Bishop Burgess' parish. The Rev. Phineas Pratt, a former minister of the Congregational denomination, gave much valuable assistance in Church work. The Nuttings, the Bachelders, the Whitmores, and the Forsyths, with the families of N. K. Chadwick, John Stone, Robert Williamson, John S. Mitchell, C. A. and J. D. White, Alonzo Parsons, C. P. Branch, Myrick Hop- kins, Nathaniel Kimball, J. P. Hunter, Dr. F. P. Theobald, and Dr. Joseph Merrill, all hold prominent places in the memories of the past.
The history of the Bishop has been so faithfully delineated in the "Memoir," edited by his brother in 1869, that mention will be made of him here only in regard to his connection with our peo- ple and parish.
Socially, as has been said, he was always charming. It was one of his regrets, that he thought himself incapable of understanding children ; yet the little ones clung to him ; and, while they may at first have been a trifle awed by the great name of "Bishop," they soon lost their fears, and learned to love the quiet face that one could not easily forget. There have been many stories to illus- trate the Bishop's sense of humor, which often showed beneath his
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dignified exterior, and which invariably delighted his Gardiner neighbors.
It happened, during his pastorate, that, through some miscalcu- lation, an eventful wedding was set for an evening in Passion Week. Before the mistake was discovered, the cards were out, and the ill omen of postponement could not be demanded. The Bishop was. always strict in his observance of the season, and the faithful organist of the Church was not a little perplexed as to her duty on the occasion. The gay notes of the wedding march were assuredly not in unison with the solemnity of the fast-day ; and yet how was it possible to play a composition less suited to the bridal festivity ? At last, in her dilemma, she sought the Rector, and asked him directly, "What ought I to do about it ?" With one of his quizzical, serio-comic looks, the Bishop answered promptly : "Well, all I have to say, Miss -- , is this :- Play just as easy as you. can !"
A real, personal intimacy with his people the Bishop considered of great importance. His pastoral calls were many, and he made it a point to visit every member of the Church as regularly as pos- sible. In this duty, he was aided by his fondness for long walks, which he had often to take to reach the homes of his country parishioners, who lived far from the centre of the village. With a firm, stately tread, he hastened over the rough roads and through the wooded paths, always holding a book or paper in his hand, and reading as he went, for it was the habit of his life to utilize every moment of precious time.
To the extremely sick, the visits of the Bishop were those of an angel. So tender was he in his sympathy, so fervent in its expres- sion, that the sufferer could but. feel himself drawn nearer to the God who had sent such a loving messenger. Aided by a wonder- ful memory, it was the Bishop's custom to repeat, by the bed-side of the dying, sweet old hymns. and the words of the Holy Book that fit the needs of such a time. Hour after hour, as long as he saw that it was desired, he would do this, until the passing ' soul- felt itself lifted almost to heaven on the melody of his' wonderful voice.
It was not long after the Bishop's coming to Gardiner that George Blood, the old .. sexton of the Church, died. He was an Englishman by birth, and had lived for. many years, with his wife, Elizabeth, in a tiny house behind the building for which he cared. Tradition makes him a good old man, and one faithful to the office
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which seems to demand purity of life. Yet, surely, of all the door- keepers in the house of the Lord, none could be more acceptable than his successor, Cyrus Anne. Dear old man, with his kindly Christian face and his cheery ways ! so pleasant always to the chil- dren who used to run after him and tease him, until any patience but his own must have given out entirely ! Even now, though he has long been gone to his reward, and new faces are in the temple where he served, there is many a time when, at the ringing of the old curfew bell, we feel as if it must still be the duteous hand of Mr. Anne that calls the brazen tongue to utterance in the hush of nightfall.
The attachment between Bishop Burgess and the sexton was of no common sort. When Mr. Anne's children were stricken with scarlet fever, and no one dared to go near them in their. trouble, the Bishop himself became their watcher; while the father was thus enabled to go about his daily work, upon the proceeds of which his family must depend.
In his treatment of the lower classes Bishop Burgess was un- rivalled. He was in the habit of visiting one family, in particular, whose name has become a synonym for misery and degradation. He never went out from this wretched home without leaving some helpful gift, and the deference with which he treated its inmates was their boast for years. "The minute I opened the door for him," said one of the women, " his hat came off, and he walked in after me, with it in his hand, for all the world as if I was a queen."
The city of Gardiner, as its clergymen of every denomination have averred, is particularly unspiritual in its nature ; not, necessa- rily more corrupt than its neighbors, but characterized by a cer- tain self-reliant poise which does not easily learn to lean upon the teachings of Jesus. Such a man as Bishop Burgess, a poet at heart, with a soul keenly alive to the urgings of the higher call, must have suffered in comparative isolation, in the midst of what seemed to him carelessness of religion. He pleaded against it from the pulpit with every earnest accent ; he spoke so eloquently, so impressively, that all who heard him bowed before the breath of his supplication ; and yet, the spell once removed, lapsed again into the easy way of life. These indications of lightness grieved the Bishop deeply, as they have many another of Gardiner's teach. ers. It was in consequence of such feelings that he addressed to those of his hearers who were not already Church-members an urgent call to join the fold of the Master before it was too late.
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Printed copies of this he mailed to the heads of many leading fam- ilies in the city. Since he was literally one who prayed without ceasing, and as blameless in every circumstance of domestic life as he was in the public scenes through which he passed, his words had all the force that a saintly pattern could lend them ; and their echo has not yet died away. It is scarcely possible to exaggerate the influence for good which he exerted, and which his memory still exerts, upon the Christ Church of to-day. "Bishop Burgess said so," is considered the mightiest of theological arguments among those who were his people.
"As thrills of long-hushed tone Live in the viol, so our souls grow fine With keen vibrations from the touch divine Of noble natures gone."
In the performance of every duty the Bishop was as exact as law itself ; and he was never known to consider himself, if, in any way, the interests of others were at stake. On an occasion when he was filling the Chaplain's post at the meetings of the Legisla- ture in Augusta, he was urged by his family to send some excuse, rather than face the intense cold of one terrible winter morning. But, fearing that his absence might cause some trouble, he wrapped himself as warmly as possible, and set out for the Capitol. He could find no driver brave enough to accompany him ; so he took the reins himself, and arrived in Augusta after a chilly ride of six miles, to find that the members of the Legislature, not expect- ing him, had adjourned, and gone off upon some excursion.
At his own Church he held, every Sunday, morning and afternoon service, with a Sunday School either before or after the first one. Many of his hearers rode in from the country, and they were ac- customed to spend the noon hours in the Church, otten reading books from the large parish library. This was kept in the robing- room, and contained many well-selected volumes, which have long since been scattered and lost. Often the Bishop would ride to an adjoining town, to preach for some overtasked missionary ; and re- turning, would hold another evening service in the lecture-room. His sermons were always exquisite in finish, marked by the ac- curacy of the student, and live with the prophetic instinct of a true disciple of Christ. Yet it is with peculiar pleasure that all who heard him look back upon his Sunday evening meetings. These were intended to be a series of informal talks to his people, either upon Biblical subjects, or upon some every-day theme that
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struck home to his hearers' hearts. At these times the Bishop wore no robe ; and, after a few simple introductory exercises, he was accustomed to seat himself, and talk, as a father might to his children. In these friendly, helpful conversations he came very near his people ; and the subjects which he chose for discussion were always suited to their needs, though they could not have been so freely treated in the reserve of the pulpit. "Intemperance ;" " Profane Swearing ;" and courses upon some phase of religious history, some feature of the Prayer Book, or some part of the Holy Scripture ; such were the topics which he brought forward in these gatherings, when the little wooden building was crowded to its ut- most capacity with eager listeners.
In the same place he began the Wednesday evening lectures, which have only lately been omitted.
It is impossible to mention the services conducted by Bishop Burgess, without alfuding to his beautiful and impressive reading. After the first funeral which he conducted in Gardiner, one of the good old church-members came home with a face that fairly shone. "I've heard the burial service a great many times, but it seems to me I never heard it before !" she declared, in her most emphatic manner.
After considering the events of Bishop Burgess' pastorate it seems impossible to characterize his work in the scope of a few pages. As a missionary, as a patriot, as an author, he did much which we can not even mention. As he himself said when some one alluded to the quantity of statistics in his "Last Enemy ;" "Ah, yes ; but you should see the amount of material that I have not been able to use !"
The little school for students of theology, which, with the able assistance of the Rev. Frederic Gardiner, the Bishop carried on at his home on Church Street, was one of the many ways in which his benevolence bore fruit. Among his students were Mr. H. Howard, a brother-in-law of Bishop Alexander Burgess, Mr. Wm. P. Tucker, now an Episcopal clergyman of Pawtucket, R. I., Mr. Pelham Williams, afterwards Rector of the Church of the Messiah, Boston, at present in Greenbush, Mass., Mr. John B. Southgate who died in 1882, Mr. John T. Magrath, now Rector of the Church of the Holy Spirit, Mattapan, Mass., and Mr. Asbury Stilphen of Farmingdale.
In the spring of 1848, the Hon. R. H. Gardiner read in the lecture-room a paper, upon the history of the Episcopal Church in
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what is now Gardiner, with a sketch of each rector. So much in- terest was manifested in the account, that it was unanimously voted to incorporate it in the parish records, and so preserve it for fu- ture reference. * For some reason this was not immediately done, and the paper is now not to be found, though a search for it has been instituted, as well as for the earliest record-book of the Parish, which has also disappeared.
Almost at the same time, Mr. Gardiner made to the Parish his memorable gift of thirty-two and a half pews; the income of which furnishes the present "Pew Trust Fund."
The gift of the "Bishop's Chair," by the late Captain Abraham Rich, belongs to this period of the Church's story.
With the increasing popularity of Bishop Burgess, the Church took on a new aspect. He disliked from the beginning the tower- ing pulpit at the left of the chancel and the height of the old- fashioned pews, which he soon proposed remodeling. He planned to pay the expenses of the alteration by the sale of seats, and, as a matter of course, he was obliged to meet the arguments of the conservatives, who had as little faith then in improvement of any kind as they have now. One of these active parishioners, feeling it his duty to warn the Rector, began, "But who will buy the pews ?" "Trust that to me," said the Bishop, with his quiet smile ; and, long before the repairs were finished, every pew was sold to eager purchasers. It was found necessary to appoint a committee of ushers to welcome the numerous strangers who came to the services.
Late at night after a hot summer's day, the Church was struck by lightning, and the point of the roof above the north window was soon in a blaze. All rushed to the rescue of the building, but to scale the height seemed impossible, and it looked, for a mo- ment, as if the Church would go, as its predecessors had done. Sud- denly, however, a young man, who had been a sailor, and who bore an unenviable reputation in the neighborhood, appeared upon the roof ; and, agile as a cat, began to dash upon the flames the water, which was raised to him in buckets, by the anxious men below. The young sailor worked with a will, and, at last, began chopping away at the roof-timbers with an axe. This, unfortunately, slipped from his grasp, and fell, crashing, through into the Church below. Accompanying the remark with a great oath, the sailor cried, "There goes my axe, right down into Captain Kimball's pew !" The Bishop, among the crowd, heard both the words and the oath,
*See Note to Appendix I.
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and, as soon as the fire was under control, inquired of those about him the name of the youth who had saved the Church. The next day he went to the home of the sailor, and after talking with him upon the sin of profanity, gave him a little prayer-book. From that hour the man became changed. He went again upon the sea, but in the midst of the rough sailor-life, he avoided all its wickedness. He swore no more ; he drank no more ; and, wher- ever he went, he carried in his breast pocket the precious prayer- book. Finally he suffered shipwreck, and in the beating of the heavy sea about the spar to which he clung, his treasure was washed away. When he was rescued he mourned so deeply over his loss that it came to the ears of the Bishop, who at once sent another book to him through the friend who brought the news. Some years later the man was stabbed, while acting the part of peacemaker in a street fight; and undoubtedly he died with the little book upon his heart.
By 1858, the approach to the Church had begun to assume the well ordered aspect which makes it to-day so pleasant in the eyes of all. The Common, at last properly cared for by the citizens, and the Lyceum on the corner, both the gifts of the Hon. R. H. Gardiner, had long been sightly objects in the little city, but the immediate environments of the Church called for much attention. In view of the increasing prosperity of the parish, it was determined to improve the burial ground, to set out trees upon it, to enclose the whole with an iron fence, and to lay new flagging wherever it was found desirable. In the spring of 1859, the work was finished and, a little later, when the grounds had been properly graded, Gardiner was justly proud of "the stone Church" and its sur- roundings.
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