USA > New Hampshire > The history of New Hampshire, from its discovery, in 1614, to the passage of the Toleration act, in 1819 > Part 30
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Mes- sage of Gov. Bell.
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that candid and dispassionate consideration which CHAP. it never fails to bring, will eventually do justice to XII. his motives and his conduct."
During the toleration contest, the Congrega- tional order levelled their sharpest weapons against the Methodists; a sect then comparatively feeble and possessed of but limited means to make their real doctrines known. The Orthodox denounced them as "antichrist" and immoral; and affirmed that their church government was a monarchy. Time has shown that whatever may be the faults of their system of church government, no denomi- nation of Christians has done more to improve the morals of society. Their distinguishing charac- teristic is humility-the substance without the show of godliness. They seem to take no pride in collecting large funds, erecting costly churches, and passing in splendid pageantry before the world. Their preachers receive but a scanty livelihood, and expect no more. Is a Methodist clergyman rich ? it is in the treasures of another world. In- cessant in labor, plain in his garb, and meek in his deportment, he moves through the humble sphere of his labors, visiting the abodes of the poor as well as the mansions of the rich, imparting com- fort to the dying and the destitute, encouraging the disconsolate, rebuking the proud, and holding out a free salvation, without partiality and with- out hypocrisy, to the whole family of man. When these humble Christians first appeared with their doctrines, they were described as "disturbers of the peace"-" brawlers"-"disorderly persons," and "enemies to learning;" and their arduous and honest labors were treated by the Congrega-
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CHAP. tional order with proud contumely and vaunting XII.
reproach.
Nothing intimidated by this undeserved censure, they continued their labors, which at first began with the poor, but gradually spread through the wealthier portions of society. If they have not disarmed the hostility of opposing sects, they have commanded respect by their increasing numbers intelligence, and power. They have commended themselves to all men by their ardent love for humanity, by the genuine simplicity of their faith, and by their attachment to liberty and the rights of man. The coldest skeptic can hardly deny that they have been successful imitators of Christ; and it would be difficult for the most jealous republican to discover that their system of church government has thus far had any practical tendency to monarchy.
The hostility which had been displayed towards the Methodists, was directed with equal severity against the Baptists, and was equally undeserved.
The Universalists, a sect then much weaker than either of the others, and distinguished by essential differences of opinion from both, did not escape the general attack.
The doctrine of Universalism was first preached in New Hampshire, in 1773, by Mr. Murray. In 1802, Christopher Erskine, of Claremont, hav- ing been sued for parish taxes, by the Congrega- tionalist society in that town, asked advice of the general convention of Universalists. The judges of the supreme court had decided that Congrega- tionalists and Universalists were the same sect in the eye of the law; and thus Erskine was called upon to comply with the demand of the parish, in
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CHAP. XII.
which he lived. If this decision was to abide, suits without number might be brought against Universalists. The convention appointed Rev. George Richards to present a memorial to the judges on the subject. In 1803, the profession of belief and plan of the convention was declared. A special address was also sent out from the con- vention to the Universalists of New Hampshire, "occasioned by the decision of the judges of the supreme court of said state, adjudging the pay- ment of ministerial taxes to Congregationalist min- isters." " They complain that by this decision a whole body of professing Christians in that state, are blotted from the volume of legal existence." The points of faith in which Universalists and Congregationalists differ are pointed out, by which it is shown that they cannot be one and the same denomination. The sufferers are persuaded to submit peaceably as good citizens, until redress should be had of the legislature. The profession of belief was drawn up to show that Universalists differed from all others, and were necessarily a distinct sect .*
The "profession of belief" declared by the con- vention in 1803, is as follows. It has never been altered, and is satisfactory to the denomination.
"ART. I. We believe that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments contain a revela- tion of the character of God, and of the duty, interest and final destination of mankind.
"ART. II. We believe that there is one God, whose nature is love; revealed in one Lord Jesus Christ, by one Holy Spirit of grace; who will
* Whittemore's Modern History of Universalism.
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CHAP. finally restore the whole family of mankind to holi- XII.
ness and happiness.
"ART. III. We believe that holiness and true happiness are inseparably connected; and that believers ought to be careful to maintain order, and practise good works; for these things are good and profitable unto men."
The Universalists were recognised as a distinct sect, June 13, 1805.
Rev. Hosea Ballou, a leading and distinguished minister of this denomination, was born in Rich- mond, in this state. He has in his day acquired great distinction as a minister and theological con- troversialist.
The denomination of Universalists has gradu- ally increased in New Hampshire, as in other states of the Union. There are now in the state one convention, six associations, eighty-two soci- eties, besides churches, sixty-six meeting-houses, owned wholly or in part by Universalists, and thirty-five ministers.
The doctrine which they preach is sometimes called "UNIVERSAL RESTORATION," but more commonly Universalism; and places in a most attractive light the paternal character of the Deity. It is a doctrine of extended charity, infinite benev- olence and boundless love. It teaches that the sorrows of man cease with his mortal career *__ that pain may die and every wo may find an ob- livion-but that joy and hope (in which fear is not mingled,) that life and love are immortal; that infinite goodness watches over the life and the des-
* Some of the Universalists, called "Restorationists," believe in a limited punishment after death.
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tiny of man; and that when the trials of a brief existence are past, the Deity will finally bring all men to a state of felicity, sublime in its nature, infinite in duration.
Such is the doctrine of Universalism. When first taught, it was violently assailed by many of the best men of every faith. By some it was not understood, and by others it was deemed hostile to morality and dangerous to the good order of so- ciety. Yet, in its progress and development, it does not appear to be distinguished by any of those practical evils which were apprehended from the efforts of the few followers by whom it was first propagated.
It was at this period that the scenery of New Hampshire began to attract increased attention, and travellers came in greater numbers to view those features which are peculiar to the mountains and lakes of this state.
Proceeding northward from Orford, where the intervals are narrow, the traveller enters a broad and fertile valley at Haverhill, which is spotted by villages, watered by abundant streams, and sur- rounded by picturesque hills, swelling into moun- tains along the eastern horizon, and rising to lofty heights at the south and west. The route to Moosehillock from Haverhill leads by Owl's Head, an abrupt mountain, which presents its bald and rugged face at the road side which winds along the Oliverian. The sombre green foliage of the black alder fringes this wild stream, min- gled with the sprightlier leaves of the birch, maple and white ash, with here and there a willow or a slender mountain ash. From this stream a rude
CHAP. XII.
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HISTORY OF
CHAP. foot path has been cleared, which winds up the XII.
mountain's side. Your approach to the summit becomes visible by the diminished size of the trees, and by their naked, dead and gnarled aspect. They are pine, spruce and fir-the only one that retains its greenness is the mountain ash, which seems to flourish at an elevation where all others die. The mountain sorrel, which adorns the path with its delicate white bell, striped with red, ap- pears to be the attendant of the trees, and ceases where they disappear. At last they sink to craggy dwarfs, and are destitute of foliage. Approach-
ing the summit, the moss becomes thicker and thicker, until near where the trees disappear it covers the ground with a carpet of the brightest green. Emerging at last from a forest of small firs, the summit of the mountain rises before you, bearing no forest tree, but bare and seemingly composed of ledges and loose blocks of granite. The blueberry and harebell lie hid amid the cran- nies of the rocks, and the low and knotted vines of the mountain cranberry run over them, even upon the extreme summit; where also the same small and solitary white flower, which flourishes on mount Lafayette, springs up amidst the thick beds of moss. From the summit of this mountain, which is elevated four thousand six hundred and thirty-six feet above the level of the sea, far to the eastward a vast expanse of forest stretches away over hills thickly covered with hemlock and spruce, to the purple islands of lake Winnipiseogee, which is distinctly visible. Westward, the pros- pect is bounded by the rolling ranges of the Green mountains. Southward hills rise o'er hills, far as
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the eye can see; and to the north, the Franconia CHAP. mountains and the more majestic peaks of the XII. - White Hills rise and lose themselves in the clouds. The broad valley of the Connecticut is the charm of this landscape. Its numerous villages, its hun- dreds of farms and orchards, and all the tributary streams that swell the river, may be traced in their devious windings by the naked eye.
Another and more charming view of this valley may be seen from Catamount Hill, which is a more moderate elevation one mile from Haverhill Cor- ner. This view commands twenty miles of the valley, bounded by the green hills of Vermont and the parallel range of New Hampshire mountains, which seem to form the outer walls of this fine amphitheatre of nature.
A nearer view of the valley, and by many deemed more delightful, is afforded from the tops and the upper windows of the hotels at Haverhill Corner. This village is built on a noble swell or broad table of land, in the midst of the valley. The houses are neatly arranged on the four sides of the public square, which is a fine level green, ornamented with trees. The houses on the west- ern side are built on the ridge of a declivity which leads quite down to the meadows which border the river. The height of this declivity, together with the height of the houses, raises the traveller to an elevation which enables him to overlook twelve miles of the valley, which lies immediately below him, and to view the meanders of the river throughout its whole extent. Nowhere else are the intervals so broad, nor is there any other spot where the river sweeps from side to side of
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CHAP. the valley with such varied and graceful curves. XII. Towards the north it is divided into two streams, which having encircled the Oxbow island unite again below it. Passing southward with a gently deviating course, now eastward, then westward, it receives the waters of the Oliverian and Wait's river, and having almost encircled the Piermont meadows, at the southern point of which it turns and seems to run back upon its course, it returns and passes southward through Orford and Hano- ver. When the freshets of spring have swelled the river to a flood, it overflows the banks, and what was a valley now seems a lake; but when mantled in summer green or covered with golden harvest, everything growing with rank luxuriance, the meadows present the appearance of a vast plantation shaded here and there by majestic trees and waving with the richest crops. When the frosts of autumn have given to the woods those varied hues which constitute the peculiar charm of American forest scenery, this valley presents a picture, of many miles in extent, where, in the many-colored woods, the red, yellow and russet brown are interspersed and blended in those rich and diverse shades, which, as they are never seen in Europe, are the wonder of European trav- ellers. Another and different view is afforded from the summit of mount Pulaski, which rises on the Vermont side of the river, immediately be- hind the village of Newbury, and not far from the Sulphur springs, which make that town the frequent and delightful resort of travellers. The ascent up this little mountain is by a winding path of half a
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mile, leading through rough pastures, which, in CHAP. August, are fragrant with the sweet fern and XII. - adorned by the flowers of the beauteous harebell. Pursuing it upward, you enter the woods, from which you emerge suddenly upon the edge of a precipice, rising almost perpendicularly from the plain, on which stands the village of Newbury. The Oxbow, a green island, lies immediately be- fore you, and in the distance Moosehillock, sur- rounded by a group of smaller mountains. A number of villages of the valley appear at intervals, and the course of the Connecticut is seen for seve- ral miles pursuing its devious channel, and occa- sionally washing the bases of the hills on either side.
Leaving the Connecticut at Haverhill, the trav- eller passes the wild rapids of the Ammonoosuck, and begins to leave behind him the abrupt cliffs on its banks. It is not, however, till he has ascended far up the eminences which divide the two rivers that the roar of that impetuous torrent ceases to be heard. But he has now arrived where the lands recede towards Lancaster, when, turning his face towards the south, he is presented with one of the most magnificent views of mountain scenery in the world. Westward stands Moosehillock, its dark brown rocks wound in a sheet of snow, which shrouds it from the base upward, and seems to blend with the clouds which float along or hang lodged upon the summit. Farther eastward are the Franconia mountains. Except their tops, they present, from their iron foundations upward, only the dark outline of an impenetrable evergreen for- est. Further south extends a long range of moun-
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CHAP. tains in Lincoln, but growing loftier in their pro- XI. gress, their dazzling heights at last overtop the lower Franconia mountains, and exhibit their bald peaks, brown with the hues of the rocks, and slop- ing downwards into a deep wilderness. Eastward is the great Haystack mountain, and still farther is the grand feature of these regions, the White Hills, which seem to prop the heavens, and strike the beholder with emotions of awe. In winter they appear like vast mounds of snow, drifted on high, peak over peak, to the skies. Westward a dense forest spreads itself, and lends the charm of its various coloring to the picture of grandeur which springs from the sublime structure of the mountains around. In winter these cold summits afford no variety, except in the shadows of the clouds, which throw fantastic figures moving in groups over the snows of the mountains. Some- times, at night, the outline of these towering cliffs is dimly discernible by the light of the moon and stars; but they never present a more magnificent view than when the first rays of morning flash upon them, or the rays of the sun gild them at its setting. Descending from the heights of Beth- lehem, a short ride, which completes the distance of forty-five miles from Haverhill, brings him to the hotel at the Notch.
Another route to the mountains is from Lancas- ter. Leaving Dalton, intervening hills hide them from the traveller, until he emerges upon the mead- ows around the village of Lancaster, at the mouth of Israel's river. This stream is fed by springs which ooze from beneath the White Hills. He approaches the mountains by ascending the river
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through an avenue fenced in by hills of the wild- CHAP. est structure. Bows of the tamarac and spruce XII. -~ overhang the road. Pondicherry mountain stands on the right, and Pliny mountain walls up the left ; both clad in deep green foliage to their utmost heights. Sometimes the heat of the sun in this region causes an evaporation, which gives them the appearance of being veiled in soft azure. This route from Lancaster is twenty-five miles, in a southeastern direction, and ends at "the Gothic battlements of the White Hills." Before arriving there, the traveller comes again upon the meadows of the wild Ammonoosuck, which winds westward. Over these level lands he passes to the Notch, and comes upon the source of the Saco, which first appears a gentle rill, that sends its current east- ward down through that immense gap which seems to have been rent in the mountains by some dread convulsion of nature. At the entrance of this ter- rific chasm, a huge fragment, which has started from the precipice, impends towards the road, and seems ready to fall. Descending the river, the mountains in some places seem to close before you, and meet together. In other places their bare sides, scarred with avalanches, rise perpendicularly at first, then, receding, swell into rugged pinnacles, with projecting crags on either side, which nod over the bleak ridges beneath, threatening to burst from their gigantic mounds and crush the lower walls that surround them. The Saco has now swelled to a maddening torrent, and thunders down the chasm with a fierce roar and a wild echo. Over a cliff on one of the highest points of elevation, distinctly seen, bursts a cataract. In
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CHAP. summer it is a beautiful cascade. But in spring XII. it comes, apparently gushing from the rocks, leaps down, foaming whiter than the snow which swells it into fury, and, crossing the road under a light bridge, tumbles headlong into the Saco. After struggling through the mountains, the river issues, with a calm flow, upon the plain below; and scarcely can the country furnish a more pleasant vale than that which borders the slow-winding current of the Saco in the towns of Conway and Fryeburg. Brilliant crystals of quartz, of fine prismatic forms and a pure transparency, some- times slightly tinged with purple, are washed into the tributary torrents, and are found amongst the rocks that border their banks.
Previous to the survey of Dr. Jackson, the scenery at the extreme north of the state was little known. Its striking features were observed by him, and are known, to a few persons who have since visited them, to be among the grandest ex- hibitions of nature in North America. Indian Stream is a small settlement near the falls at the outlet of Connecticut lake. It is the most north- erly inhabited place in New Hampshire, and com- prises, in the whole, a colony of three hundred and fifteen persons, scattered on the undulating shores of the lake. They are far removed from any other settlement, and for many years refused obédience to the laws of the state. Desiring none of the benefits of civil government, they claimed exemp- tion from its burdens; and under a simple govern- ment of their own, they resisted the officers of the law, until they were visited by a military force and reduced to subjection. Their country borders
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on the table-lands of Canada, and exhibits striking and peculiar features. In 1841, Dr. Jackson ex- plored Camel's Rump mountain, at some distance from the village. It is supposed that none but the Indians had ever ascended it before. It was in the midst of a violent storm, and having pitched his tent, he remained there two days. The last being clear, and the barometer having risen apparently to its usual height, he found the proximate height of the mountain to be three thousand six hundred and fifteen feet above the level of the sea; which deter- mined it to be one of the highest mountains in the state, next to the White mountain range. Its geo- logical character he describes as peculiar. The specimens of rock which he found consisted of amorphous masses of hornstone, of various hues of color, from a light apple green to almost black. He found it covered with a low and tangled un- dergrowth, with stunted fir-balsams and spruce. The view from its summit is one of surpassing in- terest and grandeur. Northward stretches the lofty range of hills which divide the waters flow- ing into the St. Lawrence from those of the Ma- galloway and Connecticut; and beyond these the broad prairies or table-lands of Canada. South- ward are seen Umbagog lake and the Diamond hills, with the numerous waters in their vicinity, and far beyond them the lofty heights of the White mountains. Westward are the lakes and tribu- tary streams of the Connecticut, and along the horizon's verge, the Green mountains. Eastward the view is bounded by the granite peaks of Maine, mount Bigelow and mount Abraham. Through the mountains in the town of Dixville
CHAP. XII. --
Jack- son's First Report, pp. 84, 85,86.
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CHAP. there is a narrow defile, which may be regarded as XII.
Jack- son's Report, p. 87.
one of the most remarkable exhibitions of nature in the state, and is described by Dr. Jackson, as " perhaps surpassing even the famous Notch of the White mountains in picturesque grandeur." Angular and precipitous rocks, rising hundreds of feet almost perpendicularly on either side, present in their rugged appearance a stronger resemblance to the rocks of the Alps than is found elsewhere in New England. Such are the natural features of this remote and but partially explored section of the state. A region so interesting cannot long remain unnoticed by those who visit the state to view its peculiar and sublime features ; and it is not improbable that the time will soon come when the traveller, from the shores of Lake Winnipiseo- gee and the peaks of the White mountains, not content with the wonders of nature already seen, will pass Dixville Notch, and view the magnificent scenery of the Magalloway.
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THE BOUND TO PLEASE Heckman Bindery. INC.
FEB.65
N. MANCHESTER,
INDIANA
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