USA > New York > Old New York : or, Reminiscences of the past sixty years > Part 20
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time been published with the Book of Common Prayer.“
This brief notice of the history of the Book of Common Prayer, according to the use of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, seemed necessary, inasmuch as that
* The venerable Society for the propagation of the Gospel in foreign parts, at a very early date of their organization adopted means for the circulation of the Liturgy among our Indian tribes. The Society was incorporated in 1701, and the very next year they sent missionaries to the Mohawks, who were situated near the English settlements. Measures werc adopted for a translation of the Liturgy, and this first translation was first printed in New York about the year 1724, under the direction of the Rev. Mr. Andrews, the Society's missionary to the Mohawks. This edition comprised the Morning and Evening Service, the Litany and Catechism, to which were added select passages from the Old and New Testament, and some family prayers. The communion office, that of baptism, matrimony, and burial of the dead, with more passages of Scripture, occasional prayers, and some singing psalms, were translated by the Rev. Dr. Henry Barclay, who had served the Indian mission with great fidelity for many years ; and these additions of Barclay were inserted in the next edition of the Indian Prayer Book also printed in New York in 1769, under the inspection of the Rev. Dr. John Ogilvie, who succeeded Dr. Barclay in that mission. Barclay and Ogilvie are among the ven- crable divines associated with Trinity Church.
It is understood that during the course of the American Revolutionary war most of the Indian prayer books were de- stroyed, and the Mohawks urged the necessity of a new supply, when by solicitation on their part the Governor of Canada, Halde- mand, ordered it to be reprinted at Quebee in 1780. In 1787, the venerable Society above mentioned again caused a repub- lication of the work in large octavo, with engravings, for the Mo- hawks, which was printed in London in that year. To this edition
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highly prized volume is the recognized standard of the Episcopal Church of this country. It has proved of inestimable importance to the progress of the Church, as the bond of union of that im- portant religious community ; it has preserved in- tact her forms and ceremonials, and her devo- tions ; it has saved her from division and dis- union ; it has suppressed intestine broils ; it has promoted uniformity of worship, a most important
was added the Gospel according to St. Mark, translated into the Mohawk language by the renowned Indian chief T" Hayendanegea, Capt. Joseph Brant, whose life was not long since written by the late Col. Stonc. This is said to be the first Gospel which had ap- peared entire in the language of that tribe of Indians.
Certain portions of the Book of Common Prayer, according to the use of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, translated into the Mohawk or Iroquois language, by the request of the Domestic Committee of the Board of Missions of the Protestant Episcopal Church, were published in New York, in small duodecimo, in 1853. This book contained also a selec- tion of the Psalms and Hymns, with the Indian translation. This work was accomplished by the Rev. Eleazer Williams, V. D. M., the same individual who recently was conjectured by many to have been the lost prince (Louis XVII.) of the house of the Bourbons, and whose claims to that distinction were largely sct forth in Putnam's Magazine, and in a distinct work by the late Rev. Mr. Hanson. I have known Mr. Williams for nearly half a century, during nearly all which time he has been devoted to the missionary cause : the last time I saw him was about three years ago, when he delivered to me a copy of his translation. I enter not in this place into a consideration of his Indian blood or of lis royal origin. He looks, I will say, very like a Bourbon. Bishop Hobart took a deep interest in the man and in his missionary labors.
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object ; and by it she has avoided the distractions and the local strifes which have too often dis- turbed the harmony and fellowship of other Chris- tian associations. If from the cold lips and still colder hearts of the mere formalist, its reading has sometimes wanted the spirit of devotion, how much oftener has it saved from vulgar importuni- ties in prayer, and rescued the finer emotions of the soul from irreverent demands of Heaven, and noxious crudities. It turns with conscious recti- tude from the incoherent ravings of enthusiasm, and disdains to look on the elongated visage of a scaramouch. The north and the south, the east and the west, hold it in equal reverence, and do homage to its unparalleled beauty of diction and its devotional sentiment. Living or dying, it yields the bread of life.
New York had her share in that goodly work ; her learned Provoost was a member of both Con- ventions that framed it, and the first consecration in the Church of an additional bishop, was the act of Episcopacy by Provoost, in this city, in the lay- ing on of hands on Thomas John Claggett, D. D., of Maryland, in September, 1792 ; at which cere- monial White of Pennsylvania, Madison of Vir- ginia, and Seabury of Connecticut, assisted .- Provoost, White, and Madison, were the regularly consecrated bishops of the English Episcopate, of the American Episcopal Church, the two former
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having been elevated to the Episcopate by Moore, Archbishop of Canterbury, in the chapel of Lam- beth Palace, in 1787, and Madison in 1790, in the same place, by the same authority. Bishop Seabury had received consecration in 1784, at Aberdeen, Scotland, by three nonjuring bishops, and by this convenient action of the bishops of the English consecration, and of Bishop Seabury, the American Episcopal Church (as it is believed intentionally) united both Episcopates in theirs, thereby closing the door against the future occur- rence of questions which might prove delicate and embarrassing. Seabury was a man of strong na- tive powers, of cultivated intellect, of extensive influence, ardent in the cause of Episcopacy. The Church may with sincerity ever hold him in grate- ful remembrance. When her sorrows were gravest, he imparted consolation ; when her weakness was greatest, he yielded her strength. Her tribula- tions only added to his zealous efforts in her be- half. He adhered to the royal side in the great contest with the Mother Country, and dwelt among the refugees in New York. He united in the pro- test declaring abhorrence of all unlawful con- gresses and committees, and, doubtless with con- scientious views, under the patronage of the obnoxious Tryon, delivered a discourse to fear God and honor the king. He died a pensioner of the British government, and, I incline to the opinion,
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was looked upon somewhat with a jaundiced vision by those devoted patriots, Provoost and White.
It has been more than once affirmed, and the de- claration is in print, that Bishop Provoost, as senior presbyter, and seniorin the ministry, was consecrated first, and Bishop White next, though in the same day and hour, February 4, 1787. The son-in-law of Provoost, C. D. Colden, a man of veracity, assured me such was the case. If so, Provoost is to be recorded as the Father of the American Episco- pate. It is painful to pluck a hair from the ven- erable head of the apostolic White, but we are dealing with history. White, who died at the ad- vanced age of eighty-nine years, lived to see the American Church with some twenty-three bish- ops, he having officiated at nearly every consecra- tion. What vast obligations are due to his hal- lowed memory by the American Episcopate for the wise counsels, the many and inestimable services of that divine character !
Dissent, however lowly, Episcopacy, however high, will coalesce in opinion of the varied knowl- edge and classical attainments of Provoost, the piety and beneficence of Moore, and the talents, zeal, and ceaseless activity of Hobart. These eminent dignitaries of the Church may, for their several qualities, be ranked among the most con- spicuous of their order, who have flourished in
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New York ; and were it practicable, we would fain dwell in particular upon the earnestness and achievements of the last-named. His death is too recent to require much at our hands ; sorrow at his early departure was universal ; it was felt as an irreparable loss to the interests of a great com- munity, who had almost by his individual efforts been extricated from many difficulties, and risen to a commanding importance in numbers and in- fluence. The aptitude of Hobart, in the work of the ministry, and his astonishing executive talent, have scarcely a parallel : his vigilance noticed every thing that tended either to retard the ad- vancement or quicken the progress of the Episco- pal Church. He was desirous of a learned priest- hood, and much of his time and his intellect were given to the maintenance of the General Theo- logical Seminary ; he was ardent for the practical, and sought befitting laborers, as the harvest was truly great. Many of the Episcopate had a richer fund of classical erudition ; but not one could be pointed out who possessed an industry and devo- tion superior to his. It may be questioned wheth- er he lost an idle hour during his whole career as bishop for nearly twenty years. He exercised a weighty influence on public sentiment, and the purity of his life stamped his opinions with a cor- responding value. The Church to him was all in all. His adhesion to what he deemed its ortho-
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doxy, allowed of no deviation from its prescrip- tions, nor could he cherish reconciliation with the doubting and the latitudinarian. His frankness enabled his opponents always to know where to find him ; from his decision of character, he could hardly be expected to live in perfect charity with all men. He was more than once absorbed in controversies on ecclesiastical polity, and his sen- timents rendered him obnoxious to a portion of his diocesc. The harshest opinion I ever heard him utter was, that Heber was only a ballad writer. The sentiment must have taken posses- 1 sion of his bosom from the circumstance that the
Bishop of Calcutta gave countenance to the Brit- ish Bible Society ; and not a few of Bishop Ho- bart's friends regretted the pertinacity with which he opposed the organization of a like institution here. Like Herbert Marsh, he dreaded the conse- quences of distributing the Scriptures without the Book of Common Prayer. The lamented Milner, whom the Church still mourns, did not wholly escape the penalty of resistance to the views of the American prelate, and that eminent statesman and patriot, Rufus King, after having been chosen a Vice President of that National Society, re- signed his office and withdrew from his high sta- tion at the special solicitation of his personal friend, Bishop Hobart. In his conversation, the Bishop was animated, abounding in anecdotes and
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general knowledge, and was particularly attrac- tive. His temper was sprightly ; he avowed his opinions with great freedom. He had strong feel- ings in behalf of American institutions, and was averse to the union of Church and State affairs. The sincerity of his Christian belief was edifying- ly demonstrated in the manner of his death. He sickened of bilious disease while on his diocesan visitation, at Auburn ; on the morning of his final departure, the early sun shone in upon his cham- ber ; "it is the last time," said he, " that I shall witness the rising sun ; I shall soon behold the Sun of righteousness." Thus died a great and good man. He who would know more of this eminent pillar of the Church, will consult the Life, written by the venerable rector of Trinity, Dr. Berrian, the Records published by Professor M'Vickar, and the Memorial by the Rev. Dr. Schroeder.
Before I conclude this portion of my subject, I must be permitted to say a few words on the literature of the Church ; and I am happy to add, that New York has not been behindhand with her sister States in her contributions towards that great object. I have already adverted to the low and precarious condition of Episcopacy at and about the time when the Constitution of the American government was brought into practical action, and the many difficulties which encom-
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passed the Church in the scattered and limited number of her ministry. The noble and venerable Society for propagating the Gospel in foreign parts, had indeed sown precious seeds in divers places over the land. But the Church was prostrate, in- volved in fiscal troubles, and wanting in those effective measures of enlightenment indispensably requisite to rear up her intellectual greatness. Every intelligent individual is ready to acknowl- edge, with cheerful feelings, that we owe to our brethren of other denominations a large debt for the many able and instructive works with which they have enriched the theological literature of the nation. We are aware of the scholarship of An- dover, the biblical expositions of Princeton, and the graces of classical composition which have proceeded from old Harvard and Yale. In days past we remember Edwards, and Emerson, and Stiles, and Dwight. We forget not Hodge, Rob- inson, Park, Norton, Stuart, Mason, and a host of others ; and we believe there is substantial rea- son for the high estimation in which the works of many American divines are held, arising from the intrinsic excellence of their respective authorship ; and if report deceive us not, we have the assurance that among the most successful reprints abroad, are what we shall please to call American the- ology.
As respects the literature of the Episcopal
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Church, it seems to be most noteworthy for its con- servative element. It is preceded by the Prayer Book, or is in close fraternity with it, and this book of sacred wisdom gives a complexion to the thoughts and workings of the ministry of the Church that stamps a peculiarity more or less legible on its intellectual progeny. Like the pen- dulum in clockwork, it controls its movements, guards against irregularity, and secures harmony in all its parts. We thence see that its elab- orations are characterized less by diversity of speculation and startling novelties, and are to be › noticed more for exegetical exposition and the elu- cidation of scriptural truth. Both by the pulpit and by the pen it is disposed more to persuade than to threaten, more to lead than to drive ; and finds it more consonant to its own emotions to an- nounce the glad tidings from lips of praise, than in wrathful accents proclaim a Redeemer's love. Such it may be affirmed is the policy of the Church, and such is the attribute of her literature. Prin- ciples such as are now indicated, pervade all her writings, and if so be an anathema is sometimes found, it is to be considered as an exception to her whole policy. The divinity which holds possession in her breast, is the redeeming power of gospel truth. What triumphs she has sceured by such procedure will be best learned by comparing her vast increase and united strength at this present
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time with her feeble condition and disjointed state at her first organization. Let her in conscious purity and in the plenitude of divine grace cherish the most confident hopes. Let her go on her way rejoicing. Let her be ever jealous of her high title, the Protestant Episcopal Church. Ever let the noble army of reformers command her admi- ration and her loudest plaudits. If the ignorant comprehend not her simplicity, and the cynical complain that her covenant has been invaded in these latter days by effete devices, let them be told all is as a passing cloud, pregnant with untold riches, and that her brightness, thanks to a good Providence, is hourly becoming more clear and beautiful, and her foundation stronger and strong- er on the Rock of Ages. Let schismatics know that exploded theories find no aliment within her bosom, that obsolete formularies are at war with her doctrines and her discipline. She repudiates a pantomimic worship. Her formulary is the con- formity of the heart to the plain and simple and comprehensible doctrines of apostolic communi- cation. Let her feel that she has arrived to that vigor by inherent strength, that in confidence she may trust in her manhood and go forth triumph- ant. What has served her so well for more than half a century, will suffice much longer. Her hardest trials have passed, and she is neither de- bilitated nor impure. The sound need no crutch.
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All that she now asks is, to live in harmony with the professing Christians of every sect and denom- ination. She is ready, she is willing, she trusts she is able, to do the work of her Master ; and whether under the humble roof of the village chapel, or within the dome of the mighty cathe- dral, she has learned by experience that her coin will pass current without amalgamation.
A word or two more on the literature of the Church. If the army of New England divines has almost overwhelmed the land with their achieve- ments in the field of literature and theology, there is still room enough left for us to point out a few landmarks secured by the professors of the Episco- pal Church. She has scattered abroad in profusion single discourses of elevated thought, strong devo- tional sentiments, and sound practical edification. True she lacks earnestness in historical detail, and seems too listless of the character and services of her predecessors. She ought, in an especial man- ner, no longer to overlook the vast importance of her history, faithfully written, for the honor of her devoted sons, and for the study and improvement of her future disciples ; at this present time, too, when the materials are still accessible, it behooves her to gather together the incidents of her career amid untold trials, and offer them, in a becoming form, as a demonstration of her devotion and wis- dom in her high commission. It is gratifying to
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see that within a few years past the subject has among all her calls of duty, awakened desircs in some of the most efficient of her people to remove the obloquy which has too long rested on her, and several able writers have recently come to the rescue. The " Memoirs of the Protestant Epis- copal Church," published years ago by the vener- able White, have been followed by those of the Church of South Carolina, by Dr. Dalcho ; by the Contributions of Dr. Hawks, in illustration of the Churches of Virginia and of Maryland ; by the History of Trinity Church, New York, by Dr. Berrian ; by the Continuity of the Church of England, by Dr. Seabury ; by the History of Dr. Dorr ; by two volumes of a newly formed associa- tion, the Protestant Episcopal Historical Society, having its origin, I believe, in this city ; and, very lately, by a work of curious incidents, the History of St. John's Church, Elizabethtown, New Jersey. Some years since we had also historical materials of ecclesiastical valuc, in the Centennial Discourse concerning the Church at Quincy, by Dr. Cutler. All this augurs well. Bishop Meade's Reminis- cences are materials of instructive import ; and the Reminiscences of Bishop Chase will long hold in esteem the character and the arduous labors of the Pioneer Bishop of the West. That hardy and indomitable man has left the workings of a strong spirit in behalf of a mighty cause. He was the
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BISHOP CHASE.
architect of his own renown ; he had little book learning, but much knowledge of men. Having early laid plans for his professional life, no obsta- cles intimidated him ; and his determination, the result of his own cogitations, never forsook him. His settled purpose was for others, not for himself ; he could therefore present a bolder front in his pressing demands for the accomplishment of his great designs. His track through almost unknown wilds will be studied hereafter with a more appre- ciating judgment, and the blessings he has be- stowed on the Church find a record from the pen that records national benefits, deduced from his fruitful doings. Many of his journeyings were through a portion of that country, then so little understood, which the brave Carver had travelled ; and one may also place in juxtaposition these two intrepid men, Jonathan and Philander ; the sic vos non vobis being equally the temporal reward of both.
As associated with the Church's History, are the Memoirs of her eminent men ; and we are not to complain either of lack of numbers or of value in those already published. The biography of Sam- uel Johnson, the first President of Columbia Col- lege, by Chandler, is the most engaging of this de- partment of literary labor ; and we cannot regret too much that so few of the great mass of papers from which this volume was made up have found
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a place in this admirable work. The Memoirs of White are next in order of time, and are indis- pensable to the ecclesiastical historian ; while those of Hobart, Griswold, Moore, Ravenscroft, Bedell, and Wharton, unfold characteristics val- uable in elucidation of Church matters. It is not, however, to be concealed, that, like many religious biographies, whether by authors abroad or at home, they often lack interest from the absence of per- sonal detail, and of that enlivening spirit which gives to biography its most engaging attraction. It would have gladdened the hearts of thousands of every denomination of Christian belief, had Professor Wilson swelled to a threefold extent the Memoirs of the exalted White, feeling as they do that no subject of the Church in its primary days was encompassed round about with such precious material concerning its struggles, blended with the devotional services of its early promoters. Amid difficulties innumerable we constantly meet the wise counsellor, the hallowed White.
Honorable mention deserves to be made of the learned labor of Dr. Samuel Farmer Jarvis. This ripe scholar had been professor of biblical history in the recently organized General Theological Semi- nary of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and was subsequently made Historiographer of the Church at large by the General Convention. In his Eccle- siastical Chronology and History he evinced the
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greatest research and devotion. Like notice is due to the various writings of Bishop Hopkins of Vermont ; and it is gratifying to see the reception his last work has met with by the reading pub- lic,-I mean his American Citizen. The devoted Episcopalian might often look with satisfaction into the writings of Bishops Hobart, Brownell, Potter, Whittingham, Eastburn, Burgess, M'Il- vaine, Onderdonk, and Doane, and find proofs of scholastic lore in the pages of Verplanck, Wins- low, Coit, Griffin and Spencer.
The canons of the Church have been elucidated by Judge Murray Hoffman of the New York bar, and by the Rev. Dr. Hawks. The Constitution and Canons, by the latter, was a peculiarly appro- priate subject for her ecclesiastical historian, and the competent have given their testimony in behalf of the excellence of the undertaking. I shall con- clude these very brief and imperfect sketches of the literary labors of the Church with a name widely known and appreciated by the erudite of both hemispheres, Samuel H. Turner. Dr. Tur- ner's reputation for varied and profound scholar- ship, for rabbinical knowledge, and the activity of his pen in critical expositions of sacred writ, have secured him permanent renown. I am forbidden an enumeration of his many works. The Theo- logical Seminary, in which he has labored so long, may congratulate herself on the honors with which
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such a professor enriches her, and freely add his name to the select list of her ablest associates. Proofs sufficient, I think, have already been ad- vanced to show that the literature of the Church is not locked up in sealed libraries, but is an active power ; and from her present advanced and im- proved state, we may draw an equally safc infer- ence that her religion lies not dormant in the heart, but is an absolute principle, industrious in the work of faith.
I leave ecclesiastical affairs, and propose saying a few words on a subject which the philosopher may pronounce of equal importance in a national point of view,-I allude to our system of public education. It has become a vast subject in this our day, and commands the admiration of remote nations. The faithful historian of our first settlers, Mr. Brodhead, in his minute research, has dwelt upon the theme with the genuine spirit of the phi- lanthropist, and clearly pointed out with what earnestness the sagacity of the Dutch penetrated into the wisdom of establishments for that pur- pose ; and so early as 1633, only twenty-four years after the arrival of Hudson, organized the first school in New Amsterdam. "Neither the perils of war," says Brodhead, "nor the busy pursuits of gain, nor the excitement of political strife, ever caused them to neglect the duty of educating their offspring." And with a love of the past, he
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