USA > Virginia > Sketches of Virginia : historical and biographical > Part 45
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374
DEATH OF REV. MOSES HOGE, D. D.
that as a student of his said of him - "the old Doctor is distressed about the poor devils ; no mercy has ever been offered them, and he can't find any authority in the Bible that there ever will be. I have seen him weep about it; and that any body would, by impeni- tence, be lost; and he would spend all he had, and his life beside, to have the gospel preached to every creature." And who, like him, would be heard pacing his study, the live-long night, crying unto God for a communion sermon, and a blessing upon it ? And where would a wife be found, that would pinch herself to the boundary of decency in using her own property, that her husband might spend his income, and some of her's, on necessitous students of divinity ? "Ah, wife, God will provide for us," said the old man, when he paid out his last money in the case of a student that must have aid or abandon his studies; and paid it knowing that necessity was coming on himself rapidly. And it came, and no money came. "The Lord will provide for us, wife!" And then a call came to ride away some twenty or thirty miles to preach a funeral sermon. Away he went, and performed his duty, and hastened back to his pressing duties at College, and handed his wife a little paper put in his hand as he set out for home -"I told you the Lord would provide ;" and the sum he had given the student was all returned to him. Where could a man of years be found that would undertake the labor ? Where could a young man, with a rising family, that could make the sacri- fices even if he would ? Where could the unmarried man be found, the Virginia Synod, with her peculiar feelings, would make her principal professor ? Who should succeed, in his double office, this pure, meek, fearless, old man ? Reflection answered the more thoughtful, no one. But the majority of actors still thought some one might be found. No one was ready to cry out aloud - that it was impossible, yet no one could say it was possible.
The eyes of all were turned to Dr. Alexander to do all that man could. The Board of Trustees of the College, as soon as the news of Dr. Hoge's death reached them, held a meeting, and elected Dr. Alexander his successor; and offered all inducements in their power to obtain his acceptance of the appointment. Many of the brethren, in the Valley, were of opinion that the Theological school in Prince Edward should be abandoned, and all the patronage of Virginia given to Princeton Seminary. Mr. Rice and others in Hanover were firm for a seminary somewhere in the South; and greatly averse to giving up the incipient school. The Synod in its sessions in Lynchburg, in the October succeeding Dr. Hoge's death, gave Dr. Alexander a hearty invitation to return to Virginia, and become the Synod's professor of Theology. Wishing him to be entirely engaged in the Theological teaching-the Synod would, nevertheless, have agreed to any arrangement he might propose with the College. Many private letters were addressed to him, urging his acceptance of the Synod's appointment; not the least urgent went from Dr. Rice, who still advocated the support of Princeton by donations from Virginia. Dr. Alexander declined both appointments. He
$75
REV. JOHN H. RICE, D. D.
thought he had been sent by the providence of God to Princeton ; and did not think Providence called him away.
..
For two years the Synod did nothing for the advancement of their theological school. There was a division of sentiment on two subjects : - should the Synod go on with their school -and who should be Professor? The former was sooner settled than the latter. The terms on which the funds of Hanover Presbytery, and much of the Synod's, were used, required a theological school in Prince Ed- ward, Virginia. There were many men in the Synod fit to occupy the chair of theology ; and four of them before their death did fill such a chair, Rice, Matthews, and Baxter, and Wilson. Speece stood in equal, perhaps higher estimation in the Synod than some of these; and Hill and Lyle not behind. The Synod declined a. nomination from prudential motives. The Rev. Messrs. Speece, Rice, and Baxter, with elders John Alexander and Robert Wil- liamson, a committee to report on the whole subject of a Seminary, presented to the Synod in Staunton, in October 1822, a paper con- taining as the result of their consideration, three courses, either of which the Synod might adopt: 1st. The throwing the funds, or the proceeds of the funds, of the Synod for the present into those of the General Assembly, to be applied to the benefit of the Princeton Seminary : 2d. Leaving the present funds to accumulate by interest and donations till they should be sufficient to establish a well en- dowed Seminary : 3d. Transfer the Seminary in perpetual trust to Hanover Presbytery. The committee recommended the last. Where- upon resolved - " That the funds of the Theological Seminary be, and the same are hereby assigned, transferred, and set over, to the Presbytery of Hanover, in perpetual trust, that the same shall be forever applied and devoted to the object for which they were raised, that is the education of students of divinity who design to take orders in the Presbyterian church, at the College of Hampden Sid- ney, or elsewhere within the bounds of the commonwealth, and provided also that the Presbytery shall annually report to the Synod, the state of the Seminary and funds under their care."
The Hanover Presbytery assembled on the 14th of the next month at the College - present - Messrs. James Mitchel, James Turner, Matthew Lyle, Clement Read, John D. Paxton, Jesse H. Turner, Benjamin H. Rice, John B. Hoge, John M'Lean, John Kirkpatrick, Matthew W. Jackson - with elders, Samuel D. Rice, ' Jesse Leftwitch, Nathaniel Price, Alexander S. Payne, Conrad Webb, Richard Hammond, Carter Page, John Gordon, James Cas- kie, James Maddison, Thomas Holcomb, and John " Thompson - Men whose names are to be remembered in the Virginia Church. Mr. Rice preached from Psalm 2d : 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Presbytery ac- cepted the transfer of the Seminary, and funds to the amount of $8756.04. She had of her own funds, 12 shares of stock in the Farmer's Bank of Virginia, two in the Bank 'of Virginia, and $1115.68 in money. Messrs. Lyle, Hoge, and Paxton, with elders Price and Maddison, a committee, sketched the outlines of a Semi-
376
REV. JOHN H. RICE, D. D., ELECTED PROFESSOR.
nary - the present U. T. Seminary. The salary of a Professor was fixed at $1200, per annum. The choice after solemn prayer fell on John H. Rice. Mr. Lyle immediately gave notice that the congregation worshipping at the College would now be assembled to make their choice of a pastor. Mr. B. H. Rice enquired what had that to do with the present business of Presbytery. An interesting discussion followed - should the Professor elect be encouraged, or permitted, to engage as pastor, or stated supply, to any congrega- tion ? On one side it was urged that from the foundation of the College, to the present time, the President and teacher of Theology had been connected with one or more of the surrounding congre- gations ; in some cases as co-pastor, and in others as the sole pastor ; and that the congregations were desirous it should continue to be so for the future; on the other, the immense labor about to be de- volved upon the newly elected Professor. The Presbytery declined giving countenance to any such connexion. The congregation soon after made choice of Mr. J. D. Paxton, who immediately entered on his office.
The committee, Messrs. Paxton and Jesse H. Turner, waited on Mr. Rice to communicate the result of the proceedings of Presby- tery. They found him at the house of Dr. Wm. Morton, prostrated by disease, and languishing under the effects of an obstinate fever and ague. Shortly after his return from his tour through New England, he had come to Prince Edward to attend, as trustee, upon the usual business of College, with more than his usual interest. The College under Mr. Cushing, the successor of Dr. Hoge, was flourishing beyond anything in its history since, perhaps, a few years after its organization, when it was more properly a high-school than a college. The new President obtained able teachers and sus- tained them; attracted scholars and retained them; was getting funds and preparing to erect the present college-buildings. An interesting revival of religion had been enjoyed by the congregation at College; and a large number of students had become hopefully pious. In all these things Mr. Rice rejoiced. But during the visit, the latter part of September, he was seized with great vio- lence ; and with the unremitting attention of his friends and the physicians, was unable to return to Richmond till the succeeding January. The committee found him weak, and unable, without pain, to see company. In a short interview they laid the matter before him, begged his consideration, desired him not to give an immediate answer unless it were favorable; and assured him that the brethren would wait his recovery, and expect an answer as soon as con- venient.
When Mrs. Rice came up from Richmond to attend upon the sick bed of her husband, she brought the following letter from Dr. Miller, of Princeton.
Princeton, Sept. 26th, 1822.
REVEREND SIR :- The Reverend Doctor Green resigned the office of President of the College of New Jersey yesterday. As a com-
377
LETTER FROM PROFESSOR LINDSLEY.
mittee of the Board of Trustees appointed for that purpose, we have the pleasure of announcing to you, that you have been this day unanimously elected President of the said College; and also that we have been instructed to take the proper measures for presenting the call to you for that office. It is our intention, with the leave of Providence, to set out on our journey to Richmond with the view to execute the trust committed to us, on Monday the 21st of October next ; and we hope to have the pleasure of seeing you about the middle of that week. In the mean time, sir, we will only add, that we are persuaded that the unanimity and cordiality of this election, together with the situation and prospects of the College, if fully known to you, would make a deep impression on your mind. Aad we express an earnest hope that, if you have any doubt respecting your acceptance of the office to which you have been elected, you will suspend any decision on the subject, until we shall have the pleasure of seeing you.
We have the honor to be, Rev'd Sir, most respectfully, your obedient servants,
SAML. MILLER, AND. KIRKPATRICK, JOHN MCDOWELL.
The Rev. Dr. RICE.
Professor Lindsley writes -
Princeton, Sept. 28th, 1822.
REV. AND HONORED SIR : - You have been officially informed of your recent election to the presidency of our college, by a unanimous vote of its Board of Trustees. In their choice every friend of literature and religion in our country must rejoice. It may appear impertinent in me to address you on this occasion. But I cannot suppress the expression of my feelings and my wishes. You will therefore attribute to an honest purpose what may appear quite superfluous at least, if not presumptuous. I ought not to flatter myself that my opinion or wishes or counsel will have the slightest influence on the decision which you are now providentially called to make. It is not with any such expectation that I write. It is merely to lay open before you my whole heart, and to say that should it please a gracious God to dispose you to accept the hon- orable, arduous, and responsible office to which you have been elected, I shall rejoice most unfeignedly, as will all the members of the faculty, and all the students of the college. We shall receive you as a father, and love and venerate you as affectionate and dutiful children. You will have the cordial support of the trustees, and the entire confidence and esteem of all descriptions of people in this part of the country. We need your services to build up our falling institution ; to elevate Nassau Hall to that rank among sister col- leges which it formerly sustained, and to which I trust it is destined still to attain .. I beg you most earnestly, and affectionately, and respectfully, to accept the office, and to enter on its duties as soon as
378
LETTER FROM DR. M'DOWELL.
practicable. We are extremely desirous that you should be here at the opening of the college in November next, that the whole estab- lishment may be organized under your auspices and agreeably to your wishes. I shrink from the thought of attempting anything before your arrival. Only two individuals of the old faculty remain. Could you be here at the commencement of the session, everything would be arranged according to your own views. I pray God to afford you such light and counsel as to enable you to discern clearly the path of duty, and to direct you speedily to that choice which accords with the hearty wishes of all your friends, and which will promote the lasting interests of our beloved institution.
With sentiments of affectionate and filial respect, I am, Rev. and dear sir, your most obedient servant,
PH. LINDSLEY.
Dr. M'Dowell, after hearing of the protracted illness of Dr. Rice, thus writes to Mrs. Rice :
Elizabethtown, Oct. 30th, 1822.
MY DEAR MADAM : - Your kind letter, or your good husband's letter through you, was duly received. Accept my thanks for it. I should have answered it sooner, but until now expected shortly to see you. I sincerely regret the illness of Dr. Rice, and sympathize with you both in this affliction. I hope this will find you in Rich- mond, and your husband restored to health. Officially I have com- municated with Dr. Rice on the subject of his appointment. Permit me now to communicate with you unofficially. I earnestly desire that our invitation to the college may be accepted. There are a number of circumstances which it may be proper to mention in a private letter, which would in an official one have been too particular. Our board was fuller than I have known it since I have been a member, and probably fuller than it has been in the remembrance of any member. Only two members were absent, Mr. Sargeant, of Philadelphia, and Col. Ogden, of this town. A number of persons were mentioned, the ballot was taken, and without any consultation out of doors, on the first balloting Dr. Rice had an unanimous vote, every person voting. The two absent members have since expressed their approbation of the choice, and would doubtless have voted in the same way if they had been present. I cannot but view the unanimity as a strong indication in providence that God intends Dr. Rice for this station. If he should decline, I fear the consequence to this important institution. I do not believe a like unanimity will again be obtained, or that we will be able for a long time to unite on any other person. Such unanimity I believe has not been known in the election of a president, since the election of Mr. Burr; and from everything I can learn, I believe that there is not only an unprecedented unanimity, but cordiality ; that it is the earnest desire of every member of the Board that he should accept, and that there will be an universal disappointment if he does not. The appointment has also, I understand, the cordial approbation of Pro-
379
LETTER FROM DR. MILLER.
fessor Lindsley and Mr. M'Lean, who are the only members of the old faculty left. It is a popular appointment in Princeton and the neighborhood, which is a matter of some importance. I know Dr. Rice is in a very important situation where he is. But allow me to suggest whether he would not probably do as much and more good ultimately for his beloved Virginia, in Princeton, where he could have the forming the minds of many from that State, and where he could have much influence on young men in the seminary to go as missionaries to Virginia. You have been informed of the attempts of the committee to wait on Dr. Rice, in person. We appointed 21st instant to set out. The intelligence of his sickness prevented. Yesterday was then appointed. In consequence of this, Chief Jus- tice Kirkpatrick and myself set out, prepared to go to Richmond. Your letter to Dr. Miller, informing that Dr. Rice was still sick in Prince Edward, stopped us at Princeton, from which place we sent official letters yesterday. I returned this morning. My paper is full, and I must stop.
Your sincere friend,
JOHN MCDOWELL.
Dr. Miller writes :
Princeton, Nov. 1st, 1822.
MY DEAR BROTHER-The inclosed call and official letter were agreed upon and signed in this place, on the 29th ult., and left in my hands to be transmitted, with such private letter as I might think proper to send with them. I intended to have sent the whole the very next day ; but being suddenly called to Philadelphia, whence I did not return until late last evening, I have not been able to com- plete and dispatch my packet until this time. I sympathize with you most cordially, my dear brother, on your protracted indispo- sition and feebleness. It was, indeed, a mysterious dispensation of Providence ! But it is all for the best, though we see not now. May the Lord enable us all to make a proper improvement of it. I hope that before this packet reaches Richmond, you will be there, and in a tolerably comfortable state. You are by no means to con- sider us as abandoning our project of waiting on you in person. We have merely postponed it. At the same time we wish to be governed in the whole thing by your wishes and judgment. If you are delibe- rately of the opinion that our taking the journey can answer no pur- pose, say so, and we will do as you wish. But if you think that the appearance of the committee at Richmond (one or two, or the whole of them,) would serve in any way to give a complexion to the busi- ness, either as it regards you or as it respects us, in any view favor- able to either - say but the word -give but the hint- and your wishes shall be sacred with us as far as we can possibly comply with them. If you feel any difficulty or constraint in writing to the com- mittee, or to me, as a committee man, on this subject, I beg you to write to me as Brother Miller, and express your whole heart. If our appearing there would help you in deciding, or help our cause in any way, cause it to be understood, and I will communicate as
380
LETTER FROM DR. MILLER.
5
much, or as little, of what you may write, to my colleagues, and en- deavor to execute your will to every possible extent.
Dear Brother, you must not give us a negative answer. Indeed you must not ! You will disappoint and grieve us more than I can well say, if you should. It has occurred to me that two things may produce an unfavorable influence on your mind in deliberating on this subject. The FIRST is, that you very decisively advised Dr. Green to resign, and, in the course of your conversation with him, ex- pressed yourself very strongly as opposed, for yourself, to every em- ployment of that kind. It is my deliberate opinion that this ought not to influence you at all. You will learn the state of Dr. Green's mind as to this point, by the following anecdote. He was lately con- versing with a respectable gentleman (who was my informant,) on the probability of your accepting the call to Princeton. The Doctor expressed himself on the subject thus - "I do not, on the whole, think that Dr. Rice will come; for among all the friends whom I consulted on the subject of my contemplated resignation, he was the most decisive and unequivocal in expressing himself in favor of the measure ; and I certainly gathered from him in the course of that conversation that nothing would tempt him to take such a charge. Yet," said the Doctor, "he may come, notwithstanding all this ; and if he does, he will act just as I acted mysetf in similar circum- stances. For no man ever expressed stronger repugnance, or a more firm determination against accepting the appointment than I did. Yet I accepted the place after all." He then added -" There is no man in the United States whom I would rather hail as my suc- cessor than Dr. Rice." Dr. Green has repeatedly said the same thing in substance to me ; and I am sure will be cordially gratified if you accept the presidency. In a day or two after the appoint- ment was made, I urged him to write to you ; but he declined it, saying that he did not wish to have any part of the responsibility of bringing you hither lying on his shoulders.
The SECOND consideration I refer to, is that if you come, and espe- cially if you come this winter, you may feel the business of giving a course of lectures on moral philosophy as a thing too arduous to be entered upon at once, especially by a man just from the sick bed. I fear that the influence of this thought may be the greater on your mind, from knowing that you are accustomed to take large views of subjects, and could not be satisfied with small matters. Now, if I were in your place, and should undertake the task, I would certainly for the first year (perhaps for the first two years,) adopt and con- tinue Dr. Green's plan of taking Witherspoon for my text-book, and causing the students to recite his book, making remarks and com- ments in the course of the recitation. I would do this for two rea- sons -first, that I might avoid giving direct and immediate offence to Dr. Green by knocking away at one stroke, and at the outset, his system ; and secondly, that I might gain more time for preparing such a system as I might think proper to substitute for it; causing it to be understood in the beginning, that it was not my intention to
381
DR. RICE'S LETTER TO DR. WOODS.
adopt Dr. W.'s book as my ultimate plan ; but only a temporary expedient, until I could look around, and see what ought to be done. It seems to me that in this way all difficulty respecting this business may be effectually obviated. Hoping to hear from you as soon and as fully as your returning strength may allow, and with best and most affectionate respects to Mrs. Rice, (who I hope, by the way, will not suffer her attachment to Virginia to make her hostile to our wishes in regard to her husband,) I am, dear brother,
Yours very cordially,
SAML. MILLER.
The report of the election of Mr. Rice to the Presidency of New Jersey College had reached Prince Edward, before his election to the Professorship. The letters were in possession, and the contents made known to him before the committee of Presbytery waited upon him to announce the choice of his brethren. He wisely laid the subject aside as much as possible. In the month of January he had reco- vered strength sufficient to return to Richmond. His position was both critical and interesting. His weak state of health rendered mental effort injurious ;- and the expressed will of his friends seemed to render mental effort unavoidable. In a letter to his friend, Dr. Woods, of Andover, Massachusetts, he writes, March 22d, 1823, and states his condition as far as he could remember it :-
" REV. AND DEAR BROTHER .- (After excusing his delay in writing, he goes on to say)-I beg for constant remembrance in the prayers of my brethren. Let them pray that I may be restored to health and usefulness, if such be the will of God ; and if not, that I may be willing to be nothing. I know that the Almighty has no need of such a worm of the dust as I am to accomplish his purposes ; but yet 1 do greatly desire the honor and happiness of being employed in his services, and of being made a blessing to my fellow-creatures. I wish I had a better account to give respecting my exercises, during my severe sickness. My situation then was such as to show the madness of putting off the work of full preparation for death and judgment. During a part of the time I was like a man excited with wine. Every thing pleased and diverted me. I was very happy ; but I could not depend on exercises and feelings of which I was then conscious, because they were so much colored by the operation of discase. And when this took a turn, and fell on the nervous system, my imagination teemed with 'all monstrous, all prodigious things,' and that in a manner so vivid, as to put me up to my best exertions to disbelieve the real existence of the monsters which appeared around me. I recollect having spent a considerable part of a whole day in a most strenuous exertion to keep me from crying out for help. In this situation, you can well conceive that I had but little comfort. I remember feeling that I was a pour sinner, and that my hope and help were in the Lord Jesus alone. And on one occasion I had a sense of the presence of God, and of the divine glory, which as far
382
LETTER FROM CHIEF JUSTICE KIRKPATRICK.
outwent any thing I had ever experienced before, as the sun out- shines a star. But in general the state of my disease prevented reli- gious exercise or engagement. While I tell you these things, I ought to observe that my recollection of the whole scene, and of the events which took place, is like that of a confused and troubled dream. Pray that this affliction may be sanctified to me and to my family. The thought of its being misapproved, and of my being chastened in vain, is very painful to me."
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