LECTURES IN NEW YORK—NEWARK—SARATOGA—NEWBURYPORT—PALMER—THE
EAST KINGSTON CAMP-MEETING—BRANDON—BENSON—CHICOPEE—NEW HAVEN,
ETC.
“On the 24th of April he commenced a course of lectures in the large hall
of the Apollo, 410 Broadway, in the city of New York, as usual to large
audiences, closing on the 10th of May.
“On the 7th of May, he visited Newark, N. J., and gave two discourses
in the Universalist chapel in that city. In compliance with three very
urgent requests from Rev. Joshua Fletcher, pastor, and the unanimous vote
of the Baptist church, in Saratoga, N. Y., Mr. M. again visited that
place, and lectured from the 14th to the 22d of May. From the 24th to
the 28th of May, he gave his seventh course of lectures in Boston; and
from the 29th of May to the 3d of June, 1842, he lectured in Newburyport,
Mass. At the commencement of his lecture, in the evening of the first
day, an egg was thrown into the hall, at him, but fell upon the side of
the desk. At the close, stones were thrown through the windows, by a mob
outside, who indulged in some characteristic hootings and kindred noises.
The congregation dispersed without damage, save the glass of lamps and
windows. Under those circumstances, the town authorities closed the hall,
and the lectures were adjourned to the chapel in Hale’s Court. They
continued till Friday, June 3, a goodly number having received Christ to
the joy of their souls.
“From the 4th to the 12th of June, he gave a second course of lectures in
the Casco-street church, Portland, Me. They were attended by crowds of
anxious hearers, and many Christians were refreshed, while some sinners
were converted to God. From the 16th to the 26th of June, he lectured
at Three Rivers (in Palmer, Mass.) A member of the Baptist church there
afterward wrote, through the _Christian Reflector_, the organ of that
denomination, as follows:—
“‘DEAR BROTHER GRAVES:—It is with gratitude to God that I
am able to turn aside from the joyful scenes around me to
inform the friends in Zion what God hath wrought for us. Rev.
William Miller, on the 16th of June last, commenced a course
of lectures on the second advent of Christ to this world in
1843. The lectures were delivered in our meeting-house, which,
however, would hold but a small part of the audience, it being
estimated at five thousand; and notwithstanding prepossessions,
prejudices, and the slanderous reports circulated about this
man of God, the people gave heed to the word spoken, and
seemed determined to examine the Scriptures, to see if these
things were so; and deep solemnity pervaded the vast assembly.
The children of God were soon aroused to a sense of their
duty; sinners were seen weeping, and heard to say, “Pray for
me!” The number increased, until one hundred in an evening
prayer-meeting were seen to arise to be remembered in the
prayers of the saints. Soon converts began to tell us what
the Lord had done for them. Some deists, some Universalists,
and many of the thoughtless, of both the middle-aged and the
youthful part of the community, have been brought to submit
their hearts to God, and are now waiting for and hasting to
the coming of the day of God. As to the character of the work,
let me say, I have never seen a more thorough conviction of
the total depravity of the heart, and the utter helplessness
of the sinner, and that, if saved, it must be by the sovereign
grace of God, than has been manifest in all that have given a
relation of their experience.’
“On the 29th of June, 1842, Mr. M. commenced a course of lectures on
the camp-ground at East Kingston, N. H. This was the first camp-meeting
held by believers in the advent near, and was noticed by a writer in the
_Boston Post_ as follows:—
“‘The Second Advent camp-meeting, which commenced at East
Kingston, N. H., on Tuesday, June 29, and continued from day
to day until Tuesday noon, July 5, was attended by an immense
concourse of people, variously estimated at from seven to ten
thousand....
“‘The meeting was conducted with great regularity and good
order from beginning to end. The ladies were seated on one
side, and the gentlemen on the other, of the speaker; meals
were served uniformly and punctually at the times appointed,
and the same punctuality was observed as to the hours appointed
for the services.
“‘The preachers were twelve or fifteen. Mr. Miller gave
the only regular course of lectures—the others speaking
occasionally. Many of the people, without doubt, assembled
from motives of curiosity merely; but the great body of them,
from their solemn looks and close attention to the subject,
were evidently actuated by higher and more important motives.
Each tent was under the supervision of a tent-master, who was
responsible for the good order within the same, where religious
exercises were kept up at the intermissions between the public
exercises and meals, and where lights were kept burning through
the night....
“‘Some fault was found, or dissatisfaction felt, with that
part of the regulations which precluded all controversy, _i.
e._, which prevented people of opposite theological sentiments
from occupying the time or distracting the attention of the
audience, which would otherwise have introduced confusion and
defeated the object of the meeting. Nothing could be more
reasonable than this regulation, and no peace-loving person
would make any objection.... The meeting broke up with harmony
and good feeling.’
“A few years later, a distinguished American writer and poet, J. G.
Whittier, who was present at this meeting, made the following reference
to it:—
“‘Three or four years ago, on my way eastward, I spent an
hour or two at a camp-ground of the Second Advent in East
Kingston. The spot was well chosen. A tall growth of pine and
hemlock threw its melancholy shadow over the multitude, who
were arranged upon rough seats of boards and logs. Several
hundred—perhaps a thousand—people were present, and more were
rapidly coming. Drawn about in a circle, forming a background
of snowy whiteness to the dark masses of men and foliage, were
the white tents, and back of them the provision stalls and cook
shops. When I reached the ground, a hymn, the words of which I
could not distinguish, was pealing through the dim aisles of
the forest. I know nothing of music, having neither ear nor
taste for it; but I could readily see that it had its effect
upon the multitude before me, kindling to higher intensity
their already excited enthusiasm. The preachers were placed in
a rude pulpit of rough boards, carpeted only by the dead forest
leaves and flowers, and tasselled, not with silk and velvet,
but with the green boughs of the somber hemlocks around it.
One of them followed the music in an earnest exhortation on
the duty of preparing for the great event. Occasionally he was
really eloquent, and his description of the last day had all
the terrible distinctness of Anelli’s painting of the “End of
the World.”
“‘Suspended from the front of the rude pulpit were two broad
sheets of canvas, upon one of which was the figure of a
man—the head of gold, the breast and arms of silver, the
belly of brass, the legs of iron, and feet of clay—the dream
of Nebuchadnezzar! On the other were depicted the wonders
of the Apocalyptic vision—the beasts—the dragon—the scarlet
woman seen by the seer of Patmos—oriental types and figures
and mystic symbols translated into staring Yankee realities,
and exhibited like the beasts of a traveling menagerie. One
horrible image, with its hideous heads and scaly caudal
extremity, reminded me of the tremendous line of Milton, who,
in speaking of the same evil dragon, describes him as
“‘Swinging the scaly horrors of his folded tail.’
“‘To an imaginative mind the scene was full of novel interest.
The white circle of tents—the dim wood arches—the upturned,
earnest faces—the loud voices of the speakers, burdened with
the awful symbolic language of the Bible—the smoke from the
fires rising like incense from forest altars—carrying one back
to the days of primitive worship, when
“‘The groves were God’s first temples, ere men learned
To hew the shaft, and lay the architrave,
And stretch the roof above it.’
“There were near thirty tents on the ground, and the interest of the
meeting continued to the last. Mr. Miller left the ground on the 4th of
July, for Northampton, Mass., where he lectured from the 5th to the 7th,
and then proceeded to Low Hampton.
“He remained at home till past the middle of August. On the 20th of that
month he commenced a course of lectures at Brandon, Vt., which continued
till the 28th. On the 25th, a large tent had been pitched at Chicopee,
Mass., where Mr. Miller was anxiously expected; but he did not arrive so
as to commence his lectures till the 1st of September. He then lectured
each day till the 4th, when the meeting closed. That was a very large
gathering, and, as was estimated, some four hundred or more found peace
in believing.
“From the 7th to the 11th of September, he lectured at Castine, Maine. On
returning to Boston, on the 12th, at the request of the passengers, he
gave a lecture on the boat. He went to Albany on the 13th, lectured there
in the evening, and on the next day took the canal-boat, on which he also
lectured, on his way to Granville, N. Y., where he lectured from the 18th
to the 23d of September. From the 8th to the 16th of October, he lectured
in Whitehall, N. Y., and from the 20th to the 30th, at Benson, Vt., where
Mr. Himes held a tent-meeting in connection with his lectures.
“On the 3d of November, Mr. Himes erected the big tent in Newark, N. J.
Mr. Miller was not able to be present till the 7th, from which time to
the 14th he gave fifteen discourses. Five days before the close of that
meeting the weather became so inclement that the meetings could not be
continued in the tent, and they were adjourned to the Presbyterian church
in Clinton street, which was kindly opened during the week. On Sunday,
the 13th, the meeting was held in the morning in Mechanic’s Hall, which
was crowded to suffocation, and found to be altogether too strait for
them. At 2 P. M., Mr. Miller spoke from the steps of the court house
to nearly five thousand people. Notwithstanding the inclemency of the
weather, and their being thus driven from pillar to post, the meetings
were very interesting, and were productive of much good.
“At the close of the meeting in Newark, he commenced a course of lectures
in New York city, which continued till the 18th of November. On the
19th of November, he commenced a course of lectures in New Haven, Ct.,
in the M. E. church, Rev. Mr. Law, pastor. On Sunday, the 20th, although
the house was large, it was crowded; and in the evening many were unable
to gain admittance. He continued there till the 26th, the interest
continuing during the entire course. _The Fountain_, a temperance paper
published in that city, gave the following account of the meeting:—
“‘Mr. William Miller, the celebrated writer and lecturer on the
second advent of our Saviour, and the speedy destruction of the
world, has recently visited our city, and delivered a course
of lectures to an immense concourse of eager listeners in the
First Methodist church. It is estimated that not less than
three thousand persons were in attendance at the church, on
each evening, for a week; and if the almost breathless silence
which reigned throughout the immense throng for two or three
hours at a time is any evidence of interest in the subject of
the lectures, it cannot be said that our community are devoid
of feeling on this momentous question.
“‘Mr. Miller was accompanied and assisted by Rev. J. V. Himes,
who is by no means an inefficient coadjutor in this great and
important work. We did not attend the whole course, the last
three lectures being all we had an opportunity of hearing. We
were utterly disappointed. So many extravagant things had been
said of the “fanatics” in the public prints, and such distorted
statements published in reference to their articles of faith,
that we were prepared to witness disgusting, and perhaps
blasphemous, exhibitions of “Millerism,” as the doctrine of the
second advent is called.
“‘In justice to Mr. Miller we are constrained to say that he is
one of the most interesting lecturers we have any recollection
of ever having heard. We have not the least doubt that he is
fully convinced of the truth of the doctrine he labors so
diligently to inculcate, and he certainly evinces great candor
and fairness in his manner of proving his points. And he proves
them, too, to the satisfaction of every hearer; that is,
allowing his premises to be correct, there is no getting away
from his conclusions.
“‘There was quite a number of believers in attendance from
other places, and a happier company we have never seen. We
have no means of ascertaining the precise effect of these
meetings on this community, but we know that many minds have
been induced to contemplate the Scripture prophecies in a new
light, and not a few are studying the Bible with unwonted
interest. For our own part, this new view of the world’s
destiny is so completely at variance with previous habits of
thought and anticipation that we are not prepared to give it
entire credence, though we should not dare hazard an attempt to
disprove it.
“‘The best part of the story is, that a powerful revival has
followed the labors of Messrs. Miller and company. We learn
that over fifty persons presented themselves for prayers at
the altar of the Methodist church on Sunday evening. On Monday
evening the number was about eighty.’
“In the month of May following, Rev. A. A. Stevens (Orthodox Cong.), then
a member of Yale College, in a letter to the _Midnight Cry_, stated that
‘the powerful and glorious revival which then commenced, continued for
some two months, with almost unabated interest.’
“At the close of these lectures, Mr. M. returned to New York city, where
he gave six discourses, from the 27th to the 29th of November, and then
returned to Low Hampton. Arriving home, he wrote as follows:—
“‘LOW HAMPTON, DEC. 7, 1842.
“‘DEAR BROTHER HIMES: ... I did not get home till 10 o’clock on
Saturday night. On Wednesday, at 6 o’clock, P. M., same day we
left New York, we were brought up all standing in a snow-bank,
which we kept bunting, with two or three locomotives, until
the next evening at 7 o’clock. On Thursday, by the mighty
power of three locomotives, we gained twelve miles from Great
Barrington, where we were brought up the night before, to the
state line, where they left us and we waited for the Boston
cars, which had been due thirty hours. That night we slept in
the cars, as the night before, and Friday we got as far as
Lansingburg. Saturday I came home, cold and weary, worn out
and exhausted. On my arrival, I found a messenger after me and
my wife, to visit her mother, who was supposed to be dying.
My wife went, and soon returned with the news of her death.
After attending the funeral, we came home on Monday night, and
yesterday I got some rest. This morning I feel some refreshed.
But the fatigue of body and mind has almost unnerved this old
frame, and unfitted me to endure the burdens which Providence
calls upon me to bear. I find that, as I grow old, I grow more
peevish, and cannot bear so much contradiction. Therefore I
am called uncharitable and severe. No matter; this frail
life will soon be over. My Master will soon call me home, and
soon the scoffer and I shall be in another world, to render
our account before a righteous tribunal. I will therefore
appeal to the Supreme Court of the Universe for the redress of
grievances, and the rendering of judgment in my favor, by a
revocation of the judgment in the court below. The World and
Clergy vs. Miller.
“‘I remain, looking for the blessed hope,
“‘WILLIAM MILLER.’