Transcriber’s Notes:
Text enclosed by underscores is in italics.
Additional Transcriber’s Notes are at the end.
* * * * *
TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN THE WEST.
BY ERASMUS MANFORD
CHICAGO:
E. MANFORD, PUBLISHER.
1867.
* * * * *
TO
MY CHRISTIAN FRIENDS
IN THE WEST,
_WITH WHOM I HAVE LIVED_
AND LABORED MANY YEARS,
THIS VOLUME
IS DEDICATED
THE AUTHOR.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
PAGE 9.
Parentage and Childhood; “Lord” Timothy Dexter; At School; In
Haverhill; Shoemaking; Early Aspirations; Converted; Must be a
Minister; On a Plank; Attend School; A Long Walk; Studies with J. C.
Waldo and Dr. Cobb; First Preaching; With W. S. Balch; First Tour;
First Debate; Came out Second Best; Talk with an Englishman about
American Coarseness; Conversation on Slavery; In Maryland; Talk with
an Episcopal Clergyman concerning Endless Woe not being Taught in the
Old Testament; Traveling and Preaching on the Eastern Shore; Return
to Baltimore; A Storm; Where Truth Flourishes and Where it Does Not;
Another Location; Self and Faith Abused; Preach in Harper’s Ferry,
Charleston, Winchester, Va.; A Hard Battle; Cross the Alleghany
Mountains.
CHAPTER II.
PAGE 33.
In Pittsburg; S. A. Davis, Wife and Daughter; The West; Preach
in Pennsylvania and Ohio; Western Reserve; Talk with a Bigot;
Conversation on a Steamboat; Forbidden to Preach; Grave Creek; A
Mound; My Study; What is Salvation? Proceedings in Bainbridge; Mud;
In Cincinnati; General Harrison; In Rising Sun; Patriot; Preach in
Louisville, Ky.; E. M. Pingree; On the Mississippi River; Preach in a
Steamboat; In New Orleans; Battle Ground.
CHAPTER III.
PAGE 47.
A Sea Voyage; A Meeting at Sea; Tornado; Strange Vessel; In Texas;
Travel to Houston; Hard Fare; The Country; Sleeping on the Ground;
Very Thirsty; Must have Water; Colorado River; Sound Asleep on its
Banks; Cross the River on Logs; Corn Cake; A Surprise; In Houston;
General Houston; The Attorney-General of Texas; San Jacinto Battle
Ground; A Pandemonium; Buck Wheat Cakes; Embark for New Orleans; A
Condemned Vessel; On Allowance; In New Orleans; A Contrast; Ague and
Fever; Up the Mississippi.
CHAPTER IV.
PAGE 55.
Labors of E. B. Mann; N. Wadsworth; Owner of a Horse; Preach in
Indiana and Kentucky; A Profane Life; General Clarke; Atheism; The
Eyeless Fish; A Presbyterian Minister’s Wisdom; No Hell, No Heaven;
Travel in Ohio; Another Preacher Replies; Labors in Dayton; D. R.
Biddlecom; George Messenger; R. Smith’s Somersault; J. A. Gurley;
George Rogers; Start for Indiana; Battle in Harrison; Universalism
an Old Doctrine, and of God; Partialism an Old Doctrine, but of
Satan; Grove Meeting; Father St. John: Badly Treated; John O’Kane
on his Creed; In Indianapolis; A. Longley; A Horse; Questioned by a
Methodist; In Terre Haute; Very Unpopular.
CHAPTER V.
PAGE 74.
Journey in Ohio; Intemperance; General Baldwin; In Columbus; Death
Penalty; How to Deal with Offenders; Preach in Newark and Zanesville;
Hell Discussed; Mrs. Frances D. Gage; Invited to Settle in Marietta;
W. H. Jolly, In Chillicothe; Opposition in Richmond; --. Webber; In
Kentucky; Dr. Chamberlin; Opposition in Lexington; Is Universalism
Infidelity? A Slanderous Story by a D.D.; In Paris; Excursion to
Patriot; A Discussion; Daniel Parker; Cure the Ague; Good Health.
CHAPTER VI.
PAGE 87.
A Journey East; Talk with a Baptist Minister; Preach in Delaware and
Centerville, Ohio; W. Y. Emmett; Doors Closed; A. Bond; A. B. Grosh;
In New England; On the Sea; A Storm; Methodist Preacher Frightened;
Blow the Trumpet; In Philadelphia; In Delaware; In Pittsburg; Return
to Cincinnati; Go to Chicago; Bad Roads; In Richmond; Talk with
a Quaker; A Spirit Returns to Earth; A Spirit Out of the Body; A
Strange Sight; Preach in God’s Temple; Preach in Chicago; Preach in
Joliet; Aaron Kinney, an Early Preacher; Bill of Fare; Hard Luck in
Magnolia; Why Preach; In Hennepin; Political Humbugs; Opposition in
Washington; Justice of God; In Pekin and Tremont; Frozen; A Preacher
Replies.
CHAPTER VII.
PAGE 103.
Located in Lafayette; The Christian Teacher Commenced; A Circuit;
Society Organized; Meeting-house Built; All Alone; Conflict in
Frankfort; Old Testament Doctrine of Punishment; Debate Proposed
in Frankfort; Discussion in Independence; Character of my Sermons;
Slander Refuted; Debate in Burlington; Endless Woe; Some Voting; The
Use of Discussion; A Traveler.
CHAPTER VIII.
PAGE 119.
Debate in Lafayette; Die in Adam; Alive in Christ; This World and
World to Come; Battle Ground; In Monticello; A Reply; A Preacher
Whipped; D. Vines; S. Oyler; I. M. Westfall; B. F. Foster in Indiana;
Revival Poetry; Ladoga Camp-Meeting; Worship; In Michigan City; An
Episcopal Preacher; A Wet Ride; Debate in Dayton; Discussion in
Jefferson; Everlasting Punishment; End of the World; Second Coming of
Christ; Eternal Life; Meaning of Everlasting.
CHAPTER IX.
PAGE 140.
Questioned J. O’Kane in Dayton; He Beat a Retreat; He Replied in
Crawfordsville; Three Resurrections, National, Moral, and Immortal;
Conversation in West Lebanon; Everlasting, Forever; Kingdom of
God; Sin, Error, Suffering not Endless; In Southern Indiana; Why
Live a Christian Life? Bigotry in Breckenridge; Discussion with
Mr. Dickerson; Calvinism; Arminianism; Universalism; Debate in
Chambersburg.
CHAPTER X.
PAGE 161.
Move to Terre Haute; Lecture in Fort Wayne; A Discussion There; Dr.
Thompson; Visit Illinois; Opposition; Discussion in Charleston;
Prayed For; Called Infidel; Debate in Green Castle; Conditions of
Salvation; God’s Will; All are Spirits; Form of the Teacher Changed;
J. Burt and J. H. Jordan, Editors; Oliver Cromwell; Foundation of
Character; In Many Places; A Celebration; Meeting in the Rain; Fourth
of July Celebration; Debate in Martinsville.
CHAPTER XI.
PAGE 172.
Journey into Northern Illinois; Temperance Lecture; Result of
Temperate Drinking; Married; Homeward Bound; High Waters; Difficult
Traveling; Trouble in Crossing Streams; A Cold Bath; End of the
“Bridal Tour”; A Hard Ride; Debate with E. Kingsbury; In Northern
Indiana; Conversation with an Indian; Dark Man and Dark Night;
Explanation of Hebrews ix. 27, 28; End of the World; The Earth and
Man.
CHAPTER XII.
PAGE 193.
Discussion in Franklin; Justice of God; What the Gospel Is; Society
Organized; Discourse on Total Depravity; Conversation with a
Presbyterian Minister on Christian Rewards; Talk with a Catholic;
A Methodist; A Presbyterian; A Campbellite; Salvation; A Mormon
Sermon; Reply to It; A Journey to Louisville and Cincinnati.
CHAPTER XIII.
PAGE 213.
Move to Indianapolis; Extensive Traveling; Henry Ward Beecher; A
Fossiled Calvinist; Supposed to be an Orthodox Preacher; Debate
in New Philadelphia; Strife Between the North and South; The Old
Convention Dead; The New Convention Organized; Discussion in
Springfield, Ill.; Abraham Lincoln; God is Love; Is Merciful; Is
Just; Is Holy; Travel in Illinois; Conversation with a Presbyterian
Clergyman on the Origin of Hell; In Iowa City, and Other Places in
Iowa; Home Again; W. J. Chaplin; Discussion with Benjamin Franklin;
Debate in Covington; Discussion with Mr. Russell; Publish the “One
Hundred and Fifty Reasons”; Review of “Universalism Against Itself”;
Publish Another Book; Olive Branch Discontinued; Travel Far and Near.
CHAPTER XIV.
PAGE 231.
Conclude to go to St. Louis; Commence the Golden Era; Association
in Crawfordsville; Debate in Dayton; Man in God’s Image; God the
Father of All; Man Immortal; Man a Spirit; High Waters; In St. Louis;
Why Moved to St. Louis; But Few Friends; First Journey in Missouri;
Wet, Hungry, Out in the Cold; In Troy; In Ashley; Four Brothers;
In Louisiana; Opposition in London; In Hannibal; Good Friends;
Questioned in Palmyra About Slavery; Conversation on Judgment;
In Memphis; Questioned; A Presbyterian Preacher Replied; Was to
Debate in Newark; Covered with Ice; Missouri River; Discussion in
Georgetown; In Southern Missouri; Questioned in Warsaw; In Jefferson
City; Hard Work in Danville; Return to St. Louis.
CHAPTER XV.
PAGE 251.
The Golden Era Issued Semi-Monthly; The Missourians; Slave Holders;
Travel in Southern Missouri; If Endless Woe is True all Nature would
Weep; Region of Iron; Dunkards in Millersville; In Southern Illinois;
Philosophy of Christ Being the Savior of the World; Refuse to Debate;
Discussion in Carlyle; Inspiration; Our Name; Partialism Approaches
Infidelity; Three Downward Steps; Reply to a Sermon; Hayne’s Sermon;
Mr. Lewis Debating on his Knees; Written Discussions with two
Methodist Ministers; In Northern Missouri; A Preacher Replies; A Log
Cabin; Talk with a Slave; Thomas Abbott; Negroes Hung; The Golden
Era; Mrs. Manford Lecturing; Let Woman Work; A Circuit in Missouri;
Travel in Cold Weather; Debate in Quincy.
CHAPTER XVI.
PAGE 277.
The Golden Era; Extensive Traveling; In Missouri and Kansas; Talk
with a Deist in Jefferson City; Moses; The Prophets; Replied to
in Pisgah; Talk with a Rum-seller; In Kansas City; In Wyandotte;
Conversation with a Clergyman Concerning Christ and his Work;
Lectured in Leavenworth; Destruction of Man’s Enemies; In St. Joseph;
The Mercy of God; In Kingston; Rich Man and Lazarus.
CHAPTER XVII.
PAGE 293.
The Rebellion Commenced; What Senator Douglas Said; Defenders of our
Country; Camp Jackson; Rebel Flag; Great Expectations; Subscribers
Lost; Money Lost; All but Two of the Religious Journals Stopped;
Could do but Little in Missouri; Society in St. Louis; G. S. Weaver
Left; The Unitarian Society; Published Pamphlet on Water Baptism;
Discussion with B. H. Smith; Extracts from the Discussion.
CHAPTER XVIII.
PAGE 315.
Discussion in Pontiac; The Apostle’s Faith; His Argument in Romans;
Extensive Traveling; In Kansas and Missouri; Price’s Raid; In
Ohio and Indiana; Dark Night and Walk in Toledo; Conversation on
Destructionism; The Victory; The Death; President Lincoln; Debate in
Milford, Ohio; The Restitution an old Doctrine; The Sentiment Wide
Spread; At Work in Iowa; Laborers There; Murderers Saved and the
Murdered Lost; Intellectual and Moral Growth; What Man Was; What He
is to Be; The Victory; Spiritualism; Immoral Preaching; Saved Without
Repentance; Preaching a Means of Salvation; A Methodist Minister
Believes; The Suicide.
CHAPTER XIX.
PAGE 346.
Last Campaign; In Galesburg, Ill.; The United States Convention;
Lombard University; Other Schools; Journey to Missouri; In Macon
City; In Brookfield; St. Joseph and Other Cities; Grove Meeting; On
the Missouri Bottom; Beautiful Country; Preach in Fillmore and many
other Places; Return Home; Anti-Orthodox Preaching; Funeral Sermons;
Death; Life; Conclusion.
CHAPTER I.
PARENTAGE AND CHILDHOOD--LORD TIMOTHY DEXTER--AT SCHOOL--IN
HAVERHILL--SHOEMAKING--EARLY ASPIRATIONS--CONVERTED--MUST BE A
MINISTER--ON A PLANK--ATTENDS SCHOOL--A LONG WALK--STUDIES WITH J.
C. WALDO AND DR. COBB--FIRST PREACHING--WITH W. S. BALCH--FIRST
TOUR--FIRST DEBATE--COMES OUT SECOND BEST--TALK WITH AN ENGLISHMAN
ABOUT AMERICAN COARSENESS--CONVERSATION ON SLAVERY--IN MARYLAND--TALK
WITH AN EPISCOPAL CLERGYMAN CONCERNING ENDLESS WOE NOT BEING TAUGHT
IN THE OLD TESTAMENT--TRAVELING AND PREACHING ON THE EASTERN
SHORE--RETURNS TO BALTIMORE--A STORM--WHERE TRUTH FLOURISHES AND
WHERE IT DOES NOT--ANOTHER LOCATION--SELF AND FAITH ABUSED--PREACHES
IN HARPERS FERRY, CHARLESTON, WINCHESTER, VA.--A HARD BATTLE--CROSSES
THE ALLEGHANY MOUNTAINS.
Having been often solicited, by my friends, to publish an account of
my travels and labors in the West, after much hesitation and doubt, I
have concluded to accede to their wishes. But before doing so, I will
say a little about my early life. Newburyport, Mass., is my native
place. My father, whose full name I bear, was from Denmark; my mother
from Amsterdam, Holland. I was the first born of a family of three
boys, one of whom, Frederick, many years since passed the way of all
the earth. The other, James, resides in Texas. My father was a sailor,
and was lost at sea in a terrific storm, when I was seven years old.
I have a faint recollection of seeing him two or three times, and the
only memento I have of him, is a large pitcher he had manufactured in
Liverpool with his name and the picture of a ship on one side, and my
mother’s maiden name and a picture representing Liberty, Peace and
Independence, on the opposite side. My mother was left in indigent
circumstances, with not a relative in the New World, save her three
helpless boys. She married some years after my father’s death, and
resided till her death, which took place two years since, in Princeton,
Mass. I have then a father, mother and one brother on the other side of
the river, and one brother on this side, and not many years can elapse
ere the whole family will be reunited in the land beyond the flood. I
well remember the spot where all of us once lived, although I have not
been in Newburyport for thirty years. It was on High street, between
the Court House and the residence of “Lord” Timothy Dexter. To me,
that street seemed a paradise, and it was, and still is, a magnificent
thoroughfare. It is on high ground, runs parallel with the Merrimac
river, overlooks the harbor, and is bordered with rows of grand
trees, with fine residences embowered in lawns and flower gardens.
In this charming locality, I spent the first decade of my life. Here
I ran, played, and frolicked with my brothers, and other little
associates. The Mall around the Court House, the pond in the rear, and
a neighboring cemetery, were places of frequent resort. On Sunday,
I attended Dr. Morse’s church, where, I am told, I was christened
by the good doctor, who was an Episcopalian. But the bud came near
being suddenly blasted. An old-fashioned cent which I put into my
mouth, slipped down my throat, and was extracted with much difficulty.
I distinctly remember the circumstance. When the copper was taken
out, blood flowed copiously from my mouth. My poor mother was much
frightened, and I suffered for a short time severely. If my father had
lived, I should probably have been a sailor. He was first mate of the
ship in which he made his last and fatal voyage, and was to have been
promoted to captain on his return. I have ever loved the sea, and a
ship is a thing of beauty in my eye. But it was written that the solid
earth, not the treacherous deep, should be the field of my operations.
One word about Lord Timothy, just referred to. He was a very eccentric
man, had many soft spots on his head, but knew enough to accumulate a
large fortune. He built a magnificent residence, which he adorned in a
very extravagant manner, with sculpture and pictures. He was very vain
of his house and wealth. It is said that a stranger, passing his house,
was attentively observing it, when Dexter, who was sitting at a window,
remarked: “Do you not think this is paradise?” “I should,” replied the
man, “if I did not see the devil at the window.” He was dubbed “Lord”
for his vanity and ostentation, and the title delighted him as much as
“Corsica” prefixed to Boswell, delighted the well known biographer of
that name.
I commenced attending school at an early age, but have no pleasant
memories of school-hours in my native town. My teacher would read a
chapter in the Bible, and make a long prayer every morning, and then
whip and pound his pupils till the time for his evening devotions. If
I escaped a day without two or three hard thrashings, I deemed myself
very fortunate, and I think I was as dutiful as school boys generally
were of my age. He was doubtless a believer in total depravity, and was
sure that nothing but blows and knocks would make a good impression on
our corrupt hearts.
From my tenth to my eighteenth year, I resided in Haverhill, Mass.,
with S. George. He was a farmer and shoemaker--made shoes in the
winter, and tilled the soil summers, and I worked on his farm and in
his shop, except winters, when I attended school. I remember my first
attempt at horseback riding. I went to live with him in the spring,
and he soon put me on a horse to ride when ploughing corn. The beast
was contrary and spirited. He would go like jehu a few rods, and then
stop short, and I would go over his head on to the ground. But I was as
spunky as the horse, and would scramble up, and tell Mr. G. to put me
on again. I was always eager to remount the beast, although he threw me
twenty times a day. Since then, I have rode over the Western country
horseback, and consider myself a good horseman.
I have said I worked in Mr. G.’s shoe shop; yes, and learned to make
cheap shoes, but always despised the business, and never more than half
learned the trade. My aspiration was to be a _merchant_. Oh, if I could
only be a merchant how happy I would be! I dreamed, and planned, and
built air-castles--would weep over my “lapstone,” for being doomed to
work at that hateful trade. When I was about sixteen years old, the
Boston _Trumpet_, a Universalist paper, published by Thomas Whittemore,
led me to look into Universalism, for up to that time I knew nothing of
its principles or history. Mr. George’s family, and all my associates,
attended the Congregational church in the neighborhood, and no body
seemed to call in question the infallibility of the sermons we heard
every Sunday. But the _Trumpet_ opened a new world to my view, changed
all my aspirations, and I was really born again. I thought no more of
being a merchant--that seemed a contemptible calling,--but must be a
_preacher_. I devoured the paper, read the Bible, and had many hard
fought battles with my comrades. I loved them, loved the world, and was
sure, if I could get the ears of mankind, I could convert all nations
and people. The world seemed to be a musical instrument, tuning the
praises of its almighty Author. Thomas Farnsworth was then preaching
in Haverhill, four miles from where I resided, and I called on him
several times, and he urged me to prepare for the ministry, but I never
intimated to him that I had such an intention. I kept that to myself.
I was always fond of reading, and my new faith quickened my love
for it. I perused religious books, romance, history, but poetry was
especially my delight. I remember with what enthusiasm I read portions
of Dr. Young’s “Night Thoughts.” His grand and solemn thoughts and
diction stirred my soul to its lowest depths. I even wrote what I
called “poetry,” but I am thankful that none of it survives. I have
never attempted the “divine art” since those early days, although
phrenologists tell me I _ought_ to be something of a poet, as my
“ideality” is large.
When in Haverhill, I came near losing my life. I never could swim,
but with a plank three feet long, one end pressing against my body, I
could paddle far from shore into deep water, without any fear. On one
occasion, when indulging in one of my aqueous excursions, while in deep
water, a comrade, who was ignorant of my helpless condition when off
the plank, took it from me, when down I went, but by the aid of other
boys I reached the shore, and I never went into deep water again on my
frail craft. In my boyhood, I was subject to violent attacks of colic
and sick headache, but otherwise my health was good. My physical frame
was small and of fine texture, and consequently I was not very strong,
and could not cope with boys generally of my age in athletic exercises.
When I was eighteen years old, I left old Haverhill, and repaired to
Princeton, where I attended school one year, and made considerable
progress in English branches. But my purse being nearly empty, I was
obliged to replenish it before I could further prosecute my studies;
and having no one to aid me, I went to Boston, hoping something
would there turn up in my favor. I knew no one in that city, and no
one knew me, and soon became satisfied I had better try my fortune
elsewhere. I noticed in a city paper, that school teachers were wanted
in Eastern New York, and I resolved to go there and seek a school,
although I had only three dollars in my pocket, and it was one hundred
and eighty miles to the place of destination; but my empty purse did
not prevent my making the journey. On foot and alone, I traveled the
whole distance. Although my feet were sore, and my bones and muscles
ached, I pursued my weary march, and finally reached the neighborhood
of Bethlehem--I think that was the name of the place. I found myself
in the midst of a German settlement, with a people of unknown tongue,
and of manners and customs all new to me. I remained there but a few
days, became distressingly homesick, and resolved to return to Boston.
Repaired to Albany, where I sold my watch to pay traveling expenses,
went on a steamboat to New-York city, and from thence to Boston by
sea. This was my first tour; this was the beginning of my ramblings,
but it was rather an unpropitious beginning. When I went on this
school-hunting expedition, my intention was, after securing a school,
to devote my leisure hours to study, and if opportunity offered, to
speak occasionally in public, and thereby prepare myself for what I
deemed the chief business of my life. But that Dutch Bethlehem broke up
all my calculations, and I returned disgusted, but not discouraged.
In a few days I walked out to Lynn, the great shoe manufacturing town
of New England, where nearly all the men, women and children are
shoemakers, and recommenced cobbling, earning enough to defray current
expenses, and continued my studies. J. C. Waldo was then pastor of the
Universalist church in Lynn, and I soon introduced myself to him, and
made known my intentions of preparing for the ministry, and he kindly
offered me the use of his books, and such instruction as I might need
in prosecuting my object. I remained in L. six months, working, reading
and writing, when Mr. Waldo advised me to go to Malden, and study with
Sylvanus Cobb. To Malden I repaired, and made arrangements with Mr. C.
to reside in his family, and devote all my time to study.
A new era in my life had now opened, and my hopes were buoyant. I
could give all my time and thought to study, and I made the best use
of my advantages. Mr. Cobb was a prominent man in the denomination, an
able minister, a fair scholar, and consequently well qualified to give
instruction. To that excellent man, and his accomplished lady, I am
under great and lasting obligations. “I was a stranger and they took
me in.” May God ever bless them. They now reside in Boston. Mr. Cobb,
or rather, Dr. Cobb, for he is now a D. D., for many years published
the _Christian Freeman_, is the author of a Commentary on the New
Testament, and of several other useful books. His son, Sylvanus Cobb,
Jr., who is a well known literary writer, was a boy when I was in Mr.
C.’s family, and the twins, Cyrus and Darius, now ministers, and who
fought for the Stars and Stripes, during the late rebellion, were born
while I was a member of the household. He had three other students
while I was with him--A. P. Cleverly, G. Hastings, and C. S. Hussey. We
had fine times; we talked, read, wrote and declaimed. When we wanted
to ventilate our logic, we repaired to a neighboring grove, where we
made the welkin ring with our eloquence. “The Orthodox,” said A. P.
Cleverly, on one of these occasions, “will come to you with their creed
in one hand, and damnation in the other, and say to you, take _this_
or take _that_, but one of them you must and shall have.” On Monday
we generally went to Boston, two miles distant, and at the _Trumpet_
office would usually see Hosea Ballou, H. Ballou, 2d, Walter Balfour,
Thomas Whittemore, Sabastian Streeter, Henry Bacon, T. B. Thayer, all
noted men, but most of them are now dwellers of the spirit land. The
departed did a noble work on earth, and long will they be remembered.
“Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord.”
When I had been with Mr. Cobb about three months, he went to the state
of Maine, and left me to preach for him one Sabbath. My heart jumped
when the first bell on Sunday morning told me to prepare for my first
pulpit services; but I went through the exercises of the day without
much embarrassment. My texts were: “God is love”--“They hated me
without a cause.” When Mr. C. returned, he seemed well satisfied with
my effort, for he had heard his friends speak of it, and gave me words
of encouragement. While with him, I preached in Lynn, Haverhill, and
several other places, but devoted most of my time to hard study.
After being with Mr. Cobb six months, I put myself under the
instruction of William S. Balch, then residing in Claremont, N. H., and
pastor of the church in that place. I found him to be a noble man and
shall ever remember his many acts of kindness with gratitude. Although
I was in his family, and received his instruction most of the time
during six months, he would receive no compensation. He now resides
in Galesburg, Ill., and although years are pressing hard upon him, he
is as faithful in the discharge of his ministerial duties as when in
early manhood. When with him, I took my _first preaching tour_, and had
my _first debate_. I went up the Connecticut river into Canada, and
preached in most of the towns on both sides of the river. I performed
the journey on foot, and must have walked about two hundred miles. In
one town where I had an appointment, a Methodist minister had one at
the same place and hour. We both met in the pulpit. He did not wish to
speak, as he was unwell, he said, and desired me to occupy the time. I
objected, for I was afraid of him; but as he insisted that I should go
ahead, I delivered my discourse. My text was: “For if the word spoken
by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience
received a just recompense of reward, how shall we escape if we neglect
so great a salvation which at the first was spoken by the Lord, and
confirmed unto us by them that heard him.” Heb. ii. 2, 3. As soon as
I was through, he seemed to be well enough, took my text, and made a
long reply to my feeble effort. He handled me rather rough, but I did
the best I could in the way of a rejoinder, but felt that I had come
out _second_ best. It was not manly in him, an experienced preacher,
to attack a boy as he did; but I suppose he had rather encounter a boy
than a man.
Soon after returning from this journey, I noticed a statement by Otis
A. Skinner, a minister in Baltimore, Md., in one of our denominational
papers, that several young men were wanted to preach in Maryland, and
Mr. Balch advised me to go there. Heeding his advice, I went by stage
across the Green Mountains to Albany, thence to New-York. In the latter
place, I had the following conversation with an Englishman, right from
his foggy island:
“I do not like this country,” said he.
“Why not?” I inquired.
“I have many reasons. One is, the people are not refined enough. I did
not encounter as much coarseness during the thirty years I lived in
England, as I have in this country the past six months.”
“You have been very unfortunate in the company you have kept. There are
coarse people in all countries, and a man can eat and sleep with them
all his lifetime if he chooses. But that there are more coarse people
in this country than in England, I am sure is an error. But what do you
mean by coarseness?”
“I mean that the _peasants_ do not pay proper respect to _gentlemen_.”
“Yes, yes; I understand you. Why, sir, we have no _peasants_ in this
country; _all are gentlemen_.”
“I abhor such a democratic notion. Only see how rudely your people talk
about the President of the United States. He is called Mr. Jackson, Old
Jackson, Old Hickory. In Europe, we call the king, His Majesty. Don’t
you see the difference?”
“I see the difference. The people of this country have little respect
for titles, and I am thankful for it; but they have great respect for
_man_; so much that they deem every man a sovereign; and I hope they
will never make such fools of themselves as to single out one of their
number, perhaps the biggest gump in the land, and bow down and worship
him, and like cringing slaves, call him ‘His Majesty.’ God only is
worthy the title of Majesty.”
In the cars near Baltimore, I had some conversation with a lawyer,
concerning slavery.
“Are you going South?” he inquired.
“To Maryland. Am from the East, and was never as far south or west
before.”
“As you are going into a slave-holding state, I should like to know
your views of slavery.”
“In principle I think it is wrong; but I know little of its practical
effects. I shall be better able to judge of it practically at some
future time.”
“Morally I regard it wrong; nearly all the Southern people so view it.
But that slavery is a benefit to the blacks, there can be no doubt. As
an evidence of this, contrast the condition of the negroes in Africa
with their condition in the Southern states. In this country they are
far better off than their brethren are in Africa.”
“They doubtless are in some respects, but I am not sure that slavery
has improved them. Living in this country, and associating, to some
extent, with a superior race, has improved them; but I cannot admit
that slavery has done it. You admit slavery to be an evil, and we have
the best authority for asserting, that an evil tree cannot produce good
fruit. It seems to me that you condemn slavery in _principle_ and
_practice_ when you admit it to be an evil. What effect do you think it
has on the whites?”
“Decidedly a beneficial effect. There is more refinement and high-toned
character in the slave states than in the free states. The people in
the South have leisure to cultivate the better sentiments of their
nature.”
“I repeat, you must be mistaken. If slavery is a upas tree--is an evil
as you admit--it cannot produce such heavenly fruit. It is not true
that the Southern people are more intelligent, moral and refined than
the Eastern people. Statistics, from which there can be no appeal, show
that there are more school houses, academies, colleges and meeting
houses in the East, than in the South, in proportion to the population.
There are more persons in Virginia, the best of the slave states, who
cannot read or write, than there are in six of the most Eastern states.
Facts are against you.”
I proceeded to Baltimore, and S. P. Skinner, who afterwards resided,
preached and published the _New Covenant_, in Chicago, advised me to go
to the eastern shore of Maryland. This portion of the state, and part
of Delaware, lies between the Chesapeake and Delaware bays. Most of
this neck of land is level and sandy, having been, at a comparatively
recent period, reclaimed from the sea. Went in a small vessel to
Centerville. While running down, I had some conversation, on religious
subjects, with an Episcopal clergyman.
“The doctrine of endless punishment is taught in the Old Testament.”
“That is your opinion, but some of the wisest and most learned men
of your school differ from you. I will read some extracts from their
writings on this subject. Your Bishop Warburton, in his Divine Legation
of Moses, says:--‘In the Jewish Republic, both the rewards and
punishments promised by heaven were temporal only. Such as health, long
life, peace, plenty, and dominion, etc. Disease, premature death, war,
famine, want, subjections, and captivity, etc. And in no one place in
the Mosaic Institutes is there the least mention, or any intelligible
hint, of the rewards and punishments of another life.’
“Milman, in his History of the Jews, testifies thus:--‘The sanction on
which the Hebrew Law was founded is extraordinary. The lawgiver (Moses)
maintains a profound silence on that fundamental article, if not of
political, at least of religious legislation--rewards and punishments
in another life. He substituted temporal chastisements and temporal
blessings. On the violation of the constitution followed inevitably
blighted harvests, famine, pestilence, defeat, captivity; on its
maintenance, abundance, health, fruitfulness, victory, independence.
How wonderfully the event verified the prediction of the inspired
legislator! how invariably apostasy led to adversity--repentance and
reformation to prosperity!’
“Dr. Paley, another great man of your church, admits the same:--‘This
(Mosaic) dispensation dealt in temporal rewards and punishments. In
the 28th of Deuteronomy you find Moses, with prodigious solemnity,
pronouncing the blessings and cursings which awaited the children
of Israel under the dispensation to which they were called. And you
will observe, that these blessings consisted _altogether_ of worldly
benefits, and these curses of worldly punishments.’
“Jahn, the best of authority says:--‘We have not authority, therefore,
decidedly to say, that any other motives were held out to the ancient
Hebrews to pursue good and avoid evil, than those which were derived
from the rewards and punishments of this life.’
“This is the testimony of able and learned men who have made the Bible
their life-study. Notwithstanding they believed in eternal woe, they
candidly admit that it is not taught by the great Lawgiver, Moses, or
the prophets.”
“They do seem to think that doctrine is not taught in the Old
Testament, and I admit their judgment is entitled to much respect. I
will look into the subject.”
“I am glad to hear you express such a purpose. And I am sure that you
will agree with those wise men, after a careful examination. If they
are correct, and the dogma in question is true, is it not amusing
that the Old Testament writers say nothing about it? If they had
believed in eternal punishment, they surely would have spoken of it
in distinct terms, and warned their countrymen of their danger. You
believe in ceaseless woe, and you preach it faithfully, earnestly. You
are right; you act according to your convictions. And were Moses and
the prophets less faithful and earnest? But they did not speak of it,
and the inference is, they had no faith in the doctrine. But, sir, if
that dogma is true, would not God have _forced_ those inspired men to
proclaim it to a dying world? Would God have permitted the Jews to be
ignorant of so important a matter? What! thousands of immortal spirits
daily dropping into a fiery gulf, and not a word of warning given?
have no intimation of such a place till they find themselves in its
fathomless vortex? Believe this who can, I cannot.”
I spent six months in this part of Maryland, traveling and preaching
all the time. My head-quarters were at Salisbury, and from thence I
went east, west, north and south, sometimes on foot, and sometimes on
horseback. The liberal faith I advocated was almost totally unknown
in that region. O. A. Skinner, who had resided in Baltimore, once
traveled through there, and delivered a few discourses, but I found not
more than a dozen persons, who knew or cared any thing about liberal
christian sentiments. It was any thing but a favorable field for
one so young and inexperienced as I was, to operate in. I was tired
of traveling, and desired to settle where I could devote my time to
two or three places, that I might have an opportunity to study, for
I well knew my literary needs, and as such arrangements could not be
effected in that region, I resolved to try some other locality. That
my well intended labors had much effect, is more than I can affirm,
as I have heard but little of the religious sentiments of the people
since I left there. Much of the Eastern Shore is a very poor country,
and were it not for the fish and oysters that abound in Chesapeake bay,
part of that region would be an uninhabited desert, at least, till the
soil was improved, for the farmers in those days merely scratched over
the ground, and exhausted it more and more every year. Slave labor
and _scratch culture_, I have observed, generally go together. And,
I think it is a fact, that poor soil, unless there are counteracting
causes, such as commerce and manufacturing, produces weak heads and
sterile hearts; and it is also a fact, that the rich sentiments of our
faith will not flourish permanently in physical or moral deserts. The
apostles of our Lord spread the gospel among the ignorant and brutal
nations of the earth, but how soon was it corrupted. Their “darkness
comprehended it not,” and there was soon developed a wretched compound
of light and darkness, error and truth, sin and virtue, life and death,
heaven and hell, and this compound corresponded with the intellectual
and moral culture of the people. Since Luther’s day, the process of
disintegration has been going on, and it will, I trust, continue till
the dross shall be all separated from the gold, and the former burned
with unquenchable fire.
I returned to Baltimore in December, 1836. Encountered a terrific storm
on the Bay, which came near sending the vessel and all on board to the
bottom. It raged during a bitter cold night, the wind was directly
ahead, and most every wave swept the deck fore and aft. The owner was
on board, the steersman was his negro slave, and he stood to his post
like a man the whole of that boisterous and cold night. In the morning
we anchored in a sheltered situation, and during the day reached
Baltimore. Spent several weeks traveling and preaching in the vicinity
of the city, and from thence went to Hagerstown, Md., which I made my
home for six months. Samuel A. Davis had labored in the vicinity some
time previous, as a missionary, but receiving little encouragement, had
moved to Pittsburg, Pa. I preached in Hagerstown, Woodville, Frederick,
Sharpsburg, and many other places, in many of which I was the first to
proclaim our beautiful faith, and encountered all sorts of opposition.
Our ministers who have always labored where our cause is well
established, have no idea of the mean and contemptible opposition a
laborer encounters in a new field, where hardly any one knows any thing
of our faith or its history. At the close of a sermon I delivered in
Frederick, a clergyman of the place, arose and poured forth the vials
of his wrath. He said Universalism was the lowest grade of infidelity,
that the blasphemies of Tom Paine were purity itself compared to it;
and that Universalists were the scum of society, that the grog-shops,
gambling dens, jails and penitentiaries were full of them. Hosea Ballou
and Walter Balfour died drunkards, and they were the best men the sect
ever had. The fellow overshot the mark, and disgusted the people with
himself; and the mild remarks I made after he got through, turned the
tide in my favor. Ever after, I had large congregations in Frederick.
I spoke several times in Charleston, Va., where John Brown was hung;
also in Harper’s Ferry, the place he so easily captured, and in
Winchester, where several battles, during the late rebellion, were
fought. In Smithfield, Va., I had an exciting season. Went there an
entire stranger, and delivered a discourse in a school-house, the first
sermon on the great salvation ever delivered in the place. As soon as
I said amen, up jumped three men to reply. It was with difficulty they
agreed on which should first speak. They finally settled that matter,
and then gave me particular attention. Each of them occupied about half
an hour, and as the night was short, for it was an evening meeting, it
was midnight when they got through. I notified the people that I would
notice the arguments of the speakers the next evening. The novelty of
my faith, and the attention I received from three of the most prominent
men of the town, caused intense excitement, and the whole village, and
the region round about, attended the next meeting. My three opponents,
one doctor and two lawyers, were on hand, with paper and pencil, which
was ominous of another attack. I noticed the arguments and proofs of
the gentlemen, and replied to them in the best way I could. One of them
had charged me with denying a judgment day. I stated that I believed
in a judgment day, yea, in many judgment days. The Bible speaks of
numerous judgment days, but they are all _this side_ of the end of
the world. When Adam and Eve were condemned and driven out of Eden’s
bowers, it was a judgment day to them. When Cain was banished to the
land of Nod, it was his judgment day. When the wrath of heaven burst
on the world and destroyed all but Noah’s family, it was a terrible
judgment day. The Sodomites experienced the horrors of a judgment day
when they were destroyed by fire. The ten tribes of Israel, when they
were banished to the far East, never to return, knew something of a day
of judgment. When Babylon, Nineveh, and other mighty cities of the old
world were destroyed, they suffered the desolations of judgment days.
When Jerusalem was trodden under foot by the Babylonian power, and when
subsequently it was burned up, ploughed up, and drenched with the blood
of its citizens, did it not suffer, what the sacred writers call, days
of darkness, of gloom, of judgment? The world has been crowded with
judgment days: all nations and people have sadly experienced their
sorrows. The Christian dispensation is also termed a day of judgment.
It commenced when the kingdom of God was established on earth by the
Son of the Highest, and will continue, till Jesus shall return the
kingdom to God the Father, as recorded in 1st Corinthians 15th chapter,
when God shall be _all in all_. It commenced amid sin, error, suffering
and death, and when it shall end those evils will be known no more,
but truth, virtue, life and immortality will be the universal and
everlasting boon of Adam’s race.
As soon as I got through, a lawyer commenced reading a long chapter of
quotations from the Bible, to prove that there was a _devil_. He had
prepared it with much care, and read it loud and emphatically. It was
supposed that a preacher or two in town helped him to his texts, and
comments. When he closed, a doctor commenced an harangue, but I begged
him to hold on till I had disposed of his brother’s sermon. I told the
people that I believed in _many devils_--lying, slanderous, revengeful,
cruel, superstitious, sectarian devils; that every man was his own
devil, and if any of my hearers should become vile and degraded, if
they would look into a mirror, they would see a devil. But I had no
faith in the devil the lawyer had been preaching about. As soon as I
had finished my remarks, the doctor resumed his speech. He launched
into the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, and did a large amount of
special pleading, to show that the hell spoken of in that passage was
a place of eternal woe. When he was through, I asked him if he would
answer a few questions. He replied that he would.
“Do you regard that passage to be a literal relation of _facts_?”
“I do.”
“Hell is there called a _place_. Do you suppose it is a place having
length, width and height?”
“Yes.”
“It is said to contain _fire_. Do you believe it contains fire?”
“I do, for the passage says so.”
“The rich man and Lazarus were within _speaking distance_ of each
other--they talked together. Do you think that heaven and hell are so
near each other, that the saved can see the damned, and hear their
groans and lamentations?”
“I am not bound to answer that question.”
“But you promised to answer my questions.”
Several voices--“You must answer”--“You are getting into a tight place.”
“Well, if I must answer it, I will say, Yes.”
“One more question. Could you be happy in heaven if you should see all
the dear ones you now love, roasting in hell? Will you answer?”
“To be candid, I do not see how I could be happy.”
“I thank you for your candor. According to your interpretation of the
passage, and it is the common interpretation, heaven and hell, the
latter a region of quenchless fire, are _neighbors_, within _speaking
distance of each other_, and mankind are to be torn asunder--part
driven into hell, and part sent to heaven--husbands and wives divided,
parents and children, brothers and sisters divided, part in heaven and
part in hell, and those in heaven will know that half of the world
are in hell, that their near and dear friends are there. Now, it is
utterly impossible for there to be any happiness in heaven, when such
a world of woe is within sight and hearing. The passage must be a
parable--figurative language. Jesus often spake in parables. It is in
connection with several parables, and like them is figurative. But
I have not time this evening to give an explanation of it, but on
to-morrow, Sunday, at eleven o’clock, will give what I regard to be the
true exposition of that important passage.”
The discussion had a sensible effect on the hearers; some rejoiced and
some were mad. One old gentleman, with streaming eyes, thanked me for
what he had heard. But others were so enraged, that some of my friends
feared that violent hands would be laid on me, ere I should reach the
hotel, and I heard several cry, “Search his saddle-bags! he is a d----d
abolitionist! get a rail!”
The next day my meeting was in a grove, for no house, that could be
obtained, would hold half of the people who came out. My youth, the
novelty of my faith, and the controversy, drew an immense concourse.
The people listened with attention and respect, and the meeting was not
disturbed by any opposition. I went to the village a stranger to all,
but when I left, which was the next day, I had many friends.
I often preached in Harpers Ferry, and generally had large
congregations. The town site, and its surroundings, are well known to
be remarkably picturesque. The Shenandoah and Potomac, rapid streams,
here unite, and roar and plunge through the chasm they have made
through the Blue Ridge. The rocks on both sides are several hundred
feet high, and nearly perpendicular. Thomas Jefferson said it was worth
a voyage across the Atlantic to see this wonderful work of nature.
Near Hagerstown, I had a little controversy with a Campbellite
preacher. We both had an appointment in a _barn_, and the people were
eager to hear both of us speak. He delivered a discourse on his
peculiar views--dwelt long on the importance of water baptism, which
he affirmed was a condition of salvation. In my discourse, I paid
particular attention to his water-cure notions, and showed that if he
was correct, none could be saved without being baptized in water, and
therefore most of mankind would be lost forever, as but a small portion
of our race are immersed. In his reply he said he did not believe in
endless misery, but in _annihilation_, and admitted that he had no
evidence of the salvation of a soul, old or young, in a christian or a
heathen land, without water baptism. What a gospel! I rejoined. Instead
of bringing life and immortality to light, it proclaims _eternal death_
to nearly the whole world; instead of being good news to our race, it
is a howl of everlasting despair; instead of being a blessing to the
world, it is an unmitigated curse; instead of its proclaiming that
God is the loving Father of mankind, it announces that He is full
of partiality and hatred towards most of His creatures. Never again
prostitute that blessed word, gospel, by calling your partial, cruel
and revengeful system by that dear name. There is not as much gospel in
your creed as there is brain in a mosquito’s head.
One evening, I accompanied a friend to a Methodist meeting; the
congregation was large, and a “revival” was raging in its midst. The
first speaker spoke well and sensibly, but his words fell on dull ears
and cold hearts. The second speaker was a regular son of thunder, and
he did thunder, and storm, and quake, and he made some of his hearers
do the same. When he got through with his “exhortation,” he kneeled
and said, “Let us pray.” He prayed, and half of the assembly prayed
with him. He raised his voice, and they raised theirs; he screamed
like a maniac, and they did the same; he jumped up and down, and they
jumped up and down. I looked on with utter amazement, having never
witnessed such a scene before. As soon as he had finished this part of
the performance, he told all to rise to their feet, who wanted to go to
heaven. I was the only one who did not stand up. “Rise to your feet,”
said he, “or you will be damned.” I kept my seat, and though strongly
tempted to rebuke him, I said nothing.
Near Charleston, Va., I attended, for the first time, a Methodist
camp-meeting, and have not since been anxious to renew my acquaintance
with such gatherings. It was held in a beautiful grove, and there were
present some two thousand people, black and white. During the services,
the whites were seated in front of the speaker’s stand, and the negroes
in its rear. The speakers would talk awhile to their white brethren,
and then turn on their heels and give the black brethren a broadside,
and the latter always responded to the condescension of the preachers
with a hearty shout. The night was the hour of promise; then they were
almost sure of being blessed with copious showers of “grace.” Sunlight,
it seems, is not favorable to its descent; it comes more plentifully
with moonshine. The night I was on the ground, there were all sorts of
manifestations of the “spirit.” Some laughed, others cried, groaned,
and threw themselves on the ground. I noticed one poor fellow trying
to climb a tree, and I asked him where he was going. “To heaven,” said
he, and he kept scratching the tree with his finger and toe nails, for
he was bare-footed. The preachers and the hearers generally, seemed to
think all that hopping, jumping, shouting and screaming, was the work
of God in converting the souls of the people. Every good thing can be
abused, and thus become an evil. Religious excitement, when kept within
due bounds, is productive of much good, but when it overleaps all
bounds, and becomes temporary insanity, as it did on this occasion,
it is prostituted to a very bad purpose. I spent a short time in the
“preacher’s tent” where the following conversation ensued:
“John Wesley was opposed to such excitement as you have here.”
“You are mistaken,” replied the Presiding Elder; “that man of God was
in favor of it, for he knew it was the work of the spirit of God, and I
warn you to flee from the wrath to come, before it shall be eternally
too late.”
“Do not get excited, my friend. Let us see what Wesley says about what
you call the work of the Holy Spirit. In one of his volumes he speaks
of the doings of Satan thus:--‘Satan strives to push many of them to
extravagance. This appears in several instances:
“‘1. Frequently three or four, yea, ten or twelve, pray aloud together.
“‘2. Some of them, perhaps, may scream altogether, as loud as they can.
“‘3. Some of them use improper, yea, indecent expression in prayer.
“‘Several drop down as dead, and are as stiff as a corpse; but in a
while they start up and cry, “glory, glory!” perhaps twenty times
together. Just so do the French prophets, and very lately the Jumpers
in Wales, bringing the real work into contempt.
“‘Scream no more at the peril of your soul. God now warns you by me. I
never scream, I never strain myself; I dare not, I know it would be a
sin against God and my own soul!
“‘Some very unstill sisters, who always took care to stand near me,
and tried who could cry loudest, since I have had them removed out
of my sight, they have been as quiet as lambs. The first night I
preached here, one half of my words were lost through the noise of
their outcries; last night, before I began, I gave public notice that
whosoever cried as to drown my voice, should, without man’s hurting or
judging them, be gently carried to the farthest corner of the room, but
my porters had no employment the whole night.
“‘There is a fervor which has passed for devotion, but it is not true,
not scriptural devotion. It is loud shouting, horrid, unnatural
screaming, repeating the same words twenty or thirty times, jumping
two or three feet high, throwing about the arms and legs, both men and
women, in a manner shocking not only to religion, but to common decency.
“‘I dislike,
“‘1. Speaking or praying of several at once.
“‘2. Praying to the Son of God only, or more than to the Father.
“‘3. The use of improper expressions in prayer.
“‘4. The using poor, flat, bald hymns.
“‘5. Those never kneeling in prayer. (They sat on the floor.)
“‘6. Your using postures or gestures highly indecent.
“‘7. Your screaming, so as to make the words unintelligible.
“‘8. Your affirming people will be justified or sanctified just now.
“‘9. The affirming they are where they are not.
“‘10. The bidding them, “I believe.”
“‘11. The bitterly condemning any that oppose, calling them wolves,
etc., and pronouncing them hypocrites, or not justified!’
“These are Wesley’s words, and you have been doing here nearly all he
so severely rebukes. What you call the work of God, he calls the work
of Satan.”
“Let us pray,” said the Elder, with an awful groan. And such a prayer!
It was not praying, but rather the ravings of a mad man, and the crowd
raved with him. He called me the devil, and said I had slandered
the sainted Wesley, and had come there to stop the work of God. He
beseeched the Lord, either to convert my soul or send me to hell. When
he was through, I told him that his performance was more like the
ravings of a maniac, than the simple prayer of a Christian, and bid him
good by.
After spending six months in this region, traveling and preaching
constantly, and seeing but slim prospect for establishing our cause
permanently there, and receiving hardly any compensation for all
my hard labor, and many privations, I resolved to go to Pittsburg,
Pa. The truth is, I was much discouraged. I had labored one year in
Maryland, and found but few sympathizers with me or my faith, and had
not received fifty dollars for all my toil. I was tired of traveling,
and longed for an abiding place where I could preach without being
constantly on the wing, and where I could pursue my studies. I was not
avaricious, but thought, as I devoted all my time to the ministry,
I ought to be comfortably supported. I regretted having come to the
state, and certainly should not have been there, had I known the
religious character of the people, and how few friends we had in that
region.