long years of bondage which I spent with them. There are other
reasons . " . • to warrant us, I think, in the abandonment of
the whole design."
The following Hymn, written and published in the Watchman
some two years before, is inserted here, as it was now brought
forward, adapted to music, and sung in Christ Church on the even-
ing of the first Sunday in Advent. The general and immemorial
usage in Massachusetts sanctioned these musical additions to the
prescribed Church service.
H\\MN FOR ADATINT.
While the darkness yet hovers,
The harbinger star
Peers through and discovers
The dawn from afar;
To many an aching
And watch-wearied eye,
The dayspring is breaking
Once more from on high.
With lamps trimmed and burning,
The Church on her way
To meet thy returning,
O bright King of day !
Goes forth and rejoices.
Exulting and free.
And sends from all voices
Hosannas to thee.
She casts off her sorrows.
To rise and to shine
With the lustre she borrows,
O Savior ! from thine.
Look down, for thine honor,
O Lord! and increase
In thy mercy upon her
The blessing of peace.
1829.] CHRIST CHURCH. 75
Her children with trembling • ^
Await, but not fear,
Till the time of assembling
Before thee draws near;
When, freed from all sadness,,
And sorrow, and pain.
They shall meet thee in gladness
And glory again.
The Hymn which follows, " from the Latin of St. Ambrose," first
appeared in the Watchman, and is found in his manuscript collec-
tions. The piece next below the Hymn was written at about this
period, and subsequently appeared in the Banner.
HY^IN FOR THE FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER.
Creator Spirit ! come and bless us ;
Let thy love and fear possess us ;
With thy graces meek and lowly
Purify our spirits wholly.
Paraclete, the name thou bearest,
Gift of God the choicest, dearest,
Love, and fire, and fountain living.
Spiritual unction giving.
Shower thy benedictions seven
From thy majesty in heaven.
Be the Savior's word unbroken,
Let thy many tongues be spoken ;
In our sense thy light be glowing,
Through our souls thy love be flowing ;
Cause the carnal heart to perish.
But the strength of virtue cherish,
Till, each enemy repelling.
And thy peace around us dwelling,
We, beneath thy guidance glorious,
Stand o'er every ill victorious.
THE BROOK KEDRON.
"He went over the brook Kcdron with his disciplea." Saint John.
The Vale of thy Brook, of Life's valley so drear,
Meet emblem, dark Kedron, might be.
As it swelled in its hurried and horrid career
To the depths of a desolate sea :
Unceasingly fed with the blood of the slain
From the Temple's far height was its flow,
76 MEMOIR OF WILLIAM CROSWELL. [1830.
Till it seemed like some wounded and wandering vein
That was lost in the distance below.
There David went over, and wept as Ee went ;
There his Son in his sorrow passed o'er,
And his garments were dipped in its crimson descent.
Like a warrior's, wading in gore ;
And, wrapped in forebodings of anguish and woe,
It heightened that vision of pain,
When the blood of a mightier Victim should flow,
And the Lamb of the promise be slain.
Now, Kedron, for ages thy course has been dried,
And thy sands are unmarked with a stain,
Since the Victim ordained from eternity died,
And the Lamb of the promise was slain ;
The pilgrim now passes dry-shod o'er thy bed,
And the thought to his spirit may lay.
He who drank of the brook hath relifted his head,
And hath borne our transgressions away !
1830.
Early in 1830, a plan for altering the chancel arrangements
of Christ Church, which had been agitated during the preceding
autumn, began to take a definite shape ; and the proprietors of the
church, at a meeting called for the purpose, appointed the rector
and wardens to take measures for raising, by subscription, the requi-
site means, and for carrying the project into effect. The subscrip-
tions being filled, the church was closed after the 14th of March ;
and such was the delay in completing the new arrangements, that
it was not reopened for divine service until the 6th of .Tune. But
this caused no remission of the duties of the rector. The regular
services were held, through the kindness and courtesy of the ma-
sonic fraternity, in their hall, wliich afforded very suitable accom-
modations; and, either there or in some of the neighboring churches,
he continued, three times on every Sunday, to supply the pulpit or
the reading desk. Nor were liis pastoral labors in the slightest
degree diminished. Tlie affairs of the parish were becoming daily
more and more prosperous, and the calls fin- special duties were
constantly increasing. For reasons already given, the baptism, as
well of adults as children, constituted a large portion of these
duties; and in noting the baptism of the first-born son of his friend
and brother Doane, on the 17th of October, he incidentally remark'-
1830.] CHRIST CHURCH. 77
" It makes the ninety-ninth baptism I have administered since I liave
been in Christ Church."
There is a pecuhar pleasure in inserting here his well-merited
testimony to the worth of a gentleman now nniversally known in
the Church as an early, ardent, and zealous advocate of the cause
of missions — the Hon. E. A. Newton, of Pittsfield, Mass. On
the 15th of .Tanuary, he accompanied this gentleman and his brother
DoANE to a neighboring parish, for the purjiose of organizing an
association auxiliary to the General Missionary Society. After
giving an account of the religious exercises of the evening, he says,
" Mr. Newton made an eloquent address to the congregation explan-
atory of the object of the visit, and requesting an expression of
their approbation of the designs of the society." In writing to his
father, he adds, " Mr. Newton is one of nature's own noblemen, a
Christian, a Ciiurchman, and a gentleman. He was long in India,
and knew Middleton, and Heber, and Corrie, and all the other
famous missionary men in those parts. His spirit there first kindled
up with a zeal for the cause ; and with the highest ardor and decis-
ion of character, he unites the firmest and most uncompromisinsf
attachment to the distinctive principles of the Church."
We now come to a scrap of personal history, which it is the
more desirable to preserve, as it may possibly constitute nearly
all the ancestral lore which the Croswell family may find it prac-
ticable to collect. In the autumn of 1829, the rector of Christ
Church had discovered, by a singular accident, that there was a
person residing in Boston bearing his own name. This person had
taken one of his letters from the post office, and had broken the
seal, before he discovered that it was addressed to the Rev. Williaivi
Croswell. He immediately sent it by a mutual friend to its proper
address, apologizing for the mistake, and requesting an interview.
After some delay, which is sufficiently explained in the following-
correspondence, this interview finally took place. The following
note, from the elder Williajvi Croswell, is written in a remarka-
bly formal round hand, rather stift', but neat and well defined, and
much resembling the old style of copperplate writing copies : —
Boston, October 23, 1899.
Sir : Some weeks past, N. G. Snelling, Esq., informed me that you and
he intended to visit me together. I was not then so well as usual. My
health is now better ; and it will be agreeable to my sister and myself to
receive a visit when you think proper.
I am, sir, yours,
JVIr. Croswell. W. CROSWELL.
"The following," says the rector, in his diary, January 18, "is a
copy of a note addressed to my venerable cognomiual, William
Croswell, of Bedford Street : —
78 MEMOIR OF WILLIAM CEOSWELL. [1830.
Dear Sir : I hope my neglect to acknowledge your kind favor of October
last will not be misconstrued. It was received just as I was on the point of
leaving town, and in my absence it was accidentally mislaid. If it be not
too late, however, to avail myself of the privilege then offered, I shall be
happy to wait upon you on Wednesday morning, in company with our mutual
friend, Mr. Snelling. In my academical days, my attention was arrested
by your work on the mathematics, in such a way as almost to make me for
the moment distrust my own identity ; and I have been exceedingly desirous
of making your acquaintance ever since I knew of your residence in the city.
I am not so familiar with our table of consanguinity as I could desire ; but I
make no doubt, from the coincidence of our names, that the data furnished
by an interview would authorize me to subscribe myself your kinsman, as
well as Your respectful friend and namesake,
WILLIAM CROSWELL.
Winthrop Place.
Boston, Tuesday, January 19, 1830.
Sir : As my hearing is somewhat impaired, there was a strange mistake
respecting your billet. It will be agreeable to my sister and myself to
receive a visit to-morrow morning.
I am, sir, yours,
Mr. Croswell. " W. CROSWELL.
Of this interview the description is exceedingly graphic, and,
without douht, perfectly accurate to the letter. 'â– 'â– Wednesday , Janu-
ary 20. At half past ten, waited on Mr. Snelling, who was to
accompany me to my relative in Bedford Street. I was ushered
into an upper room, betraying evident marks of poverty, but with
some beautiful specimens of penmanship garnishing the walls, and
Croswell's View of the Starry Heavens on a large map of Mer-
cator's projection. My old prototype stood before me, nearly as
tall as myself, but much dilapidated, poorly clad, and his shoes
down at tlie heels. There seems to have been a premature break-
ing up of the system, as he is but little turned of sixty years. The
few hairs that are left upon his head are white, but showed no dis-
position to crisp ; but all the other characteristics of the species are
decisively developed, and in his sister, who is younger than himself,
are still more distinctly marked. There is the high forehead, the
long nose, the gray eyes, and the longitude of thumb. There is
the low voice, and, above all, in the male kind, the peevish and
irritable temper which we all have to struggle with. The old gen-
tleman was in a disordered frame of mind ; but he promised, at
some future time, to give me a detailed account of what he knew
about us. I gathered, however, some interesting particulars before
I left them. The first of our stock, Thomas Croswell, came
from Staftordshire, in England, during the usurpation of the Round-
heads. Being detected in some scrape, he fled on board a ship
bound for tliis country, and settled in Charlestown. He married
Priscilla Upham, a woman of eminent piety, by whom he had one
son,.]osEPH, and seven daughters. He acquired a handsome estate,
and maintained a fair and reputable character. His son Joseph
1830.] FAMILY REMINIftCEXC'ES. 79
married Abigail, daughter of Andrew Stimpson, of Cliarlestown,
by whom he had five sons, Thomas, Andrew, Caleb, Benjamin,
and Joseph. Andrew was liberally educated, and settled as a
Congregationalist in this city. William and his sister are his chil-
dren. They showed me his portrait, rather the worse for wear, but
a very good painting notwithstanding. It was taken when he was
forty years of age, and is said to have been a likeness. According
to this, he was a full-faced man, with a sparkling gray eye, a respec-
table nose, and a pleasant expression about the mouth. A printed
account (which I was told, however, was not to be entirely relied
on) states of the other brothers that ' Caleb died while at Cam-
bridge University; Thomas and Benjamin were mechanics. Thomas
settled and died in South Carolina. Benjamin settled and died in
Groton, Connecticut.' Our grandfather may have been his son.
Of .Joseph, the youngest, born March 12, (O. S.,) 1712, I was
presented with a memorial, with this title : ' Sketches of the life,
and extracts from the journals and other writings, of the late Joseph
Croswell, who, for more than forty years, was an itinerant preacher
in the New England States, and who died at Bridgewater, Massa-
chusetts, May, 1799, in the 8Sth year of his age.' ' He was pre-
paring,' says his biographer, ' for an university education, in which
he made laudable progress. But such was his diffidence of him-
self, that he declined the public education for which he had become
quahfied, and served an apprenticeship to a (horresco referms !^
' — a baker.' The old gentleman says it should be, a barber.
He became a merchant, failed, was thrust into prison, ' but though
unfortunate, did not incur the guilt of dishonesty.' He was con-
verted instantaneously, in his thirty-first year, at Groton, Conn., ' on
Friday, the 26th of 3Iarch, about half an hour after two o'clock,
P. M.' ' Before that time, he had been habitually under alarming
and serious impressions, which were at times exceedingly strong
and distressing. But all was not sufficient to control a naturally
impetuous and irascible temper.'' He was one of the most conspicu-
ous of the new lights, rode probably three thousand miles a year,
and preached as many sermons per annum. He was a most extrav-
agant and fanatical ranter, but his papers show a great deal of talent
and imagination. I meet with this entry in his diary for ' May 3,
1776. As I was journeying from Boston, stopped in Charlestown,
and took a survey of Prospect Hill,' (a delightful eminence between
this and Cambridge, with a windmill on the top of it,) 'formerly
owned by my father, and the place of my nativity. Viewed the
mansion house, which I found turned into a sort of garrison,' &c.
He had a son and daughter. The son was in the army, and signed,
it is said, the commission under which the first armed vessel acted
against (ireat Britain, in behalf of the Plymouth peojjle. I will
procure a copy of this book, to be laid up in tiie archives, and
80 MEMOIR OF WILLIAM CROSWELL. [1830.
perhaps it may help to account for preaching three times a day
coming so natural. The old lady showed me a little silver cup of
her grandfather's. She said that the Croswells all had a restless
propensity, were all born with a pen in their hands, that but few
of them had talents for making or keeping money, but that all she
knew or had heard of bore very respectable characters." *
On the first return of the anniversary of his admission to dea-
con's orders, he is found thus pouring out, in his private journal,
and at the same time in a letter to his father, the feehngs of a
heart deeply imbued with a sense of the sacredness of his calling :
" Monday, January 25. This is the anniversary of St. Paul's con-
version, and also (' Alas for me, if I forget ! ') the anniversary of
my being set apart for the ministrv of the church of God.
The year has been full of incident, and marked with the most
solemn transactions of my whole life. I believe I did not put my
hand to this work without realizing, in some sense, the momentous
relations and awful responsibilities of those who watch for souls as
they that must give account, nor without a clear conviction of the
duty and privilege of assuming these relations and responsibilities.
I would put down nothing on this subject for effect, or in a spirit
of vainglory ; but I desire to record my testimony, that this holy
calling, if diligently and faithfully undertaken and devotedly fol-
lowed, is the path of life, which, for our own happiness, we should
choose and covet, and contains all the elements of the purest and
highest enjoyment which the corruption and infirmity of our nature
admit. I have always refrained, on principle, from making a dis-
play of my private religious feelings on paper, lest I should thereby
be tempted to give way to the movings of spiritual pride and self-
righteousness ; and I dare not trust myself to speak of the satis-
faction and delight which he cannot but feel whose duty and whose
glory it is to preach Christ crucified, and wiio would direct every
thought, wish, and desire to the work of subduing evil and saving
souls. I have been deliberately reviewing the principles laid down
in my first discourse on this subject ; and though, alas ! no man
living can be justified by that standard, I am confirmed by my short
experience in the opinion, that the views which I then took are
those only which are autliorized by the Scriptures of truth."
Price Lectures. These lectures were founded on the last will
and testament of Mr. William Price, a respectable book and
print seller in Boston, and a devoted Churchman, who, in the year
1770, bequeathed an estate, in trust, for certain purposes, the prin-
cipal of which was the support of a course of sermons to be preached
* William Choswell died on tlie 7th. of July, 1834.
1830.J CHRIST CHURCH. 81
annually in Lent ; for which purpose sixteen pounds sterhng were
every year to be appropriated. The subjects of these lectures,
eight in number, the days on which, and the persons by whom
they were to be preached, are minutely specified in the will.*
The preachers, at this time, were the rector and assistant minis-
ter of Trinity Church, and the rector of Christ Church ; the place,
Trinity Church. The will directs, with ciiaracteristic benevolence,
that after each lecture there shall be made a contribution for the
poor, into which, at each time, five shillings sterling shall be put
by the church wardens ; the whole proceeds to be divided, on
Good Friday, between the ministers and wardens of the parishes
interested in the lectures, for the use of the poor. The second and
sixth of the series, the present year, were allotted to the rector of
Christ Church. The first of these was on the Miracles of Christ :
John vii. 31. " When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than
these which this man hath done ? " He says, in a letter to his
father, " My idea was, to cluster the miracles in such a way as to
present a most striking aspect, and to make the inference from them
to the truth of Christianity, and the divinity of the Savior, most
direct and irresistible." So well did he succeed in this object, that
he was afterwards told that a Unitarian minister, who was present,
made several remarks, which, he adds, " were quite too flattering for
my modesty to transfer to paper." The other lecture was on Con-
tentment : 1 Timothy vi. 6. " Godliness with contentment is great
gain."
In the month of April, he made a short visit to Connecticut,
* The following is au extract: "And I hereby clu-ect that the said eight
annual Sermons be preached on the following subjects, viz. : 1st, Sermon on
Ash "Wednesday, (the service to begin about three o'clock in the afternoon,)
upon the duty, usefulness, and propriety of fasting and abstinence, or upon
Repentance, or Faith, or Hope, or Charity, or Chi-istian Morality. The 2d.
Sermon on the second "Wednesday in Lent, at Eleven o'clock before noon ; the
Sermon to be against Atheism, or Infidelity, or in defence of the Divinity, or
Miracles, of om- "blessed Saviour. The 3d. Sei-mon on the third Wednesday in
Lent, at Eleven o'clock in the forenoon; the subject, the Catholic Church,
or the Excellency of the Christian Religion. The 4th Sennon on the fourth
Wednesday in Lent, at Eleven o'clock in the forenoon, the Sennon to be a
Vindication of the Church of England, as to Government, Doctrine, or Dis-
cipline, or a discourse against Heresy or Schism, Enthusiasm or H}i)ocrisy, or
on the duty of Obedience to Kmgs and lawful authority, fi-om all persons
professing Christianity. The oth Sermon on the fifth We"dnesday in Lent, at
Eleven o'clock in the forenoon, against Error and Superstition, particularly
those of the Church of Rome. The sixth Sermon on the sixth ^^'ednesday in
liCnt, at Eleven o'clock, in the forenoon, on Detraction or Restitution, or on
Contentment and Resignation, or on preparation for Death. The 7th Sermon
on the seventh Wednesday in Lent, at Eleven o'clock in the forenoon, pn
Baptism, or Coiafession, or Absolution, or on the Duty of PubUc ^\'orship.
The 8th Sermon on Good Friday, at three o'clock in "the afternoon, on the
Passion and Death of Ckrist, or "of the nature, necessity, and advantages of
the Holv Communion."
11
8:2 MEMOIR OF WILLIAM CROSWELL. [1830.
leaving Boston on the ITth, and returning on the 29th. His visits
homeward were always full of enjoyment, as he was ever ready to
testify. But in the present case, it afforded him but little relaxa-
tion of his labors. On each of the two Sundays included in the
time, he took the entire service of the church in Stratford. He
also preached on a Wednesday evening in New Haven, and, on the
22d, was present and read morning prayer at the consecration of
St. Paul's Chapel.
On the week preceding the reopening of Christ Church, he ac-
companied the bishop, with a few of the clergy, to Leicester, some
fifty miles from Boston, to preach at the institution of the Rev. Lot
Jones, and to participate in the other services of the day. In
speaking of these services, he pays the following Avell-deserved trib-
ute to Mr. Jones : " He is one of the most faithful and devoted sons
of the Church now living. In this little parish, which stands all
alone by itself in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation,
he has made his influence radiate in every direction. It was a day
I shall never forget, as one of the days of the right hand of the
Most High. He has been there a year, and has already baptized
twenty-nine adults, some in the church and some in the living
stream. His communion has grown from nine to sixty. Thirty-
three persons were confirmed." Mr. Jones yet lives to do the
Church good service, having been transferred to a missionary sta-
tion in the city of New York, where he has fully sustained the
character here ascribed to him.
On Trinity Sunday, June 6, Christ Church was reopened for
divine service ; and the rector not only bore the whole burden of
the day, but, in the evening, rode to South Boston with the Rev.
Mr. CoiT, where he had appointed a missionary lecture, and read
prayers for the third time. On his return, he wrote his weekly
epistle to his father. The day was unpleasant; but the assemblage
was large, and every thing conspired to excite the deepest interest
on the part of the congregation. The following original Hymn,
prepared by the rector for the occasion, was performed by the choir
with fine effect : —
Awake, O Arm divine ! Awake,
Eye of the Only Wise !
For Zion and the Temple's sake,
Savior and God, arise !
So shall our hour of gloom be o'er,
And we, a happy throng,
Wake in her hallowed aisles once more
The breath of sacred song.
1830.] CHRIST CIILTRCII.
To thee we'll lift our grateful voice,
To thee our offerings bring,
And with a glowing heart rejoice
To hail thee God and King.
God of our fathers ! still be ours ;
Thy gates Avide open set,
And fortify the ancient towers
Where thou with them hast met.
Thy guardian fire, thy guiding cloud,
Still let them gild our wall,
Nor be our foes nor thine allowed
To see us faint and fall.
The worship of the glorious past
Swell on from age to age.
And be, while time itself shall last,
Our children's heritage.
August 15 is recorded in his diary as " a most delightful and
solemn day," the Right Rev. Bishop Grisvv^old having administered
confirmation in Christ Church to thirty-nine persons, and, he adds,
"none of them children."
The month of September is marked by the announcement of
two most afflictive dispensations. On Sunday, the 5th, a report
was received of the death of the Rev. Dr. Gardiner, rector of
Trinity Church, in England, whither he had gone for the benefit
of his health ; and before the grief produced by this event had
scarcely had time to subside, it was followed by another, — the death
of the Right Rev. Bishop Hobart, — still more distressing, inas-
much as it was less expected, and the deceased was overtaken in
the midst of the active duties of his office. The following letter
will tell how deeply the visitation aftected the heart of the writer : —
"Boston, Monday Morninr/, September 20, 1830.
" My dear Father : The death of Bishop Hobart has made
us all desolate and heart-broken. It has thrown a gloom over our
minds with which I had thought nothing but the sundering of some
dear domestic tie could have overwhelmed me. Though letter after
letter from New York had been gradually extinguishing our hopes,
the fatal announcement burst upon us, after all, like a thunderbolt,
and I sat down and wept like a child. I have renewed my grief
day by day, as the papers of the city disclose some new testimony
of the universal mourning and woe with which this calamity has