drawing took precedence of every other pursuit ; and long before
13



98 ISIEMOIR OF AYILLIAM CROSWELL. [1831.

he became a proficient in penmanship or any other branch of
schoolboy learning, he was wont to portray the imagery of his
thoughts on canvas. His first interview, and its results, are thus
announced, under date of August 14 : " He vvon my heart at first
sight ; and, operated upon by his irresistible grace, I went straight-
way down to his rooms to sit for my portrait. It is the first call
that he has had for this purpose ; and as he wishes to have his rep-
utation rest upon it, he is taking great pains with it, and I think
will make an excellent likeness. He has two little fancy pieces at
the AthenfBum exhibition, which opens to-morrow. I have intro-
duced him to several of my friends, who are professed patrons of
the fine arts, and who will give him all encouragement. His pas-
sion for his pencil is marvellous ; and I know not whether most to
admire the maturity of his conceptions or the rapidity of his execu-
tion. I think he is quite an offset to my little musical prodigy. I
have brought them together. Flagg was delighted with her per-
formance ; and we have made arrangements for her to sit for a
little cabinet piece, which he will execute in his best style."

On the 21st of August he again writes : " Flagg confines me
pretty closely with his portrait, but has now nearly completed it.
It is exceedingly well done, and is said to be a likeness. As he
has hardly received any notice from other quarters, I have been a
good deal occupied in cari-ying him about the suburbs. His child-
like simplicity and genuine devotion to his art make him a delight-
ful companion, and I hope he will continue as unsophisticated from
his acquaintance with the world. He enjoyed our visits to Pine
Bank and Naiiant rarely, and kept me clambering up and down the
ledges, at the latter place, all the while we were there, though one
of the warmest days of the season. He has in hand a small cabi-
net piece, for which my ' little correspondent ' was the sitter, and
which he considers as the best thing he has done. This is for me,
and will be a beautiful picture."

Again, on the 28th, he writes : " Little Flagg has finished my
picture, which is a better performance than any, he thinks, that he
has ever befi»re executed. I have been the means of filling his
hands with business, and he is very grateful for the attention which
he has received from me. ... In the mean time, he improves
very rapidly, and, when known, will be nuich noticed and caressed.
He is indeed a delightful boy."

Thus was it his pleasure to introduce this young and devoted
artist, who was yet in his mere boyhood, to friends, to favor, and to
patronage ; and he had the gratification of knowing, in after years,
that his confidence had not been misplaced ; that the talents and
genius of his youthful friend had not been overrated ; and that his
highest anticipations had all been realized. G. W. Flagg was soon
distinguished in his art, while confined chiefly to portraits ; and



1831.] CHRIST CllUliCII. 99

having afterwards turned liis attention more particularly to histori-
cal painting", he has ])roduced a variety of pieces vvliich place liim
in a high position in this branch of his art, and will secure him an
enviable reputation among the men of genius of tlie present age.

It may be well to introduce in this place a brief notice of the
child whose picture Flagg was engaged in painting, and of whom
her pastor speaks in the preceding extracts as his " little musical
prodigy," and as his " little correspondent." This child, from a
very early age, had manifested an extraordinary devotion of sjjirit,
a remarkable tenderness of conscience, and an ardent love of
religion and of the services of the Church. Her taste for music
had been much cultivated at the age of eight or nine years, and
she had acquired an ease and readiness in epistolary composition
seldom or never witnessed in so young a person. Her indications
of early piety had induced an over-fond relative to suggest, and
rather urge, the propriety of her admission at once to confirmation
and the holy conmiunion. From this course, however, she was
easily dissuaded by her fiiithful friend and pastor. But though she
delayed to a more appropriate season the outward and public pro-
fession of her faith, she never neglected for a moment the regular
and systematic exercise of her religious duties. The following
letter, addressed to this child, and copied by permission, will serve
to show as well her pastor's high appreciation of her character, as
his remarkable faculty of adapting his instructions to ever)^ class
and age, from the tender lambs to the mature members of his flock.
It is a gratification to add, that the child of this period is now, and
has been for several years, a most worthy, intelligent, and exem-
plary member of the holy communion of the Church.

"Boston, May 4, 1831.
" My dear little Friend : You may be sure that I shall love
the notes you write, as well as the notes you sing ; and I do not
know how I could love them better. You may be sure, too, tha*
if you try to be good, God will assist you to be so. The arms of
the same kind and gracious Savior who once took up the little
children, put His hands upon them and blessed them, will ever be
open to receive all of the same tender age. O, love that blessed
Being as you have ever loved your dearest friends ; for He has
loved you even more than they, and has given Himself for you, that
where He now is, there you may hereafter be also. Pray to Him,
that you may ever continue His own dutiful claild, pure, peaceable,
gentle, and easy to be entreated. So will your heavenly songs ever
delight His ear. So will you sing in His temple above, with the
little ones who sung of old in His temple below, ' Hosanna to the
Sou of David ! '



100 MEMOIR OF WILLIAM CROSWELL. [1831.

" I have many things to say to you, my dear child, which I can-
not write even with a ' silver pen.' ' It may be better told,' as one
of the holiest of men says, 'when I come unto you; for the daugh-
ter of the voice is better than the son of ink, and it is a good time
when a man speaketh face to face with his friend.'

" God bless you and your little sister, and all whom you most
love. Your affectionate friend,

"WILLIAM CROSWELL.



To the same child he addressed the following stanzas on her
eighth birthday, September 5, 18 — : —

Steeped in the soft September light,

What mellowing hues array
The forward view! — so pure and bright

Be all thy life's long day ;
A dewy lustre thus be shed,

A sweet and soothing calm
Swim in thine eye, and o'er thy head

Fall on thy soul like balm.

May Heaven preserve each dainty tress

From all that would destroy.
As, in thy playful restlessness.

They seem to share thy joy ;
Good angels shelter from all ills

The fast-maturing grace,
That with a saddening sweetness fills

Thy penseroso face.

Oft as I turn from year to year,

And days of absence roll,
I'll bind thy vision, made more dear

By memory, to my soul ;
I'll pray that lie by whom 'twas won

Will keep thy minstrel boon,
A singing heart, in unison

With every darling tune.

The following letter, in answer to an invitation to officiate at the
anniversary of the Ladies' Bible Societies, in Boston, expresses, in
brief but plain and decided terms, the sentiments generally held
by the Church on the subject of associations constituted in confor-
mity with the policy of the American Bible Society.



1831.] CmilST CHURCH. 101

" Dear Madam : While I readilj acknowledge the honor intend-
ed me hy the ladies of the Female Bible Society, I throw myself
upon their most candid construction, in declining to attend their
anniversary on the Gth proximo.

" With regard to the duty and privilege of aiding in the circulation
of that 'glorious gospel of the blessed God' with which his Church
has ever been inseparably connected, I am happy to believe there
is no difference of opinion among Protestants. But in this, as in
all our attempts to do good, regard must be had to the means, as
well as to the end ; and it was an early lesson of my childhood,
which has strengthened into conviction with my strength, and been
fortified by the opinion of a long line of saintly men, from the
Reformation to the present day, that the indiscriminate and promis-
cuous union, for religious purposes, of the maintainers of every
opposite sentiment, only serves to encourage and perpetuate error.
Painful, therefore, a.^ the duty is, I feel that I could not, in any case,
be justified in shrinking to bear my testimony, insignificant as it
may be, against the practice.

" Trusting that my motives will be considered in their true light,
I beg you to believe that I am, with every sentiment of respect and
esteem M the intentions of the society, your friend and servant in
the faitli, WILLIAM CROSWELL."

A few further extracts from his diary and letters will close the
record of the present year. These are the terms in which he
recommences his diary on the 4th of October. The passage is
inserted to show with what untiring energy and perseverance he
devoted every moment of his time to duties, either voluntarily
assumed or devolving upon him in the regular pursuit of his calling.

" After so long an interval, I again resume my journal, with the
determination, in dependence on divine grace, not to intermit a day
again, so long as God shall please to spare me ability. The press
of duty upon me never was, and probably never will be, greater
than at this moment. The care of a laborious and difficult parish,
expecting religious services thrice on the Lord's day, with much
attention in the course of the week ; the superintendence of a
weekly periodical, small indeed, but on that account the more
select ; the secretaryship of several societies, requiring an unusual
amount of correspondence ; together with all my own private let-
ters, and the numberless and nameless vexations attendant upon all,
leave me but little of that leisure which my nature and tempera-
ment make so luxurious. But there is a rest remaining for the
{)eople of God. May it be mine at last."

It is sufficient to say of this journal, for the remainder of the
year, that what is here compressed into a brief compass is but
a foreshadowing of the minute details which make up the daily



102 MEMOIR OF WILLIAM CR0SWT5LL. [1831.

record. Amitl his severe and nianifiild labors, however, he seldom
complains of fati<jne or ill health. The following entry is the only
exception. On Sunday, the 20th of November, he preached twice,
takinw the whole service, and, in the evening, read the prayers for
the third time. Speaking of the morning, he says, " Somewhat
nervous from exhaustion ; was obliged to stop for some minutes, in
the second lesson, till I could recover myself" He closes the rec-
ord of the day : " Retired early, much fatigued."

Of the great variety of topics embraced in his letters, no partic-
ular classification will be observed ; but the selections will follow
generally in the order of their dates. Hence, a grave reflection, a
solemn thought, a touching allusion, a graphic description, a vein
of ])leasantry, may be brought into close proximity, as called forth
by passing incidents, which cannot, for obvious reasons, be given
in detail. Here is a caustic sally, drawn out by a correspondent,
who had spoken of some hostility, in a certain quarter, to Christ-
mas decorations : " January 2. Your last shows a breaking out
of the old puritanical spirit in a new place. This loathing of
Christmas greenery is worthy of that ' gang of canting rogues ' who
broke down the carved work of the sanctuary, and who, forgetting
that we had bodies as well as spirits, seemed to aim to make reli-
gion as uncomfortable and nauseating as possible, and to deprive it
of every thing which is calculated to enlist the senses, the taste, and
the imagination on its side. . . . But it is a genial time, and
sliould be prolific of every thing that tends to elevated and refresh-
ing associations."

Here is a piece of pleasantry, addressed to his mother, February
13, on the subject of an eclipse of the sun : " It being a pleasant
day yesterday, it was distinctly understood that the eclipse was not
to be postponed. Accordingly, smoked glass was the circulating
medium all the morning, and the glaziers sold more broken panes
than they ever mended. Even Master Burke, who is supposed to
be the most wonderful creature now living, seemed to excite less
attention. We were disappointed in the spectacle. After so long
a note of preparation, and attempt at effect, it was quite a failure.
We wanted it to be darker. I had intended to ' improve ' the phe-
nomenon, in a sermon, to-day, but concluded my congregation would
think me at a great loss for edifying subjects, if I made so much of
this disastrous twilight."

From his own account of his parochial labors, it will be suflrtcient
to make an occasional extract. The following, addressed to his
father, Sunday evening, March 6, may be taken as a specimen : " I
am quite tired, though a perfectly well man. The day has been
dismal, the duty arduous. I visited two Sunday schools this morn-
ing, prayed, preached, and administered the communion. During
the intermission, I visited and administered the communion to the



1831.] CHRIST CHURCH. 103

sick ; and a«>aiii prayed and preached this afternoon and evening.
All this citnies .after a \'ery toilsome week. I have seen more dead
and dying within a short time, in our parish, than during all the rest
of my ministry. There are, at this moment, several cases of severe
sickness, arising not so much from the prevalence of any single
disease, as from this critical season of the year, which brings so
many lingering cases to a fatal conclusion. We find, of course,
that as is the life, so generally is the death. It is delightful to visit
the sick beds of those who have passed an exemplary Christian
course, and have, while in health, made their peace with God —
whose loins are girt, and whose lamps are burning. I have been
called to communicate their situation to several who have been far
gone in consumption ; and I have had much evidence of the diffi-
culty of making persons with that complaint realize their bodily
condition, much more their spiritual."

The same letter contains a brief, but just, tribute to one of the
most distinguished of our departed bishops : " Mightily have I been
confirmed and refreshed over the volumes of Ravenscroft. That
saintly man was truly a burning and a shining light; and would have
been, in the most glorious eras of the Church."

In a letter, dated on Easter Monday, he mentions the fact, that,
including the Sundays, he had, in the course of the week preceding,
preached seven times, and read twelve entire services, besides dis-
charging considerable other parochial duty; and yet, he says, "I
thank God, I have got safely through with it."

Agreeably to the practice of the • governors of Massachusetts,
who have commonly appointed the anilual fast during the festive
season of the Church, and on a day never recognized as a fasting
day, the appointment, the present year, was on the Thursday after
Easter. The following extract from a letter of Sunday evening
after Easter, will show how it was observed by the rector and
congregation of Christ Church: "The neighboring clock has just
struck eleven ; and the ancient and quiet watchman, who patroles
this well-ordered part of the town, has signified that ' all's well.'
Deep sleep hath fallen upon all, apparently, roimd about ; but I feel
so fresh and wakeful, that I have no inclination to follow their
example ; and I have little doubt that I should rest the better when
I have one the less duty to discharge. By keeping out of my study
as much as possible, I have com|)letely recruited myself since my
last ; though I have not been able to get through the week without
preaching, on Tuesday evening at South Boston, and again on the
day of the annual fast. But though I submitted to this last ordi-
nance of man for the Lord's sake, I studiously avoided the recog-
nition of it as a day of humiliation. 1 gave all the services the
character which belongs to the festal season ; for I could not con-
sent to put our little flock out of harmony with the holy Cliurch



104 MEMOIR OF ^TLLLIAM CROS^VELL. [1831.

throug;liout the world, to accommodate the narrow-minded preju-
dices of the founders of the Bay State."

His next letter gives the details of a frightful stage accident,
which occurred on his passage from Lowell to Boston. The stage,
after a long run, was upset in Charlestown, and nearly demolished ;
but though there were nine inside passengers, including four ladies,
and two small children, and four outside, none of them were
seriously injured. "An hour afterwards," he says, "I could not,
and do not now, realize as I ought the immediate peril to which I
have been exposed, and the marvellous deliverance which has been
wrought out for me."

On the 25th he writes, "You will see by the pa})ers the cir-
cumstances of brother Doane's institution, [as Rector of Trinity
Church.] It was a most solemn transaction, and affected me deeply.
I had not entirely recovered from the agitation of my escape ; and
I have not been so overcome by my feelings at any solemnity of
the kind since my own ordination."

On the 6th of June, speaking of the approaching session of the
diocesan Convention, he says, " I shall have an encouraging paro-
chial report to present. The baptisms alone exceed seventy, ten or
twelve of whom are adults." In the same letter, he describes a
certain irregular proceeding in a neighboring church ; a portion of
which is selected, not so much for the purpose of casting reproaches
upon others, as of showing his own extreme, but laudable sensi-
tiveness, on the subject of the order and discipline of the Church :
" We have had a beautiful performance at , which may, per-
haps, surprise you; but here we are surprised at notliing from that

quarter. I allude to the manner in which thought proper to

advance the cause of prisoii discipline, by breaking through all those
rules which regulate discipline ecclesiastical. .Tust conceive, for a

moment, of 's successor stepping into tiie desk, in a thin

undress, reading a chapter, setting aside ' common prayer ' as a
sealed book and a dead letter, and breaking out extemporaneously
into those 'jmcommon,' and until lately ' M«known strains,' with
which the Congregational houses resound. I should have expected
to have seen something ivhite on such an occasion, if it were but the
sjnrits of confessors and martyrs reproachfully flitting through the
gloom, or to have heard the very beams crying out from the wall."

The following extract is illustrative of some of the most inter-
esting traits in his character. It is found in a letter addressed to
his brother, to whom he had presented a book for his religious
edification : " No man can read it, with a desire to be instructed,
and not feel his principles of piety invigorated and confirmed, and
his mind refreshed. I hope you will study it with attention and
singleness of heart, not so much for my sake as for the object with
which it was written, the attainment of a religious character. It will



1831.] CIIUI8T CHURCH. J05

teach you how to lead a lioly and happy life here, and, by adorning
the doctrine of God your Savior in all things, to grow in meetness
for a state of acceptance and perfect bliss hereafter. It is now the
critical and turning period of your life. It is the time of your
grealest blessings and your greatest dangers. The evil days have
not yet drawn nigh, and sinful habits have not become inveterate.
Young men exhort to be sober minded. You are so, I believe, in
the main, and, I trust, not far from the kingdom of God. Seek it
first, seek it early, and you shall find it. There is nothing, of
course, about which I can feel so much solicitude, as that ours may
be a household fearing God, and partakers of the like precious faith
together ; that we may be bound more and more in love, now our
little company is so much broken down ; that considering how we
are united to the future world by a portion of ourselves' already
gone thither, we may live as heirs of the same glorious inheritance,
and continue throughout eternity with those to whom we have been
so tenderly related, a family in heaven, not one of us being lost,
in that day when our Lord maketh up his jewels. . . . Our
religion was not intended to make us dismal or wretched, but to
make us cheerful within the limits of becoming mirth. Its happy
title is, the promise of the life that now is, and of that wliich is to
come."

It might be deemed hardly justifiable to draw such a letter as
the following, addressed to his cousin Elizabeth Sherman, from
the privacy of domestic custody, were it not accompanied by a
subsequent letter, in which he explains, and apologizes for, the
sportive and playful styre which many might suppose inconsistent
with the gravity and dignity of his profession : —

"Boston, June 27, 1831.
"My DEAR Cousin : Though time is scarce, I cannot spare you
any longer. I dare say, you take it very unkind that I have neg-
lected to answer your last letter so long. I know you consider
yourself but as an indiflferent scribe, and, because I have taken to
writing for good and all, think I might write to you a great deal
oftencr. Another thing which I dare say you think is, that I ought
to be thinking of coming back, as it does not look well for young
people to be away too long from their own relations, who must, in
the nature of things, care most about them. I dare say, you are
not the only one in the house that keeps a-thinking so. I think
myself that it is possible you are more than half right, and will not
gainsay it.

" Trust me, cousin Bess,
Full many a day my memory has played
The creditor with me on your account,
And made me shame to think that I should owe
14



106 MEMOm OF WILLLUI CROSWELL. [1831.

So long the debt of kindness. But in truth,

Like Christian on his pilgrimage, I bear

So heavy a pack of business, that albeit

I toil on mainly in one twelve hours' race,

Time leaves me distanced. Loath indeed were I

That for a moment you should lay to me

Unkind neglect. Mine, cousin, is a heart

That smokes not. Yet methinks there should be some

Who know how warm it beats. I'm no sworn friend

Of half an hour, as apt to leave as love.

Mine are no mushroom feelings, that spring up

At once, without a seed, and take no root,

Wiseliest distrusted. In a narrow sphere,

The little circle of domestic life,

I would be known and loved. The world beyond

Is not for me. And, Bessy, sure I think

That you should know me well, for you and I

Grew up together ; and when we look back

Upon old times, our recollections paint

The same familiar faces . . . and so on . . .



" I dare say you are all delighted witli whatever I have told you
delights me. I dare say you think it is all very fine and very grand,
and so forth ; but still, if I don't write to you very often, and I don't
come home very often, I dare say you will still begin to have a little
half-wondering kind of doubt on the subject of my remembering.
To tell the truth honestly, I should be, if I ivere you, a little, if it
were but a httle, jealous, lest these fine things and fine jjeople should
put you all out of my head, even when you are too just to suspect
any thing of the kind. Lack-a-daisy ! if you knew how often I have
a sort of sailor-boy's dream in the broad daylight, and think what
a store of dehght awaits me when I can get home again, and tell
you the histories, omitted in my letters, ' of all 1 have seen.' To
think of the bustle in anticipation ! mother, travelling from the attic
downwards, smoothing down bed quilts, setting chairs at the precise
angle of precision, putting the contents of drawers in order, wiping
for the twentieth time every scrap of furniture, dusting things per-
fectly free from dust, and stepping into the kitchen to give Hetty
directions ab^ut puddings and pies, watching the rumbling of every
vehicle, and, when the Genuine one does come, what a meeting;
what a greeting, what peals of salutation from every direction !
I dare not read over what I have written, lest I should
decide to burn, instead of mailing it."

But turn now to his apology. Writing again to his cousin within
a few months, he says, " I should be sorry to have you, or any that