who says, suffer little children to come unto me,' &c. &c., pronounced aloud the name of the child, and received it as a member of the mystical body of him, who is the second Adam, the Redeemer of men. How often has his paternal heart throbbed with rapture, as he has most devoutly repeated, 'We dedicate thee to Him, to whom thou properly belongest, to be baptized with his own baptism, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; and we pronounce upon thee that blessing, which He commanded his ministers, Moses, Aaron, and his Sons, to pronounce upon his people, saying, The Lord bless thee, and keep thee; The Lord cause His face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee; The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace." The preacher, however, never surrendered the persuasion, that he was sent out to preach the gospel, and his visits to his far distant friends were frequently repeated; yet these visits were always made by the assenting voice of the society, and he regarded every individual, congregated under his directing auspices, as in an essential and solemn sense, his children. A gentleman, attending in the church in Bennet-street, addressing Mr Murray by letter, thus observes: 'I was very much pleased at your meeting; the orderly, respectable, and serious demeanor of your society; their silent and fixed attention upon you, penetrated me with sentiments of attachment and satisfaction, and I forbore not to invoke the providence of God, that no froward, or adverse spirit, should interrupt the harmony which now so evidently subsists between you.' Yes, it is indeed true, that Mr. Murray considered the interest of the people of his charge as his own. Most fondly did he cherish, and perseveringly did he seek, by every possible means, to advance their reputation. He sympathized with the afflicted, and largely partook their sorrows; while, so often as the course of events brought joy to their bosoms, his eye beamed gladness, and his tongue exulted to dwell upon facts, which illumined the hours of his protracted pilgrimage. His voice, at the bed of death, was the herald of consolation. Are there not uncounted numbers, still passing on, in this vale of tears, who, while attending upon their expiring relatives, have witnessed the divine effects emanating from the luminous understanding of the preacher, and lighting up a blissful smile of anticipated felicity, amid the agonies of dissolving nature. To the aged he delighted to administer consolation; his presence gave a face of cheerfulness to those social hours, which the numerous classes, with whom he *Note-See page 319. mingled, were wont to appropriate to enjoyment. Children lisped with infantile transport the name of the philanthropic preacher, and they were even eloquent in expressions of unfeigned attachment. The pleasures of young people, if under the dominion of innocence, were uniformly sanctioned by their preacher; and his appearance in well-regulated circles of hilarity, so far from clouding, was always considered as the harbinger of highwrought entertainment. If we except a single instance, wo do not know, that, through a series of revolving years, the harmony subsisting between the minister and his congregation, suffered either interruption or diminution This instance originated in political pertinacity. Party spirit occasionally ran very high; and federal and democratic leaders were among the adherents of Mr. Murray. A July Oration was to be delivered; much invidious disquisition was afloat; but it is fruitless to delineate; suffice it to say, that this oration, and its consequences, were pregnant with anguish to an oft-stricken heart; but blessed be God, the threatening aspect of affairs, which seemed to gather darkness, was soon dispersed, and the sun of righteousness seemed to break forth, with renewed splendor. Nor is it wonderful, that transient animosities existed; it is rather astonishing they were not more frequent. It was truly affecting, it was beautiful, and eminently consolatory, to behold persons of the warmest feelings, and strongest prejudices, depositing every dissenting, every foreign sentiment, at the foot of the cross, meeting, and mingling souls, and emphatically, although tacitly, saying to every minor consideration, "Tarry ye here, while we go up to worship.' Too soon have the years of felicity fled away. They rise to view like the vision of some blissful era, which we have imagined, not realized. Suddenly we were aroused from our dream of security; the torpid hand of palsy blighted our dearest hopes; the Preacher, the Head, the Husband, the Father, was in a moment precipitated from a state of high health, and prostrated beneath the tremendous stroke of the fell destroyer. 21* CHAPTER VIII. Record continued from October, 1809, to September, 1815, including the closing scene. Portentously the dense, dark cloud arose; Long was the night, surcharged with clust'ring woes; It was upon the nineteenth day of October, one thousand eight hundred and nine, that the fatal blow was given to a life so valuable, so greatly endeared, so truly precious; but, although the corporeal powers of the long active preacher became so far useless, as to render him as helpless as a new-born babe; although he was indeed a complete cripple, yet the saint still lingered; was still detained by the all-wise decree of the Most High, a prisoner in his clay-built tenement, nor did his complete beatification take place until the Sabbath morning of September 3d, lacking only a few days of six complete years. Yet was his patience, so far as we have known, unexampled. No murmur against the inflictions of Heaven escaped his lips; praises of his paternal Creator were still found upon his tongue, and the goodness of his God continued his enduring theme. Unwavering in his testimony, he repeatedly, and most devoutly, said: "No man on earth is under so many obligations to Almighty God as myself; yes, will adore the great source of Being so long as I shall exist, and every faculty of my soul shall bless my redeeming Creator.' Yet, it is true, that when the once cheerful sabbath bells vibrated upon his ear, he would frequently lift towards heaven a humid eye, and mournfully articulate: Alas! alas! it is not with me as heretofore, when I could hear the tribes devoutly say, 'Up, Israel, to the temple haste, and keep this festal day:' Soon, however, his mind was hushed to peace, by calm and firm confidence in his God, and he would add-Well, well, when I awake in thy likeness, I shall be satisfied. We are asleep in the present state; we are asleep in the likeness of the earthy man; all our uneasy sensations are unpleasant dreams. Pleasures, derived from mere terrestrial enjoyments, detached from intellect, are also dreams, and, like the baseless fabric of a vision shall not leave a wreck behind. But if my life have been a continued sleep, and the greater part of my pains, and pleasures, dreams; yet, while this deep sleep has been upon me, the Almighty hath instructed me; yes, blessed be His name, the roof of His mouth is as the best wine,which goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of those who are asleep to speak. O! for more of this best wine, that my lips may show forth his praise, that I may drink and forget all sorrow.' Thus was the tenor of his mind generally acquiescent, and his impatience to be gone was frequently subdued, by an operative conviction of the sovereign wisdom, as well as paternal love of Deity. His bible was his constant companion. Seated by his affectionate assistant, in his easy chair, and the book of God opened before him, the man of patience, during six succeeding years, passed the long summer mornings from the sun's early beams, in examining and re-examining the WILL OF HIS AUGust Father. He had, through a long life, been conversant with a variety of English authors. Poets, dramatic writers, essayists, and historians, were familiar to him; he took great delight in perusing them; but, travelling through those multiplied pages, might be termed his excursions, while the sacred volume was his INTELLECTUAL HOME. Many hours in every day were devoted to the attentive perusal of the scriptures, and yet his sentiments were unvaried; not a single feature of the system, he had so long advocated, was changed. Mr. Murray was fond of calling himself the Lord's prisoner; and he would add, I am, by consequence, a prisoner of hope. During his confinement many respectable gentlemen, clergymen in Boston, visited him. One or two repeated their visits, and they apparently regarded the now white-haired servant of God with kindness and respect. One clergyman questioned him respecting his then present views, wishing to be ascertained if his faith were still in exercise, if he were willing to depart, O yes, yes, yes,' exclaimed the long-illumined christian, 'the glorious manifestations of divine love still brighten upon me. Right precious to my soul are the promises, the OATH OF JEHOVAH; and, sir, so far from shrinking from my approaching change, my only struggle is for patience to abide, until the time appointed for my emancipation. I would cultivate a humble, child-like resignation; but hope deferred, doth indeed too often make the heart sick.' Another gentleman congratulated him on his apparent convalescence.'Oh! sir,' he returned, 'the voice of gladness suits not my present feelings; it is, as if, when I believed, I was voyaging to my native shores, where health, happiness, and peace awaited me, borne onwards by gales the most pro pitious, and supposing myself almost in the moment of obtaining the long desired haven, when suddenly driven back by some adverse circumstance, instead of being soothed by condolence, I am pierced to the soul by the discordant sounds of felicitations.' Yet, we repeat, the revered teacher was in general astonishingly patient, resigned, and even cheerful. He was frequently heard to say, that he had experienced, in the course of his confinement, more of the abundant goodness of his God, than through the whole of his preceding life; and those, most conversant with him, could not forbear observing, that the protracted period which would in prospect have risen to the eye with a most melancholy, if not terrific aspect, taken as a whole, exhibited the saint more equal, calm, and dignified, than any other six years of his existence. spectable gentleman, not of his persuasion, but candid and benign, remarked, that his character was elevated to no common height; that his uncomplaining endurance of suffering, and the unwavering steadfastness of his faith, had stamped his testimony with the seal of integrity, and gave that confirmation to his confidence in his own views of sacred writ, which could not fail of rejoicing the hearts of his adherents. A re The chamber of adversity was occasionally illumined. by the presence of a few fast friends; and ONE sympathizing, kind-hearted, affectionate brother was so uniform in his appearance, with the close of every week, that we might almost have designated the day, and the hour of the evening, by his approaches. Nor was the demise of his teacher the period of his kindness; his countenance, his aid, his commisseration, his society, are still loaned to the solitary, the bereaved family. Dear faithful man! May the rich blessings of Almighty God rest upon thee and thine, until thou hast finished thy mortal career, and mayest thou, in the regions of blessedness, renew, with thy beloved teacher, that friendship which, while tenanted in clay, thou hast so well known to appreciate. To three other gentlemen, devoted adherents to the lamented deceased, warm acknowledgments are, also, most righteously due. Their kind, and still continued attentions, are gratifying proof of their attachment to him, who was so dear to them, and gratitude hath, with mournful alacrity, reared her altars in the bosoms of the widow, and the fatherless. Some strange occurrences were noted, which filled the heart of the venerable man of God with sorrow, unutter able sorrow. Every thing seemed to point homeward to |