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Alexander Campbell Memoirs of Elder Thomas Campbell (1861) |
THE following interesting communications are from several correspondents who were intimately acquainted with the subject of this memoir. They will throw additional light upon the life and character of Father Campbell, and evince, upon the part of the writers, an affectionate regard for his memory.
LETTER FROM BROTHER WALTER SCOTT.
MAYSLICK, KY., May 8th, 1860.
MRS. BRYANT:
Very Dear Sister--The Lord bless you and yours! the Lord make you a blessing to many people!
Your letter of the 25th ult., unexpected but not unwelcome, was duly received. These lines, in answer to it, go, I trust, to find all the friends in Bethany in good health.
Touching the matter whereof you wrote to me, I am, I regret to say, in possession of no documents or incidents that you would deem of any value in a biography of Father Campbell. Both of our families resided for some time in different apartments of the same house, he and I taught the same school, and presided together as bishops in the same Church, (Pittsburg,) and, therefore, upon continuous reflection, some [275] incidents might occur to my memory which time has long obliviated.
I made the acquaintance of your brother Alexander in 1821-2, and soon after that had the pleasure, at his suggestion, I presume, of a visit from your dear and venerable father. In his case, as in that of his son, we at once conceived an ardent Christian affection for each other, which, by the way, continued uninterrupted and unabated while he tarried on earth.
Alas! where now is the venerable man, the man of God, and the holy ones who, under his pastoral care, among the cabins of Western Pennsylvania and Western Virginia, worshiped the God of our salvation? Gone, all gone,
And left us weeping on the shore
To which they will return no more."The righteous perish and no man layeth it to heart." A sense or these melancholy changes diffuses a copious and doleful gloom over my affections and heart, and impels me to indulge for the moment in an involuntary and unavailing tear. I think of your mother, I think of your rather, I think of Alicia, of Thomas, of yourself, and others, and my heart dies within me on memory of the days that are past. May grace, mercy, and peace be with those who still linger behind!
Since Father Campbell was so much better known to you all than to me, it would be improper in me to attempt, for your benefit, a description of his excellences, either intellectual, moral, social, or religious; and yet I may, perhaps, state, in a few words, without presumption, how he appeared to me under these several phases.
I always regarded your father as a man of fine intellectual parts. The evidence of this was derived to me from two sources, sense and reason--the eye and the ear. It was impossible to look upon his lofty brow and facial lines of [276] thought without reading in these exterior symbols intellectual greatness--reason, robust common sense, capacity, skill, wisdom. "The trial of a man is his speech," says the son of Sirach. Your father's public efforts fully vindicated, by the apocalypse they made of truth, all first impressions. Sometimes he spoke with great effect and though he often protracted his speech to a great length--the manners and the taste of the times demanding it--yet he did not do so always. I once heard him in my academy, which was large, deliver a current commentary on James, first chapter; and can say, in regard to it, that I have not, since that time, listened to anything in the way of teaching more beautiful in expression, or in thought and reason more delightful and ravishing.
He was fond of discussion, and frequently offered propositions for debate. On such occasions he was a little sensitive and high-spirited. Amid the affray of words and arguments which his genius for dialectics had waked up, he ever held his old gold snuff-box{1} in his hand, and snatching thence, at unequal intervals, "a hasty pinch" of the good old Scotch, as Henry Clay called it, he would immediately renew the conflict with increased energy.
He was, of course, fond of head-work. His intellectual system could not lay idle. He engaged its forces in various ways, therefore--abstract thought, reflection, meditation, lucubration, contemplation, and excogitation; so that, sometimes he looked pensive, sad, cast down, melancholy. Such appeared to me, intellectually, your pious and enlightened father. Those who think your brother's strong intellectual qualities were not derived to him from his father, differ from me toto cælo.
Touching his practical nature, its basis seemed moral rather than sentient. His affections were, therefore, stirred from within rather than from without, and shone forth in respect [277] for the rights of others, rather than in excitability for their faults. He was patient more than impressible; meek, gentle, and resigned, more than passionate or easily provoked. He wished well to all the world, whose salvation he desired, and loved with unspeakable complacency his neighbors, his family, and the saints.
Though his nature, as I have said, was affectionate rather than sensitive, yet his sympathies could be stirred up to floods of tears by the occasion; and of this, the following is a proof: Our preaching had, one day, taken such fast hold on the heart of a certain lady as to produce a slight alienation of mind, which, on our return, we learned had continued for a week. At the end of that time, on a second visit, many people offered themselves for the obedience of faith, and were baptized. In the conclusion of the beautiful scene, said lady pushed herself close up to my side, until, indeed, she almost leaned upon me. All the people saw her, and every heart was touched, for she spoke not a word. Father Campbell stood as close to my person almost as the lady herself. Looking upon the countenance of my venerable co-laborer, I said to him, "My dear father, if the word of God has perturbed the soul of this poor lady, may not the same word also, under other circumstances, tranquilize it?" "Brother Scott," he replied, "baptize her." Turning to the woman, I took the confession, and asked her if she repented of her sins. Without lifting her eyes from the ground, on which they were fixed, she replied, "I have repented most wonderfully." On the utterance of these extraordinary words, a flood of tears gushed from the eyes of my venerable associate, as if his head had been a fountain of water. They absolutely fell in a stream to the ground. The memory of the fact must remain with me through life. I baptized the lady, and, thanks be to God! she awoke next morning in full possession of her senses.
In regard to his feelings, derived from the opinions of others, he was by no means insensible to fame. If, however, [278] this "last infirmity of noble minds" at any time perturbed his feelings or awakened his ambition, he sought not earthly renown for its own sake, if he sought it at all. If he desired to be known, it was as a herald of the cross of Christ, reformer of the Church and of the world.
He had, as a scholar, mingled with the aristocracy of his own native land, and, without contracting any of their luxurious habits, had come off victorious from the contact, impressed only with the grace and elegance of their lordly address. He was one of the best bred men of his day.
At an early date I returned his visit, and tarried some days and nights under his sacred roof. Here his social affections displayed themselves in the most agreeable voluntary hospitality. His great nature overflowed in affability and in the arts of pleasing--conversation, reading, happy discussions on pleasing themes, walking abroad, etc. In all he did and said he offered me a pleasing illustration of the Scripture which says, "He pleased not himself."
Touching his religion, he was the most devout man I ever knew. He loved God, and adored him for the gift of his Son in our great redemption. He was a man of prayer, a man of reading, a man of holy meditation, excogitation, and reformation. He was fond of the analogies between the two Divine systems, nature and religion, and read with delight, in the works of God, the spiritual relations of the universe. He ascended from infinite power to infinite wisdom, from infinite wisdom to infinite goodness, and read and realized in the things that are seen the things that are not seen, but yet are eternal. All things, he saw with delight, were made for man and man for his Maker. He ascended, then, by nature and religion, up to the God of nature and religion. He had tasted of the sovereign and universal good, and his heart was in the heavens. He was the most exemplary man I ever saw. His memory is blessed.
WALTER SCOTT.
LETTER FROM BROTHER F. W. EMMONS.
NEAR GLOBE VILLAGE, SOUTHBRIDGE, MASS.,
October 22, 1860.DEAR BROTHER CAMPBELL:
On reading the good letter of Brother Walter Scott, concerning your excellent father, published in the July number of the Harbinger, I felt moved to add my testimony, also, to his worth for it was my privilege likewise to have been acquainted with him. But, nothing in particular then occurring to me to write, I wrote not, and now I have but little of interest to communicate.
I was glad to be informed that your memoir of him was so nearly completed, that, in addition to being a delightful biography, this volume will also be a substantial history of the current reformation. It will be a beautiful volume, with a fine steel portrait.
I think I did not meet the old gentleman, for the first time, during my first visit to Bethany, in the summer of 1830; but the following spring, at New Lisbon, Ohio. From and after that time, during the years 1831, 1832, and 1833, while I resided at New Lisbon, and, at Wellsburg, Virginia, I saw him frequently, heard him preach, he was occasionally a guest at my house, and I spent some weeks in his society, off and on, at your house at Bethany. This was while "The Sacred Oracles," for the third and fourth editions, were being revised, in which work we all took part; bolt none with deeper interest than he. The last time that I saw him he could not see me--when he had forgotten most of his former acquaintances and friends. But there was ONE, I remember, "whom not having seen he loved," whose name and person and work he never forgot--JESUS, HIS REDEEMER AND SAVIOR; and that his mind was then full of hymns to his praise. Often have [280] I since thought of the emphasis and feeling with which he repeated two lines or one of them:
"How happy is the Christian's state;
His sins are all forgiven."In 1831 there were sore difficulties in the Church at New Lisbon, and Father Campbell visited there, to help, heal, and remove them; and he labored faithfully to this end. I then felt that the testimony of Luke for Barnabas might well be applied to him, that "he was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith." Yes, he was good, he was devout, and, with Edwards, and Judson, and Payson, he ascribed all his goodness to the grace of God. He magnified it, and the truth by which he was sanctified, above everything else. For a definition of truth, the best that I ever saw or heard from any one, I am indebted to him. When, where, and how, I can not tell but this only, that it was his and from him. It is given thus:
"TRUTH IS WHAT IS--THE REPRESENTATION OF WHAT IS--EXACTLY OF WHAT IS."
"FALSEHOOD IS WHAT IS NOT."
The same is written under a lithograph picture I have of him, hanging up in my parlor, which I, love to look at and to think of him.
Father Campbell was, like Barnabas, "a son of consolation"--a sympathizing friend; and he was like Paul, too, in withstanding and reproving error. One instance of this that I witnessed in Wellsburg, in 1832-3, I shall never forget. A proclaimer from Ohio addressed us in the disciples' meeting-house. The house was full, and the young man spoke very fluently. His subject was, "The Holy Spirit and how he operates." He read and remarked upon Eph. vi: 17. He preached that "the Spirit was the word, and the word the Spirit; that all the operation or agency any one experienced from the Holy Spirit was by the import of the word; its [281] meaning, just like the Spirit in the word of man." The Spirit was called "the sword of the Spirit," he said, "not because the Spirit used it, operated by or through it; but because it was forged or made by God." He was very keen, very dogmatical, and seemed to know, or to think he knew, all about it. After getting through with his discourse, before he had time to dismiss the meeting, Father Campbell arose, with the dignity and solemnity of a patriarch, as he was, and spoke some ten or fifteen minutes in reply. Ah, with what force and plainness for the truth! and yet, with tenderness and kindness for the young man. He completely used him up. He did it as no one present could have done. And the effect on all, the proclaimer and the hearers, was good; for he was humbled and they were edified. He, as a Christian, with the psalmist David, could and did say, I think: "Let the righteous smite me," etc., and they, with Elihu in Job, that "days should speak"--had spoken--"and multitude of years should teach"--had taught--"wisdom."
This was twenty-eight years ago. How rapidly the time has passed! The patriarch, in the mean while, has finished his course. His work is done. His warfare is ended. He has fought the good fight, and kept the faith. Henceforth, the crown! May it be ours, also, to follow him as be followed Christ, and share in his reward. In the hope of immortality,
YOURS, F. W. EMMONS.
The case of this young preacher is suggestive. Ardent, inexperienced, and fond of paradox, the recklessness which is often mistaken for manly courage, to avoid a vicious extreme, he ran into its opposite, no less prejudicial to truth and righteousness--an event which is due to an unsettled state of the public mind. To relieve himself from views of spiritual influence which [282] negative human responsibility, he made religion merely mechanical. Unread in the controversy, he accepted an extreme view which seemed to avoid all the difficulties of the subject. Doubtless Father Campbell's eclaircissement of the theme and our young friend's subsequent readings of the living oracles, led him, by a just exegesis of these Scriptures, to form more Scriptural and spiritual views of his religion, and, we would fain hope, enjoy it in proportion to the increase of light. Eph. ii: 22: "In whom ye also are builded together, for an habitation of God through the Spirit." Rom. viii: 11, 14-16, 26, 27: "But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you." "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God." "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which can not be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints, according to the will of God."
These are selected merely as specimens of a large class of Scriptures which fully support the reality of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the Christian's heart by faith. Gal. iii: 2: "This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by [283] the hearing of faith?" As in the natural world God works by physical laws, so in the kingdom of grace he works by evangelical means; or, in other words, the word of God is the sword of the Spirit in the hands of his army. But both in nature and in grace work is done, and God isthe worker.
The following sketch of Father Campbell, from the Ladies' Christian Annual, will be read with much interest:
THOMAS CAMPBELL.
BY JAMES CHALLEN.
IT was my good fortune, after so many years' delay, to have visited, once more Bethany, the residence of Alexander Campbell, President of Bethany College, and his aged father, Thomas Campbell, the subject of this imperfect sketch, now above ninety-one years of age. I felt a spirit of deep reverence in the presence of this man of God, beyond that which I have ever experienced in the presence of any other man. His age, his long experience in the ways of God, his sincere devotion to truth and righteousness, his untiring labors in the ministry for more than the ordinary limit of the life of man, the simplicity of his life, the patriarchal grandeur of his appearance, and his unaffected piety, left a deep impression on my mind, which can not easily be effaced. In all respects he is a very remarkable man; and with him truth and duty have ever been correlate terms. He had but to know what was right and he did it, no matter what Synods and Assemblies might say to the contrary. The world is indebted much to him, under God, in relation to the great [284] movement, in the present century, to restore primitive, apostolic Christianity. His memoirs should be written, and those of his son Alexander Campbell; and I hope that, in view of their departure from our midst, the materials for such a work will be gathered together and arranged by those around them, who alone are competent to accomplish the task. These works, I am sure, would be read with great interest and profit by the Christian world, and, therefore, these men should not be permitted to pass away without some permanent memorials of their life and character.
"Lives of great men all remind us
We may make our lives sublime."Thomas Campbell is now very old; his whitened locks hang upon his shoulders, smoothly parted over his ample forehead. His sightless eyeballs in vain search for the light; for, in his own expressive language, all to him is "pitchy darkness." I could not but think of John Milton, and repeat over in my mind the expressive and affecting words of the great poet, in reference to his blindness:
"Thus with the year
Seasons return; but not to me returns
Day, or the sweet approach of even or morn,
Or sight of vernal bloom, or summer's rose,
Or flocks or herds, or human face divine;
But clouds instead and ever-during dark
Surround me."To him, who was so fond of nature--and where shall we find a spot in which she appears more beautiful and picturesque than at Bethany, with its sloping hills of almost ever-during green, covered with flocks of sheep, and its deep and solemn vales, through which the mountain streams wind their serpentine course?--to him, also, who was so fond of the "human face divine," and of books, the loss of sight is a great privation. But he bears the loss with perfect submission to [285] the Divine will; and, as a compensation for it, he sits down and meditates upon the things of God, and, "smit with the love of sacred song," he repeats over aloud the hymns and songs from the admirable collection at Bethany, which, in other days, he had committed to memory. By the hour I sat at his side and heard him repeat, with singular precision, and in the most impressive manner, these sacred melodies, accompanied with suitable remarks in reference to the sentiments they contain, their Scriptural import and beauty. I was particularly struck with his fine appreciation both of the poetry and sentiment of these hymns. One of his great favorites is the song, "How happy are they who the Savior obey." It is worth a visit to Bethany to hear him repeat, in his earnest and vigorous manner, with the personal interest he feels in the sentiment it contains, the words of this beautiful hymn, a hymn that has cheered many a weary pilgrim on his way to the land of rest, and which stands associated in our minds with some of the most sacred moments of our life. I am sure that hereafter I shall never read or sing these words without thinking of Father Campbell.
His thoughts are wholly absorbed with the great matters connected with eternal life; they occupy his mind continually, and are the themes of his constant meditation and delight. Nothing pleases him so much as to have one sit down and read to him the word of the Lord, or to engage in religious conversation. In the absence of his son Alexander, he daily leads in family worship. His prayers are characterized with deep devotion, adoration, supplication, petition, and thanksgiving; in language the most pure and expressive, comprehensive and Scriptural, he pours his rich oblation forth with a familiarity blending itself with reverence at once showing the simplicity and affection of the child and the subdued spirit of the suppliant. Seldom have I listened, if ever, to a prayer such as he presented to the heavenly Father on the Lord's day morning we worshiped together in the family. [286]
His memory is, of course, very defective, especially what he very properly calls his "historic memory;" but, in his discriminating language, his "sentimental memory" is still quite good. Names, dates, events, and facts he can not remember but with great difficulty; but sentiments, either in the language of poetry or Scripture, he retains with considerable tenacity. He is also hard of hearing; but a voice with which he is familiar he can hear and understand without much difficulty.
He has one of the finest heads I ever saw.{2} Phrenology would claim it as a model, both for its conformation and size; and the volume of brain is very great. Though so very old, his skin has all the freshness and beauty of youth. His cheeks have but few wrinkles, and are quite full. His noble brow is almost entirely smooth. lid sits in his comfortable arm-chair before the fire throughout the day, occasionally rising to change his position or for exercise. He still shaves himself, and attends to his toilet with scrupulous exactness. He retires to his chamber alone, in accordance with his own wishes, and rises without any aid from the family, as he is extremely reluctant to give the least possible trouble to any one about him. His wants are all fully anticipated, and every possible attention paid him by every member of the family, not only from a sense of duty, but from pure affection. Indeed, no one can be near him without loving him. He is so kind and gentle, so courteous and bland, and so grateful even for the smallest favors--
"I'm sure it makes a happy day
When one can please him any way."He still carries about him his old watch, and daily has it set to correspond with the family time-piece. He keeps [287] himself fully posted up with the hours of the day. Time with him was always a sacred thing; he knew its value, and still prizes it. His sleep is sweet and refreshing, like that of an infant. His diet is plain and simple. He uses no animal food; and this contributes much, no doubt, to his good health and spirits. He seems not to have a single ache or pain, such as usually belongs to old age. Like a full shock of corn, he is ready for the granary.
He is the patriarch of the reformation, the Jacob of the tribes, a type and representative of what we mean by a disciple of Christ, an exemplification of the truth and beauty of apostolic Christianity, of its spirituality and life, of the faith it inspires, the hope which it awakens, and the immortal principles which it inculcates. I would advise the self-constituted judges of orthodoxy to pay him a visit, and learn to abate their zeal for an antiquated and toothless theology. I would urge the devotees of an empty, dry, and bony ritualism to visit the Bethany House and take a few lessons from this aged disciple and family on the value of that religion which is both spirit and truth. And to the philosophic mystics of the day, the super-spiritualized, whose highest evidence of their interest in Christ consists in their contempt for those who differ from them, and the conscious self-complacency which they feel, I would commend a visit, in the confident belief that, if their cases are not utterly hopeless, the result will prove beneficial.
Happy disciple! his labors as an active minister of the cross are now over; the trumpet hangs upon the wall; the sword is returned to its scabbard; the sweep-net is dragged to the shore; he has preached his last sermon; he has officially "finished his course." But his presence among us is an evangel, eloquent and impressive; teaching us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world, expecting the blessed [288] hope, the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.
His good health in extreme old age teaches us the value of temperance. His recollection of the admirable things he has learned from the Scriptures, and the consolation he derives from them, teaches us their value, and the importance of an early acquaintance with them, His unshaken confidence in God teaches us the necessity of holy living, of watchfulness and prayer; and his preparation for immortality teaches us the value of that religion to which he has consecrated his life, and for the advocacy of which he has laid under contribution his varied learning and talents.
Soon, very soon will he pass away from among us, and will sleep with his kindred in the "Mamre" at Bethany, "dust to dust and ashes to ashes," to await that "better morn" when Christ shall bid it rise.
Aged pilgrim! the Jordan is still before you; but its waves have already been parted, and its billows are hushed in repose. Canaan is at hand. Already have you seen the dim outline of its everlasting hills, and have heard of its rich valleys and gushing fountains; the dew upon its Hermon and the light upon its Zion, and the glory which rested upon its Tabor!
Dim though your eye to the loveliness of creation, faith reveals
"Climes, which the sun, who sheds the brightest rays
Earth knows, is all unworthy to survey. ""The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age."
PHILADELPHIA, 1854. [289]
LETTER FROM BROTHER FRAME.
The following letter, from J. R. Frame, will present Father Campbell, in his eightieth year, still laboring in his wonted zeal in the good cause. It will no doubt be read with much interest by many of his attached friends, who remember his devotion to the Lord, his cause and people, and his untiring zeal and energy in traveling and preaching the blissful Gospel of our salvation:
MILFORDTON, KNOX COUNTY, O., July 11, 1860.
DR. A. W. CAMPBELL:
Dear Sir--At your request, I give a brief account of the tour in Ohio, which I had the pleasure of making with your venerable father. I visited Bethany in the spring of 1843, and, in conversation with your father, I mentioned that I was trying to evangelize, and had immersed about a hundred persons; that the feeble Churches needed instruction in the practical duties of their profession. He agreed, should life and health permit, to join me in May and visit the Churches. We met in my native county, Guernsey, at the Harmony Church, not far from Cambridge. Here we had an interesting time, preaching the Gospel, visiting families and old acquaintances and pupils of your father's, when he taught a school in Cambridge. They were Baptists, but welcomed him to their house, and, at their request, be gave them a prospectus of the reformation, in a discourse of two hours' length. We went from this place to Bridgeville, near Zanesville. Here we had a large auditory, in a grove near the village.
Leaving Guernsey and Muskingum counties, we started for the Muskingum valley, in Washington county, passing through a corner of Morgan county. We had a great meeting at [290] Sharon, and many hundreds came from a great distance to see and hear Father Campbell. I remember that a Mr. John McGary came twenty miles with his brother, Dr. McGary, to see and hear for themselves. They were inclined to the Baptists, but were delighted with your father's exhibition of primitive Christianity. They were from the same county that your father was in Ireland. At Sharon we lodged with Brother Reuben Israel, whose family was among the first to take the stand on the Bible and the Bible only, near the old Stillwater Church, Belmont county, Ohio.
From Sharon we went to Olive Green, where we had a large grove meeting; thence to Beverly, on the river Muskingum, about twenty miles above Marietta. Here we had a pleasant, profitable, and useful interview, both publicly and privately, with the people of different religious persuasions. Father Campbell's great theme was "Christian union on Christian principles." This he pleaded with great earnestness and success. Colonel John Dodge, the proprietor of the town, a cultivated Christian gentleman, though a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, was delighted with Father Campbell, and invited him to his house. Your father enjoyed his hospitality for several days. While here, Father Campbell was taken quite sick, from fatigue of travel and arduous labors, at his advanced age of eighty years and upward.
He found a very kind and attentive physician in Dr. Reynolds, of Beverly. The doctor medicated him, and got him well, free of any charge; and last year when I met him, he inquired after him, and spoke very highly of his exemplary piety and ardent ministerial labors.
From Beverly we went to Coal Run, four miles below, where I had, the March before, immersed eighteen persons at one time, and organized them into a congregation. We spent some days with Captain S. Devols, whom I had immersed, with his wife and daughters. He was delighted with [291] the visit, and had Father Campbell to preach at his house. Father Campbell, in his visits to families, was particular to give them instruction in regard to the methodical reading of the Bible. He regarded family religion as the oldest religion, and the family as the nursery of the Church. Being a young Timothy to him, I received regular Biblical lessons from him, and read to him a part of Whelpley's Compend of Ancient and Modern History. After reading the awful accounts of carnage, rapine, and depravity of the ancient nations, Father Campbell would exclaim: "The history of man is the history of sin; and the first-born man was the first murderer."
I take occasion here to acknowledge my obligations and gratitude to him, that, in the good providence of God, I had the unspeakable privilege of enjoying his society, and of receiving from him so many valuable lessons, not only from the Bible, but in literature and science. The good principles and pious example which be gave me have been of lasting advantage in my weary pilgrimage through this world of sin, temptation, and sorrow. I never knew a more pious and godly man. My father used to say he reminded him of the apostle John. His piety and sweetness of manner reminded him of the character one would form from reading the history of that lovely apostle.
Father Campbell used to say that "a prayerless Christian is a contradiction." He zealously inculcated family and private prayer, as indispensable to true piety. Like one of old, "morning, noon and night" were his regular seasons of prayer. O that all the professed disciples of Christ would imitate the example of this blessed father in Israel! What a heaven upon earth would we enjoy! Father Campbell also deprecated the vain and often foolish conversation we hear among the professors of religion. He used to say, "We hear much talk about religion, but very little really religious conversation," "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." If our hearts are really warmed with the love [292] of God, we will love to converse about him, and about our Christian privileges. Father Campbell was much averse to debates and the sarcastic and frequently abusive manner in which some of the preachers spoke of our religious neighbors. "The servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle to all men," was his motto to every evangelist. He wrote me a letter on the subject of evangelizing, a copious extract of which I published in a May number of the Christian Review, to which I refer you.
It was during this tour that Father Campbell came to his second sight. He was much pleased that he could put his spectacles upon his head and line out hymns from our hymn-book. He had left off the use of tea and coffee, and drank nothing but water. He thought this might have had something to do with his coming to his second sight! I remember some one said to him, "Father Campbell, you have been a diligent student of the Scriptures for more than fifty years. Do they become old and insipid to you?" "No," said he; "I never read the Scriptures, which I have read hundreds of times, but I perceive new beauties in them."
After our visit here, we went to Lowell, ten miles above Marietta, where we spent a few days in preaching, and in visiting Christian families, to encourage family culture, as Father Campbell called it.
The good teaching and pious example of Father Campbell did much to promote the cause of reformation in this tour of two months. Also much prejudice was removed from the minds of many who had misunderstood and misrepresented the reformation. They discovered that it was not merely a theoretical notion we were contending for, but a practical reformation in the lives of the disciples of Christ; and that we were laboring not to build up a party, but to unite all the friends of Jesus in one body, that we might co-operate for the spread of primitive Christianity, and have done with disunion. [293]
I accompanied Father Campbell a part of the way up the Ohio river, toward Brother Albert G. Ewing's, and, as I had appointments, he thought he could get along without me. We took the parting hand, he giving me his patriarchal blessing. I hope to meet him in heaven, where we can talk over our toils and sorrows of earth, and our many sacrifices for the salvation of sinners.
Your brother in Christ, in the hope of a blissful immortality,
JOHN R. FRAME.
LETTER FROM BROTHER R. FAUROT.
BLOOMINGTON, IND., July 18, 1860.
DEAR BROTHER CAMPBELL:
The July Harbinger came to hand to-day, and, on page 396, I see a communication and question, that revived in my mind memories such as will ever linger in a student's mind, especially when his lot was the subject of peculiar favors and privileges. However arduous and obscure my pathway may be through life, I shall never forget the Christian grace with which we were received, though strangers, at the "Bethany House," and entertained freely till we could find a home. Besides, I shall ever esteem it an inestimable favor that my sojourn was permitted while that venerable man of God, "Grandfather Campbell," still lingered, as the "almond tree," at the "Carlton House," and the "bishop" greeted so regularly to the "Chair of Sacred Literature."
The acquaintance, to which I was so familiarly welcomed, was kept up by at least weekly visits during my three years' sojourn. For as regularly as the week's work closed, the first point was to see "grandfather," and to read to him some selection he had made that would be useful to me; [294] hear him repeat hymns, or, better still, to bear him tell the history and struggles of the reformation of the nineteenth century. I joined with others in a request that he should give us a farewell discourse. His loss of sight, which increased the timidity of age, had long detained him from the place of public worship; but he reluctantly consented, and, on a beautiful Lord's day, the 1st of June, 1851, he was drawn on a sled (for he would not ride in a carriage) to the old Bethany chapel; and never shall I forget the force with which this passage (Ecclesiastes xii: 5) was brought to my mind, "And fears shall be in the way," as he came in, supported by two deacons, and with both hands outspread, saying, "I shall hit something."
The house was already crowded full; some thirty students from "Pleasant Hill" were present. Once in the pulpit, he began to feel at home. He requested his son, Dr. Campbell, to read a chapter; then rising, he repeated the hymn beginning--
"Hail! morning known among the blest,
Morning of hope, and joy, and love,
Of heavenly pence and holy rest,
Pledge of the endless rest above."And not one word was missed. Such a prayer as he offered seldom falls from human lips; he seemed as if in the immediate presence of his "divine Father." He then took his favorite texts, giving chapter and verse, Matt. xxii: 35-40, and vii: 12, "Love to God and love to man." And as his mind warmed with the theme, and text after text came thronging, like angels of light, in beautiful rank, they seemed to clap their= hands, and say: "You must love God, because he has loved you;" so that he quite forgot his object, or that he was standing for the last time before an earthly audience. For, on going over, in the evening, to see how he stood it, he seemed in ecstasies; (the way he usually seemed when he had anything to be thankful forr;) said it had not, tired him [295] at all, that he felt as well as ever. When Sister Campbell remarked, "Father, the people all came out to hear your farewell, and you never so much as once said Farewell." "O!" said he, throwing up both hands, "I forgot all about it!" and made many apologies.
This little incident has often come vividly to my mind when thinking or Bethany, But now I hear that "grandfather" is gone, the old chapel and the old college are gone, and even the familiar faces of my college days are
"All scattered, all sundered by mountain and wave,
And some in the, silent embrace of the grave."Alas! we all do fade as a leaf. Affectionately,
R. FAUROT.
THIS thrilling sketch is from the pen of our brother, Professor J. D. Pickett, who had so often heard it narrated by Archibald Campbell, late of Bethany, who resided in Ireland at the time, and near the scene as described. It is, therefore, a most accurate account of the affair, having myself often heard my father relate it.
The following incident occurred at a church in Ireland, not far from Newry, (it is said at Ahorey,) during the memorable year of the rebellion, 1798:
The congregation had assembled for worship. The pulpit, which was at the further end of the building, wag occupied by Thomas Campbell. Some one suddenly rushed into the church, crying aloud "The Welsh horse{3} are coming!" [296]
This formidable troop, under a daring, dashing captain, was scouring that region of country in quest of rebels, spreading terror wherever it went. Observing the remote situation of the church, and excited by the belief that meetings of rebels were being held at all times and places, the captain concluded that the one in question was of that character. Accordingly, the troop dashed up and surrounded the building in a trice. "Ah!" thought they, "we have a nice nest of 'croppies' here." They were drawn up in battle array, ready to make an onslaught the moment the congregation should rush out. The captain immediately dismounted, and, with threatening manner, marched into the church. It was a fearful moment. The audience was almost panic-stricken. Men, women, and children were ready to fly. The fate of all seemed to hang upon the slightest incident. The captain stalked down the aisle, casting fierce and rapid glances right and left.
Just at this crisis one of the elders, a man of venerable mien, called solemnly to the minister: "PRAY, SIR!" Whereupon Thomas Campbell, in response to the call, and with deep and unfaltering tones, began: "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;" and so forth, unto the end of that heroic psalm.
He had not uttered the first verse before the bold captain paused, profoundly impressed with the solemn and sublime tones. He bent his head and listened reverently unto the close, then bowed, and quietly retraced his steps. He sprang upon his horse, and away dashed the terrible troop over hill and dale, as the rejoicing congregation continued their praise unto Him who had, indeed, been their "refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." [297]
[EXTRACT FROM A LETTER TO MRS. CAMPBELL.]
IN MEMORIAM.
DEAR SISTER CAMPBELL:
That "the righteous shall be held in everlasting remembrance," is a truth not less of Scripture than of reason. It will doubtless gladden the hearts of all to know that the memoirs of Grandfather Campbell, from an authoritative and competent source, are soon to be issued. The memory of a good man is blessed, and ascends like a sweet fragrance from the tomb.
My recollection of Grandfather Campbell presents him to me with all the freshness of reality; and I have esteemed it a singular favor that I was much with him in his latter years. No one could look on the sightless, venerable old man, whose sole solace was religion, whose thoughts were all prayer, whose occupation was godly conversation or the attempt to restore his failing memory by the constant repetition of passages of Scripture or hymns, without being forcibly convinced that the Christianity which his life had illustrated, and which comforted his old age, could be no imposture; that if earth contained anything real, religion to him was a reality.
You remember his fine, gentlemanly address, partaking of much of the ease and courtesy of the English clergyman; his pleasant manner, always cheerful; his large and massive forehead; his long silver hair, and his clear gray eye, whose sight, to use one of his own expressions, "went formally and sensibly out;" his frequent remark that "his sentimental memory appeared to be as good as it ever was, but his memory for names was almost gone." You recollect how he always knew your footsteps when you entered the room, and how some of the younger members of the family seemed proud to "lead grandfather" to and from his room, and how profuse he always was in the expression of his thanks; and you [298] recollect how, when sometimes if he found the conversation not of a very religious tone, he used to say, "This does not tend to edification," and he would then introduce something that would; and you recollect how strenuous were his efforts to retain in memory certain hymns, his favorites, such as, "How shall I my Savior set forth," "Hail I morning known among the blessed," "Yes, the Redeemer rose," "When I survey the wondrous cross," "Christ, the Lord, is risen to-day," and many others; and you recollect how visitors and others in the family were always desired by him to hold his hymn book and remind him of the first line of each verse; and with what untiring and devotional feeling he would repeat the same hymn many times in succession.
A good old man in a house is a blessing; and his appearance, as of one constantly praying, was better than many a sermon. His mind was singularly nimble, analytical, precise, and methodical; his reasoning was always Baconian. I should say, speaking phrenologically, that causality, individuality, firmness, veneration, benevolence, and conscientiousness were in his head extremely large. His mind was most thoroughly imbued with the Scriptures; they were, indeed, the "man of his counsel," and the whole tenor of his life was, to use one of his expressions, "to know what the Bible says, and to do what it commands us." "All enjoyment lies in employment," was another favorite expression, which his own life illustrated. The restoration of the ideas of primitive Christianity is due to the analytic sagacity his life-goodness inspired, aided and enforced by the more popular and versatile talents or his son. His life was formed on and by his principles. There are spots on the sun, but there was no spot on his character. And if on a life of usefulness and piety the salvation of any one may be predicated, it may be most assuredly predicated on him. [299]
{1}
He gave up the use of snuff for near ly thirty years before his death.
{2}
The portrait in the first of this volume is a steel engraving from an
oil painting, which was taken when Father Campbell was about sixty
years of age. Those who knew the subject most intimately consider
the likeness one of remarkable merit.
{3}
This troop was notorious. The horses were well trained for the
service of rebel-fighting. On hearing the word croppy, (rebel,) they
would rear up and throw their feet furiously forward. They were terrible
in a charge. Many feared them even more than they did their
riders.
[METC 275-299]
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Alexander Campbell Memoirs of Elder Thomas Campbell (1861) |