n the 3d of January, 1823, Mr. Scott was united in marriage with Miss Sarah Whitsett, at that time a member of the religious body known as Covenanters; she afterwards united with the church then under the care of her husband, to whom she proved to be a faithful and affectionate helper, who shared without murmuring the toils and privations incident to such a life as his labors and sacrifices made it necessary to lead. "He was at this time about 26 years of age, about the medium height, slender and rather spare in person, and possessed of little muscular strength. His aspect was abstracted, meditative, and sometimes had even an air of sadness. His nose was straight, his lips rather full, but delicately chiseled; his eyes dark and lustrous; full of intelligence and tenderness; and his hair, clustering above his fine ample forehead, was black as the raven's wing."^a Such, doubtless, he appeared then to his favorite pupil, to whom we are indebted for the above description. But it must be remembered that the teacher is often an object of reverence and awe to the pupil, and this may have rendered the picture less attractive than it would have been if drawn by another hand. The writer knew him well in after years, subject, at times, it is true, to hours of depression, but in the main, genial and even mirthful; abounding in anecdotes and brilliant flashes of wit and repartee, and especially delighting in, and delightful to, the young. His entrance into a room full of young people, instead of checking or clouding their mirth, served only to increase it; and was like the letting in of additional sunshine. [38]

      It was in this year that his friend A. Campbell projected his first publication, which afterwards became so famous; but before issuing the work he consulted Mr. Scott in regard to it. He intended to name his paper "The Christian;" but Mr. Scott suggested that it might disarm prejudice and secure a wider circulation were he to call it "The Christian Baptist," especially as it was expected to circulate mainly among the Baptists, among whom the elements of reform had for some time been slowly and silently spreading. Mr. Scott's suggestion met his approval, and the periodical, which produced the greatest revolution in religious thought in this century, was issued in August, 1823, under the name of "The Christian Baptist."

      From the time of his first meeting with Mr. Scott, Mr. Campbell had felt that he had met with no ordinary man, and having discovered, he was not slow to acknowledge, his ability, and urged him to set forth his views through the medium of the new periodical to which he had given a name. In accordance with this invitation he prepared an article for the first number, with the caption, "A Divinely Authorized Plan of Teaching the Christian Religion."^b Mr. Campbell himself had an article headed the "Christian Religion;"^c and his father contributed an essay on the "Primary Intention of the Gospel."^d

      The publication of this paper marked a new era in religious literature; the novelty of the views, the extraordinary ability with which they were set forth, the reforms for which they called, and, above all, their evident truth, created an interest and an inquiry such as has seldom been equaled.

      Mr. Scott continued his Essays on the theme above-mentioned through four numbers of "The Christian [39] Baptist,"^e and in them he says or suggests all that is needed on that subject. They are, in a word, exhaustive, embodying, as they do, the earnest and prayerful reflections of years; and in vigor of style and felicity of expression they will not suffer by comparison with the finest productions of the present day.

      These essays and the powerful articles from the pen of the editor in each number, soon created a profound sensation. In many of the communities in which "The Christian Baptist" circulated the foundations of religious belief were carefully and earnestly re-examined; and the result was that many of its readers, to whom religion, as popularly taught, was a mysterious and altogether unintelligible affair, now saw in it, as set forth in the Scriptures, a beautiful harmony and simplicity, and began to spread among their neighbors the light which they had received; and being of necessity placed on the defensive, they were obliged to maintain by an appeal to Scripture the views they had espoused. In some instances entire churches with their pastors were led to lay aside their creeds and much of their theology and to accept the Word of God as their only guide. The publication of this remarkable sheet continued for seven years with increased interest and a largely augmented list of subscribers, and only ceased to give place to a larger and more widely-circulated monthly called "The Millennial Harbinger." During the existence of "The Christian Baptist" Mr. Scott was a frequent contributor to its pages, and his numerous articles under the signature of "Philip" gained him a reputation scarcely inferior to that of the editor--A. Campbell himself.^f [40]

[LWSA 38-40]