"PHILADELPHIA, December 19, 1794. Letter of Green. "Dr. Priestley is, I believe, disappointed in his expectations. from this country. He has republished a number of his smaller tracts, and in a new preface to his Serious Address, says, that in point of liberality we are not equal to the people of Britain. He will be perfectly free from political persecution or inconvenience among us; but if he continues to be the active apostle of heresy, he will probably lead as uneasy a life on this side the Atlantic as he did on yours. If he sought quiet and repose, he should have known that, in order to it, a resignation of controversy is essential. The Universalists. are building a new house of public worship in this city, in which it is not improbable he will occasionally officiate, as every set of sentiments on their plan is equally good. "In America, at present, infidelity greatly prevails. The enthusiasm which has seized on the popular mind, in favour of the cause of the French, has reached from their political to their religious, or rather their irreligious, sentiments. "Paine's book (Age of Reason) has had a considerably currency; and though it is a compound of falsehood, ignorance, and ribaldry, yet it is, on that very account, better calculated to spread contempt of religion among the ignorant, and those who wish to be free from the restraints of conscience. In the midst of these unpromising appearances, however, there are some of a more favourable kind. The friends of religion have visibly become more active and zealous, within the space of a year or two, than they were before. One proof of this. You will see in a plan for a concert of prayer, which accompanies this letter. The plan is already ripe for execution, and in the space of a year I have no doubt that it will be very general throughout the continent. This is certainly an important and favourable circumIn several congregations, likewise in different parts of the country, there have been revivals of vital religion. A very remarkable one has taken place under the ministry of Dr. Robins, to which he alludes in a letter he wrote to the agents for the concert. In many places there is a more general and engaged attention to public worship than there was some time since. On the whole, we have much cause to lament that true religion is so little prevalent, and yet much reason to hope that God is about to arise and plead His own cause." * stance. *Evan. Mag, 1795. The following notes of Priestley indicate his sad disappointment: "To Rev. T. Lindsay. "NORTHUMBERLAND, September 6, 1798. "Though I have no more to do with the politics of this country than you have, so violent is party spirit, that if there be Disappoint- not a change soon, I cannot live in peace here. It looks like a call of Providence for another remove, Priestley. after having, at a great expense, provided to spend the evening of life where I now am." ment of "To Rev. T. Belsham. "October 25, 1798. Though I am regarded with suspicion, and disliked by all the friends of the ruling powers in this country, and labour under much disadvantage in several respects, as want of philosophical intelligence, and books, etc., from Europe, yet as I am under no apprehension of actual molestation, I certainly shall not remove till there be a peace, and a good prospect of doing better elsewhere. "The change that has taken place is, indeed, hardly credible, as I have done nothing to provoke resentment; but being a citizen of France and a friend to that revolution is sufficient. I asked one of the more moderate of that party whether he thought if Dr. Price, the great friend of their own revolution, was alive, he would not be allowed to come into this country. He said he believed not. The persons most in favour are the old Tories that opposed the revolution.' The friends of evangelical truth in America began now to stir in earnest, and the desire was expressed to resume their friendly relations with their brethren in England. SAMUEL MILLER, in a letter to Dr. Edward Williams, dated New York, November 10, 1795, writes: * Memoirs of Priestley, vol. i., part ii., p. 407. Letter of Samuel Miller. "The state of the world has lately become so eventful and interesting, that no friend of religion or of human happiness can be an indifferent spectator of the scene. This circumstance renders habits of foreign intercourse peculiarly desirable and pleasing. My design and wishes need no further explanation. The warm attachment to the doctrines of grace, and of course to vital and practical religion, for which you have signalized yourself, while it endears your character to me, and to many in this part of the Christian world, induces me to suppose that you would be pleased to hear how these doctrines are received, and what their progress and influence are in our country. The friends of these doctrines are numerous in our country, and perhaps in no part of it are there more than in this city, in which Providence has cast my lot. But here, as well as almost everywhere else, infidelity and impiety most awfully prevail. "Deistic scribblers are becoming more numerous than ever, and their followers more open, avowed, and impudent in their horrid blasphemy than in former times. Had not God promised that His kingdom should triumph over all opposition, and that the gates of hell should not prevail against it, the aspect of things would be gloomy indeed! But I trust that every new effort against our divine religion will serve to stir up its real friends, and excite them to diligence and zeal instead of depressing them with discouragement. "Our political world is again agitated with the treaty with Great Britain. Much is expected by the democratic part of our community from the approaching session of Congress, when, as they hope, the instrument, with all it ratifies, will incur the severest frown. May God keep us in peace, and enable us properly to estimate and quietly to pursue our true interest. "Dr. Priestley is in Pennsylvania. He has not collected a Church that I know of, nor does he statedly preach, as I have heard. His avowed followers are but few among us, and those so scattered, and so unable to act in concert, that they have hitherto effected very little in his favour. As a philosopher I respect this eminent man; but as a divine I cannot wish him God speed." Of American divines, the name of TIMOTHY DWIGHT, the son of a merchant, born in NorthTimothy ampton, May 14, 1752, was best known in Dwight. England. His mother, Mary, the third daughter of Jonathan Edwards, distinguished for her piety, intelligence, and culture, devoted herself assiduously to his instruction from infancy, making him her companion in conversation to the full extent of his capacity, eliciting thought, directing his studies, and meeting with patience and affection all his inquiries. After a year spent under the care of Enoch Huntingdon, an eminent classic at Middletown, he was sent, in September, 1765, having just passed his thirteenth year, to Yale College. The students at that time were thoroughly demoralized, and given to riotous excess; but young Dwight maintained, amidst all the confusion, sobriety of mind, and, notwithstanding the distractions around him, by the power of attention made some progress, and graduated in 1769. On leaving college, he took the charge of a grammar-school at New Haven, and, during the two years occupied in tuition, made great advancement in literature and science. He was then chosen tutor in Yale College, in September, 1771, and for six years discharged the duties of his office with credit to himself, and to the great advantage of his pupils. Severe attacks of illness enfeebled his constitution, but by daily exercise his vigour was restored, and for forty years he enjoyed uninterrupted health. In 1774 he became a member of the college church, and in June, 1777, was licensed as a preacher; and in the outbreak of the war became a chaplain in the army. The ardour with which he entered into the contest and the services made him conspicuous as a public leader, and in the early part of his career it seemed probable that he would be diverted from the work of the ministry, and led to devote his energies to the more exciting service of the State as a member of Congress. But the hand of Providence determined for him another and a better lot. The death of his father left his mother and thirteen childrenten of whom were under twenty-one years of agewithout provision. He returned from the army, and established a school at Northampton, and supplied vacant congregations, in order to the maintenance and education of the family, who yielded to him deference as a brother acting for them as a father. In 1783 he was invited to accept the pastoral charge of the church at Greenfield, and to supplement his income he established an academy, in which, in the course of twelve years, he trained upwards of one thousand pupils. From excessive application he sustained a partial loss of sight, but nothing abated the zest with which, in one form or another, he prosecuted his studies. Ripe in experience, an accomplished scholar, well disciplined in mind, with large stores of information, and influenced in the use of his brilliant gifts by the principles of enlightened and consistent piety, the trustees of Yale College, on the death of Ezra Stiles, looked to him as the man best fitted to raise the character of the institution as one of the chief seats of learning in the country. When he entered upon his office, he found everything in disorder as to finances, discipline, and moral character. The number of students was one hundred |