refused." The movement for union continued to gather weight, nevertheless, and, in 1820, after some of the town councils had abolished the religious clause of the Burgher oath, union was actually consummated in the same Bristo-street Church in Edinburgh where the division had occurred seventythree years before." The varied duties of preaching and teaching at Rich Hill, coupled with efforts to promote Christian union, proved more than Thomas Campbell could stand. He grew pale, dyspeptic, and weak. His physician informed him that his life would be the forfeit if he persisted in his unremitting toil, and that absolute change and a protracted sea voyage were necessary for his recovery. Consequently, on April 1, 1807, he bade his congregation farewell, and on April 8, 1807, set sail for America." Of his work here his connection with the Presbyterians, his trial by them for heresy, the famous Declaration and Address, his relations with the Baptists, his educational labors, his opposition to Mormonism, his evangelistic work, and other labors-more will be told from time to time. His life was as full and useful as it had been in Europe. 17 A man who heard the debates, made the following statement to Alexander Campbell, about four years later, when the latter was 8 student at the University: "I listened to your father in our General Assembly in this city, pleading for a union between Burghers and Anti-Burghers. But, sir, while in my opinion he outargued them, they outvoted him" (Richardson, R. Memoirs of Alexander Oampbell, I., 58). 18 Richardson, R. Memoirs of Alexander Campbell, I., 58. 19 Ibid., I., 79-81. He passed to his reward his reward January 4, 1854. 21 Thomas Campbell gave shape and form to the movement which is here discussed, but the leadership of that movement and its defence early fell to his son, Alexander, who was born in County Antrim, Ireland, near Ballymena, in the parish of Broughshane, September 12, 1788. The youth of the latter differed little from that of other boys raised in pious families. He attended an elementary school in Market Hill for awhile, and then spent two or three years in school at Newry, where his uncles, Archibald and Enos, had opened an academy. When he returned home, his father tried to superintend his education. The boy, however, was so fond of youthful sports that it was difficult to fix his mind on studies. Nevertheless, about his ninth year, French was added to his other languages. In this study, apparently, he made little progress, at least, if the following anecdote is accepted as a criterion. One warm day he went out under the shade of a tree to study The Adventures of Telemachus, and fell asleep. A cow, which was grazing near by, came up, seized the book, and before the youthful student could fully awaken, actually devoured it. Upon reporting the loss to his father he received a thrashing for his carelessness, and the reprimand that "the cow had more French in her stomach than he had in his head.' 20 The Millennial Harbinger Abridged, II., 414. The father soon wisely concluded to put his son to work on the farm along with the laborers. The boy liked his new tasks, and worked hard for several years until he became a stalwart young fellow. He then began to manifest a love for reading, and less inclination for outdoor exercise. His memory became remarkably retentive. On one occasion he is said to have committed sixty lines of blank verse in fifty-two minutes so that he could repeat them without missing a word. From now on, he began to memorize the finer passages of English literature, and his mind became literally stored with the best passages of the British poets. He also read with interest the standard English writings on morals, philosophy, and religion. Locke's Letters on Toleration seem to have fixed his ideas of civil and religious liberty. Under the guidance of his father, he studied carefully Locke's Essay on the Human Understanding, Latin, and Greek. In spite of this work, however, he did not forget games. Among the boys he was noted for the size of his snowballs and the force with which they were thrown. He was an excellent swimmer, and fond of fishing as well as of capturing birds with nets and of hunting. He was a favorite among the farmers also, because of his expertness in sowing grain." While carefully watching over the literary education of his son, and giving him time for sports, Thomas Campbell did not neglect his religious 23 Richardson, R. Memoirs of Alexander Campbell, I., 32-85. training. The Synod to which he belonged prescribed that the minister "should worship God in his family by singing, reading and prayer, morning and evening; that he should catechise and instruct them at least once a week in religion; endeavoring to cause every member to pray in secret morning and evening; and that he should remember the Lord's day to keep it holy, and should himself maintain a conversation becoming the gospel."'" Thomas Campbell, ably assisted by his wife, fulfilled all these duties. He required every member of the family each day to memorize some portion of the Bible to be recited at evening worship. All passages learned during the week were repeated again on the Lord's Day." Concerning his mother's share in this early education, Alexander Campbell wrote, long after her death: "She made a nearer approximation to the acknowledged beau ideal of a Christian mother than any one of her sex with whom I have had the pleasure of forming a special acquaintance. I can but gratefully add, that to my mother, as well as to my father, I am indebted for having memorized in early life almost all the writings of King Solomonhis Proverbs, his Ecclesiastes and many of the Psalms of his father David. They have not only been written on the tablet of my memory, but incorporated with my modes of thinking and speaking.' 26 Perhaps at this time, it will be advisable to consider some of the positive religious influences by Richardson, R. Memoirs of Alexander Оampbell, I., 85. Ibid., I., 86. Ibid., I., 87. which the Campbells were surrounded. The Independents, who had a congregation at Rich Hill under the charge of a Mr. Gibson, exercised a marked influence upon the views of both. Often, after returning from the Lord's Day services at the country church of Ahorey, Thomas Campbell, who was on intimate terms with Mr. Gibson', attended the night meetings of the Independents. The Seceders allowed, but did not encourage this, under the privilege of "occasional hearing," provided there was no Seceder meeting within reach at the same hour. The Independents were always glad to see Mr. Campbell, but they often compared him laughingly to Nicodemus, "who came to Jesus by night. Since they were more liberal than others in granting the use of their meeting houses, many ministers of various views preached there, as Rowland Hill, James Alexander Haldane, Alexander Carson, an Independent recruit from the Presbyterians, and John Walker. The latter deeply impressed Alexander Campbell. Walker had been a fellow and teacher in Trinity College and minister at Bethesda Chapel, Dublin, but, in 1804, he resigned and formed a separate society. He taught that there should be no stated minister, but that all members should exercise their gifts indiscriminately. He considered baptism superfluous, except to those who never before professed Christianity. He was Calvinistic in doctrine, but insisted that John 3: 2. |