Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

We expect of aged persons, who have almost lost their hold on life, that they should look upon approaching death with composure. But if we could enter into the real feelings of such, we would often perceive, that old age loves to be flattered out of its realizations and alarms, and without piety, is an uncomfortable and pitiable case. Such passages as the following, written in April, 1831, when Mr. Patterson had entered his eightieth and last year, enable us to understand that "the hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness." To his sister, Mrs. Engles: "There is a glorious prospect before the rising generation; but I would rather be in heaven, than in the best days of the church on earth; for nothing can satisfy me but perfect holiness."-To his nephew, Joseph P. Engles:-"I do not find that my increased health and strength, and all the abundant comforts and endearing blessings of life which I enjoy, and all the glorious prospects of the church in this dawn of the latter-day brightness, has the effect to fix my desire to remain."

On Monday, January 30, 1832, at the close of a series of religious meetings in the church with which he worshipped, he gave a solemn exhortation, which proved to be his last public act. Up to Friday night of the same week, he appeared as well as usual. On that day he took the final sitting for his portrait; and after contemplating the work a little while, he turned to the artist, and in his own impressive manner, urged him "to make application to the Holy Spirit, to have the Divine image dawn upon his heart;" or to that purpose. The painter, who was of infidel sentiments, probably despised the counsel, and might soon have forgotten it, but for the following event, which brought it home to him with ineffable effect.*

In the evening, at family worship, he requested his wife to read the 103d Psalm; that beautiful and sublime effusion which begins "Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!" When she had concluded, he remarked"I have been trying all my life to come up to the tone and spirit of that psalm; and at length I believe I can." After some com

*So we may fairly presume; for subsequently the individual abandoned his sentiments, and made a profession of religion.

ments, he knelt down; and in a very ardent petition, commended many interests at the throne of grace. At the conclusion, he needed assistance to rise and resume his seat.

Twenty years before, he had said "I still live in hopes of dying soon and suddenly, as I have long done."* The extraordinary wish was a constant one, and now at length it was to be realized. "About one o'clock, on Saturday morning, (February 4, 1832,) he awoke unwell, and arose, expressing the hope that he should feel better by so doing. Soon after, however, he said to Mrs. Patterson, with great composure, I am dying; call in the doctor, and my son Joseph;' these gentlemen occupying the dwellings immediately adjoining his own. He again asked, 'is Joseph coming?' and on being answered in the affirmative, he simply added, the time is come; Lord, help!' and closing his eyes, sunk without a struggle into the sleep of death."

Such is a rapid sketch of his life; but justice requires that we should dwell for a moment upon certain traits of character, which rendered him so remarkable and exemplary a man. In doing this, we shall relate a few anecdotes, which deserve attention.

1. That Mr. P. was a man of uncommon piety, sufficiently appears from the preceding narrative. Religion was his element; it was to him what business is to the merchant, or politics to the politician. We give expression to this not only as a fact, but as an encomium; and if some will undervalue it, yet it is certain, that nothing is more indicative of a greatness and nobleness of soul, than a high tone of piety; a habit of near approach to the Most High.

Yet his religion did not crowd out those avocations, interests, and enjoyments, which we call worldly; it rather assimilated them, and made them a part of the life of godliness. This difficult achievement was the grand peculiarity of his character; we will consider it specially and by itself, as

While we

2. His trust in God, in all the affairs of life. commit to God our spiritual welfare, and are willing to consult him about the more weighty of our temporal affairs, we have enough of independence left, to prefer the management of the

* Letter to Rebecca Leech, 1812.

every-day matters ourselves. Under an appearance of honouring God by avoiding the mention of apparent trifles, we gratify ourselves with the idea of being not absolutely dependent in every thing. It was not so with Mr. Patterson; and for the sake of some, who think that it should not be so with them, a few illustrations will be given. And in this I shall not discuss the question, whether the issues of secret prayer ought not in most cases to be kept secret. Mr. Patterson chose to tell some of them; let him

be answerable.

Some time after his removal to the west, he and some others made a purchase of land, and paid the money. It was soon discovered that the seller was not the owner, and consequently, that the title was worthless, and the money lost. How much Mr. Patterson's investment amounted to, is not exactly known to the writer, nor is it material to the story; only that it was a greater loss than he could well bear. The other purchasers had recourse to law, and advised him also to " employ counsel." "I have read in the Bible of a Wonderful Counsellor," was the quaint reply, "and my application shall be to Him." He thereupon made it a matter of earnest and repeated prayer; not, we presume, for a specific restitution of the money; which no intelligent Christian could do in absolute terms, but that by some Providential interference, this serious loss might be made up to him, or that he might be duly reconciled to it, and eventually none the worse for it. The prospect of a specific answer was small, for M'C., the man who obtained the money, had absconded both from the neighbourhood and from his family. But as Mr. P. was passing near M'C.'s house, not long after, a child, running up to him, begged him to come in. As he did so, the wife, handing him the identical bag, with the identical dollars, explained the strange action in such words as these: "when my husband went away, he charged me to give this money back to you; for, said he, I am afraid the man will pray me to death." Thus his suit was gained; the others, it is said, never got any thing.

Another incident, more minute, and therefore more to the point, we take from one of his letters. The poor student of divinity, whose course of study must have lessened his means of living, regarded with mortification the napless, worn-out hat, not fit to appear at presbytery. But if it was of sufficient importance to

:66

give him concern, it was a fit subject for prayer; and so he writes to his absent wife as follows:- In retirement for special prayer yesterday, the Lord let me talk familiarly with him about many things, particularly about a hat; and he made me willing to go to presbytery with my old one. I came away with a pleasant hope, and well pleased with all his government; and this day there was one bought for a guinea, sent to me a present by A. S."

A school-master may with all dignity pray for the prosperity of his school; but may he make mention of the lost penknife, without which he cannot mend the children's pens ? "For want of a nail, the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe, the horse was crippled; the messenger was delayed; and the city obliged to surrender." It was a backwoods settlement, and his the only penknife in it; if the knife were not found, the pens could not be made, the writing must stop, and the school must break up. His trouble was carried to the accustomed place, and spread out in plain terms; a last resource, for it had been hunted up and down to no purpose. Truly all the searching in the world will not find it; for it lies buried under the winter's snow, along some road or bridle-path; dropt first, and snowed upon afterwards. What thereupon happened, might indeed have happened without prayer; and it might not. As he was riding along, the horse's hoof lifting up a cake of snow, turned up something else, with a slight jingle. It was an answer to his requests.

Without multiplying this class of anecdotes (of which there are more at hand), a deference to truth obliges us to say, that one or two instances plainly descend below the seriousness of the subject; or at least, ought not to have been told. Further, it is apparent that he leaned strongly upon an old Puritan sentiment, technically called particular faith in prayer; that is, that believers may expect a special impression upon their minds, that the particular mercies which they seek, will be granted. It was for animadverting against this "unwarrantable notion," that the eminent Howe, chaplain to the Protector, lost favour at court; yet the general voice of the church, certainly in our day, sustains his view. Men like Brainerd, and Martyn, seem to have supported a high tone of piety without supernatural impressions. On the other hand, there were some circumstances in Mr. P.'s life, which,

if correctly apprehended, or transmitted, would prove, that in special and rare cases, such things may happen.

3. But not to extend this class of anecdotes any farther, we must mention one circumstance to exemplify a third peculiarityhis fearlessness in doing what he judged to be his duty. The distribution of the Bible, along the landings of Pittsburg, was of course attended with some expense, and as his own means were always moderate, he was obliged to make collections to defray the charges. In such a cause, he felt as if he had a claim upon any citizen who could spare a dollar. In one of these collecting rounds, he was met by an acquaintance. "Well, father P., what errand are you on to-day." "I am going to the man that keeps store over there, to get a dollar for my Bible distribution." "Why certainly you will not go to such a man as that; an open infidel, and scoffer; you'll not get a cent from him." "Yes I will; I'll get a dollar; come along and see.' They walked into the store; the old gentleman was not welcome from the first; but upon opening his request, was treated with positive scorn. The indignant man behind the counter would give nothing for any such purpose. "Do you say you won't?" "I say I won't." "Well; I will go home, with my subscription-book, and lay it before the Lord; and I will tell him, that Mr. absolutely refused to

[ocr errors]

give any thing towards the distribution of the Bible." There was a solemnity and reality in this rejoinder, which seemed to frighten the man, unbeliever as he was. Opening the money-drawer, he threw out a piece, saying with a subdued scowl, "here, take your dollar."

4. The last thing we shall mention, as a peculiarity, was his freeness from faults. We might speak of his social qualities, polished manners, cheerfulness, tenderness, exemption from love of money and thirst of praise, and many such like characteristics of all thorough Christians. On the other hand, there were evils in his heart, occasionally appearing in overt acts, as it is with other men, and the best of them. Under this head, it seems hardly just to mention an artlessness and transparency of character, which sometimes made him appear frivolous (we use his own acknowledgment) even while serious. This fault chiefly appears, where it was likely to appear, in a series of letters written in a time of courtship. But as I do not intend to condemn

« ZurückWeiter »