before the arrangements for their care had been perfected by my wife's father) it is by no means incredible that the pious souls of such a race should meet in such a basin as Providence had made for them, to pay their homage to the Most High, and to commemorate the love of the Redeemer, even in winter. We forget the character of the people, and of the times, if we suppose that there were not those who would think very little of the cold, if they could, in such circumstances, enjoy a season of religious worship, even in the open air. Those now living here, who have heard their fathers and grandfathers describe, as eye-witnesses of, and partners in, the sufferings of the times, would think that a season of worship in such circumstances, must have been sought as a relief from sufferings, to which many of them were constantly subject.

You will excuse me for departing from the subject of your inquiries to state a fact.

Soon after I came to Morristown, in 1837, I think, I visited my native place, and met there an old man, bowed down with age, leaning tremblingly upon the top of his staff. His name was Cook. In my early childhood, he had been the physician in my father's family. As the old man met me, he said, "You are located in Morristown, are you?" "Yes sir." "I was there too," said the Doctor, "once; I was under Washington in the army of the Revolution. It was hard times then-hard times. There was a time when all our rations were but a single gill of wheat a day. Washington used to come round and look into our tents, and he looked so kind, and he said so tenderly, 'Men, can your bear it?' 'Yes, General, yes, we can,' was the reply; 'If you wish us to act, give us the word, and we are ready.'"

This single fact has done more to reveal to me the secret of that power, by which Washington maintained such influence over the army, and kept them together through such severe and protracted sufferings, than any thing else that I have known. "He came to our tents, and looked so kind," &c.

I fancy that he felt the influence of those meetings in the orchard, when he went to sympathize with his men-perhaps had lately been at the communion table, when he made such an impression upon the old Doctor of my native place.

Your inquiries have pushed me out on a train of inquiry, for which I am very much obliged to you. I don't know but the results will render me as loquacious about matters appertaining to the Revolution, as the old soldiers to whom I listened in my boyhood.

Very respectfully yours,

O. L. KIRTLAND.

ORIGIN OF EPISCOPACY IN NEW YORK.

[In the letter of the Rev. James Anderson, (the first Presbyterian Pastor in New York City,) which was published in the October number of the Presbyterian Magazine, the following account was incidentally given of the first Episcopal Rector:

"The place did at first entirely belong to the Dutch. After the English had it, endeavours were used by the chief of the people who then understood English, towards the settlement of an English dissenting minister in it, and accordingly one was called from New England, who, after he had preached some time here, having a promise and prospect of more money than what he had among the dissenters, went to Old England, took orders from the Bishop of London, and came back here as minister of the Established Church of England. Here he yet is, has done, and still is doing what he can to ruin the dissenting interest in the place, verifying the old saying, 'omnis apostata est sectæ suæ osor.'"

We have since received the following note from our respected correspondent, who furnished for our pages Mr. Anderson's letter.]

The above account of the origin of the Episcopal Church in the city of New York will be new to most of our readers, but its truth is fully confirmed by another contemporary document, to be found in the lately published "Documentary History of the State of New York." For the gratification of such of our readers as may not have access to this work, we subjoin an extract:

"In the year 1697 Coll Fletcher the Governour by his example and countenance, promoted the building of Trinity Church in New York by voluntary contribution, and placed in it the present (1714) incumbent Mr. Vesey, who was at that time a Dissenting preacher on Long Island; he had received his education in Harvard college under that rigid Independent, Increase Mather, and was sent from thence by him to confirm the minds of those who had removed for their convenience from New England to the Province; for Mr. Mather having advice that there was a minister of the Established Church of England come over in quality as chaplain of the forces, and fearing that the Common Prayer and hated ceremonies of our church might gain ground, he spared no pains or care to spread the warmest of his emissiaries through this Province. But Coll Fletcher who saw into this design, took off Mr. Vesey by an invitation to this Liveing, a promise to advance his stipend considerably, &c." III. 438.

It may be proper to state, that while there was Episcopal worship observed soon after the colony came into the hands of the English, there was no church organization until Mr. Vesey's time; the military chaplain being the only Episcopal minister in the colony. Dr. Berrian, in his History of Trinity Church, entirely ignores the facts above mentioned. All that he says, is, that "Mr. Vesey was chosen rector upon condition of his receiving canonical ordination." It would have been more candid in the worthy historian of "Trinity Church" to have told the whole story. F.

THE REV. JOHN WITHERSPOON, D. D.

JOHN WITHERSPOON, lineally descended from John Knox, was born February 5th, 1722, in the parish of Yester, in the Presbytery of Haddington, Scotland, of which parish his father was the minister. At an early age he was sent to the public school at Haddington, where he was distinguished as a talented and promising boy. When he was fourteen years old, he was removed to the University of Edinburgh, where he continued attending the different classes in languages, logic, philosophy, and divinity, until he reached his twenty-first year, when he was licensed to preach the gospel. At the University, he was contemporary with the celebrated Drs. Blair and Robertson; and among associates of high literary attainment, he held a conspicuous place. Having received careful Christian nurture, he early attended to the things of his peace; but the precise period of his making a profession of religion is unknown. Dr. Snodgrass, of Paisley, remarks, "I have heard him say, that the strict regard to piety and holiness, which he observed among those who believed the doctrines of grace, was the first thing which convinced him of the truth of those doctrines; while, on the contrary, the untender behaviour of those who have objected to them as relaxing the obligations to holiness, and who pretended to enforce a Christian practice from better principles, convinced him that they were some way or other under a mistake." There can be no doubt that his religious convictions were deep and thorough, and that his understanding of the plan of salvation was as intelligent as his reception of it was sincere.

Soon after he left the University, he was invited to be assistant to his venerable father in the parish of Yester, with the right of succession; but having received, in 1744, a presentation from the Earl of Eglinton to the parish of Beith, he, with the universal consent of the people, was ordained and installed pastor in the early part of 1745, as successor of Dr. Leechman, who had been translated to the divinity chair at Glasgow. Here he remained for thirteen years, a faithful preacher of the doctrines of grace, and much beloved and devoted to his congregation.

The Church of Scotland was at this period under the dominion of Moderatism, i, e. there was a decline of vital piety, and a departure from evangelical doctrine, as well as Presbyterian order, both in ministers and people. John Witherspoon resisted the evil tendencies of the times, and was an early champion of those views which afterwards triumphed under Drs. Andrew Thompson and Chalmers, and the Free Church of Scotland. In 1753, the young minister of Beith published an anonymous work against the Moderates, marked with keen satire and pungent truths. Its title was, 66 Ecclesiastical Characteristics; or, the Arcana of Church Polity. Being an humble attempt to open the Mystery of Moderation. Wherein is shown, a plain and easy way of attaining to the character of a Moderate man, as at present in repute in the Church of Scotland." This book made a great commotion among the Moderates; so much that when a call was presented to Dr. Witherspoon from Paisley, Presbytery refused to allow its prosecution, on the ground that he was the author of the above book. The matter came up before the Synod of Glasgow, where Dr. Witherspoon defended himself in a masterly speech. He was finally installed at Paisley, on the 16th of June, 1757. His labours as a minister were acceptable and useful; but he did not escape from the trials which a faithful exposition of gospel truth often incurs.

In 1764, Dr. Witherspoon published his "Essays on important subjects," including his celebrated treatise on "Regeneration." These volumes made him extensively known as a theological writer, and he became distinguished all over the kingdom as an accurate and able divine. He received invitations to take charge of churches at Dublin, Rotterdam in Holland, and Dundee; but he felt constrained by a sense of duty to decline them.

The principal part of his writings were published before he came to America. No one can rise from their perusal without the conviction of having been in communion with a great mind. The characteristics of Dr. Witherspoon, as a preacher, may be summed up as follows: 1. He was eminently scriptural in his views of truth, and derived his treasures of knowledge from the storehouse of the Divine Word. 2. He dwelt much upon the distinguishing doctrines of the gospel. Though a profound philosopher, he was not carried away by speculations, but magnified Christ and his cross. 3. Strong discrimination, acuteness of investigation, and a clear precision, marked his discourses. He was gifted in "rightly dividing the word of truth," and in unfolding it in all its bearings. 4. He was a faithful, practical preacher. His discourses are solemn, and aim at reforming the heart and the life. In short, few men were probably ever blessed with a more profound intellect, subjected in more guileless simplicity to the authority of Christ. Dr. Witherspoon was not animated as a speaker; but a good elocution, characterized by great sincerity of purpose, gave weight to all his utterances.

The bold and uncompromising manner in which Dr. Witherspoon had defended his Church against the loose interpretations of the Moderates, together with his natural endowments and increasing reputation, caused him to be regarded as a champion and leader of the evangelical party. He was greatly instrumental in organizing the opposition to Moderatism, and in creating harmony in the plans to resist its progress. One day, in the General Assembly, after he had baffled in some important points, the celebrated Dr. Robertson, who was at that time the leader of the Moderate party, the latter said in a pleasant manner, "I think, sir, you have your men better disciplined than formerly." "Yes," replied Dr. Witherspoon, "by urging your politics too far, you have compelled us to beat you with your own weapons." Dr. Witherspoon's keen conflicts in the Scotch Judicatories had, undoubtedly, an important influence in preparing him for the influential position he afterwards acquired in the American Congress, and in the Judicatories of our own Church.

The reputation of Dr. Witherspoon pointed him out to the Trustees of the College of New Jersey, as a suitable person to fill the office of President, on the death of Dr. Finley. He was elected President in November, 1766; but at first declined the office. The application being renewed the following year, he accepted the appointment, and reaching this country early in August, 1768, he was installed President of the College at a special meeting of the Trustees, on the 17th of that month. When in Scotland, upon being asked why he emigrated to America to take charge of so unimportant an institution as the College was at that time, he replied, that his chief motive was to assist in raising up ministers in this new and destitute country. God, in his providence, blessed the great and good man in accomplishing the object he had in view. Dr. Witherspoon, while President of the College, performed the duties of Professor of Theology, and assisted in

training many of the able ministers of the olden time.* During his Presidency, a remarkable revival of religion occurred in the College, which was the means, under God, of converting a large number of the students, and of bringing many into the ministry. In the class of 1772, numbering twentytwo students, fifteen of them entered the ministry. Thus was the object of his emigration to America sanctified by the Spirit, and acknowledged in the most signal and glorious manner.

His administration was distinguished by various improvements in the course of college studies. In the language of the Rev. Dr. Miller, in his "Brief Retrospect of the 18th Century," "Having entered on his new station at Princeton, he produced an important revolution in the system of education adopted in that Seminary. He extended the study of mathematical science, and introduced into the course of instruction in Natural Philosophy many improvements, which had been little known in American Colleges, and particularly in that institution. He also placed the plan of instruction in Moral Philosophy upon a new and improved basis; and it is believed was the first man who taught in America the substance of those doctrines of the philosophy of the human mind, which Dr. Reid afterwards developed with so much success. Under his Presidency, more attention began to be paid than before to the principles of taste and composition, and to the study of elegant literature."

In the year 1772, he commenced a course of lectures on Natural and Revealed Theology; which was subsequently published from notes taken by one of the students. During his administration, he was in fact a Professor of Divinity, as well as President of the College.

The Revolutionary war interrupted seriously, for a time, the prosperity of the College. It afforded, however, a new opportunity for the display of Dr. Witherspoon's character and pre-eminent powers. He early sympathized with the Americans in opposition to the arbitrary measures of England. His associations with the Presbyterians, who were all but unanimous for liberty, no doubt assisted in forming his political opinions. On the 17th of May, 1776, a day appointed by Congress for a General Fast, he preached a discourse, which was afterwards published, under the title of "The Dominion of Providence over the passions of men;" in the course of which he boldly opposed the conduct of the mother country. In an Appendix, he addressed the natives of Scotland, residing in America, urging them to side with their adopted country, and showing that American independence would ultimately be beneficial to Great Britain.‡

Dr. Witherspoon was chosen delegate to the Convention in New Jersey, which formed the first republican constitution, in 1776, and had great influence in that body. He took a decided part in the revolutionary committees and conventions of the State; and commended himself to the people by his talents, energy and zeal.

The number of students, under his administration, who became ministers, was about 120. Among these were the two Smiths, Wm. Graham, President Dunlap, McKnight, Balch, Spring, Doak, Ashbel Green, Abeel, Kollock, &c. Among our statesmen, were James Madison, Wm. Bradford, Burr, Morgan Lewis, Aaron Ogden, Brockholst Livingston, Jonathan Dayton, Richard Stockton, Abraham Venable, Wm. B. Giles, Robt. G. Harper, Smith Thompson, James Burnet, &c. Thirty of his students were members of Congress.

† One of Dr. Witherspoon's remarks was, that "Euclid was the best system of logic ever written."

This sermon was republished in Glasgow, Scotland, with very severe and denunciatory notes, stigmatizing Dr. Witherspoon as a rebel, &c.