New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-12-03

people belong TO this society, and suppose the widest
eoa Of charity could not cover more than ch al III
rotten Some Of the leading men IN town are des,s anu
these men belong to It, The town has fund nearly large
enough to support minister. another 10 support aE
law school consider the town given over to unta-
ranism Nothing ON earth can save u sacep' aiv
ing in secret Chaplin is eighty years OF age,
is just dropping into his and now begins 10 uepe
before they knew what was All parties applauded.
The UnitaTians went too far in prasng 10 rctruct l
modiatey The orthodox had no wish to retrae' nus
again went. The Unitarians were still mostly shen I'm
they WINGED but said but ntte lhe plous W. o o,i
encouraged, The next step was for the ous Peoc
silently TO raise suoserlpol ana NT t v as e
minister to Doctor Chaplin hoping thai sood lnIc
sion N favor Of ple o e DC tey yi sT hear faithful
preaching This is the invitation which have received,
and This is the business which prevents my coming 10
you Immediately. have Thought OF the snUeet III ,s
various lights and, according 10 the decided auNcc Va
the professors and Mr. EvartS have concluded that
rs my duty TO go. anticipate Iot lhuu oo.Ino ms,
shall have many proud hearts rising up against III!
selves against me VINO you ASK van De lor me ,
unless Jesus Christ and few praying women laAe
pate ever settling among themi No; they VIII not
have orthodox preacher; There is no prospect OF
Why do they not get popular Unitarian Because tue
Old minister will not let one 20 INTO bis pulpit whe ne
lives The moment he dies they Will have Unitarian;
and the prospect is that for generations 10 come they
will be LED away by this bcwitching dcuson Of satan
shall have cOndant none TO uphold my hands Doc
tor Chaplin las son OF inst my age, graduate OF Cam
bridge, and now student in law with Judge Dana lie
does not profess bc pcus bat is orthodox to the ne
pias. II Is lac who Is al the bottom al all ths lie IL j.
who is the means OF getting me TO GrOton 1t II really
affecting the old man, who has for ATTY years bce
preaching his people 10 RUM now starting up Just as nc
about to drop into the grave ana inc young man. VINO
makes prcensiOns 10 religion, trying TO pu TIE
society out Of the mirc He viii be the only man with
whom shall dare to converse freely
The result was, after series of embtterea con-
nicts the formation of new religious society of
kTr IN no mo ste .
ing him free field for the exercise Of his poemic
ability. which he did not fail to bring into active
service and with signal success. His subsequent life
in Northamp.on aud Philadelphia is described, per-
haps with rather supcrfuous detail, and space
conpcls us to pass AT once to his closing years which
were spent in serene activity, greatly s0fteDed from
the begcrent habits of an earlier day, amid the
scenes of beauty and culture in the pleasant village
of Pittsfeld. Mass. The sketches of his personal
habits and official relations which are given III the
biography. are sinmarly attractive. His study IN
which his best hours were passed, was a favored
spot " Ii is large pleasant room, up one Ilgit OF
stairs on the south side of the house In the Win
ter-and much of the year is Winter in Berkshire
the sunshine lies warm upon the carpet, and an
open coal Gre CLOVIS brightly in a large soap-stone
stove. At the farther end of the room a broad arch
opens into second room as wide, and half as deep,
/ which contains the library Ia the middle of It's
west wall the bookcases part for a window, adorned
| somewhat with stained glass, which looks out to-
| ward the sunset and the surprisingly beautiful
outline of the Taghonic hills. The library contains
| two or three thousand volumes, and is of a mixed
character At the first glance there seems to he very
| little that is modern valuable. recent visitor
giving his impressions upon curs0ry survey, writes
The book-shelyes were well filled with books but
| they were all old books by Puritan authors abound
ing with bound volumes of tracts, missionary maya
zines, etc. did not notice single volume of cur
rent literature, art, science. or theology. lie was
emphatieally man of the old school! The remark
shows that the writer's observation was hasty or
careless for nesting among the old brown-calf
| books are many of the most recent and most adj
vanced publications on all subjects. DR.. Todd did
/ not draw the freshness Of ms thoughts from old
! tracts and missionary magazines. In his reading
he kept abreast of the times. But the general aI-
pearancc Of the library IS antiquated ; and, rs q
whole il is not choice collection. Dr. Todd himself
felt it, My library is positively disTaceful Oh, for
books. books It's condition is easily accounted for
His sermons were frs planned out in his own mind
/ during his walks or rides, in slcepicss hours,
| whenever anything was suggested to his mind, and
he fell ntOa constructive mood. "ln writing out tie
sermon, lie did not bind himself toany regular hoars
thoueh ne usually wrote in the forenoon, when be
freshest ana strongest; llii tlIi Ilc nave ~ "
for inspiration; be seemed to have the power of com
manding the faculty Of composition at pleasure.
! While writing he sat in a low rocking-chair that
/ his eyes were near the desk, lis coat Of, and his
shir-culs rolled back his collar loo-ened torn Off,
! his plasses laid aside aud a warm soap-,tone at his
feet TO counteract the tendency of the blood 10 tine
! head He always wrote with quill, and ne wrote
without stopping for an instant. While engaged in
writing he was entirely absorbed in his work. One
of his first parshl0ners, referring to an occasion
/ when several persons were in his study, writes
| While we were sewing and chatting, aud laughing
in his study, all in the most hilarious spirits he
would sit at lis table absorbed in writing ser
mon as TO be unconscious of persons aud converse
ton in the ROOM But when he reached a point, or
was fired. he would instantly drop the pcn and
strike OF in conversation with wonderful buoyancy
and hunor. Then. feeling rested hc would az sud
denly take mp the pen and fall back into abstrac-
ton. lie possessed concentration and elasticity Of
mind in far greater degree than any man | ever
knew These qualities remained with him through
! life His stud -dOOr was seldom locked, and con-
yersation and even childrens play, unless too
bosterous, rarely disturbed him. In fact, his al
straction was so great that he became unconscious
of what h was doing and in pursuing a train Of
! Thought would fan into most ludcrOus errors of
spelling and grammar, and into "a very imperfect
and disiointcd style strike only for the thought.
write with great Tapdty and have no time to eX-
! anime the wheelbarrOw in which trunde my ideas
! and Impressions. Most Of his errors he would de-
tect as quickly and laugh at as heartily as any one
! on reading over what lac had written; but unfortu-
nately. it was not always easy 10 correct his SEN
fences rs 70 detect their faults, without wholly
constructing them and as he cared but little for
rhetorical finish, provided he understood, be
allowed his works 10 remain full of lingual errors
for the enjoyment Of critics who strain al gnats and
| swallow camels. After writing for an hour or so,