The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1877-05-23
For THE CENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN.
Rev. Urias Powers and DR.. Thornwell

Rev. Urias Powers and DR.. ThornWel.
Among other things mentioned in DR.. Palmer's
charming Life and Letters of DR.. Thornwell y as
having had more or less to do with DR.. Tbornwell's
introduction into the ministry. the name of Rev.
Urias Powers appears more than once; and in a
way that is almost as fattering as his penetration
into the yet unfolded character Of this wonderful
man, as the account that is given of Rev. Robert
w. James, who, at the time that Harmony Pres
bytery is represented as hanging in doubt with re-
spect to licensing young Thornweli because OF his
unsatisfactory examination, turned the scale in his
favor by saying" Notwithstanding the difficulties
in the way, think can descry the root of the
matter in this young man, and there is something
about him which impresses me with the idea that
he will yet be man of great usefulness" This
is found on page 1l3 of the Life and Letters"
and on the same. page we read" An event &C.
Cured now, which affected considerably the move
ments of our friend. The Rev. DR.. Ebenezer Por.
ter, of Andover Theological Seminary, Massachu-
sets, spent the winter of 1884 in the South, to
which he was driven in feeble health. A consider
able portion Of it was spent in Columbia, S. O.,
whittier ne was attracted by the society of his
friend, Rev. George Howe, D. D. \ Upon
his return homeward in the spring of 1884, he
took Cheraw in his route for the purpose of visiting
one of bis former pupils, ReU. UridS PoaoerS the
pastor Of the church in that town. Mr.. Thornwell
was here introduced to him, as one having the
gospel ministry in view, to whom DR.. Porter ten
| fha oq nd
cost, if he chose to avail himself of them. This in
vitation was accepted under the persuasion Of Mr.
Powers" On page l07 we find also the following
reference to Mr.. Powers, in letter of young
Thornwell dated June, 1888. In Cheraw we
have something of revival of religion. Our good
pastor, Mr. Powers, has been laboring hard for the
last week amongst u.s. Many are serious, and 9TH
ers profess to be converted. confess, for my own
part, that have been nightly revived"
| These pleasant "reminiscences of my valued old
friend and former pastor were very interesting to
me but one thing is omitted which [ ask the use
of your columns to supply viz. that besides hav-
ing been his pastor in Cheraw, Mr.. Powers was
one of DR.. Thornwe's early instructors. | am not
quite certain whether as teacher in a Bible class,
or as assistant tutor in the Academy at Cheraw,
conducted By Rev, Donald Mcqueen; but in one
or the other of those capacities, and probably in
| both, Mr.. Powers has often told me that young
Thornwell was under his instruction; and at the
same time, another young man, John Lynch, who
was of Irish extraction, and who afterwards became
almost equally distinguished as Roman Catholic
Bishop of Charleston. A fact is referred to on
page 3Sl of the " Life and Letters" which may be
mentioned as somewhat curious coincidence, viz:
that DR.. Thornwell and Bishop Lynch, about
twenty years after they were school boys under
Mr.. Powers instruction, became engaged in warm
controversy about the Apocryphal Books Of the Old
Testament. Another somewhat singular fact ap.
pears in the Life and Letters, viz: that DR..
Thornwell's mother was Bsptist-that one of his
earliest instructors Eugene Kinnar) was an Irish
Roman Catholic-another peter McIntyre) was
| Methodist preacher-that one of his noblest bene.
factors General James Gillespie) was an Episco-
palian, and another equally noble benefactor and
patron mr. Robbins was Unitarian. Added to
all this, the subtle poison of DR.. Coopers indelity
had made some impression on young Thornwell s
mind, when at College. Under these circumstances
it may we'll be asked, how did he become so
thorough Calvinist and Presbyterian? His BIZ
ographer gives US the answer on page 80 of the
Life and Letters" Ut was in the 10th year of
his age During an evening stol, he stumbled
into the bookstore of the town, and there found
lying upon the counter small volume entitled
Confession of Faith. He had never before heard
of its existence, but only saw that it contained
systematic exposition of Christian doctrine. 1t is
useless to apprize the reader that it was the West
minister Confession. He bought it for twenty five
cents, carried it home, and as he himself testifes,
read it entirely through that night This book de-.
termined him as Calvinist and Presbyterian,
though he had never been thrown in contact with
this branch of the Church of Christ and had never
but once been within any of its sanctuares of wor-
ship.
How much Mr.. Powers had to do in forming the
opinions of young Thornwell, the writer will not
undertake to say, But those who knew that excel
lent man as well as the writer knew him, by init
mate association during period Of more than
thirty years, and who had an opportunity of be-
coming acquainted with the clearness and sound
ness of his views upon theological Subjects will be
at no loss to understand how he might have had q
good deal of influence in guiding the thoughts and
moulding the opinions OF his gifted pupil He was
however one of the last men in the world to claim
any particular merit for doing so, though the writer
happens to know that he looked back with some
satisfaction to the period when, like Rev. R. W.
James, he discovered in young ThOrnwell something
that impressed him with the idea that he would in
after life be man of great usefulness. Few men
have risen to greater distinction than DR.. Thorn
well--certainly none in our Southern Church-nor
left behind them nober fruits of well.spent fe
At the close of the " Life and Letters" Doctor
Palmer brings into General Review" and beau
tifully deneates the various characters in which he
exceled ~ as an EDUCATOR; (2) as PHILoso-
PIER and THEoLoGIAN; (3) as PREACHER; as
PRESENTER; (5) as a CHRISTIAN and MAN. This
summary iu very striking one, and reminds me
of grand sermon preached by DR.. Sprague, of
Albany, on the occasion Of the death of DR.. Chal-
mers, from the appropriate text-"And unto one he
qave fve talentS"-the largest number given to any
one of the servants, all Of which were we'll en-
ployed, and all received the same bountifu reward
+. j.
The eighth volume Of the translation of D'Au-
b;ona,s Histor1 of the Reformation in the time