Morning journal and courier., 1884-07-18
An Old New England Divine,

by Kate Gannett Wells in the August Atlantic
President Stiles last years had been as
busy as his earlier ones. He had assisted in
forming an anti-slavery society, and with
fourteen others had signed its constitution,
and he had published his history of the
Three Judges of Charles l., who had fed to
America. He was always indignant that the
Episcopal minister annually preached in com
memoration of the martyrdom of Charles 1.
eff observed at all" he said, sit ought to be
celebrated as an anniversary thanksgiving
that one nation on earth had so much forti-
tude and public justice as to make royal
tyrant bow to the sovereignty of the people"
He wrote most stately letters of inquiry to
Sir William Jones about the Jewish colony
at Cochin China, and letter of seventy
pages quarto to the Asiatic society at Calcut-
ia; hoping thereby ''to recover the original
principles of first-derived knowledge" The
chronology of the Pentateuch, information
about the ten tribes, whom he believed still
existed, and the discovery of the original
Hebrew copy of the Bible were subjects of
constant anxiety to him. Though naturally
delicate in health, he INDUCED in ''antelucane
studies, and, with paper and pencil always
in his pocket, noted down points of observa-
ton and knowledge.
His industry was truly amazing. Lis Lit
erary Diary of conversation or reading COM
prises fifteen quarto volumes, each volume
consisting of over three hundred pages,
When Franklin gave him Fahrenheit's Their
mometer he made observations with it from
1853 till within two days of his DEATH which
contained in six quarto volumes. At
forty years of age he began to learn Hebrew
and Syriac, and in one year translated the
Psalms, Genesis and Exodus, read considera-
BILE Arabic, and dipped into the Persic, Cop
tic and other Oriental languages. He was
eager to obtain map of the Russian empire,
published at St. Petersburg, showing the
junction of the two Continents wonderful
fact to him, if true. He wrote Latin letter
to the Jesuit college in Mexico and to the
Greek bishop in Syria, asking about the Sa-
marian Pentateuch. These inquiries in no
way affected his zeal as Congregationalist
(the title of Dissenter he refused, for he was
"under 10 obligation to return to the mother
English church, though in South Britain he
would have gloried in the name'O; nor did
they lessen his foresight, when, after the
capture of Montreal, he wrote, cit is proba-
BILE that in time there will be formed a Pro
vincial Confederacy and a Common Council
standing on free provincial suffrage and this
may in time terminate in an imperial diet,
when the imperial dominion will subslst as 1t
ought in election" Under all his sturdiness
shines his iberality. Thanks to Cod" he
universal can read of particular persons
and churches and some clusters of churches
eminent for piety as well as soundness in the
faith. With all these my soul unites and
harmonizes.
Combined with all these great qualities of
mind there was a curious vanity, which
showed itself in the minute directions that
he gave for his portrait. He is represented
in a teaching attitude, one hand on his breast,
the other holding Bible Behind him
conspicuous certain learned books; around
him are various emblems, among others that
of the intellectual world. Ina central glory
are the letters JHVH, surrounded with three
white spots, also representing worlds. The
three ascending hair lines refer to the Trini
t.. The motto is, All Happy in Cod ''for
as there are only two worlds known to have
revolted, they count as infinitesirnal com
pared with other dominions." Such en-
of his mind, even if the portrait did not
correspond with his face