The state chronicle. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1883-1893, 1885-09-25
For the State Chronicle.
THE LATE BISHOP LAY.
RecOllections of Some of His Able Ser
mons.
NEW BERSE. n. g.. Sept %. 1885.


EDITOR CHRONICLE:-Th death Of that
venerable prelate, Rt. Rev. II. c. Lay, of
the Diocese of Easton, revives the most
vivid recollections of him and the circum-
stances attending the discourses which he
delivered on the occasions that | was 50
fortunate as to hear him
1t was in the trOublous times of the win
ter of S64 > that | first heard him. 1t
was in the basement of, the then unfin
ished, Grace Church, Petersburg, Va,
where the deyOut CONGREGATION Of Rev DR..
Gibson's continued to worship, although
one Of the walls had been punctured by a
shot from the enemy's cannon during the
early days of that memorable siege.
The pitch of the room was low, the light
not very strong and my position such as
not to afford full view of the speaker,
but the sweet toned voice induced me to
think all through the sermon that | was
listening to the Bishop of North Carolina
the late Bishop Atkinson-and was only
undecelved when, after service, | enqulr-
ed Of friend and was informed that it
was Bishop Lay. The text was from the
18th verse of the Gath chapter Of st. Luke S
Gospel: ''And he said unto them, What
manner of communications are these that
ye have one to another, as We walk and
are sadI'
The beautiful explanation Of the whole
passage of scripture was 50 impressive
that although, | neither took note or
memorandum of any kind, yet | can call
it to my mind, much more clearly than |
can repeat it in these lines. How Jesus
walks with us in the journey Of life. How
IN the hours Of sadness and gloom such as
was then upon the disciples. The Holy
Spirit unfolds to us the scriptures How
we must constrain him to tarry with us as
did they at Emmaus, if we would have
him abide with US: And how, when the
blessed bread of the Holy Eucharist is
given us the Eyes of Faith are opened and
we, as they did, realize that it is he who
feeds us and recognize the risen Lord, was
SO clearly illustrated that the reading of
that chapter has ever since possessed an
additional charm to me.
1t was upon the occasion Of this visit of
his to relatives and friends at Petersburg,
that one event transpired which | have
never seen In print, though it was report
ed as having occurred 1t was that this
holy man was entertained one night at the
headquarters of Gen. Lee; the former
having furnished him an escort under a
flag of truce through the lines of the con-
tending armies.
AS he was from the scenes of his labors
IN the Southwest, which was then severed
from US by the Federal lines, | have every
reason to think the statement correct A
dozen years had nearly passed before
heard him again The Diocese of EastOn
had been formed and he elected to that
Bshopric, when, at Christ Church in Bal
timOre, heard him discourse upon that
beautiful chapter, 18th Eclesiastes, ''Re-
member now thy Creator III the days of
thy youth, while the evil days come not,
nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt
say, | have no pleasure in them.
Quite as happy was the exposition of
this as that Of the text before alluded to,
and equally instructive and impressive.
But it was three years after this at Cam
bridge, Maryland, in the Diocese of Easton
that | last heard the beloved Bishop 1t
was at a Convocation, and a number of
the Clergy were present. The subject of
the evening discourses was the Parable of
the Sower who went forth to SOW his seed,
and some fell by the wayside, etc Diff
ferent points of the parable were allotted
to the various clergymen present, the
Bishop closing the discourses for the even
ing, and also the Convocation. Revision
of the prayer book and other questions
then being agitated, led the Venerable
Diocesan to urge the clergy to stand
firmly by the Book of Common Prayers,
and in the course of his remarks, illustra
ted the advantages of it by relating per
sOnal experience to that point. 1t had
been his fortune, he stated, iii the early
years of his ministry to be called upon
quite often to minister to criminals under
sentence of death, and on one occasion he
was called to one who seemed to possess a
heart of stone. Nothing could move him
to a rational consideration of his condi-
ton, or impress him with the Importance
of some preparation for that eternity to
which was 50 surely and rapidly tending.
The good Bishop said he had rarely felt
such a responsibility as was thus resting
upon him. Could he devise no means tC
arouse the moral stupor of the condemned
man! Often did he pray for aid from on
high and earnestly did he strive to i'm
press the impenitent soul; but still with
out success. Referring to his preceptorS
instructions when he himself was about
to take Holy Orders, the Bishop said he
remembered one admontion especially
and that was to rely upon his PRAYER
Book for guidance in his memory. His
mother, the church, he was informed, haC
placed it III his hands, rich with forms anC
directions that had stood the test Of Ions
experience and Of blessed results. Thus
encouraged, he sought the cell of the con
| demned man, determined to make one
more effort in behalf Of that imperileC
soul.
Seating himself on the hard bench by
the side of the prisoner, he opened hi:
book at the Office for the ''visitation o
| prisoners" and especially the prayers fol
| persons under sentence of DEATH" anC
/ told him that there was a short service
prepared by the church to be used fol
persons IN his sad condition, and asked
that the unfortunate man would listen at
| tentively while he read it to him. Before
| | was half through the exhortation in thai
service, said she, the wretched man was
melted to tears and his whole frame shoOl
with emotion. He became an earnest en-
quirer ''what shall do to be saved ~ re
| ceived the instructions of his divine teach
er with a child like simplicity, exhibited
truly tenitent spirit, and died, as the
Bishop hoped, brand snatched from the
eternal burning, and experienced the ben
efits of that atOnement which alone car
save immortal souls.
Since that evening | have never seer
this good man, but know that how many
hearts are burdened with grief in the
fields of his past labors, that Father il
Israel has been taken from them, but re
joice in the knowledge that he has beer
transferred from the Church Militant t,
the Church Triumphant. G.
Death of Solicitor DObsOn.