The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-05-01

oHo DOctIlHe. But ne did not devote
his growing powers to the controversy
OF his day. Had he done SO it is quite
likely that he could never have entered
| into the life of the present with such
mighty influence, for the question of
those days of theological differences has
quite lost the power over the modern
mind. With such distinctly speculative
matters he soon parted company and
sought rather to inspire all questions
with practical value. Perhaps no work
has more endeared him to his fellows
than his published sermons on "Chris-
tan Consolation;" sermons to take the
| mind away from the differences that
arise to divide men from each other and
bring them face to face with the great
body of common universal truths upon
which all souls may with confidence rely.
| There is in these sermons especially no
| ticeable that sincere desire to lift away
| from heavy hearts the burdens that keep
| life narrow; a characteristic that was his
in remarkable degree and enc that all
have been impressed with whenever they
came in contact with his personality.
He had scholarly mind, was very pre-
cocious as a child, especially in mathe-
MATES. His memory was quite remark
| able and never failed him with his grow
ing years.
| While student at the divinity school
he was teacher also in Hebrew, and after
his graduation remained for year or
more to teachs mathematics in the col
lege
His more active life falls into two
periods. His pastorate in Portsmouth;
| his work at Cambridge.
In the autumn of 1888 he was installed
as junior pastor at Portsmouth but he
was forced to enter at once upon the full
duties of the office owing to the sudden
death of the senior pastor, Rev. Nathan
| Parker, only two weeks after his settle
ment. Here he remained twenty-seven
years. This was period of great litera-
ry activity. The class of people there
| gave great stimulus to his powers and as
was the case of most ministers of his
time he strove for literary achievement
in many branches of learning. He was
one of the most prolific contributors to
the Examiner, that great repository of
| Unitarian learning and literature. In
| 1858 he purchased one half interest in
| the North American Review and for ten
years was its editor, during that period
of the magazines growth when it was the
| first representative of American letters.
| magazine to which character had al
ready been given by the master minds of
81. IA
this work in addition to his pulpit efforts
shows of what vigorous intellectual
fibre he was the possessor. He never
knew what it was ito be idle. He did
not know what it was to have vacation.
even in his old age. During the hot sum-
mer months, when the ministers of Bos-
ton and vicinity were away from their
churches, he was always to be found as
kind of guard of the religious interests
of that place. He was always to be found
at his home III Cambridge and whenever
sermons were to be preached or the
offices of a minister required, he was al
ways ready and willing to be called upon.
How many younger man who needed
rest has been relieved from his parish
duties by the kindness of this vigorous
old preacher.
He was a close reader of the classics.
| A thorough student in the best Frenc h
| literature. 1t has been said that for a
large part of his life French books would
| better represent his reading and studies
than anything else. For many years he
has been surpassed by no one in the
| American ministry in his power as criti-
cal Bible scholar. and clear and elegant
| writer. His lcritical mind grasped all
| branches of learning and many works
| from his pen are are among the best ex-
amples of our critical literature.
| When at Portsmouth he became one
generally sought for to deliver occasional
sermons, literary addresses, and address,
es to graduating classes. In this he
showed facility and ability that has
hardly been equalled by any one In our
country, and this role he continued to
fill to the very end Of his life.
| He gradually grew into interests of
| Il L. i
allow and was unconsciously fitting him
| parish minister. This was the Plummer
Professorship of Morals in Harvard Uni
versity.
| In 1874 Judge White of Salem delivered
an address before the Alumni of Cam
bridge in which he said, ''Let the next
| foundation to be laid here in aid ofeduca-
| ton be a Professorship of the philoso-
| ply of the Heart and the Moral Life"
| These words fell under the eye of Miss
| Caroline Plummer, a native and resident
of Salem, and led her to add to her will a
| codicil, dated March 9, 1845, making pro-
| vision flor the support of professor of
| the Philosophy of the Heart, and of the
| Moral, Physical and Christian Life in
Harvard University whose province it
| shall be !. on the basis of
| SilI dilU lOf6, W 0ullSuIeQ all
who are or may be engaged in the edu-
| cation pursued there in the
manner of discharging their respective
| duties, so as best to promote generous
affections, manly virtues, and Christian
conduct, and more especially to aid and
| instruct the students in what most nearly
concerns their moral and physical vel
| fare, their health, their good habits, and
their Christian characters, acting towards
them, by personal intercourse and per-
suasion, the part of a parent, as well as
that Of a teacher and friend This Pro-
fessorship was established in 1856 and
Dr. +. D. Huntington was the first in
cumbent. He was succeeded by DR..
Peabody in 1860 who thus left Ports
mouth after twenty-seven years of ser
vice. I read at length the quotation
from the will of Miss Plummer in the
| first place to show the broad foundation
| of this Professorship of Morals and in
the second place to descoibe the charac-
ter Of DR.. Peabody. Such provision in a
| will was almost an inspiration, impossi-
BILE of conception 1 think except by an
| age that produced such men as were as
| sociated with Harvard University in the