ful, and cannot be set in so beautiful and affecting a light by any description, as they appeared in to his friends who were eye-witnesses."

This incomparable man was now in the decline of life, and with little or no income besides his stipend; and this throws the greatest light upon his faithfulness and sincerity Nor had he the views of support from another appointment; for he knew not how far the malice of his people might extend to prevent it, or the prejudice of his dismission operate against him elsewhere: Nor was he capable (alas! what a pity he should be driven to think of it) to take up any other business for a support. Thus beggary and disgrace were before him. But he had a good Master; and he knew that he was good. He had comfort from him in his soul, and, in a short time, sustenance by his providence for the wants of himself and his household. Ashamed at this unparalleled baseness to so excellent a man, his friends, or rather the friends of godliness, administered to his relief, and he was soon after appointed to the mission at Stockbridge; but not before some other insolent and bitter attempts had been made to murder his reputation, as well as to deprive him of bread.

The voluntary retraction of one man, though a ringleader in this iniquitous business, ought to save him from being involved in the common infamy. The remorse of Mr. Joseph Hawley, while it entitles him to our forgiveness, confirms, and in the strongest language too, both Mr. Edwards's innocence and the turpitude of his comrades. For these reasons we subjoin it in a note for the reader.*

Mr.

*To the Rev. Mr. HALL of Sutton.

REV. SIR, Northampton, May 9, 1760. 6 I HAVE often wished that every member of the two ecclesiastical councils (that formerly sat in Northampton upon the unhappy differ ences between our former most worthy and reverend pastor Mr. Jonathan Edwards, and the church here) whereof you was a member; I say, Sir, I have often wished every one of them truly knew my real'sense of my own conduct in the affairs that the one and the other of said councils are privy to; and as I have long apprehended it to be my duty not only to humble myself before God for what was unchristian and sinful in my conduct before said councils, but also to confess my faults to them, and take shame to myself therefore before them. [ have often studied with myself in what manner it was practicable for me to do it; and when I understood that you, Sir, and Mr. Eaton, were to be at Cold Spring at the time of their late council, I resolved to improve the opportunity fully to open my mind there to you and him thereon; and thought that probably some method might be thea

thought

Mr. Edwards, who was able to shine in the seats of learning, and some time hence was called to preside over one, was now delegated to the instruction of savage Indians at Stockbridge. This place is in the western part of Massachuset's Bay, and about sixty miles from Mr. Edwards' former residence at Northampton. He was fixed here

thought of in which my reflections on myself touching the matters above hinted at, might be communicated to most if not all the gentlemen aforesaid, who did not reside in this country: But you know, Sir, how difficult it was for us to converse together by ourselves when at Cold Spring, without giving umbrage to that people: I therefore proposed writing to you upon the matters which I had then opportunity only most summarily to suggest, which you, Sir, signified would be agreeable to you: I therefore now undertake what I then proposed, in which I humbly ask the divine aid; and that I may be made most freely willing fully to confess my sin and guilt to you and the world in those instances which I have reason to suppose fell under your notice, as they were public and notorious transactions, and on account whereof, therefore, you, Sir, and all others who had knowledge thereof, had just cause to be offended at me. And in the first place, Sir, I apprehend that, with the church and people of Northampton, I sinned and erred exceedingly, in consenting and labouring that there should be so carly a dismission of Mr. Edwards from bis pastoral relation to us, even upon the supposition that he was really in a mistake in the disputed point: Not only because the dispute was upon matters so very disputable in themselves, and at the greatest remove from fundamental, but because Mr. Edwards so long had approved himself a most faithful and painful pastor to said church, and also changed his sentiments in that point wholly from a tender regard to what appeared to him to be truth, and had made known his sentiments with great moderation, and upon great deliberation, against all worldly motives, and from mere fidelity to his great Master, and a tender regard to the souls of his flock, as we had the highest reason to judge: Which considerations now seem to me sufficient; and would (if we had been of a right spirit) have greatly endeared him to his people, and made us, to the last degree, reluctant to parting with him, and disposed us to the exercise of the greatest candour, gentleness, and moderation: How much the reverse whereof appeared in us, I need not tell you, Sir, who was an eye-witness of our temper and conduct. And although it does not become me to pronounce decisively on a point so disputable as what was then in dispute; yet I beg leave to say, that I really apprehend that it is of the highest moment to the body of this church, and to me in particular, most solicitously to inquire, whether, like the Pharisees and lawyers in John Baptist's time, we did not reject the counsel of GOD against ourselves, in rejecting Mr. Edwards and his doctrine: Which was the ground of his dismission. And I humbly conceive that it highly imports us all of this church, most seriously and impartially to examine what that most worthy and able divine about that time published in support of the same, whereby he being dead yet speaketh. But there were three things, Sir, especially in my own particular conduct before the first council, which have been justly matter of great grief and much trouble to me almost ever since: to wit, in the first place, I confess, Sir, that I acted very immodestly VOL. IV. X

and

here on the 8th of August 1751; and here he continued his labours, in more peace and quietness than he had ever known before, for six years. In this interval, old as he was, he made greater attainments in knowledge, and wrote more for the church of GoD, than he had ever been able to do, within the same space of time, during the former part

and abusively to you, as well as injuriously to the church and myself, when, with much zeal and unbecoming assurance, I moved the council that they would interpose to silence and stop you in an address you was making one morning to the people, wherein you was, if I don't misremember, briefly exhorting them to a tender remembrance of the former affection and harmony that had long subsisted between them and their reverend pastor, and the great comfort and profit which they had apprehended that they had received from his ministry, for which, Sir, I heartily ask your forgiveness; and I think that we ought, instead of opposing an exhortation of that nature, to have received it with all thankfulness. Another particular of my conduct before that council, which I now apprehend was criminal, and was owing to the want of that tender affection and reverend respect and esteem for Mr. Edwards which he had highly merited of me, was my strenuously opposing the adjournment of the matters submitted to that council, for about two months, for which I declare myself unfeignedly sorry; and I with shame remember, that I did it in a peremptory, decisive, vehement, and very immodest manner. But, Sir, the most criminal part of my conduct at that time, that I am conscious of, was my exhibiting to that council a set of arguments in writing, the drift whereof was to prove the reasonableness and necessity of Mr. Edwards' dismission in case no accommodation was then effected with mutual consent; which tract by clear implication contained some severe, uncharitable, and, if I do not misremember, groundless and slanderous imputations on Mr. Edwards, and expressed in bitter language; and although the original draft thereof was not done by me, yet I foolishly and sinfully consented to copy it, and, as agent for the church, to read it and deliver it to the council, which I could never have done, if I had not had a wicked relish for perverse things: Which conduct of mine, I confess, was very sinful; am persuaded was highly provoking to GoD, and for which I am ashamed, confounded, and have nothing to answer. As to the church's remonstrance (as it was called) which their committee preferred to the last of said councils, to all which I was consenting, and in the composing whereof I was very active, as also in bringing the church to their vote upon it: I would in the first place only observe, that I do not remember any thing in that small part of it which was plainly discursive of the expediency of Mr. Edwards' re-settlement here as pastor to a part of the church, which was very exceptionable; but as to all the residue, which was much the greatest part thereof, (and I am not certain that any part was wholly free) it was every where larded with unchristian bitterness, sarcastical and unmannerly insinuations, contained divers direct, grievous, and criminal charges and allegations against Mr. Edwards, which I have since good reason to suppose were all founded on jealous and uncharitable mistakes, and so were really gross slanders, also many heavy and reproachful charges upon divers of Mr. Edwards' adherents, and some severe censures of them

all