Memoirs of William Nelson Pendleton, D.D., rector of Latimer parish, Lexington, Virginia; brigadier-general c.s.a.; chief of artillery, army of northern Virginia. |
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| X. | CHAPTER X. |
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 | CHAPTER X. Memoirs of William Nelson Pendleton, D.D., |  |
CHAPTER X.
A SUMMER'S ENGINEERING.
Up to this time Bristol College had been—as, indeed, it was to
the last—a great success, except in pecuniary matters. The
number of students was large, their deportment and scholarship
excellent, and a healthy Christian spirit prevailed in the institution.
But the financial aspect of affairs was not encouraging.
Started without endowment, it would have been almost impossible
to avoid embarrassment had there been no outlay for improvements,
and had the students been required to pay a sum
sufficient for their maintenance. But the terms were unreasonably
low. The charges for board, fuel, lights, and tuition were
only one hundred and sixteen dollars for the term of forty weeks.
Beneficiaries, of whom there was a large proportion, were provided
with everything for seventy-five dollars per annum; and
when worthy young men, especially those desiring to enter the
ministry, could not afford even so moderate a sum, arrangement
was made to admit them and furnish support and instruction in
return for some small services rendered. The professors' salaries
were low in proportion,—eight hundred dollars a year,—and
tardily paid. Under these circumstances, Mr. Pendleton gladly
accepted an offer from Mr. Walter Gwynn, at that time the leading
railroad engineer in Virginia and North Carolina, to take
charge, during the summer, of an engineering party to survey and
locate a railroad through Southwestern Virginia and down into
North Carolina, with a salary of one hundred and fifty dollars a
month. His classes were pushed on and examined by the last
of June, when he took his family—the baby, "Robin," being
only five weeks old—to Virginia and set out for his arduous
summer work. Extracts from letters to his wife show how
vigorous and steady had been his religious growth since leaving
the army, and how he had begun to realize the joy and peace in
believing which became such marked traits in his Christian
character.
"Sunday, July 24, 1836.
". . . I have been to church, and can sincerely say, in the
psalmist's language, 'I was glad when they said unto me, Let us
go up into the house of the Lord.' How appropriate, how
solemn, how delightful our service! Alone, and thrown more
ùpon a personal and hearty intercourse with our God and Saviour,
I feel it more: the service then seems to me a sort of
bond, connecting the devotions of my own soul with those of the
Church and with the precious aspirations of my own family; and
I do not think I was ever blessed with a more delightful frame
than when joining in it to-day. The same gentleman preached
of whom I spoke in my last, Mr. Motte, and an admirable discourse
it was. I was surprised to find the congregation so large.
The church is small, it is true, but it was as full as it could be,
and there were a good many young men."
". . . After writing on Sunday, I had to go to church in the
afternoon, and then Mr. Motte invited me to take tea with him.
I breakfasted this morning with a Mr. Lewis, who did himself the
honor of tracing a relationship with me. Afterwards transacted
some business before leaving the village of Oxford, and then,
with two of my subs, mounted on our baggage-wagon and came
out here, six or seven miles, where the rest of our party were at
work, and here I am in a private house by the road-side, where
we have been hospitably entertained by a kind old Scotchman.
We go on rapidly, and soon the party will be as far as Roxborough,
by or before which, however, I shall be on my way towards
the mountains.
"I have some pills by me, and some calomel, magnesia, and
rhubarb, in case of sickness among our party. If we all escape
bilious fevers we ought to thank God humbly for it, for the exposure
might very well, without great prudence, bring them on.
We are very careful, but my trust is in the care of an all-directing
Providence, to whom I desire to commit myself and all dear
to me."
A letter to his little daughter is enclosed in the foregoing:
"My dear little Sue,—I hope you are good and obedient
to your mamma. See, darling, how good and sweet you can be,
that the good account mamma has to give of you may make my
heart glad. I have seen a great many little girls,—some of them
very bad and some of them good,—and I always think what a
sweet thing a good little girl is. If my dear daughters, Sue and
Lucy, will be obedient and good children, how very glad it will
make me, and how I shall love them! There are a great many
girls going to school in Oxford, the place where I have been staying
for three or four days. You must get mamma to show it to
you on the map. Some of these girls—yes, all of them—are older
than my darling daughter, and yet some of them have not been
taught so much. Think, love, what your dear mamma has done
for you, in taking so much trouble to teach you. How much you
ought to love her, and try to obey and please her for all she has
done! Do you pray for me, dear? Ask God to take care of papa,
and bring him back safely to you all."
". . . Here I am, quartered by polite invitation, at the house
of General C—, whom I met in Norfolk. I must write on
Sunday, for if I do not, there will be no opportunity of sending
a letter before Wednesday, and by that time I expect to be far
away from Danville. There is no Episcopal church here, and
our communion is hardly recognized in this large county. Two
good-looking dissenting churches are, however, open this morning,
—the Presbyterian and the Baptist,—the former of which I
wish to attend by and by."
"My beloved Wife,—Early this Monday morning I have
risen to write to you. Yesterday I was permitted to enjoy a
great privilege in attending a place where prayer is wont to
be made, and where the truth, as it is in Jesus, was declared,
though in a homely way. Just on the other (east) side of the
mountain, in Montgomery County, there was to be a Baptist
meeting, and as it was the only place of public worship near,
though some seven or eight miles off, Mr. Barberin, at my invitation,
and myself determined to ride thither. And I was
mountain.
"The preacher was a man whose countenance, manner, and
matter exhibited that he knew what it is to understand 'the
secret of the Lord which dwelleth with the righteous.' If ever
my soul blessed the Lord for His goodness to the children of
men, it was when I heard the simple, blessed truths of the Gospel
so plainly and understandingly preached to this poor Western
people, cut off, as we are wont to believe, from the privileges
of Gospel light.
"And now to tell you what I have been about since my last
was posted at Franklin Court-House. That morning we left
there, I on horseback, accompanied by an old gentleman interested
in the survey, the rest of my party in a hack, and we proceeded
some sixteen miles over hills and mountains of all forms
and dimensions, intersected continually by streams and mountain
torrents, to the foot of the Alleghany. This we crossed at
Daniel's Run Gap, where the ascent is more gradual than at
most passes in the ridge. That evening we arrived at a public-house
three miles west of the ridge, where there is a capital
mineral spring, and here we have been staying ever since. If
you were with me, how I could enjoy the noble character of the
country! While it is strikingly true, as David says, 'Those who
go down to the sea in ships, these see the mighty works of the
Lord,' it may be as truly said that they who look upon the
gigantic hills of this untamed region find like cause to admire
the power and majesty of Him who laid their foundations and
reared their proud heads. How poor, how feeble, are we among
these awe-inspiring scenes! and yet we scale, we surmount them,
and in the soarings of our minds we rise to heights from which
these hills, the ocean, and their solid bed, the round earth, are
lost in insignificance among the grander works of God; while we,
with souls immortal, are never lost, are never diminished in comparison
with the mightiest worlds of matter, for we are in the
image of the Eternal; we are ransomed with the precious blood
of the Son of God; we are candidates for a state of being where
purity and love, and knowledge and bliss, shall be forever ours.
It was Friday evening when we got here. Saturday I rode over
much of the country exploring, while all the rest went deer-hunting.
began. I have been riding from seven A.M. to five P.M., almost
without dismounting, and without a mouthful, even, of water,
though the gushing streams are numberless, and going all the
time over hills and precipices you would shudder to see a horseman
pass. But for being away from you nothing could be finer
or, by way of variety, more to my taste.
"The climate is fine, but it has rained every day since our
arrival. The mineral water which attracts people here has not
been analyzed, but it has a twang of iron, sulphur, and salts, and
has a most beneficial effect on me."
". . . Mr. Cunningham and myself rode over the mountains
from our work ten miles last night, most of the distance by
moonlight. I wish you and others of my dear friends could
witness the scene through which we passed. I cannot pretend
to give you the slightest idea of its mingled grandeur and beauty.
Imagine us, after nightfall, traversing the mountain defiles. On
either hand the tall hills frowning darkly upon us below, the little
mountain stream dashing in its wildness, and making an
incessant sound to break away the solemn stillness of the road,
while here and there the prevailing darkness was relieved by the
moonbeams finding their way through openings in the trees, now
illuminating the road and hill-sides, now glittering on the foaming
cascades. I never saw anything like it. And then I thought,
'Why is this beautiful to me? Why does it fill me with awe
and delight? 'Tis the goodness of God; 'tis an evidence of His
benevolence in creating things so lovely, and endowing me with
a sensibility for what He has made beautiful and sublime, and
allowing me opportunities for enjoying them.' . . . What distresses
me often is a heavy sense of my unfitness, through a depraved
and unsanctified heart, for the sacred and responsible
office of the ministry. I have come to the conclusion, years ago,
that God required of me to preach the Gospel, and I think myself
unfit for it. You cannot conceive how I suffer at times from
this; and were it not that I know the Lord is sufficient for all
things, and that He can, and often does, use the weakest and
most unworthy of His servants to promote the salvation of men,
I could not but shrink from what is before me. As it is, however,
the earnest prayer that He will either keep me back, should He
not fit me for His work, or that He will be pleased to pour upon
me His enlightening and sanctifying grace, to prepare me for a
useful course of ministerial labor. I often think of the character
and history of St. Peter, and find comfort in comparing my own
character with his,—so far as I may with reverence. He was
impetuous yet ardent, bold yet unsteady, confident of fidelity
yet weak to shame in the time of trial. All these failings, you
have no need of being told, lie at the bottom of my character,
and most of their opposite virtues are there too; then I think
how true, how faithful, how honored he afterwards was, and it
animates me to hope for such supplies of Divine grace as will
enable me to be true and faithful; and if it please Him, I would
serve, honored also by usefulness in my future life. Join me often
in praying for this. . . . My health has improved greatly since
leaving the heat and marshes of Carolina. While in Danville
my liver was in a bad state, and there was no little threatening
of disease, but it is all gone, and I never was in better condition.
It is a great delight to read the anecdotes of the dear children."
Bristol College begun the session of 1836 with a large number
of students, but before many weeks had elapsed the money
affairs were found to be in a hopeless state of confusion, and every
day increased the embarrassment, and as early as January, 1837,
it was seen that the institution could not maintain itself any
longer. It was therefore determined to push on and graduate
the senior class by March 1, when the college was finally closed.
The three and a half years of its existence had been full of
usefulness and success, so far as regarded the number, character,
and teaching of the students, and the influence they have exerted
in the Church in after-years. Among the clergymen who were
educated there were Bishop Bedell, of Ohio, Rev. Drs. Gibson,
of Virginia, Bull, of North Carolina, Nelson, of the China Mission,
Leavell, of West Virginia, and a number of others, some of whom
still live and labor in the Lord, while many more have gone to
receive the reward of their labors.
Impossible as it was to carry on the college longer, the closing
it in the middle of the scholastic year was a serious thing for the
been paid, and there was little prospect that they ever would be.
Nor was there much likelihood that they would be invited to
other professorships, at least for several months, Mr. Pendleton
did not, however, become discouraged at the uncertainty of his
future. On February 14 he wrote to his wife's father,—
"My course is a very plain one. To remain here until about
May, and then to return to Virginia and be ordained. As to
the fear, usually well-grounded, that a minister in Virginia must
suffer all the ills of poverty, I am principled against allowing my
family to be so illy provided for as to make them uncomfortable.
And I am morally certain that I can use the means I have in
such a way as to secure a competency with no diminution of
usefulness and with comparatively little inconvenience. My
plan to this end is simply this: to employ one or, if required, two
well-qualified teachers, who shall have the immediate conduct
of such a school as I think would be useful and acceptable in
Virginia, I myself having the direction and moral influence over
the same. This will provide me an income sufficient, and will
allow me to perform fully and faithfully all the duties of a parish
minister, and will occupy to a good purpose the scientific acquirements
which circumstances have secured to me, and which otherwise
would be scarcely better than thrown away for any useful
purpose. . . . There is one consideration which prevents all apprehension
on my part, and which cannot fail, I presume, to
influence our friends. I am conscious of sincerity towards God,
in renouncing the large offers of fortune in the profession of
engineering. And doing this from a conviction of duty, I am
so far sure that God will approve and bless us in His own service
and in His own way."
Before the time fixed upon for his removal to Virginia, Providence
pointed out other work for him to do. The mathematical
professorship in Newark College, Delaware, then under Episcopal
control, was offered to him, with a salary of one thousand
dollars. At first he positively declined to take the chair, resolving
to become a parish minister in Virginia. But the faculty and
trustees were determined to secure him, and the president, the
visit to induce him to withdraw his refusal. Arriving at the
Long Cottage and finding Mr. and Mrs. Pendleton packing up
their furniture, Dr. Mason sat down amidst the boxes, made an
eloquent representation of the importance of the position urged
upon Mr. Pendleton, and wound up by declaring that he would
not move from his seat until it was accepted. As this was in
accordance with his wife's advice, Mr. Pendleton agreed to go to
Newark and look at the place, and this inspection resulted in his
becoming professor there.
| CHAPTER X. Memoirs of William Nelson Pendleton, D.D., | |