CHAPTER XVII.
LIFE IN FREDERICK—RESIGNATION OF THE PARISH.
Several years followed the season of affliction spoken of in
the last chapter, unmarked by any special events. In addition to
his two Sunday and two weekly services, Mr. Pendleton was
accustomed to minister at the almshouse and jail, and to hold
occasional services in Liberty and at Catoctin, and also to marry
and bury for miles around Frederick. Nor were his useful
efforts confined to his clerical duties. Frederick was subject to
destructive floods from the sudden rise of the Monocacy River,
running through the town. In one of these a large bridge on
Patrick Street was carried away. To avoid the destruction to
property and hinderance to business consequent upon such a
disaster, Mr. Pendleton was applied to, as a capable engineer, to
survey the banks of the river and furnish a plan for a new bridge
which could resist the force of the swollen current and offer the
least point of lodgement for the débris brought down by a freshet.
This he did without compensation, and so effectually that the
bridge remained uninjured by many successive floods.
In 1852 urgent representations of the importance and needs
of the Church in the Northwest almost induced him to accept a
call to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He was, however, dissuaded from
it by a former West Point friend,—Judge Mason, of Iowa,—who
told him that life in the Northwest at that time was too rough for
a delicate Southern woman, and that his wife would probably become
a speedy victim to the severe climate and the hard work of
Iowa, where it was impossible to get servants.
In the spring of 1853 the same disagreement arose between
Mr. Pendleton and his vestry which had occasioned the resignation
of several of his predecessors. All Saints' Church stood on
a side street, with large stables opposite its front. The building
was ill proportioned, inconvenient in its arrangements, much out
of repair, and every way inappropriate to the wealth of the congregation
and their style of living. A few of the people were
sensible of this incongruity, and two gentlemen offered to give a
desirable lot or four thousand dollars towards building a new
church. But, even with this encouragement, the rector found his
private and individual efforts to convince the vestry that it was
their duty to have a better place of worship as unavailing as those
of their former pastors had been. He therefore, late in January,
1853, preached a sermon on David's address to the prophet Nathan,
—II. Sam. vii. 2,—"I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark
of God dwelleth within curtains." The discourse was divided
into two parts,—the general subject, "The leading principles
which should regulate the character of a Christian sanctuary,"
and the particular application, "The state of facts connected with
this present edifice." After being preached it was printed and
circulated among the congregation. Rev. Dr. Andrews, of Shepherdstown,
Virginia, wrote to Mr. Pendleton concerning it:
"Shepherdstown, February 12, 1853.
". . . To-day, in looking over the letters which have accumulated
in my absence, I find yours of the 5th, which I have read,
and also the sermon,—and the most extraordinary sermon it is,
in some respects, that I have ever read. But for the implication
of a particular congregation,—which would not be right, and with
which the public should not interfere,—I should like to see it
stereotyped, so that it could be had in any quantity, everywhere,
for the edification of the many who need. Certainly it would
tend to 'Edification;' for I perceive the temple in Frederick is to
be built, though, like David, you will not build it; but, like him,
you will be remembered for having laid up abundantly for some
future Solomon.
"On the score of principle, or doctrine, I would have qualified
your position, apparently taken, that the expensiveness of our
private dwellings should be the measure of the expensiveness of
the house of God. Both may be inordinate, and often are, and
unsuited to the simplicity of the Christian dispensation.
"On the score of expediency (a dangerous department of
morals, I confess), I would have mingled more of the dulce.
But it is much easier for a looker-on, at the distance of seven
leagues, to tell how he might mend a matter than to find a man
within seventy leagues who would have the moral courage to
make such a declaration. Only be humble, and possess nothing
but a calm and charitable spirit, and good will grow out of it.
"The contingencies in this case (touching yourself), which
may be counted upon with certainty from a state of mind which
rendered such a declaration necessary, I shall bear in mind. If
I can further your views in any way, do not fail to let me know.
"Your affectionate friend and brother,
"C. W. Andrews."
As had occurred before at important crises in his life, the conflict
in his mind between expediency and the pressing sense of
duty—the conviction that following the dictates of conscience
would subject him to censure and ill will—gave Mr. Pendleton a
severe illness, and for four weeks he was confined to his room.
Soon after his recovery the "contingencies" referred to by Dr.
Andrews arose. Mr. Pendleton therefore resigned the rectorship
of the parish, and left Frederick in July. The mass of the congregation
exhibited genuine affection for himself and his family,
and parted from them with many evidences of regret. The two
gentlemen who had offered four thousand dollars for the new
church sent him five hundred dollars, and the whole community
was kind and sympathizing in his trouble and perplexity. Indeed,
the Christian friendliness which existed between him and
the other ministers in Frederick was remarkable. It was not an
infrequent occurrence for Dr. Zacharias, the pastor of the German
Reformed Church, to ask his Episcopal brother to officiate for
him at a weekly service,—an assistance which was never refused.
As Dr. Andrews predicted, the temple in Frederick was to
be built. In a few years a handsome and costly church was
erected on the very lot which had been offered to Mr. Pendleton.
