son.

LIBERAL CHRISTIANITY.

lived
ble and inspiring.

61

The highest praise can be awarded to Mr. Thaxter, that of being a good and holy man to the close of his lengthened life. He stood the test of our Saviour's ordeal, enduring unto the end. As he so he died. His last words were memoraMy faith is unshaken, my hope is unclouded.' On the marble monument erected to his memory by his children it is beautifully said, Full of the hope of a blessed immortality, he sweetly fell asleep in Jesus.' He has left an impression of himself that will not soon be obliterated. His virtues yet speak with eloquent effect :

"Ev'n in his ashes live their wonted fires."

A few words more before I close this letter. It is a natural subject of inquiry what the prospect is for the formation of a liberal Society in Edgartown. It has been observed that there are but fifteen hundred inhabitants in E. and already three Societies. Two of these may be said to be flourishing. Of course the prospect for another cannot be very encouraging. There are however a great many Unitarians in the place. Originally they were the parishioners of Mr. Thaxter, but since his death they have become joined unto idols. There are a few who have ever been faithful found among the faithless,' and they are some of the most respectable and influential people in the place. These together with a sprinkling from every denomination, Baptists, Methodists, Orthodox, and Universalists

62

LIBERAL CHRISTIANITY.

constituted my audience, in number an hundred and fifty. This was the consequence of holding the afternoon service at 3 o'clock and sometimes as late as 6, after the hour of tea for every meal is served earlier in Edgartown than on the main; in summer, breakfast at 6, dinner at 12, and supper at half past 4 or 5.

In Spring an effort will be made to rekindle the embers of what we consider the true faith and, whether very successful or not, a clergyman may be sure of a fair support as long as he perseveres in the good cause. We hope they will not have reason to be discouraged and that Zion will arise, her light shine, and unto her many people be gathered.

Here, Mr. Editor, I take occasion to thank you for your indulgence, and bring my communications, unexpectedly become a series, to a close.

Yours.

Gardiner

Climate

DOWN EAST.

CHAPTER I.

Hallowell-Augusta · Bangor, Its
Character of the Inhabitants. A Ser-

mon long enough in all conscience.
Meetings. Eastward in a Packet.
-its beauty seen from the Bay.

Religious

Gloucester

Great Disap

ment. Adventure on an Island in Portland Harbor. A Stone Church at Sea. Hard Luck.

IN the fall of 1833, I made my first excursion down East. My first point of destination was Gardiner on the Kennebec. I had been informed that a preacher was much wanted in this place and had been urged to go and see what could be done for the formation of a liberal Society. Accordingly I took letters of introduction and went down. Every assurance had been given that there would be no lack of heart, or means. By the advice of those who best know what advice to give, I took up my abode at the public house of the Town. Here I remained for several weeks preaching one Sabbath evening in the Episcopal church-the next in the Methodist-afterwards during the day in the Lyceum Hall, and always to respectable audiences. I made many acquaintances, visited much, and was very hospitably treated. Much interest, I was led to believe, had been excited in the cause of liberal Christianity, but in consequence of the strong influence exerted by a single Episcopalian family of much

worth, not an individual could be found who had courage enough to put himself foremost in the cause of what he believed to be truth. Perceiving what turn things would take, or rather that they would take no turn, but remain as they were, wisdom suggested to me to settle up my bills for board, room, fre, attendance, et cetera, before they mounted up beyond my reach, and betake myself to another sphere. This I did at once, carrying with me this morceau of useful experience, that though the workman may be worthy of his meat' he does not always get it, and that there is such a thing as 'going a warfare at one's own charges.' Passing through those lovely Towns on the beautiful Kennebec -- Hallowell and Augusta―my next point of destination was Bangor, where I remained four weeks.

Bangor is not a very striking city. I describe it with its latest improvements having been there within a few months. It is situated on either bank of the Kenduskeag (a river emptying into the Penobscot) and on the western bank of the latter. The Banks of the Kenduskeag are bold and precipitous, and as slippery after a rain as soft clay can make them. The streets are irregular and the houses, with a few exceptions, display no particular architectural taste. Formerly they were here and there and everywhere, and had the appearance, as was quaintly said by some one, of having been shaken from a pepper-box. Of late there has been much improvement.

CHARACTER OF THE INHABITANTS.

65

The first day I was there the Sabbath-inquired after the state of the Thermometer and learned to my astonishment that it was 10 below zero. This circumstance however is not worthy of notice. It is the trifle of trifles. For the mercury has the finest of sport here. Its race-course is the longest in the States. In the Summer it runs to 96 degrees or more above, and in Winter to 39 degrees below zero. The evening air is fearfully penetrating. A smart gymnastic trot was the only expedient by which I could keep myself from being chilled to ice. The Bangoreans are intelligent, enterprising and ambitious as every body knows. They are generous and hospitable. They make money without much effort, and spend it freely. Light come light go. They are fond of display. The chastened and refined tastes of some of the older cities, Boston and Philadelphia, have not yet been reached. This is not to be expected in a city of sudden growth. Though this remark is true of the city as such, there are many well educated, polished, and excellent families. The social circle, however, is yet in an unformed,unamalgamated state. Reader, have you never been to this city of the East? There is a spectacle you have yet to witness - a Bangorean riding through the streets. To say that he rides faster than the Bostonian, New-Yorker, or Philadelphian, would be saying little-would be doing him manifest injustice. His velocity has not yet been calculated. You must get a glimpse of him