The life and times of Rev. George Peck, D.D.

Chapter I. Name— Ancestors — Early Youth

Henry Peck — Jesse Peck — My father, Luther — His Dismal Apprenticeship—The Old Story — Annis Collar — Their Marriage — Honorary Church-membership — Removal to the " New Countries " — A Log-cabin Built — Style of Living — My Birthplace — The Old School-house and the Teachers — Advice, wise and otherwise, in regard to the Methodists — Noisy Meetings — My Father's fearful Dream — His Conversion — Benoni Harris and his Mishap — Little Isaac — His Conversion—" The Hangin'"— I learn to Drum— " The Other Place," and the Doings there — I Visit it again Page 9

Chapter II. Conversion — Youth — Call To The Ministry

Castles in the Air — Father White and his faithful Talk — Convicted — Find Peace — Received on Probation — First Love-feast — Catechism — Death of my Grandmother — Death of Father White — Ralph Lanning — Camp-meeting at Mindon — "The Power" — John Dempster and his Conversion — How we read Books — Family Removal — Hamilton— "Church in the House" — Licensed to Exhort — Call to the Ministry — John Dempster Preaches — Loring Grant — Invited to go to a Circuit — Family Council — Decision — A long Journey begun — Discouraged — Conclude to go Home — Try again — The Cold Summer— Discouragements — Licensed to Preach — Camp-meeting at Plymouth— Bishops George and M'Kendree — William Lull — Father Dewey and his terrific Sermon — Victory 39

Chapter III

Conference — Bishop George — Bishop M'Kendree — My First Round — Jesse Hale — Joseph Smith and his Mormon Bible — My Volunteer Escort — Dr. Grant — Amanda Hotchkiss — Smithville Flats and the Musket-shot — The Circuit and "the Boy" — Study Wesley and Fletcher — Difficulties in the way of Study — Camp-meeting at Hopbottom — James Gilmore — The Johnites and their Deeds — Finances

— Conference — Home — Cortland Circuit — Elijah Bibbins — Quarterly Meeting in a Distillery — Camp-meeting — Alarming Illness — Home — At work again — Court-house at Cazenovia bought — My Studies — Theological Skirmishes — Camp-meeting at Truxton — Father Dewey again — Remarkable Conversion — Proselyting Page 65

Chapter IV

Couference at Lansing — The Examination — -Admission — Bishop Roberts- — Joshua Soule — Wyoming Circuit — My Financial Condition — " The Little Camp-meeting " — George Lane — Stoddardsville — Lewis Stull and his Vision — Another Vision — Revival — Stephen Abbott— The Circuit — Quarterly Meeting — Baptisms — Camp-meeting at Salem — Studies — Marriage — Close of Year — Conference — The Presiding Elder Question — Bridgewater Circuit — " Sorrel Pie " — Illness— My First Round — Camp-meeting at Carpenter's Notch — Proselyting — A Speck of War — The Highway Robbery — Removed to Wyoming — My Colleague Drowned — Finances — Conference at Niagara — Bishop George 91

Chapter V

Canaan Circuit — The Journey — The Roads — The Work — A Brother indeed — Studies — Conference of 1821 — Paris — Pews — Studies— Music and Discord — Conference of 1822 — Charles Giles — Utica — Studies — Death of Isaac Collar and two of my Sisters — Conference of 1823 — Election of Delegates — " Pack of Boys " — General Conference of 1824 — Election of Bishops J. Soule and E. Hedding — Missionary Meeting — Home — Conference of 1824 — Origin of Cazenovia Seminary — Appointed and suddenly changed — Presiding Elder, no

Chapter VI

1824r-5, SUSQUEHANNA DISTRICT— 1826-7, WILKESBARRE— 1828, ITHACA. State of the District— Camp-meetings on Caroline Circuit and at Nicholls— Victory— Trials— Music and Discord again— Joseph Castle— " Turn about "—Challenge from a Universalist— Accept— Results— My First Publication— Begin Greek— Debate with a Unitarian —The great Camp-meeting on Wyoming Circuit— Benjamin Bidlack —Revival at Oxford— A. J. Hyde— Traveling in Winter— Conference of 1826— Wyoming Circuit— Camp-meeting and a Fire— Wilkesbarre— Conference of 1827— A Perilous Programme— My First Book

— General Conference of 1828 — Death of Mrs. Castle — Conference of 1828 — Ithaca — Removal — Studies — Domestic Trials — First Session of Oneida Conference in 1829 — Temperance Oratgm on Fourth of July — Official Sisterhood „ . Page 135

Chapter VII. 1830, Utica — 1831, Cazenovia — 1832, Cazenovia And Auburn

Conference of 1830 — Debates over Candidates — Temperance — Utica — The Parsonage — Work — Revival — Sudden Illness — Convalescence— Journey in New York and New England — Conference of 1 83 1 — Appointed to Cazenovia — Pew Church built — Revival — General Conference of 1832 — Debate over Pews — Election of Bishops — What Dr. Capers said — Oneida Conference of 1832 — Re-appointed to Cazenovia — Revival — Dedication at Cazenovia — Dedication at Auburn — Revival there — Removed to Auburn — Studies — Publish a Small Book — Serious Illness — Conference of 1833 — Dr. W. Fisk — Appointed to Auburn — Revival — An Outrage and a Victory — Conference of 1834 — Discuss Theological Seminaries — Chaplain — Elected Principal of Seminary 163

Chapter VIII

Conference of 1836 — The Western Banner Established — Cazenovia Seminary — The Infidel Club— Collision — Expulsion of the Leader — General Conference of 1836 — The Slavery Question — Two Brethren Censured — Election of Bishops — Where Dr. Capers now stood — ; Rev. Josiah Keyes — The Banner in Trouble — Slavery and Zion's Watchman — Dr. Fisk in the Field — Agitation — Conference of 1837 — Agitation in regard to Slavery — Debate in Cazenovia — Revival in the Seminary — Conference of 1838 — The Seminary — Resign — Travel for Health — Rev. W. W- Ninde — Dr. Priestley — Voyage on the Canal — Pittsburgh — Delay — Slow Progress — Wheeling — Rev. W. Kenney — Nashville — Andrew Jackson — Journey through Illinois — The Mormons— A Quarterly Meeting — Start Homeward — Wrecked — " Not Scared nor Nothing " — Home 184

Chapter IX

Conference of 1839 — Appointed Presiding Elder — My First Duty — Memorable Religious Experience — Camp-meeting at M'Clure's —

Major Dixon — Dayton F. Reed — Camp-meeting at South Canaan — Hungering for Righteousness — Rev. W. Reddy — Journey Homeward — Ford the Stream — The Victory — The Record — When to Confess — General Revival — Centenary of Methodism — Propose a Seminary in Wyoming Valley — Study Christian Perfection— Death of my Mother — Her Character — Finances — General Conference of 1840 — Slavery again — Whig Convention — Clay and Webster — Committee on Slavery — Colleges — Colored Members in Church Trials— Resolutions — Dr. Capers on Abolition — Petition from New York City — Dr. Bascom's Report — Temperance — Proposed change of Rule — Elected Editor of the Quarterly Review Page 206

Chapter X

Removal to New York — Work and Overwork — Missionary Affairs, Debts and Retrenchments — Difficulty in African Mission — Mission in Oregon — Buenos Ayres — " The Churchman " and its Attacks — Publish Work on Sanctification — Work on Rule of Faith — General Conference of 1844 — Cases of F. A. Harding and Bishop Andrew — The Debate and the Result — Southern Men Prominent in the Affair : Bishop Andrew, Dr. Bascom, Dr. Capers, Dr. L. Pierce, Dr. Winans, J. Early, Dr. W. A. Smith, Dr. A. L. P. Green, B. M. Drake, J. B. Longstreet, T. Crowder, S. Dunwody, Dr. Paine, Dr. G. F. Pierce — Prominent Northern Men : J. B. Finley, P. Cartwright, Dr. Durbin, Dr. Hamline 231

Chapter XI

Report of the Committee of Nine, and its Intent — Results — Dr. Bascom's Pamphlet — I Reply to it — Evangelical Alliance — Embark for England — On the Rocks — Halifax — Voyage — Liverpool — Bristol — Wesleyan Conference — Ireland: Dublin — O'Connell — Scotland: Glasgow — Loch Lomond — Edinburgh — Melrose — Abbotsford — England : London — Edward Corderoy, Esq. — Westminster — Fussy Officials — Tower of London — The Alliance — T. Spicer and his Reply— Speech on the Press — Hampton Court — The Breakfast at Sir Culling Eardley Smith's — Tea-meeting at the Mission House — France : Rouen — Paris — Versailles — Fontainebleau — Belgium — Cologne— Wiesbaden — A German Sunday — The Rhine — Holland — England — Home 265

Chapter XII

CASE OF JOHN N. MAFFITT.

Maffitt's Arrival — His Sudden Popularity — Joins the Conference — Locates, and becomes an Evangelist and Lecturer — Operates in New York — Rumors — Charges — Prepares for Trial — Goes to Brooklyn, and Refuses to be Tried in New York — Investigation Proceeds — Maffitt Protests — Forfeits his Membership — Rev. Mr. Green Secedes with a Portion of his Church — Maffitt's Divorce and Second Marriage— Lawsuit for Slander — Maffitt goes South — Death of his Bride —Maffitt's Death — Why I Rehearse the Sad Story — Pastor of Pacific-street Church — Success — Thomas Kirk — Editorial Work — General Conference of 1848 — Failure of the Measures of the Committee of Nine — The Action of 1844 Repealed — Report on the Subject — Dr. Lovick Pierce not Received — Commissioners Appointed — Elected Editor of Advocate Page 302

Chapter XIII

Old Controversies Closed — Southern Press Hostile — Dr. Bascom's " Brief Appeal " — Its Object — Law Processes inevitable — South begins the Suit — Our Counsel — Canada Conference referred to— Trial in New York — Decided in Favor of the South — Case in Ohio Decided in Favor of the North — Southern Press Belligerent — Missouri Compromise Repealed — Fugitive Slave Law Passed — Editorial Difficulties — Unreasonable Men — Editorial Work — Death of my Father — His Character — Lay Representation Discussed — Dr. Bond Pronounces against it — Death of Bishop Hedding — His Funeral— General Conference of 1852 — The Pew Question — Slavery — Lay Representation — The Southern Suit — Resolve to seek Amicable Settlement — Appointed Commissioner — Election of Bishop — Boston — Appointed on Book Committee 322

CHAPTER XIV. 1852-7, WILKESBARRE — WYOMING DISTRICT — BINGHAMTON DISr

TRICT — SCRANTON.

Oneida Conference Divided — Transfer to Wyoming-^Conference of 1852 — Spiritualism — Wilkesbarre — Illness — Return to Work — Revival — The Youthful Murderer — The Southern Suit — Family Gathering — Conference of 1853 — Camp-meeting — The Fugitive Slave — Uncle Tom — A Sad Accident — The Southern Claims Adjusted— Revival at the Plains — Conference of 1854 — Wyoming District — Camp-meeting at Durland's — Conference of 1855 — Seminary Project at Binghamton and its Failure — Camp-meeting on the Chenango— Rev. William Arthur — General Conference of 1856 — Debate on Slavery — Conference of 1856 — Scranton — Revival — Church Edifice— Finances — Conference of 1857 — Revival — Publish History of Wyoming Valley Page 335

Chapter XV. 1858-63, Wyoming District — Lackawanna District

Conference of 1858 — Wyoming District — Samuel Griffin — Jacob Rice — Dedication at Scranton — Fiftieth Removal — Rev. George Lane — Conference of 1859 — L. Grant and E. Bibbins — Begin the History of Genesee Conference — Death of Mr. Bibbins — Mr. F. Myers and his Happy Death — A Journey — Conference of i860 — General Conference of i860— Debate on Slavery — Action Proposed — Another Secession Attempted — Lay Delegation — " The Nazarites " — Camp-meeting on Everhart's Island — National Affairs — Conference of 1 861 — News of War — An Accident — Camp-meeting — Conference of- 1 863 — War Spirit — Camp-meeting — The Draft — Resistance — The Black Fever — Conference of 1864 — Unacceptable Preachers — General Conference of 1864 — Committee to Wait on President Lincoln — His Reply — His Appearance — Wounded Soldiers — Taken Aback — Lay Delegation — Voted among the Fathers — Appointed to Visit Canada Wesleyans 359

Chapter XVI

1864-72, LACKAWANNA DISTRICT — PROVIDENCE — DUNMORE — WYO- MING DISTRICT.

Family Re-union — Centenary of Methodism — On the Committee — Sermons on National Affairs — Lincoln Assassinated — Memorial Sermon — Wesleyan Conference — Report of Speech — Impressions of the Conference and the Wesleyans — Missionary Sermon at Middletown Conference of 1866 — Semi-centennial Sermon — Re-union of Conferences— Judge Dana — Family Meeting — Centenary Meetings — Conference of 1867 — Labors and Results — Conference of 1868 — Dunmore — General Conference of 1868 — Lay Delegation — " Mission Conferences"— Conference of 1869 — Wyoming District — Camp-meeting

Golden Wedding — Conference of 1870 — Accident — Conference of

-[871 — Denville, (N. J.,) Camp-ground — Camp-ground Secured — Conference of 1872 — General Conference of 1872 — Lay Delegates — Book Room — Election of Bishops — Labors — Mountain Grove — District Conference — Resolutions — Conference of 1873 — Superannuation —Resolutions— Reflections 383

LIFE AND TIMES

OF

REV. GEORGE PECK, D.D.

Chapter I. Ancestors Early Youth

THE old Hebrew method of rehearsing genealogies has the merit of clearness and brevity, if no other. Borrowing the ancient style, I begin with the statement that I am the son of Luther Peck, who was the son of Jesse, who was the son of Eliphalet, who was the son of John, who was the son of Joseph, who was the son of Henry.

The American Pecks are descended from an English family, whose history has been traced by the curious back to the commencement of the fifteenth century. They belonged to the gentry, and were known in heraldry, having a coat of arms with the motto, Probitatem quam Divitias, all of which is recorded in the Herald's Office in the British Museum in London. Several families of the name emigrated to this country in early colonial times, and settled in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Their descendants were numerous, and the name appears, io Life and Times of G. Peck, D.D.

not only in literary circles, but with some distinction in military affairs during the war of the Revolution.*

Henry Peck was born in England, and emigrated to the colonies in the days of the pilgrim fathers. He is supposed to have been one of the company who arrived at Boston, June 26, 1637, m tne snip Hector, with Governor Eaton, the Rev. John Davenport, and others, whose names figure in the annals of that period. He was among the first settlers of New Haven, where he located in the spring of 1638. The agreement of the original settlers, of which document he was a signer, is dated June 4, 1639. In the allotment of lands the portion which fell to him is now within the city limits, and a part of the old homestead is still in the possession of his descendants. He took an active part in the management of the affairs of the settlement.

Eliphalet Peck, the great-grandson of Henry, settled in the town of Danbury. The records of the church at Bethel show that he, his wife Rebecca, and their son Jesse, became members at the time the society was organized in 1760. Eliphalet Peck lived to an advanced age.

Jesse Peck, my grandfather, settled in the south part of Danbury, now called Bethel, upon new land, which he cleared of the original forest, and made into a farm. He served as a volunteer in the Revolutionary War, and died while the contest was still undecided, leaving a large family with no means of support save their own exertions. Three of his seven sons entered the army. The oldest died of

* Peck Genealogy, by Ira B. Peck, Esq., of Rhode Island.

Ancestors — Early Youth. n

small-pox while in the service. The other two were taken prisoners by the enemy, carried to New York, and confined in the "Jersey," which was an old ship anchored in the East River, and used by the British as a place of confinement for their prisoners of war. Here they suffered many deaths ; and when they were at last released and carried home, they were so broken down in body and mind by disease and brutal treatment, that they were not able to recognize their own mother.

My father, Luther Peck, was one of the younger of the seven sons. He was apprenticed to a blacksmith when he was about fourteen or fifteen years old, and remained in his service till he was twenty. He always, in after years, spoke of his master with great respect, but invariably became grave and shook his head when he named his master's wife. She had cultivated the virtue of domestic economy till she had brought it to a high degree of perfection. This was especially conspicuous in the bill of table fare provided for the boys. She, however, was equal to culinary achievements beyond the corn-bread and thin bean porridge usually set before the apprentices, and generally had a private store of better things in reserve for company and other emergencies. The life of the apprentices was one of hard labor and hard fare.

It would naturally be supposed that a few years of experience like this would have broken the spirit of a fatherless boy, or rendered him desperate and reckless. It did neither. Luther was physically strong, and naturally hopeful and good-natured. Moreover, deep underneath his love of merriment, there lay solid religious convictions. Thus physical endurance, his native hopefulness, and tenderness of conscience combined to save him from the hardening influence of circumstances by no means favorable to the formation of an elevated personal character.

And still another influence helped to counteract the evils of this dismal apprenticeship. It is only the old story. There lived in the neighborhood a Widow Collar, and she had a daughter. The father, in the summer of 1777, enlisted in the army, leaving his wife and children at Danbury. During the memorable winter which followed, the darkest time of all the war, Mr. Collar died of small-pox at Valley Forge, Pa., where the poor remnants of the American army were encamped. About the time of the father's death the mother gave birth to another child, a puny infant, which lived, indeed, but seemed not only feeble but diseased, and in perpetual suffering, his cries, all through his infancy, being almost as incessant as the murmur of the brook which flowed past their humble dwelling.

The winter was a time of privation and suffering to the widow and her little family, as well as to the heroes at Valley Forge. She was exceedingly poor. The husband, some time before his death, sent her what was called his pay, but it was in Continental money, worth little more than so much blank paper. The daughter, Annis, then about fourteen years of age, became the hope and the stay of the stricken family. She was healthy, active, industrious, affectionate, ready to do and suffer all things for her loved mother, and the feeble nursling in the little cottage. She spun flax and wool for the neighbors, and wove cloth, or performed almost any sort of service for honest wages, which she gladly devoted to her mother and brother. During that " hard winter," as it was long called, when the snow was deep enough to hide the fences, Annis went into the woods, and with her own hands collected fuel, and dragged it over the icy crust of the snow-banks to her mother's door. Thus Luther Peck and Annis Collar grew up side by side, and by the stern discipline of a youth of toil and privation, were preparing themselves for resolute battle with the labors and hardships of coming years. They acquired physical endurance, and at the same time a mental robustness which are never without their value.

Soon after the close of the war, Luther Peck and Annis Collar were united in holy matrimony, at the house of the parish minister, the Rev. Joseph Peck. The young husband was twenty years of age, and was an indentured apprentice, with one year still to serve. His master was neither able nor willing to release him from the obligation. To continue the compact was, however, impossible. Yonng Peck was in a state of rebellion against the woes inflicted upon him in the house of his master, and determined to have a home of his own. At last, the matter was settled by his agreeing to pay one hundred dollars as an equivalent for the unexpired year.

The newly-married pair commenced housekeeping on a scale corresponding with their diminutive finances, at a place called Great Plain. The shop was no better furnished than the house. In fact, some of the neighbors, seeing the necessities of the case, united in a plan to supply the needed tools, and take their pay in work. But impelled by a strong arm and a stout heart, the hammer rang early and late, the debt was soon paid, and the little home, as the years passed on, accumulated the comforts, and even some of the luxuries, of life as they were estimated at that day.

It maybe here remarked, that all the sons of Jes=e Peck were much of the type of Luther — full of life and energy, mental and physical, and even down to old age companionable, fond of wit and humor, and without an exception truly religious men. I feel that it is only justice to the memory of my immediate ancestors to here note their industrious habits and decided religious character. Some of them were rich in the goods of this world, but not many. The great majority seem to have adhered closely to the family motto, Probitatem quam Divitias — Virtue rather than Wealth. But none can be called poor who possess the better treasures of intelligence, energy, and good morals. Their stout hearts and strong arms did their full share both in the forest and on the battle-field; in the toils and sacrifices which have turned the wilderness into a garden, and won for America a place among the foremost nations of the earth.

My father had a great respect for religion, but at the point of his history where we now are, and for several years afterward, was not the subject of special awakening. My mother had been thoughtful from her childhood. When she became a wife and a mother, her convictions deepened, and she was a sincere inquirer after the way of salvation. She urged my father to pray in his family ; but he felt entirely unfit for such a work. He did, however, make it a matter of serious thought, and went so far as to prepare for the duty by composing a prayer, and committing it to writing. This paper my mother accidentally found in the pocket of one of his coats, and after reading it, carefully returned it to its place, and day after day anxiously waited for the result, but waited in vain.

One day their venerable pastor was visiting the family, and in the course of the conversation quietly remirfded them that they had children who had never been baptized ; and in order that the rite might be administered, the parents must connect themselves with the people of God — it being at that time contrary to rule to baptize the children of any except such as bore some sort of relation to the Church. To meet such cases as that of my parents there was a sort of honorary Church-membership, " half-covenant," they called it, which entitled children to baptism, and yet was not understood to include full profession of religion, or qualify for the Lord's Supper.

My parents, therefore, united in this way with the Church, and their four children, all they then had, were baptized. In taking this step, my mother was greatly encouraged and strengthened in her religious life. My father simply felt that he had done it for his children's sake, rather than his own, and was in nowise disposed to imagine that he had gained any new title to the Divine favor.

Meanwhile, the spirit of emigration had been working among the people of Connecticut, and several families had left Danbury and "gone west," settling in Middlefield, in the State of New York. But little was known of the "new country," and when my father began to talk of leaving his old home and removing westward, the project had to be discussed at great length by the relatives, the neighbors, and all my father's customers at the shop. Many solemn consultations were held, and many sage opinions expressed. AH agreed that cheap land was a good thing ; but then Middlefield was fifty-six miles west of Albany, and two hundred from Danbury, and the immense distance was an almost fatal objection. There were also grave doubts in regard to the wisdom of his leaving the goodly land of Connecticut, and exposing himself and his family to the attacks of savages and wild beasts in the wilderness. The old people were decidedly opposed to so hazardous an enterprise. " You will starve in the woods," sighed one counselor. "You will be killed by the Indians," said another, the prophecy being reinforced by sundry dreadful narratives from the old colonial traditions. "You will soon come back, as poor as dogs," was the conclusion of another. The public voice condemned the whole idea, as being visionary and full of peril. My mother, however, was not one of the remonstrants, and the decision at last was to go.

Thus in the year 1794, Luther Peck and one of his neighbors removed, with their families, to Otsego County, New York. My father bought some land about two miles south-east of what is now called Middlefield Center, and proceeded to clear a part of his tract, and build a house and shop. These were simply little cabins of logs, the timbers notched into each other at the corners, and the spaces between the logs filled with clay. Considered from an architectural point of view, they were nothing of which to boast ; but this was the style of the neighborhood, and of the " new countries " generally. These log-cabins were usually about fourteen feet square, sometimes smaller, with a rough stone wall against which the fire was built, a roof of slabs, and a chimney made of sticks notched together like the cabin itself, and thickly plastered with clay on the inside. A rough floor, laid upon the beams above, made a garret, to which access was had by means of a stationary ladder.

All the appointments of housekeeping were in correspondence with the simple style of the dwelling. Carpets and table-cloths were unknown. Food was abundant and substantial, but consisted of few articles. Tea was somewhat used, but was costly. Coffee was not known. Beef, pork, potatoes, milk, bread made of rye and corn, composed the ordinary fare, occasionally diversified with the flesh of domestic fowls, or venison and other wild game. These edibles were set upon the table in pewter plates, wooden trenchers, and wooden bowls great and small, with here and there a piece of earthenware, or other crockery, to give variety to the show.

Thus rude and primitive was frontier life in Eastern New York only eighty years ago. It was laborii8

Life and Times of G. Peck, D.D.

ous, and to modern eyes almost barbarous, but did not' lack its bright side. It was independent, free from conventional constraint, and full as conducive to good health, good morals, and contentment, as the more pretentious ways of later times. The men and boys worked in the field, the forest, or the shop, while the women and girls were busy with their domestic duties, which included the spinning of flax and wool, and the weaving of cloth for family wear.

In a little log-cabin of the kind described, the first which my father erected, I was born, on the 8th of August, 1797 ; and amid scenes like these, gradually changing as the years passed on, but long retaining many of their striking features, I spent my boyhood. The family lived in this dwelling but a little time, and I have no recollections of residence there ; but I often saw the place in my early years, and felt a sort of veneration for it. And so frequently did I hear my parents describe its wild, romantic character, that my impressions of it, to this day, are very vivid. The forest was around thern on every side, and in some directions, stretched its shadowy solitudes unbroken for miles. By day, the waving of the tall trees, the notes of the birds, the gambols of the squirrels, and the murmur of the brook, gave pleasure to the eye and the ear. By night, the low whisper of the rustling leaves, the weird notes of the whip-poor-will, the startling hoot of the great owl, or the querulous notes of the smaller, with the distant howl of an occasional wolf, formed a sylvan chorus which filled the mind with mingled emotions of awe and pleasure.

After a residence here of about three years, my father, with an eye to a better location for his business, bought land on the main road which leads from Cooperstown to Albany, and built another log-house and shop, the distance from his first location being about two miles. The new dwelling was an improvement on the other. It had a shingle roof, a stone chimney, and was well plastered between the logs. It stood on the hill south of Red Creek, and commanded a beautiful view of the green hills beyond. Here I spent many a happy day.

When I began to go to school, however, my happiness was seriously interrupted. The school-house had been something of an itinerant. It was built, originally, half a mile below our house, then removed to a point three fourths of a mile above us, and finally found a resting-place on the corner of our land. Here began my acquaintance with the real ills of life. When this notable edifice was making its first pilgrimage, with a dozen yoke of oxen slowly drawing it, and a frolicsome individual astride of the ridgepole, waving a red handkerchief tied to a stick, it seemed to me a spectacle of surpassing grandeur. But after it had been set down on the borders of a marsh, peopled with frogs and lizards, it became to me a prison, of which my recollections are so many wounds. I used to be driven to school as a slave to his toil. I often pretended to be sick, and for a time, my tender mother believed me ; but when it was seen that my health every morning began to improve as soon as the other school-children got out of sight, my device failed.