Sketches of the Christian life and public labors of William Miller : gathered from his memoir by the late Sylvester Bliss, and from oher sources

Front matter

"BUY THE TRUTH, AND SELL IT NOT." B

Fi — FROM THE— ' ra

H

Chapter I

ANCESTRY AND EARLY LIFE — MARRIAGE — DELSTICAL SEN- TIMENTS— MILITARY LIFE.

William Miller was born at Pittsfield, Mass., February 15, 1782. He was the eldest of sixteen children, five of whom were sons,, and eleven were daughters. His grandfather, William Miller, moved from West Springfield, Mass., about 1747, and settled on the place in Pittsfield, now familiarly known as the Miller farm. His father, William Miller, Avasborn December 15, 1757, and remained on the farm taken up by his father until he moved to Low Hampton, N. Y., in 1786. At the time of this removal the subject of this sketch was four years old. His biographer says : —

" In his early childhood, marks of more than ordinary intellectual strength and activity were manifested. A few years made these marks more and more noticeable to all who fell into his society. But where were the powers of the inner man to find the nutriment to satisfy their cravings, and the field for their exercise ? Besides the natural elements of education, the objects, the scenes, and the changes of the natural world, which have ever furnished to all truly great minds their noblest aliment, the inspiring historical recollections associated with well-known localities of the neighboring country, and the society of domestic life, there was nothing within William's reach but the Bible, the psalter, and prayer-book, till he had resided at Low Hampton several years."

" In a newly settled country, the public means of education must necessarily be very limited. This was the case, at the time here referred to, in a much gi'eater degree than it usually is with the new settlements of the present day. The school-house was not erected in season to afford the children of Low Hampton but three months' schooling in winter, during William's school-boy days. His mother taught him to read, so that he soon mastered the few books belonging to the family ; and this prepared him to enter the ' senior class ' w^hen the district school opened. But if the terms were short, the winter nights were long. Pine knots could be made to supply the want of candles, lamps, and gas. And the spacious fireplace in the log house was am}tle enough as a substitute for the school-house and lecture-room. But even the enjoyment of these literary advantages subjected the zealous student to a somewhat severe discipline."

"As soon as William's age and strength rendered him able to assist his father about the farm, it was feared that his reading by night might interfere with his efficiency in the work of the day. His father insisted, therefore, that he should retire to bed when he retired himself. But the boy could not be kept in bed. When the other members of the family were all a,sleep, William would leave his bed, then find his way to the pitch-wood, go to the fireplace, cast himself down

ANCESTRY AND EARLY LIFE. 15

flat on the hearth, with his book before him, thrust his pitch-wood into the embers till it blazed well, and there spend the hours of midnight in reading. If the blaze grew dim, he would hold the stick in the embers till the heat fried the pitch out of the wood, which renewed the blaze. And when he had read as long as he dared to, or finished his book, he would find his way back to bed again, with as little noise as possible."

" He possessed a strong physical constitution, an active and naturally well-developed intellect, and an irreproachable moral character. He had appropriated to his use and amusement the small stock of literature afforded by the family, while a child. He had enjoyed the limited advantages of the district school but a few years before it was generally admitted that his attainments exceeded those of the teachers usually employed. He had drunk in the inspiration of the natural world around him, and of the most exciting events in his country's history. His imagination had been quickened, and his heart warmed, by the adventures and gallantries of fiction, and his intellect enriched by history. And some of his earliest eff*orts with the pen, as well as the testimony of his associates, show that his mind and heart were ennobled by the lessons, if not by the spirit and power of religion.

" What, now, would have been the effect of what is called a regular course of education ? Would it have perverted him, as it has thousands ? or would it have made him instrumental of greater good in the cause of God ? Would it have performed its appropriate work, that of disciplining, enlarging, and furnishing the mind, leaving unimpaired by the process its natural energies, its sense of self-dependence as to man, and its sense of dependence and accountability as to God ? or would it have placed him in the crowded ranks of those who are content to share in the honor of repeating the twaddle, true or false, which passes for truth in the school or sect which has ' made them what they are '?

" We think it would have been difficult to pervert him ; but where so many who have been regarded as highly promising have been marred by the operation, he would have been in great danger. He might have become externally a better subject for the artist ; but we doubt if he would have been a better subject to be used as an instrument of Providence. There are those who survive the regular course uninjured. There are those who are benefited by it so far as to be raised to a level with people of ordinary capacity, which they never could attain without special aid. And there is a third class, who are a stereotype representation of wha^t the course makes them ; if they raise a fellow-man out of the mire, they never get him nearer to Heaven than the school where they were educated.

" Whatever might have been the result of any established course of education, in the case of William Miller, such a course was beyond his reach ; he was deprived of the benefit, he has escaped the perversion. Let us be satisfied. But still we must record the fact that it would have been extremely gratifying if something of the kind could have been placed at his command. He desired it. He longed for it with an intensity of feeling that approached to agony. He pondered the question over and over, whether it was

ANCESTRY AND EARLY LIFE, 17

possible to accomplish what appeared to him to be not only a desirable gratification and honor, but almost essential to his existence.

" It should be noticed, however, that his circumstances became somewhat relieved as he advanced in years. The log house had given place to a comfortable frame house ; and, in this, William had a room he was permitted to call his own. He had means to provide himself with a new book, occasionally, and with candles to read at night, so that he could enjoy his chosen luxury, during his leisure hours, in comparative comfort.

" It was on one of these times of leisure that an incident occurred which marked a new era in his history, though it did not introduce fully such an era as he desired. There was a medical gentleman in the vicinity of his residence, by the name of Smith, who possessed an ample fortune, and was known to be very liberal. In the plans which had passed through the mind of William, to secure the means of maturing his education, he had thought of Dr. Smith, At any rate it could do no harm to apply to him. The plan was carried so far as to write a letter, setting forth to that gentleman his intense desires, his want of means to gratify them, his hopes and his prospects, if successful.

" The letter was nearly ready to be sent to its destination, when William's father entered the room, which we may properly call his son's study. Perhaps it had not occurred to the son to consult his father in the matter ; and to have it come to his notice in so unexpected a manner somewhat disturbed him for the moment. But there was the letter in his father's presence. He took it,

18 LIFE OP MILLER,

and read it. It affected him deeply. For the first time, he seemed to feel his worldly condition to be uncomfortable, on his son's account. He wanted to be rich then, for the gratification of his son, more than for any other human being.

" There were the irrepressible yearnings of his first-born, which he had treated in their childish development as an annoyance, now spread out in manly but impassioned pleadings to a comparative stranger to affbrd him help ! There were plans and hopes for the future, marked by an exhibition of judgment and honor that could not fail of commanding attention ! All that was tender in that father's heart, all that was generous in the soldier, and all that could make him ambitious of a worthy successor, was moved by that letter. The tears fell, and words of sympathy were spoken ; but the plan was impossible.

The letter of William's was never sent. It had the efiect, however, of changinfj his father's course toward him, so that he was rather encouraged than hindered in his favorite pursuits. By this time, the natural genius and attainments of young William Miller had distinguished him among his associates. To the young folks, he became a sort of scribbler-general. If any one wanted ' verses made,' a letter to send, some ornamental and symbolic design to be interpreted by 'the tender passion,' or anything which required extra taste and fancy in the use of the pen, it was pretty sure to be planned, if not executed, by him. Some of these first-fruits of his genius are still in existence ; and, although it requires no critic to discover that he had never received lessons of any of the ' great masters,' still these productions would compare very favor-

MARRIAGE. l9

ably with similar efforts by those whose advantages have been far superior to his.

" The facts connected with the early life of Mr. Miller, and the incidents in his personal history, now spread before the readers of this work, will enable them to see, in the boy, a type of the future man. The most embairassing circumstances of his condition could not master his perseverance. And if he could not accomplish all he desired to, the success which attended his efforts, in spite of great discouragements, was truly surprising. The position he had won opened to him a fairer prospect, though still surrounded with serious dangers."

William Miller was happily married in 1803, and settled in Poultney, Vt. His biographer continues : —

" One of the first objects of his interest, after he had become settled, was the village library. His constant use of its volumes brought him into the society of a superior class of men. His wife took a deep interest in his improvement and promotion ; and made it her pleasure and business to relieve him as much as possible from all the family cares which might call him away from his books. She felt very sure that it would not be lost time on his part, or lost labor on her own part. Still, the time he could devote to books, on the best possible arrangement, was not so much as he desired ; for he had been trained to the farming business, and he made that his employment, for some years, in Poultney.

" One effort of genius, though trifling in itself, which attracted toward him the public attention of the village and its vicinity, was a poetic effusion, the inspiration of his patriotic ardor. Prep-

20 LIFE OP MILLER.

arations were going on, at the time, for the public celebration of the anniversary of our national independence ; and the inspiration of that memorable day seized Mr. Miller while he was hoeing corn in the field. He had written poetry before ; and so, after the labor of the field was done, he put his thoughts into a written form, to be adapted to the familiar old tune, called ' Delight.' "The appointed marshal, or manager, of the services of the day, was Esquire Ashley, who was then a neighbor of Mr. Miller, and afterward became an intimate friend. But the poet of the day, as he became, was too reserved to offer his tribute, though tliere is reason to believe it would have been thankfully accepted ; for the business of the manager hardly afforded him time to write poetry for the occasion, if he had the ability, or even to select it. Mr. Miller was willing to have his piece seen and used if it was thought to be suitable, but he could not announce himself as its author. So he took the manuscript and walked as usvial to Esquire Ashley's house. He seated himself leisurely below the chamber window, where that gentleman was making his preparations for the great celebration. Then, taking an opportunity to place it near where Mrs. Ashley was at work, he shortly after withdrew. As soon as Mrs. Ashley discovered the paper, she took it to her husband, supposing it was one of his papers which had fallen from the window. He took it and read the hymn; it struck him as being just what was wanted ; but he knew nothing of its origin. It was carried to several others, who were thought of as its author, but no author or owner of it could be found. ' Perhaps an angel from Heaven had sent it.' So they talked at any rate.

PATRIOTIC SENTIMENTS. 21

" However, the hymn was copied with the pen, and the sheets multiplied to su])ply all who wished for one. The day came, and the hymn was sung with the greatest enthusiasm to the favorite old tune, ' Delight ' ! But among those who distributed the copies, there was a worthy Baptist minister, by the name of Kendriek, who had taken a warm interest in Mr. Miller. His suspicions had pointed him to the author of the piece ; and when Mr. Miller came, with others, to get a copy, his appearance and manner confirmed Elder Kendrick's suspicions. Further inquiry brought forth a confession of authorship. To use the phrase of the old folks, ' it was a great feather in his cap.' He had touched the right chord in the right way. The pious and patriotic emotions of the aged were revived ; the ardent responses of the young to these patriotic emotions found expression in the new hymn ; and nothing more was needed to make its author the popular favorite.

"It is not known that an entire copy of the hymn is now in existence. A sister of its author has repeated to us a few of the stanzas, which we give, more for the purpose of exhibiting his religious and patriotic sentiments than from an expectation that our readers will be affected as were those who first heard it. Its style and meter were strictly in accordance with the standard contained in the hymn book used on Sundays, doubtless the only standard the writer of it was familiar with ; and the effect arose from the natural force and simplicity of the versified thoughts, and the perfect ease of the musical execution. But to the fragments of the hymn ; —

" ' Our Independence dear,

Bought with the price of blood, Let us receive with care, And trust our Maker, God.

For he's the tower To which we fly ; His grace is nigh In every hour !

" ' Nor shall Columbia's sons Forget the price it cost, As long as water runs,

Or leaves are nipped by frost.

Freedom is thine ; Let millions rise.

Defend the prize Through rolling time !

" ' There was a Washington, A man of noble fame, "Who led Columbia's sons To battle on the plain ; With skill they fought ; The British host, With all their boast.

Soon came to nought !

" ' Let traitors hide their heads, And party quarrels cease ; Our foes are struck with dread, When we declare for peace.

Firm let us be, And rally round The glorious sound Of liberty ! '

"The reader will see that the piece was designed for home consumption. It was exactly suited to the occasion ; and was marked throucjhout, in spirit, style, and thought, with the ele-

PATRIOTIC SENTIMENTS. 23

ments of his education. And tins production, with others in prose and poetry, made him at once a notable in the community ; secured to him a wide circle of friends, and opened the way for his promotion to office and honor. The old men were all ready to give him a lift, almost without distinction of ' party.' The young folks made his house a place of common resort, to which they gathered to spend their leisure hours ; while himself and wife became the central unit which drew them together and kept all in motion."

" In his political sentiments, he was decidedly democratic. But he had intelligence enough to see that the practical patriotism of men did not depend so much on the party name they took as on their common sense and integrity. He knew that there were bad men enough in either party to ruin the country, if they had the power to do it ; and good men enough in the same parties to promote the public prosperity to the best of their ability. His position, therefore, was taken in view of the tendency of different political principles and public measures, in their ultimate bearing on the established institutions of the country. He enjoyed, in a remarkable degree, the confidence of both the political parties of the day."

" In the case of most men of the world, with the avenues to honor, wealth, and domestic happiness wide open before them, it is not often that a public station so commanding would be voluntarily left for the hardships, privations, and dangers, of the camp. What strong impulses could have turned him off in that direction ? Already the business of his office had placed him in easy circumstances. Such was the amount of his business that he kept two horses, one of which he drove, while the other was kept up to rest, week by week, alternately. He enjoyed the respect and unbounded confidence of the public; and he only needed to make himself still as worthy of public favor as he had been hitherto, and then, with life and health, all that this world could afford was within his reach. His preference for the army, so far as we know, sprang from these two motives : First, he desired to participate in the glory which rested on the memory of those he held the most dear, in the history of his country and of his family. Second, he hoped to enjoy a more inviting exhibition of human nature in the scenes of military life than experience or books had afforded in civil life.

" His desire for something noble in character was greater than that for wealth or unsubstantial fame. He was satisfied with the trial of what was around him, and wished to try a new field. This is stated by himself in his published memoir : ' In the meantime, I continued my studies, storing my mind with historical knowledge. The more I read, the more dreadfully corrupt did the character of man appear. I could discern no bright spot in the history of the past. Those conquerors of the world, and heroes of history, were apparently but demons in human form. All the sorrow, suffering, and misery in the world, seemed to be increased in proportion to the power they obtained over their fellows. I began to feel very distrustful of all men. In this state of mind, I entered the service of my country. I fondly cherished the idea that I should find one bright spot at least in the human character, as a star of hope — a love of country — Patriotism.'

" Happy, indeed, should we consider ourselves

DEISTICAL SENTIMENTS. 25

if there were no drawback to this a})parent prosperity to be noted. Rarely is it the case that the honor of God and the honor of man are coincident. If Mr. Miller was not puffed up by the latter, he had lost much of his regard for the former. In his worldly advancement, there was a serious and dangerous departure from the Christian sentiments which were instilled into his mind during his early life. Still there was no defect in his character which the most rigid worldly standard of external morality could detect. He was perfectly upright and honorable in all his dealings. He was generous, almost to a fault, with his friends, compassionate and liberal to the poor, and he held in the highest contempt every act that could tarnish a man's personal and private honor. He was not profane, even to the extent that too many are who pass for gentlemen. He was not intemperate, although he was very much exposed to this ruinous habit from the example of those into whose company his business called him — a habit which had broken down some of his predecessors in office, by rendering them incapable of attending to their business. He escaped from it without the least stain.

" It could be shown, from sentiments embodied in some of his essays, in addresses delivered before societies existing at the time, and in his poetic effusions, that his moral and religious views were of a t^^pe that would pass with the world as philosophical, pure, and sublime. But the men with whom he associated from the time of his removal to Poultney, and to whom he was considerably indebted for his worldly favors, were deeply affected with skeptical principles and deistical theories. They were not immoral men ; but, as a class, Avere good citizens, and generally of serious deportment, humane and benevolent. However, they rejected the Bible as the standard of religious truth, and endeavored to make its rejection plausible by such aid as could be obtained from the writings of Voltaire, Hume, Volney, Paine, Ethan Allen, and others. Mr. Miller studied these works closely, and at length avowed himself a deist. As he has stated the period of his deistical life to have been twelve years, that period must have begun in 1804 ; for he embra-^ed or returned to the Christian faith in 1816. It may fairly be doubted, however, notwithstanding his known thoroughness and consistency, whether Mr. Miller ever was fully settled in that form of deism which reduces man to a level with the brutes, as to the supposed duration of their existence. And the question is worthy of a little inquiry. To what extent was he a deist ?

" Robert Hall, with his usual comprehensiveness and truth, has remarked that ' infidelity is the offspring of corrupt Christianity.' It is much more successful in the discovery of supposed arguments against the existence of the Deity of the Scriptures, in the perversion of that which is divine, than in its institution and appointed use. Voltaire chose the ruins of human nature, in their most perverted and blighted condition, and Volney chose the ' ruins ' of human habitations, for the theater on which to display their mighty but evil genius. And they conjured forth the same evil spirit which had instigated or caused the ruin, in each case, to utter a false testimony, in reference both to ruined man

DEISTICAL SENTIMENTS. 27

and his ruined habitations. These men became the oracles of that falsehood to the world ! But it was never the intention of God, that man, or the world fitted up for his habitation, should 1)6 in this ruined condition ; it is the work of rebellion and sin '—of sin against the greatest displays of love and goodness that were possible, and against the purest and most reasonable law that could be given ; of rebellion that was marked by contempt of the univei-sal Sovereign, and of authority enforced by the lightest test of submission. And God has spoken to us, to inform us that be has made provision for the restoration of all men, and that it is his purpose to restore all who become interested in that provision, with the world now in ruins, to a condition which no history but the Bible has made known.

" Paine could rail and belie the supernaturalism of the Bible, like an incarnate demon, and then indorse all the supernaturalism of the most stupid pagan mythology, in his patriotic and poetic productions, which he published to the world. And that mind must be strangely out of balance naturally, or wretchedly perverted, which could bow to the authority of Volney's ' specter,' or Paine's paganism, — the pure creations of fictions and superstition,— and then reject the Bible because it demands faith in that which is not familiar to the senses.

" It is generally true that those who become decided skeptics take that most hopeless position, because they have become so depraved or perverted that they feel the want of an infidel theory to aff'ord them a license and quiet, in their chosen course. It was not so with Mr. Miller. In the days of his greatest devotion to deistical sentiments, he desired something better. He had his difficulties with tlie Bible under its current interpretations, and he tells us what these difficulties were. But a man like him could never be made to believe it consistent or safe to abandon tlie Bible, unless something more worthy of his trust were first put in its place. And such a condition must secure to that matchless book a certain and permanent supremacy. This was Mr. Miller's safety.

" But if the poison which had infused its taint into the system did not appear as a loathsome blotch upon the surface, its victim was not only kept away from the sole remedy, but that remedy was treated by him with an afflicting and dangerous levity. This was now the painful feature of his case. Once it was not so. When he was a mere boy — ' between the years of seven and ten ' — as he tells us, a sense of the plague of his heart and of his lost condition caused the deepest concern in reference to his future prospects. He spent much time in trying to invent some plan whereby he might find acceptance with God. He tried the common and most natural course, in such a state of mind, that of being ' very good.' ' I will do nothing wrong, tell no lies, and obey my parents,' he thought. But his mind was still unsettled and unhap})y.

" Good works are very proper, but they can never be accepted as the })rice of pardon and redemption. He thought, too, as all do in the same state of feeling, that something might be effected by sacrifice. ' I will give up the most cherished objects I possess.' But this also failed. There is only ' one offering ' that can avail. In that, every sinner must rest his hope and plea, or remain

DEISTICAL SENTIMENTS. 29

without peace with God. The experience of Mr. Miller's childhood made him thoughtful and serious, if it did not result in the attainment of this inward sense of peace. Under his inward conflicts and apprehensions of worldly sorrow, when a young man (in 1803), he poured out his soul to ' religion ' in this touching strain : —

" ' Come, blest religion, with thy angel's face. Dispel this gloom, and brighten all the place ; Drive this destructive passion from my breast ; Compose my sorrows, and restore my rest ; Show me the path that Christian heroes ti'od, Wean me from earth, and raise my sonl to God ! '

" ' Two things,' says D'Aubigne, ' are essential to sound Christian experience. The first is a knowledge of our condition as sinners ; the second is a knowledge of the grace of God, in its manifestations to the soul,' Mr. Miller, like most if not all others, had learned the first in his early life ; but he had evidently not then attained the second of these elements of a true religious life. And, by not attaining that important position in the process of deliverance from our fallen condition, he became wearied of a sense of his need, if he did not lose it entirely. In the chosen employment of his intellect, with a more ample supply of books at command ; in the midst of an admiring and merry social circle ; in receiving the honors of the world from the hand of his superiors, and in reaping an honorable portion of the treasures of the world, why should he desire any other source of enjoyment — and one altogether unknown, unappreciated and unpopular, in the circle where he moved ? What use had he for that religion he had seen verified and felt the need of, in the less cultivated family circle at Low Hampton ?

" If those who never become acquainted with the lessons of truth may be satisfied without the consolation of which its lessons speak, with those who are made familiar with these lessons, it is generally very difi'erent. They can seldom feel satisfied with themselves without making a hearty surrender of life, and all God has given them, to his service. As they know this is their reasonable service, anything short of this, they know, must be unreasonable. But how few take this narrow path ! How many turn away to join the multitude ! The talent, however, is in their hands. They must dispose of that, if they will not submit themselves to the disposal of its Giver. Some make it the reason for entertainins: and venting a more malignant and blasphemous form of hatred against everything which bears the name of God. This quiets all fear of being reproached as religious, and it is the awful snare into which many are lead by the fear of man. Another class of these unfaithful recipients of the talent of truth try to get along with a popular external expression of respect for its claims ; and thus they escape the dreaded reproach.