either of the New England colonies, and, as they supposed, beyond that of any government. There for thirty years, he continued the respected and successful pastor of a church which he had founded, and which he had the happiness to see shining around him, free, in a great measure, from the errors and strifes which corrupted the faith and distracted the peace of other churches in the country. During the whole of this period, he took an active interest in all the affairs of the town. On his counsels the people were accustomed to rely, in matters both of church and state, and to his large and liberal views, more than to those of any other man, is to be ascribed the honest and enlightened policy which characterized the colony. Though the age in which he lived was crowded with events and changes, both in England and America, calculated to affect the prosperity of the settlement, and try the firmness and wisdom of its leaders, yet Mr. Davenport remained faithful to his principles, the unshaken champion of justice and peace, the active promoter of good morals and popular education, the fearless advocate of truth and freedom.

On the 27th of July, 1660, there arrived in Boston two of the three judges of Charles I, so well known in our history, as the regicides, who, on the restoration of the Stuarts, were obliged to seek refuge in New England. For some time after their arrival, they appeared in public, and received marked attentions from the magistrates and some of the principal men of Boston. Soon, however, apprehensive that warrants were about to be issued for their arrest, they resolved to flee for safety to portions of the country, less open to the scrutiny of the English monarch. They left Massachusetts, and passing through Hartford, where they were kindly received by Mr. Winthrop, the governor of Connecticut, they at length arrived at New Haven. Here the people had been already prepared to receive them. Mr. Davenport, in a series of sermons from the text, "The Lord is my portion, saith my soul, therefore will I hope in him," had called the attention of his flock to the gloomy aspect of the cause of liberty and religion in their native land, and urged upon them the duty of confidence in God amidst the troublous times upon which they had fallen. As he advanced in illustrating and enforcing upon his hearers the spirit of the text, he

grew bolder and plainer, and uttered "what in England," says Mr. Bacon, "might have passed for treason." "Withhold not countenance, entertainment and protection from such, if they come to us from other countries, as from France or England, or any other place. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them, and them who suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body. . . . While we are

attending to our duty in owning and harboring Christ's witnesses, God will be providing for their and our safety, by destroying those that would destroy his people." By means of these discourses, the bearing of which could not be mistaken, he had breathed into the minds of the people the spirit of hatred of oppression and sympathy with the oppressed, that animated his own, and to the influence which he thus exerted may be ascribed the protection which both magistrates and citizens united in securing to the fugitive regicides. For when pursued by the mandate of the king, they were kept concealed for many months, as is well known, in the cave of West Rock, in the neighborhood of New Haven, and supplied with articles necessary for their comfort, as well as the supports of Christian consolation, by the inhabitants of the town.

Such was Mr. Davenport, in the successive stages of his checkered career. After a ministry of thirty years with the church at New Haven, he removed to Boston, at an age of more than seventy years, where he closed his days on the 12th of March, 1670. His ashes now repose with those of his friend, John Cotton, in a tomb in the Stone Chapel burial ground.

Intimately associated with this venerable pastor, both in the friendship of youth and the toils and enterprises of manhood, was Theophilus Eaton, the first governor of the colony of New Haven. Thrown together in early life, their youthful companionship ripened into an intimacy which united their fortunes, and has rendered their histories almost inseparable. The life of Mr. Eaton, before leaving the mother country, had been devoted to the pursuits of an extended commerce with the north of Europe, and especially with the countries on the shores of the Baltic, in some of which he had resided for many years. With less of literary education, and less of ardor and

enthusiasm than his friend and coadjutor, he probably deserves to be considered a wiser legislator, and, in most respects, better fitted for the political exigences of a new and unformed society. Professor Kingsley says of him, in his public capacity, "He was chargeable with no fault, and was the subject of no blame. Though from his standing and property, he was one to whom all others, engaged in this project of colonization, would look for advice and direction, yet there is no evidence that he at any time manifested a disposition to elevate himself, or to exercise any authority which was not voluntarily conferred. Prudence and firmness were his most obvious characteristics; and so high an opinion was entertained in the colony of his sincerity and integrity, that his simple declaration was always received with implicit confidence." The union of these two men, whom Mather, in his quaint way, styles "the Moses and Aaron of the settlement," was fortunate for themselves and fortunate for the colony, of which they were the founders. Of similar aims and views of life, and harmonizing in their political and religious sentiments, their best days were passed in a close and happy domestic intimacy. The fruits of their united labors, even at this distant day, may be seen in the elevated public morals, in the well-ordered schools, in the eminent university, and the thriving churches, which so highly distinguish the beautiful city of New Haven. These are the monuments of their toilsome and self-sacrificing lives. These speak their character and constitute their best eulogium.

Of the remaining worthies, whose names we have mentioned, our limits will allow us to give only a passing notice of the character of Chauncey Whittlesey. He was ordained as pastor of the church in 1758, in the fortieth year of his age. Prior to his ordination, he was for many years engaged in mercantile business, and in still earlier life he had been employed as a tutor in the college. It was of him, while in this latter capacity, when he had been at prayers with the students in the chapel, that the well-known remark of David Brainerd was made, that "Mr. Whittlesey has no more grace than this chair." And thousands, who never heard his name, except in connection with this remark, have received impressions unfavorable to his piety. But from the delineation of his character, given in the pages of Mr. Bacon, supported as

as it is, by the history of his large and prosperous ministry, and by the testimony of some of his ablest contemporaries, in the sermons which they preached at his funeral, we are forced to the conclusion that in humility, and faithfulness, and sincerity, and all the best elements of piety, he deserves to be considered a preeminent Christian. Whatever may be thought of the treatment of Brainerd, by the governors of the college, after he had provoked their censure, there can be no question that the restraints which they had before imposed on the intemperate zeal of himself and his associates were in every way salutary. Brainerd's own views of his spirit and conduct at this period of his life, were subsequently very fully expressed, and it is to be regretted that his biographers have not always been more careful to avoid creating an impression unfavorable to the fame of one who, for aught that appears, was the innocent cause of the treatment he received.

The ministry of Mr. Whittlesey continued through a most troubled period of the history of New Haven, and of the whole country. The "religious commotion" of President Edwards's day had subsided, and left the churches in a state of contention with each other, and indifference to the vital interests of practical piety, while they scrupulously tithed the anise and cummin of speculation and controversial doctrines. In the neighborhood of New Haven other parishes had been created, in some instances, under circumstances tending to produce jealousy and alienation, and even open enmity, and often, "instead of uniting in any affectionate communion, or in any willing coöperation for the common cause, they united only in exposing religion to contempt, and in weakening the power of Christian institutions, by their mutual hostility." Then came the war of the Revolution, absorbing the universal attention of the people, and shedding over the religion of the whole country its deadening and desolating influences. In such an age, it was hardly to be expected that the ministry of Mr. Whittlesey should be attended with any remarkable results; yet the church of which he was pastor seems to have been generally prosperous, and especially after the first few years of his settlement had passed, to have enjoyed a large share of peace and union. He died at New Haven in 1787, in the seventieth year of his age, and the thirtieth of his ministry. Of his religious views and

his general character, the following description is given in the funeral sermon of President Styles, and quoted by Mr. Bacon:

"His favorite subjects were the glories and excellences of Christ, the majesty of God, the atonement and righteousness of the Redeemer, as the sole foundation of pardon, the grace of the gospel, the necessity of a life of holiness and moral virtue, and the glories of the heavenly world. But while he was a bold and open advocate for moral virtue, yet often have we heard him preach from this desk, that in point of justification there was no righteousness which could procure our acceptance with a holy God, but that of the Mediator.

"In his life and general conversation, he was virtuous and benevolent. He had a singular talent at accommodating himself with ease to all characters, high and low, rich and poor. He had always something entertaining, instructive and edifying, something that made religion pleasant and agreeable. He was exceeding careful to avoid vilifying others, even his enemies; but was disposed to think and say good and kind things of all, and to live in love and benevolence with all, though they differed from himself in some material things. He went about doing good, and carried the savor of a cheerful, heavenly life in his conversation, speaking familiarly of the things of religion, heaven, immortality, and the blessed society and beatified glories of the upper world. For many years he has expressed a most confidential hope, and I think I may say, an assurance of a happy eternity, which continued with him to the last. He always founded his hope on the grace of God, and the merit of the Redeemer, and an inward consciousness that it would be his chief, his supreme joy, to spend an eternity in the bosom of Jesus, and among the spirits of just men made perfect; and this he hoped had been wrought in him by the Spirit of God and the power of his grace."

The reflecting reader of these annals of the New Haven church will not fail to mark how important is the influence which political and social events, and even what we are accustomed to call accidental circumstances, often exert upon the spiritual interests of men. The successive wars which the early colonists waged with the Indians, the exactions of the English government, and the tyranny of the English priesthood, the seasons of peace and prosperity, of thriving industry and plentiful harvests, and the periods of anxiety and gloom, all left distinct impressions, which may be clearly traced in the religious history of New England. Periods of long declension had been occasionally interrupted by seasons of partial revival, until in 1735, there commenced a work of grace, which, extending from colony to colony, roused the sluggish spirit of nearly every church in the northern portions of the country. It

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