LVII

Thomas Starr King

His Boyhood and Youth - Succeeds Doctor Chapin in His Father's Pulpit.

WH

WHEN it was determined that Mr. Chapin would accept the call of the society in Boston, the question of a successor in Charlestown was very soon under discussion. Six years had elapsed since the death of Rev. Thomas F. King. His eldest son, Thomas Starr, was now twenty years old. He was a young man of great mental ability and was preparing to enter the ministry. He was at this time supplying temporarily the pulpit of a new and small society in Chardon Street Chapel, Boston, and he had made a very marked impression upon all who had listened to him. His character, his genius, and his promise were fully known and appreciated by Mr. Chapin and his society. Here in Charlestown his boyhood had been spent, and here was his religious home, but he was still so young that the expediency of at once calling him to the pastorate of the society was a debated question.

Will it be well to put him in the place of his father's successor, who has so acceptably carried on the work of the parish and raised its standard so high? "Yes," said Mr. Chapin, and yes was the decision of those most interested in the welfare of the society. The writer

remembers well the readiness with which a paper to that effect was signed when, as a member of a committee, 1e was charged with the duty of presenting it to the pew? holders in anticipation of the meeting to determine the question of a call. A few only, among the oldest of them, shook their heads and refused to join in the settlement of a boy, as they looked upon him, but the assent was so general that the action of the legal meeting could be easily determined beforehand. Even among the older members a majority favored the call.

It required but little effort to secure a vote of the society inviting Mr. King to the pulpit, but it was not so easy to convince him that it would be well for him to accept the invitation. He was full of doubt as to the He was pleased with the good

wisdom of such a step. opinion of his friends and at the confidence shown in him, but felt that he needed experience and preparation; that it would be presumptuous on his part to undertake the charge of an old and large society. "Let me commence the work of the Christian ministry in some quiet place where, perhaps, I may grow up to the needs of the larger parishes," was his earnest request and wish. "No, no," he added; "it will not do. We [for he considered himself an interested member of the society] must look for some older, abler man to follow out the work of Mr. Chapin." This was the state of mind in which Mr. King met his friends who were desirous of his acceptance, but he did at last yield to their judgment and accept a call.

And so Thomas Starr King was ordained as a Christian minister and settled over the society of which his father was pastor at the time of his death, and which for

five years thereafter had prospered under the successful and extraordinary ministry of Rev. Edwin H. Chapin. It required a man of more than ordinary ability to carry on the work of the society and keep the teaching from its pulpit up to the standard that had been set for it; and the society found this man in its newly settled pastor. The sermons of Mr. King were full of thought, and the advanced ideas of the time were presented by him with great clearness, prudence, and judgment. His hearers were never left without food for reflection, nor could they fail to be impressed with the duty of growth in grace, of their personal obligation to lead honest lives and to make real their faith in the fatherhood of God, the brotherhood of man, and the everlasting power of love.

The marked ability of Mr. King attracted the attention of men of eminence outside the denomination to which he belonged, and he easily gained the warm friendship of some of the most distinguished clergymen, with some of whom he exchanged pulpits. Rev. William H. Channing, Rev. William R. Alger, and Dr. Cyrus A. Bartol are remembered by the writer as among those who occupied the pulpit. Rev. A. D. Mayo, who was then studying for the ministry, was often heard in the church. He had married Miss Sarah C. Edgerton, of literary fame, who, with her brother John, were among Mr. King's dearest friends. The early death of the brother was one of his great griefs. The death of the sister, not a great while after, filled him with the keenest

sorrow.

Mr. King remained with the society only two years. He was interested in his work, but his mind could hardly

be at ease, for his fame had gone abroad, and unexpected and extraordinary invitations were extended to him to take charge of some of the most prominent pulpits in the land, — among them that of the Rev. Dr. Dewey, of New York City. The Hollis Street Society, of Boston, who were anxious to recover the ground they had lost in the controversy with their former minister, the distinguished John Pierpont, had set their minds upon Mr. King with a persistence that could not be resisted, and when he needed rest and had accepted an invitation to make a sea voyage and a visit to Fayal they exacted almost a promise that on his return he would look with a favorable eye upon this field of labor and see in it his place of greatest influence and usefulness. His letter to the society was the sequel and is a key to his feelings at the time he left Charlestown.

TO THE COMMITTEE of the UNIVERSALIST SOCIETY:

Brethren - It is my duty to announce to you that I have this week accepted an invitation to settle with the Hollis Street Society in Boston; and, therefore, that at the expiration of three months, or at an earlier date if it be thought mutually desirable, my pastoral connection with the Universalist Society in this city will cease.

The reasons which have induced me to take this step are of such a nature, growing out of peculiar necessities and private feelings which cannot be controlled, that they cannot properly be stated at length, and could not, I fear, be appreciated by any who do not fully know my circumstances and the inward obstacles with which, since my settlement, I have been obliged to contend. Although the conflict of feeling in arriving at this decision has been severe, I feel certain that the course which I have taken is justified by motives, the force of which my conscience could not evade, and to which I was compelled to yield.

It is but just to say, what indeed is sufficiently obvious,

that no cause of dissatisfaction has been furnished by the society, neither has any arisen out of its circumstances and condition. Its prosperity is evident; and I have ever been treated by its members with uniform kindness and forbearance. They have been more faithful to their duties than I to mine; and I cannot forget that to a large number of them I owe, in behalf of our family, a debt of gratitude for generosity of earlier date than that which has been extended directly to myself. I trust, therefore, brethren, you will feel assured that, in spite of my conviction that the labors of some other pastor would be better adapted to and appreciated by a majority of the society, it is a most painful and trying thing for me to sever the tie which has bound me to such faithful and cherished friends.

Excuse me, also, if I state that this step has not been suggested, even in part, by any change of religious views. If my feelings and tendencies of thought have unfitted me for strong sectarian sympathies, yet my confidence in the cardinal principles of Universalism, and in the cheering prospect of the ultimate triumph of good, remains unshaken; and I trust it will be evident that my change of position will not weaken my attachment to the Universalist denomination, nor remove me beyond the cordial and most pleasant fellowship of my present associates in the ministry.

Private considerations almost exclusively have urged and compelled me to dissolve my present ties and seek another field of labor. The course may be misinterpreted by many, but I feel confident that the motives by which it has been dictated are such as God approves.

I pray you, brethren, in communicating to the society this letter, which it has cost me so much pain to write, to assure them that my most hearty prayer is for their spiritual welfare; and to accept, on your own behalf, my gratitude for your friendship and counsel and my warmest wishes for your personal prosperity and happiness. Most truly your friend and brother, T. S. KING.

CHARLESTOWN, October 7, 1848.