1848.] Character of his Preaching. - 183 hibition of wit and humor, as well as by lively anecdote and pointed expressions, that never suffered a moment to hang heavily in his presence. In him was fulfilled another saying of the wise man, "As iron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance [faculties] of his friend." It was not until he came into society that he seemed entirely himself. At the risk of trespassing on private correspondence, we must quote from one who had known him for many years, and than whom there could not be a better judge. Beginning at his first introduction, when a young man, she says: "At first we stood on our dignity, but some home truth or lively jest soon brought us to a compromise, and from that day he took possession of a place in our regard which he never vacated. During the frequent interviews we have enjoyed with him, I have no recollection of ever having passed a dull minute in his society. The light of a cheerful countenance, the prompt repartee, the glowing eulogy on absent friends, an unslumbering vigilance in detecting any absurdity in our opinions or statements, produced the liveliest excitement, and kept us always on the alert in his presence, so that his visits were an unfailing gala-season. His most unceremonious speeches were tempered with a good-humor and archness, which made them preferable to the most elaborate compliments, and now gild the memory of our intercourse with him as something distinct from the common courtesies of friendship." From these qualities, and his tender humanity, and quick sympathy, united with a deep piety, we can judge of the character of his parochial visits, and readily account for the deep hold he had on the hearts of his people. As a preacher Mr. Ripley was just what we should expect from this view of his character, not learned, but full of the fruits of observation and experience, not sentimental and imaginative, but full of humanity and a devout spirit, not speculative, "with the wisdom of words," but bringing the Gospel home, by his strong sense and manly experience, to the "business and bosoms" of his hearers. Intellectual acuteness and elaborate sentiment, compared with these qualities, are what the polished and unmeaning courtesies of fashionable life are to the spontaneous utterances of the heart of a friend. We are confirmed in this judgment by the testimony of a very competent hearer of Mr. Ripley, who says, "His preaching was Scriptural, plain, direct, and practical, never fearing to offend, or hesitating about the likes or dislikes of the audience; and, withal, there was great earnestness and sincerity about it. You never suspected him of uttering sentiments that he did not feel the full force of himself, or of saying or doing any thing to be seen or heard of men. There was a great propriety, a harmony, a uniform excellence, a beautiful consistency, about all his performances." And now we must take leave of him with the feelings of the friends of an Apostle at their parting interview, sorrowing most of all that we shall see his face no more." It is a sad thought, that we shall see his face, and hear his voice, and feel the warm grasp of his hand no more in the public assembly, in the religious festival, in the social walk, in his own happy and hospitable home. We can fully sympathize with the inmates of that home, and appreciate their loss. Our first feeling at a bereavement like this is, that a Being of infinite benevolence could hardly dispense with such an agent in this world of sin and sorrow. But He can raise up other and better agents, and it should be our desire and prayer and effort, as it was Elisha's, that the mantle of the departing man of God may fall on us. B. F. ART. III. THE CLAIMS OF THE MINISTRY. Ar the present time, when an unusual degree of attention is directed among us to our own position as a branch of the Christian Church, it may be well to introduce some reflections on a kindred subject. We would speak, then, of the claims of the ministry, especially among Unitarians, on those who are about to select their pursuit in life. To young men, who, having nearly completed their preliminary education, look forth upon the world in some uncertainty as to which of its various paths they shall hereafter tread, possessed of moderately good constitutions, respectable talents and attainments, virtuous character, and religious faith, these remarks are particularly addressed. Perhaps, however, they may present to others some considerations of a useful kind. To members of the clerical profession who may be unduly depressed by its burdens, and to parish 1848.] Salaries. 185 ioners who suppose that a pastor's life is one bright day of indolent repose, they may suggest some thoughts calculated to remove their respective errors. Though advocating the claims of the ministry, we would not urge them unfairly. Rather would we exhibit, in clear view, the disadvantages to which the profession is subject, that we may do something towards removing them, where circumstances permit, and that those who enter this field of labor may be prepared to encounter its unavoidable difficulties. There are some, however, whom we would not include in this appeal. There are those to whom, from a decided tendency to consumption, the choice of a studious occupation is suicidal; there are those to whom, from natural disadvantages either of mind or of utterance, the selection of such a profession would be certain failure. Let such forbear. Above all would we address this counsel to those who cannot, in view of their future calling, rise to any higher thoughts than such as are connected with its pecuniary results, to whom there is no attractiveness in the idea of doing good, no pleasure in the conception of being "fellow-workers with God." Let them select other employments; they have no call to this. No. Beyond all other motives, so far beyond them as to exclude them from comparison, in the mind of him who worthily desires to enter the profession of the ministry, should be the purpose of doing good, in the noblest, the most godlike sense of that expression. To serve God by leading his wandering children back to him, this is the great object of the ministry; this should be regarded as its highest privilege, its noblest reward. If, then, in what follows, we should appear to dwell at undue length on other considerations, it will not be because they are regarded as of equal importance in themselves, but that we may meet the objections which are most commonly urged, and which sometimes, being considered unanswerable, induce young men to turn away from the profession without a fair examination of its claims. The very lowest of these objections is, that the ministry does not furnish its members with sufficient means of support. This argument claims our first attention, according to the well-known rules of logical arrangement, for the very reason that it is the lowest. There are, we admit, no high prizes of fortune presented to the successful in this line of life. Large salaries are paid by very few churches, and the largest are but moderate, VOL. XLIV. - 4TH S. VOL. IX. NO. II. 17 compared with the compensation rendered to the most eminent talent in other departments of labor. Ever Ever may it be so! Never may the office of the Christian teacher be desecrated in our country, as it has been in others, by encouraging men to enter it in the hope of amassing wealth! We would not circumscribe the justice or the liberality of an opulent community within narrow limits. We would not say that any salaries now given are too large, or that they should never be increased. The compensation of the pastor should bear such a proportion to the wealth of his flock, that neither they nor he should have cause to be painfully conscious of a disparity between them. But the cent. per cent. of the speculator, and the thousands at a single fee that are sometimes gained by a few eminent lawyers, should ever be, as they are now, without parallel among the experiences of the minister of Christ. But if the clerical profession offers less dazzling prizes than other occupations, it promises, on the other hand, a support more certain, more regular, and more speedily attained, than can be expected by the student of medicine or of law. There are, of course, among those educated for the ministry, some who fail to find a living by means of it. But these are exceptions, while the general rule is, that the student, as soon as he leaves the Divinity School, finds occupation enough to support him as a single man; and in a few months, or at most in a year or two, enters on that moderate competence which is considered as sufficient for the head of a family. Very few men of property enter the ministry; yet early marriages are more common in this profession than in any other. The young lawyer or physician has, in most instances, to rise by slow degrees. For some years, his emoluments will hardly furnish a support to himself alone, and it must be still longer before he can ask another to share his improving prospects. Some of the most eminent men in these professions have remained in obscurity and poverty till hope seemed to have no reasonable ground of continuance, when some Providential opportunity, happily seized, became the basis of their future distinction. The young clergyman, on the other hand, has his opportunity at once; and if his destiny is (as must be the case with some) to fail utterly of success as a preacher, it is a destiny which he learns very soon. If disappointment comes, it comes while he still has youth and strength to meet it, while the 1848.] Frequency of Dismissions. 187 studies he has pursued and the customs of society render it easier for him than for others to pass to the kindred occupation of a teacher, a business honorable and useful, and in which the field for employment is always open. The competence, too, of the minister is not only early attained, but it is regular in its amount. So long as the settlement lasts, the pastor knows what he is to receive, and if he lives beyond his income, it is with his eyes open to the fact. The income is, indeed, in many cases small, while the "gentle nurture" of the pastor and his family makes them feel its deficiencies more than some others would. Yet nearly all congregations suppose that they give their clergymen enough to live upon with economy; and nearly all clergymen among us do thus live, with only the slight addition to their income derived from such occasional extra labors as are consistent with the customs of the profession. Few, it is true, can leave any but the smallest pecuniary provision for their families. But their children inherit an honored name, a good education, and the gratitude of the community. What need they more? Such has been, and still is, the ministry in a pecuniary point of view; offering a modest competence to those who enter it, and that with some peculiar advantages in point of certainty, regularity, and early attainment, as well as of the general interest of the community in the families of its deceased members. It may be urged, that the custom, which has recently become so common, of frequent dissolutions of the pastoral relation, must, if continued, modify these characteristics of the profession in some degree. The immediate result, however, is not very injurious as regards the support of the clerical body; for, as dismissions have become more common, they have ceased to affect, as they formerly did, the character and prospects of the removed ministers. He who has left one parish is usually ere long settled in another; and though the change is painful to his feelings, and injurious to the work which probably was prospering in his hands as well as ought to have been expected, yet he is not in the particular instance a pecuniary loser to any considerable amount. We trust, too, that the tendency spoken of has reached its height, and that it must soon decline. Of the causes which produced it, two may be mentioned; the division of our small towns into more religious societies than they can |