Page:American Historical Review vol. 6.djvu/588

 578 Reviews of Books than may be inferred from a typical excerpt : " The awe with which the clergyman was regarded reached a climax in the Sabbath morning, when he proceeded to the meeting house for worship. . . . When the discourse was concluded, sometimes called by admiring friends a ' large, nervous, and golden discourse,' the minister went back to the regular life of the manse, which means that he often worked in his garden, and sawed wood, and mingled with the people on terms of friendly interest. Within the parsonage or manse, or in the South the rectory, there was a wholesome, intellectual life, deepened often by a manly religion " (pp. 3, 4). Turning then, to the " Clergy in American letters," and opening at the chapter which deals with " Poetry and Romance," we may read such bits of "purely literary analysis" as this: " The clergy have always been fond of the poets, storing up a phrase or a couplet to lend greater beauty and power to the truth which they have set forth. Horace and Milton were read, not only with the interest of the teacher, but because of a message to the imagination, which loosed the play of fancy and created a music within, seeking an outlet in verse. There have been many of the clergy who, in moments of special feeling, or to commemo- rate important events, to stir up patriotism or to aid in worship, have written lines that bear within them the human emotions of passion, de- votion, and reverence " (pp. 84-85). Again Mr. Addison's discussion of sacred poetry in America may be summarized, in his own words, as follows: "American hymnology has not been thoroughly studied, but enough is known to justify the asser- tion that this branch of poetry has been largely cultivated among the clergy of all denominations. . . . The genuinely famous hymns, those that have found their way into other lands, are not numerous, but they are the flower of American hymnology. As literature they have a vital quality about them which gives them a much greater influence than many a longer and more ambitious poem. . . . Among the hymns that are used by churches everywhere are ' My faith looks up to Thee, ' by Ray Palmer; 'Stand up, stand up for Jesus,' by George Duffield ; 'I would not live alway,' by William Augustus Muhlenberg; George Washington Doane's 'Softly now the light of day ' and ' Fling out the banner;' John Leland's ' The day is past and gone ; ' ' Lord, lead the way the Saviour went,' of William Croswell ; Edmund Hamilton Sears' s ' Calm on the listening ear of night ; ' and ' My Country, 'tis of thee,' and ' The morning light is breaking,' by Samuel Francis Smith" (pp. 96-99). Finally, one or two of Mr. Addison's comments on the late Bishop of Massachusetts, whom he holds in tender and saint-like reverence, will fairly typify his sketches of individual character: " He was the ideal minister of the American gospel, for he gathered into himself the best elements of American manhood, he had the deepest faith in American institutions, he had the energy, the large vision, the persistent hope of the young nation dealing with its problems of government, education, and character. And he was peculiarly the preacher of a Gospel" (P- 341)-