consequences, which were feared. Their doing so was, however, regarded as the result of a disposition to find fault with him, and his friends. The chiefs of the Onohquaugas, finding no redress, went to Mr. Edwards to make their complaint for this violent assault. There they found the aggressor; who, in order to pacify them, was persuaded to pay them a sum of money. The resident trustee, angry at what had occurred, went to the boarding school, and proceeded to abuse Mr. Hawley in the presence of the whole school, in a very fervid manner; telling him that he was a man of no judgment, and of no prudence, and that he was unfit for the business he was in; and continued this abuse for three hours together. As his conversation was very loud, the Iroquois heard it, and came to the spot, expressing their fears for the personal safety of Mr. Hawley, to whom they had become much attached. Apprehending that, in consequence of this violence, he might be induced to leave Stockbridge, they declared, in a body, that, if he went away, they would go also. By these occurrences, the Indians were as effectually alienated from the resident trustee, as they had previously been from his new friends.

In consequence of these unhappy measures, and of a settled determination, on his part, to take, in the absence of his colleagues, the whole management of Indian affairs on himself; they also were disgusted. One of them relinquished all connection with the business, and ceased to visit Stockbridge altogether. The other openly announced his entire discouragement, and declared that he would do his utmost to induce the government to withdraw their support from the establishment of the Iroquois. This led to an attempt to procure the dismission of the latter, and the appointment of a connection of the resident trustee; which however proved unsuccessful. At the same time, it was publicly and repeatedly announced, that Mr. Edwards himself would be removed from his mission; and, as soon after appeared, a vigourous attempt was actually made to accomplish this object.*

Having stated these facts, in a letter to the Secretary of the Commissioners, of May, 1752, Mr. Edwards proceeds,-" But still I think there is no necessity of the Iroquois establishment being broken up, unless its enemies are resolved to have it so. The dependence of the establishment, as to continuance and pros

*With reluctance I have yielded to the necessity of this minuteness of detail; but the fact, that Mr. Edwards had no very marked success in his Stockbridge mission, cannot otherwise be adequately explained; and the failure of the Iroquois establishment at Stockbridge cannot otherwise be accounted for. Unhappily the Indians at that place, like all other Indians in the vicinity of the whites, were exposed to the impositions, the seductions and the oppressions, of their civilized neighbours. In these counteracting causes, both the friends, and the enemies, of Indian Missions may learn, why it is so difficult to reform and christianize savages,

perity, is chiefly on the Onohquaugas, who are much the best disposed of any of the Iroquois, and most likely to come in considerable numbers. They have not been here so long as the others, to see so much to discourage them, and they alone are willing to settle at the Hop-lands. The affair is not at all desperate as to them, nor as to some of the Mohawks, if there be a speedy alteration. But if the two individuals, who challenge to themselves the whole direction of the affairs of the Iroquois, continue here, there is no hope of the continuance of Mr. Hawley, or of Mr. Ashley and his wife. They will not continue under one, whom they regard as so despotic an inspector. And there will be no way to retain any the Indians, unless it be some who are entirely mercenary, who may be persuaded to stay, for the sake of the presents that are made them, and to be maintained and live here in mere idleness. This, it is now very apparent, is all that moves many of the Conneenchees, in being and continuing here."

"The resident trustee has plainly discovered many designs, tending to bring money into his own pocket: viz. a design of taking care of Mr. Hollis' boys himself; a design of being steward of both boarding-schools, by which he will have the opportunity of supplying the Indians out of his own shop, and of getting his pay from the British funds; a design of introducing his son, as the master of the boarding-school, under the idea of a present supply, another proper person not appearing; and an expectation of diverting the King's bounty, of £500 sterling to the Six Nations, from New-York. The former school-master has given hints of an agreement, between himself and him, to resign the care of Mr. Hollis' scholars to him, when things are ripe for it; he providing for their maintenance, and taking care of their instruction by his son. Beside these things, his wife is to be mistress of the female school; and two of their sons to be maintained and educated at the public expense; and two of their girls, in like manner, to be maintained in the female school; and one of his family to be his wife's usher; and his servants to be paid for, under the character of servants employed in the affairs of the female school; and the house for the boardingschool set on his wife's land; and then the farm to be bought by the country for the school, with the advantage of selling it at a high rate; and yet the family in a great measure to be maintained on the produce of it; beside the advantage of carrying on a trade, both with the Stockbridge Indians, and the Mohawks. A man had need to have a great stock of assuredness, to urge a public affair, under so manifold temptations of private interest."

THE time of Mr. Edwards had been so much occupied by his

I have regarded the use of the antonomasia as correct, in this, and some other, quotations.

removal from Northampton, the comfortable establishment of his family at Stockbridge, the ordinary duties of his parish and his mission, the claims of the Mohawks, the concerns of the various Indian schools, and the unhappy contentions of the whites; that he had, at first, no leisure to attend to the Reply of Mr. Williams. In the latter part of the spring, however, he began an answer to that gentleman, which he sent to the press, the beginning of July,* with the following title: "Misrepresentations Corrected, and Truth Vindicated, in a Reply to the Rev. Mr. Solomon Williams' Book, entitled, The True State of the Question, concerning the Qualifications, necessary to Lawful Communion, in the Christian Sacraments." It was read with deep interest by both parties, was admitted by both, to be a triumphant answer to the "True State of the Question," and, taken in connection with the "Humble Attempt," was regarded by the friends of Strict Communion, at that time, as it has ever since been, as an unanswerable defence of their system. If the opposers of that system have not so regarded it, they have not publicly avowed the opposite opinion; as no attempt to answer it has hitherto appeared. Mr. Williams is said to have asked the advice of some of his friends, among the clergy, whether he had better commence a reply; but, finding that no one would encourage him to an attempt, which must end in reiterated defeat, he is reported to have sat down in mortified silence.

Appended to this publication, was a Letter from Mr. Edwards, to his late flock at Northampton. They had published Mr. Williams' pamphlet, at their own expense, and distributed it to every family in the town. That pamphlet, though so unsuccessful an attempt to answer Mr. Edwards, was yet filled with many lax and sceptical notions, derived from the writings of Dr. Taylor of Norwich, and apparently adopted by Mr. Williams, in the existing emergency, though in direct opposition, not only to Mr. Stoddard, whom he professed at once to venerate and defend, but to his own former publications. Though Mr. Edwards knew that the work of Mr. W. must soon go to its proper place, yet he also knew the state of fervid excitement, in which his former congregation had long been; that they had printed and dispersed the pamphlet of Mr. W., (even without knowing its contents,) as an answer to his own Treatise, and thus, in a sense, had adopted it before the world, as their own work. These circumstances led him to fear, that the fatal errors, abounding in the work of Mr. Williams, might, at a period when the principles of Dr. Taylor, of Norwich, were gaining many converts in the colonies, mislead many, especially of the young, among his former people. To save them from this danger,

*It was not published, until November.

he addressed to them an affectionate, and truly pastoral, Letter, which will be found at the close of the Answer to Mr. Williams.*

On the 29th of June, 1752, Mr. Edwards married his third daughter, ESTHER, to the Rev. AARON BURR, of Newark, President of theCollege of New-Jersey, then established in that town, and a few years afterwards removed to Princeton.

In the following letter to Mr. Erskine, which is rich in intelligence, as well as thought, the reader will find one fact, not generally known,—that Mr. Edwards, in the latter part of the summer of 1751, was applied to, with much earnestness, by some parish in Virginia, to go and settle with them in the ministry. They offered him a handsome support, and sent a messenger with the offer, but his instalment at Stockbridge had taken place, before his arrival.

"To the Rev. John Erskine.

"REV. AND DEAR BROTHER,

"Stockbridge, July 7, 1752.

"The last spring I received a letter from you, dated, at the beginning, July 17, and at the end, Sept. 5, 1751; and the week before last I received another letter, dated Feb. 11, 1752, with a packet, containing Arnauld De la fréquente Communion; Goodwin's Sermon at the ordination of Mr. Pickering; Mr. Jarvis' Sermon on methods for reviving religion; Reasons of dissent from the sentence of the General Assembly; Edwards on Christ, God-man, Mr. Hartley's Sermon ; Parish on the Assembly's Catechism; and Dr. Gill's Sermon on Isaiah 11, 12. I heartily thank you for these letters and pamphlets. Arnauld on frequent communion will not be very profitable to me, by reason of my not understanding the French. But several of the rest have been very agreeable to me. That letter which you mention, in your last dated Feb. 11, as sent about a twelve-month before, containing some Remarks on the decay of the power of the Papal Clergy, and an Abstract of Venema's Reasonings to prove, that Judas was not present at the Lord's supper, I never received, and regret it much that I missed it, and request that you would still send me those remarks on the Decay of the Papal Clergy.

"I am obliged to you for the particular information, you have given me, concerning Mr. Adam of Falkirk's affair. Though it is a pity so deserving a person should suffer at all from his brethren, only for not acting contrary to his conscience; yet it is matter of thankfulness, that the Assembly of the year 51 showed so much better temper, than that of the preceding year. I shall be glad to

+ This excellent Letter, omited here for want of room, will be found in Vol. IV. pp. 597-609, and should be read in this place.

hear, concerning the temper and conduct of the Assembly of this present year, '52.

"I am sorry to learn, that there is so much reason to fear, that the Revival of religion in the Netherlands, will be hindered, and brought under a cloud, through the prevailing of imprudences. It is what I was afraid I should hear. I should be glad to see the Pastoral Letter you mention against Fanaticism, though written by one disaffected to the revival. I wish I could see a History of Enthusiasm, through all ages, written by some good hand, a hearty friend of vital religion, a person of accurate judgment, and large acquaintance with ecclesiastical history. Such a history, well written, might doubtless be exceedingly useful and instructive, and of great benefit to the Church of God: especially, if there were united with it a proper account and history of true religion. I should therefore choose, that the work should be a history of true, vital and experimental, Religion, and Enthusiasm: bringing down the history from age to age, judiciously and clearly making the distinction, between one and the other; observing the difference of source, progress and issue; properly pointing out the limits, and doing justice to each, in every age, and at each remarkable period. I don't know that there is any such thing extant, or any thing that would, in any good measure, answer the same purpose. If there be, I should be glad to hear of it.

"I thank you for the account, you give me of Mr. Taylor's writings, and of the things, which he is doing to propagate his opinions. It now appears to be a remarkable time, in the christian world; perhaps such an one, as never has been before: things are going down hill so fast, and truth and religion, both of heart and practice, are departing by such swift steps, that I think it must needs be, that a crisis is not very far off, and what will then appear, I will not pretend to determine.

"The last week, I sent away my Answer to Mr. Williams. If I live till it is published, I will endeavour to send one to you, and some other friends in Scotland. I hope now, in a short time, to be at leisure to resume my design, of writing something on the Arminian controversy. I have no thought of going through with all parts of the controversy at once; but the subject, which I intended, God willing, first to write something upon, was Freewill and Moral Agency; endeavouring, with as much exactness as I am able, to consider the nature of that freedom of moral agents, which makes them the proper subjects of moral government, moral precepts, councils, calls, motives, persuasions, promises and threatenings, praise and blame, rewards and punishments: strictly examining the modern notions of these things, endeavouring to demonstrate their most palpable inconsistency and absurdity; endeavouring also to bring the late great objections and outcries against Calvinistic divinity, from these topics, to the test of the strictest reaVOL. I. 63