,a ,,sermon      ,,preached ,,in        
,,christ ,,church1 ,,hartford1          
,,january #bith1 #ahfe2      ,,in       
,,commemoration ,,of      ,,the ,,rt4   
,,rev4      ,,thomas ,,church           
,,brownell1 ,d4 ,d41 ,,ll4 ,d41         
,,third ,,bishop ,,of ,,connecticut1    
,,and      ,,presiding ,,bishop ,,of    
,,the ,,protestant ,,episcopal ,,church 
,,in ,,the ,,united ,,states4      ,,by 
,,his ,,assistant ,,and ,,successor4    
,,published ,,by ,,request ,,of ,,the   
,,vestry ,,of ,,christ ,,church4        
,,hartford3    ,,brown  ,,gross4        
#ahfe4          ,,sermon4    ,,proverbs1
 xi3 #aa4    ,,by ,,the ,,blessing ,,of 
,,the ,,upright ,,the ,,city ,,is       
,,exalted4      ,it is a law of the     
,divine government of the world1 that   
the temporal  blessings granted to the  
righteous1 and the temporal punishments 
sent  upon the wicked1 are shared in by 
others than the individuals specially   
concerned4 ,we realize this perhaps1    
more distinctly1 and it comes home  to  

us more solemnly1 in the latter case    
than in the former4 ,for so it  is1 that
 the punishments of the ,almighty always
 impress us more than his  mercies4 ,the
 occasional thunder-bolt awes us as the 
daily sunlight does  not2 the sweeping  
storm we wonder at as we do not at the  
gentle rain and  dew2 death is more     
solemn to us than the continued life4   
,we feel ,god's  hand in the first-named
 of all these things1 we are apt to     
forget it in  the last4    ,and yet the 
progress of the world gives us as many  
proofs that  the blessings given to the 
righteous are shared in by others than  
themselves1 as that the punishments sent
 to the wicked extend beyond  those on  
whom1 especially1 they come4 ,and ,god's
 word is as full of  instances          
illustrating the one truth1 as it is of 
those illustrating the  other4    ,for  
if we find in ,jerusalem1 ,samaria1     
,babylon and ,egypt1 the innocent       
suffering with1 and because of the      
guilty1 so too we find not ,lot alone1  

but his family with him1 rescued from   
the city of the plain2 not ,joseph      
only1 but his brethren also1 and even   
his ,egyptian lord1 blessed and         
prospered2 not ,elijah only1 but the    
family of the widow of ,sarepta1        
miraculously supported through the      
famine3 not ,st4 ,paul alone1 but all   
in the ship1 two hundred1 three score   
and sixteen souls1 preserved from  wreck
 and destruction4,a    ,footnote ,a3    
,bishop ,heber4    ,these instances1 and
 there are many like them1 illustrate   
and prove the  law of ,god that the     
temporal blessings which are sent upon  
the righteous  flow over1 as one may    
say1 upon others besides themselves4    
,and1 ,beloved1  do not the very        
instincts of our nature respond to1 and 
recognise this  law8 ,do we not rejoice 
in the presence among us of a godly man1
 even  if our eyes rarely behold him2   
and is there not sorrow of heart and a  
more than ordinary feeling of vacancy   
when such an one is taken from  us8 ,and

 in either case1 whether we joy or      
sorrow1 is there not more in  our hearts
 than a mere recognition of the value of
 example1 counsel1  guidance1 which is  
given in the one case1 and in the other 
is taken  from us8 ,do we not on the one
 hand feel1 that we have among us a     
herald  and a pledge of the blessings   
from the ,lord1 blessings which shall   
light our pathway1 as they have on his8 
or1 on the other hand1 is there  not the
 feeling that such a herald1 and such a 
pledge is gone1 that an  avenue of      
benediction has been closed1 and that   
the world is darker than  it was8 ,and  
is the feeling of such loss ever deeper1
 or stronger than  when a holy and a    
sanctified old age1 around which        
gathered the gentlest  ministries of    
earth1 and the most precious ones of    
heaven1 and which  glowed in the high   
place where ,god had set it with the    
calm1 mild glory  of the evening star1  
has been taken away from us1            
transformed1 though  our eyes can not   

behold it1 into the freshness of eternal
 youth8    ,my ,brethren1 it is with    
this feeling of vacancy1 and loss1 and  
bereavement pressing on my heart that ,i
 come to you to-day1 to speak  of our   
dear and honored ,bishop and ,father    
whom ,god has taken from us4  ,i utter  
no idle word of ordinary custom when ,i 
say1 that it entails a  task from which1
 for reasons which you know without     
their statement1  ,i shrink4 ,not least 
among these reasons is the feeling that 
it almost  seems presumptuous to add one
 word to those so fitly spoken1 so      
leaving  nothing to be said or even     
wished1 when the mourning multitude that
  gathered round our departed ,father's 
bier1 made an ,abel-mizraim indeed1  of 
this ,house of ,god4 ,still1 duty has   
seemed to demand this service  at my    
hands1 and ,i have tried to nerve myself
 for its discharge4 ,and  here1 surely1 
is where any such words should be       
spoken2 here1 where he  once held       
pastoral charge2,b here1 where he came  

with the faithful to  worship ,god2     
here1 where all that remained on earth  
was brought1 when  life was ended4 ,may 
,god be with us all1 that our communing 
here1 may be  for good6    ,footnote ,b3
 ,bishop ,brownell was ,rector of       
,christ ,church1 ,hartford1 from  ,dec4 
#ahai to ,dec4 #ahbj4    ,i will not    
weary and chill you1 ,brethren1 with    
those ordinary  biographical details    
with the chief of which you are already 
familiar1  and which in another way and 
place will all be gathered and          
preserved4  ,the thought that is        
uppermost in all our minds to-day1 is   
that of the  godly man whose serene old 
age has passed into the heavenly life2  
of the  honored ,prelate1 oldest in     
consecration in all our now widely      
spread  communion1 who has laid down his
 earthly mitre1 that he may receive a   
beautiful crown from the ,lord's hand4  
,his early life was full with the       
promise of the later2 the youth was  the
 fair pledge of the coming manhood4 ,two

 things1 as it seems to me1  stand out  
from these early years with a prominence
 that challenges  attention4 ,there was1
 first1 the same gentle1 thoughtful     
kindness1  smoothing difficulties and   
restoring harmony and peace1 that       
developed  into so marked an element of 
the later character4 ,he was known among
 his  fellows1 even then1 as a          
peacemaker2 and the very appellation    
which  boyish affection1 with the keen  
instinct that it often shows1 bestowed  
upon him1 marks the way in which this   
characteristic forced itself on  the    
attention4    ,but there was1 besides1  
that capacity for rapid and ready       
acquirement  and adaptation1 which we   
trace so clearly in after years4 ,at the
 age  of fifteen1 when as yet he had    
received no other education than that   
afforded by a common country school1 he 
took charge of a school himself1  and as
 he says1--with characteristic          
modesty--succeeded in securing the      
respect of his former schoolmates4 ,who 

can doubt that the same marked          
qualities1 the same wonderful balance1  
that made his ,episcopate all it  was1  
worked the same result in this so       
difficult and so contracted field  of   
duty8 ,who does not believe that he     
might have spoken of affection as  well 
as of respect8 ,who does not see the    
foreshadowing of the man in  this little
 picture of the boy's every day life8   
,it was not till he had  nearly reached 
his majority that he decided to enter on
 a collegiate  life4 ,and then his      
preparation was all made in less than   
two years'  time4 ,nor could it have    
been a hasty1 patched-up preparation2   
for he  held his place as a leader      
still1 and when his college life was    
ended1  stood first among his fellows4  
,such were the marks of his early years2
  how full of promise for1 how exactly  
answered by1 his future ones4    ,the   
years of preparation ended1 the choice  
of the life work came next1  and this   
was to be the work of the ,ministry2 for

 to that his heart and  purpose had long
 been turning4 ,had his earliest plans  
been carried out1  he would1 probably1  
have lived and labored in another       
,communion than our  own1 and his       
honored name and fragrant memory could  
never have been ours4    ,but now began 
a train of circumstances1 so manifestly 
ordered by the  ,providence of ,god1    
that we can scarcely refuse to see in   
them1 nay  rather1 that we may rejoice  
to see in them1 the divinely arranged   
training for the great work for which   
,god had appointed him4    ,while yet in
 his course of preparatory study1 he    
found himself brought  face to face with
 that question which has met so many    
men1 and  almost always1 when pursued1  
with one result1 the question as to the 
organization and framework of the       
,church of ,christ4 ,he paused upon  it 
with his wonted carefulness4 ,the result
 of his enquiry ,i give  in his own     
words4 ,it unfolded to me a new aspect  
of ,christianity4  ,the discovery       

afforded me unspeakable relief2 but it  
was necessarily  attended with many     
regrets4 ,i had no relative1 and no     
intimate friend  connected with the     
,episcopal ,church1 and ,i seemed to be 
left alone in  the world1 in regard to  
my religious sympathies4 ,it was a      
cross1 but he  did not shrink from it4  
,he determined to take time for a final 
decision4    ,just then--it was in      
#ahje--;he was called to undertake the  
duties of  collegiate instruction1 and  
the call came in such a form that he    
would  not refuse it4 ,he could not have
 dreamed of all its bearings then1 but  
we can see that this was another step by
 which he was led on towards a  goal1   
how invisible then to him1 how bright   
and glorious now to us6    ,in his      
academic life1 we trace the same great  
notes of character that ,i  paused on in
 his youth4 ,how many are there who     
remember yet1 the gentle  ways in which 
he won the turbulent and the perverse1  
to better things2  the even gentler     

ways1 in which he led on those whose    
steps were ordered  rightly2 the many   
whom he lifted up when they were down1  
and cheered  when they desponded4 ,and  
here too1 in a broader field and with a 
wider  range1 his powers of acquirement 
and adaptation gained fresh triumphs4   
,in three different departments of      
instruction1 not different merely1  but 
diverse also1 he labored1 and he labored
 well4 ,he filled a large  place beyond 
the ,college walls4 ,in many lines of   
activity and labor1  where we1 who knew 
him only as an ecclesiastic1 can hardly 
fancy him1  he gained respect and       
confidence4 ,and all this made him a    
many sided  man2 gave him a varied      
culture2 adorned and fitted him with    
diversified  acquirements2 was1 in      
short1 a noble earthly preparation for  
what was to  be his real life work4     
,and now1 as we stand by him amidst     
these accumulated labors and these      
gathering honors1 we are fain to ask1   
have we not found that life work8  ,so  

we should think4 ,so1 perhaps1 he       
thought4 ,yet it was not so4    ,his    
convictions1 as has already been said1  
pointed him to our own  ,church1 as the 
home of his rest2 but he had never yet  
come in contact  with it1 nor had it    
been presented to him as a living       
reality4 ,at last1  in ,god's           
providence1 after years had gone by1 an 
event occurred which  brought him into  
relations with those to whom1 as yet1 he
 had been a  stranger4 ,that event was  
his marriage in #ahaa4    ,as ,i utter  
these words1 there comes1 ,i am sure1 to
 your minds as there  does to mine1 the 
picture of that domestic life which for 
more than half  a century brought to our
 departed ,father1 a happiness that     
rarely falls  to the lot of man2 that   
affection of wife and children which    
gladdened  his manhood1 and watched with
 such lavish wealth of tenderness over  
his  declining years4 ,we all saw it    
living in and lighting up the household1
  and meeting love with answering love2 

and ,i saw it as it watched the  dying  
bed1 and showered such constant         
ministries1 that it seemed to  almost   
anticipate on earth the reunion of those
 homes in heaven1 where  death and pain 
may never come1 and where ,god wipes    
away all tears  forever4 ,but ,i may not
 dwell on this--enough1 too much1       
perhaps1 to  touch it--and ,i return to 
other things4    ,the new companionships
 awoke old thoughts and convictions1 not
 so much  forgotten as laid aside under 
the pressure of instant and weighty     
duties4 ,and now the thread was taken up
 once more1 and the result of  prayer   
and study was1 that in #ahac1 in that   
ancient ,church,c where for  some time  
he had been a worshipper1 a ,church with
 which are associated  the dearest and  
most cherished memories of my own       
ministerial life1 our  ,father was made 
in ,holy ,baptism a member of ,christ1  
the child of ,god1  and an inheritor of 
the kingdom of ,heaven4 ,his            
confirmation followed at  an interval of

 scarce a week2 and then all his leisure
 time was given to  the study of        
,theology4 ,three years later1 he knelt 
to receive at the  honored hands of     
,hobart1 his warrant to serve in the    
lowest of the ,holy  ,orders1 and in the
 same year was advanced to the good     
degree of the  ,priesthood4    ,footnote
 ,c3 ,st4 ,george's1 ,schenectady1 ,n4  
,y4    ,and now he has gained the       
condition of life to which ,god had so  
clearly  called him2 though of the field
 where labors1 responsibilities and     
honors shall gather round him he can not
 even dream4 ,his earliest  ministerial 
labors were among scattered1 feeble     
parishes in the  neighborhood of his    
collegiate duties2 and here--another    
instance it  seems to me of providential
 ordering--he learned much that was to  
be of  use in coming years4    ,for one 
year the venerable parish of ,trinity   
,church1 ,new ,york1 was the  scene of  
his pastoral work1--he thought1 he has  
often told me1 it was to  be his resting

 place for life--and then he was        
transferred hither2 and  on the #bgth   
day of ,october1 #ahai1 a day long to be
 gratefully remembered  in this         
,diocese1 he was consecrated third      
,bishop of ,connecticut1 and the  life  
work was reached at last4               
,comparatively few can go back to that  
day now4 ,to most of us it emerges      
dimly from the past as something we know
 about1 only by the hearing of  the ear4
 ,our oldest living ,prelates come no   
nearer to it than #ahcb4 ,it  long stood
 the bright spot that seemed to connect 
us with the earlier  days4 ,and now that
 its living light is gone1 history      
claims the years  down to a period so   
near us1 that we are startled as we     
think of it4    ,the ,church in this    
,diocese needed1 then1 the very man whom
 ,god in  his gracious goodness sent to 
it4 ,the ,episcopate had been vacant six
  years from the death of the second    
,bishop4 ,not all the evils1 indeed1    
that must accompany so long a vacancy   

were felt2 for the provisional  charge  
exercised by ,bishop ,hobart1 whose     
services and sacrifices were  gratefully
 acknowledged then1 and are gratefully  
remembered now1 had  guarded the        
,diocese from as many evils as any such 
charge could4 ,still1  the necessity was
 obvious and pressing1 and no one saw it
 more plainly  than the clear-sighted   
,bishop of ,new ,york4    ,with what    
faithfulness1 patience1 long suffering1 
meekness1 wisdom and  prudence1 that    
long ,episcopate was gone through1 that 
life work done1  ,i need hardly tell    
you4 ,how the varied culture1 the       
manifold training1  the diversified     
acquirements1 which so quietly1 and     
because so quietly1  therefore so       
successfully1 did their work1 were      
crowned and irradiated  with heavenly   
grace1 with a living faith in the       
,crucified1 and with an  utter          
abnegation of other strength or merit   
than that of ,jesus ,christ1  you know1 
indeed1 we all know1 and we rejoice in  

knowing4 ,that well  balanced and well  
rounded ,christian character1 all whose 
parts were so  harmoniously blended1 and
 which1 as it was mellowed by advancing 
years1  and gathered round itself the   
clustering honors of old age1 even as   
the  sun gathers around his setting     
bright clouds and glorious colorings1   
became such a centre of reverence and   
love1 you have seen living among  you1  
and you need no words of mine to recall 
it to you here4 ,we have  been          
privileged1 all of us1 to look for years
 on years--may we estimate  the         
privilege at its great worth--on the    
path of the just1 and we have  seen it  
shining more and more unto the perfect  
day4    ,how truly may we say as we     
recall that long ,episcopate with its   
manifold  labors1 its personal graces   
and its great results1 ,if you seek his 
monument look around you4 ,see it in our
 ,college1 placed after years  of       
struggle on a firm foundation2 in the   
work of ,church-extension1 so  vigorous 

now1 so weak and stinted five-and-forty 
years ago2 in the  little band of clergy
 multiplied five-fold2 in the seven     
parishes that  maintained a pastor      
increased to a hundred2 in the peace    
that marked  that pure and wise         
administration1 and the sorrow that bore
 witness to  it when it ended4 ,it may  
all be summed in the passage of the     
,psalmist--,i  can never read it without
 the involuntary application--,so he fed
 them  with a faithful and true heart1  
and ruled them prudently with all his   
power4    ,the knowledge of all this1   
and the feeling of all this1 was        
universal  through our whole communion4 
,every where he was known as the good   
man  and the wise ruler2 and his        
exercise of the responsible office of   
the  ,presiding ,bishop was welcomed    
with joy and rested in with confidence2 
and with the feeling that in his hands1 
under ,god1 the ,church was safe4       
,but the end was to come1 as the end    
must come to blessings and trials  alike

 in this world of ours1 and our ,father 
was to be taken from us4 ,he  was a     
burning and a shining light1 and we were
 willing for a season to  rejoice in his
 light4 ,but it could be only for a     
season that the light  could shine on   
earth1 then it must beam in ,paradise4  
,i know how difficult and delicate a    
task it is to speak of the closing      
hours of any life4 ,i know that         
ordinarily one shrinks from it1 and     
would veil such sacred things from view4
 ,but the last hours and the  dying     
testimony of an eminent ,christian1 and 
that ,christian an aged  and            
distinguished ,prelate in the ,church1  
are a part of the ,church's  heritage4  
,nay more1 it seems to me a sacred duty 
that ,i should declare  to you the      
witness of those last hours to which ,i 
was allowed in some  degree to minister1
 and the memory of which will go with me
 while ,i  live4 ,but ,i shall try to   
observe such reticence as the case      
demands1  though not1 perhaps1 what he  

would have imposed upon me4    ,it      
pleased ,god in his mysterious          
providence that he should pass through  
great physical suffering before the     
release was granted4 ,yet no one ever   
heard1 amid it all1 a word of murmur1   
impatience or complaint4 ,not more  than
 ,i can bear1 was the utmost            
acknowledgment of suffering that ever   
came from him4 ,it was the fellowship of
 suffering1 making him perfect  in the  
sufferer4 ,once when ,i had spoken to   
him of the comfort of the  sustaining   
presence of the adorable ,redeemer1 he  
said fervently1 ,yes1  it is sufficient1
 and then solemnly lifting his hand     
towards heaven1 he  added1 and there is 
nothing else6    ,the subdued and yet   
deeply earnest way in which he joined in
 the office  of the last ,communion he  
received on earth1 and the fervency of  
his  response1 especially in the        
,confession1 made the service1 always so
  solemn and impressive1 even more than 
ordinarily so4 ,at its close1 weak  as  

he was1 he rose to his feet1 and joined1
 with a voice stronger than  it had been
 before1 and filled with deep emotion1  
in the ,gloria in  ,excelsis4 ,fitting  
prelude to the eternal anthem which1    
this day1 he  sings in ,paradise6       
,one scene there was1 most dear and     
sacred perhaps of all1 on which ,i  may 
but barely touch4 ,a dark and stormy day
 was drawing to its close2  a day of    
gloom without1 and of great anxiety and 
watchfulness within4  ,suddenly the     
storm clouds parted and were scattered1 
and the sun shone  out almost with      
summer brightness4 ,and within1 the     
storm of suffering  was stilled1 and a  
space of rest was given to the sufferer1
 in which he  spoke words of farewell   
and of blessing never to be forgotten2  
words for  all present and absent too2  
words which not only proved that for him
  the sting of death was gone1 but which
 mitigated also for others the          
bitterness of separation4 ,it was a     
beautiful coincidence1 the glorious     

sunlight without the dwelling1 and      
within the light of a soul stayed on    
,god1 and cleansed in the blood of      
,christ1 walking through the valley of  
the shadow of death1 and yet fearing no 
evil1 because of the comfort  of the rod
 and the staff of ,god6    ,at last1 in 
,god's great mercy1 all suffering seemed
 to pass away1 and  the soul was        
released1 so quietly1 that we hardly    
knew when the earthly  life ended and   
the eternal life began4 ,for so he      
giveth his beloved  sleep4    ,thus     
feebly and imperfectly1 with a sorrowing
 heart and a trembling  hand1 ,i have   
written and spoken1 ,beloved1 of our    
departed ,father in the  ,lord4 ,i can  
not close1 even at the risk of being    
charged with speaking1  when ,i ought   
not1 of myself1 without one word        
concerning my personal  relations to    
him4 ,for almost thirty years ,i had    
known1 on earth1 no  other ,father4     
,from his hands ,i received my          
confirmation2 from his hands  my        

ordination to the ,diaconate and        
,priesthood1 and my consecration to  the
 ,episcopate2 and once more1 that same  
hand1 in his latest hours1 was  laid on 
my head in parting benediction4 ,for    
more than thirteen years ,i  had been   
with him in relations of the closest    
confidence1 and--,i thank  ,god--he told
 me at the last1 that no shadow had ever
 come between us4  ,brethren1 give me   
your prayers1 that if ,i can not be what
 he was1 ,i may  at least follow at     
humble distance where he has led4 ,for  
myself1 ,i can  only say now and here1  
,my ,father1 my ,father1 the chariot of 
,israel and  the horsemen thereof6      
,the briefest summary--no other can be  
needed1 and1 it may be1 not even        
that--must close this painful task4     
,our late ,bishop was a godly man4 ,his 
religion was not a religion that  spent 
itself in words4 ,its stream was too    
deep and too full to flow  otherwise    
than silently4 ,but it spoke with that  
strongest logic and  most persuasive    

rhetoric1 the logic and the rhetoric of 
a consistent1  even1 well balanced      
,christian life4 ,and this life was     
built up on  those two foundations on   
which alone any ,christian life can be  
built2  trust in the merits of the      
,redeemer for salvation1 and trust in   
the  personal presence of the ,holy     
,spirit1 renewing the sinful soul to    
holiness4 ,he was a true-hearted        
,churchman4 ,in those convictions of the
  ,church's claims to which careful and 
deliberate study brought him1 he  never 
wavered4 ,through life they went with   
him2 through evil report  and good      
report2 and peacemaker as he was1 he    
proved1 time and again1  that he would  
never seek peace at the sacrifice of    
principles4 ,he  was a wise ruler4 ,as  
one has well said1 he governed without  
seeming  to govern4 ,giving to all their
 rights1 all gave his rights to him1    
gladly and without reserve4 ,he was a   
faithful ,bishop4 ,few knew under  what 
trial of physical suffering he went his 

rounds of duty1 with such  cheerful     
adaptation of himself to all persons and
 all places2 with such  thoughtful      
kindness and regard for the feelings of 
all with whom he came  in contact2 never
 allowing annoyance1 and never1 by any  
chance1 giving  discomfort on his way4  
,making such allowance as we must ever  
make for  human infirmity and           
sinfulness1 ,i ask1 and ,i know the     
answer that will  be given1 did he not  
fulfill the solemn pledges of his       
consecration8  ,did he not teach his    
people from the ,word of ,god8 ,did he  
not exercise  himself in that ,word1 and
 teach and exhort with wholesome        
doctrine1  in his preaching1 in his     
charges to his clergy and his people1   
and in  his published works8 ,did he not
 faithfully watch against erroneous and 
strange doctrine8 ,was he not an example
 of good works unto others8  ,did he not
 maintain quietness1 peace and love     
among all men2 and  diligently exercise 
discipline2 and faithfully ordain       

others8 ,and was he  not merciful and   
gentle for ,christ's sake to the poor   
and needy8    ,with this witness then1  
,beloved1 given by us here1 laid up for 
him on  high1 ,i leave him1 my friend1  
my ,bishop and my ,father1 in the       
memories  of his people1 in the rest of 
his sleep in ,jesus1 in the glorious    
life  of ,paradise6 ,as ,i close1 words 
of our ,blessed ,lord are in my heart1  
and  come unbidden to my lips4          
,blessed are the meek6 for they shall   
inherit the earth6    ,blessed are the  
merciful6 for they shall obtain mercy6  
,blessed are the pure in heart6 for they
 shall see ,god6    ,blessed are the    
peacemakers6 for they shall be called   
the children of  ,god6                  
,transcriber's ,note4    ,the title on  
the front cover is3      ,,bishop       
,,williams' ,,sermon    ,,commemorative 
,,of    ,,bishop ,,brownell4    ,the    
author of this work should be ,bishop   
,john ,williams 7successor of  ,bishop  
,brownell74    ,phrases in italics are  

indicated by italics4    ,words in the  
text which were in small-caps were      
converted to  uppercase4