Chapter IV: The Old Home (2)

The good Jehovah, dread, magnificent,
Once chose a people whom he called his own.
And out of Egypt in a wondrous way
He brought them in a dark and troublous night,
And Moses touched the Red Sea with a rod,
And the waves parted, offering them a path.
His people passed, but in the abyss remained
Egyptian horse and rider who pursued.
Marched on the flock of Jacob, and the Lord
Spread over them his all-protecting wings,
As the lone eagle shields her unfledged young.
He gave them lands, and victories, and spoils--
Glad nation! which the Master of the heavens
Loved as the very apple of his eye.
But now this people, seeing themselves blessed
By him whose slightest glance they not deserved,
Erected perishable images
In homage unto strange and pagan gods.
The Lord in indignation said: "They wished
To make their Maker jealous with vain gods.
Bowing in dust the sacrilegious knee
Before the dumb creation of their hands.
Well, I will sting their hearts with jealousy,
Showing myself to all unhappy lands
Without employing vail or mystery."
He said it, and his solemn word fulfilled,
Convoking from the farthest ends of earth
Nations barbarian and civilized--
The Gaul, the Scandinavian, Roman, Greek,
And the neglected race of Mexico,
Whom the Almighty Sovereign loved so well
The holy truth he would reveal to them--
So that the hard hearts of his people should
Be softened. Yet his mercy was not full:
Down from the diamond heavens he bade descend
The Virgin, who with mother's sorrowing care
Nursed him in Bethlehem when he was a child.

Near to the tremulous Tezcoco lake
Rises a bare and solitary hill.
Where never cypress tall nor cedar grows,
Nor whispering oak; nor cooling fountain laves
The waste of herbless rocks and sterile sand--
A barren country 'tis, dry, dusty, sad,
Where the vile worm scarce drags its length along.

Here is the place where Holy Mary comes
Down from her home above the azure heavens
To show herself to Juan, who, comfortless,
Petitioned for relief from troubles sore.
Sometimes it chances that a fragrant plant
In the dense forest blooms unseen, unknown,
Though bright its virginal buds and rare its flowers;
So doth the modest daughter of the Lord
Obscure the moon, the planets, and the stars
Which all adorn her forehead and her feet,
When lends she the poor Indian her grace
In bounty wonderful to all his kind.
She tenders him the waters and the dew,
Prosperity of fruits and animals,
A heart of sensible humility,
And help unfailing in his future need.
The Angel of America resumes
Her radiant flight. With grateful ear he heard,
Twice did he wondering kneel, and twice again
He kissed the white feet of the holy maid.

But did not end God's providence benign:
The Almighty wished to leave to Mexicans
His Mother's likeness by his own great hand,
In token of the love he had for us.
He took the pencil, saying: "We will make
In heaven's own image, as we moulded man.
But what was Adam to my beauteous one?"
So saying, drew he with serenest face
The gentle likeness of the Mother-maid.
He saw the image, and pronounced it good.

Since then, with the encircling love of heaven,
A son she sees in every Mexican.
Mildly the wandering incense she receives,
Attending to his vow with human face;
For her the teeming vapors yield their rain
To the green valley and the mountain side,
Where bend and wave the abundant harvest fields,
And the green herbs that feed the lazy kine.
She makes the purifying breezes pass,
And on the restless and unsounded seas
She stills the rigor of the hurricane.
The frighted people see the approach of death
When the broad earth upon its axis shakes,
But the wild elements are put to sleep
With but a smile from her mild countenance.
And she has moved the adamantine heart
Of avarice, who saw decrepit age
Creep like an insect on the dusty earth,
To ope his close-shut hand, and bless the poor.
She maketh humbly kneel and kiss the ground
No less the wise than simple. She the great,
Dazzled by their own glory, doth advise
That soon their gaudy pageant shall be o'er,
And heaven's oblivion shall dissolve their fame.

How often has the timid, trembling maid
Upon the verge of ruin sought thy help,
Shutting her eyes to pleasure and to gold
At thought of thee, O Maiden pure and meek!
Centuries and ages will have vanished by,
Within their currents bearing kings and men;
Great monuments shall fall; the pyramids
Of lonely Egypt moulder in decay;
But time shall never place its fatal hand
Upon the image of the Holy Maid,
Nor on the pious love of Mexico.

Manuel Carpio, who wrote this, his first poetic composition, in 1831, when forty years of age, was a scholar and professor, and in 1824 a congressman. He made the Bible, we are told, his favorite study; and certainly it supplied him with the themes for his best poems. But he was not the only poet of Mexico who bore earnest witness to the faith of which we speak. Padre Manuel Sartorio, who wrote about the time of Iturbide, deprecates the idea of preferring a capricious doubt respecting "la Virgen de Guadalupe" to a constant belief founded in tradition. In the following lines the nature of his own belief is fully attested:

"Of Guadalupe, that fair image pictured
Unto the venerating eye of Mexico;
With stars and light adorned, the figure painted
Of a most modest Maiden, full of grace;
What image is it? Copy 'tis divine
Of the Mother of God.
* * * * *
And what assures me this? My tender thought.
Who the design conceived? The holiest love.
Who then portrayed it? The eternal God."

In other lines on the same subject, Sartorio speaks of the Lady of Guadalupe as "the purest rose of the celestial field," and pays special respect to her image in the Portal of Flowers, of which there is a tradition, not vulgar, of having spoken (hay tradicion no vulgar de haber hablado) to the Venerable Padre Zapa, in order to instruct the Indians, as relates Cabrera, "Escudo de Armas de Mexico, numero 923." Who this Cabrera may be we are not aware, and cannot affirm that he is identical with the great painter Cabrera, whose belief in Our Lady of Guadalupe was so distinct and positive.

One other poet of Mexico we shall summon to give testimony. It is Fray Manuel Navarrete, who wrote a series of poems, well-known to his countrymen, called "Sad Moments." He was also the author of a number of tributes to the fame of Carlos IV. and Ferdinand VII., and seems to have possessed more influence, if not more merit as a poet, than Padre Sartorio. From a posthumous volume, bearing date of 1823, we take the following lines, the allusions of which sufficiently explain at what time they were written:

TO THE MOST HOLY VIRGIN UNDER THE INVOCATION OF GUADALUPE.

From her eternal palace, from the heavens,
One day descended to America,
When in its worst affliction, the great Mary,
Its sorrows to maternally console.
Behold in Tepeyac how watchfully
She frustrates the designs of heresy,
How she extinguishes the fire that flames
From the far French unto the Indian soil!
What matter, then, if proud Napoleon,
With his infernal hosts the world appalling,
Seeks to possess the land of Mexico?
To arms, countrymen: war, war!
For the sacred palladium of Guadalupe
Protects our native land.

The deity of peace have painters skilled
Portrayed with bounteous grace and elegance,
Painting a virgin who with fair white hands
An offering of tender blossoms bore.
Thus were their pencils' finest excellences
A promise and foreshadowing of this,
The image of Our Lady, which in heaven
Received its colors. Thus beheld it he,
The fortunate Indian, at Tepeyac,
That bare and desolate hill, a miracle,
That unto day has been perpetuate.
Now while the world's ablaze with lively war,
Seems that affrighted peace has taken refuge
Within the happy households of our land.

How sadly, how oddly, sounds in modern ears this felicitation of a poet that peace, which has left the greater part of the world, has taken refuge in Mexico! Evidently our Fray Navarrete did not foresee the results of the war begun by the clerical revolutionist Hidalgo. But whatever may have been the political bias of this religious writer, he retains the esteem of his countrymen as one of the fathers of their fragmentary literature.

Our last witness is Miguel Cabrera, the great Mexican painter, whose merits have with reason been compared by an Italian traveller, the Count Beltrami, to those of Correggio and Murillo. Altogether, as carver, architect, and painter, the New World has not produced the equal in art of this extraordinary man, who wrought almost without masters or models, without emulation or fitting aid and recompense, and whose worth has yet to be made well known to the continent which he honored. But our object now is to lend the weight of this preface to the following statement of the Mexican writer, Señor Orozco y Berra:

"Cabrera wrote a short treatise dedicated to his
protector Sr. Salinas [Archbishop of Mexico] with
the title of _The American Marvel, and Conjunction
of Rare Marvels, observed with the direction of the
Rules of the Art of Painting, in the Miraculous
Image [prodigiosa imagen] of Our Lady of Guadalupe
of Mexico_. It is a small book in quarto, printed in
1756 by the press of the college of San Ildefonso, and
containing thirty pages, with dedication, approbations,
and license at the beginning, and the opinions of
various painters at the end. The reason given for
this writing was the invitation made by the abbot and
council of the college to the best known painters of
Mexico, in order that, after examining the painting on
cloth of Our Lady of Guadalupe, they might declare if
it could be the work of human hands. Cabrera was one of
those who joined in the examination, and in his book he
undertakes to show that _the Virgin is not painted in a
manner artificial and human_."

STATISTICS OF PROTESTANTISM IN THE UNITED STATES.

Under the term _Protestantism_, it is intended to comprise all persons of any religious sect, denomination, or church in this country, except Catholics, Jews, and Chinese. So numerous are the divisions and subdivisions that our limits will permit us to present only the name of each, with perhaps a word as to its distinctive features, its numbers at different periods, and its average annual increase for a given period. The given period thus selected is the twenty-five years and upward preceding the year 1868; because the statistics of all the denominations which are accessible, are at present more complete up to that date than they have yet become up to any subsequent year, or even up to the present date. The statistics are taken entirely from Protestant sources, and chiefly from official documents published by the respective denominations. The final results are then brought together, and compared with the results presented by the Federal census of the population at different periods.

1. The name "Lutheran" was given to the first Protestant denomination, in order to designate the followers of Martin Luther. A part of the members of the denomination in this country have recently changed their name to "Evangelical Lutheran Church."

The statistics, chiefly official, of the denomination for a series of years have been as follows:

Ministers. Churches. Members.
1823 175 900 40,000
1833 240 1,000 60,000
1841 418 1,371 145,408
1842 424 1,371 166,300
1850 663 1,604 163,000
1859 1,134 2,017 203,662
1862 1,419 2,672 284,000
1863 1,418 2,533 269,985
1864 1,543 2,765 292,723
1865 1,627 2,856 312,415
1866 1,644 2,915 323,825
1867 1,750 3,112 332,155
1868 1,792 3,182 350,088
1869 2,016 3,330 376,567
1870 2,211 3,537 392,721

The average annual increase during a series of years (ending always with 1867) has been as follows:

Ministers. Churches. Members.
In 44 years 36 50 6,640
In 26 " 51 67 7,182
In 8 " 77 124 16,061

2. The German Reformed denomination made its appearance, soon after the Lutheran, in the German part of Switzerland, and sprang out of a dispute between Ulrich Zwingli and Martin Luther concerning the import of the words, "This is my body," "This is my blood."

The following table shows their growth in this country since 1820:

Ministers. Churches. Members.
1820 68 389 14,400
1830 84 353 17,189
1840 123 416 17,760
1850 231 786 58,799
1860 391 1,045 92,684
1862 421 1,122 100,691
1864 460 1,134 107,394
1866 475 1,162 109,258
1867 491 1,152 110,408
1868 505 1,181 115,483
1869 521 -- 117,910

The average annual increase during a series of years has been as follows:

Ministers. Churches. Members.
In 47 years 9 16 2,043
In 7 " 14 15 2,532

3. The "United Brethren in Christ" are the fruits of a "reformation" in the German Reformed denomination--a sort of Methodistical offshoot. The statements of their numbers are as follows:

Ministers. Societies. Members.
1842 500 1,800 65,000
1866 789 3,297 91,570
1867 837 3,445 98,983
1868 864 3,663 108,122

The average annual increase during twenty-five years has been as follows:

Ministers. Societies. Members.
In 25 years 13 66 1,319

4. The "Moravians," or United Brethren, are a distinct denomination from the preceding one. As known in this country, they descended from a colony of dissenters, who were first gathered on his estate in Upper Alsatia, in 1772, by Count Zinzendorf.

Their numbers have been stated as follows:

Ministers. Members.
1842 24 6,000
1867 -- 6,655
1868 -- 6,768

Their annual average increase of communicants has been in twenty-five years 26.

5. The "Dutch Reformed Church," as it was known until 1867, when the name was changed to "Reformed Church in America," is a descendant of the Dutch Reformed Church of Holland.

The following table shows the growth of this denomination since 1820:

Ministers. Churches. Members.
1820 71 105 9,023
1830 132 197 15,579
1840 230 245 23,782
1850 293 292 33,553
1860 387 370 50,427
1862 419 429 --
1863 446 422 53,007
1865 436 427 54,286
1866 447 434 55,917
1867 461 444 57,846
1868 469 -- 59,508
1869 493 464 61,444

The average annual increase of the denomination at different periods has been as follows:

Ministers. Churches. Members.
In 47 years 8½ 7 1,039
In 7 " 10 10 1,060

6. The Mennonites derive their name from Menno Simon, born in Friesland A.D. 1495. He was contemporary with Luther, Bucer, and Bullinger. He obtained a great number of followers. In 1683, the first of them came over to this country, others soon followed.

Their number has been estimated as follows:

Ministers. Churches. Members.
1843 235 260 30,000
1860 -- -- 35,000
1862 260 312 37,360
1867 -- -- 39,110

The average annual increase in members in twenty-four years has been 380.

7. The Reformed Mennonite Society was first organized in 1811. The members ascribe their origin to the corruptions of the Mennonites. The reform extended into several counties of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York, but their doctrines are regarded as too rigid for general acceptance.

In 1860, their numbers were estimated at about 11,000.

The average annual increase has been about 200.

8. The denomination known as the "German Evangelical Association" first appeared in one of the Middle States, about the year 1800.

This denomination is now regarded as German Methodists, and their numbers have been as follows:

Ministers. Members.
1843 250 15,000
1859 -- 33,000
1862 -- 46,000
1863 386 47,388
1365 405 50,000
1866 473 54,875
1867 478 58,002

The average annual increase of the denomination in twenty-four years has been 1,791.

9. The "Christians," or "Christian Connection," profess not to owe their origin to the labors of any one man, like the other Protestant sects. They rose almost simultaneously in different and remote parts of this country, without knowledge of each other's movements.

The new organizations of this denomination held their twenty-third annual convention in June, 1868. The number of organizations was one hundred and sixty.

The numbers of the denomination have been stated as follows:

Ministers. Churches. Members.
1844 2,000 1,500 325,000
1866 3,000 5,000 500,000

The average annual increase of members has been as follows:

In 22 years 7,594 members.

The "Church of God," as it exists by that name in the United States, is a religious community, who profess to have come out from all human and unscriptural organizations, and to have fallen back upon original grounds, and who wish, therefore, to be known and called by no other distinctive name.

This denomination exists in Ohio and Pennsylvania and the Western States, and their numbers have been stated as follows:

Ministers. Churches. Members.
1843 83 125 10,000
1860 140 275 14,000
1866 -- 360 32,000

The average annual increase has been as follows:

Churches. Members.
In 23 years 10 960

11. The denominations thus far noticed are chiefly of German origin. The next class contains those of Scottish origin. Among these the Presbyterian holds the first place in age and numbers. The first organization here was made in 1706, and known as the Presbytery of Philadelphia. Their first synod was convened September 17, 1718.

The first General Assembly met in 1789, and a more efficient and extensive development ensued. In 1810, a division arose, and the formation of the "Cumberland Presbyterian" organization. But the most extensive division took place in 1838, by which a body was organized and known as the "New School," while those who remained were designated as "Old School" Presbyterians. The split thus made has continued for thirty years, but is now ostensibly removed by measures of reunion.

The statistics of the "Old School" Presbyterians for the year 1863 first show the effect of the separation of the Southern portion during the war. The report of numbers has been as follows:

Ministers. Churches. Members.
1843 1,434 2,092 159,137
1850 1,860 2,512 200,830
1860 2,577 3,487 279,630
1861 2,767 3,684 300,874
1863 2,205 2,541 227,575
1865 2,201 2,629 232,450
1866 2,294 2,608 239,306
1867 2,302 2,622 246,330
1868 2,330 2,737 252,555
1869 2,381 2,740 258,903
1870[23] 4,234 -- 446,561

[23] Old and New School united.

The statistics of the Southern division are given as follows:

Ministers. Churches. Members.
1865 811 1,277 83,821
1867 850 1,309 80,532
1868 837 1,298 76,949
1870 840 1,469 82,014

The average annual increase of the denomination previous to the division caused by opposite views on political questions was as follows:

Ministers. Churches. Members.
In 18 years 74 89 7,874

The average annual increase of the whole denomination (North and South) to 1868 has been as follows:

Ministers. Churches. Members.
In 25 years 70 78 6,958

12. The division of the Presbyterian Church was entirely consummated in 1840, by the meeting of a General Assembly representing the seceders, or "New School."

Subsequently, the loss of the Southern churches by the "Old School" denomination, and the increase of the anti-slavery sentiment in the Northern portion, suggested a reunion with the "New School" soon after the outbreak of the recent war. At length, in 1868, one General Assembly met in Albany, while the other was in session in Harrisburg, Pa. A plan of union was mutually prepared, which, on being approved by the local presbyteries, went into effect in 1870.

The statistics of the "New School" Presbyterians have been as follows:

Ministers. Churches. Members.
1839 1,171 1,286 100,850
1860 1,527 1,483 134,463
1861 1,558 -- 134,760
1862 1,555 1,466 135,454
1863 1,616 1,454 135,894
1865 1,694 1,479 143,645
1866 1,739 1,528 150,401
1867 1,870 1,560 161,538
1868 1,800 -- 168,932
1869 1,848 1,631 172,560

The average annual increase in twenty-eight years has been as follows:

Ministers. Churches. Members.
In 28 years 24 10 2,167

13. The "General Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian Church" is the title of a denomination which claims to be a direct descendant of the "Reformed Presbyterian Church" of Scotland.

The statements of the numbers of this denomination have been as follows:

Ministers. Churches. Members.
1842 24 44 4,500
1861 56 -- 7,000
1862 56 91 --
1866 -- -- 7,918
1867 66 91 8,324
1868 77 -- 8,487
1870 86 -- 8,577

The average annual increase in twenty-five years has been as follows:

Ministers. Churches. Members.
In 25 years 1¾ 2 153

14. The "Synod of Reformed Presbyterians" was formed by certain persons who separated from the Reformed Presbyterians (General Synod), principally on the ground that they were of opinion that the constitution and government of the United States are essentially infidel and immoral. The separation took place in 1833.

The few statements relative to the numbers of this denomination have been as follows:

Ministers. Churches. Members.
1861 59 78 6,650
1866 60 -- 6,000

The average annual decrease during the last half-dozen years has been 108.

15. Another division is the "Associate Presbyterian Church." This is located chiefly in the Middle and Western States. The members of the denomination claim to be a branch of the Church of Scotland.

In 1858, the Associate Reformed and the Associate churches reunited under the name of "United Presbyterian Church in North America."

The statistics of the Associate Presbyterian denomination after 1859 are merged in those of the United Presbyterians, and have been as follows:

Ministers. Churches. Members.
1844 106 210 15,000
1861 444 669 57,567
1863 470 683 54,758
1864 513 698 57,691
1865 516 659 58,265
1866 539 686 58,988
1867 558 717 63,489
1868 541 735 65,612
1869 565 726 65,624
1870 553 729 66,805

The average annual increase of the denomination during the six years subsequent to the union, ending in 1867, has been as follows:

Ministers. Members.
In 6 years 19 1,000

The statistics of the "Associate Synod of North America" above-mentioned have been as follows:

Ministers. Members.
1861 49 1,130
1867 11 778

16. Another order of Presbyterians in this country is known as the "Associate Reformed Church." Since 1822, the denomination has existed in three independent divisions, the Northern, the Western, and the Southern. These divisions are quite small in numbers, and their growth has been insignificant. They have been stated as follows:

The Associate Reformed Synod of New York in 1843 had 34 ministers and 43 congregations. In 1867, it had 16 ministers and 1,631 members.

The Associate Reformed Synod of the South in 1843 had 25 ministers and 40 congregations; and in 1867, estimated at 1,500 members.

The Associate Synod of North America in 1867 had 11 ministers and 778 members.

The Free Presbyterian Synod, consisting, in 1861, of 41 ministers and 4,000 members, had previously separated from the New School Presbyterian denomination, but was reunited and absorbed after the outbreak of the recent war.

17. The Independent Presbyterian Church in South and North Carolina consisted, in 1861, of 4 ministers and about 1,000 members.

18. Another denomination of Presbyterians remains to be noticed. It is called the "Cumberland Presbyterians" and first appeared in Kentucky in the year 1800. In 1829, there were four synods and the first General Assembly of the denomination was held. During the recent war the Southern churches were not reported in the Assembly, and there are no complete statistics of that period.

The numbers of the denomination have been stated as follows:

Synods. Presby. Min. Conversions.
1822 1 -- 46 2,718
1826 1 -- 80 3,305
1827 1 -- 114 4,006
1833 6 32 -- 5,977
1843 13 57 -- --

Ministers. Churches. Members.
1860 927 1,188 84,249
1867 1,000 estimated 100,000
1870 1,116 -- 87,727

The average annual increase in 55 years, from 1812 to 1867, has been 1,819.

19. Another large class of denominations is known by the name of "Baptists." They are divided into ten separate sects: Baptists; Free-Will Baptists; Seventh-Day Baptists; German Baptists or Brethren; German Seventh-Day Baptists; Free Communion Baptists; Old School Baptists; Six-Principle Baptists; River Brethren; Disciples of Christ, or Campbellites.

An estimate of the numbers of the regular Baptists at different periods, made by themselves, presents the following results:

Ministers. Churches. Communicants.
1842 6,000 9,000 750,000
1859 7,150 11,606 925,000
1862 -- -- 966,000
1863 7,952 12,551 1,039,400
1865 7,867 12,702 1,040,303
1866 -- 12,675 1,043,641
1868 8,346 12,955 1,094,806
1869 8,695 12,011 1,121,988
1870 8,787 -- 1,221,349

The average annual increase of the denomination during twenty-five years has been as follows:

Ministers. Churches. Members.
In 25 years 94 158 13,796

20. The "Free-will Baptist Connection" made its first organized appearance in this country in 1780. In 1827, a General Conference was organized to represent the whole connection. The statements of their numbers have been as follows:

Ministers. Churches. Communicants.
1842 898 1,057 54,000
1850 1,082 1,252 56,452
1859 947 1,170 56,600
1862 -- -- 58,055
1863 1,049 1,277 57,007
1865 -- -- 56,783
1866 1,063 1,264 56,288
1867 1,100 1,276 59,111
1868 1,161 1,279 61,244
1869 1,141 1,375 66,691

The average annual increase of the denomination during the last twenty-five years has been as follows:

Ministers. Churches. Members.
In 25 years 8 9 204

21. The "Seventh-Day Baptists" are so-called because they differ from all other Protestant denominations in their views of the Sabbath. They have gradually spread in the Eastern, the Central, and some Northwestern and Southern States.

Little is known of their numbers, but they have been stated as follows:

Ministers. Churches. Communicants.
1842 40 50 6,000
1850 43 52 6,243
1858 50 56 6,736
1863 77 66 6,686
1865 -- -- 6,796
1866 73 68 7,014
1867 -- 68 7,038
1869 -- 75 7,129

The annual average increase of the denomination has been as follows:

Ministers. Churches. Members.
In 25 years 1⅓ ¾ 41

22. There is a denomination of German Baptists which has assumed for itself the name of "Brethren," but they are commonly called "Dunkers" or "Tunkers" to distinguish them from the Mennonists. They have also been called "Tumblers" from the manner in which they perform baptism, which is by putting the person head forward under water (while kneeling), so as to resemble the motion of the body in the act of tumbling.

In 1843, their larger congregations contained from two to three hundred members; but little was then known among themselves of their numbers. Their subsequent statistics have been as follows:

Ministers. Churches. Members.
1859 150 160 8,700
1862 -- -- 8,200
1863 100 200 20,000
1866 150 200 20,000
1867 -- -- 20,000

A membership of 20,000 has been stated for this denomination during the last half-dozen years without increase or diminution.

23. The "German Seventh-Day Baptists" first made their appearance in Germany in 1694. From these, after their organization in the United States, sprang the Seventh-Day branch. Their numbers in 1860 were estimated at:

Ministers. Members.
1860 187 1,800

24. A society designated as "Free-Communion Baptists" arose in 1858 in McDonough Co., Illinois, and organized a quarterly meeting conference. At the quarterly meeting in 1859, one preacher, four licentiates, a few small churches, and 104 members were reported.

25. The "Old School," or Anti-mission, Baptists were formerly a portion of the regular Baptists, above-mentioned. They are opposed to the academical or theological education of their ministers, and to Bible, missionary, and all other voluntary societies of like nature.

Their numbers have been stated as follows:

Ministers. Churches. Members.
1860 475 1,750 62,000
1862 -- -- 60,000
1863 850 1,800 60,000
1864 -- -- 63,000
1865 -- -- 60,000
1867 -- 1,800 105,000

The average annual increase of this denomination during seven years by these statements has been 6,143.

25. The denomination called "Six-Principle Baptists" originated in Rhode Island as early as 1665. They are distinguished from other Baptists by deducing their peculiarities from the first three verses of the sixth chapter of Hebrews.

Their numbers have been estimated as follows:

Ministers. Churches. Members.
1860 16 18 3,000

Recent statements put their numbers about the same, and there probably has been no important increase.

27. The "River Brethren" is an organization in Pennsylvania and other states, so-called to distinguish them from the German Baptists or Brethren above-mentioned.

Their meetings are generally held in dwelling-houses, or barns fitted up with seats; in other respects, they are similar to the German Brethren.

Their numbers have been stated as follows:

Ministers. Churches. Members.
1860 65 80 7,000

More recent statements make no important alteration in these numbers.

28. The "Disciples of Christ," or, as the denomination is often called, "Baptists," "Reformed Baptists," "Reformers," "Campbellites," etc., originated in the early part of the present century. The first advocates were Thomas and Alexander Campbell in Pennsylvania.

The statements of their numbers have been as follows:

Ministers. Churches. Members.
1842 -- -- 200,000
1850 848 1,898 218,618
1863 1,500 1,800 300,000
1867 -- -- 300,000

The average annual increase, according to these statements, has been in twenty-one years, in members, 4,762.

29. The first appearance of the Puritans, since known as "Congregationalists," was in the early part of Queen Elizabeth's reign. The first church formed upon Congregational principles was that established by Robert Browne in 1583. The denomination is the largest in New England, and exists in small bodies in a number of the states.

Their numbers are stated to be as follows:

Ministers. Churches. Members.
1742 1,150 1,300 160,000
1850 1,687 1,971 147,196
1858 1,922 2,369 230,093
1861 -- -- 259,119
1862 2,643 2,884 261,474
1863 2,594 2,729 253,200
1864 -- 2,856 268,015
1865 2,761 2,723 263,296
1866 2,919 2,780 267,453
1867 2,971 2,825 278,362
1868 -- 2,951 291,474
1869 -- 3,043 300,362

The average annual increase of this denomination during the last twenty-five years has been as follows:

Ministers. Churches. Members.
In 25 years 73 61 4,734

30. The denomination of "Unitarians" arose in this country from a division of opinion among Congregationalists on the divinity of Christ. Their statistics contain no report of the membership. All who are respectable and orderly members of the society are admitted to the sacraments if they desire to be.

Their numbers for a series of years have been estimated at 30,000.

Ministers. Societies. Members.
1830 -- 193 --
1840 -- 200 --
1850 250 244 --
1860 298 -- --
1863 43 260 30,000
1864 326 250 --
1867 370 300 --

The average annual increase has been estimated for a series of forty or more years at about one per cent., or 300.

31. The denomination of "Universalists" first made its appearance in England about 1750. In Gloucester, Massachusetts, the first Universalist society was formed in 1779. No statistics of the denomination contain the "membership" like those of other denominations, as to believe is to become a member. The active members have been estimated in 1850 at 60,000, although the population among which Universalism exists to the exclusion of other denominations may be ten times greater.

Ministers. Societies. Members.
1842 646 990 --
1850 700 918 60,000
1859 724 913 --
1865[24] 496 681 --
1867 523 732 80,000
1868 588 792 --
1869 520 844 --

[24] Incomplete.

Average annual increase in twenty years, 1,000.

32. The Protestant Episcopal Church is a well-known offshoot of the church established by the British Parliament in England.

Their numbers and growth have been as follows:

Ministers. Churches. Members.
1859 2,030 2,111 135,767
1862 2,270 2,327 160,612
1863 1,772 1,617 111,093[25]
1864 1,895 1,741 143,854[25]
1865 2,467 2,322 154,118
1866 2,530 2,305 161,224
1867 2,600 2,370 178,102
1868 2,736 2,472 194,692
1869 2,762 2,512 200,000

[25] Southern States not reported.

The average annual increase during the last nine years has been as follows:

Ministers. Churches. Members.
78 40 6,536

33. Another large class of denominations is embraced under the general term "Methodism." The first denomination, out of which all the others have sprung, was an offshoot of the Church of England, known in this country as the Protestant Episcopal Church.

The statistics of the denomination have been as follows:

Preachers. Members.
1773 10 1,160
1783 83 13,740
1793 269 67,643
1803 393 86,734
1813 700 214,307
1823 1,226 312,540
1833 2,400 599,736
1843 4,286 1,068,525
1850 3,716 629,660[26]
1859 6,502 971,498
1862 -- 942,906
1863 5,885 923,394
1864 -- 928,320
1865 6,121 925,285
1866 6,287 1,032,184[27]
1867 8,004 1,146,081
1868 8,481 1,255,115
1869 8,830 1,298,938

[26] Separation of South in 1845.
[27] Centenary year.

The average annual increase since the separation of the South, and during seventeen years, has been 30,377. Since the close of the war conferences have been organized in eight of the Southern states, and 100,000 members gained from the church South.

34. A secession took place in 1830 from the Methodists, and the persons who composed it assumed the name of the "Methodist Protestant Church." Its statistics have been as follows:

Travelling preachers. Members.
1830 83 5,000
1842 -- 53,875
1850 740 64,219
1854 -- 70,018
1858 2,000 90,000

In 1866, a convention was held in Cincinnati to unite the Methodist Protestants, the Wesleyan Connection, the Free Methodists, the Primitive Methodists, and some independent Methodist congregations, under the name of the "Methodist Church." The union was joined by few save the Northern conferences of the Methodist Protestant body, who now compose the Methodist Church; the Southern conferences retain the original name of Methodist Protestant. Their numbers in 1867 were estimated at 50,000; in 1869, they were estimated at 72,000.

There has been no actual increase in those now indicated by this name in twenty-five years preceding 1868.

35. The "Methodist Church" is composed of the Northern conferences of the Methodist Protestant Church which, in attempting to form a union with others in 1866, caused a split among themselves. Their report, made in 1867, states as follows:

Ministers. Members.
1867 625 50,000
1869 624 49,030

This is strictly an increase of the Methodist Protestants, but appears under a new name. It is an average annual increase of 2,000.

36. Out of the original separation of the Methodist Protestants from the Methodist Episcopal another denomination sprang up, under the name of the "True Wesleyan Methodists."

The denomination has increased very slowly since its organization, as appears by the following statements:

Ministers. Members.
1843 300 20,000
1850 500 20,000
1860 565 21,000
1867 -- 25,000
1869 220 20,000

Average annual increase in twenty-five years, 200.

37. The African Methodist Episcopal Church owes its origin to the prejudice against the colored members and attendants of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In the early days of the latter, this prejudice was so deep that the colored persons were not unfrequently pulled from their knees while at prayer in the church, and ordered to the back seats.

This denomination has greatly increased by the addition of emancipated slaves. Its statistics are as follows:

Ministers. Members.
1842 -- 15,000
1860 -- 20,000
1864 -- 50,000
1865 405 50,000
1866 -- 70,000
1867 1,500 200,000
1869 1,500 200,000

The average annual increase in twenty-five years has been 7,500.

38. The operation of the same prejudice against color in New York gave rise to the "Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church." Its statistics show a large increase recently at the South, and are as follows:

Ministers. Members.
1842 -- 4,000
1860 -- 6,000
1864 -- 8,000
1866 -- 42,000
1867 300 60,000
1869 -- 164,000

The average annual increase of the denomination has been 2,008.

39. The "Methodist Episcopal Church, South," is the second largest body of Methodists in the United States. It arose from a division of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in accordance with resolutions of the General Conference in 1844.

The membership of this denomination has been reduced by the war, by the invasion of its territory by the Northern Methodist Episcopal, and by the African and Zion churches. Its statistics are as follows:

Ministers. Members.
1850 1,500 465,553
1860 2,408 699,164
1866 3,769 505,101
1867 3,952 535,040
1869 presents no important change.

The average annual increase in seventeen years has been 4,087.

40. The "Free Methodist Church" originated in 1859, and consisted of a few congregations in New York and other Northern states. Its statistics have been as follows:

Preachers. Members.
1864 66 3,555
1866 85 4,889
1868 94 6,000

The average annual increase in two years has been 617.

41. The "Western Primitive Methodist Church" held its twenty-second annual conference in New Diggings, Wisconsin, 1866. The subject of union with other non-episcopal bodies was favorably considered. Their numbers were in 1865 as follows: Preachers, 20; members, 2,000.

42. The "Independent Methodist Church" organized its first congregation in New York City in 1860. The third annual session of its conference was held in 1864, and a movement made toward union with other non-episcopal bodies.

43. The "Friends," or "Quakers," arose in England about 1647, under the preaching of Mr. George Fox. The numbers of this denomination are estimated at 100,000, comprised in eight yearly meetings.

44. A division took place during the first quarter of the present century among the Friends, under Mr. Elias Hicks. A distinct and independent association was made under his name. Their numbers are estimated at 40,000.

45. The "Shakers," or United Society of Believers, are a small denomination which first made its appearance in this country in 1776.

Their statistics have been as follows:

Preachers. Members.
1828 45 4,500
1860 -- 4,713

They are found in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Kentucky, Connecticut.

46. The "Adventists," or "Second Adventists," owe their rise in the United States to Mr. Wm. Miller, of Low Hampton, New York.

In 1859, they were estimated to comprise about 18,000 persons, and in 1867 about 30,000, exclusive of members of other denominations. Average annual increase in eight years, 1,500.

47. The "New Church," or "Swedenborgians," accept as their rule of faith and discipline the Holy Scriptures as interpreted by Mr. Emanuel Swedenborg.

Their numbers in the United States have been estimated as follows:

Ministers. Churches. Members.
1850 42 30 3,000
1862 57 49 5,000

Average annual increase in twelve years, 166.

48. Modern "Spiritualism" made its appearance in Western New York about twenty years ago. It came at first in the form of rappings, knockings, table-tippings, and other noisy demonstrations, for the purpose of attracting general attention. The believers held conventions and public meetings, but adopted no form or plan of organization. Great numbers in all denominations are supposed to approve more or less of their views; but the number of separate public adherents is estimated at 165,000.

49. The "Mormon Church," or "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints," was first organized in the town of Manchester, New York, on April 6, 1830, by Mr. Joseph Smith, of Vermont. The fortunes of the church thus started have been variable in New York, Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois, until persecution has compelled her to withdraw to the wilderness of Utah. Their number is stated to be 60,000. The average annual increase in twenty-five years, 2,000.

50. Four miles from Oneida, Madison County, New York, is located an organized community the members of which call themselves "Christian Perfectionists." It was started by Mr. John F. Noyes, a native of Brattleboro, Vermont.

They have now a community in Oneida, Wallingford, Conn., New Haven, Conn., and New York, which consisted of 255 members in 1867. This is an average annual increase of 10.

51. The "Catholic Apostolic Church," or "Irvingites," originated from the views of Mr. Edward Irving, preached in London in 1830.

There are about a half-dozen of these congregations in this country, estimated to contain 250 members.

A number of small nuclei of perhaps future denominations exists in different states, which it is unnecessary to mention.

A recapitulation of the preceding statistics presents the following results:

Church Average
Members Annual
in Increase
1867. in 25 y'rs.

1. Lutherans 332,155 7,182
2. German Reformed 110,408 3,431
3. United Brethren 97,983 1,319
4. Moravians 6,655 26
5. Dutch Reformed 57,846 1,261
6. Mennonites 39,110 380
7. Reformed Mennonites 11,000 200
8. Evangelical Association 58,002 1,791
9. Christian Connection 500,000 7,954
10. Church of God 32,000 960
11. O. S. Presbyterians 246,350 6,958
12. N. S. Presbyterians 161,538 2,167
13. Reformed Presbyterians
(General Synod) 8,324 153
14. Synod of Reformed
Presbyterians 6,000 --
15. Associate and United
Presbyterians 63,489 1,000
16. Associate Reformed Presbyterians 3,909 80
17. Free Presbyterians 1,000 --
18. Cumberland Presbytr'ns. 100,000 1,819
19. Baptists 1,094,806 13,796
20. Free-Will Baptists 59,111 204
21. Seventh-Day Baptists 7,038 41
22. Dunkers 20,000 500
23. German Seventh-Day Baptists 1,800 30
24. Free-Commun. Baptists 104 --
25. Anti-Mission Baptists 105,000 6,143
26. Six-Principle Baptists 3,000 --
27. River Brethren 7,000 80
28. Disciples (Campbellites) 300,000 4,762
29. Congregationalists 278,362 4,734
30. Unitarians 30,000 300
31. Universalists 80,000 1,000
32. Protestant Episcopal 194,692 6,536
33. Methodist Episcopal 1,146,081 30,377
34. Methodist Protestant 50,000 --
35. Methodist Church 50,000 2,000
36. True Wesleyan 25,000 200
37. African Methodist 200,000 7,500
38. Zion African Methodist 60,000 2,008
39. Methodist Epis. (South) 535,040 4,087
40. Free Methodist 4,880 617
41. Western Primitive Methodist 2,000 40
42. Independent Methodists 800 --
43. Friends, or Quakers 100,000 1,000
44. Hicksites 40,000 400
45. Shakers 4,713 60
46. Adventists 30,000 1,500
47. Swedenborgians 5,000 186
48. Spiritualism 165,000 8,000
49. Mormon Church 60,000 2,000
50. Christian Perfectionists 255 10
51. Catholic Apost. Church 250 10
--------- -------
Total 6,396,110 134,802

Thus the whole number of members of Protestant churches in the United States in 1867 was 6,396,110. The average annual increase of this membership during the preceding twenty-five years has been 134,802.

The population of the United States according to the usual census and that of the Bureau of Statistics for 1867, has been as follows:

1840 17,069,453
1850 23,191,876
1860 31,443,322
1867 36,743,198
1870 incomplete officially.

The average annual increase in twenty-seven years has been 728,509.

If we deduct from the population of the United States in 1867 the number of persons who were members of Protestant churches, there will remain 30,347,088 persons in the United States in 1867 who were not members of Protestant churches, who made no public profession of faith in their doctrines, and who did not partake of their sacraments.

If we suppose the church-membership of Protestant denominations to increase at the same average annual rate during the next thirty-three years, until the year 1900, that increase will amount to 4,448,466. If this increase is added to the number of church-members in 1867, the membership of all the Protestant churches in the year 1900 will be 10,844,576.

If we suppose the population of the United States to increase in the same average annual rate during the next thirty-three years, until the year 1900, that increase will amount to 24,040,797. This amount added to the population of 1867 will make the population in 1900 reach the number 60,784,945, of whom 49,940,419 will not be members of any Protestant church, nor make a public profession of faith in their doctrines, nor partake of their sacraments.

It may be said that the average annual increase of Protestantism for twenty-five years subsequent to 1867 will be numerically greater than for the previous twenty-five years. So will also be numerically larger the average annual increase of the population for a like period, but the relative proportion of the denominations to the population would remain unchanged.

ON A GREAT PLAGIARIST.

Phœbus drew back with just disdain
The wreath: the Delphic Temple frowned:
The suppliant fled to Hermes' fane,
That stood on lower, wealthier ground.

The Thief-God spake, with smile star-bright:
"Go thou where luckier poets browse,
The pastures of the Lord of Light,
And do--what I did with his cows."[28]

AUBREY DE VERE.

FOOTNOTE:

[28] He stole, killed, and ate the whole of Apollo's herd, before he was a day old! See Homer's _Hymn to Mercury_.

MARY BENEDICTA.

We were at school together. We little dreamed, either of us, in those mischief-loving days of frolic and fun, that she was one day to be a saint, and that I would write her story.

Yet look well at the face. Is there not something like a promise of sainthood on the pure, white brow? And the eyes, blue-gray Irish eyes, with the long, dark lashes throwing a shadow underneath, "diamonds put in with dirty fingers," have they not a spiritual outlook that speaks to you with a promise--a revelation of some vision or growth of some beauty beyond what meets your gaze? Yet, though it seems so clear in the retrospect, this prophetic side of her beauty, I own it, never struck me then.

I am going to tell her story simply, with strict accuracy as to the traits of her character--the facts of her life and her death. I shall tell the bad with the good, neither striving to varnish her faults nor to heighten, by any dramatic coloring, the beautiful reality of her virtues. The story is one calculated, it seems to me, to be a light and a lesson to many. The very faults and follies, the strange beginning, so unlike the end, all taken as parts of a whole in the true experience of a soul, contain a teaching whose sole eloquence must be its truth and its simplicity.

I said we were at school together, but, though in the same convent, we were not in the same class. Mary (this was her real Christian name) was a few years older than I. Her career at this time was one of the wildest that ever a school-girl lived through. High-spirited, reckless, setting all rules at defiance, she was the torment of her mistresses and the delight of her companions. With the latter, her good-nature and good temper carried her serenely above all the little malices and jealousies that display themselves in that miniature world, a school; and, at the same time, her spirit of independence, while it was constantly getting her into "scrapes," was so redeemed by genuine abhorrence of everything approaching to meanness or deceit that it did not prevent her being a universal favorite with the nuns. One in particular, who from her rigorous disciplinarianism was the terror of us all, was even less proof than the others against the indomitable sweet temper and lovableness of her rebellious pupil. They were in a state of permanent warfare, but occasionally, after a hot skirmish carried on before the public, viz., the second class, Mother Benedicta would take the rebel aside, and try privately to coax her into a semblance of apology, or mayhap a promise of amendment. Sometimes she succeeded, for the refractory young lady was always more amenable to caresses than to threats, and was, besides, notwithstanding the war footing on which they stood, very fondly attached to Mother Benedicta, but she never pledged herself unconditionally. This was a great grievance with the mistress. She used to argue, and threaten, and plead by the hour, in order to induce Mary to give her "word of honor," as the phrase was amongst us, that she would observe such and such a prohibition, or obey such and such a rule--silence was the chronic _casus belli_--but all to no purpose.

"No, sister, I promise you to try; but I won't promise to do or not to do," she would answer, undefiantly, but quite resolutely.

It was a common thing for Mother Benedicta to say, after one of these conferences which ended, as usual, in the cautious, "I'll try, sister," that, if she could once get Mary to promise her outright to mend her ways, she would never take any more trouble about her. "If she pledged her word of honor to be a saint, I believe she would keep it," observed the nun, with a sigh.

I mention this little incident advisedly, for, though at the time we, in our wisdom, thought it must be pure perversity on the part of our mistress that made her so pursue Mary on the subject, considering that we were all in the habit of pledging our words of honor any given number of times a week with no particular result, I lived to see that in this individual instance she was guided by prophetic insight.

She never succeeded, however, in inducing Mary to commit herself during the four years that she was under her charge. It was war to the end; not to the bitter end, for the strife did not weaken, nay, it probably strengthened the enduring attachment that had sprung up between them. By way of sealing irrevocably and publicly this attachment on her side, Mary added the nun's name to her own, and even after she left school she continued to sign herself Mary Benedicta. When the time came round for frequenting the sacraments, it was the sure signal for a quarrel between the two belligerents. There was no plea or stratagem that Mary would not have recourse to in order to avoid going to confession. Yet withal she had a reputation in the school for piety--a queer, impulsive sort of piety peculiar to herself, that came by fits and starts. We had an unaccountable belief in the efficacy of her prayers, and in any difficulty she was one of those habitually appealed to to pray us out of it; not, indeed, that we were actuated by any precise view as to the spiritual quality of the prayers, only impressed vaguely by her general character, that whatever she did she put her heart in and did thoroughly. Mother Benedicta used to say that her devotion to the Blessed Sacrament would save her. But this devotion consisted, as far as we could see, in an enthusiastic love for Benediction; and as Mary was passionately fond of music, and confessed a weakness for effective ceremonial, Mother Benedicta herself occasionally had misgivings as to how much of the devotion went to the object of the ceremony and how much to its accessories, the lights, the music, and the incense. At any rate, once over, it exercised no apparent control over her life. The rules of the school she systematically ignored; the rule of silence she looked upon with special contempt as a bondage fit for fools, but unworthy of rational human beings. To the last day of her sojourn in the school, she practically illustrated the opinion that speech was of gold and silence of brass, and left it with the reputation of being the most indefatigable talker; the most unruly and untidy subject, but the sweetest nature that ever tried the patience and won the hearts of the community.

When she was about eighteen, her father sent her to the Sacré Cœur, in Paris, to complete her education, which, in spite of considerable expense on his part, and masters without end, was at this advanced period in a sadly retrograde state, the little she had learned at school in Ireland having been assiduously forgotten in the course of a year's anarchical holiday, when reading of every sort and even her favorite music were set aside for the more congenial pastimes of dancing, and skating, and flying across country after the hounds.

I was then living in Paris, and Mary was placed under my mother's wing. We went to see her on the _Jours de Parloir_, and she came to us on the _Jours de Sortie_. But it did not last long. As might have been expected, the sudden change from a life of excitement and constant out-door exercise to one of seclusion and sedentary habits proved too trying to her health, and after a few months the medical man of the convent declared that he was not prepared to accept the responsibility of taking charge of her, and strongly advised that she should be sent home.

We communicated this intelligence to her father, begging at the same time that before he came to remove her she might be allowed to spend a month with us. The request was granted and Mary came to stay with us.

That we might lose as little as possible of each other's company while we were together, she shared my room. We spent the mornings at home; I studying or taking my lessons, she reading, or lolling about the room, watching the clock, and longing for the master to go and set me free, that we might go out.

My mother, who only in a lesser degree shared my affection for Mary, and was anxious to make her visit as pleasant as possible, took her about to all the places best worth seeing in the city--the picture-galleries, the palaces, the museums, and the churches. The latter, though many of them, even as works of art, were amongst the most interesting monuments for a stranger, Mary seemed thoroughly indifferent to. When we entered one, instead of kneeling a moment before the sanctuary, as any Catholic does from mere force of habit and impulse, she would just make the necessary genuflexion, and, without waiting for us, hurry on round the building, examine the pictures and the stained glass, and then go out with as little delay as might be. This did not strike my mother, who was apt to remain all the time at her prayers, while I walked about doing the honors of the church to Mary; but it struck me, and it pained and puzzled me.

She was too innately honest to attempt the shadow of prevarication or _pose_ even in her attitude, and her haste in despatching the inspection of every church we entered was so undisguised that I saw she did not care whether I noticed it or not. Once, on coming out of the little church of St. Genevieve, one of the loveliest shrines ever raised to the worship of God by the genius of man, I said rather sharply to her, for she had beaten a more precipitate retreat than usual, and cut short my mother's devotions at the tomb of the saint: