love of Christ, we will freely go :-Here we are, "the messengers of the churches for the glory of Christ." After such offers, (and, through the mercy of God, they are in abundance,) these men will be guiltless, if not sent.—But what a reckoning must those have with the great Head of the Church, who neglect these calls, and will not join hands with God to make the wretched live! Let us all feel and say, "We will not be any longer guilty of our brother's blood:-and now, go to, and we will show, that the hand of the Lord is upon us for good, -that our heart is enlarged,-that our hand is as ready as our prayers, and that, in the true missionary spirit, we consecrate our service this day unto the Lord! Amen. Selah! Wesleyan Methodist Mag. BIOGRAPHY. MEMOIR OF THE REV. WILLIAM BEAUCHAMP. "Some angel guide my pencil, while I draw, A man on earth devoted to the skies." YOUNG. In the beginning of the year 1816, the writer was much afflicted. Like his friend B. he possessed a weakly constitution. Unlike most persons in travelling for health, he chose the forests, and roved among the frontier settlers, and preached to whites and Indians. During this time a constant correspondence was continued with his friend. The object of the writer is to be concise, but, in justice to this subject, he must be excused in noticing several particulars in which he was personally concerned. It was during this period, that a subject had been suggested by the author of these memoirs, in regard to forming new settlements; the wretched and demoralized state of most of the towns in the western country, was truly lamentable. Societies for the suppression of vice and immorality had been instituted and succeeded. A reformation was produced; the late war had, however, swept off a vast multitude of the rabble. The idea at this time occurred in regard to forming a new settlement, in accordance to an association for the suppression of vice and immorality. It had been remarked, that in those places where there were no prevailing moral principles, even after a reformation, a relapse exhibited the depravity of the human heart in all its deformity; and the "last state of (such a place) was worse than the first." If it were practicable, it was considered to be highly advantageous to the community, to set an example, or, at all events, to try the experiment. The plan, though at first opposed, after being somewhat modified, was apVOL. VIII. 7 proved of by brother B. A suitable place was purchased in the spring of 1817, in which a friend became concerned, and brother B. undertook the agency and the management of it. Time will soon prove how far we have succeeded. Mr. B., with his wife and family, left Chillicothe the 10th day of October, 1817, and arrived at the foot of the falls of the Great Wabash on the 5th day of November following, and took possession of his new settlement, situated in the (then territory) state of Illinois, and called it "Mount Carmel." The strict Hebrew interpretation of which is supposed to be "The Garden of the Lord;" or, according to Dr. Leigh's Hebrew Critica Sacra, a fruitful mount, or mountain.* The novelty of such an adventure excited much interest, and general curiosity, and many conjectures were had respecting it, some one way, and some another; some prophesied good, and some evil; there was much opposition, some persecution, and it produced some enthusiasm. Before the agent had arrived, or had prepared to set off, to enter upon his duties, persons visited the ground, and were astonished "that a city was not built!" The writer, even at this time, cannot but smile at the recollection of several occurrences of the kind. However, here was a field indeed, opened to a fruitful mind, and a new era in the life of our friend B, was now commenced. As an agent or manager, we find him now assiduously engaged as a surveyor, laying off his new town, arranging his streets, fixing his monuments, and preparing it for settlement, and looking forward for its future prosperity. As a preacher, in forming this infant congregation, introducing order, and forming regulations, he and his people presented a spectacle worthy of observation. His settlement was filled up by different orders and classes of people, but all delighted, greatly delighted, to hear him preach. Till now, with some propriety, it might have been said "But the sound of the church-going bell Church bells we had not, the congregation was convened by the sound of the trumpet; and here in the wilderness a congregation was edified by discourses which would have charmed an assembly in the most intelligent circle, or populous city. Among all the preachers of the age, none exceeded our deceased friend for pleasing and profitable variety. *Since writing the above, the writer was called to witness the astonishing production of the earth on this spot, at the rate of more than 150 bushels of corn taken from an acre; near the same ground, 800 bushels of turnips were estimated to be raised to the acre! If the "mount" produces thus, what will the vallies afford, when brought into cultivation ? . He was an excellent physician, well skilled in medicine, and prepared at all times, and on all occasions, to administer to the necessities of the sick and afflicted, without fee or reward: and indeed as such, it is well known, that when other physicians were to be had, amidst his own severe afflictions, he has been taken from his own room, (owing to the confirmed confidence in his judgment,) placed in a close carriage, and, by hand, hurried to see a person whose disease appeared to be dangerous. Had he been so disposed he might have followed the practice of medicine as a profession, and made it lucrative, but he did not choose to be called a doctor, and administered to the necessities of the afflicted as a Christian. There could not have been a person more suitably qualified for giving a good impulse to a new settlement, and at the same time prepared to meet the variety of circumstances which called for aid; nay, active exertion, to maintain and carry on business with any tolerable degree of success. sexes. Brother B. was well versed in nearly all the mechanical arts. He has been known to build a house, make a clock, and repair watches; he was particularly delighted with the use of tools, and was fond of working at the cabinet business. The writer has seen him work in brass, iron, and wood, repair the firelocks of the hunters, so essentially necessary in a new country; repair and ornament his compass, and build a mill. All this he did, although never taught any particular branch of business. He delighted much in the instruction of the youth of both He was considered one among the best of our grammarians; was anxious to impress the rising generation with a sense of the importance of a proper understanding of their own language. He improved on Murray's plan, and at length appeared to adopt a plan of his own, so plain, simple, and easy, as to be comprehended by the weakest capacity. In this way he was more successful than any teacher that the writer ever knew, and from him the writer acknowledges to have received much instruction. He did, from choice, after the labours of the day were over, collect and form his grammar class in the winter evenings, and for a considerable time taught them with delight. The good effects of these lectures and lessons are yet observable. Though he was not master of music himself, yet he was a lover of singing, took particular delight in encouraging psalmody, especially among the young people of Mount Carmel. He not only approved of the cultivation of sacred music, but assisted, as far as he could, in teaching the knowledge of this useful and necessary part of divine worship. His active mind was never at a loss for employment; he had studied chymistry, and would frequently make experiments. It might nearly be asked with as great a degree of propriety, what William Beauchamp did not know, as what he did know! Such was the general information possessed by brother B. that he became the arbiter and settler of difficult questions; and it has been known, even among hostile parties, that cases have been taken out of court, and William Beauchamp chosen as as the principal arbitrator, or referee, to settle the dispute between them. His integrity could never, with any degree of propriety, be called in question. Such was his cast of mind, and such his disposition, that when it was deemed necessary Mr. B. frequently made excursions as a hunter, was remarkably successful, and an excellent woodsman. From the foregoing observations the reader might perhaps conclude that our friend B. possessed a robust constitution, but it was quite the reverse; he was weakly from his youth, and from an early period of life was a man of afflictions. He possessed a happy talent, and the prevailing disposition of his soul appeared to be to do good; to become useful in every station of life that he was called to fill, and to discharge his duties with dignity and propriety. His powerful mind, therefore, appeared to rouse him to action in the pursuit of every thing laudable. Having used every exertion to accomplish the objects he had in view, and succeeded, in many particulars, brother Beauchamp retired to his farm, about three miles from town, in 1821. In April 1822, after a lingering illness of five months, with a white swelling, brother B. lost his son, "his only son" William, a promising boy, in the thirteenth year of his age. This was one of the severest strokes of divine providence that he had ever experienced. William was truly a dutiful and interesting boy, possessing a pensive cast of mind, calculated to attract the tender affections of the soul, and to entwine around a parent's heart. When his funeral sermon was preached, the congregation, and the preacher himself, were bathed in tears; at the close of which brother B. rose, and for a few minutes addressed the congregation in such language as would have moved a heart of stone, and concluded by bowing submissively to the will of heaven.* The attention of brother B., and of the writer, after this was called to the building of a church and a seminary of learning in * In a funeral sermon preached at St. Louis, by Mr. Beauchamp, in 1823, on the death of Mr. Otis Tiffany, whose parents resided in Pawtucket, (R. I.,) he makes these observations, taken from the printed sermon now before me. Speaking of the parents, he says, "Could I reach them with my voice, I would say unto them: My friends, my aged friends, my companions in sorrow, I sympathize with you,-deeply do I sympathize. For I too am a smitten parent. Once I had a son, an only son, the desire of my eyes, the delight of my heart. But oh! he is also no more! God took him from my heart. But let us wipe away our tears, and give resignation possession of our hearts. For my son, and your son-have made their way safe to a world of light. They both died in the triumph of living faith. If we live and die like them, in the favour of God, we shall soon see our sons-for we are pressing hard on the verge of eternity!" How soon he realized this prediction! Mount Carmel. Property we possessed for the purpose, from an appropriation of the proprietors of the town, but the change of the times had so seriously affected us, that it was rendered unavailable. We therefore concluded to postpone it for the present, and he joined the travelling connexion at the Missouri Conference in October 1822; was stationed in St. Louis one year, where he laboured with success. In 1823 he was stationed on Indiana district, as presiding elder over eleven circuits, and was elected also a member of the general conference. But such was the writer's fears and apprehensions of a relapse, (brother B. now having been in the enjoyment of good health for two years past,) that from Kentucky he wrote to a member of the family, (Mr. Beall) to dissuade him, if possible, from proceeding on to Baltimore; and received før answer, that "nothing but death would stop him." He attended the general conference in Baltimore, and such was the estimation in which the character of this great and good man was held there, in the great assemblage of ministers from all parts of the nation, most of whom were hitherto strangers to him, that he came within two or three votes of being called to the Episcopal office, and doubtless, (from information,) would have been appointed, had he been only a few years longer in the travelling connexion. As had been feared and apprehended, the journey to Baltimore, and the charge of his extensive district, almost the bounds of one entire state, was entirely too severe an undertaking for him. His old complaint, an affection of the liver, returned. He had attended three quarterly meetings after his return, and was taken ill near the place appointed for the fourth. He, notwithstanding his illness, was taken to the camp-meeting on the 29th of August, at brother Sewell's, near Peoli, where he became worse, yet gave advice and attended to some business. From thence, he was removed to brother William Cravens' for some time; growing still worse, he was removed to Mr. Joseph Peck's, in Peoli, to be more convenient to medical aid. Hitherto bro-. ther B. had prescribed for himself. He now yielded to the prescription of the physicians. The operation of medicine appeared too severe for his weakly constitution, and the last effort to save him was to produce a salivation, under which he sunk. He was ill about six weeks; his wife arrived at Peoli about four weeks before he died. He was conscious of his approaching dissolution, and was fully prepared to meet it. He exhorted his wife to be resigned to the event, and to meet him in glory. His treasure, he said, was in heaven. Numbers called to see him; it was all peace, all calmness with him. A few days before he expired Mr. Beall felt his pulse; he asked him how it was; Mr. B. said it was irregular; he rejoiced, and replied that it would soon cease, to ~ |