have that flock of sheep or that piece of ground, but in preaching the everlasting gospel and plucking souls as brands from the burnings. My mind was settled at once. From the time the thought had first occurred to me, till my purpose was as fixed as it ever has been since, was not more than half or three quarters of an hour. I had been habituated, with my proud heart, to pour contempt on the ministry; and it presented itself before me, at that moment, as "the loss of all things." I had been accustomed, with my vain mind, to anticipate the highest civil honors in the profession of the law. The disappointment which I should bring to friends by this relinquishment, stood full before me. And yet with all this sacrifice on the one hand, and all this contempt on the other, I chose to be a minister. I hugged the cross. And though the age of missions had not yet dawned, I well remember that, in Dr. Craft's chamber, that memorable afternoon, I felt that I should be willing to spend my days among the pagans of the wilderness, if such should be the will of God.

Shortly after this he commenced his theological studies under the direction of the Reverend Dr. JONATHAN EDWARDS of New-Haven, afterwards President of Union College. While attending to his duties as an instructor, he pursued the course of reading which Dr. EDWARDS pointed out, and wrote extensively on his system of theological questions.

In the spring of 1792 he joined the congregational church at Derby, and soon after left the academy and returned to East-Haddam, where he had the smallpox. That disorder having left his eyes weak, he spent part of the summer at his father's house. Here he found himself in peculiarly trying circumstances. He was the only professor of religion in a family of ten; and neither his regard for his relatives, nor his convictions of duty, would suffer him

to remain silent upon what was with himself the all-engrossing subject. He conversed with them earnestly and affectionately, beseeching them with tears to attend to the things that belonged to their peace; and the event proved that his labors and struggles in their behalf were not in vain. Nor was his influence confined to his own family; for he statedly attended a prayer meeting in the neighborhood, at which those who were much older in the christian life than himself found themselves at once quickened and edified by his fervent prayers and thrilling addresses.

The latter part of the summer and most of the autumn he passed at New-Haven, completing his theological studies. He was licensed to preach, by the West Association of New-Haven County, on the last day of October. Early in November he returned to his father's house, and on the evening of the next day accompanied his youngest sister to a prayer meeting at the place where he had been accustomed to attend. When she left the meeting she took his arm, and burst into tears, saying, "The singing of those christians convinces me that they have something which I want." That, as he afterwards declared, was to him a moment of great triumph. When they arrived at home, his father's family, and his brother's family in the neighborhood, were made acquainted with the fact; and while his sister lay weeping in anguish of spirit, he was making his appeals to those around him. "That," said he, "was the beginning of American revivals, so far as they fell under my personal ob

servation; and from that moment I know they have never ceased." His youngest sister, his mother, his brother's wife, and several others of the family were brought to hope in God's forgiving mercy; and before any breach was made in the domestic circle, all were members of the church but two..

His first sermon was preached November 10, 1792, at Hadlyme, in the pulpit of his venerable friend under whose tuition he had been fitted for college. In January succeeding he commenced his labors at New-Salem, a small village about seven miles from his father's house, and continued there till the last of May. His preaching was almost immediately attended by manifest tokens of the presence of the Holy Spirit. A revival of great power commenced, and a church was gathered where there had not been one for more than forty years. In New-Salem, and the parts of East Haddam and Lyme adjacent to it, about one hundred were hopefully added to the Lord.

In the early part of June, 1793, he commenced preaching at Farmington as a candidate for settlement. The manner in which he was there received, and the circumstances which prevented his becoming the pastor of the church, may be seen from the following extract of a letter from the Rev. NOAH PORTER, D. D. then a member, now the minister, of the congregation to which Mr. GRIFFIN was called.

"There are few men whom I remember with more affection than Dr. Griffin. He was the first minister of Christ of whose preaching I have any distinct recollection, or from whom I received any deep and permanent sense of divine things. I was twelve years old when he preached in this

town; and I remember his person, attitude, dress, modulations of voice, and some of his texts and illustrations, as though they were presented but yesterday. Simplicity and impressiveness you know were remarkable characteristics of his preaching. All was on a level with the capacity of a child. It was not till two or three years after this that I began to consider myself a christian; but the impressions of truth which I received from him have probably contributed more to make me what I am, (so far as there is any thing good belonging to me,) than what I have received by means of any other

man.

"In the year 1796, a committee of the church, of which the late Governor Treadwell was a member, was appointed to draw up a compendious history of the church from its origin' to that time. This was done by Gov. Treadwell; and the extract which I am about to give you, contains the answers to some of the inquiries suggested in your letter. For several years previous to Dr. Griffin's introduction to this pulpit, the society had been divided; and the mutual animosities of the parties were sometimes violent; first relative to Mr. Olcott, for some years pastor of the church; and after his dismission, relative to Mr. Jonathan Brown, a candidate for the ministry, who preached here immediately before Dr. Griffin, and had warm admirers in the society, but to the greater and better part of the church was unacceptable. 'Mr. Brown,' the record says, 'preached here till March, 1793,' and adds, 'After he had left us several efforts were made by his friends to recall him, but without success. The society then invited Mr. Edward Dorr Griffin to supply the pulpit. He accordingly supplied it until December then next, with great ability and reputation; when, having been invited by the society, the church called him to the work of the ministry almost unanimously; and temporalities being adjusted, he accepted the invitation in April, 1794; and in May following a council was called to ordain him. But a formidable opposition, consisting chiefly of those who felt aggrieved at the loss of Mr. Brown and of those who differed from Mr. G. and the church on the VOL. I.

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PREVIOUS TO HIS SETTLEMENT, &c.

subject of baptism and the doctrines of grace, remonstrated before the council; which, after a hearing, determined not to proceed, principally by reason of objections against some of the members of the council, and against the form of the contract between the society and Mr. Griffin. Wherefore, as no decision was had on the merits, the church in the month of June following voted to call a second council to ordain Mr. Griffin, with which vote the society concurred. Accordingly another council was convened; and the opposers persevering in their efforts, laid in sundry unfounded charges against Mr. Griffin, and the proofs not being prepared, the council adjourned: and being again convened, and the evidences taken, Mr. Griffin was acquitted with honor, and his character fully vindicated. But the gloomy prospect before him induced Mr. Griffin in that stage of the business to request the council not to proceed to ordain him, if they judged he could fairly be released from the obligations of his contract; and accordingly the council, on consultation, thought proper to proceed no further." "

In July and August, 1794, he preached several sabbaths at Middlebury, Conn. where he introduced meetings on week days as usual, and was instrumental of the hopeful conversion of several individuals. He also supplied three other places for a short time previous to the commencement of his labors at New-Hartford. In referring to his views at that period of life, he says,

I felt it to be a principal recommendation of a place as my residence, that the people would allow me to hold as many meetings as I pleased. I held extra meetings in every place where I preached, which was a new thing at that day. What then appeared strange, bating some youthful indiscretions, has long since become the general usage. I had an opportunity to see the whole field of death before a bone began to move. And no one who comes upon the stage forty years afterwards can have any idea of the state of things at that time.