CHAPTER XXII.

REV. THOMAS THOMPSON TOMPKINSON.

Mr. Tompkinson was ordained, many years ago, over a church in a pleasant village of Massachusetts, "under favorable and auspicious circumstances," as the newspapers of these days sometimes say. He labored with all his heart for the good of this people, a little more than two years, during which time they were blessed with a gracious revival, which greatly increased both the church and congregation. Some of the members became dissatisfied with the doctrinal views of Mr. Tompkinson, not considering him sufficiently Calvinistic, and made so much trouble on account of his supposed heresy, that he resigned his charge of the church, and removed to the seaport town of in Maine. Here he labored diligently for three years; and although there was no special revival, he had the pleasure of adding some thirty-five or forty to the church, who hoped that they had "passed from death unto life."

At the end of the three years he left this people, because he was exceedingly tried with one of the deacons, who was much offended with him, on the ground that he, Mr. Tompkinson, did not treat him with that respect and attention which he thought was due to his age and experience. This deacon was a kind of an "old betty," and was a very difficult man to get along with at all, because he was of a very jealous turn of mind, and was continually surmising that he was slighted. He had, however, considerable influence in the church, and he brought it to bear upon Mr. Tompkinson in such a manner that he was induced to accept a call from the church in the farming town of, in New Hampshire.

With this church he did not remain but one year, as he found himself very unpleasantly situated on account of the tongues in his parish. Those tongues run so fast, and tattled so foolishly about his house, furniture, wife, children, horse, &c., and seemed to be so much in the way of his doing good, (for none were converted under his ministry here) that he was glad to get away, and once more cast his lot in Massachusetts. He settled in a small man

ufacturing town, where he was comfortably maintained, and where his usefulness seemed to be increasingly great from year to year. His people were very kind and affectionate, and everything went on pleasantly and prosperously, till four years and two months had passed away, when a certain case was brought into the church, of such a character that it created strong opposing parties. Mr. Tompkinson doing as ministers frequently do under such circumstances, that is, warmly espousing the interest of one party, so grievously offended the other, that, from that evening, he saw not one single day of peace till he quitted the place. No opening presenting itself immediately, he removed to a neighboring town, where he was engaged in teaching in an academy, and occasionally supplying pulpits, for five months, when he complied with the invitation of a church in New York state to become their pastor.

In this enterprising and thriving young town (a city now) he had a better church under his care than he had in any of the places where he had previously preached. The call was not quite unanimous, but the minority that voted

against it was so small, that nothing was said to him about it in the invitation. He, however, had the good fortune to win upon their affections in such a manner, that before six months had passed they were among his strongest friends. In this place he remained six years, preaching the gospel with success, and almost monthly adding more or less to the church. The congregation increased so rapidly, that before two years had expired, their house of worship was razed to the ground, and a larger and finer structure erected upon its site. As the people had become very much attached to their pastor, he probably would have remained here much longer than he did, had he not become involved in the masonic trouble, which was then raging with great and exciting violence in that section of the country. How he was involved in this matter we are not able to say; but it so seriously affected his ecclesiastical relations, that he deemed it the path of prudence to retire to another field of labor, and accordingly went to Rhode Island, and settled over the church in

During his residence in this place he was very unhappy. As the temperance reforma

tion at that time had scarcely commenced, he found a large majority of the people addicted to the free use of intoxicating liquors. Many of the Colonels and Majors, and the Captains and Squires of the town were confirmed drunkards; and what was still more shocking to his feelings, several of his church members were drunkards. Even one of his deacons was a rum seller as well as a rum drinker, presenting the interesting consistency of serving at the Lord's table on the communion Sabbath, and the next day serving at the devil's table, by standing behind his counter, and dealing out his drams of diluted New England rum to ragged, filthy sots, who appeared, indeed, in the external form of men, but who lived and died like brutes. The good man could not stand all this. Although he had seen rum drinking and rum selling in other places where he had labored, he had never seen them on this wise before; he had never seen them carried on so extensively as in this same town of Rhode Island, and therefore he gave something more than slight hints about the matter, repeatedly, from the pulpit. This produced a tremendous uproar in the church, but Mr. Tompkinson