composure with which he contemplated death. He was always consciously prepared. Nor had he earthly work which so engrossed him that he felt like asking the Lord to adjourn the day appointed for his departure. This was his habitual mood; and when the solemn hour arrived, he was not disappointed by the inroads of dreaded agitation or concern. The Lord called upon him, and took him by the hand, and he departed with the Lord. It was a sweet repose-an exemplary death. It was a glorious translation from a world of shadows to a realm of sunlight. A wearied spirit lay down to peaceful slumber. The friend of God and man rests in the bosom of his God, and his memory lives in the love of man. It was a sublime and inspiring close of a life of active usefulness and pure christian example. * * * Certain states of society, he said, "may be roused to duty by an ignorant but sincere ministry. But a cultivated community need leaders of another grade. We hold that the first grand requisite of those who would be leaders of public sentiment, the formers of character, the propagators of thought, and the saviors of their country in this nineteenth century, is through culture."* He never omitted an opportunity to encourage classical learning. In the enumeration of the requisites of a perfect seminary, he says "The sweets of classical literature too, should be tasted, and those Elysian fields, the earthly heaven of the student, in which scholars of all ages have loved to roam, should be more than pointed out or entered, and the student prepared not for drudg ery at college, but for an easy, delightful passing through and lingering in the history, poetry, and philosophy of ancient times.”÷ Again, he says: "A thorough Greek or Latin scholar has necessarily culti vated an accuracy of discrimination, a power to see connections of thought, and to grasp principles, and to discriminate between false and true, which constitute the highest order of mental cultivation."‡ He was not, however, a narrow classicist of the effete school. He sought to encourage all science; and his writings abound in passages reflecting his broad appreciation of science. He was himself well informed in the natural sciences, and continued to preserve his intelligence abreast of the march of science. Nevertheless, he delighted to prod the scientist occasionally for his presumption and his over-confidence in doctrines which still remained within the province of speculation. He was an unflinching champion of the freedom of intellect. One or two passages will illustrate his positions : "We glory in independence the independence of mind. The ancients generally distrusted truth, as the bat-like conservative does now. They think that they must help it. They look at the eagle, and fearing that he may injure himself in flight, they clip his wings, and tie his feet together, and throw him in a cage and exclaim to the world: 'See how we love the truth! We have him secure in a golden cage.' America replies: 'If you really love the truth as we do, pull off his manacles and let him fly! Away with your golden bars and your human framework to hold up the heavens. What help does God Almighty ask from the muscles and nerves of men?" "|| "There is but little danger," he says on another occasion, "in the freest thought, if the heart loves purity and the soul acknowledges and cultivates allegiance to the holy God. Thought must be free."S Increased Mental Activity, p. 20. + Dickinson Institute Address, pp. 22-3. Report on English Classics, 1855, Mich. Jour. Ed., ii, 148. Baccalaureate address, 1867, p. 10. 1 Bishop Haven's moral qualities were beautiful, and in all respects a credit to christian life. The simplicity of his character and manners opened the way of approach for the humblest and the most timid. His manifest guilelessness and integrity awakened a sense of security and trust in those who had intercourse with him. His gentleness and forbearance gave a sweetness to his character and a charm to his society. He never allowed himself to resent an injury. His most intimate friends never heard a disparaging remark concerning his bitterest enemies, unless as a statement of fact bearing on the decision of a business question. Partisanship found no shelter in his soul. He was not only generous to his detractors, but the spirit of church denominationalism never prevented him from forming fair judgments and cherishing warm friendships for the whole body of religious faiths and believers. Even in his centennial sermon, delivered before an annual conference of his own church, he says: "Before I attempt to show what methodism is, what it has done, and we hope will do, allow me to state clearly that I do not intend to make any arrogant claims for this department of the christian church, or to underrate what others have accomplished and are now doing." He then proceeds with a generous enumeration of the prominent excellences of the "Roman church," "the Lutheran churches," "the national church of England at home, and its daughter in this country," "the presbyterians in Scotland and other lands, and particularly in our own country," and the "Puritans and modern Congregationalists." At the end he exclaims: "I thank God that in this noble work we have many compeers in other churches. bless them. Our aim is the same-our work is one." God Bishop Haven's extraordinary versatility of nature and attainments, with his facility and vivacity of expression, gave him very superior qualifications as an editor and newspaper correspondent. He had a fund of information available on almost all subjects, and required little or no preparatory reading or reflection to pen a paragraph or an article which the general reader would peruse with admiration and profit. During his entire life he was much in the habit of throwing off communications for the papers-especially the religious papers of his own church. At Syracuse, while chancellor of the university, he seemed to be drawn by affinity to the companionship of the genial editor of the Northwestern Christian Advocate. He wrote often for that paper, and even contributed occasional editorials. Dr. Warren relates some pleasing incidents in connection with Chancellor Haven's ready assumption of the editorial chair for the purpose of affording needed relief to the overworked regular incumbent. It is unavoidable, perhaps, that one so facile of speech and pen should yield to the temptation of putting productions before the world on themes which required more elaboration than he had opportunity to give them. Hence, while all the emanations of his pen possessed vivacity, originality, and interest, many of them were suited only to an ephemeral usefulness. Probably this is all which he intended for most of them. Similarly, he suffered himself to appear before audiences on numerous occasions, which were not worthy of his talents or his station-seeming to forget that the hours devoted to an address in a country school-house would suffice for bringing something of enduring value before a world-wide audience. But this illustrates also, how lavish he was of himself. It may also betray his greater fondness for immediate results than for that postponed but fairer fruition which slowly ripens only under the warmth of a long cherished plan and a fond and patient period of study. As an educator, his style of instruction was marked by perfect simplicity and lucidity of exposition, and telling aptness of illustration. As a matter of course, with intellectual resources like his, a very broad range of facts, anecdote and doctrine was brought to bear on the discussion of every theme. His gentleness toward his pupils, his consideration, forbearance, and kindness were always conspicuous. He believed in the inherent honesty and nobility of student nature, and would rather be imposed upon a dozen times than fail to accept the ingenuousness of one at its full value. He was sometimes accused of laxity of discipline. In some instances evil students undoubtedly traded on his good nature and his instinctive trust in man; but I am sure the act brought shame and remorse which must have exerted more of a reformatory influence than sterner discipline. Few persons can continue to impose on an unsuspecting and generous nature. Prying inquisitions, ceaseless suspicion, unrelenting discipline, relieve the student of his instinctive and powerful obligations to generous appreciation; and the more spirit he possesses, the more he feels aroused to meet and grapple with the efforts to suppress him. These traits in Dr. Haven awakened an affectionate and endearing regard in the minds of his pupils. Wherever he went he found the pupils of former years, and they loved to approach him and renew the friendship of their youth. His family have related to me the exuberance of joy with which he recounted an unexpected meeting of this kind in a distant State. In traveling through Arkansas he was compelled to spend a Sunday at some point where he supposed himself without acquaintances. Information of his presence in the town became circulated, "and in the afternoon he was visited by lawyers, merchants, and physicians who had been his students at Ann Arbor." He seemed delighted at the evidence that his old pupils still respected and loved him. This particular incident he used to relate with almost gleeful satisfaction, while he spoke to his family concerning the university life of these gentlemen and their subsequent careers as he had heard of them from their own lips. His views on education were liberal and philosophic. He was pleased with the broader education of modern times. "The ancient method of education," he said, "was by what might be called tight lacing from without. Souls were educated like Chinese ladies' feet. If any feature was becoming too large, a mould was clapped on similar to the apparatus of the Flathead Indians, and firmly fixed till the inward force, by a kind of law of nature, was absorbed." *Increased Mental Activity, p. 15. HOW MICHIGAN GOT INTO THE UNION The American Historical Record, vol. I, page 158, gives the following account of the method pursued to reverse the decision of the State convention held in September, 1836, not to come into the union on the terms prescribed by congress. It is a sequel to the foregoing "Journal of the State Convention." The author of this sketch is William Duane, of Philadelphia. On the 14th of November, 1836, a committee of the democratic convention of Wayne county issued a circular recommending the holding of another convention. It set forth that the representatives of Washtenaw county had · voted in the first convention against giving the assent of the State to the terms of admission; that if their votes had been given for accepting these terms, the result would have been different; that since the holding of the convention, the people of Washtenaw county had chosen members of the legislature favorable to accepting the terms by a very large majority, and had adopted resolutions for the immediate holding of another convention. It was urged that speedy action was necessary to "save to the State her share of the surplus revenue, and the five per cent on the proceeds of the sales of public lands," amounting to at least six hundred thousand dollars. The committee, therefore, recommended the people of the State to elect delegates to a new convention on the fifth and sixth days of the following month, December; and that the convention meet at Ann Arbor on the 14th of December. Governor Stevens T. Mason, in a letter to the people of Washtenaw county, informed them that, in his opinion, the consent of the legislature to the holding of a new convention was not requisite. Delegates to the new convention met at Ann Arbor on the 14th of December. 1836. The county of Monroe, the southeastern county of the State, containing Toledo and a larger part of the disputed territory than any other county of the State, was not represented in this second convention. Some of the smaller counties were also unrepresented. The convention unanimously adopted a long preamble and a resolution "by the people of Michigan in convention assembled, that the assent required in the foregoing recited act of the congress of the United States is hereby given." A letter to the president of the United States, informing him of the result of the convention, was adopted by a committee, signed by the president of the convention, and entrusted to a committee of two to proceed to Washington, and deliver it to the president of the United States. The validity of the doings of this convention was recognized at Washington city (January 26th, 1837) and Michigan took her place in the union. NOTE See also Executive Documents, Nos. 46 and 68 House of Representatives, 24th Congress, 2d session; especially the paper marked B. John Quincy Adams advocated the admission, although the proceedings were informal, and it would add another Democratic State to the Union.-COMPILER.] TOLEDO WAR SONG From the Lansing Republican, September 5, 1873. Our friend, Dr. H. A. Atkins, of Locke township, Ingham county, sends us a ballad of the belligerent times when Michigan was emerging from territorial pupilage into an independent State of the union. This ballad possesses the merit of picturing the public feeling and the leading events of that epoch, and will be new to the lovers of history and romance. Mr. Atkins says it was composed by a young man named Crawford,* one of the immortal veterans who lived in Oakland county, near Pontiac. He was talking with O. G. Dunckel, of Locke township, about the Republican's articles and comments on the Toledo war, when the latter said there was a nice song about that war which he learned in 1835 of the man who composed it, but that he had forgotten the greater part of it. When the first two stanzas were sung, Mr. Atkins was very much pleased with it. Mr. Dunckel, who had not thought of the song for ten or fifteen years, continued to hum over the verses he knew till all the others came gradually to mind. He thinks it is probably the only song ever written concerning that interesting period of our history. Come all ye Michiganians, and lend a hearing ear; I think it's not becoming of valiant-hearted men. In eighteen hundred thirty-five there was a dreadful strife They both declared they'd have it, with its adjoining land. There was Norvell and McDonell, and several other men; Old Lucas gave his order for all to hold a court; Our independent companies were ordered for the march; There was Wayne, Macomb, and Oakland, Monroe, and Washtenaw, With musket, ax, and bayonet, with sword and shield and spear. *See appendix. |