CHAPTER IV.

HIS CONNECTION WITH THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY AT AUBURN.

THE Theological Seminary at Auburn, was established in 1819, by the Synod of Geneva, and with the sanction of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church. It was incorporated by a law of the State in 1820. By the Act of Incorporation the Institution was placed under the care of a Board of Trustees and a Board of Commissioners; the latter to be chosen annually by the Presbyteries recognized in the Act, and by other Presbyteries who might afterward associate with them.

In 1821 the Seminary went into operation, with three professors, and with ten or twelve students. It was a bold effort; an effort, we doubt not, resulting from that faith which sees" light in the darkness." Not a professorship was endowed; the Library was necessarily indifferent both as to the number and the selection of books; while the Christian community were but partially awake to the merits or the worth of such an institution. the end of two years, the number of students had not increased, but rather diminished; and in no respects, perhaps, were the prospects of the institution materially brightened, except in the advancement of the Seminary edifice.

At

About this time, however, an important impulse was given to this infant school of the prophets. Arthur Tappan, Esq., of the city of New York, generously devoted the sum of fifteen thousand dollars, as a capital fund, to be used as a permanent endowment of a professorship of

Christian Theology. Never was aid more opportune than this. Hands that hung down were lifted up, and feeble knees were strengthened. The name of the author of this relief will long be held in grateful remembrance, as one of the greatest benefactors of the Auburn Seminary.

From the first, Dr. Richards was regarded by the friends of the Institution as a suitable and prominent candidate for the Theological Professorship, and accordingly received an appointment in 1820, which he saw fit to decline. At this time (1823) he was unanimously re-elected. He accepted the invitation and made immediate preparations to remove to Auburn.

The following extracts reveal his feelings on leaving Newark, and going to his new field of labor. From Albany he writes to his daughter:

"How good is the Lord! Mercy, great mercy is mingled with the trial attendant on my removal. Words cannot express the tenderness I feel towards you and your dear family, and others left behind. But I dare not allow myself to look back. I trust I have been directed by the finger of Providence, and I feel encouraged to proceed."

On arriving at Auburn, he again writes:

"I cannot be thankful enough, that through the good hand of the Lord upon us, we have all reached the place of our destination in safety. I need not say, that every effort is making to render our condition as pleasant as the nature of the case will allow. The Seminary opens to-day. My inauguration is to take place next Wednesday. May the Lord enable me to meet the occasion with a becoming spirit."

On Wednesday, October 29th, 1823, just fifty-six years from the day of his birth, he was inaugurated Professor of Christian Theology. His address, delivered on the occasion, was characterized by clear and enlarged views of the importance of a well-trained ministry, and

furnished to a large audience pleasing promise of his usefulness in the responsible place to which he had been called.

In entering upon his duties, Dr. Richards aimed, first of all, to meet responsibilities connected with his own particular department; and, secondly, to labor for the general welfare of the Seminary. Accordingly, his studies were made subordinate mainly to the range of instruction which he was called to impart. He carefully availed himself of everything furnished by the press, which had a particular relation to his official work, or which promised to aid him in the discharge of its duties. We have already intimated that, for two years previous to his coming, the Seminary had been struggling for life. Much had been done-nay, all that could have been expected. The Trustees had put forth vigorous efforts. The citizens of Auburn, especially those whose views led them to sympathize with the religious features of the Seminary, had liberally cherished its infancy. Yet what had been done seemed only to reveal how much needed to be accomplished. No permanent provision had been made to sustain professors, who had hitherto "borne the burden and heat of the day," and whose unsettled livings required faith in God much like Elijah's, when he received his food from the ravens. An edifice, containing a main building and two wings, had been erected; but no part, with the exception of one wing, was ready for the reception of students. The Institution was destitute of scholarships or charity foundations; it could scarcely welcome indigent young men to a shelter, much less to bread or raiment.

Such was the state of the Institution at the inauguration of Dr. Richards. Funds were to be raised to complete and furnish the Seminary edifice, to secure an adequate Library, to found Professorships, and to aid such young men as were destitute of means, and yet were

willing to spend and be spent in the office of the Gospel Ministry.

To this work the new Professor addressed his welladapted energies. By correspondence, by personal visits, by his influence in conventions and ecclesiastical bodies, he most earnestly commended the Seminary to the attention, the prayers and the charities of the Christian public.

The following extract is a specimen of his epistolary efforts in behalf of indigent students, and was written, just after his inauguration, to his eldest daughter:

"Five of our young men are yet unprovided for, and though we have expected from various quarters, I am anxious for the result. I want you to state the fact to our pious and benevolent female friends in N. Fifty dollars would be sufficient to pay the seminary bill of a single student for a year. It would be gratifying to me, and would confer a lasting obligation on the Institution, if a little exertion could be made among you for our relief at the present time. Who would not be willing, in a case so urgent and important, to throw in her mite, and thus bid God speed to a youth who is anxious and trembling lest he should be stopped in his course."

In the course of a few weeks, he alludes to an answer to the foregoing appeal, under the name of "The Newark foundation."

Early in February, he visited Albany and Troy, in behalf of the Institution. From the latter place he writes:

"I am trying to do something for the Seminary, and I find a little time is necessary to beat down prejudice, and get the current into the right channel. My subscription in Troy stands this morning at $312. I hope to bring it up to four or five hundred.”

From Albany he also writes:

"I perceive already that I have many prejudices to combat, and the loving-money-principle, the greatest of all obstacles, to over

come. Nothing but the strongest fortitude, supported by a few of the choicest friends, can avail me now. I believe that I am in a good cause, and that the Lord is on my side. * **The present efforts, I consider merely in the light of an entering wedge; but the wedge I shall drive as long as I can perceive that it moves at all. * * Time alone, with good management, can induce the Albanians to turn their attention to Auburn."

He returned home, after an absence of about three weeks, having raised in money and subscriptions a little more than twelve hundred dollars, besides receiving a pledge that a society should be formed in each place for the support of indigent students in the Seminary.

In the following summer he visited Boston in behalf of the child of his adoption.

On the 3d of July, he writes to his daughter:

"I find nothing can be done here by being in a hurry. The Boston folks are full of notions, and both time and skill are requisite to get the thing by the right handle."

On the 9th, he writes to Mrs. Richards as follows:

"Yesterday was the first time I put my hook down, after spending two weeks in baiting and getting ready. Three pretty clever fellows were taken in the course of the day, with one hundred dollars a piece. * I know your impatience. *** But I must do right, and not sacrifice the interests of the Institution to my personal feelings."

During the same visit, he made an appeal in New York City, in behalf of the Seminary. He was encouraged in this effort by a letter written by Dr. Spring, of the Brick Church, from Philadelphia, of which the following is an extract:

"It is a critical moment with your Seminary, and I trust that the good people of New York will feel that it must be supported. I hope your appeal will not be fruitless; and if my sentiments can be of any avail, you will make just such use of them as you see fit."