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Rev. Robert Addison's Character |
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The details of daily labour and weariness, with the hardships and privations which Rev Robert Addison suffered in the course of his missionary journeys, are passed over by him as undeserving of notice; but we are told that he was everywhere received as a welcome guest. The frankness and simplicity of his manners, and the readiness and sympathy with which he entered into the feelings of others, won for him the regard of all, and gave him a most salutary influence over the young. Many a desponding family he has left satisfied and cheerful. His style of preaching was winning and affectionate, and his sermons, though marked by good taste and simplicity, were not without that quaintness of expression and occasional keenness of remark which tended to impress them more deeply on the memory of the hearer. His voice was pleasing, but not powerful. Mr. Addison was considered to be a remarkably "good reader," and the following illustration of his power is told by one who was present at the scene which is described. Some young ladies, who had been spending the day at his hospitable parsonage, after enjoying themselves out of doors as long as the daylight lasted, as evening drew on gathered round "the pastor's fireside;" and Mr. Addison, with a view to their improvement not less than their amusement, kindly offered to read to them, whilst they busied themselves with their needles. He commenced some instructive and pathetic tale,--but before he had proceeded far he so affected his hearers that their feelings found vent in sobs and tears. A favourite dog who was lying on the hearth-rug at the time, watched the progress of their emotions with increasing uneasiness, till at last, with a sympathy not uncommon among those sagacious animals, he burst out into a piteous howl, which compelled the worthy man to lay aside his book in order to soothe his excitable audience. This, perhaps, though a somewhat ludicrous, is not an unfair illustration of the effect of sympathy in producing what may be called animal excitement. Though a well-read theologian and a rapid writer, Mr. Addison wanted the self-possession necessary for an extempore preacher. On one occasion he made an attempt to dispense with notes, and chose a familiar subject, but the moment after he had delivered his text he became so nervous and confused, that he forgot all that he had intended to say, and the utmost that he could do was, to read the chapter from which the text was taken, and so conclude. Some time afterwards, however, he preached from the same text with his notes before him, but being thus, as it were, guaranteed against failure, had not occasion once to refer to them. Rev. Robert Addison was a warm advocate of education; and labouring alone as he did for so long a period, and seeing the difficulty of obtaining properly qualified Missionaries from England, he was naturally anxious for the establishment of a college at which candidates for holy orders might be instructed and trained. Young men so prepared by an education within the province would, he thought, be better suited for the peculiar duties which awaited them, than most of those who might be sent from England. The policy which he thus early indicated has since been universally adopted, and at this time every one of the Colonies of British North America is provided with its College or Theological Institution, and by far the greater part of the candidates for the ministry of the Colonial Church are educated in one or other of the Diocesan seminaries. The ministry of such a man as Mr. Addison must have been an inestimable blessing to all within his reach, and many particular instances of the good effected by it are related. Even the occasional services which he was called upon to perform produced their effect. A gentleman at the head of that section of the province used to state, that the impression made upon him by hearing Mr. Addison perform the funeral-service of the Church could never be effaced from his memory, and that every recollection of it awakened in his mind the most serious thoughts and resolutions. Mr. Addison's health suffered no material decay till after his seventy-fourth year, and then, when incapacitated for the discharge of his public duties, he occupied his leisure hours in teaching his grandchildren. His cheerfulness never forsook him, and his resignation to the will of God was conspicuous throughout the whole period of his sickness. An intimate friend gives the following account of his last visit to this venerable Missionary:-- "Owing to some detention by the way, I was late in reaching his house, and he had retired to his chamber for the night, but he desired to see me. On entering the room I was struck with the great change in his appearance. Disease had been very busy with him since I had last seen him, and I was not aware that he was so ill. "'I am not in much pain,' he said, 'but my departure is at hand.' He spoke so strongly that I ventured to express some hope. He showed me the swelling of his body. 'This,' said he, 'is a disorder (dropsy) that seldom departs at my time of life without its victim. But I am satisfied that it should be so; my faith and hope in Christ are strong, while I most deeply feel my own unworthiness.' He then spoke rationally and distinctly on the measures which the Government were taking for promoting education throughout the Province, and expressed a fervent hope that they would proceed to a successful issue, and redound to the glory of God, and the lasting welfare of the people. Then reverting to his own situation, he said, 'I shall not be long here; indeed I do not desire it, for my power of usefulness has departed with my health. We shall never meet again in this world: continue as you have hitherto been, resolute and faithful in the performance of your duty, and God will bless your endeavours. As for me, I feel strong in hope, I know whom I have believed; I have always disapproved and spoken against a death-bed repentance, and I have not put off that great work to this late period. It has long been the subject of my deepest thoughts and earnest prayers.' In this humble yet hopeful state he continued till at length he fell asleep." This account of the Rev Robert Addison is from The Colonial Church Chronicle and Missionary Journal No. IX, March, 1848, pages 333-338. |
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First Anglican Bishops in Ontario - Another account of Rev Robert Addison |  |
