244

SORROW AND CONSOLATION.

of the fourth generation-describes with tears in his voice, how, sitting beside the little body, he could do nothing but kneel down and weep, till reminded of the words used by the child's father "in a sense in which, probably, they have not often been applied, but the force of which, at the moment, was very striking, when he saw all about him dissolved in tears, on viewing the dear infant's cruel struggle, 'Look not at the things which are seen, but at those which are unseen!””. "Edward and Isabella," he continues, "both bear the stroke, though sore, with wonderful resignation. . Two nights ago they resolved, in their conference and prayers concerning him, to surrender him wholly to God to consider him as not their child, but God's.

When her husband came down stairs to-day, he said, in reply to a question from her mother, 'She is bearing it as well as one saint could wish to see another do.'— Blessed be the Holy Name! David will tell you that the little Margaret was received into the Church visible on Sabbath afternoon. I should have said, that when assembled to worship as a family, after all was over, Mr. Irving, before I began to pray, requested leave to address us; and he addressed us, all and several, in the most affectionate and impressive manner. The Lord bless, and fix his words! In testimony of his gratitude for the consolation afforded him and his wife, he has gone out to visit and comfort some of the afflicted around us."

The manner in which Irving himself announced this first interruption of his family happiness, with an elevation and ecstasy of grief which I do not doubt will go to the hearts of all who have suffered similar

IRVING'S ANNOUNCEMENT OF HIS CHILD'S DEATH. 245

anguish, as indeed the writer can scarcely transcribe it without tears, will be seen by the following letter, addressed to William Hamilton, and written on the day of death itself :

"Kirkcaldy, 11th October, 1825. "OUR DEARLY-BELOVED FRIEND,-The hand of the Lord hath touched my wife and me, and taken from us our wellbeloved child, sweet Edward, who was dear to you also, as he was to all who knew him. But before taking him, He gave unto us good comfort of the Holy Ghost, as He doth to all His faithful servants; and we are comforted, verily we are comforted. Let the Lord be praised, who hath visited the lowly, and raised them up!

now

"If you had been here yesterday and this day when our little babe was taken, you would have seen the stroke of death subdued by faith, and the strength of the grave overcome; for the Lord hath made His grace to be known unto us in the inward part. I feel that the Lord hath well done in that He hath afflicted me, and that by His grace I shall be a more faithful minister unto you, and unto all the flock committed to my charge. Now is my heart broken is its hardness melted; and my pride is humbled, and my strength is renewed. The good name of the Lord be praised! "Our little Edward, dear friend, is gone the way of all the earth; and his mother and I are sustained by the Prince and Saviour who hath abolished death and brought life and immortality to light. The affection which you bear to us, or did bear towards the dear child who is departed, we desire that you will not spend it in unavailing sorrow, but elevate it unto Him who hath sustained our souls, even the Lord our Saviour Jesus Christ; and if you feel grief and trouble, oh, turn the edge of it against sin and Satan to destroy their works, for it is they who have made us to drink of this bitter cup.

"Communicate this to all our friends in the congregation and church, as much as may be, by the perusal of this letter, that they may know the grace of God manifested unto us; and oh, William Hamilton, remember thyself, and tell them

246

LITTLE EDWARD'S MEMORY.

all that they are dust, and that their children are as the flowers of the field.

"Nevertheless, God granting me a safe journey, I will preach at the Caledonian church on Sabbath the 23rd, though I am cut off from my purpose of visiting the churches by the way. The Lord be with you, and your brethren of the eldership, and all the church and congregation.

"Your affectionate friend,

"My wife joining with me."

"EDWARD IRVING.

With such an ode and outburst of the highest strain of grief, brought so close to the gates of heaven, that the dazzled mourner, overpowered with the greatness of the anguish and the glory, sees the Lord within, and takes a comfort more pathetic than any lamentation, was the child Edward buried. He was but fifteen months old; but either from his natural loveliness, or from the subliming influence of his father's love and grief, seems to have left a memory behind him as of the very ideal and flower of infancy. By his father and mother the child was always held in pathetically thankful remembrance. "Little Edward, their fairest and their first," writes one of Mrs. Irving's sisters, "never lost his place in their affections. Writing of one of her little ones, some years afterwards, my sister said, 'I have said all to you when I tell you that we think her very like our little Edward;'" and the same lady tells us of Irving's answer to somebody who expressed the superficial and common wonder, so often heard, that helpless babies should grow up to be the leaders and guides of the world, in words similar to those which break from him in his Preface to Ben-Ezra "Whoso studieth as I

66 A GLORIOUS BUD OF BEING."

247

have done, and reflecteth as I have sought to reflect, upon the first twelve months of a child; whoso hath had such a child to look and reflect upon, as the Lord for fifteen months did bless me withal (whom I would not recall, if a wish could recall him, from the enjoyment and service of our dear Lord), will rather marvel how the growth of that wonderful creature, which put forth such a glorious bud of being, should come to be so cloaked by the flesh, cramped by the world, and cut short by Satan, as not to become a winged seraph; will rather wonder that such a puny, heartless, feeble thing as manhood should be the abortive fruit of the rich bud of childhood, than think that childhood is an imperfect promise and opening of the future man. And therefore it is that I grudged not our noble, lovely child, but rather do delight that such a seed should blossom and bear in the kindly and kindred paradise of my God. And why should not I speak of thee, my Edward! seeing it was in the season of thy sickness and death the Lord did reveal in me the knowledge and hope and desire of His Son from heaven? Glorious exchange! He took my son to His own more fatherly bosom, and revealed in my bosom the sure expectation and faith of His own eternal Son! Dear season of my life, ever to be remembered, when I knew the sweetness and fruitfulness of such joy and sorrow."

I cannot doubt that the record of this infant's death, and the traces it leaves upon the life and words of his sorrowful but rejoicing father, will endear the great orator to many sorrowful hearts. So far as I can perceive, no other event of his life penetrated so pro

248

IRVING VISITS THE SORROWFUL IN KIRKCALDY.

foundly the depths of his spirit. And I cannot think it is irreverent to lift the veil, now that both of those most concerned have rejoined their children, from that sanctuary of human sorrow, faith, and patience. Those of us who know such days of darkness may take some courage from the sight. And such of my readers as may have become interested in the domestic portions of this history will be pleased to hear that the little daughter, born under such lamentable circumstances, lived to grow up into a beautiful and gifted woman, brightened her father's house during all his lifetime, and died-happily not long before her much-tried and patient mother.

Irving remained in Kirkcaldy about a week after this sad event; during which time he occupied himself, "in gratitude for the comfort he had himself received," as it is pathetically said, in visiting all who were sorrowful in his father-in-law's congregation. Then, leaving his wife to perfect her slow and sad recovery in her father's house, until she and the new-born infant, now doubly precious, were fit to travel, he went away sadly by himself, to seek comfort and strength in a solitary journey on foot-an apostolical journey, in which he carried his Master's message from house to house, along the way-to his father's house in Annan. Mrs. Irving and her child remained for some time in Scotland; and to this circumstance we owe a closer and more faithful picture of Irving's life and heart than anything which a biographer could attempt; than anything, indeed, which, so far as I am aware, any man of modern days has left behind him.

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