The following, written in the summer of 1840, explains itself and a great deal besides:—
“It ought to be the serious inquiry of every true disciple of Christ, ‘Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?’ or, in other words, ‘How shall I spend the present life?’ And it may be profitable to notice two ways in which I should spend mine.
“1. I must strive to become an eminent Christian. If I do this, I shall spend this life well, and I shall be happy, meet with what afflictions I may. I must not be a half-way Christian, but a thorough one. Neither must I be satisfied with my present attainments in piety, but press forward. I must strive to grow in grace every day; and if at night I look back and see no progress in divine things during the day, or if I can see that I have let Satan have any of the ground I have gained before, I must not be satisfied. I have found that just in proportion as I deny myself, and take up my cross and fight with my sins, I am happy. Thus has God wisely connected duty and happiness. Let me strive, then, every day to become more holy, to cast down every imagination and everything that exalteth itself in my heart, and thus become a tabernacle for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
“2. I must do good as well as be good; and I must labor to have those around me enjoy the same spiritual blessings that I do. It may never be my privilege to give myself to the heathen and labor for their conversion to God, though I sincerely wish it might; but there are other ways in which I can help to do the work. I can contribute of my substance to help the cause, and, by my influence and example, I may be the means of promoting Christ’s kingdom on earth. Besides, there are those in our own country, yea, in our own houses, whose situation is as bad as that of the heathen, on some accounts; for, though nominally Christians, they have not the love of God shed abroad in their hearts, and unless brought to repentance, they must meet a fate worse than that of the poor untutored savage who has never heard of the name of Jesus.
“There are ways in which I may glorify God on earth; and these are the best ways in which I can spend this life. If I persevere in thus spending it, and if I fight the good fight of faith, I shall have a crown of life laid up for me in heaven. What an encouragement is this! Even if this were taken away, it would be my duty thus to live, for it is what I owe to Christ. How much more, then, seeing that every encouragement is offered to me by God and Jesus Christ.
Here is another article, dated January, 1842, which also explains itself:—
“As I have lately engaged in rather an aspiring undertaking for one of my age and standing in society, namely, writing and publishing a book, I have thought it might be well to preserve a brief history of this affair, which is as follows:—
“At the beginning of the year 1841, as I had made considerable progress in writing, and had found much amusement and mental profit in thus employing my leisure time, I began to inquire whether I was not capable of writing a book,—at least a Sabbath-school book for children. I did not know, nor could I know, until I had made the experiment. For some time I could think of no subject on which to make the trial. But one day, while engaged at work, I had occasion to ‘set up’ an extract from the Revised Statutes of this State, of which the following was a part: ‘It shall be the duty of the President, professors, and tutors of the University at Cambridge, and of the several colleges, and of all preceptors and teachers of academies, and all other instructors of youth, to exert their best endeavors to impress on the minds of children and youth committed to their care and instruction, the principles of piety, justice, and a sacred regard to truth, love to their country, humanity, and universal benevolence, sobriety, industry,’ etc.
“It immediately occurred to my mind that here was a subject for a Sabbath-school book; and a day or two after this, on January 26th, 1841, I commenced writing the ‘Pleasant Way,’ with the intention of submitting it to the Massachusetts Sabbath School Society for publication. I persevered in this effort, and devoted the larger part of my leisure time, for five months, to its accomplishment. After completing it, I revised it, and entirely rewrote it for the press. This I finished June 25th, 1841; and the next day I sent it, by a Charlestown omnibus, to Rev. Mr. Hoadley, who resided in that town. I thought best to withhold from him my name; and, therefore, in the letter accompanying the manuscript, I requested him to address me by a name which I assumed for the occasion.
“I heard nothing of the fate of my book until the first of August, when I received a letter from Rev. Mr. Hoadley. I opened it with trembling hands and with feelings of indescribable anxiety, and found that the committee had not yet met to decide upon it; but as the letter hinted that there was little doubt of its acceptance, my joy may be imagined.
“Shortly after this, my fondest hopes were realized; for I received a letter from Mr. Hoadley, dated August 18th, 1841, informing me that the manuscript was accepted, and adding that it was ‘very well prepared in the main.’
“I cannot describe the joy which this news gave me, as I cannot the suspense from which it relieved me. I answered these two letters on the last day of August, still keeping back my name, and everything that would lead to its discovery.
“One month after this, I received a letter from Mr. C. C. Dean, treasurer of the Society, informing me that ‘The Pleasant Way’ was in his hands and would soon go to press. I returned an answer to this letter, expressing my desire in regard to a frontispiece, etc.
“On the 12th of October, ‘The Pleasant Way’ was brought into the printing office of Mr. Damrell (the one in which I work), as copy. I had the pleasure of working on it myself, and set up about sixty pages of it.
“Having gone thus far without being discovered by any one, I could keep the secret no longer, but revealed it to my brother H—— (who was at the time my room-mate and my most intimate companion) after making him promise faithfully to inform no one of it.
“During the time ‘The Pleasant Way’ was in the office, there was considerable talk about it; and it was not long before I was told all the particulars about it,—the mysterious author, correspondence under an assumed name, etc. At one time, the foreman of the office gravely informed me that he rather suspected that Dea. Julius A. Palmer was the author. He also remarked to me, and afterward repeated the remark in my hearing, that it was a ‘very excellent book,—one of the best ones the Society has published.’ Of course, these little events afforded indescribable amusement to me.
“During the first week in November, the printing was completed; and in the second week, ‘The Pleasant Way’ was published. The expense of printing, not including paper, binding, etc., was seventy-six dollars and eighty cents.
“After it was published, I received a letter from Mr. Dean, informing me that, according to their standard price, the copyright of the ‘Pleasant Way’ would come to sixty dollars; but, as I agreed to defray half the expenses of a frontispiece, this sum would be reduced somewhat.
“The manner in which ‘The Pleasant Way’ was received exceeded my utmost expectations and surprised me not a little. The following notices of it I have thought best to preserve, by way of encouragement. There were probably a few others which I have never seen.
“The following appeared in the ‘Sabbath-School Visiter’ for December, 1841; it was written by Mr. Hoadley, and I myself had the pleasure of setting it up:—
“‘The object of this book, as stated by the author, is to illustrate, in a familiar and interesting manner, some of those virtues which constitute the character of the Pilgrim in the Pleasant Way. The principal subjects introduced are Justice, Industry, Filial Duties, Governing the Tongue, Temperance, Benevolence, Humanity, and Piety. These are treated in a manly and dignified manner, with frequent illustrations from history and biography, and sometimes from science, and a happy adaptation throughout to the young. Some stories may be more taking, perhaps, to some; but the Pleasant Way, we think, can but be well received. And for all who desire solid improvement of the more substantial points of intellectual and moral excellence, it must be, beyond doubt, a lasting, good book; and, though designed more especially for the young, it may be read with profit by all of every age.’
“The ‘Boston Recorder’ thus notices it:—
“‘A very pleasant book, and as useful as pleasant. Gladly would we persuade all our young friends to procure it, read it, remember it, and obey it.... It is a serious hook, but a sprightly one. Its teachings are all solid and pure, but illustrated by facts which at once amuse and enlighten the mind, correct the judgment, improve the heart, and guide the feet in the narrow way to heaven.’”
The following notice was written by a gentleman, distinguished at the time for his ability, and who has since occupied positions of honor.
“‘We have received a volume of one hundred and seventy-three pages, published by the Massachusetts Sabbath School Society, and have looked it over with the greatest pleasure. Of all the good books for the young, which this Society has printed, we have not seen a better. It treats of Justice, Industry, Governing the Tongue, Benevolence, Humanity, and Piety, in a very pleasant way, and we hope the author will write more books.’”
He has copied several other remarks from various papers equally complimentary, but it is unnecessary to repeat them here. These are given to indicate his success, and also his feelings, as well as to show some reasons why he was confirmed in his suddenly-formed intention to write for the public according as other duties gave opportunity.
On the fourth day of May, through the foreman of the printing office, he received forty-five dollars and six copies of the book, that being the amount due him from the Massachusetts Sabbath School Society.
With one more quotation from his book of “Sunday Reading,” this chapter shall be closed.
“The self-abhorrence and humility of good men often appear strange to the self-righteous; and when they see the Christian mourning over his sins, and reproaching himself for his coldness of heart, they too often look upon him as a fanatic or an insane man. Why is this? Why is it that men often pride themselves on their goodness, while the sincere Christian thinks himself the worst of all men? I think the principal reason is this: the Christian judges himself by the law of God, without any regard to the conduct of others; the worldly man takes a directly opposite course.
“See the Christian. He takes the Word of God and examines his heart. He finds that law requires perfect obedience. But, ah! he sees he has not begun to obey it. And he is ready to cry out with righteous Job, ‘Behold, I am vile. I will lay my hand upon my mouth;’ or, with David, ‘Behold, I was shapen in iniquity;’ or, with Daniel, ‘O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face;’ or with Paul, ‘Oh, wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from this body of death?’ or, with Payson of modern days, ‘I know that I am everything that is bad summed up in one.’
“Now all this is the language of penitence. It shows that those who uttered it knew their own hearts.... Had Job or David or Daniel or Paul or Payson compared himself with other men, without reference to the law of God, probably he would have seen that he was better than any around him. But they did not do this. They went directly to the Law, and by that examined their hearts.
“Now look at the self-righteous man. He looks at those around him, and sees in them many failings. He looks at his own outward conduct, and finds, perhaps, that he is honest, kind, amiable. He immediately concludes that he is going to heaven. His language is, ‘Surely God will not cast me off. I am as good, and perhaps better, than the majority of men. And I do not see but I am as good as those men who make great professions of piety. To be sure, I have some faults, and so have they, too. But God will overlook these little failings.’ And if he sees a man who appears to abhor himself, and repent in dust and ashes, he immediately sets him down as a fanatic.
“But, oh, when the Spirit reaches that heart, what a change! How quickly does his righteousness disappear, or become as filthy rags. When the commandment comes, then he says with Paul, ‘Sin revived and I died.’”