ing to convey the
impression that those of us who were otherwise affected were not allowed
the opportunity of expressing our own individual opinions. The presence
at the meetings of such men as James Freeman Clarke, Dr. Hedge, William
Henry Channing, and Wendell Phillips was a sufficient earnest of the
catholicity of intention which prevailed in the government of the club.
Only the intellectual bias was so much in the opposite direction that we
who stood for the preeminence of Christianity sometimes felt ourselves
at a disadvantage, and in danger of being set down as ignorant of much
that our opponents assumed to know.

In this connection I must mention a day on which, under the title of
"Jonathan Edwards," Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes favored the club with a
very graphic exposition of old-time New England Calvinism. The brilliant
doctor's treatment of this difficult topic was appreciative and
friendly, though by no means acquiescent in the doctrines presented. He
said, indeed, that "the feeling which naturally arises in contemplating
the character of Jonathan Edwards is that of deep reverence for a man
who seems to have been anointed from his birth; who lived a life pure,
laborious, self-denying, occupied with the highest themes, and busy in
the highest kind of labor."

Nevertheless, Wendell Phillips thought the paper, on the whole, unjust
to Edwards, and felt that there must have been in his doctrine another
side not fully brought forward by the essayist. These and other speakers
were heard with great interest, and the meeting was one of the best on
our record.

I have heard it said that Wendell Phillips's orthodoxy was greatly
valued among the anti-slavery workers, especially as the orthodox
pulpits of the time gave them little support or comfort. I was told that
Edmund Quincy, one day, saw Parker and Phillips walking arm in arm, and
cried out: "Parker, don't dare to pervert that man. We want him as he
is."

I was thrice invited to read before the Radical Club. The titles of my
three papers were, "Doubt and Belief," "Limitations," "Representation,
and How to Secure it."

William Henry Channing was one of the bright lights of the Radical Club,
a man of fervent nature and of exquisite perceptions, presenting in his
character the rare combination of deep piety with breadth of view and
critical acumen. We were indebted to him for a discourse on "The
Christian Name," in which he vindicated the claim of Christianity to