LETTER FROM THOMAS B. GOULD TO JOHN I. KITE

Newport, 3d mo., 17th, 1848.

MY DEAR FRIEND:--Thy letter was duly received, and we were truly glad to hear from thee, although the remembrance of thee, and thy timely visit had not passed away. We have often recurred to it, as one of the pleasantest things permitted for our encouragement in the course of our solitary pilgrimage through a wilderness country, where but few travellers are met with who are willing to pursue the same course, and to give us the right hand of fellowship.

Thou mayst suppose that I have been unmindful of the request, to give thee an account of James Scribbens; but notwithstanding the delay, it has not been forgotten; although, being compelled to rely upon tradition, after taking some pains, I find myself wholly unable to tell thee where he was born, or where he died. The anecdotes I have heard of him, were chiefly related to me by several worthy Friends, since deceased, and independently of each other, but all substantially agreeing, That he was a man of very small natural talents indeed, not having common sense, or being capable of procuring his own livelihood, or even knowing when he had eaten or drunken sufficiently; but that he had a very striking, convincing and remarkable gift in the ministry conferred upon him, under the exercise of which it was no unusual occurrence for him to bring tears from the eyes of the audience to such a degree, that there would be wet spots upon the floor between the benches upon which the people sat; although, on his first rising, his appearance was so contemptible, and his matter so incoherent, and sometimes apparently so nonsensical, that it produced laughter among those who were assembled. But the old man would pull the cap which he wore upon his head one way and another, and say to such as made themselves merry, "My good Master has not come yet. When he does come, you will laugh on the other side of your mouths," and was generally verified as the Life and Power arose into dominion; the excellency of the Power being rendered more fully apparent, by the manifest weakness of the instrument made use of, that no flesh should glory in the Master’s presence.

Abigail Robinson (Mary R. Morton’s sister), a very superior woman, and an excellent minister, who lived and died in this town told me, many years ago, that when James Scribbens had a concern to travel as a minister Peter Davis (of whom Joseph Oxley makes honorable mention in his journal, and who, by the way, was John Wilbur’s grandfather), generally, if not always went with him, to take care of him; for, she added, he was not capable of taking care of himself out of meeting. And I have heard J. Wilbur say that his grandfather Davis found it particularly necessary to watch over him at the table, it being customary in those days to put cider and other strong drink upon it; and when James would take up the tankard, Peter would say: "Take care James, that’s strong cider."

When they came to Newport, to attend the Yearly Meeting, A. Robinson informed me they were wont to lodge at the house of her maternal grand parents, Thomas and Mary Richardson, which as I am passing, I will say was at that time the house for Friends of note to lodge at. T. and M. Richardson being truly honorable Elders, and he was for a long time Clerk of the Yearly Meeting. Their house was thronged with company of the best and most discerning kind. Yet it had been handed down from them to Abigail Robinson that (I think on more than one occasion) after James had been powerfully engaged in testimony in the large public meetings during Yearly Meeting week, on returning to his lodgings, before a room full of company, he boasted that he preached, and that he preached excellently too. "No, James," said Mary Richardson; "thou art mistaken, thou hast not preached this day."—Why! he was sure he had, and that he did well.—"No, James, it was thy Gift that preached," said Mary Richardson.

On one occasion of his being in Newport, I think it so happened that he got into the street alone, and being met by an envious priest, who was aware of his proverbial (1) weakness, the priest challenged him to a public dispute in relation to Friends principles and doctrines, which he readily accepted. A time and place were fixed upon the spot, and James ran home to his lodgings, and reported it to his Friends, who were not a little alarmed at the intelligence, told him it would never do; that the priest was a man of sense and learning, and would certainly get an advantage over him, and that he must consider his own infirmities, and the honor of Truth. But James was inflexible, and quite confident of success; said that he had accepted the challenge, and that it would be dishonorable to flinch; and not only so, but that "His Good Master would stand by him, and support His own cause." Friends finally yielded, and bore him company, and, in the language of my informant, he came off "entirely victorious." I think I had this from John Wilbur.

James Scribbens belonged to South Kingston Monthly Meeting, and lived sometimes with one Friend and sometimes with another, in different parts of Narragansett country. He was usually employed in some way which did not require much skill or thought; and at one time, while residing in the family of a Friend who lived near to one Doctor McSparran (an Episcopalian missionary who was sent over from England by "The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreighn Parts," and settled in Narragansett in 1737, I think, and appears to have been a learned and eloquent man,) and being engaged in repairing a breach in a stone wall (or fence), by the roadside, the Doctor, who entertained a most contemptible opinion of the Quakers in general and of James Scribbens in particular, in passing by on horseback, reined up his horse and thus accosted him: "Well, James, how many tons of pudding and milk will it take to make forty rods of stone wall?" Whereupon James dropped the stone which he held in his hand, and looking at the self-sufficient Doctor, said, "Just as many as it will take of hireling priests to make a Gospel Minister."

It so happened that a man of note and learning, whose name I have forgotten, although I think he was a lawyer and a statesman, and eminent in both respects, attended a meeting in which James Scribbens preached, and was so affected by what he heard, that at the close of the meeting, he requested some Friend whith whom he was acquainted to introduce him to the speaker, commending the sermon in strong terms, and remarking that so great a preacher must be a very sensible and learned man, and that he wished to have some religious conversation with him, and to ask him some questions. The Friend (whose name I have also forgotten,) endeavored to divert him from his purpose, by explaining the nature of our principles with regard to the ministry; that it was neither natural nor acquired abilities, but the reception of a heavenly gift and the renewed extension of Divine favor, which rendered the labor of our Ministers so weighty and powerful; that they were not, however, always alike favored; that this gift was sometimes bestowed in a remarkable manner, not only upon illiterate men, but upon those of small natural understanding; so that if he were introduced to such in private, after witnessing their public services he would be at once surprised and disappointed. It was difficult to put the inquirer by, but the Friend at length succeeded, telling him that J.S. would probably attend a meeting at another place the next day, I think. To that meeting, however, the interested man followed James Scribbens, who was again engaged in testimony, in such a way as to increase the desire he felt to be introduced to, and converse with him, of which he failed not to inform the Friend who had invited him to attend it, and who found it still more difficult at this time to prevent their coming in contact with each other, than before. But he finally succeeded, and also gave similar information of another meeting at some distance, to which J. Scribbens was bound. This meeting proved to be a time of more eminent favor than either of the others; and at the close of it a determination was manifested to converse with James, which the Friend could no longer resist. He accordingly introduced the parties to each other at another Friend’s house (where I think they all dined); but the man whose feelings had been so wrought upon, and whose expectations had been raised to such a height, manifested his surprise and disappointment upon attempting to enter into religious conversation with J.S. by exclaiming to the Friend who had done his best to prevent it, "He is a fool?"—and instead of putting difficult theological questions to this weak but sometimes highly favored instrument for solution, he simply asked him the meaning of some ordinary words in the English language; to which James with great simplicity replied that he did not know. "But," said the inquirer, "you made use of those words in your preaching to-day." "Very well," said J. Scribbens, "I knew then." In the conclusion this man confessed that he had read many books upon the subject, but that his acquaintance with James Scribbens had furnished the most conclusive evidence of the truth of the Quaker doctrine of divine immediate revelation that he had ever met with.

It is said, there is but a step from the sublime to the ridiculous; and so it is related of James Scribbens, that while riding in the woods, he was sorely afflicted with toothache, and verily thinking he should not live, he dismounted, tied his horse to one tree and lay down under another to die. Directly it occurred to him that if he should die there, people would say he died drunk, and what a reproach it would be! So he got up, and with a piece of chalk which he took from his pocket wrote upon the tree; "JAMES SCRIBBENS DIED WITH THE TOOTHACHE," and lay down again to die. Bye-and-bye his toothache became easier; he mounted his horse and rode off, leaving the notice of his death, and the cause of it, plainly inscribed upon the tree.

Note 1 - When I was a child and before one of these anecdotes was related to me, or I had otherwise heard his name, I frequently heard persons who were not connected with Friends use the proverb, "As weak as Scribbens." I have no doubt it had relation to him. I have also heard it since that time. It is a common saying here.

Note 2 - Our author spells this name as we give it, but we find in the old Friends’ records where his name is subscribed as a witness in Friends marriages, it is written JAMES SCHRIVENS every time, and we think this therefore is the proper name of the person spoken of in this article.—Editor

[The Narragansett Historical Register. Volume 2 (1882/83) pg. 200-203. Source: Scriven Family of RI & NY. 1712/1715-1900. By Vernon Gowen Larrabee. {Family History Library. Film #1206418. Filmed by Genealogical Society of Utah. 1981} Transcribed by Sharon (Scriven) Iwanick. Aug. 2003.]