Moderation seized the agenda for much of Sunday, October 17th. William Ellery Channing preached in the morning about Christianity’s efforts to keep ‘lusts & passions’ under control. While he didn’t make any specific note about the Republicans who pushed toward the War of 1812, he did remind the congregation that Biblical embodiments of those unfortunate flaws were often represented by military figures. This was a theme he had dwelt on when preaching to President Monroe in 1817, at the onset of the latter’s ‘Era of Good Feelings’ tour. His protégé would expand upon it further at year-end, in his address to the Peace Society.
Gallison’s classmate from Harvard, the Rev Mr Francis Parkman came at the subject from a different angle, drawing from an analysis of Elijah ‘that it is by a calm, dispassionate manner, the gospel may be best diffused, [and] that it is in the calm & quiet of the soul it is best heard.’
Looking at other topics in Gallison’s entries from October, 1819 , we find that Aunt Scott’s finances, and the concurrent relationship with her first husband’s agents were less secure than before.
On the evening of the 20th, a high-powered legal cohort discussed some of their hopes and fears for the state Constitutional convention that loomed ahead. Speaker Biglow was not too perturbed by the people’s ability to call a convention, although consensus among Daniel Webster and Judges Story and Prescott seemed to fear placing too much authority in the hands of the people in such an event. One remedy for any democratic excesses would be, they felt, was to give discretion to the legislature and not involve the public in debate. This was not a completely controversial position; they invoked even the Jeffersonian physician Dr Charles Jarvis and the fiery Samuel Adams as authorities favoring it.