HENDERSON,
ALEXANDER,
one of the most eminent ministers of the Church of Scotland in the
most important period of her history, namely, previous to the middle
of the seventeenth century, was born in 1583. Of his parents and the
circumstances of his early life we have no authentic information;
but he is supposed to have been descended from the Hendersons of
Fordel, in Fifeshire. He completed his studies at the university of
St. Andrews, where he took the degree of M.A.; and some time
previous to 1611 he was elected regent, or professor, of philosophy,
in that ancient seminary. Ambitions of preferment, he early adopted
the principles of the prelatical party, then dominant in the church,
and having completed the usual course of attendance on the divinity
classes, he was, through the patronage of Archbishop Gladstanes,
presented to the parish of Lauchars, in fife. His settlement, which
took place previous to 1615, was so unpopular, that, on the day of
ordination, the church-doors were shut and secured by the people,
and the ministers who attended with the presentee were obliged to
enter by the window. He was at this time strongly prejudiced in
favour of Episcopacy.
Mr.
Henderson at first showed but little concern for the spiritual
interests of his people; but his sentiments and character soon
underwent a complete change. Having learned that the celebrated
Presbyterian preacher, Mr. Bruce of Kinnaird, was to assist at a
communion in a neighbouring parish, Mr. Henderson, desirous of
hearing him, went to the place, and, to prevent being recognised,
concealed himself in the dark corner of the church. Mr. Bruce chose
for his text these remarkable words, “He that entereth not in by the
door, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a
robber.” This passage, so applicable to his situation, and the
sermon which followed, made such an impression on his mind as led to
an entire change in his views and conduct. He now became thoroughly
convinced that he proceedings of the prelatical party were injurious
to the interests of religion, and he resolved at once to take part
with the Presbyterians. An opportunity of publicity declaring his
change of sentiments did not present itself till August 1618, when
the obnoxious five Articles of Perth having been carried at a packed
Assembly held in that city, Mr. Henderson was among those ministers
who had the courage to oppose them as episcopal innovations, though
the utmost wrath of the Government was threatened against all who
persisted in rejecting them. In the month of August 1619 he and two
of his brethren were cited before the court of high commission of
St. Andrews, charged with having composed and published a book
against the validity of the Perth Assembly, On their appearance, Mr.
Henderson answered the accusation with so much eloquence and truth,
that the bishops could gain no advantage over him and his friends,
and were obliged to dismiss them with threatenings. From this period
till 1637 he seems to have lived retired in his parish, employed in
the sedulous discharge of his pastoral duties, and taking no part in
any of the public transactions of the period.
The rash
and ill-judged attempt of Charles the First, in 1637, to force the
liturgy or service book on the church of Scotland, recalled him from
his retirement, and caused him to take that leading part in the
affairs of the church which has made his name so celebrated. In
common with other ministers, he had been charged to purchase two
copies of the liturgy for the use of his parish within fifteen days,
under the pain of rebellion. He immediately went to Edinburgh, and,
August 23, presented a petition to the privy council, representing
that the service book had not received the sanction of the General
Assembly, nor was recognised by an act of parliament, and praying a
suspension of the charge. To this remonstrance the council returned
a favourable answer, and the reading of the liturgy was ordered to
be suspended until the king’s farther pleasure should be known.
Charles, however, only the more peremptorily insisted that the
service book should be received; and from this time forward Mr.
Henderson took a prominent share in all the proceedings of the
nonconformists. A great number of the nobility, gentry, clergymen,
and representatives of burghs, with others, had assembled in
Edinburgh from all parts of the country; and after another
supplication had been presented to the privy council, praying them
to bring the matter again before the king, a proclamation from his
majesty was made, requiring all persons to depart to their homes
within twenty-four hours, on pain of being denounced rebels. Instead
of dispersing, the leaders of the popular party, after some farther
ineffectual petitions to the king, resolved to appeal to the people,
and the result was the renewal of the National Covenant of 1580 and
1581, with only some slight changes adapted to the circumstances of
the times. It was prepared by Mr. Henderson, assisted by Archibald
Johnston, afterwards of Warriston, an advocate in whom, we are told,
the suppliants chiefly confided, and was sworn and subscribed in the
Grey Friars’ church of Edinburgh, on February 28, 1638, by thousands
of the nobility, gentry, ministers of the gospel, burgesses, and
others. Mr. Henderson addressed the vast multitude assembled with
great fervour and eloquence, and the enthusiasm of the people knew
no bounds. He was subsequently sent with several noblemen, and
Messrs, Cant and Dickson, to Aberdeen, to prevail on the inhabitants
of that city to take the Covenant, and, after urging upon them the
strongest arguments in favour of the document, no less than 500
persons subscribed it, many of them being of the highest
respectability.
At the
memorable General Assembly which met at Glasgow the same year,
November 21, 1638, the first that had been held for a long period,
Mr. Henderson, now the acknowledged leader of the clergy, was
unanimously chosen moderator. And in that difficult and trying
situation, he conducted himself with a resolution and prudence, and
at the same time with a forbearance and moderation, befitting the
occasion. After the deposition and excommunication of the bishops,
and the formal abolition of Episcopacy, Mr. Henderson terminated the
proceedings with an eloquent and impressive address to the members
of the Assembly, concluding with these striking words: – “We have
now cast down the walls of Jericho; let him that rebuildeth them
beware of the curse of Hiel the Bethelite!”
Before the
rising of the Assembly two supplications were given in, the one
containing a call to Mr. Henderson from St. Andrews, and the other
from Edinburgh. Being much attached to his own parish of Leuchars,
of which he had been minister for eighteen years, he expressed his
unwillingness to remove from it, pleading that he was now too old a
plant to take root in another soil. It was carried, however, by
seventy-five votes, that he should be translated to Edinburgh; to
which he consented, on condition that when old age should overtake
him, he should again be removed to a country charge.
In 1639 he
was one of the commissioners appointed by the Church to treat
regarding the articles of pacification with the king; and during the
whole of the difficult negotiations that ensued, he behaved with
great prudence and candour. At the subsequent meeting of the
Assembly, in August of that year, the earl of Traquair, commissioner
from his majesty, earnestly desired that Mr. Henderson might be
re-elected moderator, a proposition strenuously opposed by Mr.
Henderson himself, and rejected by the Assembly, a constant
moderatorship being contrary to the constitution of the Church. On
the 31st of the same month, he was called upon to preach
at the opening of parliament, on which occasion he delivered an
excellent discourse, in which he treated, with consummate ability,
of the end, duties, and utility of magistrates.
In 1640
the town council of Edinburgh, with the view of rendering the system
of education at the university more efficient, resolved to appoint
annually a rector of that institution, and unanimously elected Mr.
Henderson to the situation. He was empowered to superintend all
matters connected with the conduct of the principal and professors,
the education of the students, and the disposal of the revenues. In
this office, which he appears to have enjoyed, by re-election, to
his death, he exerted himself sedulously to promote the interests of
that learned seminary. Besides devoting his especial attention to
the education of candidates for the ministry, he instituted a
professorship of oriental languages, a department previously much
neglected.
The king
having refused to ratify some of the points agreed upon at the late
pacification, suddenly prorogued the parliament, denounced the
Covenanters as rebels, and prepared again to invade Scotland. But
the success of the Scots army, which entered England in August 1640,
compelled him to accede to another proposition for peace and a
conference was begun at Rippon, which, in a short time after, was
transferred to London. Mr. Henderson was appointed one of the
commissioners, on the part of the Church, to conclude the treaty,
and during all the time of his residence in London, which was
protracted for nine months, he exerted himself, by preaching and
otherwise, to promote the views of the commissioners; and wrote a
variety of able tracts and papers, some of which were published
without his name, while others were laid before the commissioners
and parliament of England. Before he left London he was admitted to
a private conference with the king, the special object of which was
to procure assistance to the Scottish universities from the rents
formerly appropriated to the bishops, when he was graciously
received by his majesty.
On his
return to Edinburgh, in July 1641, he was again chosen moderator of
the General Assembly. Having delivered in a letter from a number of
ministers in London, requesting advice as to the proper form of
church government to be adopted, several of their brethren being
inclined towards Independency, the Assembly instructed him to answer
it; and in his reply he earnestly urged a uniformity of church
government in the two kingdoms. The Assembly unanimously approved of
a motion which he brought forward, to the effect that they should
take steps for drawing up a Confession of Faith, Catechism,
Directory of Worship, and Form of Government; and remitted to him to
prepare the necessary drafts of these documents. On the 14th
of August the king arrived at Edinburgh to be present at the
parliament; on which occasion, wishing to conciliate the
presbyterian party, he appointed Mr. Henderson his chaplain. During
his majesty’s residence in Edinburgh he performed family worship
every morning and evening at the palace. And frequently preached
before him in the chapel-royal at Holyroodhouse. At this parliament
the revenues of the bishoprics were divided; and by Mr. Henderson’s
exertions, what belonged to the bishopric and priory of Edinburgh
were bestowed on the university. As a recompence for his own
laborious and expensive services in the cause of the public, the
emoluments of the chapel-royal, amounting to about 4,000 merks
a-year, were conferred upon him.
Some
reports injurious to his character having been industriously
circulated, in the ensuing Assembly he entered into a long and
impassioned vindication of his conduct. His brethren unanimously
expressed their sympathy, and assured him of their continued
confidence; on which we are told he recovered his cheerfulness.
During the
year 1642 Mr. Henderson was employed in managing the correspondence
with England respecting ecclesiastical reformation and union. He was
soon after chosen one of the commissioners appointed to proceed to
that country, but was for some time delayed by the civil war.
Anxious to effect a reconciliation between Charles and his English
subjects, he joined with some other leading men in an invitation to
the queen to come to Scotland; but this proposition was rejected by
the king. Accompanied by the other commissioners, he next went to
Oxford, where his majesty then was, to offer him the mediation of
Scotland; but the infatuated monarch, instead of making some
concessions for the sake of peace, endeavoured to convince him of
the justice of his cause, defended all his proceedings, and
expressed his high indignation at the interest which the Scots took
in the reformation of the church in England. On Henderson’s return
to Edinburgh, his conduct throughout this delicate negociation was
pronounced by the General Assembly to have been “faithful and wise.”
In 1643 he
was, for the third time, chosen moderator of the General Assembly –
an occasion which was rendered remarkable by the presence of the
English commissioners sent down by the parliament to crave their aid
and counsel in the then critical circumstances of both kingdoms. He
was appointed one of the commissioners who soon after went to London
to attend the Assembly of divines at Westminster, to represent there
the Church of Scotland, and to obtain the ratification of the Solemn
League and Covenant by that Assembly and by both houses of
parliament; which was accordingly done on the 25th of
September. During the three following years he remained in London,
unremittingly engaged in assisting the Westminster Assembly in
preparing the public formularies for the religious union between the
three kingdoms.
In the
beginning of 1645 he was appointed to assist the commissioners of
the parliament of England and Scotland in conducting the treaty
between them and the king at Uxbridge. On the breaking off of the
treaty he returned to London. In the spring of 1646, when the king
had thrown himself into the hands of the Scottish army, he sent for
Mr. Henderson, who was considered the most competent person to deal
with his majesty in his then circumstances. He arrived at Newcastle
about the middle of May, and received a welcome reception from the
king, but soon perceived that Charles was as unwilling as ever to
consent to the establishment of Presbyterianism. It was agreed that
the scruples which the king entertained should be discussed in a
series of papers between his majesty and Mr. Henderson. These
continued from May 29 to July 15. They are eight in number, five by
the king, who was assisted by Sir Robert Murray, and three by his
reverend opponent. Mr. Henderson’s health being much impaired, he
was obliged to remove by sea to Edinburgh, where he died, August 19,
1646, in the 63d year of his age. His body was interred in the
Greyfriars churchyard, where a monument was erected by his nephew to
his memory. Subjoined is Henderson’s portrait:
[portrait of Alexander Henderson]
HENDERSON, THOMAS,
an eminent astronomer, whose name is connected with the discovery of
the parallax of the fixed stars, was the son of a tradesman at
Dundee, where he was born December 28, 1798. He received his
education in his native town, and both at the grammar school and the
academy was distinguished for his attainments, and for the propriety
and modesty of his demeanour. At the age of fifteen, he was
apprenticed, for six years, to a writer (attorney or solicitor) in
Dundee. During this period he began in his leisure hours the study
of practical astronomy, and the history and literature of that
science, to which he was so much attached that he prosecuted it
often to the injury of his health. In 1819, at the age of
twenty-one, he went to Edinburgh, and obtained a situation in the
office of a writer to the signet. His intelligence and abilities
procured for him the patronage of Sir James Gibson Craig, baronet,
by whose recommendation he was appointed clerk to the celebrated
John Clerk, advocate, afterwards a lord of session, under the title
of Lord Eldin. On his lordship’s retirement from the bench, he was
for a time private secretary to the earl of Lauderdale, and
subsequently clerk to the lord advocate, Jeffrey. In these
employments he continued till 1831, still prosecuting in his leisure
hours the study of astronomy. Having procured an introduction to
Professor Wallace, he had free access to the Observatory on the
Calton Hill, at that period a small establishment, but sufficiently
equipped with instruments to afford valuable opportunities to a
learner.
In spite of weak health and a tendency to disorder in the
eyes, Mr. Henderson soon brought himself into notice as an
astronomer. His first contribution to astronomical science was a
method of computing an occultation of a fixed star by the moon,
communicated in 1824 to Dr. Young, then secretary to the Board of
Longitude, of which the latter thought so highly as to cause it to
be published in the Nautical Almanac (of which he was
superintendent) for 1827 and the four following years. About the
same time he also contributed other papers on kindred subjects to
the Quarterly Journal of Science. In 1827 he sent a paper to the
Royal Society of London, ‘On the Difference of Meridians of the
Observatories of London and Paris,’ in which he pointed out a small
error that had crept into one of the observations, and which,
without greatly affecting the result, yet exposed the whole to much
doubt. In the following year, in conjunction with Mr. Maclear, he
furnished the Astronomical Society with an ephemeris of the
occultations of Aldebaran by the moon, in 1829, calculated for ten
different observatories in Europe. He subsequently furnished other
lists of lunar occultations computed for the meridian of Greenwich,
these phenomena being of much use in determining longitudes.
On the professorship of practical astronomy in the university
of Edinburgh becoming vacant in 1828, by the death of Dr. Blair, the
government, – the appointment being in the Crown, – were strongly
urged by Dr. Young and other astronomers to name Mr. Henderson to
the chair; but at that time no nomination took place. At Dr. Young’s
death the following year, it was found that that gentleman had
placed in the hands of Professor Rigand a memorandum to be
communicated to the admiralty, recommending Mr. Henderson as the
most competent person to be appointed his successor in the
superintendence of the Nautical Almanac. The government, however,
confided the trust to Mr. Pond, the astronomer royal, who offered
Mr. Henderson employment, on terms of remuneration, for a great part
of his time, but this offer he did not accept.
In 1831, on the death of Mr. Fallows, he was appointed by the
admiralty to succeed him in charge of the observatory then recently
completed at the Cape of Good Hope, principally with a view to the
determination of the places of the southern stars, for the aid of
navigation. He arrived at the Cape in April 1832, and from that date
he must be considered as a professional astronomer. During the
thirteen months that he remained there he accumulated a large mass
of valuable observations, having devoted himself assiduously to his
duties, but finding his health suffering, and being far removed from
his friends, he resigned his situation in May 1833, and embarked for
England. After his return to Edinburgh, having no official
engagements, he began the laborious task of reducing the
observations he had made at the Cape. In 1834, by an agreement
between the government and the Astronomical Institution of
Edinburgh, the latter gave u their observatory to the university,
government agreeing to appoint and provide for an astronomer, who
was also to hold the professorship of practical astronomy in the
university. On the recommendation of the Astronomical Society of
London, to whom Lord Melbourne, then prime minister, applied for
advice, Mr. Henderson was appointed the first astronomer royal for
Scotland, being thus placed in the chair of practical astronomy,
which had remained vacant since 1828. His regular duty did not
interrupt the reduction of his Cape observations, and in 1837 he
gave to the Astronomical Society a catalogue of the declinations of
172 principal fixed stars, chiefly in the southern hemisphere. The
most remarkable result of his labours was the discovery of the
annual parallax of one of the fixed stars, by which the distance of
these bodies from our globe has been brought within the reach of
calculation. In comparing his observations of a particular star,
which, being near the south pole, is always above the horizon at the
Cape, he found that they indicated that change of position or
parallax which astronomers had been so long in search of. In 1839,
after testing the accuracy of his result in various ways, he
announced it in a paper read to the Astronomical Society, and the
attention of astronomers being thus directed to it, the subsequent
observations of Mr. Maclear, his successor in the post of astronomer
at the Cape of Good Hope, and others, tended to confirm the accuracy
of this important discovery.
Thus, in the position which, of all others, he would have
chosen for himself, and at a time when he was beginning to enjoy
that fame and reputation which his research, application, and
talents had earned for him, he was suddenly cut off, by disease of
the heart, his death having taken place on 23d November, 1844. He
had married in 1836, a daughter of Mr. Adie, the well-known optician
of Edinburgh, but his wife died in 1842, a few weeks after the birth
of their only child.
A very full account of Mr. Henderson’s astronomical labours,
with a memoir of his life, was inserted in the Annual Report of the
Astronomical Society for 1845. The list of his writings consists of
upwards of seventy communications, of different degrees of magnitude
and importance, to various scientific publications, some of them in
foreign astronomical periodicals. He also published at Edinburgh
five quarto volumes of ‘Astronomical Observations made at the Royal
Observatory,’ of that city, comprising the years 1834 to 1839. A
sixth volume, left nearly ready for publication, was subsequently
added. These six volumes are much valued by astronomers, and have
conferred on the observatory a high reputation among the similar
institutions of Europe. In his astronomical career, he brought to
his subject the most methodical habits of business, and as the
author of the memoir of his life in the Proceedings of the
Astronomical Society observes, “his name will go down to posterity
as an accurate observer, an industrious computer, a skilful
manipulator, and an improver of the methods in that department to
which he devoted himself.” He was well acquainted with astronomical
literature and other branches of science, and at different times
supplied the places of the professors of mathematics and of natural
philosophy in the university of Edinburgh. His desire to be informed
of al that was doing abroad, made him collect an astronomical
library, which, for a man of his limited means, was of extraordinary
extent and value. In his private character and social relations, he
was modest and retiring, yet cheerful and communicative, and
distinguished by great warmth of affection and amiability of
disposition.
